Things I (sort of) want to do

Today for my lunch I had goat curry. To be honest, I’m regretting the choice a little bit now, as the smell seems to be stuck to my skin, oozing out of me and making me smell like a Jamaican food stand, but it’s a small price to pay of the thrill of adventure. Life is all about new experiences right?

Yes I know, I’m getting a bit carried away with myself, it was only a goat curry after all, but there you go, I do what I can.

There are quite a few things I’ve had for a while now on my mental list of ‘things to do before I die, even I don’t really want to.’ They’re not terribly exciting things, but they’re things I just feel I should really have done by now. ‘Eat a goat curry’ wasn’t actually on the list, but I may add it now, just so I can cross it off. It’s always satisfying to cross something off a list.

Belle has her own list, one of the items being ‘have a car crash’. This seems an odd ambition to me, but she was very excited indeed when I crashed our car into a garage forecourt last year. “I did think it might be the last thing I got to do, and that I might die afterwards,” she told me, “so it was nice to get it crossed off.”

At the moment, for the next ten minutes at least, this list has been just in my head, but I’m hoping that by committing some of it to paper, or to cyberspace at least, that it might prod me into actually doing some of them. Perhaps I could aim to do one and month and report back? Or maybe you have some suggestions for things I could add – things you’d like to read about me doing. (No blindfolded rabid dog taming or anything please…)

Number one, in no particular order, is to go the opera. I’m putting this one off as I’m pretty sure I’ll hate it. A couple of years ago I went to watch some ballet, (something else from the list), and left half way through. Yawn! It’s such a grown up thing to be able to say you enjoy though isn’t it? This is the kind of conversation I imagine having:

Smart lady in pearls: “Any plans for the weekend Josephine?”

Me, casually dressed in a linen suit and delicate diamond necklace: “Well, I’m meeting my wine merchant tomorrow, and then I’m off to the opera in the evening with Humphrey!”

Smart lady in pearls: “Divine!”

On the completely opposite end of the spectrum, number two on my list is to go to a football match. I’m talking a proper match, with real teams and real costumes, not a Sunday league effort, played on a school playing field, where the hungover players share a fag at half time. I’m fairly certain I’ll hate this too, but it would be good to be able to criticise football fans from personal experience. It would feel more valid somehow.

Number three is a trip to a casino. I’ve no idea why I’ve not done this already, as I’m a massive James Bond fan, have an online William Hill account and I’ve been to the races and the dogs already. I think possibly it’s a fear of ‘accidentally’ gambling away my children, as I do have a bit of addictive streak. I can quite picture myself, wide-eyed, martini in one hand, a pair of dice in the other, refusing to leave the table until I’ve won back the car.

Perhaps I’ll save up for this one.

Number four is to go on holiday, abroad, on my own. Not in a ‘singles coach tour of the potteries of rural France’ type way, just a weekend somewhere would be fine. This one comes from having accidentally* become a parent while I was still technically a child, henceforth rather limited my potential for exotic, independent foreign travel. Last year I got as far as going on a plane without a teacher present, and I’ve since been abroad on work, but I’ve yet to leave the country on my own purely for fun.

Number five is to run the marathon. Hahaha! Not really. Goodness me, I think I’d die.

What would be on your list?

*yes I know, it wasn’t really an accident, I take full responsibility etc etc

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9 Comments

  1. 5 July, 2012 / 6:30 pm

    i know you have already been to the races but on mine are two of the ladies days Ascot and the grand national i have seen the grand national run twiice the first time years ago was the last time Red Rum led the horses to the start so I added meet red rum to the list I had at the time and crossed that off

  2. Beeface
    5 July, 2012 / 7:54 pm

    make your own salami? join the Selena Gomez fan club?

  3. 5 July, 2012 / 8:27 pm

    I had a wish-list donkeys years ago – the only thing I remember from it was to see an opera. I duly sat through Madame Butterfly at Covent Garden and was seriously underwhelmed (nothing to do with the performance, I’m just a cultural wasteland). I’m inspired to create a new list now though. Top of the list? Perhaps a grown-up shopping trip in Bath sans les enfants, having afternoon tea at the Pump Rooms and staying somewhere swish overnight.

  4. honeybee35
    5 July, 2012 / 9:07 pm

    Like yourself, having a baby before I was old enough to vote meant that I’d put a ‘wishlist’ of things to do for my own selfish satisfaction into a time capsule and buried it deep underground! However, I do recall wanting to;
    1. do a bungee jump or skydive
    2. appear on a gameshow and win lots of dosh
    3. visit Hawaii or Mexico
    4. learn to snowboard or ski
    I’m pleased to say that although I’m nowhere near achieving any of the above just yet, I will be going to the Olympics this year which has always been a secret dream of mine so I’ll be able to ‘tick’ that box if nothing else.

  5. samantha
    5 July, 2012 / 9:14 pm

    Well I’m doing one of mine on Saturday, playing my first Roller Derby Bout in front of an audience and everything *trying to pretend not to be nervous*

  6. 5 July, 2012 / 10:41 pm

    LOVE this post. In fact, my ‘to do’ list was the subject of my very first blog: “A year ’til I’m 30”.

    I’d definitely be up for the opera, football or casino visit with you. And I’m going to have to drag you back to the ballet, because it is not possible not to love ballet if you see the right one!!

    Other things you might want to add to your list:

    Have a dress designed and made for you
    Write a book
    Go skinny dipping in natural water (sea, lake etc)
    Sing in public
    Grow your own food
    Take a trip on the Orient Express
    Volunteer at a homeless shelter

    I think I have to stop there because I was about to write ‘run away with the circus’ and I suspect that’s going too far…

  7. 6 July, 2012 / 10:19 am

    So, tell us what’s goat like? Despite having lived in Birmingham (Soho Road bristles with places you can buy goat and goat curry etc), I’ve never got round to trying it.

  8. 6 July, 2012 / 4:42 pm

    “is to go the opera”….yeah don’t bother. There’s a reason why they have all those intermissions, you need to get pissed just to sit through all that caterwauling!

  9. 7 July, 2012 / 6:54 am

    I never thought I’d like opera but then I saw La Boheme done by the Welsh National Opera, it was fantastic and I’ve seen quite a few since. To be honest some of them are pretty dull, and if the cast aren’t top notch it can be terrible, but if you stick to one of the big opera companies and go for Mozart or Puccini you’ll stand a better chance of enjoying it. Also make sure you take a “libretto” which is basically a small book explaining what the hell is going on otherwise it can all be a bit confusing as they tend not to be in English.

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