Bucket Schmucket ...

Creating a Bucket List seems so morbid, but I hear its all the new rage lately. Below is my attempt at making my list and checking it twice ...

1. DO IT ALL ! ! !

I know. I am no fun, but I cannot just sit down and make a specific list of all the things I want to do and / or accomplish before my death. It creeps me out. I live my life day to day and never really have a definite plan for anything. Of course there are the long-term goals I want to accomplish (like my restaurant) but I am in no position to settle anytime soon in order to make that happen.

There are so many things I want to do, want to try. I have already done a lot of things and been a lot of places, but this Earth is such a big place that the possibilities are endless. Whereas there are a lot of things I want to do on my own, there are plenty that I want to do with other people. I suppose I am just waiting to find other people willing and able to do them also.

Travel. I want to travel the World. If I could get paid to go from country to country, continent to continent I would do it in a heartbeat. I know you're thinking "Anyone would" which may be true, but I crave it. I'm hungry like the wolf. I had a summer backpacking trip planned with my dear friend Linda this summer, but it had to be post-poned due to other circumstances. We were set to do a complete tour of Europe, making the full circle. Everywhere from Ireland to Belgium to Germany to Budapest to Spain and every place in between. Seeing life and seeing culture gets my blood flowing. You know how there are those certain friends that you only do certain things with? Well, I don't think I could experience Europe like I want to with anyone else but Linda (unless my soulmate is still out there and thinks they can change my mind). We experience things through the eyes of an artist. We appreciate the minute details that most do not take the time to even see. She is, in many ways, my female counterpart and I love her for that. Now I can't even explain how anxious I am for summer 2010!

I want to see through the eyes of the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor. I want to scale the mountains of Tibet and live a week with the orphans of Kenya. I want to whale watch in the waters of Canada and walk topless (maybe - the verdict is still out) on the beaches of Fiji. I want to sip coffee on the streets of Paris and click steins with the bar patrons of Germany. I want to trek through the rainforests of Brazil and barter the markets of Marrakesh. There are few places I would not go. I would go back to Costa Rica in a heartbeat. The vibe of the locals and the peacefulness in the air is enough to take me back in a mental dream. I truly love being an American and all the freedoms I am allowed every day, but to escape the walls of 'normalcy' and routine thrills me. You never really experience life until you have done so in a World so unlike your own. If the Peace Corps was anything like it was many years ago, I would have joined the day after graduation. I get excited when I visit my mother in North Carolina. I think it is just the idea of escaping where you are from. Moving to California was one of the best decisions of my life. It taught me so much. I met so many incredible people. I loved. I lost. I lived.

Accomplishments. As I mentioned before I want to open my very own restaurant. I know it seems a familiar dream, but it is indeed my dream. I want to create a place, a sanctuary for food and entertainment for all walks of life and all types of people. I want to combine tastes of my childhood with those of my adult life. I want to learn. I want to teach and most importantly I want to share. I may not be good at a lot of things, most I am mediocre at best, but cooking ... well, cooking I have a real knack for. I watched my Mother and Grandmothers at a very young age and incorporated all of their styles into mine and have created some of the most incredible dishes you will ever taste. My Father was the baker in the house. We always had sweets, although you could never tell since my sister and I were so skinny. One of the key reasons I quit smoking was to keep my tastebuds and their ability to taste intact. Cooking, like kissing, can say so much about someone without even having to say a word. My recipes range from sweet to spicy, much like my personality and it also varies depending on my mood. Though I have never had any formal training, I feel as though I can live without. My technique stems from both success and failure that I have reached on my own, from my very own trial and error. I like to make my own mistakes for the very reason of learning from them.

Personally, I am a vegetarian. I have been so for two years. Coming from my conservative country-fried, Southern upbringing you may not have guessed, but I am indeed an herbivore. Many people wonder how I do it, but to me it is just a way of life. My reasoning may be different than most, but the end result is the same. I am healthier and happier. It is a personal choice and I never force my ideas upon others which is why I never stopped cooking carnivorous dishes. They are still some of my very best and they better be because I am the only one in my entire family that opposes eating anything with a warm temp and two beady eyes.

For Fun. Just for fun I would love to follow some big rock band or singer's tour across the World and be a groupie. I would love to go to every football game, golf tournament or baseball game for one team. I'd love to ride every roller coaster I come across. I'd love to bungee jump again or skydive or parasail. I'd love to snowboard every weekend during season or wakeboard every day the temp is above 75. I'd love to start dance lessons or take art classes. Start a charity in my Grandmother's name. Become an artist. Walk another show during all the big fashion weeks. I'd love to move every couple of years and pick the next destination by just blindly pointing on a map. I'd love to walk the red carpet of the Grammy Awards or schmooze with the likes of Jerry Bruckheimer and the Coen Brothers. I want to hold a political office for at least one term. As I said, the possibilities are endless. My main goal in life is simply to experience. Instead of living the same day over and over again I want to change it. I want to do everything differently from the previous day. I want to get married in a big fancy church with every detail planned by me. I want to find the love of my life. I want to have children (or child). I want my dream house which would consist of an old farmhouse an hour out of some big city. I want a dog rescue shelter on the 200 acres of land I will own. I want horses and ducks. I want to write a book and go on a 50-state book tour. I want whatever the World has to offer and never turn down a new experience.

For so long I lived a dormant life. A life according to every else. Now it is about me and my pursuit for happiness. Happiness is a life-long journey and its a daily battle just to maintain. I take all of life, the good and the bad. I love every moment. If I can do anything, I want to inspire. I want the dead souls to come alive and find their new beginnings.

Life is a celebration ... and boy do I want to party!