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OT: Another getting to know you thread - My Bucket List Items

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Posted 9/26/2013 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
I really don't like the term bucket list, but for the sake of a better term, I will use it in this thread.

Feel free to participate or not, and you don't have to be on your death bed to post, or even close to it.

For most men, having to deal with a PC dx and PC journey, it makes one think of their own mortality, and it seems to be a common view, to start valuing the rest of our lives, whether we live a long natural life, or eventually get taken out by PC.  We know for a fact, that we all will ultimately have to face death.

So I thought it would be interesting, from both newcomers and long members, to talk about what they would still like to do with their lives, or things they wish to accomplish.  It can be anything that comes to mind or interests you.  Even if a particular goal isn't all that obtainable, put it down anyway.  I am a big believer in wishes, as for some, wishes can and do come true.

David in SC

P.S.  I will put mine down in a separate post, to make this easier to read

Posted 9/26/2013 3:06 AM (GMT 0)
have to say, thoughts of mortality crept in before PCA, however, PCa certainly made them more vivid.

I want to go to Tokyo and meet Scarlet Johansson. I want to go to Rio and watch Brazil play at the Maracana'. I want to live in Rome again for a few more years. I want to do a tour of Hamburg, Amsterdam and Newcastle and watch a soccer game in each town in cold damp fog. I want to run the NY Marathon.
Posted 9/26/2013 3:52 AM (GMT 0)
I'm in ...

* Belize or Panama or Virgin Islands at least once per year
* a sailboat
* a thriving company (my last one tanked; oops)
* an Audi S8 (done!)
* racing car or even a gocart!
* and more time with family

The simple things ...

Ray

PS davidg... Scarlet isn't that compelling up close; i had much more fun talking to Karen Allen at our neighbors' party ... :-)
Posted 9/26/2013 11:55 AM (GMT 0)
This is a great idea!

I'd have to think about this a while, but my first few would be:
Travel:
- Hawaii
- Caribbean cruise (NOT with the Navy) - check off this December
- Alaskan cruise - next year?
- Reno Air Races
- Visit the UK, Scotland (ancestral homelands), Stonehenge, etc.
- See a total eclipse of the sun (one's headed right our way Aug 21, 2017)

Life events:
- Retire
- Hold a grandchild (none yet on the horizon)
Posted 9/26/2013 1:15 PM (GMT 0)

Prior to being diagnosed with PCa (and all of the problems that have come with it), my bucket list was more “traditional”.  I had material things on my list, things I wanted to own.  I had places on my list that I’d like to go to.

But now that my “Use By” date could be approaching a lot sooner than I expected, I dumped out my bucket and decided to put other things in it.

At the top of my list is trying to enjoy life a bit more.  That means packing up and moving across country to be closer to friends and family.  That means giving up my job and maybe finding something less stressful so that my work / life balance is tipped more to the life side of the equation.  It means pointing my Harley in a direction instead of towards a destination.  It means taking time to enjoy whatever I’m doing, to appreciate the outdoors, to actually focus on whoever I’m spending time with — instead of always being connected to my smartphone and focusing on work crap and emails.  It means going back to the concept of single-tasking.  It means never having to say, “I’ve been so busy.”  And it means taking up new personal challenges.  Maybe I can write that best-selling novel I’ve always wanted to write. 

Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.  One day soon, my life will flash before my eyes.  It’s about time I make it something worth watching.

Posted 9/26/2013 1:49 PM (GMT 0)
This a great idea, Purgatory and very nice post, HD_Rider...so true how a cancer diagnosis can make you reevaluate what is truly important. I lost my father to lung cancer when he was 52 yo and he was always saving for retirement which never happened. It was a good life lesson for my husband & I, we still save for retirement but we have also been very blessed & fortunate that we could enjoy some of those things on our bucket list. We've been to Alaska, rode the Harley to Sturgis & across the Mackinaw bridge, snorkeling in the Cayman Islands and toured areas of Italy. I would still like to go to Hawaii, take an east coast/Canadian cruise in the Fall to see the Fall colors, and I know Charlie wants to do some big game hunting out west or deer hunting in Texas. Would love to own a big RV, load up the Harley and go across country visiting friends and family.
And most important is just enjoy "being"
Posted 9/26/2013 1:49 PM (GMT 0)
David -

What a great idea for a discussion!

I suppose I could list a number of things to go on a bucket list for myself, but the one for me that would always, absolutely, be at the top of that list would be:

Live long enough to see a cure found for this horrible beast!

Not only for everyone on this forum and for everyone else in the world facing this thing, as worthy a goal as that would be, but as well because of my two sons.

I would be ecstatic to go out knowing that my two boys would be able to live their lives never having to worry about ever dealing with this thing.
Posted 9/26/2013 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
(For anyone replying to this thread, feel free to add more later or edit your original post if you forget something or want to add it later)
-----------------------------------------------

As far as myself goes, here's are some things on my list and mind:

Travel:

Still want to take the honeymoon my wife and I never had nearly 40 years ago. We want to go to San Francisco for a week, see the Redwoods, etc. My former boss still promises to pay for this, as soon as his lawsuit is settled, and said it would be first class, all the way, including a limo for the duration.

Want to take my wife to Spain (I spend a summer in Madrid as a kid). Want to take her to Madrid and Barcelona

Want to take a "memory lane" trip back to New Hampshire and New England in general. Was a very important part of my life when we lived up north

Cars:

While I will never afford to buy the cars I love, would like to go to one of those places where you can rent exotic cars by the lap and drive them fast. On that list, I want to drive a Bentley Mulsanne (my personal dream car) and any model Lamborghini for starters. Be happy to do 10 laps in each one, just to have the experience, instead of drooling at them all the time. Cars have always been my life

Grandchild

While we have 2 from our oldest son, and when my youngest son gets married, they plan to have several, I wish I could see my darling daughter with a baby of her own. However, she suffers from an ultra rare disorder, where childbirth literally could be fatal to her, and there's little that could be done to prevent that.

House

While I could be content to live in the house we currently own the past 8 years, its more than we actually need, I always wanted to own a three-story Queen Anne brick Victorian house. Unfortunately, I would have to do better on the Power Ball then I have been doing, lol.

Sports

My real dream is to go to any New England Patriot's home game (play off game would be better), with great seats, and the chance to meet Tom Brady in person, along with the coach. If that ever happened, you can be sure I would be pushing them to promote PC Awareness at one of their games

Skydiving

This isn't going to happen, but its something I always wanted to experience. However with my chronic pain problems and bad joints, I don't think my body could take the impact. But I would love to do a free dive

That's about all the obvious things I can think about, and most of them require money I don't have.

Wait, a final one, always wanted to see one of my books make the big time and get made into a movie, that way I would feel like I had a perm. presence on this planet, lol.

David
Posted 9/26/2013 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
81,

Nothing wrong with that wish or goal, I would think that would be on most every PC guy's inner most feelings, I know I feel that way too. I would love to see true world peace and the end of all nuclear weapons, but don't see that happening in my lifetime. But it never hurts to dream big.

Thanks,

David
Posted 9/26/2013 2:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hey All:
Back on the radar, next PSA looming in 10 days. Over the years it was made certain the bucket was empty. Lived in Hawaii for 2.5 years, parachuted, drag racing, women, motocross, hunting, guitars, etc.. My focus (since discovering what PSA was) is on the Wife & Daughter when possible. Things like a new bathroom the wife wanted, dyed her hair last-night, gave our daughter her dream wedding and honeymoon. Seeing them happy is more rewarding than anything I could own or do, so that is my bucket list. Take no illusions, I am not Mr. Wonderful, and struggle with the dark side.
Posted 9/26/2013 2:20 PM (GMT 0)
I guess I'm of the mindset that everyone is terminal regardless of age or condition and having dreams is what makes life interesting.  As for me, my wife and I will be going to Alaska this coming June to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.  This trip has always been on the top of both our lists.  Beyond that I guess I just want to remain in the Zero Club so that my wife can retire here in a couple of years and join me in a life of leisure camping and biking all over this great country.

Tom 

Posted 9/26/2013 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
Great posts. Haven't actually posted here for a long time, but this lures me out of the shadows. I hope to someday do a few of the things on this list with my wife:

Have grandchildren
Marry off another child
Be part of a group that makes something (anything) new of benefit to people
Write a history (of something)
Rent an apartment in eastern Europe (?Budapest) for a summer and have all sorts of family come visit us
Tour India
Go on some ambitious several day hike in the mountains in Washington State or Colorado

Post Edited (Postop) : 9/26/2013 10:18:35 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/26/2013 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
Take the fiance' to Venice.
Move back to the east coast, near a body of water, preferably the ocean.
Fish for Tarpon.
Get back to Alaska.
Write a book.
Live happily ever after.
Posted 9/26/2013 5:43 PM (GMT 0)
Purg, you've got a GREAT ability for putting out simply awesome, uplifting, pull us together kind of posts!

For me, in no particular order - and I'm sure I'll be back to add more:

*See the aurora borealis in Reykjavík, Iceland.  Solar acitivity will be at its highest this year, and again in 2015, so I am making plans now for 2015.

*Whitetail deer hunt on Anticosti Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

*Stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.

*Have grandchildren.

*Ultimate road trip, coast to coast, in my '71 Roadrunner.

*Retire 'back home' in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. . . . .

BTW HD_Rider/John - what incredible words. . . . THAT is exactly what I aspire to do, to be, but am just not able to, YET. . . . .

Posted 9/26/2013 7:21 PM (GMT 0)
Before PC my wife and I talked about the things we would like to do when we retire...mostly travel and visit places we have never seen before. I don't need to tell you PC changes the way you look at things...at least it did for me. So we aren't waiting for retirement. I still have to work, but we are using the weekends and holidays to do some travelling. I am glad we were able to do one thing for our daughter that she has dreamed of. She is a big Dallas Cowboys fan and she wanted to see them play. So last fall, prior to my diagnosis my wife and I took her to see the Cowboys play in Atlanta. I am rich by no means but I wanted to give her the best present I could afford and spared no expense (at least in my mind anyway) in getting good seats. Definitely spent a premium in getting three end zone seats just ten rows up. The Cowboys lost, but it was a trip of a lifetime for her....and for me! Now she wants to see them play in Dallas. If I can swing it I will...maybe not this season but hopefully in the next couple of years. So my bucket list is enjoying time with my family. They have been good to me, so I want to be good to them!
Jim
Posted 9/26/2013 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
thanks, Yooper.

-------------------

I am seeing a lot of really nice dreams and hopes here on each person's list. We realize that we may or may not be able to accomplish some of them, but it never hurts to try and to hope and to wish.

If my vivid imagination ever dries up, I would feel I had nothing left inside me. It helps me to overcome all the bad things I have and currently enduring.

I hope each person gets to do the bulk of the items on their lists, and perhaps even more.

david
Posted 9/26/2013 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
I have done a lot of traveling while working for IBM but never got to really enjoy it. so here is my list:
1- I would like to spend a week in San Francisco with my wife
2- Tour Yellow Stone national park
3- Spend a week in the North East (Vermont, New hampshire, Main) during fall season
4- Mediterranean Cruise
5- Attend my first grandson's college graduation
Posted 9/26/2013 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
Bucket list, you bet...
1) Retire... scheduled for 01/02/14 (gives me one more month of company paid insurance that way)
2) Visit Australia… Wife and I are booked and flight ready…Sydney and up the east coast to the Great Barrier reef. 03/03/14 thru 04/01/14. GFMPH Australia, anyone?
3) Road trip in my Challenger SRT8…. Scheduled to leave 04/10/14 from Washington St. to Louisiana. No date of return trip yet. That’s how I like it.
I figure that’s good for the first few months after retirement.
bertb
Posted 9/26/2013 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
Ed - we both got that San Francisco trip on our minds. We ought to plan it at the same time, that way I can share the limo my ex boss promised me. Having driving in SF years ago, the thought of having a driver sounds appealing to me.

bertb - wow, that is some active bucket list, right down to dates and schedules, very impressed with your plans and choices, it all sounds good. If you make it as far as LA in your car, and want to come a little more east to SC, let me know, we could hook up.
Posted 9/27/2013 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
For my wife to find a new job she likes, she had a layoff 1 month ago.

Be able to retire soon, 41 years of retail has wore me out physically and mentally

Buy an small RV and follow old Route 66

Have a quiver of 6 different surfboards for the RV

Own a '40 Ford "Woody"

Have a "woody" without help

See an Oakland Raider game at home in the "Black Hole" against San Diego and beat them

Go to Ireland to see where my family came from

Have a few more grandchildren

Do some kind of volunteer work to support PCa

Have undetectable PSA's for life


Bill from Florida😎
Posted 9/27/2013 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Bill, my friend, what a great list you put together.

On my travel section, I too, would like to go back to Ireland (not been there since I was 6) and see where all my people came from, which is Belfast. My "English" grandfather was from there, and my great-great grandfather on my father's side came also from Belfast, when OK was opened to the land rush.

David
Posted 9/27/2013 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
David,
You know more about your family than I do but I am pretty sure my family came from northern Ireland also but more in the central part of Ireland. They came to the US by way of Londonderry rather than Cork.

Bill from Florida🌴 cool
Posted 9/27/2013 2:19 AM (GMT 0)
Have seen my "British" Grandfather's birth certificate, definitely a Belfast man, though he adopted a British last name to make it easier for him to find work, and also served in the British Army in India for years. On the "Riley" side, my great-great Grandfather got his free quarter section (160 acres) of land in Northern Oklahoma during the Great Land Rush, near the town of Welch, OK, close to the KS border. He came directly from Belfast as well.

David
Posted 9/27/2013 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
I told my wife this morning and I'll tell you all what I want to do:
Retire and spend my days making stuff in my workshop.

Now just to figure out how to fund that...

Andrew
Posted 9/27/2013 5:30 AM (GMT 0)
Andrew, your "list" is exactly what I thought it would be for you. Nothing like doing something you really like to do. Can't get any better than that.
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