This post is long overdue; I was hoping to postpone until I got my green belt in judo (should be testing/competing for the first time in a few weeks) and then do a big post about judo/martial arts, but I don’t know when that’s actually going to happen. Instead, I’m going to be writing about something a little more open-ended.
Although I’m committed to another 2 years of university, my graduation will rear its head soon enough, and I’ll be home-free, at 21 years of age. Thanks to my extremely fortunate circumstances and generous parents, I’ll be graduating debt-free and armed with whatever savings I manage to make from now until then. I’ve had some ideas about what I’d like to do once I’m free from the bonds of academia, but they’ve always been far off and not particularly well-looked into, because of said commitment. While I’ve got at least three different papers and 2 midterms to write/study for today, I stumbled across Location 180, and was inspired by Sean’s Bucket List. This blog is certainly not as focused as his [nor do I think it ever will be], but one thing I think we DO have in common is our desire to experience as much as we possibly can in our destitute lifetimes. And while this is far from complete (and even farther from feasible) at this point in my life, I’m always up for a challenge, and this list compiles just a few of the things I’ll be looking forward to in coming years.
#1. Fight in at least 10 different competitions (doesn’t matter what martial art/fighting style)
#2. Compete in judo
#3. Try out competitive boxing/possibly have an amateur bout
#4. Live on the coast for at least 4 months
#5. Learn to surf (probably while living on said coast)
#6. Earn a black belt in judo or BJJ.
#7. Get symmetrical and/or “matching” tattoos somewhere on my body (i.e. both knees, both wrists, etc.)
#8. Meet or ideally share a beer with Warren Ellis, Simon Bisley, or Alan Moore.
#9. Release an album or EP.
#10. Get a band going and play a few good shows.
#11. Start/have a garden/grow my own foodz.
#12. Give myself a tattoo.
#13. Give someone else a tattoo.
#14. Design another tattoo for myself.
#15. Shave my head.
#16. Travel back to Australia or Hawaii.
#17. Travel to Asia.
#18. Achieve decent traffic on this blog.
#19. Delete facebook/other social networking for at least 4 months.
#20. Become as strong and fast as my body will possibly allow me to.
#21. Attend a metal festival in Europe.
#22. Have a job that involves working by/at a harbour.
#23. Learn to ride a motorcycle.
#24. See the [Australian] Outback.
#25. Go somewhere I don’t speak the native tongue, and adapt/survive.
#26. Win gold/first place in any martial arts tournament.
#27. Have a job that involves helping people.
GOUGE AWAY 