First post, first post. I wasn’t going to start this blog until I was a famous rock star (ha!) and had something awesome to blog about…but obviously, I couldn’t wait.

Instead, this blog is going to be where I talk about my exploits prompted by my new list, 101 Things To Do Before The End Of The World.

For those not in the know, on December 21st in the year 2012, the world is supposed to end. People think this is because the Mayan calendar ends on this date, and the I Ching predicts that date as the end of days. A few other sources also support this, apparently.

I personally am of the belief that possibly the Mayans got tired of counting and decided “eh, screw it…let’s stop”, and that you can’t always trust your concept of global devastation on a dash of mysticism (says the pagan…ah, the irony); I believe that “the end of the world” will instead be the end of an era. But I’d feel a right idiot if, at 12.01am on the 21st of December, 2012, the world did in fact disappear in a blaze of glory. I’d feel a right ‘nana sitting around in the afterlife going: “Crap…I could’ve gone to Italy. Damn. I could’ve done photography. Shite. I could’ve WRITTEN A NOVEL. #*&^%!!!1!11!!!”

Hokay. So. Here we are. And here is my list:

101 THINGS TO DO BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD

Abilities

001. Learn how to ice-skate backwards.
002. Learn how to ski.
003. Learn how to drive on the right-hand side of the road.
004. Learn how to ride a motorbike.
005. Learn how to cook a three-course dinner from scratch (entree, main, dessert).
006. Learn how to make 10 different cocktails. [00/10]
007. Learn how to make 10 more origami animals. [00/10]
008. Learn how to use a pottery wheel.
009. Learn how to read Tarot cards without a book.
010. Attain three more grades in Krav Maga. [1/3] 

Arts

011. Spend two days at the Louvre.
012. Go to the Sistine Chapel.
013. Draw four portraits, one each for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. [0/4]
014. Paint four watercolour landscapes, one each for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. [0/4]
015. Take a photography course.

Charity

016. Donate to five charities in 2009. [2/5]
017. Donate to five charities in 2010. [0/5]
018. Donate to five charities in 2011. [0/5]
019. Donate to five charities in 2012. [0/5]
020. Volunteer at an animal shelter for 20 hours. [20/20]

Fun

021. Scout out the locations used in the making of The Lord of the Rings.
022. Go to at least 10 of the real-life geographical locations from the episodes of Supernatural. [1/10]
023. SCUBA somewhere interesting.
024. Swim with dolphins.
025. Go on a horse-riding trek.
026. Get my luck tattoo, my cloud tattoo, my leaves tattoo, and my heritage tattoo. [1/4]
027. Learn how to sing/say Razia’s Shadow the whole way through.
028. Get 100% for Singing or Bass at Expert for a song on Rock Band.
029. Put a dollar bill in the $10 000 000 machine at The Palms in Vegas.
030. Follow a band on tour for three or more dates in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. [0/4]
031. Go to Carnivale.
032. Rescue a kitten.
033. Jet-ski in the Caribbean.
034. Spend one day a year just chilling…playing bass, reading, listening to music, taking it easy, whatever…not stressing! [1/4]
035. Take a chance, take my shoes off, and dance in the rain.

Health

036. Stay vegetarian as of 17-January-2009, except while traveling and if there is a local specialty. Learn to be happy with what I eat and not feel guilty for eating meat if that’s what I want.
037. Drink the recommended amount of water for my body weight for 30 consecutive days.
038. Go to bed before midnight on the day I awaken for 30 consecutive days.
039. Take those vitamins and minerals for 30 consecutive days.
040. Drink a cup of tea everyday for 30 consecutive days.
041. Lose five kilograms.
042. Lose 10 kilograms.
043. Run in a marathon.
044. Go to a kinesiologist and get my posture fixed.
045. Get a spa treatment once a year. [0/4]

Language

046. Learn Italian to a degree where I am comfortable holding a conversation and/or reading a book. (In-progress)
047. Learn French to a degree where I am comfortable holding a conversation and/or reading a book.
048. Relearn Japanese to a degree where I am comfortable holding a conversation and writing in Hiragana and Katakana.
049. Learn some Gaelic.
050. Learn some Maori.
051. Learn some Greek.
052. Learn some Spanish.
053. Learn sign language.
054. Read a book on grammar.
055. Read the Oxford English Dictionary. [A - Z]

Music

056. Relearn how to play viola.
057. Perfect a drumroll.
058. Learn how to do polyrhythms on drums.
059. Relearn how to play keyboard/piano.
060. Learn how to play Love Song by Sara Bareilles on piano.
061. Tab out the bass-lines for all of empires’ songs.
062. Perform on-stage with a band.
063. Learn how to play Moon River on the guitar.
064. Determine my vocal range and find a song I like that showcases it.
065. Compose a lullabye.

Photography

066. Take a defining picture for each month of 2009 (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, Spetember, October, November, December). [00/12]
067. Take a defining picture for each month of 2010 (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, Spetember, October, November, December). [00/12]
068. Take a defining picture for each month of 2011 (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, Spetember, October, November, December). [00/12]
069. Take a defining picture for each month of 2012 (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, Spetember, October, November, December). [00/12]
070. Create a scrapbook of these 48 photos.

Reading

071. Read Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche.
072. Read A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, by Mary Wollstonecraft.
073. Read 20 things written by Neil Gaiman. [00/20]
074. Read The Odyssey and The Iliad, by Homer.
075. Read Beowulf.

Scary/Tough

076. Kiss the Blarney Stone.
077. Sand-surf down the hill at Lake Wabby on Fraser Island.
078. Dive in a shark cage (technically a cheat since I’m not really scared of sharks and I’m pretty sure I’d be fine in a cage of reinforced steel, but oh well).
079. Karaoke!
080. Completely memorise the Periodic Table of Elements

Technology

081. Buy a Nintendo Wii.
082. Buy a desktop computer.
083. Buy an iPhone.
084. Figure out how to code my own website.
085. Compose a song completely on GarageBand.

Travel

086. Set foot in all seven continents (Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe). [1,2,3/7]
087. Traverse Route 66 from Chicago to LA.
088. Road-trip through the continental US, Supernatural-style.
089. Visit all 50 of the United States of America. [00/50]
090. Visit all 32 of the counties of Ireland. [00/32]
091. Visit all of Australia’s states and territories. [1,2/8]
092. Visit both of New Zealand’s islands. [1/2]
093. Visit Socotra Island (the most alien place on Earth).
094. Wander in the French countryside.
095. Sail on the Seven Seas. [0/7]

Writing

096. Finish In the Shadows, Looking On.
097. Finish and publish Faerie Storie (either professionally or by self).
098. Finish Lordy Lordy Halfway to Forty.
099. Write 10 poems. [00/10]
100. Write a lullabye.

…and…

101. Throw or go to a party on the 20th of December, 2012 to celebrate the end of the world.

“…If the world is ending, I’m throwing the party…”
Guilty Pleasure, Cobra Starship

So. There it is. You do not want to know how long that took (but I’ll tell you anyway…over seven hours). A couple of these things may be edited if I realise I can’t accomplish what I say I’ll accomplish, and eventually I’ll think of something for the [To Be Determined]s. But now I’m tired, and I’m going to tidy up then go to bed.

Good night, world.