When I was a teenager, I made a list of things that I had wanted to do, and had done. One item was that I wanted to visit Disney World, and I did, when I was twelve. On that occasion, however, the ride “It’s a Small World” was closed for repairs, so I did not get to go on that ride. So I also made a second list of things I wanted to do at some point in my life, and I added “ride the ‘It’s a Small World’ ride at Disney World” to that list. As the years progressed, other things attracted my attention, and I added them to my list. Some of them were big things – such as owning my own home or obtaining a bachelor’s degree – and others were relatively small things, such as reading a smutty romance novel or having a backyard garden. As I accomplished or achieved various goals, I moved them from my list of things of I wanted to do, to my list of things I was glad I did. Eventually, of course, I did own my own house, and so I was able to move that item. I even read a smutty romance novel, and if you want to read about that silly adventure, visit this old blog post.
Once, about 20 years ago, I posted online my Ultimate To-Do List, which recounted nearly all my goals in life. I say “nearly” because I left off certain personal goals, such as things about my mental and physical health. Like I said, that was 20 years ago and a lot has changed since. Here, then, in no particular order, is an updated list of things I’d like to do at some point in my life…
- Obtain a Master’s degree
- I added this to my to-do list back when I achieved my undergraduate degree and, guess what? I am on track to complete this goal by the summer of 2026.
- Attend a science fiction convention
- Be a member of a TV audience
- Be a tour guide
- Probably saving this for my later years. I’d love to do this at some historic site.
- Step foot in every US state
- I’m getting there! I’ve been to 40 of our nation’s states. I’d love to accomplish this within the next 8 years, because then I’ll have been to all 50 of them within 50 years.
- Visit Denali National Park
- Visit the Hennepin History Museum
- Okay, this one is almost laughable. It’s not very far away, it’s not very expensive, and I could just drive there right now. In fact, I’ve probably tried to visit it 20 times since I first learned of its existence 6 years ago, but something kept postponing it. Once I actually do visit this museum, I’ll make a maudlin blog post detailing the hilarious misadventure.
- Visit Yellowstone National Park
- See the Grand Canyon
- See the big trees in California
- Travel across the Golden Gate Bridge
- Visit Voyageur’s National Park
- Ride a Segway
- Visit the Wabasha Street Caves
- Visit Las Vegas
- See a concert at First Avenue
- As much as I love music, concerts are not really my thing. They’re often overpriced, too crowded, and take place in lousy venues. Still, I’d like to find out firsthand what is the big deal about this place.
- Visit a Presidential Museum or Library
- I almost achieved this goal in October. I was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and only about ten miles away from the Gerald Ford Presidential Library. This seemed like a good presidential library to visit, as Ford was President when I was born. Alas, the government shutdown rendered this museum closed during my entire time in Michigan. So…hopefully another day.
- Try my hand at glassblowing
- I used to have a renter in my workshop who used the workshop for precisely this activity. It seemed pretty cool.
- Bowl higher than 150
- This should come as a surprise to no one, but I’m completely abysmal when it comes to all sports. I do, however, enjoy bowling, and I’m at least reasonably competent at it. I’ve come close to a half-perfect game, but have never quite gotten there.
- Visit the Boundary Waters
- Visit the Northwest Angle
- Make something out of pottery
- Visit New Orleans
- Ride a unicycle
- See every film directed by Buster Keaton
- Observe the planet Uranus through my telescope
- This in one of those goals I could do from the comfort of my own home, ostensibly. Alas, whenever said planet is in the sky, the weather is not accommodating, or there’s too much light pollution, or I haven’t succeeded in finding it via my telescope. I’ll keep trying.
- Observe the planet Neptune through my telescope.
- Attend a state- or national-level session of Congress
- Visit the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum
- Publish a second book
- Okay, so I didn’t really enjoy the process of publishing a book, but I don’t want to be a one-and-done type of author.
- Visit every one of the Minnesota State Historical Society’s sites
- There are 26 sites; I’ve been to 16. I even have a water bottle with 26 spots for stickers to place on it as I visit each one. I definitely plan to visit at least one in 2026, but achieving this goal might be hampered due to some of the sites being indefinitely closed.
- Visit the Continental Divide
- I recently read the book Travels with Charlie, by John Steinbeck. In one scene in the book, he comes upon the Divide and gets out of his jalopy to stand astride it for a moment and he wrote about how, even though it’s not much to look at, it’s a pretty cool thing to think about. So, I wanna do that. Actually, I maybe have driven (and have definitely flown) over it during my travels, but I did not pay attention to it. I’d like to be intentional about it next time.
- Keep up with the Oscar winners for Best Picture
- I suppose I have achieved this goal, because I have seen every motion picture that has ever won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Still, the powers-that-be over at the Oscars insist on anointing a new winner each year, and so I am compelled to seek out and watch the latest winner each year.
- Take a train ride to a destination in the US
- Okay, so I’ve probably been on dozens of train rides, but they have all been just a quick jaunt for fun (such as a 2-hour ride through Duluth and back that Brycie and I took a couple years ago), or have been in another country (I took at least 6 train rides in Germany), or have been short trips within a big city (like when I took the light rail to the Minneapolis Pride Parade back in June). But what I’m talking about here is a serious ride – one that takes hours – and go across the country.
- Be in one of those olde tyme photos
- This just seems like something everyone does at some point in their lives. Everyone’s got a picture like this hanging in there house. Even I do…but it’s a picture of my kids. I wanna dress like an Old West gunslinger and proudly display it on my wall.
- Visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
There you go. Thirty-six things I’d like to do. If you are doing any of these things soon, or know a way to make them happen for me, let me know! I’d love to join in.
