I turn 30 in eight days. If I were in my mom's shoes, my 30th birthday present would be coming to be on January 14th. On January 14th I will be waking up in an adorable little cabin on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, in Tahoma, CA, with one of my favorite people in the world. The next day, three more of my favorite people will be joining me at this cute abode that will feel like home, including my number one - Bro. I am not sure exactly what I will be doing on the 14th or what amazing moments might occur, but I will be surrounded by beauty.
The day before, I will be viewing the place I may be moving to in the next few weeks. It is the one and only housing option I have inquired about in Tahoe. Pretty sure it's the one. I honestly can't stop thinking about it. I've thought about all of my kitchen items I will get to take out of boxes and share with my housemates and with guests. I've thought about where my couch will be put, with the coffee tables around, and my coasters from Austin, TX. I've even already made a Pinterest board of ideas to make a standing closet, since my room is so tiny that I will not have one. My housemate and I have also already been talking about all the creative things we'd like to do - we both play ukulele, he wants to get into sketching and I just recently picked it up, he has plans to have a shop in the garage for woodworking, and I have been wanting to do this for years! No one wants TV. Everyone hates cigarettes. And...AND...one of the housemates has a record player and 400 records and has invited us all to use it.
I already have one friend who lives in town, which I haven't seen in about two years. There is high potential for us to regain an amazing connection and really inspire each other's creativity and drive to continue on a path that is apart from everyone else. I've also met another girl from my beloved couchsurfing.com who, we both agree, we have so much to talk about and cannot wait to get to know each other during my stay with her Monday through Wednesday this upcoming week. Technically, she's actually an AirBnB host - she just reached out to me on couchsurfing. You guys more comfortable with that? AirBnB is okay right? You know who I am talking to...
I also will likely be meeting up with a friend that I grew up with - my fellow tomboy. She's going to help me find a perfect kayak for a great price, once I return from my Tahoe trip, but in the meantime, we'll both be in South Lake at the same time. We are definitely similar souls. I mean, we grew up together so not surprised. I am ALSO going to meet up with my high school beau - yup I said beau. We've re-connected over the last year and it turns out that we are much more similar than I expected. We spent a good 10 years on totally separate paths, and now we have both quit our money making jobs and are trying to figure out the good life of doing what you are passionate about and put on this earth to do. We also both love yoga, dancing like no one is watching (although I am quite more tame than he is), and giving and picking up on other people's energy. Crazy how life comes back around and you end up being on the same wavelength as some people from your childhood or former life. But others, not so much.
I am turning 30. Most people when they turn 30 have this long bucket list to check items off of. I've never had one of those. Although, I did have a bucket list for my travels. And I've completed almost all of them, and added about a dozen extra that I had never thought about. Maybe I should look up a bucket list and see how much of it I have accomplished.
Alright I found two lists, and took out a few to get a list of 50 things to do.
http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/30-things-to-do-before-youre-30
1. Travel alone - CHECK
2. Fall in love abroad - Hmmm didn't fall in love but had a romance...
3. Learn a new language - Kinda, basic Spanish and Italian and very little Croatian.
4. Do something that scares you - Hah so many times! One that stands out the most is abseiling in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, Australia.
5. Try street food - Yup, Mexico for sure.
6. Visit wine country - Napa, Santa Ynez, Santa Rosa, Livermore and Paso Robles - basically every wine country in California. Also, Central Otago of New Zealand.
7. Discover a tradition you never knew existed - I am sure there are many, but one is Christmas Cake in New Zealand - they soak it in rum (I think it's rum) for months. Seriously, some people start the cake a year in advance!
8. Ride a vespa through Europe - NOPE haven't done this at all!
9. Sail - CHECK! I drove a sail boat.
10. Make new friends - CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK, over and over again.
11. Learn how to cook - Uh, yeah, CHECK.
12. Watch the sunset on a plane - Sunset and sunrise, so many times.
13. Get lost for the day - CHECK - Trieste, Italy. Also, morning after the Mother Hips holiday show in San Francisco! That journey brought me to a new friend as well!
14. Then find your way back home - I always find my way back home.
15. Learn how to take a really good photo - CHECK!
16. Go ziplining - Woodleaf camp as a kid, Santa Cruz and Dublin, IE
17. Move to a new place - Santa Barbara, Mountain View, (kinda NZ), but the most significant will be my next move!
18. Support local communities - CHECK, everywhere I go.
19. Live in the city for a year - Eh, I guess I haven't done this, but I lived just south of San Francisco and went up there sometimes 2-3 times a week. Does that count?
20. Eat whatever you want - CHECK!
21. Learn how to play an instrument - CHECK! I love my ukulele.
22. Go to a music festival - Hmmm, let me think about this one. CHECK x 10 at least
23. Drink proper coffee - CHECK - New Zealand and thank you to a friend for some delicious coffee I am enjoying from Panama right now!
24. Dance until the morning - CHECK x 3+ times. I am sure it's more than that.
25. Learn how to make a really good cocktail - Hmmm...Whiskey ginger count? This might need to be one I learn.
26. Get on a jet ski - CHECK
27. Visit New York City - CHECK
28. Eat breakfast in a new hotel - This one is very odd, but I just enjoyed breakfast solo, absolutely hungover (maybe still drunk) on New Years Day 2016.
29. Take a trip with your childhood friends - Big Bear this last summer!
30. Follow your dreams - CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jinna-yang/30-things-to-do-before-yo_b_7566448.html
Backpack the world, stay in dodgy hostels, and meet amazing people that will change your life - CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!
Realize that turning 30 may actually be the beginning - YES I HAVE!
Go crowd-surfing! - Haven't done this yet and it's actually on my list! Who wants to be there for this one?
Pretend to be someone completely different for one night only - Maybe not completely different, but I have used a fake occupation a few times. Kept that going for a whole afternoon in Las Vegas.
Skinny dipping - Duh, CHECK.
Learn a rap song from start to finish - CHECK...yes Will Smith counts :-)
Write a children's book - Haven't done this yet, but I would love to!
Fail. Try again. - CHECK, indeed
Lie about your age! - Hmmm, I'm not sure I've done this.
Fall in love with someone wildly inappropriate - CHECK, oh check indeed
Wear leopard print from head to toe - NOPE, definitely haven't done this
Be happy being single - CHECK!
Live alone for a while - CHECK!
Climb Mount Kilimanjaro! - Haven't done this one yet, but another list said to climb a mountain, and since I've done the highest in the contiguous US, I still feel pretty good about it.
Go bungee jumping - Not yet, but it's on the list.
Own my own house - Well, technically, my name is on a mortgage. But I need to buy my own house one day.
See what life is like as a brunette blonde - I would love to try this out actually. Who wants to die my hair!?
Go to a full moon party in Thailand - sounds amazing!
Eat more butter - Haha interestingly enough I started doing this in NZ, and have continued to do so. Pretty easy since before I ate basically none.
Sort out a pension - Does having Google stock count? I think so. I think I also have retirement funds.
Okay, so here's what I have left to do:
- Properly learn a new language, i.e. become fluent. (Italian will be the one I do, FYI.)
- Ride a Vespa through Europe.
- Learn how to make a really good cocktail.
- Go crowd-surfing.
- Lie about my age.
- Wear leopard print from head to toe.
- Climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
- Go bungee jumping.
- Own Build my own house (that's my dream).
- See what life is like as a blonde.
- Go to a full moon party in Thailand.
Not so bad, but I have a few to add:
- Live in a foreign country (at least 3 months).
- Ask a guy out on a date.
- Visit New Orleans, Nashville, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica...okay this list keeps going.
- Live somewhere it snows (Tahoe here I come!)
- Work and live on a winery/vineyard.
- Tell a romantic partner, "I love you," first...or I guess even as a direct response to them telling me would be something very new.
- Write a song and find someone to perform it live.
- Write a novel or non-fiction book.
- Get an article published.
- Live with a romantic partner (i.e. boyfriend/husband).
- Sell something I have created for money, in my adult years - photos, sketches, jewelry, etc.
- Start my own business.
Okay I need to take a break from this all and get going getting these things done! Please add anything I am missing in the comments! I sincerely appreciate your comments!!!
Cheers,
Natasha
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