There are about 7 weeks left to my 28th birthday, and that has me thinking about a lot of things. I’ve never been big on the planning for the future front. I’m just not good at looking ahead and figuring out what I want or what I need to get it. I’ve never really had a lot in the way of goals.

I think that part of growing up and becoming an adult is to figure out what you want from life. You can’t always get it, but you can always strive for it.

So, this week I found out about this thing that people in their twenties do. Since life basically ends (or begins) at age 30, they create lists of things they want to before they reach that dreaded age. Now, I might only have a little more than two years left to go before I hit it, but, from what I’ve seen of other lists, I might have already done what most people are striving to do before they hit 30. It made it difficult to come up with 30 things.

So, I’m still fine tuning the details, but I will officially start knocking things off my list on my 28th Birthday. So really, this is just 30 things to do in the next 2 years. Some of these things are goals I have, dreams I want to fulfill, and some of them are fears I need to overcome.

My 30 Before 30 List

1. Get down to 250 lbs (or 18% body fat) – I might not get that low on my weight, but that’s not really my goal anyway. It might also seem like a lot of weight left to lose, but it’s actually less than 1 lb per week.
2. Go to an NHL Game – I love Hockey, but I live in Kansas City, which is pretty far from being a Hockey Town. They do play exhibition games at the Sprint Center, though, and I plan on seeing one.
3. Go Skiing – I’ve never been skiing. I have several friends who have. I’d like to try it. I just hope I don’t die doing it like so many famous musical variety show hosts turned senators.
4. Win a Fallen Leaves Tournament  – There are only 2 between now and my 30th birthday, and that means I’ve got to really work towards winning the 2012 Tournament, because I’m not going to be in shape to win in 2011.
5. Learn to play the Harmonica – As a large man, I feel it is my duty to play the harmonica. Thanks, John Popper.
6. Take a Vacation by Train – I like trains. I think they’re keen. I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea of flying in a giant metal box miles above the Earth, anyway. If I’m going to fly, it’ll be the old fashion way: by catapult.
7. Construct an Entire Suit of Armor – I just started learning to work with leather, and I’m basically doing the most simple things, but I’d like to make something truly spectacular. Possibly in the shape of a moose.
8. Learn to Cook 6 Distinct Meals – I can cook like 2 things these days, and a handful of variations of them. I figure if I can learn to cook 6 things then eat out once a week, I’ve got it all covered.
9. Write a Novel – Yep, gonna do it.
10. During NaNoWriMo
11. Write a Graphic Novel – I’ve actually been working on one since I was 18, so yeah, it’s time to get it done.
12. Sell a Doodle – Actually, I put this list together on Friday, and Friday night I got commissioned for an avatar doodle, so this one starts me off on getting things done.
13. Write a World Book – Actually we’ve thrown around this idea back and forth. We being myself and my brother. I think I’m going to go for it, though.
14. Drink a Martini at a Bar While Wearing a Suit – Seems a bit obvious.
15. Buy a Suit – Needed for #13, and to look sexy.
16. Earn as much money in one month through being creative as I make working my crappy job – Probably the hardest thing ever. 
17. Speak Publicly to an Extremely Large Crowd – I was in theater in high school, so you wouldn’t think I’d be crippling afraid of public speaking. The truth is, a lot of the emotional damage I’ve had has been since then. I want to take that back by speaking to a group of at least 300 people.
    
18. Earn the Phoenix Badge on 750Words.com – That’s 100 Days in a Row of hitting my 750 words. I thought about going for the Pegasus Badge (1 full year), but then realized that I can’t do it during the summer. I like to go camping and sword fighting with my friends, in places with no internet access. Makes it hard to put my words on a website on those days.
19. 365 Days of Journaling – I’ve always felt like I was really bad at keeping a journal, but I also feel like its crazy important, so I’m going to focus on getting better at it by making sure to write at least 1 page of entry every day for a year.
20. Go On a Spontaneous  Road Trip to Somewhere I’ve Never Been Before – My parents used to have this US atlas that had circles on it denoting how far they could drive in a certain amount of time. The idea was, if they had a couple of days off work, they could look quickly at the map and pick a new place to go and visit. I’d like to do that.
21. Try the Foods of at Least 3 NEW Cultures – There are thousands of awesome cultures worth of food out there, and I’d like to try them all… eventually… when I’m rich.
22. Create a Trending Topic on Twitter – It will take work, planning and heart for everyone I know, but I will carry out this goal!
23. Move Downtown – My parents are moving in with me at the end of August, and I have agreed to stay with them for one year. I think at the end of that year, I’m going to try to get a loft in Downtown Kansas City.
    
24. Do a Podcast with My homey @Yeti_detective For Real – We’ve been talking about it for about ten years. We even sat down one night with some other awesome friends and recorded a pretty decent show. We learned that editing and posting these things is REALLY hard to do, so when I say that I want to do one for real, I mean with a (semi)professional setup, topics and things like that.
25. Help My Friends Chase Their Dreams – I have a lot of friends that are amazingly talented, but they a) lack ambition, b) lack discipline or c) just don’t believe in themselves. I want to change all of that and help them all become the awesome people I know they are.
    
26. Finalize my Divorce – This seems like something that just keeps getting put off. I need to get it done before something horrible happens.
27. Get Professionally Taken Head Shots Done – I know, it’s a little narcissistic, but I’d like to have a really awesome picture of me for my things I do, like writing and shoot lasers from space.
28. Learn to Oil Paint – Despite what I am told by a lot of people, I don’t consider my doodles to be art. Which is odd, because I do believe that cartooning is an art. I want to do something a little more classical before I call myself an artist, and I think Oil painting is the way to go.
29. Build a Custom Sword – I’m already working on this as a gift for someone I know.
30. Define Who I Am in One Sentence

There you go. That’s my 30 Before 30 List. So, no time to sit here rambling, I’ve got work to do.