A Blog of Accomplishment... You Know, In the Future

I am going to make a list.

"A list of what?" you ask.

A list of things I want to do.

"Things you want to do when?" you query.

At some point in my life. Now, a year from now, in a half hour, in another dimension.

"Ok!" you respond, with gusto.

Things I'd Like to Accomplish Someday: A List
by Jillian Sexton


  1. Live in England for an extended period of time - four months, a year, 10 years. Doesn't really matter. But I want to live there long enough that I get to watch a full series of some British show from beginning to end.
  2. Meet David Mitchell - this is piggybacking off of the previous goal, but let's face it: if I'm going to live in England, I'm going to hunt down my favourite comedians. David's first on the list.
  3. Memorize ten famous poems and recite them frequently, to simultaneously impress and annoy people - on the list right now are "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," (T.S. Eliot), "i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)" (e.e. cummings), "Ode to Autumn" (Keats), and "The Highwayman" (Alfred Noyes).
  4. Knit a sweater that I will actually wear - with like, sleeves and a neck hole and stuff.
  5. Learn how to make gravy as good as my grandmother's - Mom's is great, but Nan's is just divine.
  6. Meet Don Miller, and have him sign my copy of Blue Like Jazz - he is my favourite author, and that is my favourite book, and it would be a defining moment in my life.
  7. Also get Don to sign my copy of Prayer and the Art of Volkswagon Maintenance - it's the first book he ever wrote, which is no longer in print, and this would also be a very special moment for me.
  8. Also, while this book signing is happening, figure out how to get Don Miller to marry me - hey, it could happen! I am quite persuasive sometimes.
  9. Read every book listed in Daniel S. Burt's The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - so far I'm at 4. I've got a ways to go.
  10. Collect a lot of books so that my home library will be the envy of all - and so, you know, I can read whatever book I want whenever I want to.
  11. Handwrite all my favourite passages from books onto index cards and catalogue them - because I am a massive dork.
  12. Learn Russian - fluently.
  13. Run the Tely 10 in St. John's - gotta get rid of those shin splints first.
  14. Read the Bible from cover to cover - it's been a long process, what can I say?
  15. Get another degree - in the process!
  16. Name all subsequent pets, cars, and children after characters from Harry Potter and/or Russian politicians or intelligentsia - again, I am a massive dork. I really didn't need to remind you. Also, Harry Potter names are genius - click here to see what I mean.
  17. Learn how to sew well - a little darning is no problem, but hey, it'd be nice to sew my own wedding dress.
  18. Travel to every European country and try their local bread - this might take me a lifetime to accomplish, OR one very hectic summer.
  19. Publish a book - or something in a book, or an article or two. Essentially, just get published in something more mainstream than The Muse.
  20. Hike the East Coast Trail - in totality, or in parts. I'm not particular about this.
  21. Meet Bill Bryson; get him to sign one of his books - this might also be accomplished while living in England.
  22. Get a tattoo - not a particularly lofty goal, but one I have not yet accomplished.
  23. Visit China - hike along the Great Wall; eat good Chinese food (but not bugs and other questionable fare).
  24. Learn what it really means to forgive and forget.
  25. Go to Disney World - my father promised me a trip to DW before I was 12; I'm 23 and I've yet to be there. Someday I will fulfill my childhood dream of meeting Mulan, dancing with Goofy, and, more recently, visiting Harry Potter's wizarding world, right there in Florida!
I'll probably add more to this list, or take some away, or never accomplish any of it. Or all three!

Jillz

Comments

Tammy Williams said…
I remember when you were younger, you always said you were going to name your future child D'artagnan. Oh and guess what, I knit a sweater for myself last year - without a pattern - and it turned out great, aside from the fact that it was a little too short for me. As far as Disney World goes, just come visit us someday and you can drive with us down to DisneyLAND. You can watch the kids while we play ... haha.
12/3/11 00:54
Marion said…
I'm impressed that there's a Wikipedia entry for Harry Potter characters. Also, we should hike the East Coast Trail this summer!
13/3/11 21:21
Beth Hynes said…
Russian is shockingly easy to learn. Don't let the Cyrillic fool you!
16/3/11 22:19
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Return (and Some Housekeeping)

A belated happy 2011! My posting for the new year has been delayed, and if you’re the sort who really enjoys reading this blog (I’m not sure if that sort even exists), I am sorry for the wait! Over the Christmas season, I had a thoroughly lovely time at home, and I didn’t spend much extended time on my computer; thus, lack of posts. But I am back in The ‘Couv now, and the frequency of posts shall increase dramatically. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - right now, in fact: The best part about leaving home is returning back to it. I was back in Newfoundland for a month and it was time well spent. I definitely appreciated this Christmas more than I have others in recent memory, because every moment mattered. I saw almost all of my favourite people, met some lovely new friends, and rarely saw my bed before 3am. It was nice to sit on the couch and listen to Mom playing old hymns on her new accordion (and when I say nice, I really mean I tolerated it), watch Glee with the sister
Read more

Post the Sixth - Thoughts, etc.

Image
Sometimes I have thoughts. As I was sitting in my English class the other day, not listening to my prof repeat verbatim the same announcements that she gave the previous three classes, I wrote some of them down: Russian is my favourite language (well, a close second to English, anyway). Those “romantic” languages that everyone else goes wild over - French, Italian, Spanish - are not particularly pleasing to my ear. They all sound like whoever is repeating them is just trying to woo the listener back to their hotel room; or, at least, that’s what I imagine they’re saying. Russian and other Eastern European languages have this lilt to them that sort of sound like the speaker is chewing bubble gum and their tongue got caught in the wad they were gnawing on while trying to ask the grizzled postal worker the price of stamps. It sounds like the pleasant glob noise that honey and other sticky viscous substances make when they hit the inside of a ceramic bowl. *dreamy sigh* I like a lot
Read more

On Generosity

A few days ago, my friend Lauren and I were sitting on my bed, eating snacks and Googling how much it would cost to see Brody Jenner DJ at a local Hallowe'en party, when she noticed a framed picture from a Broadway musical on my bookshelf. "Wait," she said, agog. "Did Daniel Radcliffe actually autograph that picture?" "Yeah. My lifetime friend and her husband got it for me when they went to New York on their honeymoon. They ran across midtown to get to the theatre in time to meet him at the stage door, and they thrust this picture at him and he signed it! They didn't tell me until they came home from their trip and asked to come over right away. I was totally into seeing their pictures and hearing about their adventure, but as soon as they came over, they insisted on showing me this video on their phone; lo and behold, it was of Daniel Radcliffe signing this picture! And as I shrieked, she produced this framed picture. I, of course, wept."
Read more