Introducing my 2015 Bucket List

These are smaller items that I hope to accomplish by the end of 2015.

5. Catch a fish in Oregon

Considering how much water Oregon has I am disappointed to have not a caught a fish here. I am starting to wonder if the fish here are a myth like bigfoot. Salmon here are allegedly really good to eat.

4. Get back into Oil Painting

My wife bought an easel for me to use for oil painting. I enjoy it, but having kids makes it difficult to find a safe place to paint.

3. Apply for a job

I expect to be far into my dissertation by the end of 2015. That means I will be on the job market. If anyone is looking for a sociologist who studies food, poverty, and/or health… then give me a ring! I can work for a nonprofit, teach, or do research.

2. Get back into marathon running (at least half marathons)

I was injured by a foster kid, and that really crushed my emotional strength when it comes to marathon running. Thankfully I have finished a full marathon in 2013, but I had hoped to keep running marathons on a regular basis.

1. Publish a fiction novel

I am currently working on an ebook. I expect to have it finished, and published, by March of 2015. It will be available through amazon.com and Smashwords! The writing I do for my blog does not take a lot of time. I might spend a few seconds on a sentence… but for my novel… well, I might spend several minutes debating between which “word” to use. It’s fun to work on, and I hope you like it whenever it gets released.

Random Bucket List

Things I want to accomplish before I die, not necessarily things to accomplish before the end of 2015. My goal is to get these things done as soon as possible so that I can create another Bucket List of amazing things to do before I die.

• I have been to Kampala (Uganda), Beijing China, New York City, San Francisco, Denver Colorado… London England, Manila and Bacolod City in the Philippines, but never Washington D.C. This is something I hope to change. My one time in Washington D.C. was during the government shutdown, so all the cool stuff was closed.
• Start a free college. I began thinking about this a couple years ago because of the wild tuition increases at colleges. I don’t want an internet college. I want a college with live professors and buildings and classrooms. It would be small (2000 or less), and probably use the Socratic teaching style. I think I need to finish my certificate in nonprofit management along with my PhD before I tackle this idea though. Originally I envisioned this college existing in America. But after visiting the Philippines and seeing so many high school graduates who could not afford college, maybe I will try to do something like that in the Philippines… and make it open to more than 2000 students. I do not have a name for the college yet… although I know it will NOT be named after me.
• Finish my PhD in sociology (poverty, food access, health).
• I want to write a bestelling fiction novel.
• Attend the Olympic Games… summer and winter. The 2016 summer Olympics will be right in the middle or end of my PhD process… but 2020 is a real possibility. The 2018 Winter Games are in South Korea, and that is a goal I think I could hit.
• Have some kids and grandkids.
• Go to Italy. Why? Because I love Italian food… and I have always wanted to go to Italy. When I went to Uganda, the Pineapple tasted better than Pineapple in America. And when I went to the Philippines I loved the mangoes there (and I don’t like mangoes in America). But will “Italian” Italian food be better than “American” Italian food? We’ll see.

This list was inspired by Bucket List Publications. Do you have a Bucket List for 2015?