Birthday 43 Things: Take Two

A year ago today, I completed a meme for which I had been tagged by the inimitable Daphnewood. It seemed like a good birthday thing to do then, and it seems like an equally good birthday thing to update it now. The idea is to think of (that's the hard part), and then list (that's the easy part) 43 things I'd like to do before I die.

First, here are the things from the original list that I've now done, with appropriate commentary:

1) learn the words to the Danish version of 'Happy Birthday' (there are several verses.) I've learned the first verse, and have decided that this is, in fact, enough, thank you very much.
2) get my Portuguese back to where it was. In July, it was back pretty much to where it was. It may not be there in a few months, but I know I can get it back whenever the opportunity arises.
22) be family reunified (this relates to my visa status in Denmark). Done, and even blogged about...now let's see if I can keep it for a while.
32) learn to knit. Yep, I did it. And I'm saddened to report that it was boring, and that I won't be doing it again.
37) learn to make kung-pao chicken. Did I mention that I took a Sichuan cooking class while in Chengdu?
41) see Citizen Kane. I'm not quite sure what the fuss is about this film, but I can honestly say that I didn't not enjoy it...which is to say that it was o.k. Of course, I already knew the 'secret' of Rosebud, which may have been a factor.

Several things I've done in part, or even in large part - I am procrastinating less, and worrying less, and sometimes I even have more patience with people. My Danish is getting better all the time, and I've seen a bit more of China, but I'd like to do more with all of these things, so they're still on the list. And if knitting is so boring, then why crochet? So I'm taking that off of the list, too. So, here is my updated 43 things to do before I die (new items in bold). Wish me luck.

Before I die, I would like to...
1) climb a mountain.
2) start a successful vegetable garden.
3) continue to improve my Danish.
4/5/6) visit all the continents...at this point, this means South America, Antarctica, and Africa (I was in Morocco, but for less than a day, so it doesn't count).
7) own my own house.
8) have a job where I earn enough that I can afford a mortgage.
9/10/11) have articles or papers published in at least 5 academic journals, 5 large-circulation publications, and the Weekly World News
12) retire before I'm 80.
13) learn how to build websites by building my own.
14) learn how to take professional quality photographs.
15) get a tattoo.
16) make my own cross-stitch designs.
17) learn to meditate.
18) live to see and enjoy my 101st birthday.
19/20) travel around India and China.
21) learn to speak and write Mandarin Chinese.
22) see at least part of the world from a inside a hotair baloon.
23) stop procrastinating so much.
24) get into better physical shape.
25) find a job that I look forward to going to almost every day.
26) complete a PhD.
27) decide what I would like to do a PhD in.
28) radiate self-confidence.
29/30) see more of California and the rest of the US.
31) stop worrying so much about all sorts of things.
32/33) start and successfully run my own business/consulting firm.
34) learn to weave cloth on a floor loom.
35) earn enough money to hire someone to clean my house for me.
36) learn how to network at social events.
37) learn to salsa, and/or samba.
38) learn to make clam chowder.
39/40) read José Saramago and Peter Høeg in the original.
41) decide the whole kid/no kid debate before menopause.
42) have more patience with people.
43) appreciate how many things that I wanted to do could not be included here because I've already done them.

So, now it's your turn. Yes, I am talking about you. You don't even have to wait for your birthday. I look forward to reading your list.