Bucket List

Mykle ran a marathon today! (Well, yesterday, but I'm working a grave so let's not be picky) I can't believe it! He is so amazing! Now that I see that it's actually possible, I kind of want to try it. Of course, then I remember that I hate running and I come to my senses again. Still, how awesome is it that Mykle crossed something off his bucket list?

Here's my bucket list so far (keep in mind, not all of them are realistic, or even feasible):

Run a marathon
Write and publish a book
Have my own comic strip
Request a song on the radio
Go to prom with Sam Kurtis (yeah... not gonna happen)
Hold one million dollars in cash in my hands
Witness a live birth (not my own)
Be in a television commercial
Kiss a girl (this probably won't happen, but I've always kind of wanted to try it to see what it's LIKE, you know?)
Grow my hair to my waist
Do the World’s Largest Crossword Puzzle (available for purchase at Skymall) in pen
Go to my high school reunion
Make a quilt
Write in my journal everyday for a year
Learn to play piano well enough to play in church
See a solar eclipse
See the World’s Largest Ball of Twine
See Aurora Borealis
Go to the Color Festival
Teach a yoga class
Visit Jerusalem
Take part in a Passover Dinner
Learn how to solve a Rubix cube
Relearn how to watercolor landscapes
Do my taxes on my own one year
Learn how to write my own will and testament
Memorize all of the scripture mastery scriptures with the references
Don’t binge/purge for an entire year
Keep a budget for a whole month
Meet someone famous
Go to a rock n’ roll concert
Shave my head
Learn to make a paper crane
Learn the dance to “Thriller”
See Phantom of the Opera live on Broadway

So far the only one I've done is shave my head. Unless you're counting LDS celebrities as "famous," like John Bytheway or Kenneth Cope, which I don't. (Sorry, Marvin Payne! I'm still your biggest fan!) Mykle's tried to teach me the Rubix cube thing, but I can only remember one move, which, while better than nothing, is still less than useful.

The one I am most excited (and serious) about doing is writing a book. Only I'm not going to write just one. I'm going to write several. Here are a few of the ones I already have planned (the italicized words are the working titles only; they may change at some point):

Desert-
When I graduated from Wilderness Quest and came home, I was astonished that I couldn't find a single novel or biography about a young person my age going through a similar experience (The ones I did find were either off topic or so poorly written that reading became almost painful). I resolved then and there to rectify the situation in the only way I could think of: I decided to write my own book about it. I've already gotten quite far in it (it's about 100 pages single-spaced right now), and it is the book I am most determined to get published.

High Desert-
This will be the sequel to Desert, and will be about the second time I went to WQ as a student, where I walked out. The title comes from the location I was in: the winter range is full of sand, slick rock and cacti, just what you'd expect to see in the desert. But the summer range is desert as well despite its lush, green appearance. It is high desert. This follow-up to my first book will be more loosely organized, scattered and confused, because that is how I was when I went back.

Short Stories: Vol I-
I want to do more than one collection of short stories. They're fun for me to write, and I think I'm more suited to them than novel-length books. I already have a few written/half-written.

The Adventures of Davy and Sarah: Love at First Fright-
A collection of my comic strips about David Heath and myself, most of them 100% true to life.

Welcome to the Nuthouse-
This will be a collection of comic strips written about my family. All of them will come from real life experiences. The name of the book comes from a sign my mom put on our front door. (Tangent: That sign reminds me of a little plaque my mom always had in our bathroom growing up that read "My aim is to keep this bathroom clean. Your aim would help." I didn't understand the double meaning of that sign until LAST YEAR, when I was TWENTY ONE YEARS OLD!!!!) (Another tangent: That reminds me of a shirt I bought for myself at Plato's Closet when I was sixteen. The shirt read "Is that a candy cane in your pocket?" I thought it was hilarious and random and perfect for me since I love candy canes. I wore it for a good THREE YEARS before I figured out what it really meant!!!)

Uncircumcised Humor-
Another comic book. Might have to change the title of this one if I ever want to get published.

Partners-
This is a novel whose inspiration came to me in a dream last year à la Stephenie Meyer style. However, my dream was not about a bunch of sparkly gay vampires running around talking about sex. (And I hope my homosexual readers will forgive me for the derogatory use of the word "gay" in the previous sentence, and understand that it was entirely necessary to achieve maximum articulacy.) My dream was semi-autobiographical, but revolves around a drama/romance that were more imaginary than actual in my own life. Ballroom dance is a big part of it, hence the working title, which I now feel oddly compelled to change considering my earlier reference to homosexuals.

Eating Disorder Self-Help Book-
I want to write a book for friends and family members of people struggling with eating disorders, both to help them understand what their loved one is going through, as well as to guide them along the way about what kinds of things they need to be doing/saying or avoiding doing/saying.

Why Utah is Completely Retarded-
This lively self-help book will include chapters such as "The Grid System: Brigham Young's Biggest Failure," "'Why is our state bird the California Gull?' and Other Mysteries Yet to be Explained," "If You Don't Like the Weather, Wait Five Minutes," "Campy Valley," and "Destination Nowhere: Why Utah Has So Many Wilderness Programs."

Biography of Mark Vasicek-
If he'll let me write it. My dad has the most interesting life of anyone I know. Including me. Especially me, actually...

Glasses-
A children's book describing the true story of how I got my glasses.

Shoes-
A children's book about footwear.

Quest for the Best-
A children's book about a boy looking for the perfect pet. At first, he thinks a fish would be the most boring pet in the world, but after he exhausts all his other options he realizes that a fish would make the perfect pet.

Clowns Have Feelings, Too-
A children's book designed to help young people work through their coulrophobia.


That's all I have now. I am so incredibly tired. I want to lay down and sleep forever right now. Which means I need to put away my computer and walk around the building to wake myself up.