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Operation Bucket List 1.0

Welcome to the Operation Bucket List. Here are the things I hope to accomplish before I kick the bucket. [Read more about how this list came to be here.]


EXPLORE

  1. swim in the ocean

  2. swim with the dolphins

  3. donate blood

  4. go to a casino 

  5. see a drag show

  6. get my belly button pierced <2000>

  7. go skinny dipping <2001>

  8. get into grad school <2006>

  9. dye my hair black <2009>

  10. get M1 motorcycle license <2010>

  11. get M2 motorcycle license <2010>

  12. fly a helicopter <2010>

  13. meet Sue Johanssen <2010>

  14. buy my own place <2011>

  15. take a course in Sanskrit <2011>

  16. practice ashtanga yoga in Moscow with authorized teachers <2011>

  17. watch a sunrise and a sunset in the same day <2011>

  18. complete a 10-day silent meditation retreat <2011>

  19. watch Pulp Fiction <2011>

  20. get my eyebrow pierced <2012>

  21. go to a movie by yourself <2012>

  22. feel comfortable dancing <2013>

  23. participate in a flashmob <2013>

  24. see a Cirque du Soleil show <2013>

  25. see Jesus Christ Superstar musical <2014>

  26. visit a drive-in movie theatre <2014>

  27. eat local (100 miles) for a month <2015>

  28. watch a movie at TIFF <2015>

  29. participate in a free hugs campaign <2015, for my birthday!>

  30. have a dinner date over Skype

  31. shave my head <2016>

  32. sleep under the stars <2016, that time at a bus shelter in nicaragua, 2016>

  33. throw a large family picnic <2016>

  34. get married <2016>

  35. attend a Toast Masters meeting <2017>

  36. write poetry every day for a week <2017>

  37. test drive Subaru STI <2017>

  38. attend a poetry slam <2017>

  39. attend a religious house of every major religion (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism)

  40. attend an Indian wedding

  41. buy a bonsai tree <2017>

  42. dive off a cliff

  43. crowd surf

  44. dress up as Trinity for Halloween <2017>

  45. experience zero gravity

  46. get a dog

  47. get a short haircut <2017>

  48. get a tattoo

  49. get my fortune read <2017>

  50. shoot (a) gun(s)

  51. milk a cow

  52. organize a flashmob

  53. give a TED talk

  54. participate in Caribana parade

  55. ride a horse really fast

  56. meet Dan Savage

  57. set a world record

  58. take a picture with my best friend in a photobooth

  59. volunteer at animal shelter

  60. act in a play

  61. attend a live UFC fight

  62. have a child

  63. watch everything by Aaron Sorkin

  64. get a too-expensive pair of beige pumps

  65. have a boudoir photoshoot

  66. have a custom action hero doll made

  67. train my dog to understand commands in Russian and hand signals

LEARN

  1. learn to write haikus <2013>

  2. take a creative writing course <2012>

  3. attend TED conference - York TEDx <2013>

  4. study with Natalie Goldberg

  5. read Darwin's Origin of Species

  6. read the main works of the Four Horsemen of the Non-Apocalypse

  7. play Moonlight sonata on piano

  8. learn enough Hindi to get around

  9. learn the Canadian anthem by heart

  10. learn to play/sing 10 songs by heart on a guitar

  11. take an IQ test

  12. take a defensive driving course

  13. become conversational in Italian

  14. take a bartending class

  15. get a PhD/MFA

  16. be able to tell a merlot from a shiraz

  17. learn to change a tire

  18. develop a consistent meditation practice

  19. take Intro to Buddhism course at Tushita Centre in Dharmsala, India

  20. make peace with boredom

  21. take improv or writing classes at Second City <2018>

  22. learn to solve a Rubik's Cube

  23. attend a church service that feels like a party

  24. take a wine class

TRAVEL

  1. go to Oktoberfest in Waterloo, ON - second largest in the world <2009>

  2. float in Dead Sea, Israel <2010>

  3. run in a desert <2010, half marathon in israel>

  4. ride an elephant 2011, saw one in the wild, and didn't want to ride one any more]

  5. go to Mysore, India to study yoga <2011>

  6. fly first class <2011>

  7. see white nights in St. Petersburg, Russia <2011>

  8. spend a night on a yacht with a bedroom [ 2011]

  9. go to New York for a weekend, race and check out the best vegetarian restaurants <2011>

  10. go on a girl road trip <2012>

  11. go on a road trip without a preset destination <2012>

  12. go on a road trip to Kripalu Yoga Centre in MA, USA <2012>

  13. explore Toronto's Chinatown <2012>

  14. explore Toronto's Little India <2013>

  15. go to the Bata Show museum in Toronto <2013>

  16. go to Burning Man <2013>

  17. visit Mount Rushmore in South Dakota <2013>

  18. go to San Franscisco and walk across the Golden Gate bridge <2013 - drove across, 2015 - ran across>

  19. visit Vancouver <2014>

  20. eat pizza at the oldest pizzeria in Naples, Italy <2014>

  21. lean on the Leaning Tower of Pisa <2014>

  22. see an active volcano <2015, sat on the crater edge of an active volcano in 2016>

  23. go on a solo camping trip and read Thoreau's Walden <2015, did that while living in a hut on an island in nicaragua - good enough!>

  24. Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls <2015>

  25. watch a Shakespeare play in Stratford, ON <2015>

  26. see ballet at The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow <2016>

  27. go to Hermitage in St. Petersburg <2016>

  28. see something weird in Portland - yes, it's a reference to Portlandia! <2016>

  29. take a working road trip <2016>

  30. take Italian to Russia <2016>

  31. go on a West Coast road trip

  32. go on a "Europe" trip in Ontario - Paris, London, Brussels.. meh, got my share of small Ontario towns

  33. visit the towns of Marathon, ON and Sparta, ON

  34. visit all Ontario breweries shifted attention to wine! :)

  35. drink Primitivo wine in Puglia, Italy <2017>

  36. eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant <2017>

  37. go on a coast to coast Canada road trip <almost,=">almost</a>," but="but" not="not" quite...="quite..." drove="drove" from="from" Toronto="Toronto" to="to" Calgary in="Calgary in" 2013,="2013," Vancouver="Vancouver" TO="TO" in="in" 2017;="2017;" next="next" up="up" east="east" coast="coast">

  38. visit every Canadian province (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Newfoundland/Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon)

  39. visit every US state (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississipi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia)

  40. set foot on each of the seven continents (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia)

  41. jump at the world's highest bungee (so far jumps in India, Russia and Canada, highest jump approx. 80m)

  42. ride a motorcycle from Manali to Leh, India - highest passable road in the world

  43. stay in Varanasi during monsoon

  44. ride a toy train in India

  45. ride the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia

  46. see Lake Baikal

  47. run in Kenya

  48. see a whale

  49. see Northern lights

  50. go to Iceland for my honeymoon

  51. go on a yoga retreat/massage course in Thailand

  52. go hang gliding over the Grand Canyon

  53. walk across the desert

  54. trek the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal solo

  55. skip winter

  56. use a fancy toilet in Japan

  57. visit a coffee farm in Ethiopia

  58. go to Purple Valley Yoga Centre in Goa, India

  59. ride a Vespa in Rome

  60. spend a layover in a fancy business lounge

  61. stay at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

TRY

  1. snorkeling

  2. white water rafting

  3. taking hip hop lessons <2010>

  4. indoor rock climbing <2011>

  5. bungee jumping <2011, jumped in india, russia and canada since>

  6. orienteering <2012>

  7. improv <2013>

  8. parcour <2014>

  9. a Polar bear dip <2016>

  10. surfing <2016, in costa rica>

  11. Tai Chi

  12. aerial yoga

  13. Capoeira

  14. circus training

  15. krav maga

  16. doing stand-up comedy

  17. hunting

CREATE

  1. create my personal website <2012, www.solovieva.com=">www.solovieva.com</a>">

  2. start a blog <2012>

  3. bake pie from scratch <2012>

  4. make bread <2010>

  5. get blog professionally designed <2013>

  6. start my own business <2013>

  7. get to 100 Likes on my athlete Facebook page <2013>

  8. make Indian curry <2012>

  9. see my article in print <2013>

  10. read at least 12 books a year <2014,=">2014</a>,">

  11. get to 1,000 Likes on my athlete Facebook page <2014, reached 2,500 in 2015>

  12. raise at least $1,000 for charity <2014>

  13. write a paid article for a magazine <2015>

  14. reach 100,000 views in a year on my blog <91,000 in 2014, 103,000 in 2015>

  15. get my nutrition coaching certification <2015, l2 precision nutrition>

  16. pay off debt <2016>

  17. get paid to speak <2016>

  18. have a logo designed <2016>

  19. make Ukranian borscht <2017>

  20. create a tradition <2017>

  21. read a graphic novel

  22. be interviewed on CBC radio

  23. write a book

  24. write a fictional short story

  25. participate complete 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo

  26. plant a Siberian birch

  27. grow a spice garden

  28. design a personal day retreat and carry it out

  29. redesign my personal website

  30. bake bread without supervision <2018>

  31. perform at an open mic

  32. take a Think Week (like Bill Gates)

MOVE

  1. teach a yoga class <2010>

  2. go skydiving tandem <2010>

  3. complete yoga teacher training <2010>

  4. practice yoga on top of a mountain <2011>

  5. practice yoga on a beach <2011>

  6. get a running gait assessment <2012>

  7. have a fitness photoshoot <2012>

  8. get under 20% body fat <2012>

  9. meet New Year's running <2012>

  10. do at least a month of CrossFit <2013>

  11. do 20 double-unders in a row <2013, reached 70 in a row>

  12. learn to chop wood <2013>

  13. do 10 kipping pull-ups in a row <2014, did 15 in a row!>

  14. do one pull-up with 45lb weight <2014, two pull-ups; one pull-up with 53lb in 2015>

  15. do the SkyWalk around CN tower <2015>

  16. overhead squat 100lb <2015>

  17. learn how to throw a spear <2015>

  18. do a handstand push-up <2016>

  19. do a muscle up (2016, bar muscle-up in 16.3!)

  20. participate in a powerlifting competition <2016>

  21. snatch 100lb (practicing with 55lb in 2014, 85lb in 2015, 115lb in 2016)

  22. participate in a CrossFit competition <2016, and omg - 2010?>

  23. participate in an olympic lifting competition <2017>

  24. bench press my own body weight (120lb in 2014, 125lb in 2015, 147lb in 2016)

  25. complete a beep test

  26. complete Fran workout Rx

  27. sport a 6-pack (long enough to snap a picture!)

  28. learn a flip turn in swimming

  29. go skydiving solo

  30. deadlift 300lb (250lb in 2016, current max = 280lb)

  31. participate in CrossFit Games

  32. do one ring muscle up

  33. dance on stage again

  34. learn to dance salsa

  35. learn contemporary dance

  36. hike the Grand Canyon Rim To Rim To Rim

RACE

  1. run a 5k <2009, pride 5k>

  2. run a 10k <2009>

  3. run a half marathon <2010, ottawa army run>

  4. complete a Warrior Dash <2010>

  5. complete a Super Spartan race <2011>

  6. complete a try-a-tri <2011>

  7. complete a Sprint distance triathlon <2012>

  8. complete a Spartan Beast <2012>

  9. complete a Spartan Trifecta <2012>

  10. complete a Spartan Ultra Beast <2012>

  11. complete a Goruck Challenge <2012>

  12. complete a Tough Mudder <2012, did two laps>

  13. complete three laps of Tough Mudder

  14. complete a Spartan Hurricane Heat <2013>

  15. complete Spartan Death Race <2013>

  16. complete an Olympic distance triathlon <2013>

  17. participate in Run for the Toad relay trail race <2013>

  18. run a night race <2012>

  19. run a race in the rain <2012>

  20. run Chilly Half Marathon (PR) <2013>

  21. run Around the Bay 30k race <2013>

  22. run a marathon <2013>

  23. participate in an adventure race <2014>

  24. win a race <2014, mudhero toronto, 1st female, baby!>

  25. run an ultra marathon <2014>

  26. run a happy ultra marathon <2015>

  27. participate in obstacle race outside of Canada/US <2015>

  28. run the Great Canadian Death Race <2015, team relay, legs 1, 3 and 5>

  29. DNF a race <2015, twice :)>

  30. participate in OCR World Championships <2015>

  31. run a burpee free Spartan Race <2015>

  32. participate in BattleFrog Race <2016>

  33. run a race barefoot <2016>

  34. participate in Ragnar relay <2017>

  35. participate in a time-based race <2017>

  36. complete a century bike ride

  37. complete a half IRONMAN

  38. complete an IRONMAN

  39. participate in Sahara Race

  40. participate in UK Tough Guy

  41. run a sub-20 5k

  42. run a sub-40 10k

  43. participate in a mountain bike race

  44. run a trail race in Italy

  45. run the entire course of the Great Canadian Death Race (leg 1, leg 2, leg 3, leg 4, leg 5)

  46. finish a Survival Run

  47. run Sinister 7 Ultra in the Alberta Rockies

  48. run Fat Dog Trail Race in British Columbia

  49. see how long it takes me to hike up to the top of the Grouse Grind <2017>

  50. run across a country

  51. do an ultra in Siberia

EVERY YEAR

  1. come up with the word of the year

  2. write my personal mission statement

  3. check off a bucket list item on January 1st

  4. read at least 12 books <41 in 2017>

  5. visit at least one new country <2014 - italy, 2015 - nicaragua, 2016 - costa rica, 2017 - vatican>

  6. make a difference in someone's life <2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017> Anything cool that I have missed? What else do you think should be on my list? Can you steal from this list? Absolutely. I would be only flattered. Liked this post? Read why you should have a bucket list, how I add/remove items to the list, and 30 things a woman should do before turning 30. Hugs, SOLO

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