Things to do before you're 30

This was the title of a double-page-spread (pages 48-49) of last Sunday's Independent. My interest was a little piqued as I wondered how the list compared to mine. In fact, it was just the not-so-interesting lists of some people of dubious celebrity: Alice Cooper toured the world 2-3 times, made 4 platinum albums, and got married. Sarah Been (TV presenter?) experimented with every hair color and style. Syed Ahmed (Apprentice contestant) was 'financially solid' by 30. My comment? "Hmmmm....." (to quote Martin Dewey).

My list (in my mid-20s) was: to travel to India (under 30s get a 30% discount on all domestic and SAARC country flights), to overcome my asthma and become super-fit, to finally leave North East Asia (after 7.5 years)... and (although it must be nice to be 'financially sound',) to just stay debt-free despite being aflicted with both a travel bug and a compulsion to shop. In fact, I accomplished these things. Is the third goal negated by the fact that I found myself back in Asia at 31?

So my question now, is what are the THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE 40? A close friend in Pasadena is likely to finish a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, be married, and hopefully have finally found a job in her field... Unfortunately, since I have no aspirations towards being a rocket scientist, I can't glibly copy her list. Job stuff is hard since- although I have several years in language education- I still dream about being a museum curator, a yoga or dance teacher, the owner of an import furniture shop (Asian) with built-in tea house, a novelist...

Perhaps my list should run thus: to finish an MA, to take a continuing ed course in creative writing and take a stab at publishing something modest somewhere modest, to learn a romance language, to have recovered aforementioned super-fitness and be able to hold 'dandeyamana dhanurasana' (and other balancing poses) for several minutes without teetering, to rediscover the joy of dancing, to fulfil a promise to my mother and take her to Austria before she's too old to want to go, to hike to Macchu Piccu (and visit other magical S.American spots) and to have moved the mementos of my 20s (Korean furniture included) out of my auntie's storage space and to have joined a wine club so I can be a proper snob (albeit likely a poor one).