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Monday, August 20: Inspired by Lesley on her Bucket List Publications post: What’s Left for Your 2012 Bucket List?, I decided to sit down and list the things I want to complete in 2012 for my Bucket List. Like Lesley says: By writing a new list every year, I have more direction and motivation to implement my perfect life. I spend hours envisioning what I want to accomplish, what’s possible, and what’s maybe a little impossible, and then I find ways to make it happen.
Lesley’s challenge: Stop! Take two minutes to write down 5 things you want to accomplish before the end of 2012. If it is written, you can make it happen! We can all have our dreams come true! Share them with me, share them with others, and watch them happen.
Here’s my list (okay, it’s more than 5. As usual, I’m probably a little overambitious):
- August 31 – Sept 13: Explore Greece: Athens, Crete, Santorini (& possibly Nafplio, Meteora, and Delphi?)
- October 25 – November 1: Visit my State Department friend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- National Holiday (end of November): Take a trip to Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Spend a day at the Chedi in Muscat
- Spend a day at the Shangri-La Resort in Muscat before the end of October (when their special deal ends!)
- Visit ar Rustaq‘s fort and hot springs
- Study Arabic in my book (Chapters 1-4) (One a month)
- Go camping on Masirah Island
- Work on completing my Cairo blog
- Put up more large-scale pictures on my Korea blog.
- Begin saving in earnest to do my Moorish adventure next summer (Spain, Portugal and Morocco!)
- Go snorkeling in Oman
- Read my entire novel, then revise chapters 1-10…..
a nomad in the land of nizwa 
I need a much bigger bucket I think…Thanks for sharing
Yes, I think I need a bigger bucket too! Too ambitious probably, but it’s better to over-dream than to under-dream!
Your novel? That sounds interesting. Don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to sink your teeth into all of them! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! That novel has been sitting on my computer untouched for too many years. It’s done from beginning to end but needs to be revised and cut. That’s not the fun stuff!
I can imagine that’s harder than getting the novel written the first time around. Good luck hey and knock ém dead.
Thanks Marco!
🙂
Good gracious! That’s quite a bucketful you have there. Good luck with all that. 🙂
Thank you adinparadise!
your list is way more exciting than mine ha ha ha 🙂
I’m sure yours is exciting too bodhisattvaintraining!
It all sounds exotic and that you have it planned.
I agree. The revisions on a novel are the hard part.
Yes, all is planned, tickets in hand and hotels reserved! You’re right: studying Arabic and the novel are most definitely the hard parts. The other stuff is just fun!
Pleased to see Greece at number 1
Thank you Andrew. Well, Greece should be at #1 as I’ve already got my ticket in hand and my hotels reserved and I will be there in about 11 days!
Brilliant! Me too. I’ll look out for you!
I feel quite tired just reading your list but I have always believed positive things happen to positive people so am going to give it a go – although I may not be quite as ambitious as you!
I can’t wait to read your list crazytrain!
Good luck with the bucketlist Cathy! Seems rushed but doable 🙂 I agree that the novel is the hardest part!
Thank you Madhu. Some of the things are already planned (tickets and hotels in Greece, ticket to Ethiopia). The other things within Oman are easy enough. It’s the Arabic study and the novel that will be hardest, for sure!!
Not too much to do then 🙂
Didn’t even know you had a Cairo blog or a Korea blog! My life’s beginning to look drab.
Haha restlessjo! I have a different blog for every country I’ve visited. I don’t know why I did it that way; I guess at the time it seemed like I should have a different format to kind of match the country. Now I have too many to even keep track of!! My Korea blog is from my year living and working there before Oman. My Cairo blog is still a work in progress from my time there in 2007…. 🙂
I’m so envious of your proximity to these amazing places. I loved Dubai but didn’t make it to Abu Dhabi. Yet! One day soon..hopefully.
I want to visit NYC at least once more before 2012 is over. Ideally more than that! Aside from that I don’t have my time left off from work so I think my travels for the year are pretty much over.
Ameena, I’m lucky that I have a total of 6 weeks off, so after my month in the US, I can go to Greece for 2 weeks. We always get the Eid off at the end of October and then we have the National Holiday for the Sultan’s birthday. After that, the rest of the school year is a long and grueling time with no real breaks until the following summer. So I may as well pack in my travels when I get the chance!!
Wow it looks like you have alot on your plate to complete your bucket list 🙂 Enjoy your time home 🙂
Thanks Theresa! It’s been great being home so far!!
Stunning! Now that they are in cybosphere I know you will accomplish them! (great site for arabic is arabic-studio.com it beats the polyglot course i did here) fabulous things you have to look forward to! Good luck!
Thank you shallicomparethee! I will have to check out arabic-studio.com!
I’m going to spend some time thinking about my list for the rest of the year. At first I figured I’d just copy yours but geography made that difficult.
Hello Good Greatsby (like that name by the way!). I hope you’ll post your list so I can read it. It’s always nice to know if I inspire someone to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do!
You are going to be very busy, especially when you factor in the working for a living thing. Good luck with all of that!
You’re so right Carol! Definitely the “working for a living” hampers the achievement of my bucket list!!
I loved Santorini, also visited Paros and Naxos, Delphi and Athens.
Santorini is so dreamy……
I can’t wait till my trip marina!! I leave on August 31 for 2 weeks. I’ve heard Santorini is great! So far, I’ve only booked Athens, Crete and Santorini. Most of the second week is an open book!!
What book do you use for Arabic study? Can you buy it in Muscat?
Hi Geoff. I have both books of Al Kitaab, Parts 1 and 2. I studied Arabic prior to 2007 using the first book, but I’ve hardly looked at it since then and sadly have forgotten everything!! Here’s the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Al-Kitaab-allum-Arabiyya-Second-Edition/dp/158901104X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345676408&sr=8-2&keywords=al+kitab+fii+ta+allum+al+arabiyya
I love your photo for bucket list…Great blog, Eliz sent me here.
Thank you Jackie! I hope it gives you some inspiration!
Excellent list! I hope you accomplish all of them and more. 🙂
Eliz
Thank you, Eliz. I need all the help and encouragement I can get! Keeping my fingers crossed! 🙂
Sounds like an amazing list! good luck with accomplishing it all! and props to Lesley and her inspiring blog 🙂
Thank you meanwhilein3! Yes, Lesley is an inspiration… 🙂
Awesome list!
We’ll see how much I can achieve, Fergiemoto!