The 2012 Bucket List

Welcome 2012!

2011 was a very big year and although it would be tough to top all the life events of the past year - getting married, having a baby girl & to a much lesser degree starting my 'true' career off with a new job - I have a lot of optimism for 2012, the things I am going to pursue and the things I am (hopefully) going to accomplish.

This could be looked at as my New Year's Resolution, although that's not what inspired this post.  But since I didn't make a resolution this year come midnight - and not because I don't think I need to make any changes, its just I didn't give it any thought prior to so the midnight resolution thing just went out the window, so I will need to call it something else.  Besides, it doesn't really matter when the desire to change occurs (New Years or not), just so long as we feel the drive to change.  So I will call this my 2012 Bucket List - without the whole terminally ill dying part.  And limited to 2012.  And I can add to it if I want.  Alright, now that that's established, here we go.

First things first, with Kenzie being in the hospital and Jill and I staying at the Ronald McDonald House for as long as we did, I really feel the need to give back to RMH and the Children's Stollery in whatever way that I can.  But we have a baby now and we're not rich, so we have to find other ways to contribute.  Over the last couple of years I've wanted to supplement training with competitive/organized running and just didn't get motivated or take the steps needed to make it happen.  So with my desire to give back to those that so kindly helped us out in our time of need ( and we will be back there for the second surgery ) coupled with my ambitions of running a race I have decided to run my first 10k Run on March 14, 2012 for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation  - I am signed up, committed, and counting it down.  The race itself is for Diakonos, which is another very good cause -  The Diakonos Retreat Society is a non profit charity that helps the individuals' & families of Peace Officers, Firefighters, Emergency & Military Personnel cope with the challenges / risks of their profession.  I think this is a great charity and I am eternally grateful that these people choose to enter these fields and do what they do on a daily basis because I can't even imagine the risks, stress, challenges and residual effects that these type of jobs would entail.  I mean shit, I'm a graphic designer that had to get out of the print industry because it sucked balls and was stressful enough to the point of me hating my career choices and being majorly bummed out about having to go to work everyday.  And that was dealing with paper, a far cry from life and death situations among many other things that these people deal with.  My charity of choice, although not giving directly to the Diakonos Retreat Society, does overlap into this charitable field with Emergency Responders who are included in this bracket of remarkable individuals that endure the extreme risks, stress & challenges daily on the job.

So I will post a link to my Runningroom.com page where donations can be made (tax receipt available) and will be plugging the event over then next couple of months in hopes of raising ... as much money as possible.  I don't have any idea of how much that could be at this point but I do hope its a bit of change because being in the hospital the amount of time that we were and the challenges my little girl Kenzie faced I was every bit appreciative of the facility, equipment, knowledge and expertise that was employed to see her safely to where she is now ( safe at home in her Mom's arms ).  For sport, I am going to set myself a time goal that I want to finish the race - 10k in 55 minutes.  Its a good challenge, not impossible but also not exactly a walk in the park.  I would like to do a couple of races this year - its hard to say how many at this point but I hope for a second because I absolutely want to donate to the Ronald McDonald House because without that charity I have no idea what we would have done while in Edmonton.  The whole setup is a godsend by providing very affordable housing, close proximity to the hospital, having volunteers stopping by to cook for families staying there ( very much appreciated after a long day at the hospital ) and being in a house with families facing similar challenges builds friendships and solid support groups.  So this one is actually a two-parter ... giving back and getting off my ass (running a race).

This isn't part of the Bucket List right now, although its something that falls into the charity / giving back category.  Donating our time at the RMH is also something that this family is going to do as a part of Kenzie's upbringing, although somewhat further down the road.   Its important to Jill and I that we tell Kenzie how valuable the volunteers were to us when we were staying at the house, and then follow it up by giving our time, making a meal, etc and allowing her to see this value firsthand - Plus you just feel good when you do good for others.  We will forever be tied to RMH and we plan to be active volunteers for a long time to show our thanks and gratitude for those who give selflessly for the benefit of other people.  It really makes a difference.

Second, get on iStock and be a contributor.  All this will require is, like above, is 'getting off my ass'.  Setting aside time everyday or at the least every second day and work on something for an hour or two in the evenings.  Balance my leisure time (what is that again?) with entrepreneurial work.  Now I should also say that work in this case really isn't work, but more like honing my skills, being creative and playing on Illustrator.  Not all that tough, although I like chillin' out some evenings and blasting some Xbox, watching a movie or something on the tube, or reading ... it's about discipline, Discipline, Discipline!  This method of creating, enjoying what I'm doing, and earning extra income is better than applying and winning bids on freelance jobs, which is more like actual work.  iStock first, if that is proving to be difficult then apply myself to freelancing and win some jobs the other way.  Income is income and beggars can't be choosers.  Although, if I get things rolling and up to par, I won't be the one begging!  Thats the goal.

Third, I want to join a boxing / kickboxing class.  There is a freebie class included in my Gold's membership at Northgate, but at a distance from what I've seen it might not be quite what I'm looking for.  At the same time, it might be a good starting point just to get in there and try it out.  Its not the technical instruction that I want, but it's probably pretty fun and a challenging workout, so I should try it for a week or two as a training supplement and see how things go.  If it satisfies the craving maybe that will be that and I can jump into one or two of the classes a week and punch / kick things, maybe a person but probably not very hard because I'm sure they would be better skilled than I, and payback can be a bitch ( especially when its a fist to the noggin' ).

So I think thats it, hopefully get in two races and raise some funds for my favourite charities ( plus keep me in shape ), create create create some graphics for iStock and get selling, and join boxing / kickboxing or any martial art and learn a new skill-set.