Twenty for the Twenties

I realized today, courtesy of a wretched friend with far too good of a memory, that I have a birthday coming up in two months.  And it's the last birthday of my twenties.

I need a pause so that I may suck in my breath dramatically.

Thank you.  I think that helped a little.

Yes, I know that 29 is not old, that I have plenty more years ahead of me (well, probably — I mean, I've cheated death so many times now that I'm starting to think that I might be part cockroach), and that birthdays are not the enemy.  But, I still am having a hard time realizing that the twenties are almost over.  I mean, where did the time go?  And how did it go so quickly?

I used to make lists of things to do each year, and I got out of the practice after completely failing at the list I made before turning 26.  This year, however, in honor of 29 being the last year of my twenties, I have made a list of twenty things to do before my twenties are over (sort of a 'bucket list'):

1. Go to Ireland.  See the original Book of Kells, Skellig Michael, Christ Church Cathedral, Trinity College, and about a dozen other sites.
2. Go to 桂林 (Guilin), one of the most beautiful places in China.
3. Go to 云南 (Yunnan) province.
4. Pass the HSK 4.
5. Pass the HSK 5.
6. Learn to crochet.
7. Get a dog.
8. Finish editing and publishing Sidhe Eyes.
9. Write my second novel.
10. Start my second master's degree (an M.Ed. this time).
11. Write a textbook.
12. Read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in Chinese.
13. Figure out Evernote.  
14. Try a hobby that I've never tried before.
15. Eat a fruit that I've never seen before.
16. Lose the weight that I gained in grad school.
17. Decorate my next apartment.  (I have avoided this in the past two apartments.)
18. Make my own cookbook of recipes that can 'easily' be made in China.
19. Start keeping a journal again.
20. Have a qípáo made.