It's been a while...

More than a year, in fact. So, hi! 

While I left this blog,
I never did leave behind the silly.

I don't really have an explanation for why I left (though I never fully left, I've been keeping up with other people's blogs still, just not writing anything). I can explain why I'm back though: I turn 30 this month (aaargh!). It's a significant enough milestone that I've been reflecting on what my life has been like up to this point and what I've accomplished. Some aspects I really expected would be quite different (e.g., that I would have a full time job and at least one kid by now), but there's still also much I can be thankful for. 

Related to that, at the back of my mind all this time has been my 30 before 30 list and the rest of the items left to do. Obviously nothing bad will happen if I don't accomplish all the tasks (and it's probably impossible anyway with this little time left to do them all). 

I thought I'd revisit what's left to do on my list, and perhaps it will inspire me for what could be on my next list (40 before 40 perhaps??)...

Japanese Spitz puppies

1. Finish PhD Thesis: completed 31st Jan, 2013
2. Go to the Amazon Rainforest: I have found out that the main way to get there is a tiny plane. Since tiny planes are way too unnerving for me, this may have to wait. 
3. Meet my sponsor kid in Ethiopia: while I have not been able to do this, Husband and I have since sponsored two additional children. So we'll just have to settle for writing lots of letters. 
4. Get a Japanese Spitz puppy. Still no puppy sadly, due to the fact that we still live in a unit! I have since found a new breed I'd really like, a Samoyed - they're like a huge version of a Japanese Spitz. 
5. Learn to play Für Elise on the piano. Do you think it's possible after ~20 years of no piano to be able to suddenly master this song in like 3 weeks? Perhaps not :S
6. Get at least 5 journal articles of my research published in decent scientific journals
7. Get my driver's licence as I'm still on my learner's. Well this one is a bit embarrassing... my L's expired, so I actually have gone back a step. I now need to get my L's first. Hopefully soon, but eh, who am I kidding. 
8. Swim at the beach - I had to get rescued by a lifesaver (embarrassing!) a few years ago and had not really gone in the water at the beach since. Completed 12/02/12 - hooray!
9. Finish my honeymoon collage and put up in a frame.
10. Read all the books I've bought but never read. Oh well, if I haven't started them by now I probably never will. 
11. Go to New York.  DONE! 
12. Get my lip pierced. DONE!
13. See another musical. I saw Mary Poppins on Broadway in NYC :)
14. Dye my hair purple again. I decided not to go with purple but did dye it red. 
15. Give up caffeine for at least a month: I think I managed about two weeks because I was unwell and knew it would make me worse. As soon as I felt better I started right back up again though! 
16. Wear my Banana/Hazmat coat out in public - Done 13/06/11; still one of my worst fashion decisions ever!
17. Visit another castle - completed September, 2012.
18. Visit all the museums at my uni. There are several, and I've only been to one - the anatomy museum which was VERY cool. This one is just down to laziness, and preferring to go with someone and forgetting to ask people. I suppose I could still manage this in the next couple of weeks. 
19. Go to Questacon in Canberra - unlikely now.
20. Enrol (and complete) more Greek lessons. Hmmm... maybe a realistic goal might be one or two lessons in the next few weeks? Technically I don't think I specified just how many I needed to do for this to count.
21. Actually start and complete the couch-to-5K running program: I did start, but kind of abandoned it. Maybe this year? 
22. Speak in a fake accent for the whole day. I've actually considered this one a few times, but never had the guts to go through with it, as all my pretend accents are terrible! 
23. Go to the snow: bummer. 
24. Make a roast dinner from scratch -  Completed Aug 17th, 2011.
25. Give $50 to a busker I see all the time who is actually really good (I kept telling myself I'd give him money one day). I don't actually see him much these days as I travel to a different place for work. I think I also expected to be rich by now, and I'm soooo not. $50 is still a lot! 
26. Help out at a homeless shelter or similar. I'm disappointed I didn't do this. This will definitely be on my next list, but not to do by 40, but rather to do in the extremely near future. 
27. Go Camping. Did not happen, though at the time I wrote this list Glamping was not yet a thing. Now I might be more willing...!
28. Assume a different name for the day - e.g. Princess Consuela Bananahammock. I chickened out for this one, as I don't think I could keep a straight face for long! 
29. Get my face painted at a fair and keep it on the whole day. I've not actually been to a fair in all this time, now that I think about it. 
30. Punch dance out my rage: rest assured, I've managed to accomplish this one many a time over the past year, much to the amusement/concern of friends, family and work colleagues ;)

Well! That is quite a lot of reading I'm expecting from you considering I've been away for so long. So it's only fair that you all send me similar length essays about what you've been up to for the past year or so, providing details on your accomplishments. Punch dancing definitely counts.