Embracing the Unconventional: My Goals

The third part of my 'Embracing the Unconventional' series has arrived. Now you get to see those things I've decided that I will do from the 50 unconventional things to do in your lifetime list of Lyved.com.

As always, don't be shy. I'm still waiting to hear a few of your unconventional things!

Will Do (as soon as I'm published):

5. Be in a movie, whether as an extra or as the star. If Stephen King can do it, then why the heck can't I? When my fabulous books are inevitably made into amazing movies, I plan to negotiate a cameo into my contract each and every time. I think I would make an excellent Coffee Shop Woman #2.

12. Have a credit on IMDB.com. See previous. Sam Elliott had better move over!

27. Create a website. What kind of author would I be if I didn't have a website? One day there will be excerpts to post and book tours to promote, and I'm sorry Blogger, but a blog just won't cut it.

36. Travel for a full year. This with either happen because A) I'm fabulously wealthy and can afford to take a year off to sail and backpack and hike to every corner of the globe, or B) I have so many book tours and events to do during the simultaneous launch of my fifth book, second movie and new fragrance that I just don't make it home for a year. (I won't mention the third option, which may or may not involve the word homeless.)

44. Be on a TV news program for something positive. Besides the obvious talk show circuit when my memoir wins a Pulitzer, I plan to use my fame and fortune to promote an amazing cause, which will of course be covered on your nightly news cast.

45. Watch a movie being filmed. Again, see the first thing on this list. How could I be in a movie and not watch it being filmed?

48. Get your name and biography on Wikipedia. Oh man... The day I have a wiki page I will freak out. IMDB is cool, but wiki...is Wiki!!

Embracing the Unconventional: My Hopes

Welcome to part two of my Embracing the Unconventional series. Hopefully you know that yesterday I decided to tell you about the things I'd done from the 50 unconventional things to do in your lifetime list of Lyved.com. Today, it's all about wish fulfillment. Today, I give you the things I hope to do.

By the way, don't be shy. What do you hope to do in your lifetime?

Hope to Do:

14. Help someone help himself/herself. I've been thinking about teaching a man to fish. But, that requires learning myself...

15. Adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue group. I'm envisioning this as a joint venture - a couple's first serious commitment sort of thing. As I'm not part of a couple, you can understand how this is currently a hope for the distant future.

16. Inner tube down a river. My family is big on tubing trips to the Guadalupe River in Central Texas to pass the hot summer days. When I was in high school I missed several of these trips. I plan to rectify that one day. Or, one-up them and tube down the Amazon. You decide.

20. Help family members achieve their goals and dreams. I try to do this every day in every way possible, and I hope that my family sees me as a resource they can depend on.

21. Watch all the top rated films of all time. My ex-roommate actually has a list. As soon as I make a copy of it (or print my own), AFI's top 100 are going down!

26. Work at a zoo or aquarium. I have no idea why this made this list, or why it is something that I have always wanted to do. But it is, and I have. Even if it's only as a weekend volunteer or something, I really hope that I get a chance to help bathe an elephant or feed a baby cheetah. Awwww, baby aminals are sooooo cute.

31. Confront at least one of your big fears. As soon as I figure out what my biggest fears are, I am so on this. I don't believe in letting myself hold me back. Then again, everyone fears something. If I can't think of at least one major fear, then I'm probably living in my own special palace in Denial. So much for self-awareness.

32. At least attempt to tackle every dream and goal you’ve ever had. Again with the self-awareness. I have made an attempt to go after most things I've dreamed of and made goals toward. I still need to live in a cute little apartment in Paris. And I guess I should start saving up for my campaign if I'm going to try to be the first female president of the U. S.

38. Read all your favorite books again. Forever and always. Cathy + Heathcliff = True Love

39. Work less, live more. Word.

46. Stomp grapes at a vineyard. Ideally this would happen on my sprawling grounds in Italy. But I'll take it on a week-long wine tour of Napa.

49. Learn how to drive a tractor. My grandparents live on a farm. My grandfather owns several tractors. I just need to ask. And while I'm at it, I think I'll ask him to teach me how to shoot a rifle. Hunting's cooler than fishing anyway!

50. Do all your favorite things from childhood: skip rocks, build a tree house, go fishing, whatever, but have fun! Seriously, why are fish stalking me today? Alright already. I'll go camping this summer and catch me some dinner (and lunch and breakfast). Anyone have a portable air conditioner I can borrow?

Embracing the Unconventional: My Past

In honor of today's historic and unconventional events, I've decided to kick off a three-part series that shares a bit about a few of the items from the 50 unconventional things to do in your lifetime list of Lyved.com -- some of the things I have done, some of them I hope to do, and some of them I will do...as soon as I'm a published author.

Today, I'm going to share my past with you, and I invite you to share some stories of your own.


Things I Have Done:

2. Go on a ghost tour. The time: Spring Break '04, Freshman Year. The place: New Orleans, LA. The people: me, my mommy, and a really hot tour guide (oh, and those other people). We did all sorts of tours--ghost, vampire, and voodoo--but my favorite was the ghost tour. It's a shame that I don't even remember which one it was.

6. Pan for gold in a mountain stream. Who hasn't? I've panned at Six Flags, Disneyland, a creek in several of my backyards and at several rivers across the country. Sadly, like most prospectors, I went broke and got syphilis from the local saloon...wait, that's not right.

7. Watch the sun rise and set in the same day. I have one word for you: college.

8. Go outside and dance in a rainstorm. Not surprisingly, another college memory. It wasn't so much romantic as it was cold and sopping, but my friends and I had a blast.

19. Go camping somewhere that has no contact to the outside world. When I was a kid, this was a pretty regular occurrence. I can't believe that I was alive when there were no such things cell phones and Blackberrys. Man, my kids are going to think I lived in the stone ages.

22. Take a spontaneous road trip. Ah, Spring Break '06. That trip is the winner of the "best spontaneous road trip of Sam's life" contest, but there have been several. I like to drive, and I grew up in Texas. Some people would consider the one hour it took me to get to a mall a road trip...

23. Write an article for a newspaper or magazine. I wrote movie reviews for my college paper, The Eagle, and I was published in the school's lit mag, AmLit. So there.

24. Fail several times at something. Ha. Does this really require elaboration? I'd say I do this daily, several times daily.

28. Work a job you hate. I don't really hate things. I don't believe in wasting my energy like that. But there have been several times when I hated aspects of some of my past jobs, and therefore was not too fond of the job itself.

29. Get to know yourself and those closest to you. I hope that I've done a pretty good job of this so far, but it is an ongoing process that I'm sure I'll still be working at on my deathbed.

30. Hunt for treasure. I do this everyday if we're being metaphorical. If not, I'll confess that I did have a beach-combing period when I was a girl.

33. Befriend an enemy. Enemy is a strong word. But I've made friends with rivals and people I initially disliked before. I hope I never have a true enemy.

34. Make friends with very successful people. I consider several of my friends very successful people, all in different ways. I know some people who are successful in business, love, self-actualization, humanitarian efforts. And I try to learn a little more from them every day. Besides, it's all about networking, right? :D

35. Take one day to just watch the clouds and take one night just to watch the stars. How I miss those lazy days of yore. Trampolines will forever be synonymous with stargazing and cloud-watching thanks to my neighbor from junior high school. "Oooh, was that a UFO?" "Nope, I think it was a satellite." "Damn."

41. Find what you were meant to do. Hi, my name is Sam Elliott, and I'm a writer. *waits for the chorus of "Hi, Sam"s.

42. Live without email, IM, or your cell phone for a week. If I'm not counting those crazy years from my childhood, which I shall henceforth refer to as "those days," then I still have achieved this amazing feat. I lived for two whole weeks in Rome, Italy without them. Although, I caved after that and began using all three. What does that say about these days?

43. Join a peaceful protest for a cause you support. Italians aren't only good for amazing foods, good looks, relaxed ways, and historical landmarks. They are also incredibly apt to protest. During my time in Italia, I was invited to participate in a protest against the cancellation of a fine arts budget, and I did. It was empowering and powerful, definitely a memory and experience I'm glad to have.