My Bucket List
I am whiling away my time in ways most would call unproductive - watching movies! Gosh how I love to sit down with a bowl of munchies and watch a really good movie! A movie that makes me think, feel and analyse, get things into perspective, and wonder at the amazement of all the human creativity and energy that goes into making a movie magical. Today I watched The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I've wanted to watch this for some time now, ever since I saw the trailers last year. However, the cost of movie tickets in Bangalore cover my travel expenses for two weeks and considering I'm not working, I have convinced myself that my laptop and head phones will give me the ultimate digital experience.
The movie is about two aging men who are dying from cancer, and who have been told they have less than a year to live. Freeman is a romantic and GK buff who wanted to be a history professor but ended up being a car mechanic for 45 years. Nicholson is a self-made millionaire. The two become good friends while sharing a hospital room. With the knowledge of their impending deaths, they decide to embark on a shared adventure based on a list they wrote lying on their hospital beds. I won't kill the movie by telling you exactly what crazy things they get up to but I will say that a lot of it was made possible because it was financed by the millionaire. It made me wonder how many of us actually have a list of stuff that we would like to see, own or achieve - and actually make it a reality. My personal list was very close to the one in the movie, but I see now I will probably have to revise it or put it under a heading "If I were a Millionaire". By the way, it's called The Bucket List because it has a list of stuff you MUST do before you "kick the bucket". There is a particularly touching scene in the movie where Freeman talks about 45 years having flown by, and the emptiness he felt after his last child left home. My eyes filled with tears as I thought about my folks who have thrown all their energy and focus into my life, and now that my brother has left home too how awfully lonely it must be for them.
I have made lists all my life. Not just for the convenience of not having to remember it in my head, but to have the pleasure of scratching it off my list as "DONE". The finality of it feels like that moment when you have won a race and snapped the ribbon in two. However, I will write a list here, which will probably have many additions with time, so that in sharing with the world I may be motivated that much more to achieve my goals. Some may be incredibly silly but those who know me will understand why they are so. In no particular order, here goes:
My Bucket List
1. Marry the man I love.
2. Learn to say "No", and say it without feeling guilt.
3. Master French - I've been fumbling with the basics for too long.
4. Learn to cook (what I do know I am not sure comes under this classification - in my defense I have not had access to a kitchen in many years - living on hostel food).
5. Resume my passion for baking (soon as I can afford an oven).
6. Have enough land around my house for an oak tree, among other trees.
7. Build a house.
8. Build a tree house in my oak tree.
9. Learn to speak Hindi.
10. See the world (there will be a separate list for this one).
11. Make time for God. Make time for family.
12. Get a job that is fulfilling.
13. Take care of my health - eat right, exercise, meditate.
14. Read the illustrated version of the Kama Sutra without feeling an ounce of embarrassment.
15. Go to an Italian opera atleast once (this I got from watching Pretty Woman).
16. Learn Latin American dancing (this I got from Dirty Dancing and Strictly Ballroom).
17. Wear hot pants even when I'm fifty - assuming I'm in good shape (see no. 13).
18. Control my temper. Show patience. Count to ten. Close my eyes so I don't LOOK as crazy as I feel. I will not raise my voice in anger or to over power someone in an argument. Logic and rationale is my mantra.
19. Turn to God to guide me in every step I take. Accept that I cannot do everything on my own.
20. Have atleast 2 dogs in the house always - they need each other's company to 'bitch' about us.
21. Learn to drive, change tyres, figure out why there's smoke coming out of the engine, etc.
22. Learn to manage with 6 hours of sleep.
23. Put aside 30 mins in the day for ME (this is after a I get a job, manage a family etc. cos right now I have ALL the time in the world).
24. Learn to keep my thoughts and opinions to myself (except on a blog of course!).
This is it for now.
The movie is about two aging men who are dying from cancer, and who have been told they have less than a year to live. Freeman is a romantic and GK buff who wanted to be a history professor but ended up being a car mechanic for 45 years. Nicholson is a self-made millionaire. The two become good friends while sharing a hospital room. With the knowledge of their impending deaths, they decide to embark on a shared adventure based on a list they wrote lying on their hospital beds. I won't kill the movie by telling you exactly what crazy things they get up to but I will say that a lot of it was made possible because it was financed by the millionaire. It made me wonder how many of us actually have a list of stuff that we would like to see, own or achieve - and actually make it a reality. My personal list was very close to the one in the movie, but I see now I will probably have to revise it or put it under a heading "If I were a Millionaire". By the way, it's called The Bucket List because it has a list of stuff you MUST do before you "kick the bucket". There is a particularly touching scene in the movie where Freeman talks about 45 years having flown by, and the emptiness he felt after his last child left home. My eyes filled with tears as I thought about my folks who have thrown all their energy and focus into my life, and now that my brother has left home too how awfully lonely it must be for them.
I have made lists all my life. Not just for the convenience of not having to remember it in my head, but to have the pleasure of scratching it off my list as "DONE". The finality of it feels like that moment when you have won a race and snapped the ribbon in two. However, I will write a list here, which will probably have many additions with time, so that in sharing with the world I may be motivated that much more to achieve my goals. Some may be incredibly silly but those who know me will understand why they are so. In no particular order, here goes:
My Bucket List
1. Marry the man I love.
2. Learn to say "No", and say it without feeling guilt.
3. Master French - I've been fumbling with the basics for too long.
4. Learn to cook (what I do know I am not sure comes under this classification - in my defense I have not had access to a kitchen in many years - living on hostel food).
5. Resume my passion for baking (soon as I can afford an oven).
6. Have enough land around my house for an oak tree, among other trees.
7. Build a house.
8. Build a tree house in my oak tree.
9. Learn to speak Hindi.
10. See the world (there will be a separate list for this one).
11. Make time for God. Make time for family.
12. Get a job that is fulfilling.
13. Take care of my health - eat right, exercise, meditate.
14. Read the illustrated version of the Kama Sutra without feeling an ounce of embarrassment.
15. Go to an Italian opera atleast once (this I got from watching Pretty Woman).
16. Learn Latin American dancing (this I got from Dirty Dancing and Strictly Ballroom).
17. Wear hot pants even when I'm fifty - assuming I'm in good shape (see no. 13).
18. Control my temper. Show patience. Count to ten. Close my eyes so I don't LOOK as crazy as I feel. I will not raise my voice in anger or to over power someone in an argument. Logic and rationale is my mantra.
19. Turn to God to guide me in every step I take. Accept that I cannot do everything on my own.
20. Have atleast 2 dogs in the house always - they need each other's company to 'bitch' about us.
21. Learn to drive, change tyres, figure out why there's smoke coming out of the engine, etc.
22. Learn to manage with 6 hours of sleep.
23. Put aside 30 mins in the day for ME (this is after a I get a job, manage a family etc. cos right now I have ALL the time in the world).
24. Learn to keep my thoughts and opinions to myself (except on a blog of course!).
This is it for now.
ok u've convinced me...to watch Bucketlist:-D.
ReplyDeleteNo.23 is something I need to do without feeling guilty
and No.24 is something I have to learn as well:-P
Good Post:-).
I've tagged u. Chk it out.
ReplyDelete