Plan of Attack

Okay, so now, I am going to try to do a basic outline of how I can complete 72 merit badge tasks as thoroughly and efficiently as possible.

First things, first. I am using this blog as the "Dare to Dream" badge, the first one listed in the book. This blog is my dream to add a quest back into my life. YAY! One done!

Second, I am stuck on this turtle thing. I am obsessed with turtles. I have two red eared sliders and a russian tortoise. I LOVE them! They are so fun to watch. If I have a totem, it is definitely a turtle. I have a sea turtle tatoo. I was in a coffee shop one day when a guy stopped and asked me about the tattoo. I told him how much I loved turtles, and he told me he worked as an attorney for an organization dedicating to saving sea turtles. We talked, and he mentioned that there were programs dedicated to monitoring sea turtle eggs and hatchings. Since then, I have carried around this dream to go to Costa Rica for 2-3 weeks, and depending on the time of the year, either monitor known nests or help little hatchlings get into the water. I love watching the tiny little guys try to scurry with their big fins, awkwardly flopping (is there a verb for how sea turtle hatchlings move through sand, a total foreign environment) to get into the water. I feel the same way about dating. While there are many things I have wanted to do and not done, this one surprises me the most as an uncompleted task because there is so much innate momentum behind it for me. I am not sure what has held me back, but now it gets to be on my list! SO, I am going to bundle the following tasks together.

*travel (planning and completing a trip with baby sea turtles)
*activism (working with an organization dedicating to saving these magnificent animals)
*film making (i would like to put together a short film about my experience. why not)
*camping (i have camped my whole life, but where i am going will give me the opportunity to camp as i have never known it)
(1) Save baby sea turtles (from my own list)

Third, I would like to consider some of the t, asks that cannot be packed into a weekend. Being well-read and continuing education come to mind. I have a BA in English, but I do not feel well-read. There is SO much to read. I mean can anyone ever really master Shakespeare? And even if I appreciate Faulkner and Hemingway,  I have not thought much about Manlichers or "For Whom the Bell Tolls" between paying bills and writing emails. I really miss it. So I am seriously considering going back for my MA in English, selecting a specific area for which I can read and claim to be "well-read". And if I decide to commit myself to this endevour, we can check the following, eventually:

*go back to school (continuing your education)
*get well-read
(12) Get a graduate degree (from my own list)

Fourth, with the recent discovery that I work well with structure in mind, I want to set up a daily ritual, in the morning, before work. This would be my major ME time (but honestly, since I am single and self-interested, there is lots more ME time in my life than most other  people I know, and I have to admit that I like it that way). Anyhow, to continue, I would meditate and exercise in this daily morning ritual time. I would like to take on the following:

*yoga
*meditation
*fitness/exercise

I should mention that while I have had fitness routines in the past, I have been very lazy for over two years and I am way out of shape. Just thought I should mention this for reference, so when I groan over 10 sit-ups, you know why. The triathlon idea sounds great but it makes my stomach hurt just at the thought. It will be nice when it is in reach. =)

To my counting, that is 12 tasks integrated into some type of planning.

Fifth is a vision that I have in my head that sounds slightly absurd, but amazing at the same time. I have a minor in Spanish, and some time ago, I could speak it passibly well. One of the tasks is foreign language, and part of me wanted to just say "Spanish", but I have really really wanted to learn French. And I love the idea of going to the Orsey Museum (the spelling is wrong) in Paris, appreciating the fine nuissance of French Impressionism in French. So I would like to learn French. The how's of this will be defined later:

*speaking a foreign language
*art appreciation

Sixth, there are several tasks that can be done by focusing one weekend, or a week. In my estimation, the following can be included in this list, although I retain the right to revise this list any time in the future, should one prove more problematic, engrossing, or fun than one week's time allows:

*firewalking
*public speaking
*drafting a business plan
*painting
*photography
*beading
*sewing
*quilting
*negotiating
*cooking
*wine appreciation
*entertaining
*surfing
*skydiving
*scuba diving
*horseback riding ((17) go horseback riding in Southern Utah/Grand Canyon)
*genealogy
From my list:
(5) meet a guru
(18) river rafting

Seventh, here are some that will take longer in executing, but I will save the planning for the future:
*dancing
*aviation
*singing
*writing ((10) write/publish a novel )
*building a web site
*gardening
*redo a room
*playing an instrument
*triathlon
*billiards
*nutrition
*health care
*quitting a bad habit
*budgeting
*saving and investing
*estate planning
*car care
*computer care
*home maintenance
*organizing (desperately needed!!)
*teaching
*dating
*stregthening your relationship (assuming dating goes well)
*volunteering
From my list:
(3) visit napal, thailand, japan
(6) have a family
(7) build a fortune
(8) fall MADLY in love
(15) own a private island
(16) get married
(19) learn to weld
(20) adopt a baby
(21) do something for world peace/hunger
(22)
(23) go around the world 3 times

I just realized that the weight of my list and the list from the book varies. My list was created as a to do list for my whole life, and it was not written in any particular order, in case (6) coming before (8), (16), or (20) threw anyone off.

Well, there it is. If I missed anything, it shall certainly be picked up on future revisits. I am not sure this is fun to read, yet, but its super exciting to think and write about. Cheers.