things to do before i go

It started out with a phone call to mom, 'let's do Oktoberfest in Germany'. My grandpa caught wind of the news, and without avail we had three generations singing songs, meeting friends, prosting our beers with people from all over the world.

It got me thinking about just what we might see in our lifetime, and what I’d still like to see in mine. There is so much out there, cities, cultural events, people, traditions, and on the other hand so much less wilderness and wildlife. Sometimes it feels like we’re racing against time to experience something or somewhere before whatever it is that makes it special has been exhausted, used up, or crowded out. And yet the experiences we seek as “once in a lifetime,” have a way of transcending time. Whether single events or processes that take weeks, months, or years, these experiences remind us that the world remains a magical place.

Some activities may be cheap, or would cost a pretty penny to engage in, but what the heck, you can't take it with you anyway and if you should die in pursuit of completing this list, then you'll have died doing what only a handful of other people have done in their lifetime. This list doesn't have to be done independently or solo, but involving family and friends, I would have it no other way. Dreamer-doers is the buzzword for this. The idea is to write down your dream and doit.

2009 being another year of fresh opportunities to see something new, this list is created to put words into action. I expect that the list can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal, but the simple truth is that we never know what tomorrow will hold. This is an opportunity to think big and make it happen.

	Todo	Status
1	Running of the bulls	July-09 Pamploma
2	Have your portrait painted.	Jan-09 Paris
3	Attend a huge music festival in another country and spend the nites camping with all the music junkies.	Jul-09 - Glastonbury, England
4	Not just skydive, but add a wingsuit, and actually fly.
5	Go skinny-dipping at midnight in the South of France.
6	Donate a piece of art to a local park.
7	Watch the launch of the space shuttle. Experience weightlessness.
8	Submit a picture to National Geographic.
9	Be an extra in a film.
10	Tell someone the story of your life, sparing no details.
11	Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends.
12	Brew your own beer. (Did it in college, but I would like to give it another try.)
13	Trekking through the jungle on the back of a two story tall elephant will surely be something you remember forever.
14	Live like a local for a month in Africa or the Amazon. The experience of visiting native peoples will give you way more insight into another way of life.
15	Visit a “real” blues bar in Chicago. What better way to leave music’s commercialism behind and find the soul of the blues? (Next time I'm visiting family in Chicago.)
16	Give your mother a dozen red roses and tell her you love her.
17	Be a member of the audience in a TV show. (Daily Show with John Stewart, or Conan O'Brian)
18	Put your name down to be a passenger on the first tourist shuttle to the moon.
19	Ride a camel into the desert.
20	Get to know your neighbors.
21	Plant a tree. (Did this as a kid, need to do again)
22	Learn not to say yes when you really mean no.
23	Write a fan letter to your all-time favorite living idol.
24	Write a letter to someone who can make a change.
25	Lead in making a change and/or protest a cause you believe in Washington DC.
26	Learn to ballroom dance properly.
27	Eat jellied eels from a stall in London.
28	Fall deeply in love -- helplessly and unconditionally.
29	Ride the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia.
30	Sit on a jury to a case that makes everyone cringe.
31	Write the novel you know you have inside you.
32	Go to Walden Pond and read Thoreau while drifting in a canoe.
33	Stay out all night dancing and go to work the next day without having gone home.
34	Follow in the footsteps of a favorite travel book. What better guide than a book that inspired you to travel in the first place?
35	Take a bush plane ride into Africa’s interior. These lightly visited regions are filled with unique cultures and diverse wildlife.
36	Cross a glacier on foot. Traversing these fast-disappearing natural wonders is an adventure that future generations might not be able to experience.
37	Be someone's mentor.
38	Shower in a waterfall.
39	Learn to play a musical instrument with some degree of skill.
40	Teach someone illiterate to read.
41	Spend a night in a haunted house -- by yourself.
42	Write down your personal mission statement, follow it, and revise it from time to time.
43	Attend at least one major sporting event: the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the U.S. Open.
44	Get passionate about a cause and spend time helping it, instead of just thinking about it.
45	Sing a great song in front of an audience.
46	Drive across America from coast to coast.
47	Make a complete and utter fool of yourself.
48	Own one very expensive but absolutely wonderful business suit.
49	Write your will.
50	Sleep under the stars. (Done many times as a kid)
51	Take a ride on the highest roller coaster in the world.
52	Spend a whole day reading a great novel.
53	Forgive your parents.
54	Learn to juggle with three balls.
55	Spend Christmas on the beach drinking pina coladas.
56	Overcome your fear of failure.
57	Raft through the Grand Canyon.
58	Donate money and put your name on something: a college scholarship, a bench in thepark.
59	Buy your own house and then spend time making it into exactly what you want.
60	See a baby being born (hopefully mine)
61	Grow a garden and make a salad.
62	Spend three months getting your body into optimum shape.
63	Drive the autobaun in a car that performs with the top down and music blaring.
64	Accept yourself for who you are.
65	Give a speech in public.
66	Go up in a hot-air balloon and bungee jump from it.
67	Attend one really huge rock concert. Glastonbury 2009
68	Be able to handle: your tax forms, Jehovah's Witnesses, your banker, telephonesolicitors
69	Learn how to take a compliment.
70	Find a job you love/passionate about or find a hobby that pays and not work another day of your life.
71	Change an career entirely twice
72	Give to a charity --anonymously.
73	Play the world series of poker.
74	See the cubbies in the world series.
75	Let someone feed you peeled, seedless grapes.
76	Kiss the Blarney stone and develop the gift of gab.
77	Fart in a crowded space.
78	Make love on the kitchen floor.
79	Go deep sea fishing and eat your catch. Spear fishing would be cool too.
80	Visit the Holy Land and pray.
81	Make yourself spend a half-day at a concentration camp and swear never to forget.
82	Run to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
83	Create your Family Tree.
84	Catch a ball in the stands of a major league baseball stadium. Homerun ofcourse!
85	Golf in Scottland or Ireland. The origin in Scottland is believed that it started with shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes. Why Birdie?
86	Make a hole-in-one, buy everyone drinks and frame the ball.
87	bartend at a fancy club. create and name a drink
88	Run a marathon.
89	Set foot on each of the seven continents. Antarctica might be a tough one, but once you’ve reached all seven you can truly call yourself a world traveler.
90	Cross a country on a bicycle. A bicycle tour takes some planning, but it beats being separated from a country though a passenger-side window.
91	Learn French. This is definitely a weighty and time-consuming proposition, but there are plenty of resources out there to ease the process.	Currently Ongoing
92	Go heli-skiing. The access to snow and terrain via heli is different (read: better) that anything else you’ll ever experience.
93	Travel India by train. With its extensive rail network, this mode of transport is the best way to see one of the world’s most colorful and diverse countries.
94	Climb one of the world’s Seven Summits. Climbing mountains is not for the faint-hearted, but everyone has had a dream of standing atop one.
95	Swim with a dolphin, or even better a whale shark. Swimming with these gentle giants is among the most powerful underwater experiences in the world.
96	Participate in a Carnival parade in Brazil. You haven’t had a good night out until you’ve been to the biggest party in a nation of big parties.
97	Dance Tango in Argentina.
98	Surf off the shores of Austrailia. It’s not about being a ripper but just catching waves.
99	SCUBA in the Great Barrier Reef. The largest coral reef in the world is a must for dive enthusiasts. It is the world’s most unique aquatic environment.
100	Publish an article about your travels. Part of traveling is sharing your experiences with others. Plus, getting published might be easier than you think.
101	Volunteer abroad for a month.
102	Ice climb a frozen waterfall.
103	Visit the source of one of the world’s great rivers. Great rivers, like the Nile, have humble beginnings.
104	Buy a round-the-world air ticket and a rucksack. explore
105	Follow your food from field to table. Most people in the world still eat what they have picked with their own hands. Why not get back to these basics?
106	Photograph an endangered species. Aside from an image you can keep for a lifetime, it will remind you, and others, how fragile life can be.
107	Participate in Burning Man . As they say: “Trying to explain Burning Man to someone who has never been is like trying to explain color to a blind person.”
108	Spend 24 hours alone in the jungle.
109	Learn how to make a national dish. What is the one and only thing that everyone has in common? Eating. (Swedish Meatballs)
110	Spend the night in a storied/historic hotel, haunted would be cool too.
111	Attend the Olympics. Whatever you say about the commercialism of the Olympic Games, they are one of the biggest events on the planet.
112	Meet your favorite (living) travel writer. They’ve inspired you; now thank them for it.
113	Travel to Germany to experience Love Parade. It’s one of the biggest festivals, attendance-wise, on the planet.
114	Partake in a Japanese Tea Ceremony, after a sushi dinner of course . This timeless tradition is at the heart of Japanese culture.
115	Join a caravan in the Sahara. See how people can thrive in one of the world’s harshest environments.
116	Stand at the North or South Pole. While up there, see the northern lights.
117	Be in the stands when two rival South American club teams play each other in Football. A passion for most of the world’s population.
118	Find your own version of untouched paradise.
119	Enjoy a freshly rolled cigar on the beaches of Havana, Cuba. Taste a hand rolled specialty close to its source. Learn to dance salsa there as well.
120	Visit every capital city in Europe. The crowded continent is full of beautiful architecture and diverse cultures.
121	Watch an orchestral performance in Vienna.
122	Bike the Pacific Coast Highway.
123	Shake hands with someone who has truly changed a country.
124	Participate in the world’s biggest water fight during Thailand’s New Year’s festivities (Songkran).
125	Skydive into the Alps	Aug-08 Interlaken
126	Own a room with a view.	Oct-07 Geneva, Verbier
127	Demand a raise, or better yet be your own boss and start your own company.	2006 Weiland Enterpirses
128	Visit the Senate and the House of Representatives to see how Congress really works.	1994 Washington DC
129	Go to Oktoberfest. The meeting of over 6 million beer afficionados. With 3 Generations - Grandpa, Mom and Me.	Oct-08 Munich
130	Grow a beard and leave it for at least a month.	2007 - Current
131	Create your own web site.	2007 - www.off2switzerland.blogspot.com
132	Learn to sail.	Summer-08 - Geneva Lake - Cern Sailing Club
133	Climb an active volcano. The mountain trembled, I thought it was a beast in the jungle, so I ran…	Costa Rica- Arenal
134	Spend New Year's in an exotic location.	New Orleans 2000, Goa India 2001, Barcelona 2008, Paris 2009

If you get laid off.

Thought these articles were funny:
10 Reasons you know its time to go traveling.
How to ditch the cubicle and plan your escape.

Skydiving Interlaken!

It all started with an email to friends in Geneva for a weekend trip to Interlaken. We ended up with 17 folks renting out a hostel and doing extreme activities. Interlaken is known for it's outdoor fun.

Doug and I take a jump out of a heli into the Swiss Alps. The town is called Interlaken. As you will notice, the lakes are 2 different colors. One is filled by the glaciers (Blue) and the other isn't (Blue green).

How to Recreate the 'Big Bang' 101

Today there is a lot of energy flying around Geneva and I'm not talking about the ski season coming up. Its time to send some particles flying and letting them collide into what would be a 25 year long project to reproduce the 'Big Bang' (On a much smaller scale of course).

This summer, in the most expensive machine on earth ($9 Billion) Large Hadron Collider, scientists at CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory, will be smashing atoms at full power to monitor debris in the hopes of learning more about the origins and workings of the universe.



The device is located deep beneath the border of France and Switzerland (Just outside Geneva), firing protons around a 27-kilometer (17-mile) tunnel at over 11000 times a second. Today they kicked off the first particle beam running counterclockwise and then clockwise. It will still be about a month before beams traveling in opposite directions are brought together in collisions that some skeptics fear could create micro "black holes" and endanger the planet. The results are hoping to teach them more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time.

These are great conversation pieces. I try not to talk about work with friends that I've made from CERN. They usually go into tangents that leave me looking like deer in headlights.

You may have not known, but the internet was created at CERN, not by Al Gore.

Below is an overview of cern:


They also have a rap about the project that is getting a lot of hits on youtube.
CERN RAP

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

Matt from Connecticut, at 31 years old quit his job to travel. The people from stride gum saw his dancing video and asked if he wanted to take a paid trip around the world. The only thing he has to do is dance.

Can't say much for Matt's dancing skills, but this guy went to some amazing places.
14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands.



http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Where frogs are eaten

Paris is only a 3 hour train ride or a 1 hour flight, so finally I made this short trip to see some family visiting there. It was an extremely short weekend with so much to see, looks like another trip is in order.

Pictures include:

• Outside Notre Dame Cathedral
• Outside the Louvre
• Arch De Triumph - In 1806, Napolean, the French emperor who conquered most of Europe at the beginning of the 19th century, decided to build a very big arch of triumph which stands at the top of the Champs-Elysées. The purpose: To gather his Army and have them walk through the arch in front of cheering Parisians after a victorious war… The only problem, the event never happened because Napolean was defeated at Waterloo. What would make a ruler like Napolean bring on this kind of inspiration?

• Pompidou Modern Art Museum - Jamie and I checked out an exhibit on modern architecture then scoped the works by, Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, Dali, and many more. I'm actually becoming a fan of modern/contemporary art, because seeing the main man Jesus and Mary all the time is becoming a little redundant.

• The Pantheon - Is now a burial place for famous French heroes. Includes Geneva born, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's tomb. His most popular work is 'The Social Contract', which was a major influence during the time of the French Revolution.

• The Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart) - Fantastic views where Claire and I overlooked the city.

Sharing is Caring

Ever give some random stranger your keys to your car and said 'have a go! I'll find another'. Ok, this may sound a little ridiculous, but trading a bike is common in the larger cities around Europe. It is an idea that began spreading in 1995 from Copenhagen, Denmark to all around the world today. Use the bike, you can leave the bike at any bike lot and pick another one up somewhere else.

There is a big bike movement in Paris with the 2007 launch of Velib', the bike sharing program.
"With 10,500 bikes at the end of 2007, expanding to 20,600 in 2008, an even 1,000,000 bikes for 2009. This would surely make Paris the most bike-friendly city in Europe and the world. Parisians are elated by this possibility, however, the citizens of Copenhagen and Amsterdam which are traditionally Europe’s most bike-friendly large cities are revolting."
Source: http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/

I am a big fan of the bike. Geneva has bike lanes that is always faster than the car traffic. You can even take it on the trains if you want to venture off and explore another town, vineyard or onto a trail in the alps. You will most likely shed a couple belt sizes as well. Best of all... it doesn't take from your wallet.

Small World

I have two roommates here in Geneva. Early this year, one decided to depart to Budapest for career advancement leaving a vacant spot in our apartment. Una and I began the the tedious process for finding a new roommate to fill the spot. Of course we are very picky, interviewing almost 2 people a night for 2-3 weeks. Finding a place to rent in Geneva is extremely difficult (1% vacant), so the renter (Una and I) can take the time to choose someone that fits the best. We wanted to make it into a talent contest like American Idol, but moving the furniture every nite would be such a pain. Finally we found Simon. He is originally from Ireland, which explains him having no problem with a couple glasses of wine for the interview. He installs golf courses around Europe and works for a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Pretty ironic, because I just moved from Scottsdale.

A few months ago I was walking home from the gym and hear a distinguished french accent I immediately recognized from way-back. I say 'hey Karim', he turns around with a shocked look on his face and a smile. I met him 13 years ago my freshmen year at the University of Arizona. Karim lived in the same dorm on the same floor. We both started talking about our funny moments, and shared experiences. Numbers were exchanged, so we can further laugh about ourselves, the people we know and the quirkiness of being college freshmen.

Karim gives me a ring to plan and meet up. We begin talking about a friend we had in common- Andrew. Andrew was a good friend of mine my freshman year. He lived in the dorm right next to me and was commonly stopping in to say hi or called upon for venturing out on the town. I ask Karim about Andrew and he mentions that he heard that Andrew may be moving to Morocco. I ask Karim to get me Andrew's information, which he didn't have, but knew who to get it from and would get back to me.

Simon and I were playing a golf tournament and talking about work. He was looking for a manager for one of the golf courses in Morocco and had someone in mind. He never said a name. I recalled, Karim mentioned that Andrew was moving to Morocco. It dawns on me...is there a possibility that my friend Andrew could be the same guy Simon (my new roommate) was talking about?

Naw, nej, na... nein, nope, non, naw.......NOOOO WAY!!

Two weeks pass while Simon is out of town.
Upon return, I nonchalantly ask him 'Do you know Andrew Rebman?'
Simon replied: 'Yeah, he called me today. I need to give him a call back. Why? How do you know him?'
Me: 'Oh, I've just heard of the guy. Tell him I said hi.'

It's things like this that makes the world feel extremely small. This is not even 6 degress of separation, more like one degree. We are all connected in one way or another.

What is: 6 degrees of Separation

You can also see karma come into play. We are constantly creating "seeds" though friendships, relations, and actions. Those seeds can and will follow us later, even if you are on the other side of the world. A friendship that was in the past or in the now will be somehow connected in the future. You can not escape karma. Live today and make friends today, because that is the tomorrow no matter where you are. I'm sure everyone has a story of these situations.


John Donne puts it into perspective with his work "no man is an island".

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee.

It means that we are all impacted by each other...and whatever happens to someone else, affects each of us as well. If you think about this. It is true in a number of ways, in individual relationships, in families, in social circles, and wider and wider in impacts. Information is communicated around the world creating a large network for connecting people in ways not previously available, by means of world news, blogs, skype, youtube, facebook, messenger, sms, email or even actions, where presidential candidates go overseas to speak in foreign countries. Because we are all connected in one way or another and issues are not as isolated as they used to be, people are not as isolated as we used to be. Your actions, your decisions, your vote, your choices, your treatment of other people, all have an effect.

When someone asks me, 'Are you ever homesick?'. Yes, of course, but there isn't anyone I can't get in touch with immediately over the phone and internet. This blog is an example of including family and friends in my life. We may not be next to each other chatting, laughing, enjoying the presence of one's company but we are sharing little experiences, making the world a little smaller than it was before.

"no man is an island"