"I myself have never been able to find out what precisely feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute"
- Rebecca West, 1913.
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To-Do List (before Death)This is where will keep my ambition, my desiries, my goals.. all in a neat little list. Some may be huge and others may seen insignificant but they will be all the things I want to do in my lifetime. Inspired by Mo and others.
1. Learn to play bass
2. Run my own theatre company
3. Be able to make enough money doing what I love and not having a "day" job
4. Lose enough weight so that I look how I feel (I stole this directly from somebody, can't remember who now, but I couldn't think of a better way to say it).
5. Write a full-length play (I seem to be stuck in the short category here)
6. Have one of my plays (short, long, any) produced by someone other than me
7. Nail down exactly what I think love (true love - whatever you want to call it) is and find someone to share it with.
8. Be able to truly be myself around other people and not give a damn what they think (I do this on a limited basis with close friends and the like - but most of the time I use those wonderful things called facades in public)
9. Be in a band
10. Go to Paris, London and other various places in Europe
11. Break into the voice over business
12. Learn how to play Claire de Lune on piano
13. Record my own songs in a recording studio
14. Start painting again (I used to dabble) and improve my skills
15. Quit smoking (just not quite yet)
16. Throw a dinner party with many many courses that all turn out perfectly (or at least edible)
17. Take up photography
18. Take a vacation where all I do is lay on the beach and drink fruity "beach" drinks
19. Take a pottery class
20. Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
21. Go into outer space
22. Become fluent in French
23. Take a cruise
24. Perform in a Broadway show
25. Taste absinthe
26. Learn to ice skate
27. Play Hamlet in Shakespeare's Hamlet (this would obviously have to be with a director who's willing to have a female Hamlet)
28. Read most of the books on the 1990-2000 banned books list - (I exempt myself from all of the "sex and your body" books - 10 read so far)
29. Read all of the books on Feminista's list of Top 100 books by women authors (3 read so far)
30. See all of the movies on AFI's "100 Greatest American Movies" list (26 seen so far - and a funny story about #88 - my mother was in New Orleans attending a Mardi Gras parade while they were shooting a scene for EASY RIDER. She had no idea of course (as did anyone else at the parade) but noticed bright lights shining in her eyes. She turned to a man standing to her right to comment on these lights and noticed it was none other than Peter Fonda. She was shocked of course and turned to her left to tell this man that she was standing right next to Fonda when she noticed he was Dennis Hopper. Seconds after this the whole crowd seemed to notice and started screaming and they were swooped up out of site before she could utter a sound. Obviously the scene was cut, but I think its a damn good story even if she didn't make it into the movie)
31. Take flamenco lessons from Miguel Angel in Spain
32. Pet a tiger
33. Be a guest DJ on a radio station
34. Learn to shoot a gun
35. Own at least 2 pieces of real estate (one down)
36. Spend New Years Eve in Las Vegas
37. Shop on Rodeo Drive
38. Learn to play chess
39. Learn to drive a stick shift
40. Make an appearance in a major Hollywood movie
This list is of course always in progress and could change anytime. The great thing about these is not only can you check things off as you do them (and feel such a sense of accomplishment -I love check lists) but when you look at others' lists, and see things that you've already done, it makes those experiences that much more special. It tends to make me not take them for granted as I used to.
Things I've already done
before the compliation of this list
1. Drove across the U.S.(Fall of 1999 - it was just across the southern states though)
2. Lived in Las Vegas (November of 1999 - that's right only one month)
3. Walked on a Broadway stage (this was a major goal of mine and I did it twice - once on the set of Ms. Saigon (April 1994) and once on the set of Victor, Victoria (April 1996))
4. Met the entire original cast of The Who's Tommy (my favorite Broadway show ever - April 1993 I think)
5. Went Parasailing (in Key West - July 1996)
6. Worked for a major regional theatre company (Fall of 2000 to Fall of 2002)
7. Started Acting regularly again (since January of 2001 I've been in 7 plays and several staged readings)
8. Wrote my first all original song on piano (January 2003)
There's more I know, and I'll add them as I think of them. This is so much better than New Year's Resolutions.
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