What is a bucket list...

Before there was the movie I had my very own bucket list called If Wishes Wus Fishes over on my website. Amazingly a lot of the things have come true, albeit in ways I never thought of, or are in the process of being realised. Some I may delete and there are a few I may add... more on my wish list later...
Back to the movie, I think the combination of Jack and Morgan was brilliant but I am not giving away too much, if you have not seen it do so ASAP... put it on your Bucket List!
As I mentioned in my last blog, this movie makes you think and the theme song "Say" by John Mayer is great...

John Mayer "Say" Lyrics

Take out of your wasted honour
Every little past frustration
Take all of your so called problems
Better put them in quotations
Say what you need to say (8x)

Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you’d be better off instead
If you could only
Say what you need to say (8x)

Have no fear for giving in
Have no fear for giving over
You better know that in the end its better to say too much
Than to never to say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open
Why?
Say what you need to say (25x)
Words that carry a lot of meaning in today's hectic life... we so often forget to say to our loved ones how we really feel, how much we care, how much we appreciate them and how much joy they bring to us... A line from the movie I found very insightful was;
“You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not. ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ 'Has your life brought joy to others?’"
This is something I have come to realise as a great truth even before I saw the movie and I want to make this my life motto... so I ques it goes onto the Wish list!

Another wishlist

Slept late and just pondered the fact that this is the last day before work starts again, got us some Steers burgers and then went out to the track. Got back at 5 ish did the dishes and updated some postings then watched Charlies Angels on TV... The song Turning Japenese made me think of Anton and his liking of Pearl Jam... then this one played on Winamp...
PEARL JAM - Wishlist
I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree, I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky

I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood

I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down

I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I wish...
I wish...
Sometimes I get blown away by how this bit of software can sense my mood... so as I prepare for bed I leave my wishlist with One who knows best, He will be the one who will have the wisdom that I do not have at present.
"It's just human. We all have the jungle inside of us. We all have wants and needs and desires, strange as they may seem. If you stop to think about it, we're all pretty creative, cooking up all these fantasies. it's like a kind of poetry."
Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Mister Sandman, 1994

No mercy for the lonely

Woke up humming "Missing" by No Mercy and for the first time I had an urgent need to get home, I miss my kids and cats but I miss something else as well.
The Yatclub... a highly recommended establishment for weary travelers. This was taken as I digested a breakfast of note... I had my own mini loaf of freshly baked bread and the most delicious omelet made by the host Des.
The tranquility of the dam at the Yatclub, now I saw why Des said he changed the name to Yatclub... this stretch of the Grobbelaars's river is scarcely big enough to float a canoe.
These clouds made up my mind that I needed a warm mug of coffee... back in Bloem preferably!
One went before me... So I am not the only crazy biker out in the freezing cold... making wee breaks to errrr strech the legs... cold weather and 3 cups of strong coffee do not help the miles go by.
The desolation of Karroo vistas... my heart is sometimes as hungry as these vast places... I am craving someone to share my dreams with again and somone has been texting me a few times this trip that I feel may just be the one to share with. I may be wrong...
Last picture of the trip as I stood freezing on the Lootsberg pass... there was even more snow around the corner! From here we had crosswinds, headwinds, tailwinds, a few drops of sleet and a conviction that something needed to be done...
Reaching Middelburg I decided to brave the wind and try for Colesberg, maybe staying overnight. When I saw the distance between Colesberg and Bloem I sent a text request for sustenance... ETA 7 pm it is. I think this is when the little arrow took effect. The rest of the day is history and engraved in my heart forever... Tomorrow is bright with possibility.
"Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the thought is staggering." R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983)
Day 12 of 12 Days with Shrek

Good to go, ready to do some crossing off...

Of things on my Wishlist, may add some later too! Just on 12 hours and I get on the plane to Cape Town International for the great KLR Adventure...

My list of things to do:
Bungeeeeee! - If I get time this trip
Buy me a CS650 Beemer - Bought a KLR650 instead!
Discover a Comet - Saw Comet McNaught, just as good as discovering one!
Do a skydiving course - maybe later...
Get a Dress Kilt, Clan Campbell
Kiss the Blarney Stone - See T2T

Pat a Great White on the snout - I may just do that this trip!
See a Snow Leopard in the wild - See T2T
Smell a Volcano - See T2T
Spend a day with a Silverback - See T2T
Taste the Dead Sea - See T2T
Walk the Via Dolorosa - See T2T
Witness a Supernova Done! Not what I expected but just as spectacular... read the blogs...

My list of Natural Wonders to visit:
Amazon river - See T2T
Ngorogoro - See T2T
White Sands - See T2T
Ayers Rock-Uluru
Witsand - Soon...

My list of Countries to visit:
Alaska - See T2T
Angola - 2008
Antartica
Argentina - T2T
Canary Islands
Falkland Islands - See T2T
Guernsey - See T2T
Kamchatka Peninsula - T2T
Namibia - 2008
Patagonia - The great T2T adventure, being planned!
Oz
Scotland - See T2T
Tiera del Fiego - See T2T


My list of Stuctures to visit:
Ankor What - See T2T
Macchu Picchu - See T2T
Tajh Mahal - See T2T
The Pyramids - See T2T
Castle Stalker - See T2T

My list of Cities/Towns to visit:
Alice Springs
Buenos Aires - See T2T
Brisbane
Cooper Pedy
Edinburgh - See T2T
Monaco - See T2T
Nome - See T2T
Sidney
St Petersburg - See T2T
Cape Town - On my way!
Windhoek - 2008

My list of absurdities:
Become President of SA or any other country for that matter! Me? a politician?
Build a car that will do 0 > 100 in 3 seconds flat using water as fuel...
Clone the Pope.
Design the smallest OS posssible that will kick MS's butt.
Live long enough to see my great, great, great grandkids.
Make a Dirty Harry sequel.
Play drums in a Rock Band.
Teleport to Mars.

Actually when one see's how many will be crossed off with this trip the T2T is looking more and more do-able.
I am going to document this trip and maybe get it published, if that works the Ops GOF trip would sell as well and that may just get the finances needed for T2T! Think BIG!
Just 12 hours to take off!
Wish me luck!
"Life changed after that jump...I'd suddenly stepped to the highest level of daring, a level above even that which airplane pilots could attain." Charles Lindbergh (1902 - 1974), describing his first skydive

Where I want to chill a while...

watch some whales and run some passes before heading back to the daily grind a month from now.
If all works out I will be flying Mango and returning 2 wheeled via Route 62, then via the Eastern Cape to KZN and back via Maloti route or I may even do a round route via some northern provinces... time will tell. I may even blog if I find a net connection.

I have 5 routes planned so far...
Brown, 1000k around the Cape.
Green, Route 62.
Blue, to my Boet via Maloti route then to Mapumalanga via Red.
Red, to my Boet via Wild Coast then Klerksdorp and back home via Maloti route.
Yellow, back home via Witsand and Kimberley.
I still have to plot out the exact roads and work out exact distances... but it any one should be fun.
So to the words of the immortal hit from Steppenwolf...
BORN TO BE WILD
From the 1968 release "Steppenwolf"
Words and music by Mars Bonfire

Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die

Born to be wild
Born to be wild
"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost." H. Jackson Browne, from P. S. I Love You

Walkabout of the Old Farts

The Aborigines do it and I am planning to do it too... go walkabout that is. I am planning a holiday for 2008 and with a few mates of former military persuasion we have tentatively hammered out a plan to do a battlefield tour of the places we trod as troopies last century. As this is a major operation of epic proportion it has to be well planned to ensure a flawless execution. So I will be updating the project from time to time.
An appropriate name will also be needed, I suggested "Ops Grumpy Old Fart", so far it seems to have been accepted!
More to follow...

Modified my to do list...

with this baby as first priority:


KLR 650 2008 model... maybe not in blue though. Yellow or black would be my first wish.
I know I have a CS650 on my wish list but this critter is around 20G's cheaper and the specs are virtually identical plus it has a bigger tank! 6 litres is a looong way on this class off bike. Plus who needs heated grips in Seffrika!
First thing to go would be the pipe... a White Brothers Carbon Pro would look good. But that is all I would modify.
For my budget of 50 grand I should just manage this plus a good set of gear, boots and helmet. Might just have enough left to join Ulysses Motorcycle Association of South Africa and grow old disgracefully...
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs." Unknown

Human Catapult

Human Catapult This is gonna go on the To Do List, for sure! Who needs a plane to do parachuting now... and no, it ain't no April Fool's joke either... this is the real deal!

If Wishes Wus Fishes

Slept late this morning after doing a crazy all nighter behind the keyboard, no migraine... must be a sign of change ergo the wishlist that I have been meaning to do. Putting things down on screen seems to make it seem more real and achieveable to a chronic procrastinator like me. Also not necessarily in the order noted or even complete for that matter.

So as Motorcycle (actually Gabriel & Dresden) say in their song As the rush comes

we drift deeper life goes on
we drift deeper drift deeper
we drift deeper into the song
life goes on
we drift deeper into the sound
feeling strong
so bring it on so bring it onnnn
we drift deeper into the song
life goes on
we drift deeper into the sound
feeling strong
so bring it on so bring it onnnn
So with a few goalposts set it seems to be more worthwhile doing. Let the rush begin!

My list of things to do:
Bungeeeeee!
Buy me a CS650 Beemer
Discover a Comet
Do a skydiving course
Get a Dress Kilt, Clan Campbell
Kiss the Blarney Stone
Pat a Great White on the snout
See a Snow Leopard in the wild
Smell a Volcano
Spend a day with a Silverback
Taste the Dead Sea
Walk the Via Dolorosa
Witness a Supernova Done! Not what I expected but just as spectacular... read the blogs...

My list of Natural Wonders to visit:
Amazon river
Ngorogoro
White Sands
Ayers Rock-Uluru
Witsand

My list of Countries to visit:
Alaska
Angola
Antartica
Argentina
Canary Islands
Falkland Islands
Guernsey
Kamchatka Peninsula
Namibia
Patagonia
Oz
Scotland
Tiera del Fiego

My list of Stuctures to visit:
Ankor What
Macchu Picchu
Tajh Mahal
The Pyramids
Castle Stalker

My list of Cities/Towns to visit:
Alice Springs
Buenos Aires
Brisbane
Cooper Pedy
Edinburgh
Monaco
Nome
Sidney
St Petersburg
Cape Town
Windhoek

My list of absurdities:
Become President of SA or any other country for that matter! Me? a politician?
Build a car that will do 0 > 100 in 3 seconds flat using water as fuel...
Clone the Pope.
Design the smallest OS posssible that will kick MS's butt.
Live long enough to see my great, great, great grandkids.
Make a Dirty Harry sequel.
Play drums in a Rock Band.
Teleport to Mars.