OnceOnline presents
101 things to do before you die
Some of these things you may have done, some you’ll want to do, others you’ll never do. And that’s all good. But whatever you choose to pack into your life, make sure you get life cover first. OnceLife makes it simple. Just click here to see how easy it can be to get the cover you need. Enjoy the list.
1 Write the story of your life
Let’s face it, the odds of anyone else doing it are pretty remote
2 Watch every James Bond film
Back to back, from Dr No to Casino Royale (not the David Niven one)
3 Sing along in a music store
Ideally very loud while wearing those silly plastic headphones
4 Build a snow cave
Then retire for the night with a couple of frozen Margaritas
5 Get in the record books
The best way is to do something so silly no-one’s attempted it yet
6 Turn your mobile off for a week
You’ve talked about how you’d easily manage, but do you dare?
7 Run in fancy dress for charity
Gorilla, clown, or chicken, no-one sees how exhausted you are
8 Blow one month’s wages on shoes
Manolo’s, Jimmy Choo or perhaps some good old RM Williams
9 Paint a self portrait
See if you can capture the inner beauty you know is there
10 Bury a time capsule
With instructions in your will to open in 100 years time
11 Leave behind a million dollars
With strict instructions for it to be spent on an almighty party
12 Learn to play at least one song
You may not be Eric Clapton, but you can manage a few chords
13 Plant a tree and carve your name
Probably not both in the same week, but make it a 25 year project
14 Go on holiday with no luggage
Much less frustrating than coming back from holiday with no luggage
15 Have a night at the opera
Immerse yourself in history, drama and culture all in one evening
16 Learn a different language
And get a different perspective on the world at the same time
17 Play an elaborate practical joke
But make sure you’ve planned to handle things if it backfires
18 Host a cocktail party
A proper cocktail party, with cocktails, not just wine and beer
19 Spend Christmas Day helping out
Working the 25th in a hostel is a great present to yourself
20 Meditate for 3 hours in one sitting
Peace and enlightenment in less time than a Lord of the Rings movie
21 Spend a week at sea
Salt air in the nostrils, queasiness in the gut, character-building stuff
22 Get re-married in Vegas
Give those nuptials a cut and polish at the Chapel of Love
23 Skinny dip at midnight
The romance of the ocean, or the raunch of the neighbour’s pool
24 Have a suit hand made
Feeling it’s yours and yours alone will have you walking taller
25 Spend the night in a haunted house
If Scooby and Shaggy can manage it, surely you can too
26 Make fire the old fashioned way
Go all Stone Age with flint and tinder (or Coke can and chocolate)
27 Swing through the sky on a trapeze
With the wind in your hair and your stomach in your throat
28 Horse ride through the surf
If you’ve never sat on a horse in your life, this is the way to start
29 Read a book a fortnight for a year
Whether it’s the classics or airport pulp, just make it a habit
30 Make your own pasta
Flour, eggs, a splash of water and the magic of Italy is all yours
31 Swim with something big
Whale, shark, giant ray, dolphin, turtle, they’re all profoundly moving
32 Sleep outdoors watching the stars
With a swag and a billy of tea, or a doona and a bottle of Dom
35 Resign by all-staff email
You’re over it and you’re outta there. Why not make a statement?
36 Go out shopping in just a Drizabone
Because going shopping in just a fur coat is not PC anymore
37 Catch a fish and eat it that day
Be a tough hunter-gatherer while watching your cholesterol
38 Brew your own beer
Easier than you might think and surprisingly like the real thing
39 Learn to throw a boomerang
Difficult to master, but guaranteed to drive your dog nuts
40 Ride a giant rollercoaster
The terrifying Steel Dragon 2000 at Spaland, Nagashima, Japan
41 Surf and snowboard in one day
After all, in how many countries in the world can you do that?
42 Build a tree house
Nothing big or fancy. Just a place to hide from the world.
43 Take pole dancing lessons
Just in case you bump into a Pole who fancies a dance
44 Pash a policeman on New Years Eve
You may get nicked, but you may get a Valentines card too
45 Do a Roar & Snore at the zoo
And you’ll never complain about your noisy neighbours again
46 Give a homeless person your lunch
But don’t be offended if they ask for cash instead
47 View a house you can't afford
And take reassurance from the fact that money doesn’t buy style >
33 Create an online alter-ego
Brush real-life inadequacies aside to be a virtual world champion
34 Cook something you’ve grown
Even if it’s only a handful of herbs, you’ve completed the circle >
48 Hire a house boat
And watch everyone else race by as you drift along
49 Go trekking, carrying all your gear
Make like a snail and achieve true independence
50 Build something that will outlast you
A piece of furniture, a shed, maybe restore a classic car
51 Research your family tree
Are you descended from nobility? Do you have a wealthy great-aunt?
52 Go to a bedding store in your PJs
You spend one third of your life in bed, research it properly
53 Cut your own hair
Few things are more guaranteed to make you feel helpless
54 Get involved in a protest rally
There must be something you feel that strongly about
55 Make a crowd sign for the cricket
Warnie’s hair, Gilly’s ears, now we need some new ideas
56 Leave a love note on a windscreen
Watch their face change as they discover it’s not a ticket
57 Build a giant sandcastle
With turrets, moats and windows, then watch it all get washed away
58 Blow a kiss to a bikie
It’s not easy looking tough and hard-bitten 24/7
59 Wear fancy dress for a whole day
You’ll learn some people really do have no sense of humour
60 Spend one hour in a lift
Smile and say g’day to everyone who gets in and out
61 Get your fortune told
Of course it’s all nonsense and you don’t believe it. Except the bits you like
62 Make a baby laugh
There’s no happier sound in the world than a good gurgle
63 Make a snowman
Remember, the only acceptable ‘nose’ is a good sized carrot
64 Make love on the beach
A movie cliché guaranteed to make you feel like a teenager again
65 Help out at a soup kitchen
An amazing one day crash course in anthropology
66 Send flowers for no reason at all
The florist won’t understand, but they’ll love it anyway
67 Watch the sun rise
As it inches over the horizon you feel there’s hope for us all
68 Watch the sun set
Enjoy the irrational feeling of a huge task being completed
69 Make a cake for the teachers
Works best when you don’t have kids at the school - or even kids
70 Take the day off on your birthday
Wrap yourself a present, something you’ve always wanted
71 Spend Christmas Day in Lapland
Get festive with the full-on reindeer/sleigh/elves caper
72 Make a heap of Autumn leaves
Then see who can land in them with the least amount of style
73 Walk through knee deep mud
Tasmania offers some of the world’s finest mud, gaiters are a good idea
74 Tell your Mum you love her
But of course you do this all the time already, don’t you?
75 Have a night at the ballet
And marvel in greater athleticism than you see on most sports fields
76 Take evening classes with a friend
Japanese, Pilates, oil painting - something you’ve not done before
77 Take a tap dancing lesson
So you think you can dance? Trying this will probably prove you wrong
78 Write a letter to your grandchildren
Tell them about how the world was all the way back in 2008
79 Smile at 100 strangers
Statistics tell us you can expect an average of 73 smiles in return
80 Read the plays of Shakespeare
Tough going, but still some of the thickest plots ever stirred
81 Do a first aid course
One day someone close to you may be very glad you did
82 Keep a diary for a whole year
Then put it away to share with your children in 20 years
83 Google yourself
Even if you don’t show up, you might find a famous same-name
84 Visit your parents in a limousine
As the superstar son or daughter they thought you were anyway
85 Live off the land for a week
That doesn’t mean scrounging through the neighbour’s bins
86 Listen to your iPod right through
Like the last spoon in the sink, you always find a ‘new’ song
87 Fast for 48 hours
And give the money you would have spent on food to charity
88 Skip with your kids along a beach
For some reason teenagers don’t really get into this one
89 Take a vow of silence
And spend a day having an internal conversation with yourself
90 Finish the crossword or sudoku
No-one will realise you’ve made up some of the answers
91 Give blood
If you can, you should. Less an ambition, more a civic responsibility
92 Write to your favourite author
You may be surprised how receptive they are to a well-worded approach
93 Walk a marathon
Any fat boy can run one, walking lets you soak up the atmosphere
94 Contact your childhood sweetheart
Did they find someone better looking and more thoughtful than you?
95 Give an emo a big sloppy kiss
Because the idea they’re always depressed is just a silly stereotype
96 Pretend to be invisible
Stand right next to people and say, ‘Don’t mind me, I’m invisible’
97 Buy some outrageous sunnies
Corey Worthington proves they multiply your fame potential
98 Wind up a security guard
Well known for their terrific sense of humour, they’ll see the funny side
99 Send a message in a bottle
Share your innermost secrets with a complete stranger
100 Make a kite and fly it
Then imagine it’s you up there spreading your wings
101 Test drive a car you can't afford
Because they can’t be sure you’re not an eccentric millionaire
Remember...
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