Blog #11: Bucket Talk

Blog #11: Bucket Talk

 

The following is my Bucket List of things I want to do before I die, or rather 'kick the bucket'.

 

#1: Travel Europe
I want to travel Europe and visit the home nations of my ancestors. My Great-Granny Lockhart came from Scotland and I believe we still have relatives over there and I would love to meet them. My Great-Grandpa Lockhart came from England and I'd love to look up any family there. On my Mom's side we have relatives there too that I would love to visit. Plus we have former exchange students who come from Germany and Finland that I would like to see again. I visited Germany in 2001 and would love to go back. Finally of course I have to visit my sister and her wonderful Swedish family in Sweden.

#2: Throw a shopping cart
I've always wanted to throw a shopping cart at someone, that's something I really want to do. Have you ever spent an evening getting drunk at a bar then stop by the 24 hour IGA for munchies before going home to throw up? Well I have and I've not been the only drunk to do so. Some guys who come stumbling into IGA at the late hour are just complete assholes. I've often felt that I might have to defend myself against a group of thugs at some point in my life and it might just be at a grocery store. What better weapen to use to defend yourself and your friends than a grocery cart. Most people do not see it as a weapon but it really would bring a world of hurt if hurled at someone. I'm not talking simply picking it up and tossing it, that would just be silly. No I'm talking about grabbing it by the handle, and spinning myself while lifting it in the air and letting it go at its target. The act of spinning creates velocity and thus makes it a more powerful weapon to use. Its like throwing a discus in track and field, you need to spin it to make it go further. I want to try it one day, hopefully while I'm heroically defending some kids or a damsel in distress. Otherwise if I did hurl a shopping cart for no good reason it might seem weird.

 

#3: Find the Ark of the Covenant
I have always been a fan of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and have been fascinated with Ark lore. I've never actually read the bible so all my knowledge of the Ark of the covenant comes from articles I've read and documentaries I've watched. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about I'll explain it simply: Moses climbed mount Sinai and had a vision of God where God revealed his Ten commandments and Moses copied them down on stone tablets. God also commanded Moses to have a sacred container constructed to store the Ten commandments, and that is the Ark of the covenant. The covenant is made of gold and is pictured below.

The Ark was a sacred object and worshipped around the ancient world. Apparently God stated to Moses that once the ark is built the stone tablets of the Ten commandments are to be placed inside and never opened again. The Ark is said to have great mystical powers. Armies marched with the Ark in front of their armies and those armies almost always were victorious. The Ark could never be touched by man because apparently when people have tried to touch it they were struck down dead. The Ark was carried by two poles that were inserted on either side of the Ark. Over the years the Ark was lost and never recovered. Some say its in Egypt, some say Africa, some say its even in the UK, brought there during the Crusades.

I'm just fascinated by the Ark. It was an object that was worshipped and sought after in the ancient world. To find it would confirm what the Bible says about it is true. Thousands of others have searched for it over the centuries but where they have failed maybe I will be successful, or not but at least I'll have tried. It's one of those goals I'll only be able to attempt after winning or inheriting a large sum of money, because it will take alot of money to do.

 



I met this female Green Lantern at the Edmonton Comic Show. Just thought I would add this to the blog for no particular reason...



#4: Create an epic science fiction series for television
I've always wanted to create a science fiction series. I love to watch science fiction and I have come up with a great concept for a show. It takes place in the 25th century and primarily takes place in space and is a show about friendship, war and betrayal. I would focus on the human drama rather than the special effects. I've mapped out the entire story for the series and who the characters are and what happens to each of them throughout the show. One day I hope to complete my proposal and submit it to television executives.

#5: See AC/DC live in Australia, and visit New Zealand while I'm down there
My favorite band in the world is AC/DC and I would love to see them live in their home nation. Plus I am a huge fan of "The Lord of The Rings" trilogy and fell in love with the scenery and I want to go to where it was filmed which was New Zealand. The people there seem real nice and I'm sure it would be a great place to visit.

#6: Visit Egypt and see the pyramids & sphinx
Crystal really wants to visit Egypt one day and so do I. I really want to see the pyramids and the sphinx. It amazes that an ancient civilization could construct such wonders without the benefit of modern technology. They did construct them with forced slave labour but it still is amazing they were constructed so long ago even if it was done in a terrible way.

#7: Go to Vatican City and meet the Pope
I was baptised a catholic when I was a baby. It was very important for my Great-Granny Lockhart that I be baptised to the catholic religion and so I was. But I'll be honest: I've never gone to Sunday church or read the bible. I believe there is a God but I also believe in science and I think that theres room to believe in both. I have always been fascinated with the Pope and the smallest country in the world, Vatican city. I'm not interested in going to a local church to learn about God, I want to go to the source. The Pope is the head of the Catholic church and I would like to meet the leader of my religion. Hear what he says about God and the world first hand. The power of the church and the history of the Pope and Vatican city amazes me.

#8: Travel into outer space with the Russians or with Richard Branson
Apparently the Russian cosmonauts will take passengers into space for a hefty price. I think that for between $250,000 and 500,000 you can book a seat with them and voyage to outer space on one of their missions. I would have to lose some weight, train up and pass all their medical requirements to go. This is one of those goals that I would need to win the lottery to achieve, and it would have to be a bigger lotto win to do it. If I won over 5 million from playing the lottery I would invest in a trip to outer space. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to travel into space, and if I can hitch a ride with the Russians to do it then so be it. "Virgin Group" billionaire Richard Branson is apparently developing a fleet of space ships to take tourists into space, maybe by the time I win the lotto his fleet will be taking people into space. I think the price tag is similar to the Russians but I'm not sure. Traveling with the Russians, depending on the mission I could be spending weeks or months at the International space station, which would be awesome where as Branson's flights into space would be a quicker round trip.

#9: Learn to play the bag pipes and the fiddle
I love the bag pipes especially when "Amazing Grace" is played on them. I want that played at my funeral for sure. Plus I'm part Scottish so the bag pipes are part of cultural heritage. My Grandpa Leonard played the fiddle most of his life and I would love to learn how to play to continue the family tradition. I miss my Grandpa especially those times sitting there listening to him play the fiddle.

#10: Lose weight
I'm a lazy guy, I admit it. But I need to lose weight and better my physical health. I do ride the exercise bike, when I remember that is....anyway I've already cut alot of the bad food out of my life. I'm drinking more water, less pop. I cut back on drinking booze too, which has tons of calories. I'll never be a skinny guy, I'm built like a football player, but If I can lose at least 40 pounds I would be alot healthier. I'm going to do this !!!!

#11: Build my dream home
Now this goal can either happen when I win the lotto or when I'm older and the kids are moved out. Right now raising 3 kids makes the budget too tight to build a house on but one day I will. I want a big house with a garage and a basement I can convert into a rec room. I want a pool table with a purple rag, big screen TV, Foosball table and an arcade style "Galaga" game for my rec room. Plus I've always wanted my own bathroom so I can take care of business in peace. The rest of the house is Crystals to design.

#12: Win the Lotto
I've been playing every draw for the Lotto649 and Super7 (now LottoMax) for eight years. I've been playing the same numbers for all that time. I've won a few times along the way, the most being $156. But I remain vigilant with playing my numbers, one day I will win, one day hopefully when I'm still young to enjoy it. I don't smoke and barely ever drink so buying my lotto tickets is my "bad" habit. A bad habit that could pay big one day....

#13: Own and operate a business
I've always wanted to be a business owner. I would love to own a gas station and convenience store. I used to love working at Swan Hills Gasland when I was in grade 11 and you get to meet a lot of interesting people. Or I would love to own a night club, that would be fun too. Barrhead needs a cool night spot cause since the Barrhead Inn tavern closed theres nothing cool here anymore. Or if I win the lotto I'd love to buy the in-town golf course here in Barrhead.

 

Chris and several members of the 501st

#14: Go to an NFL and MLB game: New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox
I'm a huge fan of the CFL, not so much the NFL but I'd love to watch a NFL game and get caught up on the NFL hype. I've always wanted to visit Boston so seeing the Patriots and BoSox just make sense. I'm not a 'fan' of either team but they are two teams that interest me. I'd love to watch a Blue Jays game too but they don't have the same history that the BoSox and Fenway Park have. If I did see the Jays I could go to Buffalo and watch a Bills NFL game. Rumour has been for a while that the Buffalo Bills may one day relocate to Toronto and that would be awesome. I'd definitely watch the NFL more if there was a Canadian team in it.

#15: Travel across Canada
My Granny Lockhart promised me when I was a kid that we would travel across Canada. We never did but I would still like to do that. We live in the best country in the world and I would love to see it before I die.

#16: Go on a cruise to Antarctica
Antarctica is the continent that probably most intrigues me . Its cold, its the home of cute penguins and it is at the bottom of the world. There are cruises that travel there and I would love to be on one one day.

#17: Learn to ride a horse
Two of my heroes have ridden horses, Grandpa Leonard and Indiana Jones. I've always wanted to learn but I don't know anyone with horses that could teach me, Grandpa sold his horses before I could learn. But I have to learn one day, especially if I'm going after the Ark of the Covenant.

#18: Run for public office and be an honest politician
Let me share with you a scenario: A small Alberta town "twins" with a town in Mexico. Twinning with international towns is a means of increasing awareness about other cultures and blah blah blah. The town council of the small Alberta town travels to Mexico for 2 weeks. They spend one afternoon at the said Mexican town but where did they spend the rest of the 2 weeks? They were kicking it up at a 5 star Mexican resort payed for by the taxpayers of their small town. Then next June the property owners of the small town were shocked to learn their property taxes had increased by almost $200 from last year. Excuse my language but WHAT THE F^*K??? Who's paying my way to a 5 star Mexican resort? A prime example why politicians are labeled as crooks, because they often are. I want to one day run for local politics and bring honesty and integrity to local politics. I'm sick and tired of all the bullshit. Maybe after being in local politics I would move on to provincial or federal politics. Vote for me and I'll attempt to bring an end to all the bullshit.

#19: Become a published writer/write a novel
I would really love to write a science fiction novel and a  super hero comic book. 

#20: Five people I have to meet
There are 5 celebrities I want to meet before I die or before they die:

1: William Shatner. I can actually scratch this celeb off my list as I got to meet him last summer at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. It was a great moment for me. William Shatner was awesome at his panel and he came out on stage with a arm full of hot women in the green Orion slave girl make-up, very cool. R2D2 presented the Shat with a white cowboy hat from the Mayor of Calgary. Apparently the white hat ceremony is a big thing in Calgary. A guy behind me said "That's not right. R2D2 should not be giving him the hat. The mixing of universes is not right!"...wow, and I thought I was a nerd... Shat was great on stage and announced a special documentary series he has done interviewing all the Captains of the Star Trek series which I did watch and it was a great documentary. The line up for the pic was crazy busy, and when we got to get our pic with him I didn't get to ask him anything.There was a little boy who got his pic before us and after the pic the boy didn't know where his dad was and Shat said to me "Who does he belong to?" referring to the kid. That was it. It was very much get in and get out or get tossed by security. Shat just wanted it to be over, you could tell he had had enough at that point. Still very cool to be standing next to him!! The guy is 80 years old and the fact he still does so much is amazing to me.

2: George Lucas. He created the 2 of the greatest movie series of all time: "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" and also personally designed the great Princess Leia gold bikini. He has changed the face of movies and has lived a very interesting life. He seems like a cool guy and I would like to tour his famous "Skywalker Ranch".

3: Seth MacFarlane creator of "Family Guy". He seems like a real down to earth kind of guy and I think he would be a blast to hang out with, especially if he does his famous "Family Guy" voices.

4: Natalie Portman. She is my number one celebrity crush and I would love to meet her. I am a married man so I would never cheat on my wife, (not that I would ever have a chance with Natalie) but getting to meet her would still be awesome!  

 

5: JJ Abrams. Creator of TV shows such as 'Lost', 'Alias', 'Fringe', 'Person Of Interest', and the director of the new 'Star Trek' films. I have a lot of ideas I would love to share with him. He is both a TV and movie making icon.

______________________________________________________________________

 

Anywho that's all folks. Ttyl

 

- Chris