Recently, with the release of the hit movie "The Bucket List", I've been reading more and more about these lists and have read those of other people who have posted them online. I haven't yet seen the movie, but from watching the trailer and reading some reviews, I get the gist. Basically, a bucket list of Things You Want to Do Before You Die. Everyone should have one of these. I'm still young (34) and hopefully have a very long life ahead of me. However, I wrote down an extensive list several years back. I have it hanging next to my desk and computer so I can look at it everyday. These are the reasons that I work -- so that I can achieve my life goals and aspirations. Additionally, I took it one step further and created another list. I call it "100 Interesting, Exciting and Fun Things That You May Not Have Known About Brian." This list serves as a repository for those interesting experiences that I've had that make me who I am today. One of my greatest feelings of accomplishment comes when I'm able to transfer something from the bucket list over to this list. This list also serves as a great icebreaker with new clients and acquaintances. It's a fast and easy way to get to know a little bit about me beyond the formal resume. Try it yourself. After all (You've Got) Personality (click to listen to this classic song) I learn a lot about my clients when I work with them and thought that my clients and people who are deciding about whether they want to work with me for their real estate needs in Northern Virginia and D.C. would like to learn a bit more about me. Here then are a selection of my already completed Bucket List items (if there's a link that means you can learn more about that particular item in one of my previous blog posts): 1. Been catapulted off of the U.S.S. Enterprise Aircraft Carrier 2. Swam in the Dead Sea 3. Visited the War Room at the Pentagon 4. Flew in a KC-135 and refueled F-4 fighter jets in the air 5. Saw Margaret Thatcher speak 6. Met Henry Kissinger – got his autograph 7. Met Alexander Haig – got his autograph 8. Worked for and played softball with William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts. 9. Had a bachelor party in Las Vegas (no pictures) 10. Stayed in the lavish Garrick Club in London 11. Performed an Argentine Tango at the U.S. Department of State 12. Met Arsenio Hall before he was really famous 13. Sat in the studio audience of David Letterman show twice. 14. Bet on the horses at Del Mar racetrack 15. Gone whale watching 16. Gone deep sea fishing 17. Did a stage dive at a P. Funk concert (broke my thumb) 18. Had dinner with the former Ambassador of Pakistan 19. Participated in a lawsuit against the U.S. government which resulted in a $134 million judgment 20. Ran down the steps of the Eiffel Tower 21. Saw the Rolling Stones in concert in Paris (my first concert experience) 22. Have seen Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Navratilova, Mats Wilander, play tennis 23. Participated in watergun battle on the Potomac River 24. Like Rocky Balboa, ran up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum 25. Biked over 50 miles in one day 26. Gone to Disneyworld and Disneyland 27. Wrote a 192 page book 28. Proposed to my wife at sunset on the beach of Curacao 29. Went snorkeling and saw a shipwreck 30. Played a ghost in a movie spoof of Scooby Doo – though the film was never finished or released 31. Met internationally acclaimed conductor Zeuben Mehta and got his autograph 32. Gone to a Yankees/Orioles playoff game at Camden Yards 33. Won $650 on a slot machine 34. Won $1000 playing craps 35. Marched in the Cherry Blossom Parade as a clown 36. Biked around Block Island, Rhode Island 37. Met and ate dinner with the entire starting lineup of the 1991 Boston Celtics 38. Saw the Tall Ships 39. Visited the U.S. Dance Hall of Fame 40. Toured the U.S. Tennis Hall of Fame 41. Went to the grisly Museum of Death 42. Partied on South Beach, Miami 43. Saw David Copperfield perform 44. Been on the top of the Empire State Building 45. Biked across the Golden Gate Bridge 46. Prepared a delicious Gazpacho soup 47. Visited the Grand Canyon 48. Saw Mount Rushmore 49. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt at Yellowstone National Park 50. Hiked the Grand Tetons 51. Tried to avert the gaze of Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris 52. Drove a child up to the Shriner’s Hospital in Philadelphia 53. Took an all-day massage class 54. Was a vice-president of an internet auction company 55. Gone canoeing on the Charles River 56. Saw Forever Tango on Broadway and the Warner Theater 57. Hiked around Montmorency Falls (higher than Niagara Falls) 58. Spelunked through Luray Caverns 59. Owned a parakeet 60. Rode a camel 61. Went skiing for the first time on a 14,000 foot peak in Colorado 62. Was on an airplane about to take off and witnessed a passenger having a heart attack 63. Passed the Virginia Bar Exam on first attempt 64. Gambled on a Riverboat casino in Kansas City 65. Danced in a Hollywood nightclub to the admiring gaze of Jack Nicholson (really!!) 66. Met the entire cast of Cheers and went to the finale party in Boston 67. Rode on a traditional London red double-decker bus 68. Worked as pollster on election night 69. Gone skinny-dipping 70. Attended services at the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere 71. Toured a WWII submarine 72. Went to Plymouth Rock 73. Got 4 out of 6 numbers in lottery (measly $100) 74. State finalist for Veteran’s of Foreign War “Voice of Democracy” radio script contest 75. Had a meeting in a U.S. Congressman’s office 76. Been entertained by bellydancing during a Moroccan feast (numerous times) 77. Almost perfect score on Math SAT (one damn question wrong!!) 78. Seen live performances by World Champion ballroom dancers 79. Grew a goatee (very temporary) 80. Planted a tree in Israel 81. Saw Halley’s Comet 82. Learned how to juggle 83. Ran in the Race for the Cure (almost every year) 84. Visited the Hershey Chocolate Factory 85. Toured a WonderBread Factory 86. Played chess with a master-ranked chess player 87. Took Kung Fu classes 88. Placed a personal note to God in the Western Wall in Jerusalem 89. Took violin lessons with a Boston Symphony Orchestra violinist 90. Former Member of Mensa 91. Interviewed a client in his jail cell 92. Modeled in several fashion shows 93. Captain of high school tennis team 94. Visited Alcatraz (not as a prisoner) 95. Qualified as a Marksman First Class with rifle-shooting 96. Had my shirt ripped off by a drag queen during performance in the middle of a crowded restaurant 97. Seen Rocky Horror Picture Show multiple times in the theater 98. Have donated over a gallon of blood to the American Red Cross 99. Saw the Olympic Torch pass by in Arlington 100. Ran the Marine Corps Marathon – All 26.2 Miles!! 101. Attended Presidential Inauguration 102. Been in the same room with the President of the United States at Inaugural Ball 103. Served as Worshipful Master of Masonic Lodge 103. Went parasailing 104. Went jet-skiing 105. Rode an elephant in Thailand 106. Learned how to skeet shoot 107. Study Krav Maga martial arts 108. Ran a marathon 109. Flew in open air cockpit WW-I plane and did aerobatic maneuvers 110. Study Brazilian Jiu Jitsu There's plenty more to go and I look forward to adding to this list every year.
Now, you know a lot more about me. Your turn. What have you done? What do you want to do? Do you have personality? | 
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