Now that I have leapt into the decade that will be known as My 50s, I remembered I owed my ardent fans an update on my personal bucket list, which I initially published in March 2015. The list was not things I wanted to do before I died, but things I wanted to do by the time I turned 50. That I am old enough to be a grandfather is hilarious and unnerving in equal measure.
At the time the original blog was written, I was 45, single, living in Long Beach, CA and working as the Assistant Director of the VA Long Beach Healthcare System. I had visited 48 states, lived in 13 (counting the District of Columbia) and traveled to Canada, Scotland, and England. I had a master's in Education Administration and was not a homeowner.
1. Complete my visitation to all 50 states. Unfortunately, Ms. Corona threw these plans into disarray. 2021 will (hopefully) be the Year of Penny Loafers at the Somewhere Else, y'all, as Ben a(yes, I got married) and I are tired of being cooped up at home.
2. Publish my blog as a book. I did publish Almost Odis in December 2017. It has sold less than 900 copies, which is weird because I have 990 Facebook friends. Y'all best get to gettin' and buy my book. It's only $4 for the Kindle version on Amazon.
3. Visit Western Europe. Well, I didn’t make it to Western Europe, but I did travel to Costa Rica, Greece and (on my honeymoon with my amazing husband Ben) the Philippines.
4. Obtain my PhD in Organizational Psychology and Leadership. I did not pursue a PhD. I relish learning, but I’d rather spend $75,000 on a house, y'all. In my zeal to be Brilliant on a Budget, I focused on learning what is available through the VA, like Lean and Process Improvement, Servant Leadership and Just Culture, to name a few.
5. Decide whether I wanted to become a Director of a VA hospital. Having the opportunity to serve as Acting Associate Director and Acting Director of the VA Long Beach Healthcare System, I can state unequivocally that I have no desire to become the Director of a VA hospital. No me gusta, that level of stress, y'all. Two years ago, I even changed career directions when I accepted the position of Chief Experience Officer which allows me to focus my passion toward making my VA the best place be, whether you are a veteran or an employee. Plus, I’m using both of my degrees as Public Affairs and Employee Development fall under my purview. Me gusta macho, this job.
6. Have performed stand-up comedy at least once. I have done stand-up several times, thanks to my friend Melissa and her Improv troupe’s shows, where I was the intermission entertainment. It has been fun. I actually won the Long Beach Storyteller Competition in February 2020 with a story from stand-up and I started my own YouTube channel (Almost Odis by Dusty Thompson) that has my stand-up videos as well as videos of me reading Almost Odis. Go check it out.
7. Have a closer, deeper relationship with God. I don’t know if this happened; you’d have to ask God. What I know is I am no longer afraid of letting Him use me in whatever manner He deems fit.
8. Own a piece of real estate. As the average house price in my neighborhood is $1.2 million for a house that would go for $350,000 in Mississippi, I been unable to bring myself to take the plunge. Apartment dwellers, we remain.
9. Stop inserting random phrases in foreign languages into conversations or blog posts. Not only did I not stop inserting random phrases, I added some new ones I've learned, such as: buang (‘crazy’ in Tagalog), tingnan mo siya (‘look at her/him’ in Tagalog – for gossiping in public), jaldee (‘hurry up’ in Hindi) or yla (‘hurry up’ in Arabic) and khalas (‘enough’ in Arabic) and mahal kita (‘I love you’ in Tagalog) which I said to Ben at our wedding, but also accidentally said to a waiter in Manila when I was trying to use masarap (‘delicious’ in Tagalog).
What’s on your bucket list? If you don’t have one you need to get one because, like my mother always said, “If you’re not dead; you’re not done.”
Salamat (‘Thank you’ in Tagalog and also ‘Blessings’ in Arabic)
