The Urban Cowgirl’s Top 30 Before 30

Having recently reached that sometimes dreadful milestone known as the big 3-0, I find myself feeling somewhat reflective of my messy yet meaningful 20’s. So without seeming like I’ve bought a one-way ticket to Nanahood, I’m celebrating the cunning cougar that I am by sharing with you my Top 30 Before 30 list:

30) Touring the site of Angkor Wat in Cambodia aboard a dodgy rented motorcycle (I have the muffler scar to prove it).
29) Waking up to the view of a crystal clear Harrison Lake from your tent while camping with friends.
28) Hiking the Lares Trek to Manchu Picchu in Peru.
27) Seeing Madonna in concert...twice...oops, three times as of Thursday.
26) Diving the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
25) Being caught camped out on Trevor Linden’s front lawn in a random stalking attempt.
24) Swimming with hundreds of stingrays at Stingray City just off of Grand Cayman Island.
23) Salivating over Scott Weiland while he slithers about on stage in leather pants, rocking out with Stone Temple Pilots.
22) Watching the sunrise whilst perched upon a sand dune in the Sahara desert.
21) Enjoying one too many white wine spritzer’s at English Bay with your foxy girlfriends.
20) Sailing the Dalmatian coastline of Croatia.
19) Having martinis in Chelsea, Manhattan with your mom.
18) Drinking jungle juice in the Sari Club while visiting Bali, Indonesia (before the 2001 bombings).
17) Spending an afternoon sipping hot chocolate and bailey’s while ATVing with your dad.
16) Island hopping around Bocas Del Toro in Panama.
15) Walking the streets of Vancouver, tipsy and slightly belligerent following a Canucks win.
14) Trekking around northern Thailand, staying with hill tribes each night and smoking a sticky substance that makes you dreamy for days.
13) Flashing the bod to passersby while house boating on Shuswap Lake.
12) Plunging to near death with a bungee cord strapped to your ankles while cruising around New Zealand.
11) Holding a friends new born baby for the first time.
10) Having a good friend draw you a map...and following it to the Pherentian Islands in Malaysia.
9) Establishing an impressive karaoke repertoire including the likes of Queen, The Georgia Satellites, and Shania Twain.
8) Watching an AFL game at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG).
7) Waking up early to run the Vancouver seawall, joined only by a few blue herons to disturb you.
6) Mastering the use of chop sticks, which is crucial to ones survival when choosing to live in our fair city.
5) Taking in a Flamenco show in Seville, Spain.
4) Learning to cook something apart from turkey burgers and dipping stone wheat thins into cottage cheese (still one of my favorites, however).
3) Swilling back a few double caesars a la apres ski with friends in Whistler.
2) Leaving the devastating hairstyles of the 1990s behind. (Good god, I just threw up in my mouth thinking about it).

And the number one Top 30 Before 30 is...
1) Learning to always have an emergency supply of Grey Goose in your freezer.

Although turning thirty hasn't slowed me down, I must sign off now to put my Nana ass to bed. Bon soir possums.

Photo credits - Urban Cowgirl