I hit a point where I realized I was stuck in a rut. Burnout feels real in a way I did not expect. The midlife crisis feels like it might be a real thing too. I love what I do in tech, but I know that I have been choosing comfort for a little too long. Comfort can be the easy choice.
I have had a lot of things to look forward to in life, but work has a way of filling the calendar. I have spent years in the digital agency world, shifting from old school advertising into the creative tech space. I have always been the person who can fix the weird issues, dive into unknown tech corners, and sort out the stuff nobody else wants to touch. Like the printer issue.
So I figured it is time to find things that pull me forward again. Stuff I want to chase. Experiences that matter to me and the people I care about. A bucket list gives me something to look at and say yeah that is worth it.
This list will change over time. I will update it when something new comes along or when I check something off and have a story to share.
Here we go.
Starting My Bucket List
I have checked off some cool things already, but there is more out there I want to try, experience, travel to and enjoy with the people I care about. I will keep adding to this list over time and update it when I check things off.
Here we go. (✅ = Done, 🔵 = Ongoing, ⚪ = Planned)
Checked Off
- Visit Yellowstone National Park with the kids ✅
- Visit San Diego Comic Con with my son. He is my mini me and it feels like a thing we need to do together ✅
- Take my kids to a Husker football game. They have watched a bunch on TV but want them to feel the stadium energy ✅
- More gaming and movie trips with the kids ✅
- Start a company ✅
- Become debt free ✅
- Make my own salsa ✅
- Off roading with Ford Broncos at the Bronco Off-Roadeo in Moab. Utah rocks. Literally. ✅
- Halloween on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. Weird and amazing at the same time ✅
- Hollywood Sign hike. Steeper than the postcards make it look but worth it. ✅
- Golf at Bandon Dunes with my dad and brother. Bucket list family golf trip for sure. ✅
- Visit Zion National Park in the winter. I have seen it in summer and fall and I want to see it quiet with snow if I can. ✅
- Tour a real NASA facility ✅
Travel and Adventure
- Visit Machu Picchu
- Visit Paris
- Visit Australia and or New Zealand
- Visit Glacier National Park
- Drive the Pacific Coast Highway
- See the Northern Lights
- Go stargazing in a real Dark Sky Park
- Visit Banff and Lake Louise
- Ride in a hot air balloon
- Explore a slot canyon in Utah (the less touristy the better)
- Take an overnight trip to Yosemite
Family Experiences
- Experience a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral with my daughter.
- An ocean cabin resort getaway with my wife
- Take the whole family on a big multigenerational vacation
- Take a brewery or winery weekend trip with my wife. Just us.
- Attend a major esports or gaming event with my son
- Build a family recipe book together 🔵 (ongoing with self-hosting Tandoor in my homelab)
Personal Life Goals
- Get back to a comfortable and healthy weight
- Mentor someone into their first dev job
- Create a personal product or tool and launch it just for fun
- Digitize and organize old family photos and videos
- Grow a small garden and cook a full meal from it
Just for Fun
- Play golf in Ireland with my dad
- Visit a weird roadside attraction totally on purpose
- Go to a midnight movie premiere
- Do a themed pub crawl
- Go through a retro arcade museum
- Visit a filming location from a favorite movie
That is what I have for now. There will be more to come and I will keep checking things off as I goam going to keep adding and updating as I go.
Last updated: December 2025