Life List

I like lists. Coming to the United States, I read a lot of lists - particularly sporting lists - by way of a crash course education.

So, it follows that I write lists. The first thing I do every day is write a list of what needs to be done. That's not to say any of it gets done, but it helps me prioritize - which means at least the important stuff gets done.

I keep a list of the states I've stopped in long enough to buy a cup of coffee (12). I keep a list of how many soccer stadiums I saw matches at while in England (38). And I keep a life list - a list of things I want to do before I die. And this Sunday, quite out of the blue, I ticked off the first one.

It seemed as far-fetched as any of the others on the optimistic list when, more than a year ago, I wrote "Score five goals in one game on a Sunday morning". For those of you who don't know, I play every Sunday in an over-30s game. For those of you that have seen me play, you will see how optimistic the idea of my scoring five goals is.

I am a very mediocre player, but as a forward I usually get a goal a game. Most are tap-ins from about three inches out. But as I stuck in the third this past Sunday, I still wasn't thinking about the life list.

The relevance is this - also on the list (and most of the contents I will not elaborate on, but one involves Natalie Portman and a pot of honey) is "Write a book and get it published." Now, before Sunday, I would have thought it more likely to get the book published than score five times in a single game (which we won 7-3 incidentally). But... I've finished the book, and I'm trying to get it published right now. So, pessimism be damned. If I can score five times, twice with my LEFT FOOT!!!, landing a publishing deal is going to be a snap.