Before I die...

I've never formalized a bucket list, but it seems like an appropriate birthday to do so. So here it is:

1. Before I die, there are places I'd like to visit:

• My remaining US states (Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington)
• Australia, maybe New Zealand, China (Great Wall, Forbidden City), see Mt. Everest, Tibet, Moscow (maybe ride a train from Europe or take the Trans-Siberian express to China), India (Taj Mahal especially), Egypt, Netherlands, see the Amazon, maybe some Inca ruins, and go back to a lot of places I've already been.

2. Things I'd like to do

• Run another marathon, maybe the Boston Marathon (laying aside an old goal to break a 5 minute mile, not sure I'll make a triathlon in Hawaii)
• Finish a novel
• Be able to play Liebestraum, Rondo Capriccioso, Clair de Lune on the piano 
• Write something(s) that captures everything I think I know (maybe wait till after I'm dead to publish it)
• Go on a safari in Africa
• Paint something worth framing

3. Things I want to understand

• Get to fluency in Spanish
• Schroedinger's equation and a lot of quantum mechanics, special and general relativity 
• Finish going through my physics, calculus, and chemistry books, maybe push beyond them...