I was Facebook stalking a friend, because I’m a creeper like that, when I noted to Jess, “You know, Erica has visited so many places and seems to have a lot of awesome experiences!” Then I reflected on my life and realized, damn, I’m kinda boring.

By all accounts, I shouldn’t be, because I

  1. do interesting things like design sex toys and own an app store;
  2. get to go to really cool industry events;
  3. live in a foreign country;
  4. have full fledged obsessions with things like cats, and… cats;
  5. am generally just awesome (kidding!)

But my life is boring. It’s tough stuff balancing a social life with two careers. Something usually has to give, and often it’s the social life.

I’d like to say that I don’t go out because I live in China and there’s nothing to do in Changping and woe-is-me I don’t speak Mandarin so how can I communicate with people? But I can’t. I’ve been living this way for years.

I was reminded of a workshop I attended back in 2009 where participants built our Bucket List. Mine was long, lofty, and reminiscent of 20-something year old’s aspiration for adventure. I took a look at it again today, and am sad to say that I haven’t accomplished as much as I wish.

My Bucket List, revisited

My notes in green.

Travel and Culture

  1. Travel through Europe
  2. Live in Shanghai for at least a year I’m gonna scratch this out, because while it may not be Shanghai, I’m in China. It counts.
  3. Visit Japan (again)
  4. Drink Guinness in Ireland
  5. Visit the McEwen castle in Scotland
  6. Sunbathe in Greece
  7. Drink wine in Italy
  8. Eat in Spain
  9. Visit Giza Pyramids
  10. Go to the Great Wall
  11. Swim in Hawaii
  12. Perfect Mandarin
  13. Take up Korean and French
  14. PARIS!!

Fitness, Beauty and Style

  1. Take up a sport
  2. Get fit and STAY fit
  3. Develop a style that is uniquely “Jen”
  4. Have a signature scent
  5. HERMES H BELT!
  6. GOOD POSTURE!
  7. Run at least 40 minutes at a time
  8. Take up yoga
  9. Have beautiful long hair Scratching half off because my hair is long now, but brittle as hell.
  10. Stop biting my nails

Family and Friends

  1. Host a dinner party 
  2. Develop more friendships with INSPIRING women I’m happy to say that I have more inspirational women in my life.
  3. Surround myself with GOLDEN HALOS I’m also happy to report that I’ve distanced myself from poisonous people.
  4. Have more Girls’ Nights
  5. Meet someone new and make a true connection every month week
  6. Join a book club
  7. Celebrate my friends’ birthdays creatively
  8. Host perfect holiday parties
  9. Learn to enjoy cooking Not only do I like cooking now, I’m confident enough in it to invite people over to eat it! ALSO, I like cleaning now. I KNOW!
  10. Be a positive force in my loved ones’ lives
  11. Think the BEST of people as much as possible!

Business (InnerVibe)

  1. Keep my eyes open to new opportunities I co-found another company with my friends, and moved to China for business (although I often need a reminder as to why the heck I did it)
  2. CREATE new opportunities! MiKandi!
  3. Get connected- network I’m getting much more comfortable to networking and have new opportunities arise from those connections.
  4. Learn to golf
  5. Get at least 2 positive and inspiring articles writtenabout InnerVibe in major publications Sadly this one is not possible as InnerVibe is no longer around… But more on that later, because I have BIG news to announce soon.
  6. Become a trusted expert in our field, a leader in our industry While not for sex toys, I’m asked to participate in industry studies and interviews about adult in mobile tech, and my company is routinely asked to participate as industry experts in mobile panels at events we attend.
  7. Make consumers think “fashionable” and “chic” when they hear “InnerVibe” Again, sadly have to scratch this one out due to circumstances. But stay tuned for big news!
  8. Challenege the public perception about our industry.  Let them know why and how we stand out! Didn’t get to do this for InnerVibe, but totally accomplished this with MiKandi with the help of my team.

Hmm… actually, I crossed off more than I thought I would. Not surprisingly, it’s mostly in the business category. That’s what happens when you work all the time.

Now to get started on the social parts of this list.

What is on your Bucket List?