My father used to say that we are only here for a minute. When I was younger, I heard the words, but I didn’t truly feel their weight. As the years have passed, that “minute” has started to feel faster, and I’ve finally come to understand the urgency behind his sentiment.

Life is fleeting.

For most, the journey is consumed by the relentless cycle of the 9-to-5—a “daily grind” that often leaves the spirit exhausted and the calendar empty. I was never one to find fulfillment in the rigid structures of corporate America; I always felt there was more to see beyond the fluorescent lights of an office.

Fortunately, my passion for building a portfolio and my strategic investments in real estate have changed the narrative. That steady stream of passive income has bought me something far more valuable than property: time and resources. 

It has given me the freedom to step away from the gray monotony of the rat race and to appreciate the “Color Purple”

The Bucket List Realized- Making the Minute Count!

This list is a record of curiosity in action, marking the moments where my “someday” finally met the calendar.

I jumped out of a perfectly functional airplane, just for the thrill of it.

Got stranded in a mud pit in the middle of the Serengeti surrounded by the wild eyes of the African bush

Rode a camel, ate a camel (because that wasn’t chicken)

Ate with a bat flying over my head

Traded the warmth of the world for a night entombed in an ice hotel, sleeping on a slab of ice

Saw lava flow in the Big Island (really saw it, not that dot in Costa Rica)

Crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge and felt the weight of history pressing on my boots.

Slept in a glass igloo and marveled at the northern lights ( I was actually underwhelmed, it’s the New Yorker in me.)

Stood in front of the Lorraine Hotel and felt the silence of a moment that changed the world forever.

Stood witness to the full majesty of the Big Seven in Africa

Zip lined in Costa Rica and felt the pure, adrenaline-fueled rush of soaring through the emerald canopy of the rainforest.

Sand boarded in Dubai carving through the golden dunes as the vast desert landscape stretched out toward the horizon.

Swam with the dolphins with wonder as I glided through the water.

Ate some of Gus’s World Famous Fried chicken. Delicious!

Unknowingly ate jelly fish. 

Went dog sledding in a winter wonderland 

Walked the Siq to the treasury in Petra

Stood in the thundering shadow of Mendenhall Glacier as it shattered into the water with a roar that shook the air.

Dropped a couple Benjamin’s and stayed at Ngorongoro crater lodge, like a rock star! 

I drifted down the timeless currents of the Nile to stand in the hallowed silence of the Valley of the Kings, face-to-face with Tutankhamun 

Drank some black water (thank God for Cipro)

Slept in a cave house in Santorini and watched the sunset in Oia

Walked the halls of the Taj Mahal with my one true love… actually he may have disappeared with his camera.  

Rode an elephant (poor thing) 

Drifted through the dawn sky over Cappadocia, suspended in a wicker basket with a sea of balloons over a landscape of jagged stone chimneys

Conquered most of Mount Reiner with my dad (Mom was gone, left us behind)

Blurred the world into a high speed smear as I tore around the speedway at a blistering 140 mph (the vertigo, I nearly fell when I stepped out of the car)

I knelt in the hallowed hush of the Church of the Nativity for midnight mass and touched the ancient, jagged crown of Golgotha rock (you really have to suspend disbelief)

I cruised through the sun-drenched streets of Havana with the scent of a Cohiba trailing in the breeze before settling in at the Buena Vista Social Club with a cool mojito in hand.

Lounged in the architectural marvel of the Marina Bay Sands, like a ” Crazy Rich Asian” before plunging into the rooftop infinity pool high above the Singapore skyline.

Stopped at Kuala Lampur to wonder at the Petronas Twin Towers and climb the 272 steps to the Batu Caves (my legs hurt for days)

Sipped Kopi luwak at the Tegallalang Rice Terraces of Bali 

Traveled to the end of  the word (Ushuaia) and crossed the Drake Passage to spend some time with the penguins in Antartica

And there was Vietnam, Amazing Vietnam and I’ll leave it at that….

Played around with a baby leopard ( I swear for one moment, he thought about having me for lunch) 

Spent more than one night in Bangkok with the infamous lady boys!  

Bore witness to the horrors of Cambodia’s killing fields

Walked the street of Pompeii and sailed on a private yacht in Sorrento ( happy birthday Lisa B!). 

Got married on a church floating on water

And since I had to marry the fool again, I promised not to step on his blue suede shoes and he promised to be my hunka hunka burning love -Vegas Style. 

Played blackjack and won (then lost it all)

Took a pole dancing class and a belly dancing class, epic fail !!!! lol 

Least I forget that late night call from… that led me to the porn convention… 😂 

And … I still have a few good years left in me…