While On Planet Earth...

10 things I want to see/do. If you don't want to be seen with me in public anymore I understand...

Hello, me again. Writing to you here from a co-working session I’m doing with my chums inside the

The Substack Soirée

. We’ve got a new prompt today and in response to it, I’ve decided to round up a handful of things I’d love to see or do this side of heaven. I gave myself some parameters for this: I was aiming for ten and I didn’t include personal dreams relating to my family and loved ones. These are things I’ve heard about and just thought: Erm, yes.

1: Cherry Blossom Season

Streets filled with fragrance? Pink petals floating around? Cherry Blossom season in Japan has been on my wish list ever since I first saw an image of it.

2: Cosplay

Yeah. I’m a dork. Whatever. I want to dress up—like, properly—dress up in costume one day, but I’d need a really good reason to do it so I could go all out. So I guess this one means I also need to go to Comic-con one day or something? I still haven’t decided who I want to dress up as. At the moment I’m thinking maybe Arrietty or Aloy.

3: Zero Gravity

Like jumping on a trampoline but better. I’d love to experience zero gravity somehow. I think it would be the closest thing to experience what it would be like to be able to fly wouldn’t it?

4: Fluent French

Sacré bleu, my French sucks. I’ve been “trying” to learn it through DuoLingo for years now, but maybe it’s their incessant updates or the fact I keep getting pulled into their gamification, but I just can’t seem to string sentences together yet. I can understand more than I can say. I think if I really want to learn it fluently—(which I do, hence its appearance on this list)—I may need to invest in a tutor or something other than Duolingo. Thoughts? Recommendations?

5: Bioluminescent Waves

I can not leave this planet without having seen the water light up. Did you know this is a thing? I only heard of it a couple of years ago, but in certain places, the ocean glows. Bioluminescence, in general, is something I would love to see, either in little glowing creatures or landscapes.

6: Roden Crater: James Turrell

“…a site containing tunnels and apertures that open onto pristine skies, capturing light directly from the sun in daylight hours, and the planets and stars at night.”

I first saw some of James Turrell’s works a few years ago here in Canberra and I still am not ok. He is an absolute Light Wizard. More than that, I couldn’t help but wonder how he kept passion and enthusiasm for his work over decades, all the while creating work that has never been seen before. How would he have explained it to people? His ideas must have sounded so strange to others, but he just knew he was doing something special. At least, that’s completely my interpretation of the situation. Anyway, the Roden Crater is one such work he’s been creating since he acquired the space in 1977. So.

We have Sky Space here (also his) and it’s one of my favourite places to go for quiet but a small feat in comparison what he has done with the crater.

I took this image from inside James Turrell’s Sky Space recently. It is ever-changing but always awe-inspiring.

7: Jane Austen Ball

Ok, I am slightly embarrassed by this one. Yes. I want to dress up again. I want to go to a ball at “Netherfield” and wear flowers in my hair and pretty gloves and dance proper old-fashioned dances like they used to. And apparently, these events exist. Want to come with me? We can split a carriage?

8: See a Rare Bloom, well…bloom.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to witness one of the rarest flowers in the world bloom right before your eyes? One of the ones that only opens once every few decades or something. I’m not sure which one, I just know they exist and I would love to see it happen for myself. Have you seen something like this before? Any suggestions?

9: Visit the Sistine Chapel again

I went when I was about 4. I, like Gandalf, ‘have no memory of this place’ so I would like to go again at an age when I can absorb its wonder and lock its memory away deep within my being.

10: Visit the Cotswolds

I was struggling to come up with my 10th thing when

Jack Fitzgerald

reminded me during our co-working session: I’ve always wanted to visit the Cotswolds. It looks like it’s been lifted right out of a storybook AND I just found out there’s a door there rumoured to have inspired Tolkien’s door for the Mines of Moria. So. Case in point.

Thanks to Jack for sharing this pic from his recent travels! Isn’t this door enchanting?

What about you? What’s on your list? Could you cross any of these off already? More importantly, who’s coming to Comic-con with me in dress ups and/or a Jane Austen ball?