I am reading the news about the author of the book “100 things to do before you die” has passed away. The title of his book catch my eyes, so I went to amazon and check it out. The book is about 100 places, festivals and events one should see in his life. I am not a very cultural person, I am not interest in most of those events. Why would I want to see some stupid festival in Africa or South America. A few sports or fun events such as F1 racing or Nobel prize is quite attractive though. Merely seeing things is meaningless unless you can get something out of the experience. Most of those events will only contribute to your photo album and cocktail party chats.
Yet this books give me an idea. Over our life time, we have to write exams, get license, acquire many pieces of paper that prove our existence. I should write a book about “100 pieces of paper to get before you die”. It should not be too hard to elaborate on each entry, talk about the benefits and justify the why you have to get it for a few pages. That would make a nice little book. Oh! Well! I can’t came up with 100 items, I can only think of half of them. Here is my list (not in order) so far:
- Birth certificate
- High school diploma
- Bachelor degree
- Master degree
- Ph.D degree
- Grade certification of any musical instruction (paino, violin, etc.)
- Driver license
- Driver license for motor bike
- Private pilot license
- Sky diving license
- Paragliding license
- Hang gliding license
- Motor boat operator license
- Sailing certificate
- Yachting certificate
- Scuba diving license (PADI, etc)
- Any sport instructor license (Ski, snowboard, golfing, etc.)
- Marriage certificate
- Birth certificate of your children
- Passport
- Baptism certificate (or any spiritual certificate)
- Firearm license
- Hunting license
- Fishing license
- Any second language proficiency exam certificate
- Mensa membership
- Membership of any political party
- Professional designation or trade certificate
- PMP
- MBA
- Equity or bonds (stock certification)
- Any awarded scholarship
- Any sport award
- Credit card
- Library card
- DNA map
- Ticket of a cruise
- Ticket of a major sport event (World Cup, Olympic, etc)
- Ticket to outer space
- Will
- Toastmaster
- First aid certificate
- Life saving certificate
- Patent
- Property ownership
- Six Sigma
- Write a book
- Take a master piece of photo
- Any martial art belts (Karate, King Fu, etc)
Strictly speaking, you don’t get the last piece of paper before you die, you get it after you die – the death certificate. Any suggestion to add to the list?