Its not a good sign when you're more excited in taking a vacation than you are with working. But come to think of it, I've never met a person who would rather work than go on a vacation anyway. So i'll treat this feeling as normal.

That being said, I'm looking forward to go on vacation this April! A couple of my friends and I are going to Macau for the first time! I'm so excited, that I practically made our travel itinerary in one sitting, and the trip is still a full two months away! On the other hand, my family is planning a trip to Hong Kong a week after I come back from Macau. Now I've been to Hong Kong numerous times, but I'm not complaining.

I've compiled a list of the things I want to do, see, and experience during my trip to both these places. Allow me to share with you my excitement!

MACAU

1. Going on a SKYWALK

I want this to be first extreme thing that I do in my life! The first of many, I hope. This is how the Macau Tower website describes this unique adventure:

"Imagine you're standing on the tower, 233 metres up. Now take a stroll around the outer-rim that encircles the tower. Piece of cake, right? Oh, did we tell you that the walkway is just 1.8 metres wide and, get this, THERE'S NO HANDRAIL!"

Hows that for exciting? Of course there's the option to go bungy jumping or tandem jumping, but i'll be happy if I get to accomplish this feat. Unless I develop a sudden case of acrophobia before I go on this trip, the Skywalk activity is a must-do for me.

2. Visit to each of the places in the Historic Center of Macau

The obsessive-compulsive in me tells me that I want to visit each of the sites included in the list, amounting to 25 locations including churches, gardens, old buildings, and fortresses. The good news is that they're within walking distance of one another, which means that I have a pretty good chance of visiting all of them.

3. Take a stroll at the Venetian Hotel

I was able to see the Venetian Hotel over at Las Vegas, and I was amazed at how a hotel of that scale was created. It was truly a testament to the creativity of man. For this same reason, I want to see what they did with the Macanese version. In addition to this, I'm also including the Wynn Hotel and the Grand Lisboa in my hotel casino hitlist. But I have no plans of gambling though.

HONG KONG

1. Visit the "Happiest Place on Earth" for the first time

Yes, its going to be my first time to visit Disneyland. Since I have no plans of going to the US or Japan anytime soon, the Hong Kong version is the next best thing. I don't know what i'm going to feel when I step inside Disneyland for the first time, but I sure am excited now.

2. Shopping at H&M

My trip to HK this year would not be complete without dropping by H&M. Although I don't really plan on doing much shopping and going overboard with my expenses, I feel that a trip to H&M should be treated as an experience.

3. Royce Chocolates

The only time I get to taste Royce chocolates is whenever I go to Hong Kong or Singapore. Their Nama product line is my all-time favorite, and I always buy a couple of boxes to bring home.

4. IKEA

Another Holy Grail of shopping destinations for me. I've never been to any IKEA store, but i've heard nothing but good stories from people who have. The IKEA catalog is always in my wishlist from relatives who live in Singapore. To finally experience IKEA would make one of my dreams a reality.

These are just a few of the things that I want to experience during my upcoming vacations. The list is nearly endless: there's eating the famous egg tarts from the original Lord Stow's Bakery, going to the Macau countryside - Coloane, DVD shopping at HMV, taking the MTR using the Octopus Card, supermarket strolling at City Super, walking at Time Square...

I remember making this list when I turned 23 in 2006. Wanna know how I did with my list? See below

23 Things I Want Now That I'm 23

1. Visit another country with my own money - I accomplished this in 2007 when I went to Bangkok with my good friends Pam & Mike. It was on of the best and most memorable vacations i've ever had.

2. Take up cooking and see if I have the passion for it - I'm a month into my cooking lessons right now, and i'm enjoying it very much! I have a feeling that i've finally found something that I want to do with my life!

3. Become fit and take boxing classes - I haven't taken up boxing, but the good news is that i'm more concerned with my health nowadays. I've resorted to going on brisk walks nightly and i've also been mindful of my eating. No more double rice binges for me anymore!

4. Learn to play the guitar on my own (I already bought the book) - I did buy the book, and I tried following it a few times with my guitar. Sadly, I didn't find the motivation to follow through with it. I guess I need an instructor to really push me into learning.

5. Establish a business, no matter how small it is - Me and a friend of mine tried to do this last year. We made it as far as developing the product and the concept. For some reason, we couldn't get it started. This is one of my frustrations, because I think that we have a very good plan in mind. What do you say about making it happen in 2008?

6. Travel alone for the first time - Although I have taken a plane ride alone during business trips in the office, I have yet to travel and explore a particular destination on my own.

7. Begin playing the "game" in the workplace - I've been "boss-less" for pretty much most of 2007 until now, so I could say that I've had numerous opportunities to play the office "game".

8. Become promiscuous and play around - Why did I even include this in the list? But just to give an update, the answer is a resounding "NO, I DIDN'T EVEN TRY."

9. Increase the investments in my UITF account - I was able to increase my investments in my ALFM Fund, and I opened a Dollar Bond Fund and an Equity Fund as well. I also opened my first US Dollar account. I guess I did OK in the "saving up for a rainy day" department.

10. Get into investing in stocks - Do investments in an Equity Fund count?

11. Become a foodie / gourmand - I've eaten around, that i'm sure of.

12. Overcome my fear of dating - Its sad to admit, but I don't think that dating and me go together. Strike this off my list.

13. Test the waters - Which waters were I referring to when I wrote this up?

14. Become famous... ok, semi-famous will do - Alas, my coveted fame still eludes me at the moment. Maybe i'll post something of me on YouTube one of these days, and no, it won't be a sex video.

15. Do something extreme, like jumping off a building - I can't believe that I haven't done anything extreme yet! But i'm looking forward to going to Macau in April because i've made up my mind to go on the Skywalk they have over at the Macau Tower. Though its not as extreme as bungee jumping or skydiving, I figured that you have to start somewhere. Baby steps, baby steps!

16. Sing in a band or a choir - I joined a choir in November 2006, and I'm still there. My next goal is to be able to form my own band

17. Begin showing people the full extent of my potential - I honestly think that i'm still holding back when it comes to this. I don't know, maybe the right venue to show what I can really do hasn't presented itself yet. But with my recent foray into the culinary arts, I have a feeling that I'll get there.

18. Work on my socializing skills, and become a social butterfly - I could say that I've gained more friends since the time I wrote this entry, and I've also maintained friendships quite well. More importantly, I reconnected with my old friends from high school. I couldn't be happier with the state of my relationships right now!

19. Look into the possibility of living on my own - I'm still living with my parents, but I have no qualms about it. This will come in time, and I realized that I shouldn't hurry myself to do this. Although the "Slaughterhouse" is always available.

20. Give the oldest profession a try :) - I haven't even gone out on a date, and yet have the nerve to try out prostitution! I have not done this, but if anyone out there happens to stumble on this blog entry, give me your best offer!

21. Explore other opportunities for work - I've made a pact with myself to stick it out here in the office for as long as I can. To date, I have been working in the same place for 2 years and 1/2 months now. I've learned a lot, and I'm grateful for everything my work has allowed me to achieve.

22. Try an illegal substance - I've made my intentions known to some of my friends who are connected in "illegal" circles, though they have yet to offer me anything. I guess they see me as too much of a good guy to try anything illegal. I'm still keeping my hopes up for this in 2008!


23. Live long enough to make another list - I'm 24 and still very much alive! I have a lot of plans for the future and I'm very excited at the prospects I have!

I'm confused as how to score myself in terms of how many i've accomplished in the list. If i'm going to be strict about it, and give a point to the items that I really did based on what I wrote down, I would say that I accomplished 7 out of the possible 23 things to do. That would put my success rate at about 30%. However, if you combine the things that I did with the things that I tried doing, but ended up falling short for whatever reason, I score around the area of 14. That takes me to about 50% combined success and trial rate. Do you think I garnered a good enough score?