New York-based Filipina blogger Celine Novenario makes it her mission to complete her list of 30 things to do before her 30th birthday
CELINE NOVENARIO, A FILIPINA lifestyle journalist who moved to New York in 2006, is enjoying a great life in the big city. She does web design and desktop publishing for an international humanitarian organization and chronicles her New York adventures in her blog The Chiconomist (www.thechiconomist.com). Celine says, ?The Chiconomist is a blog about living the fabulous life at a fraction of the price?fabulous fashion one can buy from sample sales and designer collaborations, amazing prix fixe meals to be had at great restaurants on the cheap, bars to get sloshed at on delicious half-price cocktails and any other great deal I can find. But it?s also somewhat a diary of my life. It?s the story of a girl who does not have a trust fund, just trying to get the most out of life in New York on a regular paycheck!?

One day, in February, while waiting for her Bikram Yoga class to start, Celine had an epiphany. ?I had all these things I always wanted to do but for some reason had put off. What the heck was I waiting for??

25 before 25

Celine remembered how, when she was 18, she had written a ?25 before 25? list. ?It was more of a wish list than a bucket list. But somehow, a lot of the things I had on that list ended up coming true, even though I thought they were so far-fetched when I wrote them. I realized that putting down things on paper made it that much more plausible that they?d actually get done.?

The pre-Bikram epiphany resulted in Celine?s new list??30 before 30.? ?I thought, holy crap, am I really turning 30 already?! I realized that I could either allow 30 to roll around and then get into this depressing ?What did I do with the last 30 years? state, or I could make sure that by the time I turn 30, I?d done at least 30 things I always wanted to do! The realization kind of just made the project that much more urgent, and as soon as I got home from Bikram class, I started writing the list.?

Writing the list of 30 things she wants to do before her 30th birthday wasn?t easy. Celine said, ?While I wanted the list to be exciting and fulfilling, it also had to be doable. I had to consider how many vacation days I had and how I would be able to pay for it all. As much as I wanted to cram tons of traveling on the list, I couldn?t because I didn?t have the time or money for that. So I had to intersperse things that were less costly but would be good for my ?development? into a full-fledged adult?like learning to cook a 5-course gourmet meal.?

With her birthday hardly more than a year away, Celine put up a new blog called ?30 before 30? (www.30before30project.com) to tell the world about her project and keep track of her progress.

?The selfish reason for putting up the blog is that I wanted to be held accountable. If I pulled together an audience for this, then I knew I wouldn?t be able to flake out on the project halfway. The more unselfish reason is that I know that turning 30 is a rough time for everyone, so I want to encourage people to make it a time to remember rather than a time to dread. I hope that the blog will encourage people to take control of their lives, and make and demolish their own lists, whether its 30 Before 30, 12 Before 2012 or what-have-you.?

Vegetarian for a month

Celine has been working on her list every day. ?I?m just going one day at a time, making sure that I?m always doing something that?ll help me accomplish one of my goals. It?s great. It gives me a daily agenda, there?s always something to conquer.?

So far, Celine has crossed off two items from her list?she completed the 30-day Bikram challenge and was able to go vegetarian for a month.

Funny, it was the meatless test that Celine was most nervous about. ?Would you believe I was more nervous about going vegetarian than, say, skydiving or bungee-jumping? I was such a carnivore that I could probably build a decent zoo with all the animals I?d consumed in the past, so everyone thought I was insane for going vegetarian.?

But she was able to do it. ?The first two weeks were a breeze. It was fun experimenting with all these vegetarian dishes and just witnessing firsthand how the change in diet completely transforms the way I feel. I felt so clean, so energetic, never sluggish. It also helped that I did this at the same time as the 30-Day Bikram Challenge because they really complemented each other. But I have to admit that it got quite difficult towards the end?especially when I was faced with my favorite food like sisig! Do you have any idea how hard it is for someone living away from the Philippines to turn down a plate of sizzling sisig when it lands six inches in front of you? That was sheer torture.?

Now that Celine?s completed her month as a vegetarian, she has focused on the next item that makes her the most nervous?running a marathon. ?It takes just a quick leap to jump off a plane, but a marathon requires so much commitment and strength, not just in the physical sense but in the mental sense, as well. I hope that I have what it takes!?

She has been preparing herself by running regularly in Central Park and has signed up for a 10K run in May. Celine has also just gotten word that she was selected to participate in the ING New York City Marathon in November.

Of the many things on her list, Celine is most excited about going to Ibiza. ?It?s something I?ve been wanting to do since I was 21. That?s finally happening in September and I cannot wait!?

Aside from chronicling her own project on the blog, Celine encourages people to send their lists so she can post them as well. She also has a ?Been There, Loved That? section that features people who have already done things that are on her list so they can share what it was like. ?I want my blog to be more of a conversation,? she said.

Fun in numbers

Celine has also been encouraging friends to join her as she completes the other things on her list. ?It?s a lot more fun that way. Actually, a lot of friends have just come up to me and told me that they were also interested in a lot of the things that I want to do. I?ve got people who?ve committed to joining me for anything from speed-dating and pole-dancing to skydiving and going on a cross-country road trip.?

Even when it comes to lists, there is fun in numbers. Celine realizes this, that?s why she?s sharing her adventure.

The 30 Before 30 Project may be hers but it isn?t just for herself. She said, ?I know that what I?m going through, this need to accomplish something before hitting the age of 30, is not unique to me. Almost everyone who?s getting closer to it feels this sense of life just slipping through one?s fingers. I think that instead of getting overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness, we need to reclaim our lives and make things happen. I hope that through my blog, people will find motivation to do even just one thing that they?ve been putting off for the longest time.?



1. Dance my ass off in Ibiza.

2. Swim with whale sharks in Donsol.

3. Run a marathon.

4. Party at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

5. Skydive.

6. Master cooking up a gourmet 5-course meal.

7. Learn to surf.

8. Bungee jump.

9. See the Grand Canyon.

10. Conquer the 30-Day Bikram Yoga challenge.

11. Go on a cross-country road trip.

12. Eat the worm in the mezcal.

13. Explore the Mayan ruins.

14. Find the cojones to converse, however crappily, in Spanish.

15. Take a pole dancing lesson.

16. Go spelunking in Sagada.

17. Give snowboarding a shot.

18. Ride a motorcycle.

19. Hike to Mt. Pinatubo?s crater.

20. Rock out at a music festival.

21. Record a song.

22. Walk on the Brooklyn Bridge.

23. Learn the basics of burlesque.

24. Go vegetarian for one month.

25. Sunbathe topless in Europe?somewhere where it?s expected, of course.

26. Go on a speed-date.

27. Watch the cherry blossoms bloom.

28. Learn the art of aerial silks.

29. Put in my application to go on mission.

30. Forgive.