Number 30: Stay in the Best Suite in a Five Star Hotel

Completed 29 December 2011

Executive One Bedroom Suite - Marriott Hotel - Brisbane

In the December 2011 Christmas break, with the office closed I didn't really have any plans or much to do so I decided to tick of the things from my bucket list. So since I was in line for a bonus in December I picked something that cost a pretty penny.

So I started searching for local 5 star hotels and enquiring as to their most expensive suite and I must say it was an odd experience to ask about available rooms and responding with “Do you have anything more expensive?”

After calling around most of the 5 star hotels in Brisbane, I ended up deciding on the Marriott’s Executive One Bedroom Suite via Lastminute.com.

Yep, $785.50 for one night. 

So around 1:30pm on the day, I ventured into the city to check in and get sorted. I checked in and went up to the room with no plans to leave it for the entirety of my stay.

While I was there I spent a nice afternoon in the Executive Lounge eating and drinking while reading, watching movies, sleeping in and ordering room service for dinner and breakfast the following morning. The highlight by far was the bed; I have never slept in such a comfortable bed before. 

Mark 30 as done.

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Number 29: Meet Your Idol

Completed 3 December 2009
Dream Theater - Original line-up

I've always loved Dream Theater and had seen them live once in Melbourne a couple of years earlier. However at that stage I didn't have the opportunity to buy the meet and greet package so when the chance came up in 2009 tour, I ( along with the wholehearted support of my then girlfriend) went for it.

So the tickets were booked and a few days before the event we got the laminate, the ticket and the instructions for the meet and greet, now was the time to get excited.

Like I'd be late to this...

The "Black Clouds and Silver Linings Tour" setlist was mainly from the album of the same name, which I really liked, one of their better albums of recent years had the set list as follows:

A Nightmare to Remember

A Rite of Passage

Hollow Years

The Mirror

Lie

Wither

The Dance of Eternity *One of my favourite DT tracks of all time*

Solitary Shell

In the Name of God

Encore: The Count of Tuscany

And on Support was Pain of Salvation with the below setlist and I was really looking forward to seeing these guys live as they are quite a good band. But whoever managed their balance levels was having a bad night and the bass was terribly overpowered.

Falling

The Perfect Element

Fandango

Ashes

Linoleum

Conditioned

Disco Queen

Dream Theater, an amazing progressive metal band from the US and why do they get the honour of being classed as my "Idol"? Simple, as I mentioned to the band when I met them... They were the band that introduced me to good music. Meaning prior to discovering DT I was just an annoying little teenager that listened to the "Top 40" style charts and without them I would not have discovered other great bands like Porcupine Tree, Devin Townsend, Pain of Salvation and X Japan.

Mark 29 as done.

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Update post - No: 57 See the All Time Greatest Films and No: 84 Sell All Your Junk on eBay

Update to Number 57 - Count: 70/131

Over this weekend I got to watch North By Northwest (1959) by Alfred Hitchcock and while I enjoyed it, I must admit that I enjoyed Rear Window (the previous Hitchcock movie I watched from the list) more. I have gone and updated the list accordingly. 


Update to Number 84. 

Over the duration of this weekend I've also been searching my apartment for things to get rid of via eBay. So far I've located, priced and photographed about 11 items and they will probably go on-line next week.  

Once the items are listed, an official post will come out. 

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Number 27: See an Erupting Volcano

Completed 27 December 2010
Mount Yasur, Tanna, Vanuatu. 

During a visit to Vanuatu in December 2010, one of our main targets and reasons for going was to see the mighty Mt. Yasur, the world’s most accessible active volcano and the worlds 3rd most active.


The holiday was split in to two halves, the first half being a nice enjoyable relaxing adventure with things like exploring the main island of Efate, swimming with tropical fish (See Number 02) and relaxing at a number of resorts. We had quite a wonderful time doing it as well apart from a slight bump (which I found most exciting) in the road of a 7.3 Earthquake striking while we were there but for more details on that see Number 102.


Then we started the adventure half of the trip, which involved a domestic flight to the island of Tanna and then a 2.5hr ride in the back of a ute along roads that can barely be called such. But oh how it was worth it.

Climbing the final leg on foot, you feel a small rumble and then hear a tremendous roar as you climb, Yasur is greeting you. What a sight to behold.

What a truly incredible experience. Something so mind blowing to witness and a sight that will no doubt stay with me for the rest of my life. If doing this has ever crossed your mind... I tell you now, do it!

Furthermore on an awesome side note I got to meet John Seach while I was there, a guy who runs a great little volcano activity website that I frequent called www.volcanolive.com/

Mark 27 as done.

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Number 57: - See All Time Greatest Films 69/131

So Number 57 is something I'm slowly working through while currently sitting at 70 out of 131 movies seen. Some I understand why they are on this list, others not so much. However I push on regardless and if anyone can see movies on the list that I'm yet to see but will vouch for their level of awesomeness please shout out and I will put it at the top of the list. The movies marked in blue are the ones I've seen.

1. 12 Angry Men (1957)
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
3. A Bout de Souffle (1959)
4. Alien (1979) 
5. Aliens (1986) 
6. Amadeus (1984)
7. Amelie (2001) 
8. American Beauty (1999) 
9. An American Warewolf in London (1981) 
10. Annie Hall (1977)
11. Apocalypse Now (1979)
12. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
13. Back to the Future (1985) 
14. Barbarella (1967)
15. The Big Lebowski (1998) 
16. Big Wednesday (1978)
17. Blade Runner (1982) 
18. Blue Velvet (1985)
19. Das Boot (1961)
20. Brazil (1985)
21. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) 
22. The Breakfast Club (1985)
23. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 
24. Caddyshack (1980)
25. Casablanca (1942) 
26. Casino (1995) 
27. A Christmas Carol/Scrooge (1970) 
28. Citizen Kane (1941) 
29. City of God (2002)
30. Clash of the Titans (1981)
31. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 
32. The Deer Hunter (1978) 
33. Deliverance (1972)
34. Les Diaboliques (1955)
35. Donnie Darko (2001) 
36. Do the Right Thing (1989)
37. Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
38. Ed Wood (1994)
39. The Elephant Man (1980) 
40. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 
41. Enter the Dragon (1973) 
42. Eraserhead (1977)
43. Evil Dead 2 (1987)
44. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) 
45. Festen (1998)
46. Fight Club (1999) 
47. Flash Gordon (1980)
48. Ghostbusters (1984) 
49. The Godfather: Part 1 (1972) 
50. The Godfather: Part 2 (1974) 
51. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
52. Goodfellas (1990) 
53. The Graduate (1967)
54. The Great Escape (1962) 
55. Grosse Point Blank (1997)
56. Groundhog Day (1993) 
57. Harold and Maude (1971)
58. Harvey (1950)
59. Heathers (1989)
60. The Italian Job (1969) 
61. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 
62. Jaws (1975) 
63. Jules et Jim (1962)
64. The Jungle Book (1967) 
65. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
66. Kingpin (1996) 
67. L.A. Confidential (1997)
68. The Ladykillers (1955) 
69. The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 
70. Lost in Translation (2003)
71. The Matrix (1999) 
72. Memento (2000)
73. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 
74. Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) 
75. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) 
76. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
77. North by Northwest (1959)
78. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
79. The Omen (1976) 
80. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 
81. A Passage to India (1984)
82. Peeping Tom (1960)
83. Pi (1998)
84. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 
85. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) 
86. Platoon (1986) 
87. The Producers (1967)
88. Psycho (1960) 
89. Pulp Fiction (1994) 
90. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 
91. Rear Window (1954)
92. The Right Stuff (1983)
93. The Ring (2002) 
94. Risky Business (1983)
95. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
96. Scanners (1981)
97. Secretary (2002)
98. Sexy beast (2000) 
99. Se7en (1995) 
100. Seven Samurai (1954)
101. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 
102. The Shining (1980) 
103. Shrek (2001) 
104. The Sixth Sense (1999) 
105. Spirited Away (2001) 
106. Star Wars (1977) 
107. The Sting (1973)
108. The Straight Story (1999)
109. The Sure Thing (1985)
110. Swingers (1996)
111. Taxi Driver (1976)
112. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) 
113. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
114. The Thing (1982) 
115. This is Spinal Tap (1983)
116. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 
117. Top Secret! (1984)
118. Touch of Evil (1958)
119. Toy Story (1995) 
120. Toy Story 2 (1999) 
121. Trading Places (1983)
122. True Romance (1993)
123. Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
124. The Untouchables (1987) 
125. The Usual Suspects (1995) 
126. The Vanishing (1988)
127. Videodrome (1982)
128. When We Were Kings (1996)
129. The Wicker Man (1973) 
130. Withnail & I (1987)
131. Young Frankenstein (1974)

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Welcome to my world.

Welcome to the blog component of my lifelong bucket list, the book entitled "101 Things To Do Before You Die" by Richard Horne. 

When I first saw thing book it seemed like a lot of fun. A ton of things to do, some that I really want to do and others that will take me miles outside my comfort zone. 

Now I've had this book for a couple of years and I decided to make something a bit more formal to keep track of my adventures. A place that I can add a bit more detail and some photos if there are any.

Upon launching this blog I've completed 8 out of 102 challenges listed. Ah the 102 not 101, allow me to explain one of the last pages in the book is a blank "Make your own page" which I've done and be found as number 102 on the list. 

I have really really loved having this book in my possession and attempting to complete it has given me some amazing life experiences so far. I recommend this book to anyone that feels up for the challenge or maybe needs that little shove to get outside there comfort zone. You can check out the books here.

Lastly there will be an initial few posts as I update the things I've already completed before going on to update it as I complete more in the future or any other relevant posts to the list. 

Waiver signed...

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