[Non-MBA] The sum of your experiences

Just a random thought - I thought I'd post it here. How do you define the richness of your life? I don't mean your life right now, rather when you are eighty years old and look back on your life, what criteria would you use?

Many people try to live vicariously through their kids and grandkids. They link their success to the success of their kids, usually the conventional indicators - job, house, car blah blah blah. Others simply look at their bank balance. [I'm not dissing the importance of money, in fact I wouldn't mind being a rich lazy dilettante :-)] There are so many other things to consider - time spent being happy, a successful career, sex, circle of close friends, vacations etc etc.

It will probably be a combination of the things that I listed above and some more. But what I would value the most is the sum total of unique, different experiences. The more unusual the experience, the better it is. For example, last week I trekked alone in temperatures of -7 F (-21 C!) to get to a frozen waterfall. It was not particularly eventful, but I will cherish this day trip far more than a conventional vacation. In other words, what I don't want is a monotonous life.

I'm back!

I am blogging again after more than 4 months! I had a crazy time (both at work and at home) the past few months, and could not spend much time on my MBA apps. I missed all the R1 deadlines, and I applied to only one school for the January deadline - Darden. I know that this is a risky move but Darden is a great school and I am quite optimistic about my chances there.

I did follow the other mba blogs on and off. Congrats to everyone who got admits, and best wishes to those still awaiting decisions!

Yours tenatacularly,
Flying spaghetti monster :-)