Eric Krassinger

I have been thinking a lot about goals lately. I think it is because I have pretty reached the goals that I established in college. Those were (1) get a good job that paid good and I enjoyed (2) get my MBA.

My new job has made me feel a lot more like an adult since I have so many responsibilities plus so many people count on me. It is a lot of pressure but it is worth it. One of my main goals of getting a Wash U MBA was that it would allow me to go anywhere in the country and still be highly recognized.

Below is my “bucket list” of thing I would like to do in the next 5/10 years and what I am shaping my goals around. Some of them are big picture while some of them are small. A lot of them deal with travel of some form.

Travel (in order of priority)

1. Go to Peru and see Machu Picchu. I have been a history buff in hiding for the past 4 or 5 years and would really like to see this ancient ruin. I have talked about it for the last couple years.
2. Australia – I want to get my scuba diving license and dive the Great Barrier Reef.
3. Helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. I have been talking about this one for a while.
4. Travel the Amazon Rainforest. I could see where Ludacris (the fish) came from.
5. Visit the Colosseum in Rome. I am drawn to it as an engineer. I was supposed to go to Rome for a weekend for work but the entire European trip got canceled the week before we were supposed to go.
6. Africa. Not sure where but a safari would be cool plus I would like to say I have been on every continent.
7. A trip to Antartica. Kayaking in the frigid water along with general exploring sounds awesome. These are very expensive trips so I doubt I will do this in the next 10 years but I am keeping my eye out.

Life in General (not in order)

1. Live somewhere internationally for a year. Not sure where but I feel like I would be missing out on an experience since so many of my non-engineer friends did this in undergrad. It gives you perspective of another culture while also seeing the US from the outside.
2. Live on a beach. This has been my goal for a long time. I thought San Diego was in my future but I am not sure. My trip to Indonesia at the end of 2007 put all kind of crazy ideas in my head. I could knock out #1 and #2 and the same time.
3. Get my scuba diving license. It is expensive but I can also see this as one of my major hobbies once I graduate. As you may or may not know, I have always been fascinated by underwater ecosystems thus why I have owned multiple fish tanks throughout my life.
4. Get married. People might not think I would be serious about this but I would like to get married in the next 5 years. I feel like my life is settling down now so it is a perfect time to start dating again.
5. Kids. I do want kids but this is probably at least 4 to 5 years away (hopefully).
6. Go to the Home Run Derby in Saint Louis. I am ready to pay a premium for these tickets. The hype of the competition has gotten to me.
7. Get a dog. I loved having a dog but definitely don’t have the time to keep a dog. A girlfriend or wife would have to come into play before I could get a dog (or if I got really rich). Keep in mind, I said “come into play”. This does not mean that I want to get a dog with my girlfriend. What I mean by this is that a girlfriend could watch the dog if I was traveling or could not make it home in time.
8. Buy a superbike. I have wanted a motorcycle ever since undergrad when I would see all the motorcyles lined up outside the Engineering building. The perks of having a bike in college were that you could park basically anywhere plus they are super fast. As I have gotten older, I keep working with people who are riders so my infatuation has not died. The two things that are holding me back are that they are dangerous (actually this doesnt both me as much as it should) and the possibiity that I would not like it after I bought one.
9. Buy a boat. I got into boating last summer on the river. I always wanted a waverunner growing up. Goes back to the love of water. I doubt I will ever buy a boat unless I move somewhere coastal or somewhere very close to a big lake. I am afraid of running into things in a boat. We always used to go to Lake of the Ozarks at least twice a year when I was growing up. We would always rent a pontoon boat and I was always nervous to drive it.
10. Get into better shape. I have really let myself go in the past two and half years while I was in school.
11. Start playing ice hockey again. I  want to get back into a mens league to work on my “skillz.” This will help goal #10.