Thursday, July 24, 2008

150 Things.

Yesterday, one of my co-workers passed me a link to an interesting new blog (as if I needed to add another one to the list of blogs I try to keep up with). The author is, like me, retired from the Air Force, and has a lot of interesting observations on a lot of topics. The particular link my co-worker sent me was to a post titled "150 Things," evidently a meme, which the author credited to another blogger, who in turn forgot who he got it from.

I have adopted the "150 Things" meme for today's post. It's an interesting look at some of the ordinary and the weird things we may do in our lives. The things I've done are bolded; where I've given myself partial credit, or have explanatory notes, I've added them at the end of each line. It's a bit long...here goes...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink.
02. Swam with wild dolphins (half-credit: swam with trained dolphins).
03. Climbed a mountain (East Trinity Peak, Colorado, July 1969).
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive (I've test-driven a high-end Mercedes, but it's not the same).
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid.
06. Held a tarantula.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (Agnes, who else?).
08. Said “I love you” and meant it.
09. Hugged a tree (while climbing it).
10. Bungee jumped.
11. Visited Paris.
12. Watched a lightning storm.
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise.
14. Seen the Northern Lights.
15. Gone to a huge sports game.
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa.
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables.
18. Touched an iceberg.
19. Slept under the stars.
20. Changed a baby’s diaper (many, many times!).
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon.
22. Watched a meteor shower.
23. Gotten drunk on champagne.
24. Given more than you can afford to charity.
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope.
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment.
27. Had a food fight.
28. Bet on a winning horse.
29. Asked out a stranger (and had about a 50% acceptance rate).
30. Had a snowball fight.
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can.
32. Held a lamb.
33. Seen a total eclipse.
34. Ridden a roller coaster.
35. Hit a home run.
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking.
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day.
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment.
39. Had two hard drives for your computer (actually, I have 3 external drives).
40. Visited all 50 states.
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends.
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country.
44. Watched whales.
45. Stolen a sign.
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip.
48. Gone rock climbing.
49. Midnight walk on the beach (dawn, yes; midnight, no).
50. Gone sky diving.
51. Visited Ireland.
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love.
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them.
54. Visited Japan.
55. Milked a cow.
56. Alphabetized your CDs.
57. Pretended to be a superhero (not very recently, though!).
58. Sung karaoke (very badly).
59. Lounged around in bed all day.
60. Played touch football.
61. Gone scuba diving.
62. Kissed in the rain.
63. Played in the mud.
64. Played in the rain.
65. Gone to a drive-in theater.
66. Visited the Great Wall of China.
67. Started a business.
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken.
69. Toured ancient sites.
70. Taken a martial arts class (I have a blue belt in Karate).
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight.
72. Gotten married (twice).
73. Been in a movie.
74. Crashed a party.
75. Gotten divorced (once).
76. Gone without food for 5 days (3 days, but not 5).
77. Made cookies from scratch.
78. Won first prize in a costume contest.
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice (at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, but it's not the same).
80. Gotten a tattoo (are you kidding?).
81. Rafted the Snake River.
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert.”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason.
84. Performed on stage.
85. Been to Las Vegas (twice).
86. Recorded music.
87. Eaten shark.
88. Kissed on the first date (hand or cheek only).
89. Gone to Thailand.
90. Bought a house (twice).
91. Been in a combat zone.
92. Buried one/both of your parents (Mom passed away in 2001).
93. Been on a cruise ship (twice!).
94. Spoken more than one language fluently (German).
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour.
98. Passed out cold.
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country.
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over.
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge.
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking.
103. Had plastic surgery.
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication (two letters to the editors of newspapers, but no articles).
106. Lost over 100 pounds.
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback.
108. Piloted an airplane.
109. Touched a stingray.
110. Broken someone’s heart.
111. Helped an animal give birth.
112. Won money on a T.V. game show.
113. Broken a bone.
114. Gone on an African photo safari.
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears.
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol (all three).
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild.
118. Ridden a horse (fallen off, too).
119. Had major surgery.
120. Had a snake as a pet.
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours.
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states.
124. Visited all 7 continents.
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days.
126. Eaten kangaroo meat.
127. Eaten sushi (I love sushi!).
128. Had your picture in the newspaper.
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about.
130. Gone back to school.
131. Parasailed.
132. Touched a cockroach.
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes.
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey.
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read.
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
137. Skipped all your school reunions.
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language.
139. Been elected to public office.
140. Written your own computer language.
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream.
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care.
143. Built your own PC from parts.
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you.
145. Had a booth at a street fair.
146. Dyed your hair.
147. Been a DJ.
148. Shaved your head (moral: don’t make stupid bets).
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life.

So there you go. By my count, I can claim 59 out of 150; a few more if we accept partial credit. Those of you who are newer readers of this blog (and give a rat's rear end) can learn more about me from these previous posts: Crazy Eights, In 10 Words or Less, and 13 Things About Yours Truly.

Life's short, and none of us gets out of it alive. How many of the 150 can you claim?

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

13 comments:

KKTSews said...

Oh, come on! You've lived in GE for years and never did #53?? And you're a great cook, but never made cookies from scratch (#77)? Didn't you ever get some mushrooms from Louie S. in Wiesbaden (#117) and I KNOW you touched cockroaches when we were staying (IN SEPERATE ROOMS!!) in Atlanta in the most cockroach-ridden hotel I've ever seen. (for all the readers, Bilbo was a maniac about killing roaches and presented the staff with a huge pile of dead ones, having kept the floor awake all night with this intermittent banging noise which was him killing them with his shoe!)
Give yourself more credit. And have a great day :)

The Mistress of the Dark said...

Hey I made cookies from scratch! Be proud!

Gilahi said...

Being the rural, southern guy that I am, I can't imagine someone reaching our ripe old age without ever breaking a bone or eating a fried green tomato.

rimafauzi said...

am gonna post this as well, ok?

Bilbo said...

Katherine - as for #53, never in Germany...but in the college dining halls, which I didn't think fit the intent. And Loui, though a wonderful mentor, never gave me any mushrooms...you must have been special. And OMIGOD, I'd forgotten about our visit to the Roach Motel in Atlanta, and the big pile of crushed cockroaches I left in the middle of the floor...the question asks if I've "touched" a cockroach, so if "touching" it with a shoe, a phone book, or something similar counts, I guess I'm okay.

Andrea - I'm a great cook, but a lousy baker. Trust me - you don't want to eat anything I've baked. But you have my address, so you can mail me a box of cookies next time you make some, eh? :-)

Gilahi - lots of sprains and strains, but never a broken bone. And despite living in Louisiana for almost five years, and Virginia for more than 20, I have yet to have fried green tomatoes. Does this mean I have to move?

Rima - go ahead, be my guest! I'll look forward to YOUR list!

Gilahi said...

Nah, you don't have to move. You really should try a fried green tomato, though.

Mike said...

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can.
59. Lounged around in bed all day.
80. Gotten a tattoo (are you kidding?).

31 - Come on. You were in the military. Didn't you go through basic training? YES SARGENT I AM A LOWLY DIRTBAG!!!!!

59 - Anybody that gets up on a regular basis at 4am will never accomplish this. You have a better chance of touching an iceberg.

80 - Got a good laugh from this one after all the previous posts. Would have been even funnier if you would have confessed and said yes.

Mike said...

OK I went back and counted 58 for me. And I found one that you could count that you didn't.
106. Lost over 100 pounds.
You said got divorced.

Bilbo said...

Mike - I'm really not a screamer; I tend to me more of a thunderer, which isn't quite the same thing. I can't lounge in bed all day...I'd go nuts from boredom unless someone was lounging with me, and it's too much trouble talking her into it any more. And as for the part about losing 100 pounds through divorce, I hadn't looked at it quite that way, but I guess you're right. It'd be about 115 pounds, though.

Unknown said...

Hi.. Blog walking from Rima.. :)

iDancer said...

My mom would like to know when you saved someone's life. We also were wondering how you managed to not visit Paris when you were relatively close living in Germany.

By the way, I am Katherine's daughter.

Bilbo said...

Ecky - Hello! Welcome to the blog! Hope you enjoyed it and will be back soon.

idancer - Wow...two readers in the same family! Nice to have you here! The short version of how I saved someone's life: it was when I was in college. One day in class, one of the students suddenly suffered a Grand Mal epileptic seizure, swallowed his tongue, and began to choke. I was the only one who recognized what was going on, and I was able to get my fingers into his mouth and free up the airway until the seizure passed. I was later told that he might have died if I hadn't acted quickly. Not a very dramatic story, but I thought it was good enough to get credit for #150. As for how we managed not to visit Paris...we often visited the Alsace region of France for fine-dining weekends, and I always thought the Alsace was the best part of France because the people didn't quite know whether they were German or French. Paris is, after all, full of arrogant Frenchmen who, as Steve Martin says, all speak French, for Pete's sake. The only other part of France I ever wanted to visit was Normandy, but I never made it there, either. Maybe someday...

Gilahi said...

Huh. I figured you saved a life by spending an afternoon at the DMV and not actually pummelling one of the employees to death.