Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Backpacking with my high school's Outdoor Club. I'm at the far left in the back row.
This isn't Mount Washington,
although we climbed it during this trip.

I got this idea from a friend, The Nature Lover. To play along, copy this list into your own blog and bold the ones you've done.

Following her example, and just because I felt the need to explain some of these further, I've annotated some of them in italics.

I got 88 out of the 200, if you count technicalities. And if I remember my Purity Test days, technicalities do count!

I've also added 50 more at the bottom, just for the heck of it. How many of them have you done?

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain Mount Washington, highest mountain on the East Coast of the United States
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula I'm not absolutely certain I held it, but I know I touched one at a nature center once.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game Several Penn State football games; and while I was a broadcasting student, I was once a grip for ESPN during a Penn State game.
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope And looked at Mars through binoculars while first dating The Gryphon
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb Again, I might not have actually held one, but I definitely petted one at a petting zoo or two.
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day Thanks to the Penn State Monty Python Society
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Been rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice It didn't work.
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Bench pressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your music collection
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Gone scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog.
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites in Europe and Mexico
87. Taken a martial arts class I earned an orange-stripe belt in Jung Sim Do and had all the material for the yellow belt but didn't test for it, since I was working on my master's thesis.
88. Sword fought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight But not as often as my husband, The Gryphon, has
90. Gotten engaged
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten married
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Gotten divorced
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Taken illegal drugs
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music Some song parodies for a comedy radio show in college.
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
15. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off I'm not touching this one.
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror No, but I had friends who did.
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did My direct ancestors ran the first Underground Railroad station in the Philadelphia area.
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. …more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication Pennsylvania magazine, as well as had a couple of my articles picked up by the Associated Press when I worked for a small newspaper.
141. Lost over 100 pounds No, but I lost 80 pounds.
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a TV game show
149. Broken a bone My brother accidentally stepped on my little toe and broke it.
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle OK, it was a moped, and only for a block.
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper Also took a lot of pictures that were published in a newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school Went back for my master's degree, an MFA in English
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. …and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch Playing the guitar, and I need to pick it up again!
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt She didn't even remember.
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream I've felt this occasionally
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you I sold hand-crafted bracelets for a little while
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

Just for the heck of it, I've added some things I've done that aren't on the list.

201. Climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty and looked out the crown
202. Visited Stonehenge
203. Celebrated New Year's Eve in a foreign country Trafalgar Square in London, New Year's Eve 1990
204. Performed standup in a comedy club and actually got laughs
205. Cast a magic spell
206. Had a paranormal experience
207. Written to a celebrity and got a response
208. Spoken in person with a celebrity Several, and I interviewed some of them.
209. Met a world leader Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former President Bill Clinton
210. Rescued a stray animal
211. Became a vegetarian For several years, but I'm no longer vegetarian, although I still don't eat red meat.
212. Lived out of your vehicle For a couple weeks when I was married to my first husband, The Seeker; we traveled across the country and had no apartment to come home to.
213. Had something confiscated at a border crossing Fireworks while entering Canada
214. Dated somebody you met over the Internet
215. Done something nice for somebody anonymously
216. Written (or attempted to write) a novel
217. Started your own magazine Wild Violet, of course
218. Had a lucid dream
219. Had a clairvoyant experience
220. Been caught talking to your pet as if they were a person
221. Called animal control on your neighbors for abusive treatment of pets
222. Performed any sort of a stunt while ice skating
223. Taken a belly dancing class
224. Taken a ballet class
225. Ridden a bicycle no-handed
226. Helped find a lost child
227. Visited Disney World and met Mickey Mouse
228. Gone to the observation tower at the World Trade Center
229. Promised you'd stay friends with somebody when you knew you'd probably never see them again
230. Organized an event that got media coverage
231. Participated in a protest Both real and fake
232. Written to somebody in prison A former housemate who got pinched for selling acid at a Dead show
233. Had the fire department respond to a call at a building you were in
234. Lived out of boxes because you felt the place you were staying was temporary
235. Had a dream that changed how you felt about somebody
236. Played a musical instrument on-stage
237. Written a song
238. Been a camp counselor
239. Gone backpacking in the woods for longer than one day
240. Gone whitewater rafting
241. Explored a cave with proper caving equipment
242. Given somebody a second chance even though you thought they didn't deserve it
243. Shot and edited your own video or short film
244. Been in somebody else's short film
245. Watched a major-budget movie being filmed
246. Watched the fireworks on July 4 over the Mississippi River
247. Watched the sun rise over the ocean
248. Seen a body being prepared by the undertaker
249. Had stitches
250. Thought you looked great in something that you later realized looked horrible

Copyright 2008 by Alyce Wilson

March 2008 Index

Musings Index

What do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):