Saturday, April 6, 2013

#1 - Take a spontaneous vacation

I am not a spontaneous person. I like to plan things out. Know what I am going to do. Know how I am going to do it. Vacations and road trips are usually planned weeks or months in advance. I like to make sure I give ample time to employers for time-off request, and to make sure that all arrangements are made. So when my friend, C, suggested that we go on a road trip to D.C. that weekend, and it already being Wednesday, I didn't know if I could pull it off. Personally, I mean... it was not enough time to plan or make sure that my time was approved... It was not enough time to do this my way...
But what is my way? I have passed up a lot of could-be-great experiences just because they did not fit in my time table. I think it was high time that I not let my "adultness" get in the way of some good ol' adventureing... I expect that to be a real word soon.
I still asked my boss for Friday off and I still checked with my sister to make sure we could stay with her... but that was all I was going to do. I have to say that it worked out wonderfully. Weather was great, company fantastic and the jokes rampant. This trip was all about people, memories, and just having fun!
I was completely shown-up in my spontaneity, though, when a friend decided that morning to fly down and join us... always gotta be one uppin' someone don't you, my "international friend of leisure...?!!?!?"
Now, I know that if you look at the list, then you will see that I said completely spontaneous. But what is a girl to do? I threw my back into anyway and I am going to count it... for this round... this might be a step in a more spontaneous direction.

Here's some pics:





Good times!

#17 - Paint a personal masterpiece - completed 2/2013

I have never been a painter. I have never really considered myself of the "artsy" mind. Sometimes, however, you just need to break out and do something different. So I decided to paint. It all started after a weekend of being locked in my house during a long and dreary blizzard. Most of the time we were all content to just chill in the house and watch movies all day and all night. After three days, though, a person gets antsy... So I had some paint and the materials... so why not?

Here is a sample of my work since:



I am by no means an artist... but I like them enough to hang them and take credit for them. Although, I will admit that there are a couple that I will always claim were painted by monkeys!

#12 - Have a snowball fight - Completed 10/2012

Growing up the "The Valley," which is the mass of cities that includes Phoenix and all of the surrounding suburbs in Arizona, I really did not see a lot of snow. Watching it on T.V. always seemed so romantic and I always thought that those kids were so lucky and I wanted to be them and play in the snow... and get snow days from school... so lucky!
Then I moved to Boston for grad school. Granted, I have seen snow since then and I it was a mesmerizing sight to watch it fall. However, as I entered my adult years, some of the charm of playing in the snow wore off and I was more content to watch it from a window, inside, somewhere warm.
This relationship with snow... a distant appreciation... continued through my residency in Boston, even as the city "blessed" me with enough snow to make up for its absence in my youth. As shown below:






It must be hard to imagine for many out there that I never actually had a snowball fight... not even though I was surrounded by enough ammo to make it epic... My adulthood poisoned me. But I finally needed to address this deprivation, or well, a friend believed it was about time. So after enjoying a nice little meal on a cold evening, we left the restaurant to discover that we were getting the first snowfall of the season. With that little fluff on the ground... I was ambushed... and it began. It did not last long and only a few snowballs were tossed about... but I DID have my first snowball fight! It is finished... I also made a little snowman to commemorate the occasion.

# 26 - If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you? Yes! - Completed July, 2012

I am finally getting around to writing about a few of my experiences... here is one of the first...

I am definitly not a person who looks at a bridge and thinks, "hmmm, I wanna jump off that!" I would have to say that I lean more towards the side that will scold those who attempt. In fact, many of my friends were talking about jumping off of the John Weeks bridge, sometimes called the Harvard Foot Bridge, and about how awesome it was. They were also saying that they would never do it again. I took that as advice that I should NEVER do it. Ever.
Until one night I looked at this list. I realized that if I kept saying "no," I would never get #26 done, "doing something physically adventurous." So I told myself if the opportunity came again, I would most certainly say "YES!"
When I received a text one night, my resolve was put it to the test. I had just finished a long day at work and I was feeling as if I wanted to hide from the world. I got home, got in my jammies, and resigned myself to my bed for the remainder on the evening.
Then I got the text. I had told my friend, J, to text me the next time he was going to jump off the bridge,  as it was a common occurance for him. Of course, right when I got comfortable in my soft bed, was when he chose to go.
I looked at it, then put my phone down and told myself that would be a ridiculous thing to do and that I was going to bed. There was definitly an inner battle raging. Do I jump off a bridge, or stay in bed? Before I could stop myself, I picked up my phone I responded "yes."
Sure, even at this point I could have changed my mind and stayed right where I was, but now it would appear like I was backing out, which, of course, would have been the case, instead of looking like I was just busy ... I did not want to look scared!
So I got my swimsuit on, grabbed a towel and marched out of my house.
I was excited, until we got to the bridge.
As I climbed onto the edge of the bridge, pictures of horrible things started racing through my mind; ranging from a belly flop to landing on my kneck. None of the scenarios were actually plausible, the bridge was not THAT high... but they seemed so possible right in the moment.
At this point a crowd was forming, I decided that I just needed to get this over with and go.
Someone starting counting. I did not want to be still standing on that edge when the counting stopped. 5-4-3-2... 1.
It seemed farther once I was in the air. I was actually shocked when I hit the water. I screamed all the way down.
As we got out of the water, someone asked if anyone wanted to jump a second time. Heck yes! Mostly I wanted to prove that this was not a fluke and that I am that gutsy!
Since that night I have jumped several times and every time is just as exciting and horrible as the first.
One day I will have the footage of the video... proof of my adventure. And maybe even further in the future, I will jump off something just a little bit higher...
But that might need another bucket list.