Just started three weeks of holiday, Hooray! Not going anywhere, but I need some relaxation after the last three months (plus the rest) of continuous financial crisis. So I don’t have enough brain to blog, but here is a meme. I’ve seen this in a few places (Charlotte’s Web, Still life with Cat are who I can remember off the top of my head).
The 99 things meme
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to – leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog.
Well der – of course anyone doing this is bolding this one… (this is my third, although the kids one was started by Mr Penguin, technically)
2. Slept under the stars.
Kakadu National Park. Best. Holiday. Ever.
3. Played in a band.
Not sure if playing the flute in a deeply daggy school band counts, here.
4. Visited Hawaii.
Not high on my list of beachy places to go, though – combination of volcano and beach sounds great, but Vanuatu may be more interesting.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
Tried, but failed. Saw Halley’s comet, though – does that count?
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
Not sure if I’d like a real mountain, but I’d like to get to the top of Kosciuszko
9. Held a praying mantis.
Having one land on my face was enough, thank you.
10. Sang a solo.
I’d love to do this someday – need to learn to sing first, though. First ambition is to sing in a choir.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
See flute, above – enough to play in a daggy school band.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
Lots – Sydney Melbourne, lots of places in Europe to save a nights accommodation, St Petersberg Moscow (the only one actually on a sleeper, so obviously my favourite)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
No, picked up hitch hikers, though.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
After running a half marathon, firmly determined never to do this one. But my brother (who has done several) has a bet with me that I’ll succumb eventually.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
1976, NSW South Coast – lots of cloud. At the time I didn’t understand the excitement, but I’m glad my parents dragged us down there, even if we saw almost more on the portable TV someone brought with them.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
Not sure if doing this at the age of 4 counts.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
Waipu and Auckland New Zealand, Guernsey, Plockton Scotland covers a reasonable proportion going back to great great grandparents.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
I’m not fussed whether I teach myself or someone teaches me, but I’d love to speak another language more than school certificate French and German (which have been surprisingly useful).
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
Pavlov’s Cat points out the difficulty of this question – does money create satisfaction? Probably not. I’m lucky enough not to have been dissatisfied with my level of money for a reasonable proportion of my life, so I’ve bolded this one.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
Only indoors, which doesn’t really count. But it was exhilerating!
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
Not a solo, though. See above.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
I believe I did this before the age of two. Does that count?
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
Been to Egypt. But I want to visit much much more.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
At the age of 1 day – many of these have been too young for me to remember.
47. Had your portrait painted.
Silhouette cut out , so not a painting – which was quite cool, really.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
Absolutely no desire for this one. While fishing (the part which involves sitting quietly beside a lovely bit of water) is great fun, I hate actually catching them.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
Tae Kwon Do – I’m even a yellow belt!
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
As long as I can count doing it from land. Mr Penguin is never ever going to do it by sea.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
Only in a creepy way – left anonymously on my door in college.
64. Donated blood.
Until the NSW Red Cross decided to ridiculously over-react to mad cow disease and banned me.
65. Gone sky diving.
Did the course, almost went up in the plane, then the wind changed. Couldn’t get up my nerve to go back again.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
Auschwitz. But Yad Vashem was almost more overwhelming because there were so many more stories there.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
Because Mr Penguin refused to get back on the boat ride back from Heron Island that had made him horribly sea-sick.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
As for Pavlov’s Cat – Toy, no. Book, yes.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
I don’t think I have a crafty bone in my body, sadly.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
There is no way I would ever do that – but I can dream! More likely if I had a late career change and became a publisher (which I’m sure is not what is meant by this question). Mr Penguin has published several – as a publisher, including a very high selling guide to the Australian Corporations Law.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
Local newspaper yes (not sure if that really counts), but I’ve been on the 7.30 report
85. Read the entire Bible.
Don’t think I could face the begats, but I’ve read a fair bit.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
Does depend what you mean by famous. Probably the most famous person I’ve met is William Hague, who I once interviewed for a magazine (former leader of the UK Tory party).
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
This was compulsory to be a cool kid in my primary school – even cooler if you were also allergic.
Just a little too US centric for my liking. For example, I don’t care if I never see Niagara Falls, but I have seen Victoria Falls three times and would go again tomorrow!
There’s another one that’s very Australian centric, but I’m not sure I’m lazy enough to inflict two of these on my readers in a row! I did intend to go back and edit the “Old Faithful” entry – having seen the Pohutu in Rotorua, New Zealand means I don’t need to go back and see Old Faithful when I’m old enough to remember it!