Saw this at Margo Lanagan’s blog, and felt like doing it.
Things you’ve already done: bold.
Things you want to do: italicise.
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to—leave plain.
- Started your own blog – you are reading it, running strong for more than a couple of years
- Slept under the stars – in a Roman ruin outside Ouchy and on the lawn outside Village at UW, among others
- Played in a band – Only if vocals count
- Visited Hawaii – I think I like the idea, in a Magnum P.I. sense, but there are lots of places higher on the list
- Watched a meteor shower
- Given more than you can afford to charity – only technically true, in the “have borrowed money to give to charity” sense
- Been to Disneyland/world – Epcott as a kid, and Disney as part of a Sybase TechWave once
- Climbed a mountain – Both in the Rockies and in Switzerland
- Held a praying mantis – with my daughter!
- Sang a solo – twice, most notably the Joe Cocker number I did in P.O.E.T.S. during my laryngitis attack
- Bungee jumped – I am not a fan of falling
- Visited Paris – almost 20 years ago now
- Watched a lightning storm at sea – I did see a really wicked lightning storm from the patio at Moose Winooski’s once
- Taught yourself an art from scratch – I wish I were artistic. Sigh.
- Adopted a child – were Trish or I sterile, I think I would have totally pushed for this
- Had food poisoning – and to this day, still haven’t forgiven my wife for how she treated me
- Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
- Grown your own vegetables – I have made some frightening tomatoes in my day
- Seen the Mona Lisa in France
- Slept on an overnight train – Lots of times, mostly in Europe–I still want to actually do this on the Orient Express though, although that’s crazy expensive
- Had a pillow fight – lots of times, although never with the Swedish Bikini team
- Hitch hiked – this was the normal way to get to concerts in Toronto when I was a kid, and was also a big part of my trans-European travel in the 80s
- Taken a sick day when you’re not ill – I am a believer in the “mental health day”.
- Built a snow fort – I have engineered some monsters in my day. Most recently a fort with a massive snow throne
- Held a lamb – this past summer, with my daughter, if not at any other point
- Gone skinny dipping – in a quarry in Cochrane, before partying in a graveyard
- Run a marathon – I have zero urge to do this; I’d love to be more fit, but marathons always seemed a but much
- Ridden a gondola in Venice – I would actually like to see Murano, but I suspect that the end of the old school glassworks would sadden me
- Seen a total eclipse
- Watched a sunrise or sunset – I watch the sunset all the damn time here; Nova Scotia is amazing for sunsets
- Hit a home run – I don’t really enjoy baseball, but on occasions when I’ve had to play my at bats have generally either been strike outs or homeruns; if I hit, I hit hard
- Been on a cruise – I have no real interest in this
- Seen Niagara Falls in person – lots and lots of times
- Visited the birthplace of your ancestors – depending on how far back you go, my honeymoon may qualify
- Seen an Amish community – do Mennonites count?
- Taught yourself a new language
- Had enough money to be truly satisfied
- Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person – also almost 20 years ago now
- Gone rock climbing – even had formal lessons in it
- Seen Michelangelo’s David in person – also almost 20 years ago now
- Sung Karaoke – one time, at the Silver Star, a Johnny Cash tune
- Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
- Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant – there are a few of these, but the best story was the girl Ralph and I found crying and drunken on the street, who we took for a meal at the OEP, and then drove home to her angry policeman father
- Visited Africa
- Walked on a beach by moonlight
- Been transported in an ambulance – I’d like to continue to have this unbolded as long as possible
- Had your portrait painted
- Gone deep sea fishing – no interest
- Seen the Sistine chapel in person
- Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – with two girls from L.A. and a mad Australian, all of whom I met in Lyons and travelled with for a while
- Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
- Kissed in the rain
- Played in the mud – in 1984 I supervised the construction of gigantic mud pit into which people could jump while listening to Van Halen’s Jump–I was 11
- Gone to a drive-in theater – I believe my first drive-in movie was Popeye, and the last was The Wedding Crasher’s (there is a drive-in operating in Nova Scotia)
- Been in a movie – a documentary about Owain Glyndŵr, in which I was an unnamed Welsh casualty
- Visited the Great Wall of China
- Started a business – I was the co-owner of Excessa Technologies for most of my university years
- Taken a martial arts class – I progressed through one belt in judo before getting bored
- Visited Russia
- Served at a soup kitchen – only a couple of times, but something I should seriously consider doing more of now
- Sold Girl Scout cookies
- Gone whale watching – although oddly never here in NS
- Gotten flowers for no reason
- Donated blood – I used to do this regularly, but stopped since moving to NS
- Gone sky diving – see above, re: dislike of falling
- Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp – I feel like this should not be a tourist destination
- Bounced a check
- Flown in a helicopter
- Saved a favorite childhood toy
- Visited the Lincoln Memorial
- Eaten Caviar – I did not enjoy the experience
- Pieced a quilt
- Stood in Times Square
- Toured the Everglades
- Been fired from a job
- Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
- Broken a bone
- Been on a speeding motorcycle
- Seen the Grand Canyon in person
- Published a book – no discipline or talent, but I love the idea
- Visited the Vatican
- Bought a brand new car – I am still unconvinced that this is anything but a horrid waste of money
- Walked in Jerusalem – next time I go to Israel for work
- Had your picture in the newspaper – most recently with Sarah on the cover of the Herald’s local news section, when we were at the ‘picnic at the Citadel’ thing
- Read the entire Bible – More than once, in different translations
- Visited the White House
- Killed and prepared an animal for eating – only fish
- Had chickenpox – I still have one scar
- Saved someone’s life
- Sat on a jury – I’ve never even been called for jury selection; I have been paying taxes for over 20 years now
- Met someone famous – lots of writers, some musicians, and a couple of actors
- Joined a book club
- Lost a loved one
- Had a baby – well, not personally, but you know that’s down to biology
- Seen the Alamo in person
- Swum in the Great Salt Lake – I did drive by it, but SLC freaked me out, so we didn’t stay any longer than absolutely necessary
- Been involved in a law suit
- Owned a cell phone
- Been stung by a bee
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