100 things

It has been rather a slow day. Therefore, I have taken a list of 100 things to do from Kezzie's blog. I'm sure you'll agree that it's truly thrilling...

1. Started your own blog (Obviously)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (I did once give £1,000 to charity, but that wasn't more than I could afford.)
7. Been to Disneyland (Paris)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (see 41)

11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (Not sure having this here isn't offensive - adopting a child isn't really something one should do just to tick a box in a "things to do before you die" list.)
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 (why have this and #12?)
20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
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
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (England was such a trek...)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke (... really badly)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (why have this and #81?)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (why have this and #12?)

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (something I made was in a movie once - does that count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (not really likely to, to be honest)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (but I did buy a new Optimus Prime toy when it was rereleased a few years ago)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (laid off, but never fired)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (Why would anyone do this? Drive it off the forecourt... drop a third of the value.)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (yes, even Numbers)
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 (The Queen!)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (not really likely to, either)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee (Wasps many times, but a bee? Don't think so)
100. Read an entire book in one day

It's a bit of an American list, though, isn't it? I mean, I'm not aware of too many drive-ins in Europe, and both the Girl Scout cookies and the Quilting seem to be peculiarly American things. And then there are all the places to visit: 4, 17, 33, 35, 42, 70, 73, 74, 79, 86, 95 and 96 are all in the US or Canada. That's more than all the trips to the rest of the world put together!

And #23 is a very different proposition in the US (very few vacation days plus a fixed number of 'sick days') than it is in the UK (adequate vacation days and an unbounded number of 'sick days').

Anyway, having gone through the list, I'm not planning on going out of my way to fill any more of it in. Some of them I don't find at all appealing, some would require some considerable expense, and some require opportunity, and therefore can't actually be sought out.