Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Another meme

Bold is for done, italics is for “Would like to do.”

1. Started my own blog - Four? Five? Can't remember.
2. Slept under the stars - I'm sure I have but probably when I was about 14 on Guide camp.
3. Played in a band – Does a wind band count?
4. Visited Hawaii - Trying to persuade Mr Spouse to visit for my birthday in February. I have air miles!
5. Watched a meteor shower - In rural Suffolk - magical.
6. Given more than I can afford to charity - I have noticed that as income increases, the proportion of money that I give to income decreases.
7. Been to Disneyland/world - The original, being a California family. My mother thinks Florida and by extension Disneyworld is beyond tacky.
8. Climbed a mountain - By the British definition of mountain, yes.
9. Held a praying mantis - no desire to do this!
10. Sung a solo – Well, probably about 2 notes of 1-in-a-part a capella. I can carry a tune, blend, and both sight read and pick up harmonies by ear very quickly. I can't sing solo, this is not a solo voice.
11. Bungee jumped – why?
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - I can't remember a specific occasion but when I lived in East Africa I could see the Indian ocean from my balcony and we got a lot of thunderstorms.
14. Taught myself an art from scratch - Does crochet count?
15. Adopted a child - Probably not in 2009 but hopefully we'll be closer.
16. Had food poisoning - One distinct childhood memory is of being given peppermints to suck when my brother and I were really sick.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty - What, you say getting the lift doesn't count?
18. Grown my own vegetables - Mainly fruits in the past, but also herbs and some small lettuce leaves at the moment.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France - A particular pet peeve of mine is museums where they don't stop people from using flash photography. It was so crowded I couldn't even shout (in French, so might not have helped at all) at all the Japanese and Italian tourists who were doing this.
20. Slept on an overnight train - Mombasa-Nairobi, and Paris-Rome most recently.
21. Had a pillow fight - Again, probably on Guide camp
22. Hitchhiked - I was going to say no, but yes! But only in rural Africa where you wait and see which comes first, the bus or another kind soul.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - Ahem.
24. Built a snow fort - Probably when we lived in the Rockies when I was 8 as I've not lived anywhere else with enough snow.
25. Held a lamb - I don't think so, but a baby chimpanzee!
26. Gone skinny dipping - Too cold!
27. Run a marathon - I'll aim for a 10k although I am running again.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - Love Venice, no desire to go in a gondola.
29. Seen a total eclipse - Of the moon, but I don't think that's what they mean.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - Yesterday - there were a lot of clouds and it was lovely.
31. Hit a home run - No specific desire to do this but would like to be better at ball games (ooh er missus).
32. Been on a cruise - Up the Nile. Or down. Or both.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person - Yes, but I was quite young. My grandmother's family is from Buffalo.
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors - Oh my, which ones? And how close do I have to get? I guess my mother was born in Buffalo (see 33) and my dad in London so that wasn't too hard. Have also been to England, Ireland, Norway, and Germany so that covers all my "ethnicities" and to the UK and US so that covers my parents' nationalities.
35. Seen an Amish community - In two minds on this. I don't really see sightseeing in someone's home as appropriate (I avoid "village tours" when on holiday in developing countries) but am fascinated by the Amish.
36. Taught myself a new language - I don't want to teach myself a language, really, I'd much rather learn it from a teacher and by immersion, though I had an Icelandic penfriend when I was a kid and tried to teach myself Icelandic. As you do.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied – I'm not truly satisfied but it's not for lack of money.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - I think I want to want to, if you see what I mean! But it scares me.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - Wouldn't mind going to Florence.
41. Sung karaoke – To great acclaim at an Oxford ball once - well, we were a hired singing group, we couldn't let the side down! Blue Moon, as I recall - though I can't do it solo (see above!)
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 - Broke my shoulder in a bike accident - the ambulance arrived with flashing lights but disappointingly drove quite slowly to A&E.
47. Had my portrait painted - One of those things your parents put you through - I could have told them it was going to look awful and not to bother - I think they must have had a no-purchase option because we never got it.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - Almost as bad as the Mona Lisa for photography but the monks are fiercer than the Louvre guards.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. Kissed in the rain - Little option in England
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre - I don't know about elsewhere but there used to be quite a few in southern Africa. I think we saw Three Men and a Baby in Zimbabwe in about 1990.
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - well, kind of - I have sold a couple of bags I've made.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia - one of my ambitions is to ride the Trans-Siberian Railway.
60. Served at a soup kitchen - and had tea thrown in my face - not very hot!
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies – in 3rd grade, my only year of school in the US - I got very worked up about not selling enough and my mother had to talk me down.
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - I think I have but I'd like to again!
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - but usually I can't because I've been to too many malarial countries and/or been pregnant too frequently.
65. Gone sky diving - no desire!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - I know it would be overwhelming but massively important.
67. Bounced a check - No doubt when I was a student!
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - I dreamed about my Winnie the Pooh, bought when I was 3 months old, the other day.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - several...
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades - walked along the boardwalks, it's such a weird place with swamp right off the main road.
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - shoulder, see above
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - no, just a regular one!
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - well, Mr Spouse thinks my book deal will give us enough to retire on. Had a couple of chapters out.
81. Visited the Vatican - you know you can't visit the Sistine Chapel otherwise, right?
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem - would like to see non-Holy-Land bits but suspect now is not the time.
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - Nope, although they've been delivered live to my house we got the neighbour to to it!
88. Had chickenpox - and missed the first week of junior school! I was devastated!
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury - always get off it but wouldn't mind.
91. Met someone famous - well, semi - various high profile academics, a few MPs.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - eww, no thanks!
97. Been involved in a law suit – when I was fired.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee - or it could have been a wasp.

So I'd like to tag Bernardeena, Country Chick, geepeemum, May, Thalia, and the Hairy Farmer Family. What these people have in common is they are my UK British IF/miscarriage/adoption posse. Apologies if I've missed anyone out or misclassified anyone - and I know a couple of those blogs are not only or even mainly or even at all, now, about IF/miscarriage/adoption, but are partly, or have been.

(I have just realised that I also tagged Almamay, whose blog I had not been following as it doesn't show up on Google Reader, which is why I didn't classify her in my previous post about US bloggers in the UK, and only after tagging her this time did I remember she's also from the US).


1 comment:

Almamay said...

Hey! Thanks for thinking of me. My blog doesn't come up on Google Reader because I am invite only. I can send invites to people who email me (almamay40 at yahoo dot co dot uk)