Wow! It’s Wednesday! My First (and Probably Last) FaN Meme

Dudes, I NEVER do memes. You know that FaceBook meme that was going around several months ago that everybody did? I didn’t do it, b/c I never do memes. They’re just not my thing. But my allergies have kicked back in, and I must be feeling particularly vulnerable right now, b/c I’ve decided to fill out this 99 Things one, which was introduced to me by BabySmiling from “Baby Smiling in Backseat.” Please feel free to do it on your own blog and let us know w/ a link to your post in the comments. Wee!

The rules:
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

Annotated, because BabySmiling annotated hers, and I’m down w/ the imitation-flattery.

1. Started your own blog. [I actually had a (poorly updated) personal blog before FaN. But of course I love FaN loads more.]

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band [Not very well though. I quit the saxophone and the school band after one year.]

4. Visited Hawaii [And thinking of going again this Christmas. We’ll see.]

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity [I’m a big believer in altruism at every income level, but this seems like a dumb thing to do when your time can be just as valuable as your money to these organizations]

7. Been to Disneyworld [No, and I have no desire to go. One day I’m going to have to do a blog about how much I hate effin’ Disneyland. Disney is great (especially Miramax), but I can’t bear the parks. However, I’ve heard that you can “drink around the world” at Epcot. If I could do that first, I might be able to put up with the rest of Disneyworld.]

8. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

9. Held a praying mantis [Again, why would you want to do this?]

10. Written something that was published

89 more things after the jump:

11. Bungee jumped or parachuted [Bungee jumped in New Zealand. What-what1]

12. Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge [Like Babysmiling, I have driven, but not walked.]

13. Been in a fist fight [I’m bolding this, b/c I don’t think most females get in full-on punching fights, but yes, I got in a few fights before I fully embraced pacifism in the 7th grade]

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch [I taught myself to write. But I thank my schooling, for teaching me to write much better]

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning. [Here’s some advice, never eat spaghetti with real cheese on top in a hole-in-the-wall in China]

17. Seen the Rings of Saturn with a telescope

18. Grown your own vegetables. [Tried an herb garden once, but nothing survived.]

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train [China: Nanjing to Beijing and Beijing to Datong — or was it Inner Mongolia? I can’t remember now…]

21. Had a pillow fight [Who hasn’t had a pillow fight?]

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when not ill [Again, who hasn’t done this?]

24. Built a tree house or snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice [But funnily enough, my sister and I rode in a gondola-like tour boat in Bruge]

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Fired a gun

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors [Sure, if by birthplace, you mean Mississsippi, from which my mother and father both hail]

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied [For poetic reasons, I’m saying yes w/ a nod to a few moments of clarity during my starving artist days]

38. Visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David [I have got to get to frickin’ Italy — wait, does this statue still reside in Italy?]

41. Sung karaoke [Many times in Japan, and I had a karaoke machine in Pittsburgh]

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal [Oh, China…]

44. Visited Africa [Still kicking myself for not going when my friends Emily and Sloane were in the Peace Corps there. But do plan to take Betty and any siblings she might have when they get older.]

45. Cried yourself to sleep [The night my mother died, and when I was having contractions w/ Betty ]

46. Been transported in an ambulance [Got hit by a car when I was 10. Man, this meme is bringing up all the good memories!]

47. Had your portrait painted [Recently I’ve decided that this might be cool, but I’d want it done in a really different way. We’ll see.]

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Visited the Eiffel Tower [I didn’t really do tourism travel until I met CH. I always lived, shopped and/or partied in the places that I visited. That’s still kind of my policy, but I’ll have to save that agenda for retirement]

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. Snorkeling, yes. Scuba diving, one day.

52. Kissed in the rain [Few black women do anything that involves standing in the rain for longer than you have to]

53. Pretended you cooked something from scratch when you didn’t [Why would you do this]

54. Gone to a drive-in theater [I’ve tried to go several times in my life from the age of like 7, but somehow I just never made it]

55. Been in a movie or commercial [If we’re counting non-commercial movies, yes.]

56. Visited the Great Wall of China [Many times, in many towns. The wall is rather Great.]

57. Started a business [You don’t mean like a successful one, do you?]

58. Taken a martial arts class [Kung Fu in China. Hi-yah!]

59. Visited Russia [I’ve always wanted to go to St. Petersburg]

60. Served at a soup kitchen [As a writer, I find this kind of volunteer work the height of cliche]

61. Sold something door to door [Again, not well]

62. Gone whale or dolphin watching

64. Donated blood, marrow, etc

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Held onto a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial [Visited Washington several times, but mostly partied and ate]

71. Eaten frog legs or caviar [Ate caviar at my black Republican uncle’s wedding. He took time to introduce me to it though I was only 7. This is like my one good memory of him. The rest is a lot of arguing.]

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades [I so wouldn’t want to do this.]

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London [My sister and I tried to make it when we were there in November, but no dice]

77. Broken a bone

78. Done something illegal [But I’m not going to get specific on a blog.]

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person [Ha! JUST checked this one off last week!]

80. Sang a solo [You mean, like outside my own shower, right?]

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car [I don’t believe in brand new when it comes to cars. Waste of $ in my opin.]

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper [I wrote about cutting all of my hair off for my first internship at the St. Louis American]

85. Climbed a mountain [Does a volcano count?]

86. Visited the White House [Walked past, but didn’t go in. However, I did fully visit the set of West Wing, which I maintain is even better.]

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had surgery

89. Directly saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous [Meh.]

92. Joined a book club

93. Seen a loved one die

94. Given birth to a baby [Why yes, I have!]

95. Visited the Alamo

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake [Lake Michigan, but not the Great Salt Lake]

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Sent a text message while driving

99. Been stung by a bee [Ah, summer camp…]

40 bold answers and most of the things I still want to do require travel, which I love. Not bad. How did you do?