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Journal SolemnDragon's Journal: Things to try 24

Journal by SolemnDragon

I was thinking today about experiences.

Not experience, but experiences.

Certain things that i've done, that you've done, that people i know have done, that aren't the definition of a life or its inhabitant, that aren't the most amazing thing that you'll ever do, but nonetheless are small gestures of faith in the living process that make it fun, make it interesting, or otherwise remind you to shake up your routine a little. Some of them are things which just contribute to the richness of life, changing the breadth of what we can relate to. (That's the 'experience' that comes after having had, 'experiences.')

I'm going to list a few. Only a FEW. I'm betting that you've got your own list. Feel free to share one or two. Your mileage WILL vary. That's the point. It's about different.

And these aren't necessarily things to do every day. Let's face it- your days are full of experiences already, even if they are ordinary ones for you. There isn't always a lot of room in a routine to shake things up. But... let's give it a whirl. Here goes:

-drink a glass of water upside down. This requires you, by the way, to define that statement before you can do it. Standing on your head? Leaning over? Or just in a sippy cup that you can hold inverted while you drink? Does the cup have to be upside down, or do you?

-go for a walk with an animal. This is not the same as, "walk your dog." This is where you two set out, wander together a little, and then go home, for no purpose except to enjoy the little walk. Dogs are good at this, but i've met quite a few other animals that were, including a cat, a number of horses, a bird (though the bird walked indoors for safety reasons, he would wander up to you and ask, 'come for a walk? come for a walk?') a particularly sociable ferret, and once, a llama.

-say it with flowers. And i don't mean just, 'i love you,' or 'get well soon.' How about: "you're an awesome friend," or, "That was a nice thing you did for the crazy lady next door." Even, "Blue-green is an EXCELLENT colour for a kitchen, no matter what your parents say about your newly decorated home." (I'd accomplish the latter by making sure the flowers matched the wall.)

-Try on a top hat.

-Sit in a wheelchair. Even if you don't try to move in it, it's an educational experience.

-Try on a bow tie. Not one of those clip-on dealies, either, although they have their place. Women should try on a bow tie, too. These are not gender-limited.

-Take a vow of silence, even if only for two hours. It's harder than it sounds, unless you're home alone and the phone doesn't ring.

-wear stilts. Even the kind made with a couple of coffee cans and some string.

How about you? What do you recommend? strawberry ice cream with lime sauce? Apple bobbing? Three days in Prague?

This discussion was created by SolemnDragon (593956) for no Foes, but now has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Things to try More

Things to try

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  • - Get on your hands and knees, hide around the corner in the hallway, and bark at your roomate when he comes around the corner. Loads of fun. Unfortunately, since that time he tends to get a bit suspicious if I wander off someplace or get too quiet.

    - Around here, I enjoy being out around the Jamestown and Yorktown parks, hiking or whatever, just looking around and wondering how the places looked to our first settlers and founding fathers when they were here. Just to walk those places with the sense of won
  • I remained silent as part of a weekend class. (We got to talk in class, but not outside of it.) Nifty experience, highly recommended.

    I also highly recommend three days in Prague. Beautiful city. Just be sure to pick a decent hostel... the first place I stayed was a real dive, but the second place [guideforeurope.com] was great.
    • I was in Prauge for a few days. Really fun. Except for the hostile (not hostel) we stayed in. It was at the top of a building with an elevator big enough for two people and their suitcases. The stairs circled their way up the outside of the elevator shaft.

      Now, have about 60 people or so get off of a bus and get checked in. The resulting chaos, um, sucked. Leaving for any event was an adventure resulting in one person breaking their ankle and others getting winded because they didn't want to wait for the
  • So, having done the wheelchair thingee (not by choice) and a bunch of other fun stuff, I'm now doing something completely different that is taking up a LOT of my free time - and giving me new insights into how to relate to people.

    - looking after an old person (not "older" - old, like 82 years old. That's my new task for 3 weeks.

    My aunt's a gem. Unfortunately, she's had a lot of bad experiences with people taking advantage of her financially (including, sad to say, relatives), she's quick to take offense,

    • The headline today was gas prices hitting $1.08 a litre

      Coincidentally, we had a similar headline here yesterday, only with different prices. The average price in the UK hit 90p/litre yesterday (at today's exchange rate, that's US$1.60/litre). You have very cheap fuel.

      • Well, considering that a few months ago it was 79 cents, and now its $1.08, that's still one heck of a jump - but I know what you mean.

        I've been telling people that it's going to be $1.25 next winter. They laughed in the spring. They're not laughing now.

        But most poeple still drive too fast

        Slowing from 120kph to 90kph will save you 30% on your fuel bill, but people would rather continue speeding and bitching instead of doing something about it. The car I'm driving (mid-sized 4dr) has a rating of 29 mpg c

  • ...to a continent that is not your own...

    ALONE.

    Not with a pal, not to meet a pal. Totally all by yourself.

    Of course you can meet new people, but it can't be planned.

    Try it.

  • I highly recommend taking a flight in a small airplane. Most flight schools have introdcutory rates which gives you a half hour or an hour for $50 or so. Flying over the countryside at only a few thousand feet gives you a perspective of our world like nothing else can. If you can do some the flying as well, all the better;-)

    I walk the dog every day just about, but the best times we have are when we go for longer walks when I can take him off leash through a little trail. He loves it, and there is some

  • I recommend drinking until your liver cries like a schoolgirl in a back alley photoshoot.

    Just sit down with beer and tequilla and drink until you need your stomach pumped.

    That or find a 4'10" girl of some Asian descent and dress her up like Batgirl and make a porno.
  • stepped out of my nice airconditioned car and started walking toward the store. The right lens on my glasses fogged up completely so I had only the left one to see out. I did not fix the problem but made my way with only one good 'eye'.

    A similar experience was when I walked out of the store and the glass lens partially fogged on both sides. I wondered if that is what it is like to have cataracts or glaucoma as I walked to the car with 'milky ' vision.

    I have eaten a meal prepared by a young child.

  • Who's phone goes a whole two hours without ringing? :-)
  • I once took a vow of silence. In fact, it happened last month (on the first day of the last month, to be even more precise). I was sitting in a cafe with a girl, kind of celebrating my birthday (we had tea and cakes ;), and she totally surprised me by giving me a present -- a cd with the movie "Hiroshima mon amour". I was so moved that i told her that i would remain silent for the next five minutes.

    So i sat there and just looked at her, in complete silence (bar from the usual sounds of a cafe -- the music

  • Walk in the rain
     
    Jump into a body of water off of a roap swing
     
    Eat Indian Fry Bread at the fair
     
    Fly Fishing
  • ....I particularly recommend the wheelchair suggestion. I spent three days at a convention recently in a rented wheelchair propelled by my husband. It changes your perspective mightily.

    I also recommend discussing religion with someone who is not of your faith. I have had gratifying conversations with Muslims, Orthodox Jews and Jehovah's Witnesses. If you are open-minded, you will learn something.
  • - Play hide and seek (with children is best) in a tiny apartment with barely three places that an adult could possibly conceal their form. Try to be tricky enough to not be seen in all the other places.

  • Get really drunk. So drunk that you can't remember it the next day.

    Skydive.

    Spend a night outdoors in the wilderness during midnight sun.

    Crazy wild sex.

    Kill, prepare, cook, and eat something.

    Get chilled to the bone. Not "oh it's chilly I think I'll put my slippers on" cold. I mean "I can't feel my face, my lips are numb, and my hands only work if I move all my fingers at once" kinda cold.

    Work a crappy job because you have to.

    Build a fire from scratch.

    Have an infant smile at you.

    Be wrong and make a f

  • - Lose yourself in a book.
    - Play an instrument - even if you don't do it well.
    - Buy something frivilous for someone you love with no expectations of getting anything in return.
    - Have a rainy day fund.
    - Believe in yourself and other loved ones.
    - Cry over a love lost.
    - Listen to music outside of your normal genre.

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