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Big Wheel Race

Thing to Do: Participate in a Big Wheel Race

May 19, 2013 by Jessica 0 Comments

About a month ago I participated in probably one of the zanier events of my life. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Probably visiting a nudist resort or doing the pantsless subway ride were probably crazier but deciding to join in a one mile big wheel race was up there. Luckily I found someone to do it with me (because honestly, when you do crazy things, you kinda want someone to be crazy along with you).

A friend from work (and the same who joined me to go whale watching), Amy, decided she was up for it and, to get into the spirit, we decided to dress in an 80s theme. You know, since that was the decade it was last appropriate to ride these things. I looked around to borrow a couple of big wheels from friends who had kids but with no prospects we actually had to purchase a couple from Wal-Mart. I’ll admit, these are not true BIG wheels but they got the job done. And, for $25 a pop, they held up for us, unlike so many others…

Big Wheel Race

Because this race required that you brought your own big wheel, I feel like it wasn’t as well attended as it could have been. If, instead, they had big wheels provided, there would have been many more. But for $15 (after a LivingSocial deal), could you really complain? There were LOTS of people dressed up, which is what I love about these type events. Whether it’s The Color Run or The Warrior Dash, more people are wearing costumes and silly things than NOT.

Luckily the course was almost all downhill. When the start sounded, people immediately began pedaling, pushing, or generally using their big wheel as a kind of scooter or skateboard, with a knee or foot on the big wheel while they pushed with the other. The original idea was that we would just kinda push ourselves while on the trykes but was getting us nowhere fast. I decided to try to see if I could wedge my feet into the pedals, and sure enough, we could actually pedal the damn things!

Within 3 minutes of the start, things started to fall apart…literally. I’d wager about half of the big wheels were no longer together by the end of the race with wheels coming off and rolling away, handlebars coming off in people’s hands, and big wheels generally disintegrating. A guy dressed up as Mario had his big wheel fall to multiple pieces in front of me. Luckily he yelled “Watch out for the banana peel!” and sure enough, Mario-Kart-style, I had to swerve around a banana peel that had been left behind from the carnage.

Broken Wheels

With big wheels now only broken parts, most people began walking. Amy and I joined them, less because of the state of our wheels and more because the car bringing up the rear was directly behind us and we needed to pick up the pace.

Proof of walking during the race

With the finish line in sight, we again started pedaling. We both had GoPros on the front of our trykes but I just haven’t had the time to edit the video (that and I suck at editing video and the video is pretty shaky). SO…I’ll give you this gem of a video to give you an idea of how much of a dork I looked while riding this thing. Also, as you can see, Amy and I are the last on the track; that black SUV is the car bringing up the end of the race.

Like all the crazy things I do, I enjoyed it. How can you not smile while pedaling like a crazy person on a tiny tricycle?

I have some fun plans ahead with fly fishing and hiking in the mountains, trapeze lessons at the end of June, Orlando and Universal Studios in July (where I’ll get another Roller Coaster checked off the list), and … Running with the Bulls in August!

What does YOUR summer look like?

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bucket list, Entertainment, Excitement, life list, Sport and Activity
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Hang gliding

Thing to Do: Go Hang Gliding

April 21, 2013 by Jessica 3 Comments

Hang gliding has definitely been one of those things I’ve always wanted to try. Luckily for me, one of the best places to do a beginner’s lesson is right in my own state. Jockey’s Ridge State Park’s high dunes and great winds has attracted people interested in flight since…well…the beginning! (Heard of a couple of brothers named Orville and Wilbur?)

Booking a beginner’s hang gliding lesson with Kitty Hawk Kites (who, also, have pretty much been doing this since the beginning of hang gliding as a sport) meant I got 5 flights off the dunes after a short classroom session. Unlike lots of other things I’ve done, like tandem skydiving, I was actually mostly on my own. The instructor was there to correct for wind gusts but I was under my own power, controlling the glider myself.

The video looks kinda lame but you really do feel like you are flying! You run as hard as you can and after several steps you realize the ground is no longer under your feet. You feel like you are soaring really high, although in actuality I was no more than 10 feet or so off the ground (my instructor is 6’4″ so you get the idea) and I guess I probably only went 100 feet or so. In the video I did actually manage to land on my feet although I only did that 2 of the 5 tries. Even if you don’t land on your feet, you have sand to land on, so no worries about too many bumps and bruises.

You could also choose to be dropped from a plane a mile up and tandem glide down but I chose to opt out of that because 1) it’s crazy expensive, and 2) in my old age, I’ve managed to get quite a bit of motion sickness from these type activities. I really didn’t want to spend the money and just be miserable  As much as I really wanted to do this, I still think the excitement of flying under your own power was still better than just riding along tandem with an instructor…even from 6,000 feet up.

I really enjoyed this but I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to afford the lessons to get licensed. I’m discovering that all the super fun things to do are just way too expensive!

So who out there has done this? Who would be willing to do it off a cliff or a mountain side?

101 Things before you die, 40 Before I'm 40, Achievement, bucket list, Entertainment, Excitement, life list, Nature, Sport and Activity, Travel
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Rock Climbing

Thing to Do #11 (40/40 list): Learn to Rock Climb

April 4, 2013 by Jessica 0 Comments

It was only a year ago that I took my first rock climbing class. I had never been terribly interested in doing the indoor rock climbing thing but after a friend shared photos of her rock climbing at Pilot Mountain, I knew I wanted to do that so I needed to learn the basics first.

Climbing the "hard" line

Climbing the “hard” line

Honestly, after my introductory class last March, I only went a handful of times. The rock climbing gym is always so crowded (even worse now since the only other rock climbing gym in the area closed), it’s not terribly convenient to get to, and if you don’t have the equipment, a simple visit to climb costs $25, which adds up quickly. I got a harness and climbing shoes for Christmas with the hope that I’d go more often but I literally cut the tags off my new equipment the night before heading to Pilot Mountain for my first honest-to-goodness rock climbing adventure.

Choosing to go with Raleigh Parks and Rec for a guided trip rather than the more expensive option of going on one of the monthly trips run by the local rock climbing gym, we set out early one Saturday morning for the 2.5 hour trip to Pilot Mountain. Pilot Mountain is one of those anomalies that jut out of hilly land, still a good 45 minutes away from the rest of the NC mountains. The mountain itself is quite distinctive with a stone “knob” on top (which you are NOT allowed to climb).

50 Feet of rock to climb (this is the "hard" line)

50 Feet of rock to climb (this is the “hard” line)

Although the trip was in late March, we were experiencing a bit of a cold snap and as we drove up the mountain, it began to sleet. As I had dressed in my usual hiking/climbing mountain gear of capri hiking pants, I was frozen through until the sun finally broke through around noon. Once the instructors had the lines up and running, we began taking turns climbing and belaying. I was the first one up the second line, which we called the “easy” line for much of the day. Although it had a tricky start, it was manageable and after the first 10 feet of rock got to lots of great hand holds and holes to work with.

I quickly realized the biggest difference between climbing real rock and an indoor rock wall was that with an indoor rock  wall, you can see the holds from 40 feet down.  Maneuvering to find holds in the real rock proved to be an exercise in problem solving. Often I would finally get a good hold only to push up further and scrabble scrabble scrabble for the next hold and have to give up and come back down. But I enjoyed it. Finally finding the next hold and moving up was a small moment of success!

I also fell for the first time. I had discovered that I wouldn’t take chances in the indoor rock wall because I was afraid of falling. I would find myself not going for the hold because I thought I may fail. With the actual rock, I was going for whatever I could and sometimes that meant I fell too. After falling the first time, I felt more comfortable in knowing that falling wasn’t the worst thing to happen.

With the sleet earlier, the rock itself felt like ice and after about 10 minutes I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. It took 30 minutes or more to have the feeling come back in my finger tips.

Climbing the "easy" line

Climbing the “easy” line

Later on I tried the “hard” line. I was the last to try and I had witnessed others in the group have difficulty with it so I just wanted to made it past the first 10 feet. After a good bit of work, I made it past the point that had given everyone trouble and considered myself a success.

The instructors set up a rappel line and we could climb the “easy” line up and out if we wanted to. I tried but was disappointed when I couldn’t get to the last little bit. I had used up all my energy getting to that point and couldn’t give it any more. I had to belay back down and then hike up to the top of the cliff to do my big of rappelling.

During our whole trip, I managed to only climb 3 times and help belay several times but I was beat and fell asleep around 9:30 that night. I was sore for days after.

So, I really liked it! I don’t think I’ll ever get into the tech of it; I just don’t have any interest in learning how to lead climb or putting in top rope anchors. I’d much rather just join a group and have the experts do it for me. Officially, like skiing and SCUBA, I will now have to go rock climbing at least yearly.

How about you? Do you enjoy rock climbing (inside or outside)? Are you super hard core and do the lead climbing, bouldering, and free climbing?

40 Before I'm 40, Achievement, Excitement, Nature, Sport and Activity, Travel
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Rock Climbing

2013 First Quarter Report

March 31, 2013 by Jessica 0 Comments

Ok, so based on the list of Goals for 2013, I’ve gotten a good bit of work done in the first 3 months of the year. Always room for improvement but not too shabby!

#2 Swim with Whales: Ok, well…this was a fail but it WAS an attempt so I’m counting it as done for this year. Something to try again next year.

#8 Sell a piece of art (and realize my childhood dream, which is #28 on the 40/40 list): Nothing yet.

#46 Scuba Diving: Continue practicing my SCUBA skills by going at least once this summer. Gonna use my new GoPro to capture the excitement that is the murky depths of the rock quarry.

#52 Read the Greatest Books Ever Written (#7 on the 40/40 list): Supposed to be working on at least 2 this year. Nada so far.

#65  Shout ‘Drinks Are on Me!’ in a Pub or Bar (#17 on the 40/40 list): Not yet.

#84 Learn to Ski (#32 on the 40/40 list): Went in January and had a blast.

Goals from my 40 Before I’m 40 List:

#1 Be Able to Do a Pull Up: Very much working on it. I can lift 100 pounds so far. About 35 pounds to go.

#11 Learn to Rock Climb: Went rock climbing on Pilot Mountain for “real” rock climbing a week ago. That’s where the photo above comes from. Post to come.

#12 Take a Cooking Class: Nothing yet.

#18 Watch the  Top 250 IMDB List/Watch All of the Oscar Best Picture Winners: Nothing yet.

#25 Drink All the Beers on the GQ List: Nothing yet.

#31  Learn to swim (#87 on the 101 list: Conquer Your Fear): COMPLETED!

#35 Visit all of the NC Breweries: The original goal was to visit 7 this year. I’ve visited Trophy Brewing and Raleigh Brewing thus far.

#36 Learn How to Ballroom Dance: Nada yet.

From the Sports List:

#18 Attend a rugby game (and learn the rules): Nope

#19 Attend a cricket game (and learn the rules): Nope

Things not on an official list but still want to try:

Think that’s enough? What’s on YOUR goals for 2013?

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High Ropes Course

Thing to Do: Complete an Epic Ropes Course

March 15, 2013 by Jessica 1 Comment

I know, I know. You’re thinking, “What’s the big deal about some lame Ropes Course? Aren’t they for team building, along with trust falls and other touchy feely stuff?” And yes, they are. But they can also be epic. Like the one I completed last weekend.

I’ve done the team building stuff with ropes courses before. Those are usually, at the most, a few feet off the ground. I think, maybe once, I did a ropes course in Girl Scouts that was probably 10 feet up in the air. But this, my friends, is fifty-five feet in the air. And how do you get off? By zipline or a giant swing. Awesomesauce.

When I first learned about the Durham Parks and Rec’s High Ropes Course in Spring 2011, I immediately added it to “my list.” Intended primarily for organizations and businesses to use for team building exercises, once a month Durham Parks and Rec opens it up to the general public. After a year, I finally secured a spot.

Technically, kids 7 and up and do this, so it’s not that scary. And the way the course is set up, you can choose the obstacles you want to complete. I did skip the “Gauntlet” and another line that seemed to employ a good bit of upper body strength. You only get an hour so I felt rushed and didn’t want to hold anyone up while I tried to complete those two obstacles. Perhaps next time I’ll just head straight up and do the more challenging ones on the second and third levels.

Getting ready for the Giant SwingThe video (shot with my brand new GoPro!) is pretty long, so look in the video information to skip to the highlights. Definitely go to the end to see me do the giant swing. You can’t tell much from the shot but there’s a good bit of a free fall at first, probably only 10 feet or so, but it’ll give you a jolt!

I do think I’d like to go back and do the tougher obstacles, as well as try to depend less on my own rope and see if I can cross things without hanging on to it for dear life. I’m pleased with the camera angle (I was using a chest harness instead of a helmet cam); I think it was more stable than a helmet cam would have been but there were sometimes I think a helmet cam would have better captured what my feet were doing/what I was seeing.

So what do you think? Would you do this? Would you think this to be exciting? Or are you “Meh.” about this type stuff?

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advanced beginner swimmer

Thing to Do #87: Conquer Your Fear

March 8, 2013 by Jessica 1 Comment

COMPLETED!

Photo Credit

I’ve long said that my fear is water. You would think that someone who is SCUBA certified would have successfully conquered that fear. Alas, even after SCUBA diving in the open Pacific (as well as white water rafting one of the more dangerous rivers in the world), I still had to admit I had a healthy fear of water. You see, I couldn’t swim. How does a person go SCUBA diving without swimming? Well, quite easily actually. To dive, you really only move your legs back and forth. And anytime I’ve ever fallen out of the boat while rafting, the life jacket and some paddling around is usually sufficient.

To say I couldn’t swim meant: I could do some bastardization of freestyle in an incredibly inefficient manner enough to get me from one end of the pool to the other. After a lot of splashing and thrashing about, I would grasp the edge of the pool and gulp air from the enormous effort I had just put in. I had always been rather embarrassed by my lack of skill but until this past summer it had never really concerned me. During a trip to the beach, I managed to get caught in a riptide for the first time in my life. Ignoring advice to swim parallel to the shore, I panicked in the moment and began a desperate attempt to swim back in. After a lot of struggle and a few scary moments of thinking I may not make it, I realized that not being able to swim efficiently when choosing to spend as much time around water as I do was probably a bad choice.

I signed up for beginner swim lessons at my local pool and was delighted to find after a short assessment that I was more of an intermediate swimmer (some of the beginners were visibly hesitant to even get in to the pool, so clearly there are people out there with a bigger fear of water than me). The class met 2 times for 4 weeks. We worked on various strokes, including freestyle, backstroke, side stroke, and the breaststroke. I was amazed to discover that I actually was pretty ok at the backstroke; I had never even tried it before! I was completely shyte with the breaststroke and never got to a point where I didn’t need a noodle to assist me. But freestyle still eluded me and it quickly become apparent what my downfall was entirely with water: I didn’t like having my face in the water.

Sure, I dive and go underwater, but that’s with an oxygen supply. Swimming freestyle with the correct breathing technique was what was holding me back. That was why the backstroke was so easy for me; I kept my face out of the water the entire time. And trying to freestyle with my face out of the water was simply inefficient and getting me nowhere.

When warming up or during “free time” at the end of the first 5 classes, I would practice my backstroke because that’s what I felt comfortable with. However, with a number of people out during the 6th class and given the opportunity to spend the entire class working on what we chose, I realized that if I wanted to get better, I had to force myself out of my comfort zone. I practiced breathing a good bit with the kickboard and then slowly tried to work on breathing while swimming. All along, my instructor was giving me feedback and things to keep working on.

And then something clicked! Just like it did with skiing, all of a sudden I simply began doing it! And it felt…right. Honestly, I got such an electric jolt in that moment, I almost stopped to call out to my instructor “Hey! I’m SWIMMING!”

Immediately upon getting that down, I felt truly comfortable in the water for the first time in my life. And, by feeling comfortable, everything else went much more easily. I discovered that when I wasn’t convinced I was about to drown every moment, swimming could be quite pleasant.

Don’t get me wrong. I still have a long way to go. I can barely finish a lap. But as the pool is rather near my house, I hope to continue to go back regularly and practice. I may even take another class; eventually I would like to swim laps like competitive swimmers and do that dive thingy where they duck under and push off the edge of the pool to start a new lap. I know, I know. Small steps. But you know me! I’m always trying to up the ante!

So, what is YOUR biggest fear? Have you conquered it?

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whale watching

Thing to Do #2: Swim with Whales

March 3, 2013 by Jessica 4 Comments

Photo Credit from The Virginia Pilot

So in the book, Thing to Do #2 before you die is to swim with a multitude of oceanic creatures: dolphins, sharks, whales, and tropical fish. Although the title implies to literally swim with them, the entry form does allow for a simple sighting of said creature. I have successfully (and literally) swam with dolphins, sharks, and tropical fish. I was kinda hoping to check of this last one with a whale watching trip, which is actually something that I had on the original list I created back in high school. Being a typical girl, I was obsessed with whales when I was younger and for a brief time wanted to be a marine biologist to study whales. And, honestly, I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to finally schedule a whale watching trip. But better late than never. When I discovered that the Virginia Aquarium ran whale watching trips January-March each year, I set about making plans.

Amy, a friend at work, had been interested in coming along on one of my adventures and when I suggested whale watching, she was on board immediately. In anticipation of the trip, I searched online to see if it had been a “good year” thus far and found this article and this article that buoyed our hopes for seeing a whale. You see, whales sightings are not “guaranteed.” I really had gotten pretty excited about the possibility of fulfilling a childhood dream and besides, who wants to drive 7 hours round trip and take a 2 hour boat trip only to be disappointed?

We left Raleigh at 7am and made good time, arriving to pick up our tickets with plenty of time to grab breakfast before boarding the boat. Immediately upon leaving the dock area, we were greeted with a huge pod of dolphins, which followed us the entire trip. I’ve seen dolphins in the wild before, although seeing them is always a pleasant surprise. Besides, I had never seen this many at one time.

After watching the dolphins for a good long while, we went south where the morning boat had sighted a whale earlier. After traveling for an hour, we apparently had reached the point but after only 10 minutes or so, turned around to head back. I honestly was a little taken aback; we had never left the shoreline at all but instead had just run parallel to it for an hour. I had completely expected to go out to sea. Knowing that the trip was only supposed to last 2 hours, I knew we probably weren’t going to see a whale that day. Although the dolphins continued to play in our wake, when the boat turned, Amy and I were no longer in the sun. The wind and February chill became too much and we went inside to keep warm for the return trip.

I knew a sighting wasn’t guaranteed but knowing the morning boat had seen one and that there had been so much success all year long, I was pretty disappointed.

Oh well. There’s always next year to try again. Plus, my friend Jessica lives in New England and has been on many successful whale watching trips. I may just go up to visit her and take advantage of her whale watching mojo!

How about you? Have you ever been on a whale watching trip? Or just seen one in the wild on a completely separate boat trip?

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Bunny Slope

Thing to Do #84: Learn to Ski

February 10, 2013 by Jessica 4 Comments

Ok, so skiing was actually really fun this year! I think in looking back at last year I was so sick, I just didn’t have the energy it required to give it a fair shake. I was nervous going this year because I remembered not really having a great time last year. But once I was out on the bunny slope, it all came back really quickly and I was easily better than I ever was last year within the first hour.

Last year I had a lot of frustration from not picking it up quickly. I don’t mean to be immodest, but I’ve been pretty active all my life and most physical activities have come easily to me. With how quickly I got back to it this year and immediately exceeded where I was last year, further makes me think that I was just really weak from being sick last year; if I hadn’t been sick, I would have been able to pick it up much more quickly. (It didn’t hurt that this year there was actual snow as opposed to mostly ice last year).

After an hour getting reacquainted with skiing on the bunny slope, I headed out to the greens and skied those for the remainder of the day and the next. I took two ski lessons last year and I kept trying to apply what I remembered my instructor telling me to do. Like all things, it just takes time to “feel it” (you can tell me all day to stand up straight and lean forward but when I’m sliding down a mountain, what I WANT to do is squat down and lean back, AWAY from the big scary mountain in front of me).

I managed to only fall down once and that was on the first run of the second day. (Well, 3 times if you count the 2 times falling off the chair lift, which, honestly, is incredibly embarrassing). By the second half of the second day, I could finally even keep my skis together and parallel a good bit for most of the way down, with only minimal “snowplowing” at the steeper points. I’m not saying my stance was nice and tight or anything, but I kinda looked like I knew what I was doing.

Still didn’t get a picture again this year (Who wants to carry around a camera or phone while skiing?) but the photo above is of the bunny slope. I didn’t want to mess with my new GoPro that I got for Christmas as I thought I had enough to worry with in just re-learning how to ski but I saw a lot of people with them so I definitely will use it next year. That’ll be some fun video!

So officially now I can really say I can ski! And, even better, that I actually enjoy it. Can’t wait for next year!

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trapeze

Goals for 2013

January 23, 2013 by Jessica 3 Comments

Photo Credit

In looking at my list, so many things that are left involve travel. Well, I hope to get out and visit at least one new country this year but otherwise I’m going to have to find things a bit closer by to do.

#2 Swim with Whales: Technically I wouldn’t be swimming with whales but I do plan to go on a whale watching trip out of Virginia Beach in February. Hope to see a humpback on its migratory path!

#8 Sell a piece of art (and realize my childhood dream, which is #28 on the 40/40 list)

#46 Scuba Diving: Continue practicing my SCUBA skills by going at least once. Gonna use my new GoPro to capture the excitement that is the murky depths of the rock quarry.

#52 Read the Greatest Books Ever Written (#7 on the 40/40 list): I didn’t do ANY of these last year! I mostly have really long ones left so out of the 10 remaining, I’m going to tackle 2 this year. As ONE of these things to read is the ENTIRE works of Shakespeare, I also want to see 2 plays performed live.

#65  Shout ‘Drinks Are on Me!’ in a Pub or Bar (#17 on the 40/40 list): I’m waiting to go my bar on a Tuesday afternoon at 3pm. I can swing buying drinks for 5 people.

#84 Learn to Ski (#32 on the 40/40 list): I went last year but I take “learning” to mean something you do multiple times in an effort to improve. So I’m going again.

Goals from my 40 Before I’m 40 List:

#1 Be Able to Do a Pull Up: I started working seriously on this late 2012. I’m up to lifting about 90 pounds so I only have 50 more to go.

#11 Learn to Rock Climb: Continue with going to the indoor rock climbing wall but I’ve also scheduled a trip to go to Pilot Mountain for “real” rock climbing.

#12 Take a Cooking Class: I want to sign up for a Sushi making class.

#18 Watch the  Top 250 IMDB List/Watch All of the Oscar Best Picture Winners: Watch 25 this year

#25 Drink All the Beers on the GQ List: Drink 10

#31  Learn to swim: I’ve signed up for beginner lessons. No more doggie paddling for me!

#35 Visit all of the NC Breweries: I went to 13 last year but admittedly I’ve now visited all the ones near me. Travel is now required to visit the rest. Visit 7 this year

#36 Learn How to Ballroom Dance: I went for one lesson but I think I’m going to try to attend one of the dance studio’s “dance socials” to practice

From the Sports List:

#18 Attend a rugby game (and learn the rules): There are actually some local teams

#19 Attend a cricket game (and learn the rules): There’s actually a local league!

Things not on an official list but still want to try:

Think that’s enough? What’s on YOUR goals for 2013?

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Over the edge

2012 Fourth Quarter Report

January 18, 2013 by Jessica 0 Comments

Although I felt like I didn’t do that much in 2012, I really have made good progress on my original list. There’s never been a year where I accomplished every single goal I laid out for myself but that’s no bother because inevitably I also manage to do lots of things NOT on the list too!

My Goals for 2012:

#8 Sell a piece of art (and realize my childhood dream, which is #28 on the 40/40 list): Dang. Another year where I didn’t do this. Shame on me.

#46 Scuba Diving: COMPLETED! Went to the Rock Quarry in July to keep up with my SCUBA skillz. Was relieved and proud to say that I actually remembered how to do it. As long as I keep going regularly, hopefully I won’t forget.

#52 Read the Greatest Books Ever Written (#7 on the 40/40 list): I’m failing at reading on the list, but I’ve been tearing it up in regard to books I want to read. Which, after years of reading books I’m supposed to read, has been really nice. Total for the year includes: the newest Sookie book, Dexter is Delicious, The Hunger Games, The Help, The Children of Men, Fight Club, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Wicked, Less Than Zero, and Living with Miss G.

#65  Shout ‘Drinks Are on Me!’ in a Pub or Bar (#17 on the 40/40 list): Moved to next year.

#68 Save Someone’s Life (#8 on the 40/40 list): I was on pace with 3 pints donated so far for the year. (I’ve donated 7 total pints for lifetime). But then I started reading articles about how donating blood builds up scar tissue and makes it difficult for you to potentially get IVs and things you may need later in life. I don’t know. I need to do some more research on this.

#84 Learn to Ski (#32 on the 40/40 list): COMPLETED!

#93.5 Get Your Name in the Ring of Honor: COMPLETED!

Goals from my 40 Before I’m 40 List:

#1 Be Able to Do a Pull Up: Starting in late October I started working out at the gym with the “assisted pull up” machine. So far my max lift is 90 pounds; only need 50 more. Didn’t accomplish this one but I’m working hard on it for 2013.

#11 Learn to Rock Climb: COMPLETED! I’ve been a few times but would like to go more. Definitely want to go “real” rock climbing next year.

#18 Watch the Top 1,001 Films: About halfway through the year I kinda changed my plans and I’m actually kinda working more on the IMDB Top 250. Of these, I’ve watched a total of 191 (although this list is always changing, which can be frustrating).

#25 Drink All the Beers on the GQ List: Drank 10 of 20 (20 was my goal this year)

#35 Visit all of the NC Breweries: COMPLETED! The original task was to visit 10; I visited 13. This year I have been to: Natty Greene’s, Big Boss, Aviator, Bull City Burger and Brewery, Lonerider, Roth, Mystery, White Street Brewing, Carolina Brewing Co., Red Oak, NoDa Brewing, Birdsong, and Foothills.

#36 Learn How to Ballroom Dance: COMPLETED-ish! I did take one private dance lesson. I’m supposed to go back for a group lesson and then a “dance social.” But the one private dance lesson showed me I have a long way to go!

#37 Start Using Coupons: I’m kinda halfheartedly doing this. Baby steps.

#38 See a Movie in a Drive-In Movie Theater: COMPLETED!

From the Sports List:

#18 Attend a rugby game (and learn the rules): FAIL! I missed the opportunities this year.

#19 Attend a cricket game (and learn the rules): FAIL! I missed the opportunities this year.

#24 Attend the Kentucky Derby: This didn’t happen this year. No worries!

One of my favorite things to do is to take advantage of opportunities as they come up, even if they aren’t on the list! After all, the true spirit of the list is to get you out of your comfort zone. So far this year I have also:

  • I attended two Roller Derby Matches 
  • I visited Natural Bridge
  • I went Indoor Skydiving
  • I went to a concert by myself (twice. I went to see Dave Matthews in December and it was truly wonderful. I’m definitely going to concerts by myself from now on).
  • I did most of the Warrior Dash
  • I went camping for the first time, climbed Grandfather Mountain, and managed to cross off Thing to Do #37: Make a Fire Without Matches (I went camping again at the beach in August and started a fire even more quickly and efficiently so I can actually say the first time wasn’t a fluke!)
  • I went Zorbing
  • I went to Bonnaroo
  • I made beer (three times; the first and third time was pretty great, the second time was a bit of fail but that’s what you get when you drink whilst making beer!)
  • I went to Niagara Falls and went into Canadia for the first time! (Adding to my work on #36: Visit Every Country)
  • I raised $1,000 and rappelled down the side of the building at the “Over the Edge” event.
  • I got colorful at The Color Run
  • You know when you look on a map and see that pointy part of NC that juts out into the ocean? I went to that exact point of Cape Hatteras and watched the waves crash together. Rather cool. Still haven’t been to the top of the lighthouse though.

In my personal life:

There have been so many successes that aren’t even on the list, and in many ways I feel this has been the most successful year of my life. Professionally I continue to be satisfied and challenged by my work; a promotion in July brought a bit more stress and work load but I’ve enjoyed the new challenges.

Personally, I’ve discovered a lot about myself this year. It’s been a great time for self-reflection and looking inward. I’m still trying to work on some things but overall I feel better about having figured some things out.

Also in the personal realm, I’ve continued to keep the weight off from last year. I no longer diet; I rather eat what I want. But I do continue to attend Zumba 3 times a week. Through Zumba I’m still the same weight (anywhere from 139-143), but I’ve actually lost another dress size. At my biggest in April 2011 I weighed 164 and was a size 10; although I’m still 10 pounds more than what I was in college, I’m the smallest size I’ve ever been at size 4 (in college I was a size 8). Next year’s goals will hopefully see me finally do a pull up.

Financially I guess we could always wish for a little more but through contract work and my day job, I’ve managed to continue to maintain the lifestyle I want while being single. I became a landlord this year and that’s actually going well so I’m pleased with that decision and I have little by little been able to rebuild my wardrobe through Goodwill purchases and consignment shops.

Overall I guess I would say 2012 was somewhat quiet and subdued; not quite the like the year I had in 2010! But if we gauge our success not in trips and adventures but in happiness and security, I’d easily say 2012 was by far my most successful year yet.

How was your 2012? What are you looking forward to for 2013?

101 Things before you die, 40 Before I'm 40, Achievement, bucket list, Entertainment, Excitement, life list, Life Management, Miscellaneous, Nature, Recklessness, Relationships, Sport and Activity, things before you die, Travel
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