Moments in a Life - A Weekend and a Meme

I stumbled on this Meme over on this blog and wanted to play. I don't know what the meme was originally called but it made me think of how our lives are such a crazy quilt of different moments and experiences.

I was thinking similar things this weekend when I was out of town for a couple of days and chose not to use my camera. It's wierd for me not to whip out my camera. I feel sort of lost without it. It was hard to watch all those little vignettes and moments sail by in time quietly, without holding on to them photographically, just noting them in my mind. It was an interesting experience for me to just let things go.

It's amazing how many moments make up even an ordinary day, especially when we try to see things with a "live in the moment" eye. I was feeling a bit grumpy about having to spend my entire weekend traveling and doing family things instead of doing my own thing, but it ended up being just a fine way to spend my time. Even the long hours driving were pleasant and filled with unexpected gifts. I got to see the first stand of autumn colored trees just outside of town, golden cottonwoods tucked in near the river. I saw a mountain stream sparkling in the few hours of sunlight that make it to the bottom of a steep canyon. I saw burned forests so still and ashen they looked like a living sepia print. It's hard to capture what a particular sight evokes, what a moment "feels" like. I think that's why I love photography so much because, when it does capture the moment, it's magical.

More on my weekend later. There was football, visiting with Sam, lots and lots of shopping both necessary and recreational. I want to take some photos to share. Meanwhile, on with the meme.

******

Here we present a list. Highlight those tasks that you have accomplished in your life. And then add a new task to the list of something memorable that you've done that isn't on the list yet.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins (I'm not sure if I have or not, but I've watched them swim with my kids. And I've swam with sea lions and other animals)
03. Climbed a mountain - How big a mountain are we talking about? I've certainly climbed little mountains. And I've climbed ON mountains. I haven't climbed anything that required climbing equipment and I don't ever plan on doing so.)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive (I've driven a Porsche, a BMW, A Mercedes. Any of those count?)
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped (Not planning to, either!)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s nappy
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon (Nope, but I had a hot air balloon almost land on my house roof and crash into, breaking, the top of my tree!)
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten tipsy on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse of both the sun and moon
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states (I think I've managed about 21 of them so far, plus six foreign countries)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach (for all the time I've spent on the ocean, I don't know if I've ever been walking on it at midnight!)
50. Gone sky diving (another one that doesn't tempt me even a sniggle!)
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love (not in the way you're probably think of, but yeah)
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (no, but I've been in several plays and a television documentary)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted a river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” (I don't think I can say I've been on television as an expert, but I've been interviewed on television and radio both, and I've been interviewed for a newspaper article as an expert - several times)
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house (more than once!)
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently (does shorthand count? I used to know it so much that I would THINK in shorthand!)
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour (no, but I did see John Denver three times, I used to be a huge fan)
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (driven over it often, but never walked it)
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking (well, I didn't actually stop just because someone was looking!)
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show (Almost! - I came in second, for which there was no prize. If I'd gone with my gut, I would have won)
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (but I've been to the top twice)
122. Slept 30 hours in a 48 hour time frame (I've probably come close)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream (at least some of them)
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident (not that I know of!)
150. Saved someone’s life (I wonder - not directly, but you never know)
151. Organized a HUGE event!

And my addition -

152. Seen something you can't explain with science.