Have you ever...?

Yeah, I know I haven't been blogging much lately. The new job isn't very conducive to personal activities like blogging, and I've been way too busy at home. (It's amazing how much a toddler can cut into your prime-time TV watching!)

Anyway, I saw this on Mystery Mommy's blog and thought it was cute. The ones I've done are in bold, with comments in italics.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins Wild dolphins? No, but I did swim with dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida Keys.
03. Climbed a mountain C'mon, I am an Eagle Scout after all. The tallest was Mt. Baldy in New Mexico (elevation 12,441), as well as at least one of the 4000+ peaks in the Adirondak Mountains (I forget which one).
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive No, sadly nothing more exotic than a Corvette and an SSR.
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 Because it was the only way to get down!
10. Bungee jumped Not on my list of things to do before I die
11. Visited Paris Not yet. :(
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 my own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than I could afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger My wife was a stranger until I met her. :)
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as I possibly could
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
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 my life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for my computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends Not many, but at least a few here and there.
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign It was already blown down by the hurricane, but it still counts, right?
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving Again, not on my list of things to do.
51. Visited Ireland Not yet. :(
52. Been heartbroken longer then I was actually in love with the person
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 my CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero As a kid? Sure. As an adult? Probably. :)
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud Aw hells yeah! They had a great mud slide at a campout we went to.
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 with someone and not had my heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites Assuming places like the Grand Canyon qualify as "ancient".
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than six hours straight No, always got bored after about 3.
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
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 the Snake River I believe our family float trip was technically on the Snake River. I've also rafted on the Cheat and New rivers (WV).
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Received flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark I think I've tried it once.
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of my parents
93. Been on a cruise ship Not yet, but hopefully soon!
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children Work in progress.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named my own constellation of stars
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 Not the whole thing, tho.
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when I knew someone was looking I don't usually care if anyone is looking, so I don't notice.
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that I shouldn't have survived
105. Written articles for a large publication No, only for a small one.
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane Just a small Sesna.
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of mine below the neck pierced
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
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
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 Bleh!
128. Had my picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something I care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who I missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared and animal for eating
137. Skipped all my school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written my own computer language
141. Thought to myself that I'm living my dream
142. Had to put someone I love into hospice care
143. Built my own PC from parts
144. Sold my own artwork to someone who didn't know me
145. Had a booth at a street fair Technically it was a car show.
146: Dyed my hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved my head
149: Caused a car accident I'm an excellent driver. :)
150: Saved someone's life

Door-to-door fundraising... by email?

This morning I got an interesting email. It was a fundraising email, sent on behalf of my good friend's six-year-old son, selling gift wrap and chocolates to raise money for his elementary school.

My first thought was "Oh how cool! What a neat way to tap into the power of the internet and reach out to friends and relatives to help with your fundraising campaign. And it's so EASY -- no orders to take or deliveries to make, and the customer can take as long as he or she wants to pick out items."

But then another thought entered my mind. And it started something like "Boy, when *I* was a kid...."

Yep, when I was a kid, we did it "the old-fashioned way"... walked door to door to take orders (uphill both ways, of course). We didn't have no fancy-shmancy internet to do the work for us!

Seriously, though, while I love all the ways the internet has made our lives easier, there is still something to be said for door-to-door fundraising. It teaches kids social interaction, gives them self-confidence, and teaches them to handle rejection. It builds character, dammit! It also puts a FACE with the solicitation request. I mean I'm much happier to shell out $3.50 for a "single-serving" box of girl scout cookies when I see the friendly and enthusiastic smile of the girl I'm helping out.

On the other hand, I guess at six years old my friend's son is a bit too young to be out selling door-to-door, even if his mom went along. And does mom really have the time to tag along? Even with older kids, do you really want them going out door-to-door with all those pedophiles out there? And for the customer, would you rather support some random neighborhood kid who comes to your door (and how do you know they're really from your neighborhood?), or someone you actually know?

So I guess I'm on the fence about this one. I guess using the internet for school fundraising makes sense -- it's a safe and efficient way to contact people you know, especially those who live outside of your immediate area. And I'm sure kids will still be going door-to-door to solicit their neighbors, since they don't have email addresses for everyone! I just hope I don't start getting flooded with email fundraising solicitations in the future, and I hope email solicitation doesn't completely replace that character-building experience of trudging through the rain and snow just to have your hopes and dreams shattered by the mean old man at the end of the block!