I’ve never done one of these, but right now am feeling relaxed and comfortable enough to make the attempt: I’m tutoring jurisprudence and constitutional law (UK version — parliament always wins) next term (which also means cash on top of the scholarship — always handy), the thesis is going well, and I’ve bitten the career bullet — a think-tank is looking more and more likely. It’ll mean hopping countries again, but I’ve never been much good at staying in one place for too long. So the good ol’ USA looks like it’ll be it, at least for a while. I got this meme from Pavlov’s Cat, who got it from Pea Soup, who got it from Knitters-Knitters (which means M-H should do it next, to come full circle).
I’ve adopted PC’s amendment, too, which goes as follows:
THE 99 THINGS MEME
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[For myself and everyone else over about 45 I am going to add a deeply poignant extra category: Things You Wish You'd Done but You Know in Your Heart That it's Too Late Now. These things will be underlined.]
I don’t make the age cut-off, but I’ve plenty of regrets. So count me in.
1. Started your own blog.
Yep, but took my time.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
Drums. The only instrument I’m any good at.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
In Longreach, when there for an academic conference — among other things, I realised that I could never be a literature academic.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
In time, not money. Involved a blind woman who was being abused by her sighted mother, and was very difficult — where I grew up, bad mothers got the snot flogged out of them.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
A few, but the best was Snowdonia, which DEM will remember, with the lobsters.
9. Held a praying mantis.
Yep, and left it in a particularly irritating teacher’s drawer. Worked better than the newts in the water in Matilda.
10. Sang a solo.
Never. When I say my voice sounds like a fire alarm going off, I mean it.
11. Bungee jumped.
In New Zealand, too, when the old man had shot through with me in tow.
12. Visited Paris.
Lots. It always rains.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
Crossing over from Italy to Sicily.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
Drawing.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
Yep, during one of my many visits. Not that impressive.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
Cairns-Rocky; Rome-Provence; Beijing-Xian.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
In Italy, when I hung around Pompeii too long. My driver was an archaeologist. Very cool.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
Cinque Cerri Road, Bettona, Italy (Umbria).
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
No, but I have come at a half marathon and a few 10 k runs. Getting a bit slow now.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
Should have, but opted to stay inside the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and complain about how dark it was getting (DEM may recall this incident, as well).
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
Well, I’ve hit a few sixes in cricket, which is the same thing. The best of them went through the window in the corporate box in a cricket ground which shall remain nameless. I am, remember, a left-hander.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
Chickened out on the London side; after I visited the house where the old man was born, it was becoming abundantly clear that they were all up to their necks in organised crime.
35. Seen an Amish community.
But have taught in a school that was roughly 70% Mennonite. Very interesting — they’d managed to stop the boys from being stupid and distracted by banning television.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
Lived in Italy. Had studied Latin. Learnt Italian or failed to find a pot to piss in, find the embassy or find somewhere to eat.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
Law’s been good to me. It sent me to Oxford, for which I’m eternally grateful.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
Lots. I recommend the Kangaroo Point Cliffs.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
And was spectacularly crap. As I said, I can’t sing.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
In Oxford, when doing the ‘sleep out’ night for Crisis, (homeless charity). I found out that HM Department of Work and Pensions insists on an address in order for people to collect benefit. I also found out that some people prefer the streets.
44. Visited Africa.
Do Egypt and Morocco count?
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
Wore one in the head playing club cricket. Still refuse to wear a helmet.
47. Had your portrait painted.
Well, drawn [SL -- me, too]
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
Watched while partner did the fishing and chopped his hand to pieces with the line.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
Born in Cairns, lived in Rocky. Go figure.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
Watched Bambi and Freaky Friday. Thought it was pretty cool.
55. Been in a movie.
Unfortunately.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
Made more money doing this than doing lots of other stuff.
58. Taken a martial arts class
Shodan in Shotokan; dad was a Golden Gloves champ so took this stuff pretty seriously. Long stints at Muay Thai, Wing Chun and Jujitsu.
59. Visited Russia.
Mainly Ukraine. Wrote a book about it.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
In Hervey Bay, during a literary festival. Didn’t see anything.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
Yah, from my publisher. Weird.
64. Donated blood.
Nope, chicken.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
Yep. Auschwitz, Dachau, Chelmno (the Midwich Cuckoos, remember), Treblinka, Belsen. My grandad was at the relief of the latter (6th Para), so felt sort of obliged to go. Auschwitz (or, rather, Birkenau) is fucking huge. DEM may remember this one, too.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
With the lad.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
And cried.
71. Eaten Caviar.
Too salty, even for me.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
Better. I’ve been fired from my country. Shitty at the time, but kinda cool in the long run.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
Lots. Blame martial arts.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
And stacked it outside the school gates. On my sister-in-law’s Ossa.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
Yeah. Must do better next time.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
Yep, after wrapping the Torana around a tree.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
Too many to mention.
85. Read the entire Bible.
I went to a religious school. They meant it when they read the Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
Yep. A pig. Complete with pig-dog helping out during the hunt before.
88. Had chickenpox.
Disgustingly, when I was 21. Went down the Coast with some friends at the tail end of it and wanted to stick a brown paper bag over my head.
89. Saved someone’s life.
Last year, by accident. With my epipen.
90. Sat on a jury.
Not allowed 
91. Met someone famous.
A few. Some I could have done without.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
Both mum and dad. My sister-in-law. Tried to do CPR on my mum; turned out she’d been dead for about 5 hours. Damn.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
As a lawyer, lots… too many to mention.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
One of the reasons why I need the epipen.
19 Comments
I thought hitch-hiking was a no no in Italy. Clive James had a story about hitching there. One person stopped. A trucker. He’d worked on the Snowy Mountains scheme, hated Australians and didn’t like James’ beard. He said: I come back with friend we beat you up!
Yikes.
Hitchhiking is a sadly dying art.
This is fun. I’ve done more of this list than I expected. I particularly remember my total eclipse of the sun, outside in the garden in Heatherdale (Vic) and hearing the distress of the animals as the world went dark at the wrong time.
I’ve sung solo (lots) but not been in a movie. Wrong songs, I guess.
“30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.”
Was someone serious when they included this?
Dunno. There must be some people who’ve never done either, I suppose. Both are something you have to choose to do quite deliberately.
“crossing over from Italy to Sicily” is akin to saying “crossing over from Australia to Tasmania”.
Only if you’re not Sicilian. They tend to take their separateness pretty seriously — I speak pretty good Italian, but struggled in Sicily. It’s a very odd dialect.
Yes, Tasmanians feel the same way. We pack our ports and go overseas to the mainland. Don’t need a passport but.
Don’t miss The Bucket List.
PS Please drop me an email, I don’t seem to have your current address.
SATP, my guess was they meant ‘sat and watched’ as distinct from ‘glanced at in passing’. I also think the meme was also designed for the relatively young, not to mention Americans. NTTAWWT.
SL, I’m glad you picked this one up — people’s responses are always fun to read when you think you’ve got to know them a bit, blogospherically speaking. This particular meme seems to strike a chord with people, probably because it has ‘things you must do before you die’ overtones.
“sang a solo” or “sung a solo”. I never know and it probably doesn’t matter in this day & age but given the fire alarm I’d probably go with the roughness of “sung”.
Perhaps I shouldn’t confess this, but I took singing lessons a few years ago, and my teacher persuaded me to sing a solo in front of an audience. Very scary. I have no idea how I sounded. Hopefully I hit the high notes okay (I’m an alto). It’s not something I’d dare to do often. Still, there is one creature in the world who loved my voice – my budgie, who loved to sing along!
Nanu: it’s a matter of tenses: present, simple past, and past perfect simple (they appear to have changed their names since I were a lass) respectively, ie ‘you sing’, ‘you sang’, ‘you have sung’. (Cf swim, swam, have swum; ring, rang, have rung; etc.)
So in this context ‘sung’ is right, because the whole meme is in the past perfect simple tense with the word ‘have’ implied throughout.
*Retreats back into woodwork*
I just got a great mental ditty out of no 99, viz: ‘sting, stang, stung’. Doesn’t exist, but it ought to
Pav & SL -
Now I can’t get Neil Diamond out of my head!
Only because I shouldn’t suffer alone
I still can’t get Song Sung Blue out of my head…thanks!
More than three weeks of Neil Diamond ringing in my head…errrrrrrrrr!!!!
Could be worse I could been inflicted with Barbara Streisand duet!
WARNING: OPEN AT YOUR OWN RISK
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=2cG7_jheC8A&feature=related
Nanu, stop thread-hogging. That’s quite enough Neil Diamond for now.
He-He !