On the heels of the 13th post in my Never Have I Ever series, it’s time to talk about more life experiences I have under my proverbial belt.
- Used chopsticks to eat an entire meal. (Many times.)
- Touched a cactus. (Both at home and in “the wild.”)
- Seen a beached whale. (Sad and smelly and…HUGE!)
- Participated in a murder mystery party. (I was not the murderer.)
- Taken an IQ test. (I’m not nearly smart enough to remember my score.)
- Gone rollerblading. (A handful of times as a tween.)
- Been hypnotized on stage. (It was at a high-school event; it didn’t work.)
- Ridden in a horse-drawn sleigh. (How very Laura Ingalls of me. I once took a sleigh through the woods to a remote lake to go skating for a church event.)
- Attended a midnight showing of a movie. (Multiple times, and I was always exhausted the “next” morning!)
- Cooked food over a campfire. (So many times. Bacon! Toast! Hotdogs! Chili!)
For more things I’ve done see here and here.
Your turn.
- How many of my “Ever Evers” have you done?
- Has anyone been successfully hypnotized?
- What’s your weirdest “I’ve done that!” life experience?
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Okay, you are definitely more experienced than I! I have done #9- Hary Potter #7 part 1 and 2. I must have had an IQ test at some point, as I saw the result in an file at one point. ( I wasn’t as smart as I had thought.) I’ve touched small cacti my daughter owns. But that’s it.
I would never volunteer to be hypnotized. I’ve never done anything too weird- not that I can remember. I did switch places with my sister at school one day ( I’m an identical twin- it took a few minutes for the classmates to notice, and the teacher didn’t ).
A beached whale? What type?
Wait, you’re a twin. THAT IS SUCH A FUN prank. It sounds like something straight out of a Hallmark movie. Wait…there ARE Hallmark movies about that sort of thing 😉
It was a blue whale. CRAZY, right?? Very, very sad, too…
Ha, another great list!
I’ve done quite a few: chopsticks, campfire cooking, rollerblading (not elegantly), and yes, the cactus (who can resist?).
That sleigh ride sounds magical! I’ve never done one, but now I want to.
Your beached whale story reminded me of a beached cow we saw on the Wild Coast in June – poor thing must’ve been swept away in a storm. The smell was unforgettable… a whale must be ten times worse!
The smell was so, so horrible. I cannot imagine people who were on whaling ships or generally anyone who breaks down the carcasses of animals. It is NOT for the faint of heart.
We went to a giant cactus garden in Barcelona and took funny pictures of the kids pretending to touch giant cactus spikes. Some of them are downright dangerous!
Hey, was the hypnotist Mike Mandel? For about 40 years, he did all the hypnosis shows at high schools and universities in Canada. I play pickleball with his wife, and we’ve had dinner with them a few times. Everybody I mention his name to remembers him from those shows. I’m back in NS if you want to have a stroll some morning…
I will admit I don’t remember his name, but chances are likely good! It was at the high school in Chipman, New Brunswick. I wonder if he’d remember.
Pickleball seems to pull everyone together these days.
I’d love to meet up. Life is a little hectic right now, but I’ll message you!
I’ve eaten meals with chopsticks, touched cacti, taken IQ tests, and cooked over a campfire. One weird thing I’ve done is sleep in a mall (with my Girl Scout troop as a leader). I don’t think I actually slept though! The horse drawn sleigh would be my top pick of yours.
Sleep in a mall?? That is unusual! Did you get to go into any of the stores? Why a mall??
I think I’d appreciate the experience of the sleigh even more now, and even at the time (late teen), I was impressed. It was very idyllic!
Hmmm…I haven’t seen a midnight showing of a movie OR a beached whale. What kind of life am I living (a land-locked one, I guess). I also never have been hypnotized but I would be game to try it! I am SUCH a Placebo Effect Person, I probably would be instantly hypnotized. I mean, who knows. By the way, this is the biggest difference between my husband and I: I would ALWAYS be game to be pulled on stage at a performance (and in fact am mildly disappointed when that doesn’t happen), but for him, that would be an absolute nightmare.
Who wants to stay up to midnight, am I right? And the beached whale was very sad and very stinky. So I think it’s a good thing you’ve missed both these experiences, Nicole.
Being called up on stage. Shudder. I actively try to sit away from places I think will be called to action. It is hilarious how the world is made up of such diverse people. It makes the world go round. I’m with Rob on this one, for sure. That said, I do love when audience members get called up. It really adds to the authenticity of a performance.
I have never cooked over a campfire, gone to a midnight movie, or seen a beached whale. I have also never been hypnotized – too scary!!
The thing I have done that I suspect only a few of your readers may have done (although I could be wrong!) is participate in a cattle branding. Not an experience I particularly enjoyed – too noisy and smelly – but I like to have done it, if that makes sense.
CATTLE BRANDING. Suzanne! You are practically a cowgirl. Well, this has shot right to the top of my next Never Have I Ever list (shockingly, enough, I have never branded anything – cow or otherwise).
I’ve seen a beached whale too! It happened on the Cape when I was a kid and my parents dragged us all out to go see and I can remember how sad and smelly it was, those were my exact thoughts! I would LOVE to be part of a murder mystery dinner, as long as I could mostly just observe and didn’t have to act too much (maybe the role of the food server?
Ohhh. Observing a murder party might actually be the most fun. I never thought of that. Being able to see behind-the-scenes on all the characters and move around with impunity. Fun!
Yup. Sad and smelly is about the only way I could describe it. It was a blue whale, too, so the sheer size was insane.
Campfire/bonfire cooking = yes.
Rollerblading = too much a klutz, I was never allowed on them (my brother had a pair) but I could rollerSKATE decently, lol
One of the most unique experiences I’ve had was in middle school (homeschool) when we found out about a hot air balloon launch and went to watch. We ended up getting to ride in the tracker van, and then help get the balloon – the Energizer Bunny! – deflated and packed back up at the end of the flight. We even got to go to dinner with the crew afterwards.
Okay, that is an unusual experience indeed!! I think I would have loved tagging along as part of a hot-air balloon crew!
I’m obviously very boring because I’ve only done ONE of these, for sure- gone rollerblading (many, many times in my 20s). I’ve possibly gone to a midnight showing of a movie, but I can’t remember for sure.
I’m trying to think of anything really unusual that I’ve done but I’m drawing a blank. I would say I’m living my life wrong, but I’m actually pretty glad I’ve never seen a beached whale, so there’s that.
Well, this is my third post of things I’ve done and I just finished my 13TH of things I haven’t done, so it’s not as though I’m the most adventurous person here. I’ll be curious to see how Kyria scores…
And 10/10 don’t recommend the beached whale. But I would LOVE to see a blue whale in the wild.
I’ve done 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 (didn’t work but I played along) and 10. I am the hardest of hard passes on #9. I couldn’t handle an evening showing period! I’m such a wimp about staying up late!!
I haven’t been to a midnight movie since university days and suspect I will never be to one again 😉
I have done 1, 2 and 3. The beached whale was still alive, so I’m hopeful that the rangers who were just arriving as we were leaving were able to get it off the beach, with their earth-moving equipment. Took an IQ test. At school everyone in year 10 was tested, but results weren’t shared with us. My results must have been good because the headmistress I was clever to dad the next time they were talking and he said “It’s taken you this long to work that out??” Also 6 and 10. We had school camps where we cooked on a campfire.
Hopefully teachers can identify clever children WITHOUT an IQ test, but I suppose a high score never hurts to drive home that point.
The beached whale I saw was dead, unfortunately, when we saw it 🙁 So, so sad, but also an incredible perspective of how big these creatures are (we saw a blue whale).
Of course, I touched a cactus, because someone said, “don’t touch that, it’s sharp!” 🤣
If I had to survive by only eating with chopsticks, I’d not last a week. I’m pitiful!
I’ve not been hypnotized, but it seems really cool, right?
I’d cry if I saw a beached whale.
I’ve attended a murder mystery party – years and years ago. A girls night in sort of thing. I’d almost forgotten about it. My mom had a tiny house plant cactus and for some reason it was positioned under the light switch in the kitchen. It was like Pavlov’s dogs, because I learned to not blindly feel for the light switch. Ouch. I’ve also cooked over a campfire – but maybe most of that credit should go to Coach. He started the fire and might have done the cooking too.
I’ve not been hypnotized. I’ve never tried.
My weirdest thing I’ve done is maybe to audition for a weather woman position at the NBC station in South Bend, IN a few days before college graduation. I went, not knowing what I was interviewing for. Pretty sure they still watch that tape at their company Christmas parties. I had NO idea what I was doing. I was bummed the interviewer didn’t have more of a sense of humor about it – I was like, Obviously, this is not something I’m cut out for. Everything was in reverse on that green screen, etc. Disaster -but a good story.
Love the story!!!
WHO PUTS A CACTUS UNDER A PHONE??? Ouch!
I have touched a cactus (do not recommend, lol), participated in a murder mystery party (multiple!), taken an IQ test, gone rollerblading, and cooked food over a campfire. Well, I guess I should clarify that I’ve eaten food cooked over a campfire. I never did the actual cooking, lol.
Riding a horse-drawn sleigh sounds so dreamy!
Hard to imagine many opportunities to ride in a horse-drawn sleigh in Florida 😉
Only 3 for me…..
1. Used chopsticks to eat an entire meal. Tried a few times but always resorted to using a fork or spoon
2. Touched a cactus – we don’t get many in the wild here in the UK, but I have touched some houseplants that are cacti
3. Seen a beached whale – thankfully not
4. Participated in a murder mystery party – done a few of these. I even had one for a Hen Do
5. Taken an IQ test – yes but like you cannot remember the score
6. Gone rollerblading – no. Tried roller-skating when I was a kid but couldn’t stay upright.
7. Been hypnotized on stage – not on stage but did see a hypnotist when I was trying to give up smoking (it didn’t work but thankfully I found something
else that did)
8. Ridden in a horse-drawn sleigh – not many of these in the UK either. Sounds like fun
9. Attended a midnight showing of a movie – thought about it but decided I wanted to be in my bed
10. Cooked food over a campfire – a few times when I was in Venture Scouts.
Stacey
Wise choice! Bed would definitely win out for me these days at midnight.
What a fun idea! One year I had learning to eat with chopsticks as a new year’s resolution and I did it. Then I didn’t use the skill enough to get very good at it so wouldn’t likely make it through a meal very easily.
I have gone on a sleigh ride at Ross Farm, although going through the woods to a frozen lake for skating is another level of whimsical.
I used to rollerblade a LOT as a tween, which I credit for being able to ice skate without much trouble now. Surprisingly, considering where I grew up, I have avoided touching cactus, although my brother still has a scar from a cactus-related injury he got while biking years ago.
A midnight movie showing sounds like something I would have loved as a teen, but it was not to be! I would definitely not choose that as an activity at this point in my life unless it’s in someone’s private home theater a la White Christmas at your house!
Some of my ever-evers:
I learned to drive a stick shift/manual – don’t know why I feel so good about this, but I do!
I have made my own yogurt, creme fraiche and quark
I have been to the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day
I have been to the Hollywood walk of fame – it is highly overrated but fun for once in a lifetime.
I have spent many hours singing in a recording studio – not much to show for it as none of these projects were widely distributed, but it was a fun experience.
I was a mommy blogger many years ago
I’ve never been at Ross Farm in the winter. I really should try to go. It would be so beautiful, especially with a skiff of snow on the ground.
You are a great skater!
I don’t think I realized you recorded things at a studio. That’s so cool.
And while I have driven a manual car, I am not competent at it…:(