I find it much easier to think of things I haven’t done, but here are a few more things I have done that might fall outside the typical realm:
- Taken a CPR/First Aid course. (Though it was years ago—pity the person who might rely on me to save their life.)
- Visited a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Many!)
- Worn a wetsuit.
- Gone to a midnight movie. (In university… not these days I can assure you.)
- Ridden a horse. (Multiple times; a summer camp I attended had a resident horse.)
- Written something on public bathroom stall. (It was high school in the early aughts!)
- Used a typewriter.
- Had a Brazilian wax. Twice. (OUCH!)
- Climbed a tree as an adult. (Multiple times.)
- Split firewood with an axe.
For more things I’ve done see here and here and here.
Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash
Your turn.
- Who’s proficient with CPR?
- Does anyone split their own wood by hand?
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This is fun! Let’s play along at home!
1. I’m with you in that I’ve taken the CPR course a few times and remember nothing. I should probably do something about that.
2. Yep! On my own I’ve been to Hopewell Earthworks in Ohio, and I think there are others. I can one up by bragging that I’ve been to a UNESCO site with you! Grand-Pre FTW!
I have not done 3 or 4 and probably won’t. I rode a horse once as a kiddo and would possibly do it again.
6. I feel like I might have written something on a stall at some point in my misguided youth. As a mature adult I have no reason to do this and yet…never say never.
7. Typewriter FTW!!! I started working shortly before typewriters became extinct, and the fact that I knew how to change a typewriter ribbon was one of my strongest career assets at the time.
8,9, and 10 are team no. The most likely one that I would do is to climb a tree, but even that is uncertain.
When did you wear a wet suit? Research or recreation?
I’ve only done #1,2,4,7. The midnight movie were Harry Potter releases. ( I’ve also waited in line at midnight for the latest Harry Potter book back in the day.) CPR was in college- I thought it would be good to have as a teacher. To refresh my skills, I tried signing up for CPR training at the library last month, but it booked up too quickly. And goodness knows I used a typewriter (very poorly!) in my youth. I wound up paying my sister eho has excellent skills to type papers for my in senior year of high school. Thank goodness my college handed computers to all incoming freshmen the year I enters.
Recent world heritage site: Cahokia Mounds.
Sorry, nesting fail!
Those midnight waits for Harry Potter were a whole era!!!
I wore a wet suit to go surfing with John. I would wear scuba booties when I was doing intertidal research, but never a whole suit.
I keep thinking I should refresh my CPR. It’s such a valuable skill. But then I do nothing about it.
Yes!!! We’ve done UNESCO together <3
I know a certain 11-year-old who would help you out with climbing a tree!
I have not ridden a horse in a lot of years, and probably won’t ever again, but I do so love it 🙂
I thought it was exciting as a kid, but never really got the hang of the technique.
I haven’t ridden a horse in years, but it was something I usually did to celebrate my birthday as a kid – my birthday is in August, so we were usually on our summer holiday, and there would be stables nearby where you could arrange to take a ride 🙂
That’s such a fun memory/tradition!
I have taken CPR…it has been awhile and fortunately I have never need to use it. I have split firewood. It is hard work!
It is much harder than it looks. Not only the sheer strength, but also the accuracy to come down with the axe in the right place/same place.
Of all these things, I am most surprised you got a Brazilian!!! Elisabeth! Wow! I have NOT and that’s the only thing on your list that I haven’t done. I have just gotten regular waxes. Now I do sugaring (French bikini with “back” which, well, you know what that means).
The least surprising thing is all the Unesco sites, considering your proclivity for travel and the fact that we have one within walking distance of our town!
I did not realize you’d ridden a horse multiple times (I did once at age 5 and only remember because of the picture) but splitting firewood seems very on brand for your growing up years!
I have also done a CPR/first aid course (a few times) and used a typewriter – there were a couple particular things we used it for in the office where I worked after high school.
I remember when I used to run on the Harvest Moon and I’d feel like pinching myself when I would run by Grand Pre. How cool to be so close to a UNESCO site.
As you can imagine, my dad splits a lot of wood. Mostly now with a wood splitter, but still plenty by hand.
I am intrigued by the sugaring every time you mention it and want to research it in my local area.
I love to split wood with an ax; it might be my only “sport”. We cook on wood at our summer cabin, so keeping up with it is critical. My husband puts it into manageable chunks, but occasionally I have to toss a piece into the take-home-to-the-wood-splitter pile.
Did you wear a wetsuit to surf?
What did you write on the bathroom stall?
I have split lots of wood with a wood splitter, and it’s much easier!!!
Yup, the wetsuit was for surfing.
I probably just signed my name or something, but I distinctly know I wrote on a bathroom stall in high school (as did almost everyone else in that era).
I took a CPR course in 2022 and according to the card I have, I should have redone my training by 2024. Ooops.
I’ve ridden horses, but it’s been a hot second. Also, I learned to type on a typewriter. I never even used an actual computer until I was in high school! Isn’t that crazy? It’s definitely different growing up these days.
Well, I took my last course BEFORE BELLE WAS BORN, so… if someone needs CPR, I hope they collapse in front of you and not me.
The first laptop I had ever used was one I bought for my first year of university. It just… wasn’t a thing to have laptops. Now I can’t imagine living in a world like that.
I have done all except 4, 7 and 8. Splitting wood would have just been one or two logs, not a whole wood pile!
Oh, I’ve definitely never done a whole wood pile. That would take so much effort! A great strength training workout, though.
Fun list! Like Nicole, I’m most surprised by the Brazilian, and not at all by the UNESCO sites. Here are mine:
Taken a CPR/First Aid course – MANY years ago, when my daughter was little. I should likely do that again.
Visited a UNESCO World Heritage Site – Yes, several – surely not as many as you, but several. My favorite? Probably Yosemite, though the banks of the Seine is up there.
Worn a wetsuit – Nope. If the water isn’t warm enough for me and my bathing suit, I’m not going in.
Gone to a midnight movie – Yes, in high school. Before you were born. 😉 My first was ‘The Song Remains the Same’, which was a Led Zeppelin concert film. The second was a double feature of Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Weird combo, but after The Wall, we REALLY needed to laugh, so it worked. The third was Rocky Horror. And the last, I don’t remember. I went with a coworker who was more interested in me than I was in him, and he got stoned and did a really annoying laugh the entire time. I don’t remember the movie, but clearly, that was a one and done date. He did teach me to change the oil on my car though.
Ridden a horse – YES! I love horses. I’m not really good at it, but one summer my friend and I traded our labor for rides at a local stable. Then back in 2009 I took lessons, which is when I decided that I’m really not good at it and the best horse for me would be a mini horse that could come in the house and be my pet.
Written something on public bathroom stall – Pretty sure the answer is no.
Used a typewriter – I took typing in 7th grade and had to drop because I was failing. That has not made any difference in my life, though when personal computers were becoming more common it was frustrating how slow I was at typing. But I still remembered my keys.
Had a Brazilian wax – Uh, no.
Climbed a tree as an adult – I don’t think so.
Split firewood with an axe – No.
He did teach me to change the oil on my car, though. Hahahaha!
I know you love horses! One of the camp directors where I went as a kid LOVED horses, so she would have a few at the camp and one of the daily activities that were available was horse riding. I always felt a bit scared by it all, but also exhilarated. But I wasn’t very good when it came to riding technique.
The only one of these things I’ve done is ride a horse. I am super impressed that you have chopped wood with an axe. I feel like I would FOR SURE miss the log and cut off my own leg if I were to attempt such a feat, so I am going to stay away. My parents chop all their own firewood and I can’t think about it too much or I worry about my dad chopping off his own leg. Possibly I have no idea how log chopping actually works, because it’s not like you hear a lot of stories about firewood chopping gone wrong.
I would love to try waxing, but I find the whole thing terrifying and embarrassing. Also, I am curious about the number of times you tried it. Once, I can see. Twice, though??? The first time went well enough that you were game to try it again, but then the second time was awful??? I need more details about this waxing experience, Elisabeth.
It is terrifying and it is embarrassing.
Some friends did it before going on a big trip and said it was no big deal, so ahead of my wedding, I had it done at the same spot they had gone to and it was a VERY BIG DEAL. It hurt so much and was awful.
The results are nice, though, and I was convinced to try again and it was even worse. SO MUCH PAIN.
NEVER AGAIN, Suzanne.
I know some people are more sensitive to the pain than others and maybe I’m one of those sensitive souls?
I guess we all better renew our CPR training! I’ve gotten certified a couple different times but would still be in a panic if I ever had to do it. Definitely have used a typewriter- that’s all we had when I was young! We had a manual one that I used for years and years and then- very exciting- we got an electric typewriter. The good old days.
Yes to writing on the bathroom wall (IN MY YOUTH- not now, of course). No to all the others. Oh wait- I rode a horse once when I was really young, but the only reason I remember it is because we have a picture of it.
I wonder if you have to maintain it as a massage therapist? The osteopath I know has to renew it every two years.
I’ve done so few of these! I’ve only ridden a horse (and hated it and never want to do that again!) and used a typewriter! While I haven’t had a Brazilian wax, I did several laser hair removal sessions in my bikini line region and that was PURE TORTURE.
The waxing was torture, too!
It is! We would also usually spend the day on the beach – it always seemed to be hot weather, even for England!
Ooh, okay, let’s see…
I have taken a CPR/First Aid course, been to a few UNESCO World Heritage sites, ridden a horse, and used a typewriter.
Keep that hot wax AWAY from my goodies, thank you very much!!! And last week, I went to a 6pm movie and when I saw how busy the movie theatre was at 9pm when the movie let out, I was astonished that so many people would be at the movies so late. I AM AN OLD.
Ha! Yes, waxing is not my favourite and I haven’t done it in YEARS.
I’ve done everything, except maybe writing on a bathroom stall. If I did that, I totally blocked it out!
I don’t currently split wood by hand, and don’t plan on it in the near future. 🙂