The 200 Blows
Truth or Dare: Have You Ever … ?
Duck — it’s a blog meme! These doing-the-rounds toys propagate more than they’re read, so I’m making it easy to avoid; click on the MORE link if you’d like to see it, and if you’ve already rolled your eyes just thinking about it then move along, nothing here to see.
This game goes like this: what follows is a list of 200 things that one might or might not have done. The ones I’ve done are in boldface. Some are annotated a bit. And a couple are just none of your business, though all the responses are true. My total? 97 of 200 are yes.
Credit where blamed: I ran across The 200 Things first at Sheila A-Stray’s Redheaded Ramblings, and followed it back as far as an entry in Realization, where it might have started.
200 Things -
01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
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. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
- I lived near it for a couple of years, but it was closed for repairs. It was leaning.
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby’s diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
- Aren’t they all favorite, by definition?
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
- Not sure what we’re after here…
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
- 200 megs each, wowee!
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
- I must have. I’m alive, right? I believe it’s required.
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
- Had a trip scheduled, but it was cancelled due to thunderstorms.
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
- Problem with the word “posed,” but I’ll say yes anyway.
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it.
- Except you always regret it. I’m Jewish, after all.
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
- Hated Venice. Instead I rode bumper cars in Padova.
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
- Hah! Some of ‘em started as one-night stands, though.
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. …more than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
- Well, I’m going to say yes on the strength of Internet syndication.
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone’s heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
- To Tell the Truth. “My name is Scott Beaver.” Peggy Cass voted for me.
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
- Rafting, close enough.
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
- Doesn’t say “finished it,” does it? We were reading it in Latin, so it should count.
181. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read his or her work
- I went to public school in New York. We don’t read important authors.
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. …and gotten 86′ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions.
- Up until this year!
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
- Probably it doesn’t count in high school, eh?
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
- Didn’t finish it, but I got a good way along.
200: Been arrested
September 28th, 2004 at 11:38
heh heh heh
I had a problem with the word “posed” too, in # 73, so I left it un-bolded.
And I wish you had told the story behind # 70. Was it recently? Or when you were little?
September 28th, 2004 at 11:46
Hi Red - Yes, the “posed” wording is tricky. I was nekkid in a couple of shows, Peter Pan in college (I played John Darling and had to take a bath and we had the bathtub on stage, so I decided to go for it: those things are cold when there’s no water in them, as it happens) and Catch 22 in Berlin. I decided it qualified. Some of them are hard to decipher, so it’s an approximate process.
The superhero one, eh? I LOVED being a superhero as a kid. Loved it. No playground was safe from my world-saving episodes. These days I’m a little less carefree and rarely take my superpowers out, as it were, but I’ll confess to the occasional Wolverine moves in the privacy of home. Sometimes with sound effects. Snikt.
September 28th, 2004 at 14:55
“Except you always regret it. I’m Jewish, after all.”
Ok, is that the “practicing” Jewish, or “heritage” Jewish?
Not that it matters in any practical sense. It’s just that I enjoy having Jewish people wish me “Happy Hannukah” in December. Last year I had to beg. It’s like there aren’t any Jews on the internet or something :-)
September 28th, 2004 at 15:36
I’m Jewish by heritage. My immediate family is not particularly religious, and going back a couple of generations and out a step or two into the family tree we get the full range from severe Orthodox practitioners to Conservatives of a few different flavors.
It’s only really in my generation that the first solid wave of us has jumped ship into secular life. But that is to be expected at least in part — my father is first-generation American, and on his side of the family the shtetl was a profound source of history and social grace, rather than a dim memory.
My father’s mother died a couple of years ago at 99 or 100. What a strange century to live through! From candlelight to space shots, and more.