Facebook Notes

I was recently tagged on Facebook to fill out one of those "check off which of these things you've ever done" lists. It has a few silly things, but reading through the list and mentally checking things I've done brought up a lot of memories for me.

I decided, instead of being unimaginative and simply copy/pasting the list in another Facebook note that few (if any) would find interest in reading, that I would use the opportunity for a trip down memory lane for myself. Of course I realize that few (if any) would find that interesting either, but it's for me. I'm not even 30 yet, but I still scare myself with a faulty, spotty memory, and I figure this will be a good brain exercise.

There are supposed to be 122 items on the list (I haven't counted). I'll go through group by group and attempt to recall each relevant item individually.

(x ) Smoked A Cigarette
(x ) Smoked A Cigar
( x) Kissed A Member Of The Same Sex
SO FAR: 3

Both the cigarette(s) and the (one) cigar were influenced by the same boyfriend. I'll call him College D, as we dated all through my college years. I think the first time I tried a cigarette was actually a cigarillo, one weekend when College D and I went camping with a group of friends in the north Georgia mountains.
The single cigar was passed around a table of four at Waffle House one night, as a going-away ritual for College D before he shipped off to basic training.
I'm bisexual, so no big surprise on #3.

(x ) Are / Been In Love
(x) dumped someone
(x) Shoplifted
(x ) Been Fired
(x) Been In A Fist Fight
SO FAR: 8

So many stories for this one... but I'll stick with being in love for now.
Dumped my first boyfriend, a year too late.
I was young... 5, maybe? My father and I were at Kroger's for a typical grocery trip. I thought the items at the register were free, for some reason. I picked up a shiny pack of baseball cards, thinking there would be gum inside. He saw it in my hand when we got in the car, angrily snatched it from me, and took it back inside. He thought I did it on purpose, but I was too scared to tell him I didn't understand. Years later, though I was still short of being a teenager, we visited a post on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and I slipped a tiny turtle carved from a green rock into my pocket as we were leaving the store. I was immediately ashamed, but it was too late to go back, so I kept it on my desk for years afterwards as a reminder of my shame.
I've been fired or laid off from every job I ever had, except for the seasonal work with UPS. That doesn't count.
First fist fight was in 3rd grade. I got picked on a lot. A lot a lot.

(x) Had A Crush On An Older Person
(x) Skipped Class
( ) Slept With A Co-worker
(x) Seen Someone / Something Die
SO FAR: 11

First boyfriend was 3 years older. And who doesn't have a crush on Sean Connery?
Senior skip day. Come on now. I had to be one of the cool ones.
Something? That's too many bugs I squished. But no people.

(x ) Had / Have A Crush On One Of Your Facebook Friends
( ) Been To Paris
( ) Been To Spain
(x) Been On A Plane
(x) Thrown Up From Drinking
SO FAR: 14

Current boyfriend is on my Facebook. Still have that crush.
Flown commercial enough times, but also took some private pilot lessons in a Cessna.
Just once. I wasn't drunk, but definitely tipsy. Totally forgot about the alcohol warning on my prescription.

( ) Snowboarding
( ) Met Someone BECAUSE Of Facebook
(x ) Been in a Mosh Pit
SO FAR: 15

My church youth group in high school once had a skiing/snowboarding trip planned, but it fell through, so there went my opportunity to learn either sport.
I've met a few people through MySpace, and later become friends in real life, but not Facebook. I don't friend people I don't somehow know already.
Pilot Adam took me to Music Midtown during the summer we dated, and we almost got trampled. It was still fun.

(x ) Been In An Abusive Relationship
(x) Taken Pain Killers (Tylenol counts)
(x ) Love/loved Someone Who You Can't Have
(x) Laid On Your Back And Watched Cloud Shapes Go By
(x) Made A Snow Angel
SO FAR: 20

Can of worms for another time.
Who hasn't?
It was my own fault.
Who hasn't?
Mom loved snow angels. I now make two when the opportunity presents itself.

( x) Had A Tea Party
(x) Flown A Kite
(x) Built A Sand Castle
( ) Gone mudding
(x) Played Dress Up
SO FAR: 24

Tea parties were all the rage in my stuffed animal circle.
In 4th grade I won a stunt kite as a reward for selling crap in some fund-raiser.
That's what the beach is for!
Though I grew up in the South, I have never actually been muddin'.
When I'm feeling ugly, unsexy, demoralized and worn out, I go to department stores and try on prom dresses.

(x) Jumped Into A Pile Of Leaves
(x) Gone Sledding
(x) Cheated While Playing A Game
(x) Been Lonely
(x) Fallen Asleep At Work / School
SO FAR: 29

Large yards in fall make for large leaf piles. It was the reward for all that hard work!
Grandma had a sled. Just one. All the small cousins (and several not-so-small) fought over it in the winter.
I plead the 5th.
Who hasn't?
Again, who hasn't?

(x) Watched The Sun Set
( ) Felt An Earthquake
( x) Killed A Snake
SO FAR: 31

I love sunsets.
Apparently, north Georgia had an earthquake during my freshman year of college. I slept through it. I've also reportedly slept through a hurricane in Florida, while sleeping in a large, open, metal hangar.
Shovels are best for this job.

(x) Been Tickled
( x) Been Robbed / Vandalized
(x ) Been cheated on
(x) Been Misunderstood
SO FAR: 35

My uncle had an accident when he was 4 or 5 that resulted in brain damage. He never mentally developed past age 8 or so, and loved all the things little boys love: board games, comics, collecting, and especially having tickle fights with a squealing young niece. I eventually grew out of the fun of his tickle fights, particularly because he never knew when to stop, but thankfully I also eventually understood why he was the way he was. He died at 48.
The nicest coat I ever owned (when my parents were actually able to buy me a nice, new coat) was stolen at my Catholic high school. Wasn't the first time, and wasn't the last.
Sigh.
Ok, too emo, but I'll have to agree with it anyway.

(x) Won A Contest
( ) Been Suspended From School
(x) Had Detention
(x ) Been In A Car/Motorcycle Accident
SO FAR: 38

I was pretty good in spelling bees.
Detention... for not turning in homework. Kay.
6... I think.

( x) Had / Have Braces
(x) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
( x) Danced in the moonlight
SO FAR: 41

I had braces for 7 years. Ugh.
Ben & Jerry's Phish Food. Lactose intolerant and SO worth it.
It was romantic in my own head... I was alone.

(x) Hated The Way You Look
(x ) Witnessed A Crime
( ) Pole Danced
(x) Questioned Your Heart
( ) Been obsessed with post-it-notes
SO FAR: 44

Teenage female. Come on.
One day at the same Kroger's where I learned about shoplifting, a man ran through the parking lot behind our car pushing a loaded cart. He threw everything into his car and peeled out. Dad was shaking his head at "impatient people" when a clerk came running down after him, yelling. Dad apologized for not realizing what was going on and stopping the guy.
Again, hormonal emo teenage female.

(x) Squished Barefoot Through The Mud
(x) Been Lost
( ) Been To The Opposite Side Of The World
(x) Swam In The Ocean
(x) Felt Like You Were Dying
SO FAR: 48

Georgia red clay is best for this.
Orienteering class fail!
Nothing like dried saltwater in your hair all day.
Physically and emotionally.

(x) Cried Yourself To Sleep
(x) Played Cops And Robbers
(x) Recently Colored With Crayons/Colored Pencils/Markers
(x) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid For A Meal With Only Coins
SO FAR: 53

Many times, especially after Mom died.
And Cowboys & Indians, and SEALs & Russians... yeah.
I make greeting cards. Stamps and colored pencils for the win.
Once, but afterwards the bartender gave me a drink he called the "Shut Up, Bitch".
Waffle House, I love thee so.

(x) Done Something You Told Yourself You Wouldn't
(x) Made Prank Phone Calls
(x ) Laughed Until Some Kind Of Beverage Came Out Of Your Nose
(x ) Kissed In The Rain
SO FAR: 57

Many times. Many, many times.
It was her idea, I swear.
Orange juice in the nasal cavity HURTS.
Can't let the weather get in the way, you know.

(x) Written A Letter To Santa Claus
(x) Watched The Sun Set/sun rise With Someone You Care/Cared About
(x) Blown Bubbles
(x) Made A Bonfire On The Beach or anywhere
SO FAR: 61

Mom delivered it, too. She said she did.
Still do, as often as I can.
A summer activity staple.
Bonfires became as much a tradition as the Halloween camping trips we took in college.

( ) Crashed A Party
(x) Have Traveled More Than 5 Days With A Car Full Of People
(x) Gone Rollerskating / Blading
(x) Had A Wish Come True
( ) Been Humped By A Monkey
SO FAR: 64

I was only ever invited to one party in high school, and Mom wouldn't let me go.
The summer after freshman year of high school, my parents and I spent 3 weeks driving across the United States. I still want to go back to many of the places we visited, particularly Yellowstone National Park.
I had a pair of rollerblades for a year or so, until I grew out of them.
Considering I wrote the wish in my letter to Santa, I know Mom delivered it like she said she did.

(x ) Worn Pearls
(x) Jumped Off A Bridge
(x) Screamed "Penis" or "Vagina"
(x) Swam With Dolphins
SO FAR: 68

Every girl wore pearls and a drape, clipped together in the back, that made us look like we all had the same dress for high school senior photos. I was sunburned like a lobster.
The bridge wasn't high... maybe 5 feet.
Teenagers. Pfuh.
It was November in Florida, I wasn't wearing a bathing suit, and my teeth were chattering by the time I walked back to the beach house we rented, but it was SO WORTH IT.

( ) Got Your Tongue Stuck To A Pole/Freezer/ice Cube
(x) Kicked A Fish
(x) Worn The Opposite Sex's Clothes
(x) Sat On A Roof Top
SO FAR: 71

Or maybe the fish just swam into my foot.
As soon as I could make my own clothing choices, it was all boy clothes, all the time.
Isn't that what roofs are for?

(x) Screamed At The Top Of Your Lungs
( ) Done / Attempted A One-Handed Cartwheel
(x ) Talked On The Phone For More Than 6 Hours
(x ) Recently stayed Up for a while talking to someone you care about
SO FAR: 74

Nobody could hear us crazy kids, camping deep in the woods.
A symptom of teen-hood.
If he wants to talk, I'll stay up for days.

( ) Picked And Ate An Apple Right Off The Tree
(x) Climbed A Tree
(x) Had/Been In A Tree House
(x ) Been scared To Watch Scary Movies Alone
SO FAR: 77

I was known as the neighborhood monkey. My parents looked for me above their heads, never at ground level.
As much as I climbed trees, I longed for a treehouse. I had to settle for other kids' treehouses.
Still am.

(x) Believed In Ghosts
( ) Have had More Than 30 Pairs Of Shoes
( ) Gone Streaking
( ) Visited Jail
SO FAR: 78

Ghosts, spirits, an afterlife, a feeling of the person still being there, whatever. Something.
I have such problems with finding shoes that fit comfortably that I just stick to whatever I can find until it falls off my foot.

(x) Played Chicken
(x ) Been Pushed into a pool with all your clothes on
(x ) Been Told You're Hot By A Complete Stranger
( ) Broken A Bone
(x) Been Easily Amused
SO FAR: 82

I lost.
I'd already jumped in fully clothed, so I guess that doesn't count.
He was lying, I'm fairly certain.
I'm usually easily amused.

( ) Caught A Fish Then Ate It Later
( ) Made A Porn Video
( ) Caught A Butterfly
(x) Laughed So Hard You Cried
(x ) Cried So Hard You Laughed
SO FAR: 84

I'm not really sure which one I started with first: laughing or crying. It just kept going back and forth for a while.

(x) Mooned/Flashed Someone
(x) Had Someone Moon/Flash You
(x) Cheated On A Test
(x) Forgotten Someone's Name
(x) French Braided Someone's Hair
(x ) Gone Skinny Dipping
(x) Been Kicked Out Of Your House
(x ) Tried to hurt yourself
SO FAR: 92

College. You can't really get through it without getting mooned and/or flashed. Of course one must reciprocate, especially if it was meant to shock.
Not proud of this.
I'm horrible with names.
Mom taught me.
Woo woo!
Another can of worms.
Succeeded.

(x) Rode A Roller Coaster
(x) Went Scuba-Diving/Snorkeling
(x) Had A Cavity
( ) Black-Mailed Someone
(x ) Been Black Mailed
SO FAR: 96

I once rode Batman: The Ride 14 times straight, filling in empty seats on rows with only two or three people.
I need to re-certify for scuba. So much fun.
I have one right now that needs to be looked at, in fact...
What older siblings do to younger siblings.

(x) Been Used
(x) Fell Going Up The Stairs
(x ) Licked A Cat
(x) Bitten Someone
(x) Licked Someone
SO FAR: 101

It's human nature to use things, even (especially) people, to further their own goals.
Whoops.
I wanted to know what taking a bath was like for a cat.
What goes on in my bedroom is none of your business!

( ) Been shot at/or at gunpoint
(x ) Got five dollars or less worth of gas
( ) Flattened someone's tires
(x) Rode in a car/truck until the gas light came on
TOTAL: 103

I've been that poor.
I usually do that...