Sunday, September 27, 2009

DAY ONE: Let's Get This Party Started


Today is my 29th birthday.

29. One year from NOT being in my twenties anymore.

Like all of my adult birthdays, I celebrated this one with a week-long freak out about how I'm not where I wanted to be at the age that I'm turning, followed by copious amounts of drinking, a painful hangover and enormous amounts of anxiety.

But I didn't want that to be it for the last year of my 20s. I need a change, and a challenge that will force me to make the most of this year, and keep me from focusing on what I haven't done.

So here is the challenge: Everyday for one year, I am going to try to do something I've never done before and write about it.

It's a BIG goal. In a perfect scenario, I'd take take a year off to complete this challenge, visiting all of the places I've never been and experiencing foreign cultures. Unfortunately, there isn't enough vacation time or an endless supply of cash available to me to make that a reality. My project will have to be completed in the constraints of my real life. I still have to go to work, make time with friends and family all while trying to add a new something to my daily routine. I know it will not be easy, but I've been maintaining the status quo for far too long. It's time to shake things up.

It won't be easy, this I know. But since hilarity (read: stupidity) seems to follow me wherever I go, I know the journey will be worth it.

Finding 365 things that I've never done before is going to be a huge part of the challenge too, so I need your help! If you have something you think I should try, please share it. Please remember that there is a good chance my parents will be the only people that actually read this blog, so try and keep it clean.

So Day #1, thing I've never done before: Blogging

I've read a ton of blogs, I've spent a great deal of time making fun of other people's blogs. Apparently "check out my perfect life and cute kids" blogs are a requirement for young families where I live. Since I don't have a family yet, and no one seemed interested in a blog entitled, "Awkward Moments for a Single Girl Cliche," I've held off on really writing about my life until now. Unless you count journals that I've kept over the years that if you read, you'd think that nothing good ever happened to me and that my life was full of angst and despair. I tend to only journal when life has gone south.

My first day of trying new things did not get off to a great start, as I'm pretty sure my computer has the electronic equivalent of swine flu. I imagine serious bloggers NEVER get computer viruses. I also imagine them carrying their laptops with them wherever they go. But my computer is so beat, I'm embarassed to take it anywhere. Plus it's a PC, and I think to have any sort of "street cred" in the blogging world, you have to have a Mac. I'd get laughed right out of any internet cafe with this piece. I'm really torn here, because I hate to invest anymore money into my 2005 Dell, and I really would love Mac, but the financial commitment of such a big purchase freaks me out. Regardless, I've got to do something if I plan on making this project happen.

There are also my own personal insecurities that are making this first challenge difficult. I'm pretty much an open book when you talk to me in person, but the idea that my words will be out there for people to see is very intimidating. The internet is full of crazies and what if someone finds the blog and then tries to friend me on facebook and then tries to find out where I live? Or worse, and much more likely, what if people think it's stupid? I shared my idea with friends and co-workers, all who seemed receptive, but what if the idea is better than the execution? Half the time I worry that people will read it and the other half I worry that people won't.

So, Day One...blogging...I like it. It feels good to write again. Those who make a living blogging are truely onto something. I'm in my pajamas, still in bed, sharing my thoughts with you and the only difference between real bloggers and me is that they get paid to do it. What a great gig! And so far, I think I've stayed away from anything too controversial that might spark angry tirades of people leaving hateful comments like "STEPH YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" or "Stephanie, you've proven once again why you are an idiot."

Just wait till Day #156 when the thing I haven't done before is mooning people.



Happy Blogging!

13 comments:

  1. Do you already have each new thing planned out or is it going to be off the cuff each day?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. - Chi chi.

      Sau đó là từng thanh âm thê thảm vang lên,ở bên trong hỏa diệm, hai con ma thú hầu hình không ngừng đấu tranh, luồng ánh sáng kim mang trở nên tràn ngập.

      - Chi chi.

      Hai con ma thú hầu hình sau khi thoát ly khỏi ngọn lửa thì cấp tốc quay lạ bên đám ma thú hầu hình, tựa hồ như không dám trêu chọc nữa.
      dongtam
      mu moi ra hom nay
      tim phong tro
      http://nhatroso.com/
      nhạc sàn
      tổng đài tư vấn luật
      văn phòng luật hà nội
      tổng đài tư vấn luật
      thành lập công ty trọn gói
      http://we-cooking.com/
      chém gió
      trung tâm tiếng anh
      - Chi chi chi.

      Đúng lúc hai con ma thú này quay lạ, hơn mười con ma thú hầu hình hướng về phía Đông Phương Lạc Nhan mà công kích.

      - Hu.

      Đông Phương Lạc Nhan tựa hồ như đã có chuẩn bị, bóng hình của nàng lập tức lui lại, thân thể mềm mại di động trên không trung.

      Một khí tức nóng bỏng tràn ngập bao bọc, hơn mười con ma thú hầu hình cũng bị bao bọc trong đó.

      Khí tức nóng bỏng vô cùng, khong gian tràn ngập.

      Delete
  2. What a fun idea Stephanie! My husband and I are always talking about all the things in Atlanta we never have done...aka The Carter Center, High Museum (checked that one off), Aquarium...you know, all the touristy stuff. Perhaps you've already done Stone Mountain or Sweet Water Creek Park, but if not, those could be fun weekend things to do. Good luck on your endeavor, I'm eager to see what you do!

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  3. You've never mooned someone?

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  4. I love this idea!

    You should definitely add the zorb to the list:

    http://www.zorb.com/

    I am going to start brainstorming!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don"t even know you, but i'd like to ;-)!!!

    Anyways, for something new, you could drink a protein shake and do some power lifting at my Gold's Gym. Maybe i could spot you?!

    ReplyDelete
  6. uhhh, yeah; I'm gonna start off by writing you an email so I don't post a pound on your project.

    But for this 1st day, you've done the hardest part: you've put it all out there, instead of just talking/thinking about it. It's all here ready to roll. The idea has been spoken, the words emboldened, and the journey is just. I thrust all my faith in your success to seek Steph thru stuff & poses...as your decade closes.

    Look for an email to expound.

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  7. Steph...I will read your blog. Don't worry. I will have to start brainstorming on ideas. You need to do some really fun things, like skydiving!

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  8. Take a day when you need a break from new adventures, to think back to when you were 9, or 19, and try to remember how you handled the approaching decennium. Were you secure with your accomplishments to that point? Yes, no, or just can't remember, plod on with your journey, but just know, 29, while significant, can sometimes be just another age. Also, if you've never been to a NASCAR race, or a biker's rally, those could be interesting experiences.

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  9. GIRL!! You know I will read everyday and try to think of something cool for you to do! I love you!

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  10. If a blogger gets paid is he/she really still a true blogger? I think blogging is like logging, you should be in it for the pure spirit, the satisfying rush of a whack of an ax at a tree, the resounding crunch as the steel bites the wood and then, eventually, after much effort, just as your arms are about to fall off and you might ax your leg, the crackle of a massive force splintering, and whoosh, you've killed a tree! Blog on.

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  11. I love this!!! You have inspired me to do sort of the same thing! I hope that is okay.

    http://casie33yearproject.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete