Twenty-one down...31 to go...

What: #10 Fly through the air on a trapeze

Where: Chicago
When: June 20
Why: When I was asked why I was doing this by some of the others who were also in my class, I realized it had gotten stuck in my head when I saw the character of Carrie Bradshaw do it on SATC. In fact, it is through the Trapeze School of New York (and a great "Living Social" deal!) that I found what was to be a highlight of my list so far! When doing a year-long list like this, the build up to finally checking off an item can sometimes be more exciting than the actual task itself. I have found that to be the case a few times, altho perhaps I can chalk that up to my incessant need to always have fun plans, and thus following through on them at times becomes secondary. In this case, it surpassed my expectations! I had already picked out my trapeze outfit (yes, it was a real part of my preparation!), and arrived to the park where everything is set up, along with my friend Sonia and her son as my support team/cheerleaders. 

Covered in chalk, waiting for my next turn!

 There were about 20 of us split into two groups - trapeze and ground acrobatics/silks. My group started off with the ground acrobatics, which was actually a lot of fun. Imagine those cheesy team-building activities you have probably done in your life - trust falls, human pyramids, etc. Here, we learned how to use our own weight to balance a whole other person standing on you, and to hold other people up in the air. After some time on the ground, we progressed to the silks. This is a pretty common apparatus in circus shows/acrobatic acts these days, so I was interested to see if it was as fun and easy as it looked. It's not. I gained a lot of respect for those individuals that make it look effortless! Finally, it was my group's turn to get harnessed up and receive our trapeze lessons. I am not a fan of heights, and I don't have a lot of faith in my own upper body strength, so those combined gave me pause with regards to what I was about to be doing. I watched a few people go first, and they had all manner of success rates, from executing a triple flip at the end of their move all the way to simply getting off the platform and slipping down into the net. After climbing up the ladder for my turn (which might be the hardest part!), I tried to just focus on the instructions I had received and not think about falling. It turns out the momentum of the trapeze - if you can get the timing right - really makes each move easier than I expected.

Dismounting with a back flip!

I had a couple turns with the basics (getting my knees up over the trapeze, doing a flip to dismount, etc.), and then noticed my name was put on a list. It was for those people that were selected to try the catch-and-release. My confidence wasn't too high on if I'd succeed because the timing has to be perfect, and I tended to hesitate each time I came off the platform for just a split second longer trying to psych myself up to leap off. But with some encouraging words in my head, I just went for it and made the grab on my first try!

The whole 3-4 hours was a great experience, bonding with like-minded individuals who signed up for this, and feeling like I really had a ton of fun doing something definitely out of my normal comfort zone. Given the opportunity, I will definitely be doing this again!

Twenty down...32 to go...

What: #79 Do a 5K with a friend

Where: Ann Arbor
When: June 17

Elizabeth's First Race!

Why: Over the past few years, I've put in time training for a triathlon each summer, but this year, I decided to focus more on single races, and so I signed up for my first 5K run. It's the first ever Ann Arbor Marathon event, including the marathon, half-marathon, 5K, and mile fun run. There were so many people out for this inaugural "run the city" event, and the route was a lot of fun. We started at the Big House (Michigan Stadium) and ran downtown to Main Street, then along through campus, and ended up on Elbel Field, the marching band practice field - home of many fond memories!

Running by the stadium

It's always a supportive atmosphere, and great people watching, and today was no different. We finished just about the pace we had hoped, and I already got Elizabeth hooked to do another one later this summer! I can see myself doing quite a few more because it's been much less overwhelming to train only for a run, and thus much more enjoyable. I meet with my friend Karen about once a week and we basically chat and catch up during our runs, and then I can go out any lovely summer evening to run with my music. So, I'll keep running and get ready to beat today's time!

A well-balanced post-race breakfast!

With Karen and Paul!

Nineteen down...33 to go...

What: #36 Schedule an appointment to get something waxed

Where: Aveda Institute
When: June 5
Why: Perhaps it seems like a female rite of passage that I wasn't able to claim I'd endured, so that is why I decided to get something waxed. I tend to think of myself as a pretty low-maintenance type of person, and aside from some extravagances with regards to my hair (hey, I wear it every day, it's worth it!), I tend to be on the lazy end of the beauty regimen spectrum. I do enjoy my regular pedicures - current color of choice is "I Feel The Earth Move" which I got tonight when we went out to Aveda - and so adding another appointment on at the salon seemed really indulgent.

To err on the side of modesty, I'll keep some of the details to a minimum regarding this particular list item, but suffice it to say that it was not as painful as I feared, and it's definitely an option again down the road.

Eighteen down...34 to go...

What: #99 Climb at Planet Rock in Ann Arbor

Where: Planet Rock
When: June 4
Why: In high school, I had the opportunity to do
some wall-climbing and really liked the challenge. In the following years, I've had other chances to do some climbing in a variety of less formal settings - like on a cruise ship (remember my Glamour appearance?). In an effort to keep finding new ways to be active and have fun, I bought a Groupon for climbing at the local Planet Rock gym. Two of my friends are climbing there together now, too, so I went along with them to get my first day in under my belt, or I guess under-my-harness is the more appropriate term. On that note, I learned a few other terms tonight, like "jugs" and "flashing," both of which - I was assured - are real climbing terms. I also learned how to tie some good knots!

Someday I hope to climb 
the way Ashley does!

As my first time back in a climbing gym after quite a long hiatus, I went through the introductory lesson, and it didn't take long to remember some of the specifics of the process. I did a few climbs up the auto-belay just to get my nerves settled (heights aren't my favorite thing), and then joined in with my friends when they got there. I managed to get up two routes to the top, another one up over an overhanging obstacle (something I'd never done before) thanks to their great encouragement and belay skills, and then attempted a higher degree of difficulty on a later climb (a 5.8 route), but my arms had given out on me by that point. It takes a lot of upper body strength that I'm excited to build, altho less excited that I'm going to have to have stubby fingernails to really improve at all because otherwise, I can't get my fingers in the holds I need. Still, I definitely have the bug to go back again and keep improving!

Seventeen down...35 to go...

What: #16 Play Drag Queen Bingo

Where: Five 15 in Royal Oak
When: June 1
Why: Obviously this list isn't an original idea, and I consulted many versions of "things-to-do-before-you fill in the blank" lists prior to creating my own. My best recollection is that this must have come from one of those. My friends and I tried to go to this place a month or so back, but when we called for reservations, they were booked this far in advance, so I had high hopes for the sort of night we were in for at our first experience with Drag Queen Bingo. Some of my expectations involved big hair and make-up, boisterous personalities, lots of loud humor, probably some disco dancing; I blame the movie "The Birdcage" for most of my preconceived notions. So, upon entering the venue, it already is at odds with my image because it is clearly a dainty coffee shop, not a raucous bar.

And, there is just one drag queen. Wearing slippers. And the most shockingly inappropriate use of Disney princess attire that you could imagine. Think of the most innocent sweet little girl pajamas with the images of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, and then cut the fabric out in certain places and put huge pillows in others. So, the first game gets started, and we realize that despite the catch phrase of "This ain't your grandma's bingo," it really kinda is, except, well, lamer.

Trust me, I spent many years playing bingo with my grandpa and always had a crazy good time with those Floridians. They have a ton of cards to keep track of, methods for choosing lucky ones, a huge variety of ways to win, contagious enthusiasm for the game, and plenty of fun jokes. Contrast that with the amount of money I paid to have one single bingo card, with lame numbers (I didn't even get to pick one with O-69!), assigned seating away from my other friends, the non-stop jokes that mixed lame bingo witticisms with crude humor, and the whole thing was more awkward for totally different reasons than I expected.

I actually feared I might win!

Our queen seemed to be going through the motions, which it turns out was much better than her/his attitude post-intermission. She/he came back, proclaimed "I'm just doing my job now, Bob", and then simply read off bingo numbers one after the other for the next 5-10 minutes, ignoring the polite requests and desperate pleas from the crowd to liven it back up (ie: "get over it!"), until finally someone won, putting us out of our misery, and that was the end of our night. Seriously. We all speculated what had upset her/him, but unanimously decided that, as a professional, if any of us got pissed at work, we'd have to continue with our jobs that day in a professional capacity, particularly if your job is as an entertainer for crying out loud. As my one friend said, we expected it to be a weird night, but for totally different reasons. Needless to say, we had to go out for a drink afterwards to process what we had all just been through at our first (sadly, probably last) Drag Queen Bingo experience. At least I had my girls with me who salvaged the night with their awesome company!