Twenty-six down...26 to go...

What: #35 Memorize a poem/sonnet
Where: Oakwood Cemetery
When: July 31
Why: When I was in high school, I had to memorize the famous soliloquy from Romeo & Juliet for my honors English class and I remember working at it over and over, and then my nerves caused me to stumble when I went to recite it to the class, and that one glitch threw me off so much that I lost the whole thing.

From my trip to Verona

After that, I realized there are ways to better memorize a chunk of information, but in terms of memorizing words only, that was always hard for me. I'm a master at memorizing words to music; give me almost any song and I can memorize the lyrics within 3-4 replays of the whole song. And the same goes for my skills at memorizing movements to sound; this was mostly only useful when I was taking dance lessons or in marching band, but I loved the ability to associate each step with a count or a beat or a piece of the music. But aside from a funny or motivational quote here or there, I hadn't given memorizing only words a try in quite some time. So, I wanted to expand my brain power and give it a shot. I hadn't really set aside time to do this until Tuesday. I was trying to fill about an hour of time on my drive up north, and had taken a detour to Fenton where my grandparents are buried to pay my respects. Upon arriving, I received a phone call from someone who is great about encouraging me to keep going on my list, and it was suggested that I could use this time to knock off another item, and this is the one that was suggested. I had a certain sonnet in my head from the poet Pablo Neruda, who earned the Nobel Prize for Literature shortly before his death at age 69. I really connected with this particular sonnet - Sonnet XVII - upon reading it a few months ago, especially the elements of the phrasing and the imagery it conveys. It is translated from Spanish, from the collection Cien sonetos de amor (1959), so that made it a bit tricky to memorize because there are many variations on the translation into English. I chose my favorite translation, and decided to look it up on my phone to spend the next hour reciting line by line, over and over, repeating each phrase, then adding another, then putting it together before adding the next verse. So there I am, sitting on my grandmother's headstone, talking to myself in the middle of the morning...I'm certain I looked like I was having an in-depth chat with her spirit, but I'm happy that she is a part of this memory. And, even days later, I can still recite it, so hopefully it's stuck in my mind for a long time.

Twenty-five down...27 to go...

What: #3 Crash a wedding reception

Where: Confidential...
When: July 28
Why: As I looked back over my list, I realized I unintentionally completed this new thing already! I guess I was waiting for the "take a different name card and sit at a table with strangers" version, which isn't exactly how it happened, but it's still a legitimate crash if you ask me.

I was not invited. I was likely not wanted there. For a reason. It's a bit of a story that I'll skim over, but I managed to attend as my friend's "plus one"...my female friend, so it's not as if I was a legit date. It was a little awkward at first, but everyone that was surprised to see me there (ie: the groom) was really polite about it. And, I wasn't attending to cause any drama; in fact, I just wanted an excuse to attend a summer party and wear a cute dress! Mission accomplished!

Twenty-four down...28 to go...

What: #97 Pay for the person's order in line behind me in the drive-thru

Where: McDonald's
When: July 16
Why: In creating this list, I had to remember it wasn't a total bucket list, there had to be some really achievable items, but still ones that make me do something slightly out of my norm.
Now, going to the drive-thru is NOT out of my norm (sadly), but I always felt slightly embarrassed about possibly paying for a stranger's order, wondering what they'd think, if it was really too confusing, if they would think I was hitting on them, etc. But, my embarrassment bar was really lowered today after I had a conversation at the pool with an older gentleman about the book "Fifty Shades of Grey"...trust me, if I got through that exchange without crawling under a rock, I figured it was a good day to do something else I would normally be a bit embarrassed about doing. So, I headed out for my usual (my true friends know this by heart) and then decided to pay for the order behind me. It was a couple of guys who ordered smoothies, so I figured it was destiny that I'd treat them to their free healthy drinks! And really, I felt empowered by my good deed...I might do that more often!

Twenty-three down...29 to go...

What: #52 Rent and watch “The Big Chill” 

Where: Public library and my living room
When: July 13
Why: The Big Chill (the movie, not the sporting event) is one of those films that I feel like people often reference and I have no idea what they are talking about, and I had heard it had to do with a group of friends from UofM, so I thought I might be able to make a connection to it. It's another hot day outside, so watching a flick inside sounded like a good plan. The movie is about to start, and I'm going to do a play-by-play commentary. Fair warning: If you haven't seen this movie, I'm going to give some key plot points away, so you might want to stop here.

It has quite a cast of actors that are still going strong today - Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, Meg Tilly (weird as ever), etc.

It starts off with a funeral scene, not usually my favorite way to get into a movie, but so far it is working.

There are already lots of drug references, bad hair-dos, and terrible 80s outfits.

The theme seems to be about lost hope...that is kinda depressing.

These people are supposed to be thirty-somethings...they seem much older to me, except maybe the William Hurt character.

Ok, this kitchen scene is really bumming me out. This guy is lecturing the others about how "nobody said it was going to be fun"...uh, thanks.

Kevin Kline's running shorts are outrageous. Wait, he just talked about Ann Arbor! Oh, and a love affair...it got deep again.

This makes me want to rent a house with my college friends! Hopefully without the death of someone to make it happen.

Awesome giant video camera! But it is used for a weird interview between Nick and himself.

Meg says she can tell after 20 years of dating whether or not it will work out within 15 seconds. Amen. Now she's trying to concoct a scheme to get herself pregnant by one of her friends this weekend. Yikes.

Grocery shopping and flirting.

Jeff Goldblum is wearing an "ivoice" t-shirt...was he ahead of the iPad/iPhone, curve? He did just say "don't knock rationalization...you can't get through a day without a juicy rationalization or two." :)

I think Sam's character thinks he's Magnum P.I.

Just put on a great Motown record (yes, a record) to dance around to while they clean up the kitchen. Ah, classic!

I actually just laughed at a herpes joke. Oh geez...And now a good genes/jeans joke.

Is Nick running in jeans??

Ok, this weekend with my friends that I'm imagining, it would involve a lot less drugs, sex, and brand new running shoes.

Meg just said "I did not know him in the biblical sense"...love it!!

Jeff Goldblum cracks me up..."are we the first ones up?" Great one liners!

Now the grocery store flirters are dock flirting...those two are definitely making out soon.

WINGED HELMETS!! And Bo!! Go blue!!

"I can always be counted on to do the right thing...it's a disgusting curse"...great quote by Sarah/Glenn Close.

"This is a big decision...I'll get back to you in the 3rd quarter." - Meg (ohhhh, she plays the mom in "Sweet Home Alabama"...that's how I recognize her!)

Awesome pick-up football game montage!

Oh dang, the guy just tried to display how to jump into a car without opening the door. Fail.

And now, Kevin Kline's character has totally slipped into a really Southern accent out of the middle of nowhere. 

Cobo reference!

Now the grocery store/dock flirters are flirting while taking out the trash (including bottles...don't they recycle??). This is intense!

Is Glenn Close going to offer up her husband to Meg to get preggers? I think so!

I don't think that friends really speak this honestly in groups...they are all really analyzing themselves in a very deep way in this scene, it's making me uncomfortable!

I was right, that's what GC is planning to do with her husband!

There is a lot of sex between people who are married, and not to each other...guess that's what friends are for, right?

What's with all the video taping of these casual interviews? Is it for any reason?

Sorry, but I don't think that I love any of my friends enough to ever let my future husband impregnate one of them while I sit by with a supportive smile on my face.

Those shorts again...so ridiculous.

And, they all go back their separate ways into the world. The end.

Twenty-two down...30 to go...

What: #44 Air dry a load of laundry outside

Where: My deck
When: July 6
Why: Originally, this went on my list because I'm always looking for ways to be more earth-friendly in my daily life. And, as today is going to be over 100 degrees...again...rather than complain about the heat (which I hesitate to do anyhow, knowing the other side of the coin means freezing in the winter), I thought I'd harness it to do my work for me. I'd been putting off laundry for quite a few days because I simply did not want to run my dryer and make it any hotter in my home than it already was, but it was getting to the point where my cutest summer clothes were all taunting me from the laundry basket, so I needed to address it. I got up early and ran a load in the washing machine and then hung the items out to dry on my deck, which faces south and gets a ton of direct sunlight. As this was my first foray into outdoor laundry drying, I had to rely on hangers, clothes pins, and the railing (no clothesline).

Other than perhaps drawing a few looks from neighbors - I don't think I've ever seen anyone else in my neighborhood with their wardrobe hanging off their deck railing - it has been a huge success! Even my big beach towels are dry faster than if I had put them in the dryer! My friend's son did get a kick out of my concern that a bird might swoop in and make off with a pair of my undies, but I have slowly gotten over that fear, and will likely do this many more times this summer!