52...DONE!

What: #11 Sleep overnight in an aquarium

When: June 2-3, 2018
Where: Georgia Aquarium
Why: When I was just entering high school, my family took a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and I was fascinated by the idea of working in a place like that, surrounded by water and amazing creatures. Alas, that wasn't my career path, but I never got over the idea of being surrounded by water and marine animals. I have snorkeled in dozens of places, swam with dolphins, slept in an overwater bungalow for a week, and visited most of the country's top aquarium facilities. On my list for many years had been the Georgia Aquarium for two reasons: 1) Whale Sharks and 2) Adult Sleepovers!

It was an incredible 24 hours, starting with a guided tour through some of the main areas to hear more about the various animals, like sea dragons, an octopus, penguins, belugas, jellyfish, dolphins, the manta rays, and the sea turtles. After the aquarium closed to the public, we got to see the penguins walking around the aquarium for exercise outside of their enclosure and we were given access to visit the areas behind the tanks: food preparation, veterinarian rooms, the huge water pumps, and above the pools, too. We spent the whole evening and hours of the night walking around without any other visitors in the building, sitting as long as we wanted at each exhibit, and getting to talk with the staff and crew who work around the clock.

For our sleeping quarters, we were in the tunnel underneath the Ocean Voyager exhibit, where all night long I watched whale sharks, manta rays, turtles, other sharks, sawfish, and dozens of other species swim over me. It's like this, but better!

The next morning, we were up early before any visitors arrived and we got to see feedings all over the aquarium. The whale sharks still had my attention that morning, and watching these huge fish come to the surface to feed on tiny plankton was just incredible!

The aquarium eventually opened up to the public for the day, and we were given passes to all of the shows and stayed for most of our second day, but after our night of having the place to ourselves (there were only 11 of us in the aquarium all night long), it felt a bit crowded!

I'm so glad this was something I waited to do to finish off my crazy 100 Things adventure...it was a wonderful ending to these amazing years of new things!

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What: #51 Change a tire

When: January 12, 2018
Where: My driveway

Why: Ahh, Michigan. Winters in Michigan can be beautiful, sparkly, sunny, bright white & blue skies, but winter can also be frozen gray slush and frigid inhospitable temperatures and huge potholes forming on innocent pavement. The latter is the day I had, leading to accomplishing this new thing on my list.

On my drive home for work, I hit a pothole that, I found out later, also had taken out about a half dozen other cars of people in my neighborhood. After lurching home the final few blocks on a flattened tire, I immediately logged on to alert the city to the problem (update: the city patched up that blasted pothole a few hours later...good deed done!). After that, I abandoned my car in the garage, and honestly somehow hoped I'd check on it later and it would magically be repaired and re-inflated. Two things happened: 1) It did not magically heal itself and 2) I did miraculously get the next day off of work and so had the whole day to solve my tire problem. I decided that I would do it myself. In the freezing cold and snow, I got out the tools I would need, most of which are conveniently included in my spare tire package in my trunk...a jack, a pry bar, a lug wrench, and the spare tire itself. Armed with the owner's manual of my car, it was actually pretty easy to do! In about 30 minutes, I had raised my car onto the jack, removed the flat tire, mounted the spare tire, and cleaned everything up. Next stop, the store to buy a replacement tire!

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What: #23 Buy front row tickets to an event

Where: New York City
When: December 21st
Why: As one settles into their career and manages to work out a budget to pay bills and buy food and still save for retirement, it can sometimes feel very uncomfortable to splurge, even if there is a very good rationale behind it. For me, most of my splurges are related to travel; it's rare that I buy a new clothing item or some decorative accessory for my home. I'm much more of an "experiences" person than a "things" person. With that in mind, I found myself planning a trip to New York City to visit some friends over a long weekend, and decided that as an adult, I finally wanted to see a show on Broadway. Not just any show, but a show currently starring one of my favorite singers - Sara Bareilles. Therein lies the rationale for splurging on front row tickets; it's not only a Broadway show, but also basically a concert to see and hear one of my favorite singers!

The show - "Waitress" - is based on a movie starring two actors I really like, Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion. Yet, somehow, I did not like the movie. Perhaps it wasn't something I could relate to or appreciate at the stage of life when I watched it ten years ago. I plan on watching it again in the next few weeks to revisit the story and characters and hopefully connect to it. Either way, I'm still really excited for my first Broadway show, and my front row tickets to see Sara Bareilles!

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What: #18 Take Amtrak somewhere new

When: October 23, 2017
Where: Milwaukee to Chicago
Why: In other countries, travel by train is so much easier, and it is always frustrating how inconvenient it is to get between cities here in the US. Even to hop between Detroit and Chicago, the scheduled trains are few and far between, the prices aren't low enough to consider it, and the timeliness is, well, lacking. When talking to friends in other countries, they are appalled to hear about our trains running 30-40 minutes late, and flabbergasted when we talk about them running hours late. This is simply unheard of when train travel is considered abroad. Still, the idea of train travel is so appealing to me. It's a way to see the world go by outside your window, but without the stress of being in the driver's seat, to see countrysides and small towns from the luxury of a vehicle that allows for freedom of movement and snacks and comfortable seats.

So it was that when determining the logistics for visiting friends in both Chicago and Milwaukee over a long weekend, train travel entered the conversation. It felt odd, like being a backpacker in my own country, but really it was not as inconvenient as I had feared. In Milwaukee, the hotel where I stayed was a short 15-minute walk to the train station, and even on a somewhat rainy and blustery afternoon, it wasn't too bad. No security lines, so corralling of passengers, I just walked right into the station and boarded my train. It was actually easier than in Europe, in a way, because there is only one train at a time in most American rail stations, so I didn't need to find the correct platform or be certain to be in the right car.

The ride back to Chicago was pleasant, watching the autumnal colors out the window, passing farm fields and woods and sections of the upper midwest that I hadn't before seen. For my money, this was a great option to driving or flying, and I'll consider it again in the future!

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What: #78 Watch an Elvis movie

When: November 18th
Where: My living room
Why: Both Elvis and myself were on this planet for exactly two months together, which always fascinates me. He seems like someone from another time entirely different from my own, and yet, we overlapped for a short while. He's obviously known for his music career  - there is a great exhibit on him in Cleveland - and of course for his dancing, which if you haven't really watched him, you must, and this video is one of my faves! His movies, however, seemed to be less talked about in connection to Elvis, and yet I know he starred in quite a few at the height of his career, so I felt like I wanted to see him in action, as an actor, apart from just singing and dancing. So, one night my friend and I rented "Blue Hawaii" from Amazon and settled in to be dazzled by this icon. The movie is meant to be a romance, was filmed on Hawaii, and also featured Angela Lansbury, so it seemed like a winner. And ooooooo boy, it was entertaining! First of all, he seems like he's just playing himself, which was fine because he's charismatic. The plot of the story was thin at best, just setting after setting to highlight his singing and the scenery, which again was ok. The dialogue, however, was definitely from another time when political correctness had not been absorbed by Hollywood! So much of what was said would make us cringe, and so many other things had us busting out with laughter when I don't suspect it was meant to be funny at the time. However, if you decide to enjoy this film and go in to it knowing it's from a very different era, and that the cheese factor is super high, then I think you'll have a great evening of entertainment ahead of you! For a small sample of his crooning and the gist of the movie, here's a short clip. Enjoy!

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What: #32 Visit the Gerald Ford Presidential Library

When: November 8th

Where: Ann Arbor, MI
Why: This year, I was given the day off on Election Day, and felt that as a way of embracing the day, I should visit the branch of the National Archives in my city that houses President Ford's truckloads (nine, actually) of documents, photographs, recordings, and other paraphernalia from his short presidency. In this location, they are no longer stored in trucks, but in temperature-controlled stacks. These stacks take up enormous warehouse-sized areas, four floors of them, all accessible to researchers and archivists and, on this particular day, me.

When I arrived, I chatted with the security guard, as he was the only other person in the entire room. I think he was a bit suspicious of me, having remarked on my Bernie bumper sticker on my car, and my "I Voted" sticker proudly displayed on my jacket. President Ford was, after all, a Republican, and I'm waltzing into this space with a seemingly odd errand of wanting to see and learn all I can today. Still, he warmed up to me and even offered to introduce me to an archivist named John.

Ford's retired Michigan Football jersey

Prior to meeting John, I looked around the ground floor of the building. Uniquely, the Ford Presidential Museum isn't connected to the library as it is for the other 10 or so presidents with libraries; it's actually in Grand Rapids, but his library is here because of his deep connections to the University of Michigan. This means that the exhibits here are quite sparse, mostly timelines of his presidency with small artifacts, and a rotating exhibit on loan from the museum on the bicentennial. There is also Ford's office that he used when he was in town visiting!

A few facts I learned about Gerald Ford, which may or may not make me seem ignorant for not already knowing them:
* His birth name is Leslie Lynch King, Jr.! He parents were divorced before he was a year old, and he was renamed after his step-father, legally taking his name when he was older.
* Ford's cabinet included Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, and Kissinger...wow!
* He was made Vice President under the 25th Amendment (when Spiro Agnew resigned), then became President when Nixon resigned
* He basically committed political suicide by pardoning Nixon, but later won the Profiles in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Foundation for putting the country's best interest ahead of his own gain

Random assortment of documents they let me view!

Having exhausted what I could glean from the exhibits on my own, John met up with me and took me INTO the room that was Ford's office. This is normally locked and off limits, but I got to go in and see his desk, chairs, many leather-bound books (for real), and a few of the gifts he had received from foreign dignitaries, including an amazing jade elephant from China! From there, we went upstairs to see the stacks and learn how they are digitizing all of the files. There are rows and rows and rows of archival boxes with every piece in every file cross-referenced based on person, topic, date, action, etc. It's actually mind-boggling to imagine, and as a library nerd, I was thinking how cool it would be to work there! I mentioned it, and John told me that they have a small staff of contracted employees that are there to keep processing the 25 million or so items in their collection. Sign me up!

The visit to the library is free and the staff was extremely kind and knowledgeable and eager to showcase their space. Stop by! 

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What : #80 Watch "The Philadelphia Story" 

When: November 7th
Where: Living Room
Why: Again, as I'm cramming in my final new things from this list, I find that checking off movies is a quick way to finish. This movie was another - like "Lawrence of Arabia" - that I thought was a part of popular culture and I hadn't experienced. I've seen many movies with Cary Grant (including my favorite, The Awful Truth), only one with Katherine Hepburn (The African Queen) and didn't like it very much, and am not a fan of James Stewart because of It's A Wonderful Life. Still, I wanted to see this movie. Or, so I thought...

It turns out that I had the wrong movie in mind! I thought this was "An Affair To Remember" with Cary Grant and the meeting at the Empire State Building and the female lead in a wheelchair (I guess it's a lot like "Sleepless in Seattle"?), but I was quite wrong. This lead me to be wondering throughout this movie how she ends  up in a wheelchair...does she fall off a horse? Break a leg diving into the pool? Get in a car accident while drunk driving? And why is this taking place in Philadelphia instead of NYC?

In fact, this movie was a ton of good fun and not depressing AT ALL! It was hilarious and quick-witted and clever and I actually found myself liking both James Stewart and Katherine Hepburn much more than I expected. Perhaps it is because they are younger in this movie, both in their early 30s, and I find that easier to relate to than in their later films. Also, the high-society bit was predictable, and in fact her performance in this role was really unexpected and a breath of fresh air, much like Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth. If you're looking for an old classic movie to watch one of these nights, I recommend this one for sure!

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What: #79 Watch "Lawrence of Arabia"

When: November 5th
Where: Living room
Why: Originally, one reason for this list was to expand my horizons, including reading books and watching movies that were not a part of my normally chosen genres, but that seemed a part of American culture. One movie that is frequently referenced, and that intrigued me because of the connection to Jordan's Wadi Rum - a place I loved very much when I visited - is "Lawrence of Arabia." It also has a few actors that were very successful, and I thought it would be nice to see them in these early defining roles.

One reason that I have hesitated to watch this movie is because it is nearly four hours long. As this calendar year is winding down and I found that I needed to finish up my list, I realized I couldn't keep putting this one off any longer. So, I sat down in my comfy clothes with a large drink and a few snacks, and wrote down my thoughts as I watched the movie. Here, presented for your reading pleasure, are my in-the-moment thoughts as I watched the movie.
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Well, the first 15 minutes were a just a blank black screen, so I was worried the Blu-Ray was defective, but it was intentionally playing only the score. I can already see why this movie is almost 4 hours long...but granted, the music is pretty dang good so far!

Huh, starts off with his death by motorcycle accident; feels a bit like a Hitchcock film.

St. Paul’s cathedral!!

Peter O’Toole is blonde? And is Lawrence of Arabia a gay man?

At the scene at the well...I wouldn’t yell at a guy who just shot another guy and left you alone in the desert – Omar Sharif is the actor, yes?

I can tell the parts filmed in Wadi Rum, they have NO vegetation and are so beautiful! (Side note: Spent some time looking at my old pictures from my trip there in August 2014...pretty sure I didn't miss any big plot points...) 

Kinda campy music at times, like while riding the camel after his friend is shot.

I love the aspect of old movies like this, with dramatic pauses and poor special effects.

I don’t love Alec Guiness – Obi Wan Kenobi – in “black face”...feels very inappropriate!

Also, entire conversations and scenes seem pretty far from the socially appropriate way various cultures should be represented...yikes...

In the tent with Prince Faisal, are they lounging on dead goat bodies?

Lawrence speaks so quietly; interesting...again, is that just Peter O'Toole or is that the character?

They make it seem so easy getting on/off those camels; I know better!

After 2 ½ hours, there was an intermission with another 10-15 minute black screen of music; from then on, I watched a large part of the movie at 1.5 speed. So much of the film is without dialogue, so I’m not missing any conversations, and it actually added a little amusement to the battle scenes!

Ok, took a weird turn; was the Turkish guy trying to hit on Lawrence??

Finally, it's over! Truly, it was a rough final hour or so. And I didn't think it portrayed T.E. Lawrence quite the way I was expecting it to, as a huge war hero. Instead, he seemed like a bit of a egomaniac out for selfish glory or to escape conventional British military service. Moral of the story: If you want to watch this movie, really settle in for an intense and lengthy evening! 

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What: #44 Buy a gift off a stranger's registry

When: August 27th, 2016
Where: Crate & Barrel
Why: A friend of mine did this when she did a "40 by 40" list of things, and I thought it was a cool way to do a random act of kindness. Recently, as I've had a string of some really great things happen to me, I wanted to send positive energy out into the universe in a direct way.

For this item, I didn't choose a total stranger, rather someone that I met only once, but that I will now be working with and thought it would be a nice way to welcome them to the team, and to congratulate them on their recent life event. The wedding was a few weeks ago, but there were still a few items I found on the registry that had not been fulfilled, so I swooped in to pick up some kitchen accessories.

I'm hoping that it does not seem odd that I found the registry; in hindsight, I could see it would be strange for a stranger to buy a gift from one's registry, but hopefully it's viewed as a really kind gesture!

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What: #12 Eat a calzone

When: August 24th, 2016
Where: Basil Boys

An actual plate I use...

Why: Those who know me well are aware that I have the eating habits of a child. I love chicken tenders, grilled cheese, mac-n-cheese, PB&Js, and so on. If it's on a children's menu, it's probably one of my favorite foods. Those who know me also know that I love to travel, and so my comfort zone for foods has to expand a bit when I travel internationally...altho I've yet to enter a country that doesn't have delicious pizza (except you, Nepal). As I've gotten less young, I've tried to slowly integrate a wider variety of foods and flavors into my diet, and that has involved eating items for the first time that most people have already sampled at a much earlier time. Like avocados (thought I'd hate them, but I tried one about 3 years ago and I love them!) and calzones. A calzone is a big deal in my college town, but for some reason - likely the reason being that it isn't pizza - I never tried one. Ever. For decades. Then, when going out to dinner with my extended family, they all ordered them and I didn't want to feel left out, so forced by positive peer pressure, I caved and also ordered one. I chose tomato, mushrooms, and pineapple for my items, and along with the amazing dough of the crust (my stomach actually just gurgled thinking about how delicious it was!), it was a successful choice and now, probably, it's a food that I'll order and try again another time. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

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What: #46 Find out if I have an FBI file

When: July 28th-August 10th, 2016
Where: That's classified...
Why: For some reason, I feel like I might have an FBI file. Maybe it's the fact that my last name is pretty unique and seems to come from nowhere in my lineage, making me think that maybe it was simply created at some point to keep our family secrets. (Maybe I've also ready too many mystery novels or watched too many intriguing movies.) Also, I do a fair amount of traveling around the world, including places in the Middle East and parts of Africa that aren't always known for their stable governments, so I figured at one time or another, I'd likely have been flagged upon my re-entry to the United States. Plus, I am just a nosy person in general, and I crave information, and I like the chase of finding information beyond a basic Google search. I think I long for the days of card catalogs and microfiche and meeting with people to dig out a good nugget of information.

So, I set about filling out Form DOJ-361 to request my government held records pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974. Much to my surprise - having filled out overly-complicated and lengthy tax forms for years - this form was a single page of efficiency! Within TWO MINUTES of emailing it to the proper authorities, I received confirmation that the official process was underway. By August 2nd, I had received a formal letter explaining the next steps and how to keep track of it online.

Finally, on August 10th - only TWO WEEKS after the initial request - I received the results. The letter explains that no results were found on me in their Central Records System. It goes on to say that "this response neither confirms nor denies the existence" of an actual file, nor does it clear my name of appearing on any watch lists. It continues by stating that "three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records" were excluded from the information presented to me, and that again, "this should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist." To me, it seems inconclusive, so I'm going to continue on my path with the assumption that I might have a file and I'll try to keep it minimal.

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What: #22 See Dolly Parton perform

When: August 4th, 2016
Where: Caesar's Windsor

Why: Dolly is an icon. Pure and Simple, just like the title song from her new album. I remember watching her and Kenny Rogers singing "Islands in the Stream" - still one of my absolute favorite duets - when I was a kid and loved her voice and her giddy spirit. Every time my family would travel to Tennessee to visit the Smoky Mountains, there were hints of her in her hometown that made it feel like she was accessible, which from time to time at Dollywood, I think she is! She also seems like one heck of an entertainer, still going really strong at 70, with a voice that's totally recognizable and a list of hits spanning pop, bluegrass, country, and gospel. When I heard she was touring ahead of her new album, I bought tickets the day they went on sale, and the 4 of us went to Canada to see her perform.

She's so sparkly, you can't get a photo!

You guys, she looks amazing! I know it's a lot of make-up and wigs and who knows what else, but it's been her trademark and she does it very well. She even moves around and dances and belts out songs like a woman half her age. Another aspect of her shows is storytelling, and while the stories are the same from show to show (as evidenced in this piece from her show at Red Rocks), they come off as sincere and gracious and fresh and give her a depth that other performers lack on stage.

And briefly mentioned in that review from Red Rocks is her instrumentation. The woman played so many instruments! Guitars, banjo, piano, fiddle, recorder, harmonica, and more! That kind of musical talent isn't found in most performers today, and I soaked it up. If you want to, too, she is still touring around the US and Canada, so find tickets and get there; you won't regret it!

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What: #29 Visit Fort Wayne in Detroit

When: July 30th, 2016
Where: Fort Wayne (NOT in Indiana)
Why: Many years ago, I went to Fort Malden, and for one of the first times, I really found myself interested in a historic war. The intriguing part of it was that it was told from the British perspective, rather than the American viewpoint, and that gave me a deeper understanding of the War of 1812 (which, I think before that point, I probably thought had to do with Mexico or something; I'm seriously disinterested in war history, so neglected to ever brush up on it outside of memorizing dates for AP History in high school). Learning about the War of 1812 hit home more than the Civil War - altho I've seen my fair share of those hallowed battlegrounds and memorials and forts in my travels around the country. But this war happened here, and dictated borders I cross and gave rise to the nomenclature of places and roads that I encounter every day.

In 2007, a few years after my visit to Fort Malden, it became more difficult to cross the border to Canada and so for any continued interest in this time period of history, I would have to seek places on this side of the river, and that's when I learned about Fort Wayne. At the time, Fort Wayne was simply a piece of property owned by the City of Detroit as one of its parks, and it had fallen into disrepair. Only recently has it been open to the public for visiting the site, and after visiting dozens of other forts in my time, it was very interesting to see the level of decay and to feel more like it was truly 200 years old without much restoration over much of the property. The use of the fort has changed with the times, and as late as the Vietnam War, it was used for inductions (my uncle was inducted there).

For now, there are efforts being made to restore and preserve the complex of buildings and grounds, hopefully starting with the visitor center!

Visitor Center lobby...yes, it's empty