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What: #43 Take a picture every hour of the day for one day

When: December 31st
Where: Southeastern Michigan
Why: I enjoy photography, and usually I do most of my camera-wielding on official vacations or during my travels to interesting locales. I miss out on documenting the day-to-day events of life, and so this forced me to do so. Without further ado...

...from 12:01am until 3:01, I was in bed, watching the snow fall in the darkness of the city night...

 ...from 4:01 until 7:01, I continued watching the snow outside in the sparkling lights...

 ...from 8:01-11:01, I finally got up and admired the apartment's details, from the artwork to the hallway...

 ...from 12:01pm-3:01, I had an orange and then headed out to make sushi at the Elliott's lovely home ...

 ...from 4:01-7:01, I relaxed in my city apartment, then went to the historic Trinity Lutheran church...

  ...from 8:01-11:59, I celebrated New Year's Eve in Northville with my good friends!

25 down ... twenty-seven to go...

What: #8 Play paintball

When: June 15th
Where: Futureball
Why: For years, I've heard various friends discuss playing paintball, and it was always discussed with descriptions of pain, boredom, and general disdain. Somehow, that intrigued me, and I kept thinking it couldn't be that bad because it seemed so fun. Also, frankly, when something seems slanted to the male gender, I usually feel like I need to give it a try to see if I can hang with the guys. So, paintball made it onto the list, and Groupon sealed the deal by offering a great discount at Futureball.

Right away, I was nervous about what to wear. Not in a fashionista sort of way, but more in a "do I have on enough layers to offer padding and is it a color found in nature so I blend into my surroundings" sort of way. Once at the playing field, I saw that I was pretty similarly dressed to other people - exceptions being those that arrived in full fatigues and camo - and we proceeded to then arm ourselves with gear. There was much giggling involved as we had to put on face masks that were gross and learn how to shoot cumbersome guns, but as the only two girls out of about 40-50 guys, we tried to tone it down to not draw too much attention to ourselves. Specifically, I tried not to squeal at all, and my goal was to have the sort of valiant moment that Sarah Jessica Parker had in this scene.

After a quick tutorial, in which I learned how unrealistic that scene is because you NEVER lift your mask on the playing field, we headed out to the first game. My stats on that round weren't great...I sat to observe too long, then got hit almost immediately upon moving and fired zero shots. But, that left lots of room to improve on the second round and I realized I was going to have to get dirty and run faster and fire more aggressively at the other team (who had on tiny orange arm bands, making it difficult to discern them as the enemy upon a quick glance over the many obstacles). Still, firing shots and evasive maneuvering made that round a lot more fun!

The least fun round was in a super creepy horror-film house in a mosquito-infested bog wherein I was soundly shot by a rapid-fire round that squarely hit the one unshielded part of my skull, my bicep (picture below), and my mask in such a way that the paint splattered up underneath and all over my face. So, game 3, not my favorite. It did, however, help me prove to myself that I wasn't going to whine and instead would learn from my mistakes and my teammates to improve for the 4th and final game. I actually did much better, and had to exit the field simply due to lack of ammo, not because I had been shot. (Side note: I could not believe how many paintballs are used per game...we had 100 to start, then bought bags of 500 more paintballs each, and still ran out!!)

So, paintball is not for sissies, but it isn't just for guys, either. We had a lot of fun, got a ton of exercise, and improved in just a few hours. This might be something we recruit other friends to come do with us again this summer!

The mark of a good day of paintball!

2 down ...fifty to go...

What: # 28 Pop the cork on a bottle of champagne

When: January 5th
Where: Stef's kitchen
Why: There just haven't been many occasions I've been a part of that called for a bottle of champagne; or maybe to clarify, we just didn't ever have one on hand for all the awesome moments. So, I felt that celebrating with a big "POP" of the cork from the bottle was a mark of a really good time. I got my chance as a group of us toasted my friend's birthday. I'll admit that I was quite nervous that I might: break a window, bust a light fixture, hit someone in the eye, give myself a black eye, burst the bottle, and the list goes on. But, I went for it, definitely shrieked a bit when it finally flew off, but had a blast doing it! 

1 down ...fifty-one to go...

What: # 36 Eat at a restaurant I’ve never been to

When: January 5th
Where: Red Rock BBQ
Why: As many of my friends know, I'm a very selective eater, so trying new food (and drink) isn't really that interesting to me, but I've tried to be better about opening up and enjoying the experience of a new atmosphere and every once in awhile, even tasting something I wouldn't normally try. So, while a barbecue joint is not usually my first choice, it was my friend Stef's birthday and her selection, and I was so glad to be a part of the evening as the super awesome "seventh wheel!" Some perks of the place: it was packed, so good people watching; it was warm, which is a big deal in my book; and finally, it smelled good, not overly bbq-ish. If you are in town, try their macaroni and cheese with cornbread - delicious!