9 down ... forty-three to go...

What: #50 Check off a country I’ve never been to 

When: February 17th
Where: Dominican Republic
Why: I have wanderlust, big time. I absolutely love watching my passport fill up; I'm on my second, and with this recent vacation, I am now at 14 different countries. It seems so small of a number, but every experience has left an important impression on my life. 

This recent journey was a bit different than others because most of my time was spent at an all-inclusive resort complex, so I only saw the real country during an hour or so drive from the airport and to another half-day excursion. There are always comparisons in my head, and this country reminded me a lot of Peru and the more rural areas of Tanzania. It was great to be immersed in the Spanish language again - it is only something I've picked up during my travels, but it comes back in waves so I can communicate in basic conversation. Otherwise, the best part of my time in the country was the incredible weather. Warm and sunny 80s with puffy clouds and ocean breezes every day. I loved laying on the beach in the shade of a palm tree, listening to the waves, reading a couple books, people-watching, and generally unwinding in a gorgeous place. 

 

8 down ... forty-four to go...

What: #78 See a film at the DIA theater 

When: February 15th
Where: Detroit Institute of Arts
Why: The DIA is one of my favorite places downtown, and they always have fantastic events and exhibits. One of the biggest events they host each year is the screening of the Oscar-nominated short films. They show all of the animated films during the first half of the program, and then all of the live action films are next. I've had some experience with various film festivals over the years, and always hesitate going to see films I don't know too much about because I like my movie-going experience to be pleasant and feel-good, not depressing and stressful. Sure, I like to learn new things or be exposed to new ideas, but there's a way to do it and a way not to if you ask me. Turns out, even if it's a bit stressful, short films are over in about 20 minutes, so that's a bonus! And let's be honest, the animated films were pretty easy to watch. I really liked each of them for different reasons, but I'll probably be cheering for "Head over Heels" to win. It was claymation, about an older couple, a bit like "Up" at times, and with a very sweet ending. For the live action category, I really like "Asad" because it dealt with a real issue (Somalia's turmoil), but had a great surprise twist at the end! 

Friday nights are always a lot of fun at the DIA, and even tho I've usually only spent my time in the galleries and listening to the live music, now I can say that I've been to the theater there, too, and was pleasantly surprised at how large it was and how full it was. Yay culture!

7 down ... forty-five to go...

What: #17 Play bar trivia

When: February 4th
Where: Conor O'Neill's
Why: Growing up, my family played Trivial Pursuit, but it was the original edition in the blue box, so most of the questions were from an era before me and thus I didn't have very much useful knowledge about most of the topics. As I learned more, the game was a more enjoyable challenge, and often my brother, my mom, and I would try to beat my dad who is a wealth of amazing trivia. Almost any conversation with him has my jaw agape at some point with a random factoid he just blurts out that is totally relevant, but totally obscure. Thus began my love of trivia. I enjoy surprising my own friends from time to time with the assortment of useless knowledge I possess. So, I thought playing trivia with other like-minded individuals would be a lot of fun. The idea I had in my mind is from a movie I saw last year that was based on bar trivia in Ann Arbor, and so I was excited to find a night to try it out. Luckily, my friend and her boyfriend have gotten into the scene and know the cool places to go, and that's how we ended up at my favorite local Irish pub on Monday night. 

I'll admit, I was feeling really confident. Fueled by chicken tenders (a staple food in my diet) and a great drink, I felt good busting out info about Angel Falls in Venezuela and Belinda Carlisle in The GoGos. Oh, and I got almost every question right in the Super Bowl category (more like "Current Events" than "Sports"). But, those were the few shining moments of glory. Most of the questions were not easy. Obscure music references and even more obscure movie trivia. And trying to remember Sabrina's cat's name from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (I said "Mr. Bojangles"?!?) and the name of the guy who died while filming Gladiator (huh??), we put our heads together but still had to make completely random guesses a number of times. We had a small (3 of us), but mighty team going up against teams of 5-6 members, so we were at a disadvantage, right? 

Anyhow, we didn't win any prizes, but felt in our hearts that we at least went in with the best of intentions and an awesome team name!

Update: I've made a few more attempts at bar trivia with Stef, but at a different place. We've managed to get lucky with a few questions, but overall we do have a pretty deep set of random knowledge to make it a fun outing!

6 down ... forty-six to go...

What: #57 Cheer the Red Wings on at Joe Louis Arena

When: February 1st
Where: Downtown Detroit
Why: Detroit is known as Hockeytown. 

I think that's cool, but I never really got caught up in the excitement of hockey. I was always proud of our Stanley Cup wins (and have a picture of myself with the Stanley Cup from '97/'98 to prove my pride!), but trekking all the way down to the arena to watch a game wasn't appealing. I used to go to hockey games in college and had fun, but always felt that professional hockey was more about the fights and aggression than the skill and quality of play, so wasn't interested. Then, there was a turn of events and hockey was almost cancelled for the season, and I got a little panicked that it would be gone, so I decided I needed to support it and see what all the fuss was about; enter my Friday night adventure at my first Red Wings game! 

We decided to walk to Greektown to take the PeopleMover, which is the oddest public transit idea in the history of major cities. (On a side note, they do have an awesome slogan!)

Conjures up something else besides mass transit, right?

So, our walk to Greektown was in single-digit temps, but that just made us feel like real Detroiters that we braved the cold streets at night. Once there, we packed in to ride to "The Joe". The last time I was there was to see Barack Obama speak at a rally the summer prior to his election, so I had no idea of the level of hockey mania I was about to encounter. These fans are intense. Scary intense. I felt less comfortable in this arena of only 20,000 fans than I do in my own stadium of over 100,000 fans. These hockey fans were yelling, angry, and taking their jobs of cheering very seriously. I wasn't prepared for that, and after finally making it to my seat, I swore I wouldn't leave it again or make eye contact with anyone. 

View from my seat...nice banners!

Then, the guy next to us got trapped in his own hoodie after a hefty number of drinks, and laughing at that loosened up the mood. Next, we started to bond with the fans around us over the ridiculousness of the guy about 10 rows behind us who yelled an assortment of obnoxious criticisms constantly: "PUCK!" "CRASH THE CAGE!" "CHECK!" "YOU'RE AT HOME!!" Intensity embodied. Luckily, it seemed to work (I'm *certain* the players could hear him from his position in the top row of the arena) because in the 3rd period, the Wings went on a scoring streak and we were all on our feet cheering and high-fiving and woohooing. Then, Zetterberg (our captain) scored a hat trick, and the place went even crazier. It was so contagious, and definitely a really fun way to celebrate being in Detroit that night.

Winning made everyone happy, so waiting for the PeopleMover wasn't as miserable as normal, and even our walk back to Lafayette Park seemed less frigid. I wish I could be down at The Joe again today to watch my Wolverines play in the college tournament; but I see now the appeal of professional hockey and I'll definitely go to another Red Wings game when the opportunity arises!

5 down ...forty-seven to go...

What: # 42 Take a martial arts class

When: January 17th
Where: Quest Martial Arts
Why: At this point, I'm saying "yes" to pretty much any sort of physical activity that's offered. It's all in an effort to keep myself active and find new ways to engage my body and brain in movement. Some things I've tried in the past year have stuck with me (climbing for sure, loved the trapeze, and I'd definitely get on the pole and/or trampoline again!) and others were not my cup of tea (I'm talking to you, fencing). 

One thing that seems to set me up for success is how closely the thing I'm about to do relates to the idea of it in my head. Fencing was not as cool as Catherine Zeta-Jones made it look in "The Mask of Zorro," thus its downfall. The trapeze was even cooler than it seemed in SATC. So, I went to my first class of martial arts armed with my preconceived notions acquired from a certain movie franchise: "The Karate Kid"; but ready for a shock? I'm talking about the remake. Before I go on, I know I'm supposed to have a spot in my heart for the original, but somehow it was not nearly as influential as this particular version. If I hadn't been watching it with friends, I'm certain I would have been off of the couch trying out some moves. Moves that, I'm quickly learning, are way too advanced for me. 

The gi is an outfit that is 

neither sexy nor flattering

I'm about to earn my white belt, which essentially indicates that I'm a pure beginner with no previous experience whatsoever. Notice that I haven't even earned it yet. My first class was filled with lots of new information that I'm still digesting. Philosophies, movements, combinations. I still need to practice my cross punch, lead punch, and stomp kick, which are actually pretty fluid motions to get in the habit of doing, but the "HEY!" I have to yell while doing each throws me off. Luckily, I'm taking the class with a friend, so I get to partner up with her for most of the practice period and that makes it a bit less awkward. What is really awkward is being paired up with one of the little kids who is also a Level 1 student. But kinda fun and adorable, too. :)

My white belt test is coming up next week, and as I practice for it, I realize the thing I'm most nervous about is actually the warm-up portion of class. There is a call-and-response segment (I have no idea what they're saying or when to say it), and last time it was followed by ten rapid crazy push-up/burpee movements that made my shoulders sore for days. Looks like this will be a great way to build up some muscle tone and have a little fun while doing it!