Tuesday, February 28, 2006

A random collection of tops

Ten things I’ve done that you probably haven’t:

1. Shamelessly begged to borrow a taxi driver’s cell phone, didn’t take “no” for an answer, and talked him (in Portuguese) into letting me use it to make a collect call.
2. Lived in a home with two bullet holes in the front room...not recent, but there, nonetheless.
3. Lived in a favela, a third-world slum.
4. Been mugged by a guy on a bicycle.
5. Lived for two months with a Spanish speaking family while not speaking any appreciable Spanish.
6. Had near-death experiences involving:
a Chevy 4x4 shortbed truck, two kittens, and a tree
a missed dock and the prow of a boat
knee-deep floodwater and third-world electrical wiring
7. Been proposed to on account of my eyes...
8. Sung opera to street children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
9. Got lost in Paris and walked from the Louvre to the Eiffel tower because I didn’t realize how to use my subway ticket.
10. Skinny-dipped in the Mediterranean at night.


This is fun...and addicting...and just a little bit vain.

On a side note, I have always dislike top-ten lists that end at ten, because the two-digit number sets the spacing off...plus it’s just not very symmetrical. So I’m going to start this one with “00” so that it makes a sort of two-digit sandwich. Yes, this makes eleven resolutions, etc...but now I can throw one away guilt free. :P I am not obsessive compulsive. I am not obsessive compulsive. These things just bother me, okay? (I know my sister is out there shaking her head...)

My New Year’s Resolutions, Belated. Or, my post-Carnaval, Lenten resolutions.
00. Stop drinking Coke. It’s terrible for me. And so very, very addicting.
1. Join a gym
2. Find a juice bar or a restaurant that’s “mine,” where I can go every now and then, nurse a great cupuaçu or coffee and write until my hand goes numb.
3. Figure out what there is to do in the city for single Christians...this could be difficult.
4. Start singing again. In public. Microphone and everything.
5. Paint my house: one room yellow, another either a warm light green or one wall shockingly red. I want color. I want life on these walls!
6. Try my hand at painting as a relaxing exercise even if I’m a terrible artist. (Remember “The Psalms” from the Souphouse???)
7. Stop feeling silly about doing things alone. Check out museums, art shows, music...
8. Discover new friends that aren’t from the favela.
9. Actually stick to my cleaning schedule. (This is boring but necessary.)
10. Buy the silverware and pans I’ve always wanted, because I can, because no one should have to wait to get married to have knives that cut and pans that don’t eat more of the food than you do. Teflon is a gift from God!

1 comment:

pamela said...

Jenna,
I'm a hug fan of not waiting until one is married for great pans, silverware, etc. Matter of fact, I invested about $150 (the joys of sales) so that I could have place settings for 16 when I graduated from TU and got my own place. It has been great--I can have 12 people for Thanksgiving dinner or 13 for small group on a regular basis without worrying about it or resorting to plastic silverware. And...oh...the joys of good pans :-)
~pamela