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  • Unknown's avatar

    wip78 3:10 pm on February 22, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Adventure #6:… and the unexpected. 

    Adventure #6 was supposed to be the parade in Chinatown celebrating the Chinese New Year, but I got my dates mixed up and realized I was supposed to be about 40 miles south volunteering and my participation in said festivities would be impossible.  Sad clown.  I volunteer two times a year for the high school organization Snowball that sponsors a Thursday- Sunday retreat.   The focus of this organization is leadership and team building activities that allow small groups of 12 with one teen and one adult leader facilitating the group to work together in a drug-free, 0% peer pressure environment. They focus not only on the group as a unit but on the individual; preparing them to make healthy lifestyle choices in order to acquire success.  The kids sleep in cabins and the support staff that helps implement the schedule and keeps the retreat on track stay in the main house.  We feed the teens in the mess hall, some meals being catered in, other meals made by the camp itself.

    (More …)

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    wip78 11:04 pm on February 21, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Adventures 4 and 5: The planned…. 

    There are adventures you plan for, and then there are adventures that find you.  Some are great, some are inspiring, some are permanent, some are tasty, and some you just learn from.  The past couple of weeks have been simple, fun, and interesting to say the least…

    For adventure #4, I got inked:)  Tattoos say a lot about a person.  Each tattoo usually has a story attached to it.  Was it to rebel when you were 16?  Did you get it during a drunken debauchery?  Does it stand for something meaningful?  Spiritual? Or does it symbolize a moment in your life? My first tat was about 4 years ago.  I waited so long to get one for fear of the wrath I would receive from my parents.  I was considered a good boy who obeyed his parents….catholic guilt goes a loooong way.  When I finally grew some cahones, I said screw it.  Over the last two months, I have gotten 3 more, with the latter one being the focus of the fourth adventure.  All my tattoos are personal.  They are an extension of me…  This last tattoo is an adinkra symbol that comes from the Asante tribe found in the western African country Ghana.  This symbol is known as “the wisdom knot” that stands for wisdom, ingenuity, intelligence and patience.   This symbol represents the wisdom I give my students and in turn what they teach me on a daily basis, a reminder of the patience and understanding they deserve, and the intelligence and ingenuity that we all possess.  This tattoo ties in with the one on  my wrist that stands for the life-long quest for knowledge…to always remember that there is something to be learned on a daily basis. (More …)

     
    • Kimberly Hula's avatar

      yearof52adventures 6:17 pm on February 24, 2010 Permalink

      I’m going to go ahead and nominate this for adventure MVP for week 4 🙂

  • Unknown's avatar

    jeindeer 5:59 pm on February 20, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , contest, planning   

    #7: Win Week 

    I guess I felt lucky after that last quote. For adventure 7/52, I’ve been entering every free twitter raffle, mailing list random drawing, or other quirky web 2.0 giveaway that only requires an e-mail or twitter account.

    Seriously. Every single one. Trip to Iceland? Check. Arrangement of soap shaped like fortune cookies? Check. Cocoa butter caramels? Sure. Cotton necklace scarves? Put my username in the hat for that. The only limit is that I hit up only vouched-for and reputable sources, no “xtreem ring tones” or “complete 8 gold offers” or anything like that—but as for the prizes? I’m casting the net extremely wide, and seeing where, or what, it gets me.

    I can imagine you canny web users thinking “that’s a bad idea,” but you needn’t fret. Since my goal isn’t to get spammed out of my skin or drive everyone who knows/follows me insane, I’ve created a new (but 100% truthful) e-mail address and a dedicated twitter feed for this adventure. I’ve discovered that there’s an entire culture surrounding “frees” and “review giveaways.” Anyway, we’ll see if I’ve got what it takes to RT #Giveaways with the best of ‘em.

    Wish me luck! Or at least perseverance. There’s a lot of clicking involved. Even if I don’t end up coated with swag (I have little expectation of winning), it’s already been a fascinating study in web marketing.

     
    • wip78's avatar

      wip78 3:24 pm on February 22, 2010 Permalink

      OOOO! I hope you win some great infomercial items like the Miracle Blades or the “Perfect Push-up”. Good luck to you , my friend!!!

  • Unknown's avatar

    jeindeer 3:10 pm on February 18, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    “Wiseman discovered that lucky people also score significantly higher in openness than unlucky people do. “Lucky people are open to new experiences in their lives…. They don’t tend to be bound by convention and they like the notion of unpredictability,” he notes. As such, lucky people travel more, encounter novel prospects and welcome unique opportunities. Expectation also plays a role in luck. Lucky people expect good things to happen, and when they do they embrace them.”

    Michael Shermer in “As Luck Would Have It,” an Scientific American article on Richard Wiseman’s studies of self-identified lucky people. Read more.
     
  • Unknown's avatar

    AG 9:49 am on February 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Adventure #6: Hot Yoga 

    I have been wanting to take yoga classes for some time now. So on my walk to work today, I was thinking, “I wish there was a yoga studio nearby within walking distance of my apartment.” Within a minute, I found a place. This is proof that when you really want something and ask for it, you get it. Or maybe it’s a testimony to the saying of, “The universe gives you exactly what you need when you need it.”

    I am really self-conscious about walking into places here in Korea where I will be singled out and need to communicate with Korean folk. This is mostly due to my horrible Korean language ability and the fact that I cannot just walk into a place here and expect to blend in. So I was really proud of myself that I didn’t hesitate and just pulled the door open. I noticed immediately upon entry the six people standing at the front desk because when I walked in and took my shoes off they all stared at me and laughed. This is not uncommon, being laughed at. It’s what you get when you’re a foreigner in Korea. It’s not rude, it’s more excitement at the sight of someone “different” in a purely homogenous society.

    So, luckily one of the staff spoke English and within minutes I was offered a great deal for hot yoga classes with an extra free month as service (service is what they call getting things for free here). They offer classes everyday all throughout the day. The instructor does not speak English, so I will be taking yoga for the first time with a Korean speaker. It should be interesting, much like everything else that I’ve experienced while living in this country.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    jeindeer 7:26 pm on February 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , reading, the t   

    #6: Finish Infinite Jest 

    The cover of infinite jestI tend to go through pleasure reading pretty quickly, but I’m not used to books which weigh as much as a healthy baby. Case in point: if Infinite Jest were in fact a healthy baby, by the time I finished reading, it would be able to play peek-a-boo and drink from a sippy cup. Seven long months. At almost 1,100 pages of tiny, end note-strewn text, it has enough physical and emotional bulk to justify my reading time, but it’s still been on my shelf for roughly forever. I read other books, too; I moved to New England; I started grad school; it has infinite in the name. For every week I couldn’t put it down, there was a week when the only progress I made was a couple of pages during one night’s dinner. Even then I’d gush about it to my bewildered friends—”you won’t believe how they tell time,” “I can’t believe he/she/it has first-person segments now!”—but there was always a new revelation to digest and, just as important,  wonder why I was so effected.

    By six months I was in up to my neck, and there was still a novella’s worth of content left. I was humbled. I just needed to finish it. After paring down what remained a couple of times, decided that this would be an adventure. I’d just sit down and finish Infinite Jest. Since the story takes place in Boston—and makes frequent mention of the green line—I decided to up the ante and read the last hundred pages while riding the T. I have a monthly pass, so I don’t get charged for individual rides. I’d just start in the morning and ride branches of the green line until I was finished.

    (More …)

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    heididino 11:46 am on February 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    6/52 DIY 

    I built a shelf. It took me like 3.5 hours and i only had to take it apart once. I wouldn’t really say that i am adept at assembling things. I’m not very crafty and i have very little patience. i got aggravated trying to hang up my shower curtain! I consider myself to be very independant yet i always seem to find someone to take care of my assemblying needs. Not this time!  With my screw driver and Arrested Development on in the background i went to work.  i know have a lovely 5 shelf rack thing for my bathroom. I’m pretty pleased with my handiwork.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    heididino 10:42 am on February 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    5/42 Creating Change 

    My week 5 adventure was a trip to Dallas, Tx for the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce Creating Change Conference. I am a sign language interpreter and this was my first conference-we’ll pay for your plane and hotel-gig. Being a gay myself, I was very excited about this trip.

    It was a very busy week of interpreting, learning, workshopping  and singing karaoke.  I felt that it was a personal challenge/adventure for me because I went not knowing anyone. its easy for me to be an introvert but i stepped out of my shell and had a great time. I absolutely adored my roomate/co-interpreter. I learned a lot from her as an interpreter and as a queer activist in general.  We bonded over nightly desserts at the hotel restaurant, the go to being white and dark chocolate bread pudding. So good!  It was truly amazing to be surrounded by queer folk 24/7.  im gonna say it, it was a life changing experience and it has shown me that i can be a part of social justice and change in the world and that sign language interpreting is a perfect gateway for that.

     
    • eatveggiesdrinkwine's avatar

      eatveggiesdrinkwine 10:44 pm on February 22, 2010 Permalink

      This is a fantastic adventure … thank you for doing this, and for posting about it.

    • Kimberly Hula's avatar

      yearof52adventures 6:18 pm on February 24, 2010 Permalink

      I’m really proud of you. Thanks for doing what you do!

  • Unknown's avatar

    jscribe 6:13 pm on February 13, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , sports, teamworkd   

    5/52 – Being a Good Sport 

    I am not athletic. People always ask if i play/ed a sport. Usually they ask if i played softball or volleyball. In high school i thought it was kind of flattering, like i looked like i was in good shape, or maybe that i looked quick or agile. I never did. i did theatre, speech – was in the Just Say No Club and Environmental club. A Sportsless kid doesnt usually object to being mistaken for a sports kid. As i have gotten older, the question has taken on a different meaning. now im always defensive. “Why? because I’m stocky and I date women? Is that why?”

    I love to work out, to run, to be active–but im not coordinated or competitive. i embarrass myself in competitive sports but
    I’ve joined up with a few intramural teams over the past several years–softball, volleyball and women’s soccer.

    Its been a long time though, and since Ive been feeling adventurous, when a colleague from worked asked if i wanted to join her “Big Gay Badminton Team,” I thought “Gay Badminton?” “Sports?” “Here I come!”

    Adventure #5 was actually harder than i thought it would be. Im not that good, and its more physically demanding than I thought. But its a rocking good time–plus, im made some new friends! Details on adventure #6 are forthcoming. It was a little hard on my body, too!

    Now thats an action shot.

     
    • Kelly's avatar

      Kelly 11:09 pm on February 15, 2010 Permalink

      now if only a straight girl could join…this sounds like a ton of fun.

    • AG's avatar

      gangstaoflove 9:59 am on February 17, 2010 Permalink

      Way to go! I’m not athletic either. In fact, I have no idea what Badminton is or how it’s played! 😉

    • wip78's avatar

      wip78 2:26 pm on February 22, 2010 Permalink

      I would love to come cheer you on. I can wear my rainbow shoes…

  • Unknown's avatar

    kimkin85 11:02 am on February 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply
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    Adventures Begin! (Recap) 

    Greetings, fellow adventurers!  As I have been negligent in posting my adventures thus far, I thought I would start with a quick roundup of what my first few adventures have been.  (Don’t worry, in future posts the storyteller in me will really come out as I share my experiences in exquisite detail.)

    Adventure 1: Worked for a week at the elementary school where my mother teaches art.  Keeping track of six classrooms each of Kindergartners and third graders is a crazy fun time, but it reminded my why I decided not to be a teacher.

    Adventure 2:  Had my very first phone interview–with a woman in Austria!  It’s now official and I’ll be starting my three month internship at the library of the Salzburg Global Seminar in September.

    Adventure 3:  I had the unintended adventure of finding a local doctor who would believe me that I do indeed know when I have a sinus infection and would give me a prescription.  That part was a success, unfortunately, I did not recover fast enough for my scheduled oral surgery and had to put that off for a few weeks.

    Adventure 4:  Getting back into swimming.  Awkward hours at the campus gym is a terrible excuse, so this week I set a schedule and stuck to it.  Few things are as energizing as being in the water, although it would be nice if it were the Caribbean instead of a pool in Boston in the winter…

    Adventure 5:  Last week’s adventure was a visit to the MFA to see the famous mummy head.  It was fascinatingly disturbing.

    This week’s adventure will probably be to think of something that actually sounds adventurous when I write it down.  Wish me luck!

    -Kim

     

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