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challenge accepted

I must say, choosing this month’s challenge was much more difficult than I thought it was going to be, because your suggestions seriously rocked my socks.

From the hilarious (tyee’s expired food products) to the overwhelming (fivecats’ NOW challenge) to the just plain scary (monkeymind’s improv comedy workshop), I had a wealth of suggestions to choose from. I would really love to pick up a musical instrument, but counted that out since I’ve taken both piano and drum lessons in the past, plus I don’t have an isolated place in which I can practice without disturbing anyone. (Believe me, cirocco and fallingman, Inkbot thanks you, even if she doesn’t know it yet.) Indoor gardening is another wonderful idea, but Zen eats and then regurgitates whatever plants I bring into the flat. Learning a new language is so exciting for me that I figured it would be cheating to pick that one. And I like the idea of interacting with and photographing strangers, but I already have a difficult enough time just making it from my flat to the ferry without being approached by a number of creepy people. (That’s San Francisco for you.)

But I had to pick just one, and I’m already a day late, so here it is:

Jen is the winner, with “go to a church/religious service as an impartial observer.”

This may seem pretty tame, especially alongside spelunking and piloting and bicycle-fixing, but it blew my mind when I read it. Yes, of course. To go back and face the Church after such a falling-out half my life ago … it’s too weird and intriguing for me to pass up. Plus, I’ve considered attending Mass at Grace Cathedral more than once in the past few years, although I think it would be fascinating to experience a new religion. I wonder if I could just wander into a Quakers meeting or a Jewish temple without upsetting anyone.

So Jen, you win for February! I’ll work on that mix CD. Hmm, I wonder if it should be religiously-themed as well …

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who participated. I’m sorry I don’t have time to address each challenge individually. Like I said, I’m keeping these in mind for March’s challenge, but I’ll post again about it in a few weeks so you can submit new ideas. And someone needs to come up with a better name for my monthly challenge because I despise “Fear Factor” and, well, “monthly challenge” sounds like a female condition.

O, and I would be remiss not to mention the man on the subway tonight who was carrying a plastic bag with not one but four boxes of Wheat Thins. I am so curious about people who buy Wheat Thins in bulk. What do you do with that many Wheat Thins? Perhaps they are part of his challenge for February!

Comments closed — Trackbacks closed RSS 2.0 feed for these comments This entry (permalink) was posted on Wednesday, February 2, 2005, at 23:56 by cygnoir and tagged .
  • Tallbob51

    Hey now, when you want a Wheat Thin who wants to be out of them!

  • Tallbob51

    Hey now, when you want a Wheat Thin who wants to be out of them!

  • t.

    email me if you want the lowdown on etiquette for attending quaker meeting for worship. but yeah, you can just wander in; they’re accepting and very friendly.

  • Uriel

    Hey, if you ever want to learn improv, you should talk to my housemate. He’s an AWESOME teacher.

  • Uriel

    Hey, if you ever want to learn improv, you should talk to my housemate. He’s an AWESOME teacher.

  • Lunza

    As a reporter, I once had to go to an Assemblies of God service … held in Russian. Boy, was THAT a trip. So I’m thinking you should go to a church service held in a foreign language. *grin*

  • Lunza

    As a reporter, I once had to go to an Assemblies of God service … held in Russian. Boy, was THAT a trip. So I’m thinking you should go to a church service held in a foreign language. *grin*

  • http://www.livejournal.com/users/michael_va Michael

    Congratulations to Jen! Thank you for the honourable mention, Halsted, too bad about Zen’s habit of eating house plants. I’m an Atheist and a Pragmatist, but I practiced Wicca for a time when I became interested in the possibility of the existence of spirituality, long ago. Rather than observing familiar Judeo-Christian religious practices, why not choose something exotic like Fah-Lung-Gong(sp?), or something controversial like Islam?

  • eG

    You haven’t lived until you’ve lived next to snake-handlers.

  • eG

    You haven’t lived until you’ve lived next to snake-handlers.

  • http://www.livejournal.com/users/fivecats fivecats

    It sounds like you’re working on your own NOW-ish list as it is, only you’re taking it one month at a time.

    At first I didn’t think the religious service was all that much of a “challenge” but given that it has some emotional/spiritual baggage for you to deal with (and that you felt so drawn to it so quickly) it’s obviously the right one for you to do.

    My guess is that it’s going to have some heavy ramifications, so be willing to give it the proper time to process everything.

    Oh, and Annie Lamott’s “Bird by Bird” is a fantastic book. I’ve given it to several writer friends as inspiration for their muse and for a good laugh or two.

    …

  • http://www.livejournal.com/users/fivecats fivecats

    It sounds like you’re working on your own NOW-ish list as it is, only you’re taking it one month at a time.

    At first I didn’t think the religious service was all that much of a “challenge” but given that it has some emotional/spiritual baggage for you to deal with (and that you felt so drawn to it so quickly) it’s obviously the right one for you to do.

    My guess is that it’s going to have some heavy ramifications, so be willing to give it the proper time to process everything.

    Oh, and Annie Lamott’s “Bird by Bird” is a fantastic book. I’ve given it to several writer friends as inspiration for their muse and for a good laugh or two.

    …

  • http://www.sneakypanda.org Jen

    OH Goody Gumdrops!
    I’m glad you picked that one. The truth is that that was my own sort of challenge for the month and the rest of my suggestions were to mask the real challenge. Kind of like buying magazines and cantaloupe along with your KY jelly or tampons. You get my drift.

    I really want to attend a Jewish service, as I’ve always been drawn to basic Jewish ethics – i.e. be good in this lifetime, not to be rewarded but because it’s what you should do, etc. I’ve been investigating different places in the area. I wish you were here so we could go together!

    I’ve got lots of church issues, as I suspect many of us do. Religion as a whole scares me with its presumptions, but I do have spiritual faith in life in general and its Meaning with a capital M. We’ll see.

    Also, I’ve heard good things about Grace Cathedral – very mellow, liberal, and overall B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. I think it’s close to Godliness just because it’s gorgeous.

  • http://www.sneakypanda.org Jen

    OH Goody Gumdrops!
    I’m glad you picked that one. The truth is that that was my own sort of challenge for the month and the rest of my suggestions were to mask the real challenge. Kind of like buying magazines and cantaloupe along with your KY jelly or tampons. You get my drift.

    I really want to attend a Jewish service, as I’ve always been drawn to basic Jewish ethics – i.e. be good in this lifetime, not to be rewarded but because it’s what you should do, etc. I’ve been investigating different places in the area. I wish you were here so we could go together!

    I’ve got lots of church issues, as I suspect many of us do. Religion as a whole scares me with its presumptions, but I do have spiritual faith in life in general and its Meaning with a capital M. We’ll see.

    Also, I’ve heard good things about Grace Cathedral – very mellow, liberal, and overall B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. I think it’s close to Godliness just because it’s gorgeous.

  • http://www.livejournal.com/users/fivecats fivecats

    btw, on this side of the coast, Wheat Thins are on sale in most grocery stores at 2 for $4.00. Maybe he’s a diehard Wheat Thins fan who had planned on spending the money on two boxes and then realized he could get four for the same amount?

    …

  • http://www.livejournal.com/users/fivecats fivecats

    btw, on this side of the coast, Wheat Thins are on sale in most grocery stores at 2 for $4.00. Maybe he’s a diehard Wheat Thins fan who had planned on spending the money on two boxes and then realized he could get four for the same amount?

    …

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