I had a lot of fun doing this. I didn't get to try everything on my list (dragonfruit aren't in season and parachuting army men are surprisingly hard to find), and I missed quite a few days, but the extra impetus to try new things definitely got me to do some things I don't think I would have done on my own otherwise. All in all, quite a success!
February 1st: Ate a pummelo. It was a lot like a grapefruit, but somehow not awful. I liked it.
February 2nd: Learned to make jerky. It's a several day process. Marinated the meat one night (caribbean jerk!) and dehydrated it the next day. It came out super nommy and was devoured quickly at the ren fair.
February 3rd: Attended the Gator Improv Festival. My first time watching improv comedy (without puppets, anyway). It was fun! The Jacksonville Group was my favorite.
February 5th: Watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with Seth. It was cute, but simplistic. Better than your average kid's show, but I still don't quite understand the Brony phenomenon. I do plan to watch more, though.
February 6th: Paid for someone behind me in the drive-thru when I stopped for lunch at McDonald's. The lady behind me looked tired and stressed, so it seemed like a good choice. The attendant was confused at first, but finally understood and exclaimed 'Oh! You're just being nice!'. The lady waved and said thank you. It was definitely a fun way to perform a 'random act of kindness', but I wish it didn't necessitate a drive-thru.
February 8th: Finished watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. I've loved this show for years, and finally got to watch it in order and see all the episodes I missed when it was on TV.
February 10th: Saw the Official Blues Brothers Revue. My first time watching live blues. It was fun!
February 12th: Helped a friend Henna her hair. Very muddy and gross-smelling.
February 14th: Ate a heart-shaped pizza. Yummy.
February 15th: Went to my first Gator Freethought meeting. It normally conflicts with my dnd game, so I've never been able to go. It was neat interacting with other atheists in person instead of just online. It wasn't entirely made up of white guys, either. People talked over each other A LOT, though. A couple of the guys just seemed to like listening to themselves speak and would completely ignore others trying to get something in edgewise.
February 16th: Watched Netflix on the big screen in the conference room. I was stuck in the lab all night doing a growth curve, so I ordered a pizza and watched cartoons in-between readings. Don't know why I never thought of this before.
February 18th: Ran in the Five Points of Life 5k. My first 5k, went pretty well. My time was around 43 minutes, which I hear is good for a first time. I'm hoping to do another one on St. Patrick's Day.
February 20th: Donated blood for the first time. My fear of needles has always kept me from doing this, even though I think it's really important to do. Unfortunately, even though I stayed calm and didn't freak out about the needle stick, I passed out almost immediately. I suspect it has something to do with the way my body responds to changes in blood pressure, which has been something of a problem before. The attending nurse did not recommend that I try to donate again.
February 21st: Watched the Gators play basketball at the O'Connell Center. I'm not a huge sports fan, but watching events live can be pretty fun. I liked the game, but it felt an awful lot like the teams we're just taking turns trying to score points. Hockey is way more exciting.
February 24th: Played Secret of Mana, a classic RPG. I'm currently about 70% through the game and liking it a lot. It's a true old-school rpg, so it has some annoying game elements that have thankfully gone out of fashion (I have to talk to the old woman hiding behind the tree twice to advance the plot? Ugh!). Still, it's one of the top 100 games of all time for a reason.
