I’m 26! And I had an amazing transitional week from 25 to 26. The Saturday before my birthday, I invited a hodgepodge of friends to a small gathering at a West Village bar. I’ve been in New York for two years now, and I was touched to realize that I have such an amazing group of people who love and support me. It was one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had, and I still get warm, fuzzy feelings thinking about that night. My phone still can’t take pictures, so the only real picture I have from that night is the one my friend Kristina took of all the Vet office co-workers that were there.
What was amazing about my birthday was that I had my vet office friends, my softball friends, my soccer friends, my Seattle friends, my Think Coffee friends, my roommates, my crazy dentist office friends, etc. At one point my new man companion made a comment that all of my friends were so different from one another, but the one thing they all had in common was that they were all warm, kind, fun people. I feel I’ve done well for myself.
However, I have not done well for myself as far as my 26 before 26 list goes. I only completed 12 things. And many of the items left behind were not so difficult that I have a good excuse for not doing them. But I will do better this year, I will focus, and I hopefully won’t wait until December to knock the first one off.
One thing I decided to do was to roll over the unfinished items to the new list. But I’ve starred them below to keep track of which ones are taking me the longest.
1. Read Moby Dick– It’s a classic. It’s considered one of the great, defining American novels. I know all the basics about it, but I’ve never actually read it. It’s so monstrous and intimidating, but I owe it to American literature to read it.
2. Eat pork belly– I’ve heard it’s delicious. My former life as a vegetarian for eight years makes me somewhat standoffish when it comes to meat which is why I’ve never had it. A funny note, I mentioned to a co-worker of mine that I was putting it on my list, and he told me that pork belly was so four years ago and not in culinary vogue anymore. Oh, New York, you crazy, nonsensical place.
3. Write a fan letter*- Last year when I put this on the list I thought I was going to write one to Tina Fey. However, at this point in time, I would like to write one to Ira Glass! That dashing nerd! We’ll see.
4. Get a professional massage- I’ve had plenty of amateur ones, but I think I’d like to get the real deal. I work hard. I deserve it.
5. Donate blood- It’s such a simple thing that could mean so much to someone, but I’ve never done it, because blood used to freak me out. With my new career as a Vet Tech, it doesn’t bother me. In fact, it’s kind of neat.
6. Do some gardening*- Ya know, I actually did sign up for a volunteer gardening project in the Lower East Side, but when I showed up, I was actually assigned to re-paint jungle gym equipment, so I did try. But I failed.
7. Anonymously pay someone’s tab*- Does the fact that I haven’t completed this make me a selfish person incapable of helping my fellow man, or am I just really poor and can’t afford it? Something I should really think about and fix one way or another.
8. Be an extra in a movie or tv show*- I live in New York. I need to make this happen and become immortal on the silver screen.
9. Take a boxing class- I’ve always thought it would be fun. I’m a scrawny girl, but I’d like to become capable of beating someone up.
10. Visit a new baseball stadium- I’ve been to 6 of the 30 major league baseball stadiums, and I think it would be a hoot to see them all. So I’ve decided to put this on my list from now until I’ve completed them all.
11. Do a juice cleanse- I’m trying my darndest to be healthy. But I struggle with staying away from beer, whiskey, pop tarts, pizza, cheese, french fries, Oreos. Need I go on? I’d like to try one of those three day juice cleanses and see how it makes me feel. So many people swear by them.
12. Go hiking*- Such a simple one, but I live in New York. I hear there’s hiking on Staten Island, but that feels like a cheap cop-out. I’d rather go on a hike where I can see something naturally stunning.
13. Pluck my eyebrows*- I told a close friend that this was on the list, and he looked at me surprised. Sigh, yes, I have lovely eyebrows, but is there a chance they could be even more improved!
14. Go skinny dipping*- This is a really difficult one to make happen, because you can’t really just call someone up and say, “Hey, you wanna go get naked and jump in some water?” It’s just got to happen on its own. I guess I should start hanging out by bodies of water more frequently and be the creep in the corner slowly hinting that we all get naked and jump in.
15. Go scuba diving*- Likewise difficult to accomplish in New York, but I should really stop using that as an excuse. The whole point behind my list is to have easy things alongside more challenging ones. Things that will force me to step out of my comfort zone.
16. Go sailing*- So, who’s got a boat? Anyone, anyone…
17. Join a book club*- Although I scoff at my undergrad degree, I really did love being an English major. I think joining a book club would be a grown-up extension of that.
18. Go to a hockey game*- I really tried! Last winter I was dating a hockey fan, and we kept on making plans to go that just never worked out. Then at some point I realized the only reason I was still with him was because I still wanted to go to a hockey game. That’s wrong. So I broke up with him. Then I was single, and I STILL didn’t go to a hockey game.
19. Go to roller derby- I wish I had the guts to join a roller derby team, but for now I’ll settle with watching other girls be violent and awesome.
20. Go to a dog show- I like dogs, a lot. But I’m not sure if I’ll love this or hate it.
21. Tango Lesson- I love dancing. I’m also really bad at it. The one time I took salsa lessons when I was 21, the stranger I was partnered with got very frustrated with me and told me in exasperation, “You have to let someone else lead for a minute!” I’ll never forget that.
22. Visit a whiskey distillery- I’ve been to many beer breweries, and it’s always fun. And if there’s one thing that I love more than beer, it’s whiskey.
23. Attend service at a synagogue*- Isn’t Yom Kippur this week? What is that?
24. Go to a gun range*- Bang Bang Bang.
25. Play the drums*- I recently went to a jazz club and the drummer in the band was a woman. I admired her.
26. Lie down and listen to a classic rock album and do nothing else*- This one is sooooooo easy. Why on Earth haven’t I done it. No. good. excuse.
27. Eat chicken and waffles- I’d never even heard of this supposedly common brunch option until I moved to New York. Apparently there are a lot of really great places. And I love me some brunch!
Chrissy's Blog 
I like this a lot! And you look really cute!
Thanks! The dress I was wearing had pockets, and in all the other pictures, there were cans of PBR in those pockets.