listening after dark: Have you ever…?

Borrowed from Zandria (thanks, I'm in just the mood for something like this—and I didn't know you were homeschooled too!).

Have you ever…

1. gone on a blind date?
Nope. I'm not that brave.

2. skipped school?
Nope. I'm not that carefree. However, I was homeschooled and didn't have the chance to skip until college. And I usually enjoyed my classes, so no need to skip. The one time I was puking-all-day sick, I got up early and managed to finish all my assignments, which I e-mailed to my teachers on time that day...before crawling back into bed.

3. watched someone die?
No.

4. been on the opposite side of your country?
Of course, even the farthest eastern point in the US: a little lighthouse on the coast of Maine. (OK, because I'm a geek, I had to confirm—and see what the westernmost point is. I was actually sort of wrong about the Maine answer. See for yourself.)

5. swam in the ocean?
I'm going to have to agree with Zandria here. I've been in the ocean numerous times, but I don't really swim. And the ocean is not the place to doggy-paddle.

6. had your booze taken away by the cops?
Nobody takes away my booze.

7. lettered in high school sport?
Nope. Homeschooling saved me from all of that nonsense. I did join a community track team the summer I was 11, and I did get first place several times, but there were no letter involved.

8. played cops and robbers?
Probably. My brother and I played everything that involved running around out in the woods. A favorite was cowboys and...usually cowboys. We had real spurs. And chaps. Little 8-year-old size chaps. And cap guns. I love the cap guns. Sometimes we were cowboys with bows and arrows, which was especially fun.

9. sung karaoke?
Definitely not. I've been around other people singing karaoke, but that's not something I would do alone. Though I did sing an Ella Fitzgerald tune while playing guitar during a test in my intermediate guitar class in college. That was unusually brave.

10. paid for a meal with coins only?
Probably at some point. Especially if it was an IGA meal when I was a kid. Do Baby Ruth bars and grape soda count as a meal?

11. made prank phone calls?
These are the kind of things I should remember. Sadly, I think by the time I was old enough to make prank calls, *69 was already available.

12. laughed until some sort of beverage came out of your nose?
Nope, I don't think so. But I've laughed so hard I snorted some kind of beverage up my nasal passage. That carbonation really stings.

13. written a letter to Santa Claus?
You'd have to ask my parents about this, but I'm pretty sure we just figured he knew where we lived and what we wanted, if we even believed in him.

14. watched the sunrise with someone you care about?
Sure, a few times.

15. been kissed under the mistletoe?
Only the mistletoe I knitted last winter and hung in my kitchen doorway for about...six months.

16. ever been arrested?
Nope. I did get pulled over once for speeding, but the cop had the wrong car. I think I laughed at him when he said I was going 80.

17. gone ice skating?
Lots! There was always a rink in the local park when I was a kid, and we'd go to indoor rinks pretty often. Two very clear memories: skating over my friend Amanda's finger; my eyeglass lens popping out for no reason and then searching for it on the ice.

18. been skinny dipping outdoors?
No, but that could be fun. In warm locations.

19. been on TV?
A couple of times. When I was a kid, I think I was on the news because we were getting our teeth cleaned at a dental school. This year I was on the local news because I happened to be downtown when a reporter was looking for ~~suckers~~ people to interview about Casper.

Aren't there any more? I couldn't just answer most of these with a yes or no. It's the story that really counts. OK, 19 is a weird number. There should be 20. So here's another. I'm going to make it a good one.

20. stayed up all night; been sprayed by a skunk; eaten an entire gallon of ice cream at once; made something art-like out of the inner parts of a computer's hard drive; gone hang-gliding; intentionally eaten a bug; or done something else strange or unusual?
Yes; no; no; yes; yes; no?; yes.

Come up with your own! See, it's fun. And confusing.