The Year of Living Dangerously

Well ok, not dangerously, but I am ready to start my social experiment of being, well, more social, to try new and interesting things. The first thing I'm taking part in is a photography experiment with T. We're attempting to create a photoblog called photoduet where we'll post a photo every week day as part of a weekly theme. This experiment, blog, whatever, begins tomorrow. You can see T's lovely post about my attempt to try new things on her regular blog.

The first attempt at something new coming about got me thinking about some of the disastrous attempts I've made over the years to do interesting things...and of course I have to share them with you.

In first year university our residence 'social convenor', an official title with little to no actual work done in first year, organized a paintball event at this major paint-balling building in industrial suburbia. We boarded the subway and a bus and made our way to this warehouse, me, Tut and all the boys (they may have been the reason we decided to try paintball, but I digress). Of course being that Tut and I went with a large group of guys, all older, and I am pretty much one of the most nonathletic and unstealthy people you'll ever encounter, it was a mess. I was shot in my calf, which gave me a HUGE bruise that lasted weeks. But worst then that, I was shot above my forehead, where basically my entire hair part was neon green for the rest of the day. Sure everyone was nice about it, in the pathetic pitiful way 20 year old men can me, but I was NOT happy (nor was I happy with the whole running around, hiding, crawling and general whole military vibe at the whole event). Thank god our social convenor was smart enough to book a bus for us, oh wait, he WASN'T, we had to take the subway back to residence, me with my neon plastered hair, looking like I survived a war, all the boys starring and snickering. Disaster.

Of course most of my attempts at athletic experiences end in the same way, laser tag - coming in last out of, oh I don't know, 30 people; skiing - spraining my ankle, on numerous occasions; dodgeball - making it on the court once, a battle ensued between our two teams causing me emotional harm; curling - how the heck do you sweep and move sideways at the same time...;rock climbing - ok, I went to watch, not really into plummeting to my death or scrapping up my hands and knees while using my non-existent arm strength to pull myself up a mountainside...

Its not just athletic trials that have banished me to months on the couch. There was the spring I tried sailing. I love to sail, well I liked sailing when my grandfather used to take the family out in my youth. I tried taking sailing lessons one spring with the ex. It was an introductory course, two days of a couple of hours. I believe the first day went well, as far as I remember. I learned what a jib was (well I used to know) and how to tie ropes and all that stuff. The second day was kind of a disaster. I love water but for some reason taking our itty bitty boat out on the water really freaked me out, I was sure that we were going to capsize. And you know how it is, you get an idea in your head and its damn near impossible to get rid of, so I wouldn't even get up to run around and try and move the sails or anything. Thankfully we didn't tip over, though we did sail a bit fast at one point almost tipped up with only one side of our boat in the water. I was breathing heavy, feeling ill, thinking bad thoughts of icy water and death....I think, as did the ex, that maybe learning on a larger boat (the next level of lessons) might have suited me better, but I never went back.

Then there was my numerous attempts at volunteer work. I have successfully volunteered for the World Wildlife Fund, so successful they hired me on as a part-time receptionist for a while. I also volunteered at Canstage (a Canadian Theatre Company) for a couple of years and at the Fringe Festival of Toronto where you meet the most interesting people who really LOVE theatre, so amazing. I've had many a bad volunteer experience as well. One was with a politician running for election in north Toronto. I used to be a card carrying member of the Liberal Party. I paid membership, got the newsletters, the whole deal. Then someone I used to work with knew I took politics at uni and he set up a volunteer opportunity for this major member of the Liberal Party in Ontario for me. One day I made my way up to the candidate's campaign office to do little odds and ends with a bunch of other Liberal keeners. Boy did I get a bad taste in my mouth after THAT experience. It wasn't that people weren't nice, or 'believers', but it was their thoughtless believing that really rubbed me the wrong way. We were to call and convince people in the riding to vote for our candidate, a typical volunteer job. The problem was no one could outline the candidates' values or positions on any issues, or why i should get people to vote for him, or anything other then the fact that he's a Liberal. I'm not one to take anything on face value, ever, I need to know WHY, why is he the candidate of Northern Toronto, why is he the person who will best represent the people, well...he just is....their strange smiles filled with belief in something they knew nothing about proved that volunteering for a political candidate wasn't my thing.

There was also the bad volunteering stints with the Sierra Club of Canada - they only wanted to recruit people like them, not the ordinary environmentalist with limited knowledge of issues like myself; a hospital in the burbs when I was a teenager - oh, we have plenty of volunteers, no need for anyone new, thanks for nothing; Word on the Street festival - a little office in the middle of nowhere with lots of work for you to do, but not organized at all, no planning, no way you know what the heck you are supposed to do!

With all the bad trials I've also had plenty of good ones, which I am drawing on in my mind to help push my to keep trying, keep looking out for new things to try, new places to do. The first time I went to the Toronto Film Festival, I was hooked. The first time my old Wine Club met and I learned that you only need to taste wine to know what's good and what isn't. The 5th attempt at a book club that's finally working. New music to listen to, new restaurants to try, authors and lectures to go listen to, maybe even new sports to try as well, maybe I'll finally take a stab at rowing...well I said maybe...