All in Activities

Being Intrepid Amid a Global Pandemic

What does it look like to be intrepid during a global pandemic, when doors are closed, activities are restricted, and events are canceled? COVID absolutely has thrown a wrench in all our plans. I’m not discounting that. But I refuse to let this year go down in my record book as one I don’t want to remember. I refuse to let this year be only remembered for this one thing. I’m taking it as a personal challenge to be more creative. This is the time to be intrepid, my friend.

Week 52: I Bought My First Home [Score +2]

For nine years, I rented a small house from my parents. As responsible and flexible landlords, they gave me pretty free rein to make the house my own. They long encouraged me to buy the house from them, citing the tax and financial benefits I’d gain long-term as a homeowner. Then, this past spring, my tax return gave me a final kick from behind: some tax deductions really wouldn’t be a bad idea for next year.

Week 50: The [Salsa] Rhythm is Gonna Get You [Score +14]

Dance—in a pretty non-traditional sense—has been a pretty big part of my life from the time I was 10 years old. Clogging, ballroom, salsa, and Lindy Hop have all been in my repertoire at some point, but not in the last several years. I missed it, though. When I discovered a local group teaching Rueda de Casino—a casual, street-style salsa danced in Cuba—I was intrigued. In this style, the dancers switch to a new partner every 10 seconds or so when the caller calls out your next move seven or eight beats ahead of time. 

Week 49: Active Citizen Participation in an Uncomfortable Climate [Score +5]

A few times during an active legislative session, the representatives for my county gather for “Legislative Breakfasts”—open meetings with the public. I made my first appearance with the encouragement of this project.

As I drove closer on that dark and cold morning, I pictured the scene in my head: I'd walk into a room with perhaps a dozen or so fellow citizens, and the organizers would greet me warmly because they would be so glad to see a new attendee. You can imagine my (pleased!) shock when I approached the venue and saw a parking lot overflowing with 200 or more cars.

Week 44: From High Tea to Gatsby: New Zealand’s North Island, Part 1 [Score +67]

New Zealand is 8,200 miles from my home in the Midwestern United States. Before January of this year, I let that distance keep me from seriously considering making a trip there myself. I told myself, “Some day I’ll do it." Apparently, what I needed was the right carrot dangled in front of me: an invitation to join two friends who have visited multiple times and could share their familiarity with me. On February 13, I landed in Auckland, New Zealand, and my first-ever two-week vacation began.

The first time I fainted was a couple days before my eighth birthday. It wasn’t until I passed out in the front of a classroom in middle school that I went to the doctor and got a diagnosis: vasovagal syncope. With this history in mind, you now understand why this intrepid activity is particularly significant: I tried acupuncture, a process which includes having 45 needles stuck into my skin and left for 24 minutes.