Mighty Life List Completion: #95

#95. Open a champagne bottle and let it explode.

When I added this item to my list, I imagined opening a bottle with some friends and letting it explode, just for fun or maybe to celebrate something. That's not exactly what happened.

I've been working really hard on a project at work with tight deadlines. Yesterday I had a deliverable and at 7:00 was still in the office trying to get it finished and delivered. My office usually has several beers in the refrigerator and occasionally some wine for when we're especially stressed.

After PDFing files for 2 hours, and then having my computer suddenly decide Adobe wasn't installed anymore, I decided to search the kitchen for a drink and found a bottle of pink Prosecco. Success!

Last week I bought a mini bottle of champagne to celebrate another deadline and this weekend we had champagne at our wedding shower. Why do I mention these? Because I managed to open 3.5 bottles with little to no spillage. Just as I've opened several bottles in the past with little to no spillage. Until yesterday.

I followed the instructions I know, popped the cork – still don't know where that went – and champagne exploded all over the kitchen and me. It was all over my (cashmere) sweater, in my hair, and even in my ears. There was about 3 inches of it left in the bottle which I promptly poured in my glass and gulped while I cleaned up my mess.

The only other people in the office at the time were the cleaning ladies and two of my co-workers. I walked back to my desk to continue working like nothing had happened. Except, of course, for the fact that I appeared to be leaking champagne.

My officemate returned from dinner shortly after this, saw me covered in champagne, and exclaimed, "What in the hell happened here?" I guess it's not every day you walk into your office and see your normally conscientious coworker coated in alcohol. At least not on a Wednesday.

As I continued working I continued getting more and more sticky. My officemate offered me a tshirt he had at his desk so I changed into that for the metro ride home. It was an extra large, bright yellow, "Four Loko" tshirt, by the way. I made everyone in the office promise that if I was in an accident that they would publicly declare that I'm normally a fairly nice dresser.

Now I will cross this off my list, with a fat marker and a star, because I never need to experience this again.

Mighty Life List: Completions

76. Donate my hair.

Completed in December 2008 when I donated 10 inches of my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

85. Wear a tutu.

Completed in October 2008 when I went as a ladybug for my first work Halloween party. The tutu is still in my closet and I'm dying to wear it again.

109. Play beer pong.

Completed in April 2012 as one of the stops at Shana's cape party bar crawl.

110. Lounge on a piano.

Completed in August 2012 at my cousin's bridal luncheon.

Mighty Life List #5: Win an Award

I've been terrible about tracking my Mighty Life List here. I have been slowly crossing off some items and will provide an update at some point. For now I'll highlight one that I thought would take much longer to cross off.

Last week, at my company's Annual Meeting/Halloween party, I received the "Star Performer" award. This award is given out to 1 or 2 employees each year and comes with a trophy, bonus, and my bosses standing in front of everyone saying nice things about me and my work.

The award sitting on my desk. I had it hidden
more on the side but my bosses moved it so it's near
the doorway.

I know I work hard and am good at what I do but I certainly don't think I work the hardest or do the greatest work. So for that I do feel quite embarrassed for the recognition. But I also know that not everyone is lucky enough to receive recognition for their work so I'll take it, smile, and be grateful. I've been at my job for nearly 5 years and it can be stressful and frustrating and annoying but for the most part I just love it and feel very blessed.

Getting mine from our office manager. It was a day late
due to the hurricane so I had our technical director's in the interim.

Mighty Life List

About a year ago I began reading the blog Mighty Girl. It’s written by Maggie, a San Francisco-based journalist. She is a really good writer with a great sense of humor and outlook on life. Maggie has what she calls a Mighty Life List, which is 100 things she wants to do before she goes. Basically a bucket list, but with a lot of just general life-improving and life-empowering items. 

I’ve had a bucket list in my head for years, and finally wrote down some of the items in a draft email last year. But after a friend more or less “finished” writing her MLL, I was finally inspired to sit down and itemize and categorize mine.

Now, as Ms. Over Achiever, I’m incredibly, incredibly wary of putting my goals and hopes and dreams and plans out there for all to see knowing that I may never complete them. Let me repeat that: I might not complete everything on my list. And that’s ok. It doesn’t mean I’m a failure. No, really, it’s ok. (Maybe if I repeat that enough I’ll actually start to believe it one day.)

While I’m not ready to share my full list yet/ever, I am ok sharing bits and pieces of it, starting with a few items already crossed off.

(I let myself retroactively add and cross off items if they were things I’d always wanted to do and if, when I did them, had thought to myself, “Wow, I’ve always wanted to do this, now I can cross it off the [hypothetical] list.”)

All of these are from the “Just Fun” category.

88. Catch the bouquet at a wedding.

Completed at my sister’s wedding in October 2008.

91. Eat gelato on the Spanish Steps in Rome (as in Roman Holiday.)

Completed on my trip to Rome in Summer 2005.

96. Play in a fountain.

Completed on one of the most perfect days of my life in May 2006. (If you look closely at the picture you can see me and Brandie running for the center of the fountain.)

  

104. Try out for Jeopardy.

Attempted/completed in August 2005. Jeopardy came to UNC (and State and Duke) to audition contestants for a college tournament they were filming in Raleigh. I made it past the first round but missed the second round because my professor, despite it being the first day of classes, kept my class the full hour and a half. I did, however, attend a taping of one of the shows at the RBC Center a few months later.