Number Nine: Donate Unused Items

There was a big red donation box just outside the dining center, and Adamsito had been harassing me about the hypocrisy of having disgusting amounts of clothes while attacking other people for being greeding and self-serving.  He was right, so I went through my closet and dresser and pulled out things I hadn't worn in far too long.  I ended up with two plastic sacks stuffed full of things - a minor dent in my own wardrobe - but still something.  I think I should clean out my closet at least twice a year - once at the end of winter and once at the end of summer.  Since there were Winter Items I didn't wear in the past six months, I tossed them.  Why keep what you don't need when someone else might need it?

Number Eight: Taste Snowflakes

They were the perfect snowflakes for tasting - big and fluffy and soft and falling graciously from the skies, and shrouded by the dark winter night.  We walked to grab some food on Friday night and stuck out our tongues as we went.  We looked ridiculously goofy as we dodged here and there trying to catch the perfect snowflake right on our tongues.  We tripped a little, from looking up.  We laughed a lot.

Very successful challenge.

Number Seven: Send a Care Package

She asked for a poster so I sent it.  (Along with some candy, tattoos, balloons, and a little eraser.)  I placed everything in an envelope that had already been used once (yay reusing!), covered it with pretty ads from some old magazines, and put it in the mail.

I just got a phone call today from her telling me how happy she was to receive a little love :)  It's fantastic how much of an impact the little things we can do have on others.

Number Six: Get on the next bus and get off at a random stop

It was a surprisingly warm day in February when I had some spare time in the afternoon.  I wanted to take advantage of one of the rare days when I didn't think my ears and nose were seconds away from falling off of my face from the bitter cold.  So I decided that this little challenge would be perfect.

Two friends, who usually bicker with one another, came along with me.  We jumped on the next bus, and got off a stop we had never been to before.  We walked around, pranced around, and enjoyed the squishy mud beneath our shoes (and under my bare feet).  And, impressively, they both got along the entire time.  Eventually we got on another bus and made our way back to campus for dinner.

The problem with this particular trip was that we didn't get lost at all.  The bus we got on didn't have a very far-reaching route, so it was impossible to lose our way.  This was very unfortunate.  The good part was that it made us leave behind our computers and comforts of our little bedrooms.  I like being outisde :)

Number Five: Jump on the Bed

"Snowpocalypse" they called it, this massive winter storm that was supposed to affect about half the contiguous US a few days ago.  Schools closed down, meetings got cancelled, roads were blocked off, travel was warned, the whole deal.  We sat waiting in the study room, hoping for our own classes to get called off.  We waited and waited and waited, studying the whole time (just in case!).

I had three classes the next day - Latin at 8:00, Walking for Fitness at 9:00, and Sex & Gender in Society at 10:00.  I would have to set my alarm for 7:15, wake up by 7:30, and be ready to powerwalk for an hour. Ugh.  I was not looking forward to it.

Finally, at around 11:30, we got the news - CLASS WAS CANCELLED BEFORE NOON!!!

We shrieked and hollered and stopped studying immediately.  "No classes tomorrowwww!!!!" we called out to everyone who hadn't heard the news yet.  We hopped around, skipped around, pranced around, and ... (grand finale)... JUMPED ON THE COUCH TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!

Yay.

I spent the next day watching movies and relaxing in my bed :)

Week Four: Invite a Stranger to Hang Out

Okay so this one is kind of cheating.  I did ask a stranger to hang out - but not to hang out with me.  I think it still counts.

Basically, I was walking to class and I overheard this kid talking to his friend.  He seemed like the perfect match for my friend, who had been on my case about hooking her up with someone.  So I turned around and told him I had been eavesdropping and asked if he would like to meet my friend.

And amazingly, he agreed.  The two of them are going on a date tomorrow.

Week Three: Call Someone Just to Chat

I had an hour to spare as I walked back to my room after class this morning, so I figured it would be a perfect time to call someone.  My favorite time for phone calls is when I'm walking around campus.  I feel as though it's the best use of my time, in both ways.  When you're walking, there's nothing else you can really do - you can't read a book or study or go on the computer - and at least when I'm on the phone, I need to do nothing else that requires my attention.  I'm terrible at multi-tasking.

So I called my Grandma.

"Hello, dear!" I hear her ooze.  "You must have known I was thinking about you and praying for you! My dear sweet girl..."

And we talked for a good 45 minutes.  By that, I mean she talked a lot, I talked a little, and then we hung up after at least twenty minutes of goodbyes and distractions. 

It feels so nice to call people who really get so much happiness from receiving attention from you.  It makes me want to call her more regularly - rather than once a semester like I've been doing so far.  Growing up, we lived nine hours away from my relatives, and I was always kind of sad that I was never able to become very close to my family (mostly because we never saw them).  But with technology and my semi-adulthood, why not change that?  I don't have to regret not being close to my relatives; I can become close to them now.

That sounds nice.

Week Two: Create a New Article of Clothing

We are the classiest crew, clearly - which is why we made "Keeping it Classy" tshirts this weekend. 

Step One: Buy a pack of men's small v-neck undershirts
Step Two: Buy transfer paper
Step Three: Create Design
Step Four: Wash & iron shirts
Step Five: Practice printing design
Step Six: Print design onto transfer paper
Step Seven: Remove adhesive, lay design onto shirt
Step Eight: Cover with protective sheet and iron
Step Nine: Let cool
Step Ten: Cut or tie shirt to your preference
Step Eleven: Wear them out with your girls and take photos :)

Voila! 

Week One: Write a Letter

I sat at my desk with a sheet of lined paper, a black pen, and my box of colored pencils (which are organized, of course, by color group and by height). Michael Buble played on my iTunes. The heat was blazing from my little room heater. And I wrote.

The thing I like about writing letters to people is that you can be honest in just the right ways.  Letters allow you to spill out your soul. They take away the fear of ridicule and the fear of being too cheesy.  You won't have to deal with a response, or with interruptions, or with disapproving expressions.  You just write.

And at the same time, letters allow you to censor your thoughts so you say exactly what you mean to say and what you want to say.  Things don't slip out and become catastrophes before you realize it.  There is such a thing as erasing, as starting over, as rewinding. 

The only problem with letters is that they give handcramps. Which is why I've taken to typing a blog instead of writing a diary.




Reminder to Self: Write more letters!