What have you done in your life that is interesting or different?

[Nemo2]

I was chased by a moose in Yellowstone. I got close to take a pic of him and he started after me - it was terrifying!

I thought I was the only one dumb enough to do stuff like that.......I once chased a troop of baboons in Senegal, West Africa, in an attempt to get some good pics........as is their wont when being 'pursued' the males lag behind, climb small trees and shake the branches to offer the illusion of size.

Luckily for me realization set in in time and I ceased the chase......( sometime later, I read a report about baboons cornering a leopard and tearing it to pieces).

 

[davemartin88]

I used to carry out groceries for ex-President Truman and his wife Bess from the grocery store I worked at during high school. He was a bit gruff, lol. When he died, the high school where I attended (Truman High School) was used as a staging point for many of the army guard troops that were part of the funeral procession. Since he died during the Christmas holidays (1972), we didn't miss any school. I was standing in the front row of the crowd at the entrance to the Truman Library when a limo carrying several former presidents arrived for the ceremony.

 

[foxfirev5]

I've spent over 3000 nights at Hilton Hotels - that's 10 years of my life I won't get back. Some great trips and stories but I'm not sure the statute of limitations has run out on some incidents, so I'll save it for the book.

 

[zinger1457]

Ran a 5K race (certified) on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier (USS Carl Vinson) in the middle of the Indian Ocean back in the 80's. As I recall they had a picnic and cold beers for us afterwards. Nice break after being at sea for 30+ days.

 

[MooreBonds]

Personal:
Finished the MR340 twice - once as a solo racer, once as a tandem (although I provided about 95% of the power). As an added layer of difficulty, I don't train for the race - I simply show up at the starting line, hop in the kayak, and go.

Had more than 15 minutes of fame when my ex-fiance showed her true self and ran to the media in 2003 to lie and distort facts of our planned wedding in order to get attention after our wedding was [-]permanently canceled when I saw her true side[/-] postponed. Even 8 years later, she still surfaces on any media outlet that will give her the attention she craves. It was an expensive lesson, but avoiding ending up married to her was beyond priceless!

Professional:
At the ripe young age of 27, began a 2 year stint as the project manager and superintendent for the entire plumbing system for a professional sports ballpark. It was an amazing learning experience, but a bit of depression mixed with the insane stress and complete lack of emotional support from my father (my boss) nearly cost me my life. The silver lining - and only aspect that kept me from walking out the door and never returning - was that it was financially rewarding to give me a major boost towards FI that hopefully won't be more than about 12 years away.

 

[DavidC]

I've raced the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship 8 times. Traveled to some pretty sweet places for training and racing including the Pyrenees. Although all the years of hard work have taken their toll on my body, I have no regrets. Still love to train just not at that level.

 

[REWahoo]

A mention by Imoldernu of a website showing ads and articles from old magazines reminded me of something different that happened to me - my family actually - in the past.

I was stationed in Wichita, KS in the mid 70's and owned a house across the street from a guy who worked in marketing for the Coleman Co, the makers of camping equipment. Our families and kids were about the same age and we became close friends. One Sunday afternoon he came over to ask a favor. It seems he'd procrastinated on taking some promotional photos of a new utility trailer Coleman was introducing. He begged for our help so DW, our four year old daughter and I took off with him to a nearby lake.

We set up a campsite and took a few photos. They later appeared in a number of promotional articles and Coleman advertisements, including the one below from the August 1975 issue of Popular Science Magazine: Popular Science - Google Books

 

[davemartin88]

Represented my company in Toronto, CA for the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2001- the Grand Hall at the HOF was sponsored by MCI Worldcom that year. Met dozens of the players I had watched growing up including Wayne Gretzky. I was given a private tour of the HOF including the storage rooms where items not on display were held. Saw freezers full of jerseys, piles of sticks from every era, and shelves of pucks, trophies and assorted memorabilia, each significant for some reason. I was told to reach in to a pile of goalie sticks to see what I came up with, it ended up being the stick that Ron Hextall used to score a goal in an NHL game. He was the first goalie to actually shoot the puck in to the net, another goalie had been awarded a goal previously when he was the last player to touch the puck before an own goal.

Enjoyed dinner at a table with Al Arbour, Pat Quinn, and Harry Sinden. They spent the night telling stories about the hockey series that Canada played against the USSR during the Cold War. From their stories, it was as nasty and rough as any series ever played, great fun!

This pope wasn't at the event.

 

[MikeD]

I was a horse and carriage driver in Central Park for a year when I was 18. I lived upstate, next door to the guy who owned half of the carriages in the park, was friends with his son, and got the job. Had someone successfully propose in my carriage. That was nice.

Once smoked marijuana with a NYC cop in uniform with gun an' everything in a closed carriage.

Hey, it was the '70s!

Mike D.

 

[DFA]

Met George Bush Sr.
Rode in VP's limo
Been on Air Force 2
Been all over the world traveling; lots of military traveling
Been to Area 51

 

[FinanceDude]

met george bush sr.
Rode in vp's limo
been on air force 2
been all over the world traveling; lots of military traveling
been to area 51

wow!!! ;d

 

[Koolau]

I was a horse and carriage driver in Central Park for a year when I was 18. I lived upstate, next door to the guy who owned half of the carriages in the park, was friends with his son, and got the job. Had someone successfully propose in my carriage. That was nice.

Once smoked marijuana with a NYC cop in uniform with gun an' everything in a closed carriage.

Hey, it was the '70s!

Mike D.

Cool! But did you have your attorney with you?

 

[Sesq]

I was a low-rent pyromaniac as a youngster and nearly burnt the family house down. Me and a friend let a fire go too far in the woods and got a good size blaze going and had to call the fire department. Another 20 minutes and it would have been real trouble.

 

[Helen]

A few weeks after turning 18 (in 1975) a friend and I bought a 2 month BusAmeri Pass from Greyhound and took off traveling around the US. It doesn't sound like much, but it had a big impact on my life and I am really glad I did it.

 

[tryan]

I mastered the back flip and front flip on snow skis (in the late 1970's). Now if I could only find the 8mm footage so I can show my kids ....

 

[Badger]

I have been fortunate to have a full life with many wonderful memories of things that are interesting and things of which I am proud. What is most special, however, is that I went to and finished college and grad school and in addition to other careers taught for 20 years as a college professor. This is after my high school guidance counselor told me that even if I worked my butt off I would still be lucky to finish a year or two of community college assuming any would take me.

Medical issues aside it's been a great ride so far.

Cheers!

 

[JustMeUC]

Not something to be proud of.... LOL

I was a bit of a party girl when I was young... I used to go to a private club in London called Tramps in the early 90's, it is where many of the rich and famous who lived or visited London ended up before the night was over. They had a couple of communal tables with about a dozen seats and you never knew who you might be sitting across from from one night to the next. Oh, the stories I could tell of that place!!

Anyway, one memorable night I sat across the table from "the donald" and he gave me a lecture on my drinking, meanwhile my BF was hitting on the donalds pregant wife to be. I got mad and danced with a rock star with spiky hair who invited me back to his place. I have always denied going even though my BF couldn't find me when he finished flirting with the southern girl later that evening... and ended up going home alone.

 

[Koolau]

I just thought of something I did beginning in the late 70s which meant a lot to me. I had recently been assigned to create a new lab at Megacorp and I had to teach myself most of the ins-and-outs through my own studies of the subject. There was no such in-house lab at the time. A good friend of mine in the same field began teaching the subject at the local university after talking a related department into offering degrees.

It seemed worthwhile to get my masters in the subject, so I went into the first class. My friend (already an MS in field) became too ill to teach and the dept. asked me to finish teaching the semester ($50 a lecture). I was delighted. My friend moved on and the dept. hired a professor to continue and to build a dual level program. I was asked to design and teach the related lab course for graduates/undergraduates. It was a l*bor of love (a good thing since they payed for cr@p - essentially a 1/2 TA position). It was a bit of a bizarre situation because I was designing the lab course as I was taking it for credit and teaching it (giving tests, homework, grading lab reports, etc.). Oddly enough, I got an A in the course. I went on to get my MS and continued to teach the lab part time for many years. Last I heard, the school had grown to 4 profs. I used to get compliments from old students who went into the lab part of the profession. It was most gratifying. DW only threatened divorce half a dozen times (full time Megacorp j*b on top of teaching 1/2 time).