Even though I don't usually respond to memes...

... I thought I'd do this one, as there were so many things on it that I'd done. OK Cat, I've done one of your memes.

Bold whatever you have done.

1. Started your own blog. Well duh!
2. Slept under the stars. Many times. My favourite was in the White Desert
3. Played in a band. My brother had a band, briefly when we were teenagers. I played bass. We were called Azrael.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland. Assuming that Disneyworld counts.
8. Climbed a mountain. Many times while travelling.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. I once did a very drunken rendition of King Crimson's Epitaph in a Chinese Karaoke.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. Does on a Scandinavian lake count?
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. Never had a single poetry writing lesson!
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. Inevitable when you visit foreign parts as often as I do.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. Not really, but only because I got interested in the museum part and lost track of the time. Also I couldn't be bothered standing in a queue that stretched from top to bottom and was moving at about one step every two minutes.
18. Grown your own vegetables. Well my Dad grows them actually but I'm sure I used to help him as a kid before I discovered my abiding loathing of gardening.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. Yes, many times. The next time will be in April going from China to North Korea.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked. A couple of times when I was much younger.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick. I'm sure I must have. Though I can't pin down a specific instance.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping. Alcohol makes us do strange things.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse. Seen a couple of near total eclipses, not quite total though.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Hundreds. They are one of my favourite photographic subjects.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise. Up and down the Scandinacian coast.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. Of course, but this item should be deleted and replaced with the vastly more impressive Iguazu Falls.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. Do the houses where my Mom and Dad were born count?
35. Seen and Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. Up to a point anyway.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied. I'm satisfied with whatever money I have providing I have somewhere to live and something to eat. And enough left over for beer.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. Kind of. Lot's of hiking in the mountains, some scrambling.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke. See 10 above.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. Yes, but there are much more impressive geysers in the park.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa. Quite a lot of it actually.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. Many. Sadly, mostly on my own.
46. Been transported in an ambulance. When I had appendicitis, or possibly alcohol poisoning, I had drunk several pints, a bottle of wine and a bottle of Southern Comfort at the time.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. Scuba only in a pool. Snorkelling in a few places. Neither is very easy with my eyes as I can't actually see anything when I'm underwater and without my glasses.
52. Kissed in the rain. Though the vast majority of my life is a sad and lonely morass that reminds me of Jon Arbuckle's, * I did have someone briefly. We met in the Philippines. It rained a lot. (*make sure you have the sound up, the accompanying music is great!)
53. Played in the mud. Every child in the world has played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China. Twice. Soon to be thrice.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching. In Alaska.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason. Although it's not a British cultural thing, one of my female Arabic students once gave me some at the end of a course.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter. Over the Iguazu Falls
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. There are a number that I had for a long time but sadly all have now long since been lost, I wish I still had the Etch-a-Sketch that got broken in the cupboard.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial. Yes, and very impressive it is too. It's a pity that the ending of the remake of Planet of the Apes makes so little sense as the scene with the ape-Lincoln is pretty impressive.
71. Eaten caviar. I've eaten pretty much everything that doesn't contain mushrooms.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square. Only in the daytime, unfortunately.
74. Toured the Everglades. Well, sometimes I do touristy stuff too.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London. See 74 above.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. Hiked down into it, and with a great deal of effort, back up out of it.
80. Published a book. Didn't actually get it published but it is now appearing a chapter at a time on my other blog.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car. Yes, about ten years ago and I intend to go on driving it until it falls to bits.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper. I published a series of travel articles, they all included my picture.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House. Does looking at ith through the fence count?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. Chickens.
88. Had Chicken pox. Hasn't everyone?
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous. Rolf Harris, Damien Lewis, a few other minor celebrities and - the one that means most to me David Crystal
92. Joined a book club. Ones for purchasing, ones for reading and even ones for writing.
93. Lost a loved one. Again, it would be hard to live for fifty years without losing a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person. Again, see 74 above.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. Actually no, but I have swum in the Dead Sea so I'm counting that.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone. Who doesn't, these days?
99. Been stung by a bee. Who hasn't?
100. Read an entire book in one day. Yes, sometimes I'm that slow but usually I read faster than that.

I might have miscounted but I make that 54. Not bad given that some would be physically impossible!