99 Experiences, Plus More Genea-Experiences

I had been avoiding the “99 Things” meme that’s been all the rage for about a week on other genealogy blogs, mostly because I didn’t think that anyone particularly cared about what things I’ve done or have not done.  But, three things made me change my mind: 1) Other posts I had planned to write are not written yet, 2) “everyone else is doing it”, and 3) Becky and Thomas upped the ante and made it more interesting to genealogists.

First, the original list.  I’ve seen it on so many blogs that I can’t give credit to whomever was the first, because I have no idea who started it now!  Here’s my take:

Things you’ve already done: bold face type
Things you’d like to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t care to: plain type

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (Sort of…)
4. Visited Hawaii. (Twice!)
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. (Both)
8. Climbed a mountain. (A small one, but still…)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. (Unless singing in the shower counts…)
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. (I wasn’t at sea while watching it, but on a restaurant on the Boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ.  But the storm itself was at sea.)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. (Ties in with #7 – got it at Disneyland)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.  (I’ve slept on plenty during the day though! Does an overnight ferry count?)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. (Ferris Bueller fans, unite!)
24. Built a snow fort. (Back when snow was fun.)
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.  (How about “Watched other people ride in gondolas in Venice”?
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise. (Assuming a 3-day Maine windjammer cruise counts.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. (Germany, and two of the several places in Poland)
35. Seen an Amish community. (I’ve seen plenty of Amish, since their community is only about two hours away, but not the community itself.)
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
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. (Well, to the second level – the top was CLOSED when I was there.)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican. (Four times.)
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

That was the original list of experiences.  Then, Becky Wiseman wrote her post, The 99 Things Meme, with a twist at the end.  Bouncing off of a question posted by the MoSGA Messenger, she added thirty genealogical things and asked if we could come up with 99.  As I worked on this post to add my own 30 to the list, Thomas MacEntee came up with a bunch more.  Since my list was ready to post, I’ve added Thomas’ suggestions starting with #61.

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Know a cousin of the 4^th degree or higher.
32. Disproved a family myth through research.
33. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
34. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
35. Translated a record from a foreign language.
36. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
37. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
38. Used microfiche.
39. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
40. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
41. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
42. Taught a class in genealogy.
43. Traced ancestors back to the 18^th Century.
44. Traced ancestors back to the 17^th Century.
45. Traced ancestors back to the 16^th Century.
46. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
47. Found an ancestor’s Social Security applciation.
48. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
49. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
50. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
51. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
52. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
53. Visited the Library of Congress.
54. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
55. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
56. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
57. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
58. Can read a church record in Latin.
59. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
60. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
61. Participated in a genealogy meme
62. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.)
63. Performed a lookup
64. Took a genealogy seminar cruise
65. Convinced a relative must have arrived here from outer space
66. Found a disturbing family secret
67. Told others about that disturbing family secret
68. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking)
69. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby
70. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons)
71. Taught someone else how to find their roots
72. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure
73. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology

Can we reach 99 by day’s end?

Update at 6:15 PM – I think we’ve reached 99 –  visit Becky’s original post for the updated list!