Don’t Look, Just Leap

17 things you’ve probably never done, but should

via Men’s Health

I haven’t done 7 out of 17. 3 of those seven are non-negotiables – so I guess it’s 4/14 😉

1. Approach and engage a pretty girl in conversation with no prompting from anyone. She might not want to talk. She might even tell you to go jerk yourself a soda. But she might not. Done

2. Be debt-free. Compounding interest is like a sorority girl on Ecstasy. She’ll go both ways, but you get a hell of a lot more out of it when she’s going your way. I don’t have any problems here, I never spend more than I earn – I tend to ask for advances often, but that’s hardly the same case.

3. Try the sport that you ridicule most. Golfers and skateboarders wouldn’t be so friggin’ smug if they knew how difficult the other guy’s favorite activity really is. That would be Golf, and I did try it as a kid. So those people could just shut the fuck up and admit they’re engaging in an elitist, inconsiderate, boring, and stupid pastime ¹ Unless of course you’re making TONS of money out of it, in that case I won’t judge you even if you played it naked. Otherwise, carry-on you social climbers!

4. Finish something early. Oh I do this at work all the time. I just tend not to tell them that I finished early so they don’t start bugging me with anything new/extra to do for the same amount of time alloted for the previous (and now finished) task.

5. Let someone else brag about that cool thing you did. It’s surprising that this is actually mentioned. We [Filipinos] seldom brag about our achievements. But this statement right here proves how the American culture in fact does it chronically. Based on my experience, when they first meet a business partner, the very first thing they always do is talk about who they know, what they’ve done, etc. Isn’t that what resumes and CVs are for?

6. How ’bout a mercy flush?

7. Disagree with the person you fear most. I’m inclined to think that I did do this, which probably cost me my past job. Why should kissing ass and compromising principles be part of a job description anyways? Whatever happened to the whole “give me a chance to prove my point so you could admit you were wrong” scenario?

8. Read a novel with more than 300 pages, written before 1950, set somewhere other than the United States. I truly hope that Noli or Fili fit the bill, because I sure as hell will not try this. If the question however (and most probably suggests) foreign literature, then I’m out of luck, I don’t think Catcher in the Rye will even fit the bill. ² Aside from the fact it was published 1951, I don’t think it spans 300+ pages.

9. Eat brussels sprouts. To make it easier, pretend a gun is pointed at your temple and you have a choice: Take them orally or another way. I did, they’re not good, but not that bad either way.

10. You think you’re tough? Say exactly what’s on your mind when you’re at your most vulnerable. We’ll see how tough you are. Is this implying that we should be honest at our most vulnerable? Like confessing love when you know there’s no hope? Check that.

11. Say “Cool tat” the next time you see intricate tribal art on the small of a woman’s back. She knows what you’re really saying, but verbal subtleties like this can mean the difference between receiving an amused smile and waking up in the ICU wearing a diaper packed with ice. First of all, I don’t think my GF can beat me up by any stretch of imagination. And secondly, I don’t think she knew what I was “saying” when I did comment on her tat… I don’t even know what you’re implying I was “saying.”

12. Embrace the male carpe diem death cliché. You will die, friend, and dozens of bungee-jumping, skydiving, scuba diving, rock-climbing, boxing, surfing, and motocross outfits are depending on your “holy crap” realization of mortality to make a living. Why wait? Fix your roof when it’s sunny. I don’t think I get this. Can someone explain this to me? I think I’ve had enough carpe diem moments that constitute my being jaded nowadays.

13. Leave work early for a midweek afternoon ball game. Tell no one. Go alone. Strive to notice the subtleties TV doesn’t show: the third baseman cheating a step before the pitch; where the center fielder sets up; whether that sweet creature two rows over really likes baseball or is just there for her boyfriend. Toss the ticket stub on the way out; you were never there. We guarantee you’ll remember this game longer than if you got permission from the wife and went with five buddies. Sadly, baseball would be second in my list of most ridiculed sports… followed closely by soccer. So this ain’t gonna happen. I do agree though that you’ll remember that, but not because of the game, but the fact that you are consciously trying to hide something – you know how human nature loves to rebel. So forcing yourself to treat something like it didn’t exist does exactly the opposite. ³ Because you’ll have to be extra vigilant not to slip up and reveal your “secret”

14. Go a week without quoting anyone. When you consider movies, late-night monologues, sportscasters, bosses, wives, kids, founding fathers, regular fathers, Shake-speare, philosophers, and Homer Simpson, this suddenly becomes a lot harder than you thought, huh? Very true! I gotta try this sometime.

15. Pursue a woman not because she’s so hot but because she’s so cool. Nah, as I always say, considering how many people there are in the world, you’re bound to find someone who’s both hot and cool, so why waste time with those who aren’t? ⁴ Besides who’s to know that who I THINK is hot is in fact, not? So I may have been doing it already anyways.

16. Buy a stock based on research you did all by yourself, from scratch. Restaurant crowds won’t fall silent when you speak, but nailing a six-bagger on your own beats Maria Bartiromo’s sloppy seconds any trading day. If I had the money to burn, I probably would, but I’m poor, and probably too much of coward to try hehehehe.

17. Ask questions first. Save your bullets for later. Think before you act eh? You mean to say that this isn’t the case most of the time? No wonder people end up looking like idiots. <sarcasm>Maybe I was too quick to judge them… they probably just didn’t think first</sarcasm>