Friday, January 11, 2008

Things I do that others are afraid of

Inspired by a conversation with a friend who agitates her parents by working late and driving even later, here is a list of things I do that other people think are risky:
1) Swimming immediately after eating. I don't care what they said when you were in elementary school; you're not going to get a cramp and drown.
2) Eating cake batter or anything with raw egg in it. Salmonella poisoning is very unlikely, but supposing I did get sick. Is it worth giving up cookie dough, one of the world's greatest pleasures, for a whole lifetime, just to avoid one bout of a sickness that's easily cured with antibiotics? Any cost/risk analysis will give you a clear answer on that.
3) Eating foods that have been in any way genetically engineered, milked from cows injected with growth hormone, or sprayed with pesticide. Show me the data that says any of the above is genuinely bad for my health or the environment, and I'll reconsider. But I need real data, not just "pesticide sounds bad and organic sounds good!"
4) Eating food dropped on the floor, as long as it's been brushed off and looks to be clean. Chocolate is chocolate. :)
5) Walking neighborhood streets at night. I haven't met a mugger yet. If I do, he might be sorry.
6) Eating Pringles chips made with the fake fat-- people are quite mistaken about what the studies actually said on that. You'd have to eat a whole huge bag to feel sick, and that would make you sick if it were regular chips too!
7) Hanging around people who are sick. I always get one cold a year anyway; might as well be yours.
8) Sitting slouched with crossed legs instead of with ergonomically correct posture. I have had a bout or two with meralgia paresthetica, but I don't think my position has anything to do with that, especially since my sister gets the same thing.
9) Running (carefully!) in heels. Haven't fallen yet, but stay tuned.
10) ("Meralgia paresthetica" is nothing but a fancy term for "numb thigh".)
10) Getting vaccinated. As long as it's for a disease that's sufficiently dangerous, or one I'm sufficiently likely to catch, go ahead and shoot me up.
11) Driving at late hours. I've got my cell phone and AAA. :)
12) Walking in the rain. It's never made me sick, and it's so much fun.
On the other hand, can I think of some things I'm afraid of that others aren't?
1) Walking in snow. I've seldom done it, so I slip and slide and fall and get wet and cold and think, "People in Boston must just not realize that Southern California exists, or they'd all be here." Once I went on a hike with about seven others and we had to go through snow. The others did fine, but I needed someone to hold my hand the whole way.
2) Bungee jumping, skydiving, parasailing, whatever. That's the kind of thing that would qualify as a war crime if you forced prisoners to do it.
3) Skiing and snowboarding, at least if we're talking about a steep slope. I've never tried either.
4) Rollerblading, especially downhill. I've done it, but it's a bit scary. Proper roller skates have stoppers on the toes, but with rollerblades you can't stop unless you use the back stopper (which is tricky) or turn sideways (which I never learned.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Walking in snow is a breeze. You just have to know how to walk in it. Two things to remember:

1. Don't be in a hurry. It does take a little longer to get where you're going, but you'll get there.
2. Watch your step. The snow may be a lot deeper than you think.

This winter in Wausau we've had about 15 inches so far, and we may get another 4 to 8 inches tonight.

It's has been enjoyable in comparison to the boring California weather. :)