20. Swim in hot springs

(I love this picture more than life itself.)

My blog has somehow turning into a Monday thing.

I feel like this is good, because Monday is the 6th best day of the week and maybe blogging will make it slightly less Monday-ish. Hmmm.

Anyway,

I CROSSED SOMETHING OFF MY 30 BEFORE 30 LIST!*

I swam in hot springs. SEE?

It was a fairly magical experience. My fam had some friends in town and we wound up partying in the mountains over the weekend. Part of the trip included going to "The Crater" in Midway. At first, I was like, that's not a crater. And it's not, except in the sense that it's "a cavity or hole in any surface" - according to Google. I think that's a terrible definition. Any surface? Really?! Pffsssh.

But the "crater" is more like a big bowl with a hole in the top. Think of it as a giant fishbowl made of stone that has people instead of fish. You can climb on top of it and look down. Or you could just look at this picture.

Looking up from inside, it looks like this.

The "crater" is 65' deep. The water is very clear and very warm. You can swim, snorkel, or scuba dive. Lindsey, mi boss, scuba dove (dived?) in the "crater" a while back. She said there's no fish; it's boring.

The water was great! The coolest part, and this is going to sound super boring, is that when you stick your feet down, it's still warm. (I told you it would sound boring.) But for reals! I love swimming in Lake Powell because the water is so warm. But when you stick your feet down, it gets really cold. Not so with the hot spring. I would say it's a mild sensation and one that I find disproportionately cool. Also - there was somewhat of a current. It was surprising but I guess the water springs up from the center, meaning that no matter where you are in the "crater", the water is pushing you outward towards the walls. And one of the rules is that you can't touch the walls. The result? Exercise. Booooo. :/

And that's pretty much it. I'm glad I've now done something on my list (other than the blog). But I will say one more thing, because I believe experiences are just as much about the people you're with as they are about what you're doing.

So, thanks to my Mom, Ashley, Pam, Woody, Jared, and Hannah for going to the "crater" with me - especially Hannah because she took pictures and she couldn't actually swim due to being preggo. :]

(This is the sitting area where you don't have to exercise or wear a life jacket that doesn't fit. Not that you would know by the picture.)

See you next Monday?

*I like to celebrate with caps lock.

I FLEW A PLANE!

I did something cool!

(It has nothing to do with this orangutan though.)

     I think half of my body is afraid of heights. I've known this for about 8 years now and it still doesn't make sense. When I was in Paris (ugh, my blog makes my life sound cooler than it actually is... is that why people blog?) back in 2006, I went to the Eiffel Tower. I had a cold at the time, so I rode the elevator. (If I go back, I want to take the stairs.) There are 3 levels of the tower you can hang out on. Naturally, they're all very high. I went to all 3. Level 1: No fear. Level 2: No fear. Level 3: Complete terror. Whyyy? Had I fallen off at any point I would have been equally dead. It's confusing.

    Flash forward to September 2013. I went skydiving in Moab. It was magical. I jumped from somewhere between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. At that height, everything on the ground looks like plastic. It's like the world transforms into some sort of miniature model of itself. Things just stop seeming real. That small fact, however, does not make it easier to jump. The half of my body that is afraid of heights convinced the half that is not that it should be. Pulling my legs out the door of the plane in preparation to jump required an intense inner struggle between my survival instincts and my attempts to be cool. Somehow, Lady Gaga's 'Applause' found its way into my brain and distracted me long enough to get into jumping position. Thanks, Miss Gaga.

    Anyway, yesterday I found myself climbing into another small plane - which told my brain to get ready to go skydiving and sing 'Applause' to myself for the next 5 hours. Fortunately, neither of those things happened. Instead, I enjoyed a pleasant 42 minute plane ride with my Uncle Jerry. Here's us in his plane. Yeah - he owns a plane.

     We partied at about 2,800 feet. In case you were wondering, that's still high enough for things to look plastic. Here's a better shot of my Venom shirt and the ground below:

     We flew down to the Payson temple (see below), then in front of the Y, then over my apartment. Bizarrely enough, I never had the slightest twinge of fear. I guess I hadn't crossed the threshold between The Eiffel Tower's level 2 and level 3. So that's a relief. It also makes absolutely no sense. The Eiffel Tower is only 986 feet tall.
     Side note (since I'm apparently trying to make myself sound cool), I was once able to say that I had been inside the tallest building in the world. This was before that whole Burj Khalifa thing Dubai. At the time (August 2009), it was the Taibei 101. I think you can only go up to floor 96 or something, but that's very high. However, no fear. Also, the building is only 1,667 feet. If humans are born with a decent sense of height, mine is broken.

Since I like bullet points, here's what I learned from flying a plane:

• It's fun. Like, lots of fun.
• You don't "drive a plane". You pilot it.
• When you switch control of the plane, you say, "I have the plane." This is important.
• Turbulence is fun. Lots of turbulence is not.
• I now have 7/10ths of an hour of flight time. Pilot's license - here I come.

Finally - here's a video I took. I hope posting it here works. I'm not entirely sure. 

*Sorry for the oppressive amounts of parenthesis. :/ (Seriously.)

30 Before 30

     

     My boss, the amazing Lindsey Petersen, made me start this blog. I mostly say that so that 1,000 years from now an Internet Archaeologist (that will be a thing, right?) will dig up this blog and she can be credited with its creation. They will build a statue of her in her honor. It will be 10,000 feet tall and she'll be winking seductively at the presidents on Mt. Rushmore. That's how great this blog will be.

Or maybe not.

So let's talk about what you can expect:

• Nothing. Seriously, expect nothing and I will definitely exceed your expectations.
• Happy things: Studio C stuff? Unused scripts? Pictures of puppies? Who knows?
• This blog could die at any moment. I have no idea how long my interest in it will last. BUT! As Dr. Seuss once said, "Don't be sad it's over, be glad it happened." 
• Me. Lots of me. This blog is me sharing my life. So let's be friends.
• Updates on my 30 before 30 list. 

     What's my 30 before 30 list? Lindsey, who turns 40 in 5 years, decided to make a 40 before 40 bucket list. I turn 30 in 4 years, so I'm stealing her idea. It is mine now. So, after consulting some friends and my inner child, I present my list:

30 before 30

(In no particular order.)

1. Bottle feed baby bears (This is for reals!)
2. Go to Italy
3. Write a book
4. Read The Book of Mormon in a 4th language
1. I've already done it in English, Spanish, & Chinese. I'm not sure what the 4th will be, but I've run out of languages that I speak. Maybe Italian or Japanese or Korean or Swahili?
5. Go to Ellen
6. Reach my goal weight of 175 lbs.
7. Change a tire
8. Swim with dolphins
9. Movie list
1. I haven't seen a lot of movies that "everyone has seen". So I will eventually petition my friends to make a list and I will watch them.
10. Sleep somewhere haunted
11. Skinny dip
1. I'm told this is an essential human experience. Someone (who will go unnamed) insisted I put this on my list. I have my concerns....
12. Sensory deprivation tank
13. Buy an expensive gift for someone
14. Treat my friends to dinner
15. Learn to ski (water or snow will do)
16. Kiss a stranger
17. Dye my hair an unnatural color
18. Participate in lent
1. I thought about doing Ramadan, but I'm a lot more hesitant. So, maybe?
19. Go on a cruise
20. Swim in hot springs
21. Fire a canon
22. Make something with a pottery wheel
1. I hope it's awful and I hope I give it to someone who thinks I want them to display it on their mantle.
23. Write a blog - Can I check this one off now?
24. Go on a police ride-along
25. Fly first class
26. Attend Sundance
27. Ride in a helicopter
28. Ride in a hot air balloon
29. Book list
1. I think I will ask 20 people to recommend a book and then read all of them. 
30. Go to South America
1. I want to hit every continent but Antarctica. I just have South America and Australia to go!

And that's it! So, stay tuned I guess. 

Or maybe not.

-Adam

Bye.

P.S. I wanted to start my blog with a picture of a winking squirrel. Turns out, they're creepy. Google it.