Five things

Five random things I've done that other people probably haven't:


1) Been on a game show.

I was a contestant on "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central. It was a lot of fun. I beat the other contestants to earn the chance to go up against Ben "mano-a-mano" in the "Best of Ten Test of Knowledge". Ben - super smarty pants that he is - beat me by two questions. But I had a blast :)


2) Worked as a newspaper reporter

My degree is in journalism and I worked as a professional newspaper reporter for 5 years.



3) Participated in archery competitions.

My dad taught my brother and me how to shoot when we were kids. We competed in some tournaments and such when I was in junior high/high school.



4) Broke my leg running from a werewolf

My second date with a guy I knew in college: He surprised me by taking me to local "haunted forest" attraction where people in spooky costumes jump out at you randomly. Little did he know that having spooky things jump out at me is pretty high on my least-favorite-things list.

But I was a trooper. I got a death grip on his arm, pressed myself up against him so tight you couldn't see light between us (hmmm, that was probably part of his plan, eh?), clenched my teeth and braved the spooks.

About a 1/4 of the way through, a werewolf jumps out of a bush right next to me. I scream, jump backwards, trip over a root ... and hear an ominous snapping sound as I hit the ground.

They carried me out of the forest, whisked me off in an ambulance to the nearest emergency room, and declared that I had broken a bone in my ankle. Ouch. I never did see the rest of the haunted forest. But the werewolf came to visit me at the emergency room. :)



5) Been inside a burning building - on purpose

When I was a reporter, one of my favorite stories was one I did about the local fire academy. The Fire Captain heading the course let me spend a bit of time "shadowing" the fire cadets, including doing a "live burn" exercise with them.

I got all suited - turnouts, boots, helmet, mask, air tank, etc. - and "fought fire" alongside the cadets. Of course, being a "civilian", I had my own personal firefighter chaperone right next to me the whole time. But it was still a pretty amazing experience.


We were actually in the living room of the (abandoned) house when they set it on fire. We crouched down and breathed through our respirators as we observed how the fire traveled - fast! - through the house. Then, once the smoke filled the room so thick we could barely see each other, we all crawled out of the burning building. Outside, I got to help man a hose as we learned how and where to best attack the fire.

I was sweaty and dirty and I smelled like char and smoke for a week. But it was a really interesting and unique experience.