I’ve now sorted ALL 365 awesomenesses into three top tens – the top ten that cost money, the top ten that are free, and the top ten pictures from the year.
Here’s the first list, leading up to my personal favourite.
10. Home Made Lemonade – with SCIENCE!
Cost: Perhaps $10 for lemons, sugar, and the secret ingredient.
Deliciousness: Yes.
Feeling: A mix of home-cooking pride, childhood nostalgia, and mad science.
Danger: Er. . . not getting scurvy?
Cost: $20-$50
Deliciousness: Yes.
Feeling: All the luxury of a restaurant – but you can do it in your pajamas. Win.
Danger: Minimal.
Cost: Perhaps a dollar or two more than the meal would already cost.
Deliciousness: Medium.
Feeling: You get the benefit of messing with the head of whoever you live with, plus the surreal joy of a meal that Just Looks Wrong.
Danger: Minimal. Increased slightly if you don’t tell your housemates what you’re doing in advance.
7. Cake and Chopsticks (the more participants the merrier)
Cost: Maybe $20.
Deliciousness: Sure.
Feeling: Chaos – as you gleefully play with your food AND make a huge mess. Also, chopstick battles.
Danger: Splinters.
Cost: $20-$50
Deliciousness: Absolutely.
Feeling: The best parts of being an adult combined. You can buy AS MUCH AS YOU WANT and then you can eat AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. And then you can feel AS SICK AS YOU WANT and YOUR MOTHER WILL NEVER KNOW.
Danger: Nausea, diabetes, heart disease. Mother showing up unexpectedly and looking askanse at you.
5. Go to the Beach and Eat Fish and Chips There.
Cost: $20 + travel (and possibly accommodation)
Deliciousness: Mmm. . . salty laaaarrrrrdddd. . .
Feeling: All the sunshine and freedom and beauty of the best holiday you’ve ever been on – because here in the antipodes, “holiday” is a synonym for “go to the beach”.
Danger: Sharks, jellyfish, coral. Lard.
4. Diet Coke and Mentos Rocket.
Cost: $10
Deliciousness: No! No, you moron, stop trying to drink that!
Feeling: ROCKET! Aieeeee!
Danger: Bruising, blindness, death. Disappointment (the rocket thing was a fluke – the wild spraying, however, is entirely reliable).
3. Adopt a Pet
Cost: $50-$300 (goldfish versus the colourful ones) – lots more for fluffy animals.
Deliciousnes: How could you say such a thing? What kind of a monster are you?
Feeling: This is the other good side to being an adult – the feeling that you have somehow evolved to be able to take care of others as well as yourself. Also, pets are entertaining and good-looking. I hear some are also affectionate.
Danger: Death (the pet, not you – but it’s devastating).
Cost: About $250 per person.
Deliciousness: Do not eat the balloon.
Feeling: Exactly like flying should feel. Also, gorgeous views. Sheer serenity. I definitely recommend ballooning in your own town rather than elsewhere.
Danger: Crashing into the sea or elsewhere – but that possibility is extremely low.
1. Horseriding.
Cost: $50 per person.
Deliciousness: Not permitted unless you are caught up in medieval battle, then have to make an epic journey of some kind. And you’re all out of serfs.
Feeling: Like very uncomfortable flying, but also a wonderful sense of attempting communication with a highly intelligent creature – and of course learning the skills of two hundred years ago.
Danger: Falling.
And here’s a repeat of the top awesomenesses music video – because I can. (Some of these are represented here, and some elsewhere.)