How To Be An Adventurer

Adventure 13 ~ Kettle-Boiling Challenge 1

/ intrepidjane

Have you ever asked yourself what you might be able to do in the time it takes to boil a kettle? If you’re anything like me, the answer to that question is probably a resounding “no”.

Today I’m trying my first kettle adventure (and a boiling kettle certainly adds pressure to the experience, I can tell you!)

Today’s challenge is to do with words . I’ve posted the results , along with actual kettle-boiling time, below the video.

Kettle-boiling time : 1 minute 25 seconds

Liquid : 0.5 litre room-temperature water

Number of words (excluding repeats) : 26

Performance hindered by : all the swear words I knew beginning with the letter “B” that I wouldn’t let myself say! Blocking any word blocked the overall flow of words.

Big lesson : conscious self-regulation can impede performance!

I’m just going outside and I maybe some time 🙂

JT

Adventure 12 ~ Gutting A Fish

/ intrepidjane

One of the key ideas underpinning my 365 Days of Adventure project is that adventure can be found everywhere if we look for it . We don’t have to go to foreign places or do “way out things” to feel the sense of aliveness that adventure can bring.

When we come to the realisation that adventure can be found  in the everyday routine of life, when we are open to experiencing so-called routine with the mindset of an adventurer, then we are conditioning a constant connection to the pulse of our own aliveness.

Today I’m having grilled mackerel for lunch. I’m a huge mackerel fan and eat it at least once a week. It’s routine for me. And yet today will be an adventure for me because I’m going to gut a fish for the very first time.

I’m writing this before I gut the mackerel because even thinking about preparing the fish in this way has made me feel very differently about my food. I somehow feel more connected to the creature that has given its life for me. I’m not sure how this is going to go.

(I’ve posted a picture of my lunch underneath the video 🙂 )

fishI found this adventure to be a very earthing experience.

I felt great gratitude as I ate my food today. I thought of the fish and of the sea. I thought of my place within the system of all living organisms. I felt connected.

I’m changing my mind about something. I’m not quite sure about what yet. I’ll keep you posted.

I’m just going outside and may be some time 🙂

JT

Adventure 11 ~ Driving A Digger

/ intrepidjane

FFTalbotOne thing that you may not know about me is that I used to be a retained fire fighter in a small town in Scotland.

At this point, I should maybe explain that I wasn’t the world’s greatest fire fighter due to my gift for being totally impractical.

Fast forward to 11th January 2014 and I find myself walking into an adventure requiring some practical talent! (Oh dear).

Today I am trying my hand at working a Kubota KX161-3 ~ a 5-ton class digger (there is a picture of the digger in its full glory below the video).

This is what I managed after a 2-minute training session :

diggerHere she is in all her glory. The first part of the arm from the cab is called the boom. The second part of the arm is called the dipper. The final part is called the bucket.

You’ll notice that I didn’t talk very much during the video : I had to concentrate quite hard!

I am just going outside and may be some time 🙂

JT

Adventure 10 ~ How To Make Your Own Toothpaste

/ intrepidjane

Have you ever watched a cooking programme where the chef says something along the lines of “and here’s something you can rustle up from your own store cupboard” ?

Then they open their store cupboard and it just  happens to be sufficiently equipped to build a self-fuelling fighter jet from scratch and feed its pilot for 3 months. And then you think “yeah, right”.

Inspired by the Store Cupboard Theory, today’s adventure sought to answer the question “what, if anything, can I rustle up from my own store cupboard?” I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had all the ingredients to make my own flouride-free toothpaste!

So, here’s me demonstrating how to make it 🙂 (I’ve posted a photo below the video too which may impress you completely.)

toothpasteAs you can see , the mixture did ripen into perfect toothpaste consistency eventually! Whilst the maturing process has in no way improved its flavour, I may make some more on the basis that it seems to numb your taste buds for hours  (which may come in handy should I be force-fed Brussels sprouts 😛 ). I am also thinking “fighter jet fuel”.

I am going outside and may be some time 🙂

JT

Adventure 9 ~ How To Fudgel

/ intrepidjane

For Christmas I received a fabulous gift : The Horologicon by Mark Forsyth. The Horologicon is a quirky, entertaining and witty book about extraordinary, obscure and obsolete words.

I’m using the book as a basis for today’s adventure (and there is plenty of scope for future adventures too!). Today I am going to resurrect “fudgel”, an eighteenth century word which deserves a twenty-first century revival.

By the way, if you haven’t learned to fudgel yet, you really ought to. In today’s video, I show you how it’s done. It turns out that I’ve got quite a talent for it.

I’m just going outside and may be some time 🙂

JT

Adventure 8 ~ Bletchley Park

/ intrepidjane

I have to admit that I got into a bit of a panic today due to a fair degree of misplaced confidence regarding my chances of long-term survival (see previous brassica-related adventures 🙂 ) . The awful realisation dawned on me that my communication arsenal was lacking the one tool that could save me in the toughest of conditions : morse code!

Thanks to Wikepedia, I have learned that, compared to voice-based communication, morse code is less sensitive to poor signal conditions. In other words, I’ll be able to get my message across loud and clear. I feel so upbeat about my increased chances of survival that I’m already humming that Gloria Gaynor classic 🙂

As part of my research, I learned that morse code was last used as an international standard for maritime distress in 1999. The French Navy stopped using morse code on the 31st January 1997. I found their final message very powerful : “Calling all. This is our last cry before eternal silence.”

If I ever get defeated by the sinister sprout, I’ll have the French Navy’s message transmitted in morse code at my post-life celebration.

Here goes …. (Just to let you know, I’m speaking in the dark for the first 20 seconds. The transmission starts at around the 20 second mark. Unfortunately, the light doesn’t appear to be that bright on the video but I think you’ll get the message 🙂 )

Should you also be interested in longevity , you can learn how to communicate in morse code here!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 7 ~ Gone Fishing

/ intrepidjane

Today, I bought my very first copy of the Angler’s Mail (they don’t call me Intrepid Jane for nothing). I was curious to find out  if I could learn three fascinating things about angling by reading this magazine.

Here’s what I discovered  (hold on to your hats, by the way. This is pretty mind-blowing stuff. No. Really. It is.) ~

I am just going outside and may be some time 🙂

JT

Adventure 6 ~ How’s Tricks?

/ intrepidjane

Today I learned a card trick and now I’m going to try my hand at performing it.  Can I pull it off?

Now that’s magic 🙂

I’m just going outside and may be some time!

JT

Adventure 5 ~ Let This Be A Sign!

/ intrepidjane

And just to cover all bases … to be totally sure … absolutely certain … completely safe …. assured of survival …  Adventure 5 sees my trying my hand (quite literally 🙂 ) at British Sign Language!

I am just going outside and may be some time 🙂

JT

Adventure 4 ~ I Wonder If Bear Grylls Can Do This!

/ intrepidjane

Adventure seems to be ubiquitous at the moment. This week alone, I’ve watched television programmes about Reinhold Messner (he climbed Everest without oxygen) ; about James Cracknell and Ben Fogle (they attempted to ride camels across the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert) ; and about Bear Grylls and Stephen Fry (they shared a wild weekend in the Dolomites).

Whilst I recognise the practical skills and courage required for such undertakings, I did have concerns for their safety. I wondered whether they had sufficient linguistic skills to communicate with the local people should it come to a life-or-death situation.

I think responsible adventurers should take it upon themselves to learn at least one “survival phrase” in the local language of the countries in which they mount expeditions. From my research, there seems to be one key phrase that will ensure survival pretty much anywhere.

The adventure I have set myself today is to say that key survival phrase in 11 languages. Can I do it?

I hope this short video will be accepted as a vital contribution to the global adventuring community. Words save lives 🙂

I am just going outside and may be some time,

JT