14. Do something completely unexpected or spontaneous, even if it’s as simple as getting a new haircut. To use an extreme example, I recently found out that my friend’s mom went skydiving a couple years ago — because she had a Groupon for it and why not? I couldn’t picture this tiny den mother of love (who looks like the mom in That 70’s Show) throwing herself toward the earth like a meteor. But more than being concerned for her safety, I was immediately jealous. Who knew she was such a badass?
15. Try something new — just for the experience. Whenever I go out to a restaurant, I try to get the bizarrest thing on the menu. I decided to start doing this four years ago, when I realized that I was only eating bland foods. I wasn’t challenging my palate. So, now when I eat out, I always pick something that sounds gross or interesting — like tripe, lengua, chitlins, pork skin, eel or squid. Sometimes this works out — like when I found out alligator tastes like chicken, but better — or not so much — like when I found out chicken gizzard tastes like chicken, except that it doesn’t at all. It’s like chewing on an eraser. As Mom said, you’ll never know if you like something until you try it. 
