The 50/50 challenge

I noticed that the president, provost, and associate provost all showed up this morning at the new faculty orientation wearing orange. Orange isn't a school color and they swore that they haven't established a color-coordination hotline, but it looked a tad suspicious. Are our top administrators involved in a conspiracy to establish a new Vice President for Fabric Swatch Approval?

I wasn't sitting at the big kids' table but I was wearing orange--on my fingernails. The handout I'll distribute to the new faculty later today is orange, and it's not every day that I can coordinate my nail polish with my handouts. Given the limited number of colors available for making photocopies, I don't intend to make it a habit.

The orange nail polish is one small part of my 50/50 challenge. I'm turning 50 in a few months, see, and I have challenged myself to do 50 unexpected, unusual, or outrageous things in the next 12 months. Yes, it's kind of pathetic that wearing orange nail polish qualifies as boldly venturing in the unknown, but work with me here. I have a few ideas but nowhere near 50, so it's time for a little help from my friends: what unexpected, unusual, or outrageous things can I do in the next 12 months that will not clean out my bank account or land me in jail?

One problem: if you tell me what you expect me to do, then it will no longer be unexpected. So the only way this will work is if you suspend all expectations. So go ahead, tell me what to do--just don't expect me to actually do it.

One of these days I may just surprise you.