1-26-13 Freezing times

So anyone who knows me knows how much I HATE the cold... so why then did I sign up to participate in the Polar Bear Plunge? Well, years ago I heard someone talking about a bucket list (for anyone who doesn't know what a bucket list is, it is a list of things a person wants to do before they die such as sky diving, reading certain books, travel to Spain, whatever they want). Well I started a mental bucket list that gets I check things off of and add things to every so often.

My list has including things such as the following:
- Doing something for charity
- Doing something people will think I am completely crazy for doing
- Traveling to England
- Work for an animal rescue (whether it be volunteer work or a regular job)
- go Zip-lining
(I have a few other things on this list but it's not a big deal.)

Well, a heard about something called the Polar Bear Plunge and started doing some research (more listening to the radio station who started doing stuff for the plunge) and realized that this would actually cross two things off my list. Now as I said, I HATE the cold with a passion. I have to be cool to sleep but otherwise I prefer to be bundled up and warm so why I would want to jump into cold water is just not something I would ever think of trying. I said screw it and not only signed up but I did it by myself.... Somehow I didn't have a major panic attack but I even had a lot of fun! I only went in to not even my knees and it wasn't even that cold (it was kinda cold but not ridiculously unbearable).

I had such a good time that I signed up to participate the following year. This time I got a friend to do it with me and I went in up to my waist. I signed up to do it for a 3rd year but woke up the morning of the plunge and wasn't feeling good (My back was KILLING me and I could barely walk) so I stayed home. After that I just kinda forgot about it.

This year for some reason I decided I wanted to do it again so I talked to a few friends and ended up plunging with four others. We tried to get a team together but for various reasons we fell short of having enough team members. Not only did I go in to my neck but it was EVEN COLDER this year than it was either of the previous years I had done it. There was freaking snow on the ground!!! (Maybe half an inch but still....) The previous years it was in the 50s and this year it was mid to high 30s and snow on the ground. OMG, cold!!!!!

Well, now my friends are talking about not only getting more people to do it next year (which is totally cool with me) but maybe even trying to do the Super Plunge (Um, I don't think I could ever do this once an hour for 24 hrs and I HIGHLY doubt I could raise $10,000). I have some serious doubts about doing this but hey, it is kinda fun and it's for a great cause so I will just have to see how things pan out.

The good news is that I have some awesome, crazy friends and my life would be so boring without them.

2013 MSP Polar Bear Plunge post plunge pic