Dan Mooney has undertaken to experience one new thing every day for a year. He has picnicked on a roundabout, visited Newgrange, run a marathon and gone shopping in his pyjamas – and he
still has lots of weird and wonderful'things' planned, he tells
SARAH GOODWIN
LIMERICK MAN Dan Mooney began a permanent job in the public sector shortly after Christmas, while his three best friends were debating which continent they should first visit on their round-the-world trips.
Filled with jealousy at the new and amazing experiences his friends would surely soon be having – and that he wouldn’t be – Mooney decided to do something about it.
On the eve of his 26th birthday, Mooney created Project 366, his commitment to experiencing something new every day until his next birthday. He documents his daily adventures on his online blog along with photographs of the acts, under the blog name ProjectManager.
On Day 41, I join Mooney in Yamamori Noodles restaurant in Dublin, where his mission for the day is to try sushi, which doesn't seem very adventurous to me. He points out that his mission is to try something newevery day, so some days his tasks aren't as off-the-wall as others.
On the advice of our waitress, Mooney orders unagi, which is freshwater eel mixed with cold rice and soy sauce. He deliberates over size and chooses small, but also orders some king prawn and avocado rolls (also raw) to compensate.
As soon as his order has been taken, Mooney calls the waitress back and orders some sake (Japanese rice wine) which he assures me is seriously strong.
So far, as part of Project 366, Mooney has had a picnic on a roundabout, smoked a cigarette through his nostrils, walked a mile in someone else’s shoes, worn women’s underwear, run a marathon, played the Ouija board, flown a plane, taken out a personal ad in a newspaper and cycled through a drive-thru fast-food restaurant, among other things.
Mike, Deccy and Ross, the three friends who are still on their round-the-world trip, are “looking forward to coming home and helping me out with some of the tasks”.
Mooney then tells me how he ran a marathon a few weeks ago with very little training, and almost didn’t finish.
“I was just about to give up. My legs were aching, my back was aching, even my neck . . . I was limping, staggering towards the sidelines when another man stumbled up to my side and told me to keep going. We walked the last two miles together and without him, I don’t think I could have made it.”
This surely was his toughest accomplishment so far? Mooney shakes his head: “It was donating blood,” he shudders. “Seriously, I am terrified of needles.”
He carries a leather-bound notebook with him everywhere, which contains an ever-growing pool of ideas for future tasks. I peek through the list, which includes some yet-to-be-accomplished tasks such as dressing up in drag, getting a tattoo, sleeping rough for a night and spending a day blindfolded.
I offer some suggestions:
“Streaking?”
“Illegal.”
“Waxing?”
“Wouldn’t be a new experience.”
Most people suggest waxing and piercing, he says. “It’s as if the whole point of the blog is about torturing me. It’s not. It’s about trying new things and some of those things will be pleasant. I have never gotten a full body massage and I plan on making that one of my tasks.”
He can’t believe how tasty the eel has been. After washing down the last of it with sake, he moves on to the king prawn. He takes the first nibble mid-sentence and I watch his reaction.
He stops chewing and his eyes widen. He raises a napkin to his mouth. He slowly gets up and walks to the bathroom at the back of the restaurant. Moments later he returns. “I had to throw that up,” he tells me.
To follow the progress of Dan Mooney’s Project 366, see his blog theproject366things. blogspot.com
