#2: Surfing

James Bond and his cohorts surf onto a North Korean beach in "Die Another Day." Clearly, this is a skill I need to cultivate.
When my college roommate Lindsey and I went to Hawai'i for our post-college graduation unwinding week (and boy, did we need it!) the one thing I was dead set on doing was taking a surfing lesson. We found an instructor, and he taught us the rudiments, including what positions to take to stand up, how to pick a wave, how to stay lined up with the shore, etc.
I would have been content with this. Surfing is a tremendous amount of fun! However, when Lindsey and I were taking turns with the instructor, I noticed a guy bobbing on the waves next to us. I did a double take (and almost pulled some neck muscles). He REALLY looked like Pierce Brosnan. Of course, I assumed I was crazy, but kept peering at him when he was busy with other things. Finally, on my next turn, I turned to the surf instructor and asked, "are you a James Bond fan?" He looked at me quizzically and replied, "yes, I suppose so. Why?" I said, "I think I'm hallucinating, but I'm seeing Pierce Brosnan surfing next to us." The instructor returned, "Actually, that's him. Pierce is a buddy of mine; I taught his kids to surf. They have a beach house up the way."
I was very hard pressed not to go up and introduce myself--just so I could say I met him. However, Lindsey and I have a healthy respect for celebrities on holiday--if I were a movie star, I would want to be left alone...so we didn't disturb him that day.
I will always maintain: I wanted to learn to surf to be like James Bond, but that day, I got to surf WITH James Bond.