I've been faced with a few challenges lately that make me suspect that the fates have selected me to be a contestant on their new game show Don't Make Me Go There.

During round one, I was forced to stand on the edge (okay on the "yellow line") of a crowded subway platform, knowing that there were a ton of people behind me. This totally freaked me out and I had to hum a Bee Gees melody just to stay focused on anything put being pushed towards the third rail.

Round two, I've been offered an opportunity to work on a project that has me tempted and terrified. On paper, it looks really cool. In reality, this could be the thing that puts me right over the edge of insanity. So I have been doing the annoying "weighing all of my options" thing so much that the DH has now informed me that I have to talk to my secret lover about it instead of him. Even he can't take it anymore.

Although the decision from round two has not been made, I used the "ask the universe" feature to push forward to round three, the biggest Don't Make Me Go There challenge yet.

In this round, I was instructed to do research for a magazine article by dusting off my Rolodex (an ancient tool used to keep paper-based business contact information in one easy-to-access place) and get in touch with people I have not spoken to in YEARS.

And I thought the edge of the subway platform was scary. It's awfully hard to pick up on a conversation that ended sometime in July 2001. But I went there and hit the send button, part of me hoping that each email would bounce back immediately.

Only a few did. Other people emailed me back right away, after probably checking with their psychic advisors to make sure I wasn't involved in a pyramid scheme involving pirate accessories. Or pirated DVDs.

Now I've qualified for the bonus round, but I think I may wait until next week to take on any more challenges. After all, I have plenty of catching up to do for now.