down but not out

not long after my last post, TH came home with a fever, cough and sneezes loud enough to wake the neighbors.  usually i dont catch things, so i'm a great nurse that way.  TH managed to recover in a about 6 days, normal path for a virus, and was back up running again.  but whatever killer virus he brought home about laid me out.  i'd get better for a few days, and then wake up feverish and sick again.  but i've felt better now for about 4 days, so i'm hoping that my feet are firmly on the path of health.  today for the first time in ages managed to walk on our treadmill.  what a joke that was.  took me 6 minutes to walk 0.11!  but at least im walking again after endless days marooned in bed or the sofa.

now if only this good health continues!

Illumination

Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain. —Helen Keller

If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down. —Mary Pickford

You have your way.  I have my way.  As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. -Friedrich Nietzsche 

The Diabolical Dichotomy Net

I hate her! 

                                                HATE HATE HATE HATE HER

but without her i wouldn't have my family

 and i seemingly love them more than i do myself

                                                                       i'm torn to shreds inside

i cant be who i am

                                                               caught like a fish in a net
                          unable to find a way


to be    whole  / not  fractured

  psyche super glue is required

                                                                              






                                                       

Mechanized machines of death

When my friend....ok this is awkward so we shall give my friend a nom de plume....lets call him....Steve!  Ok, so when Steve found out that I've never ridden a roller coaster that was placed on the menu of things that HAD to be accomplished while visiting.  I was game because coasters go fast, my favorite thing almost ever.  As we walked from the parking lot, I was noticing just how high some of these coasters were......a sinking feeling started to build within my stomach, because your loyal blogger is petrified of heights.  I tend to walk up very slowly up to hand rails that loom over several story drops, and the only ladder I'll happily climb is a 6 foot model.  Silly me I hadn't realized they were quite so tall.

Now, I made it quite clear that I needed to start slow and easy on this adventure.  After Steve spent some time looking at the map o' fun he determined that the best ride would be one called Mind Bender.  I looked at it with some apprehension, however he's been riding coasters for 30 years, so I bowed to his greater knowledge and got ready for my first coaster experience.  About half way up the climb to the top, I started to panic a bit at how high up we were going, so I became very interested in the mans nape in front of me, chanting my worn out mantra, "don't look down, don't look down...." and just as I was beginning to think, oh this isnt so bad, the world dropped out from under me.  I was terrified from that point on, and I never knew that terror could keep growing ever larger, but mine sure did!  When thankfully the ride came to a halt, about 100 million years later, I was a shaking leaf of a person.  I shook and quivered and have to admit that I required a long long long hug to be able to move again.


So, we walked around the park, Steve got on other coasters, I quite happily sat and people watched.  Then the brain started kicking in, oh my stupid, stupid brain!, "hmm, maybe it was the loops that were the worst bit of the ride, and maybe just maybe a non-looping ride would be ok??"

"Hey Steve!  Is there any coasters that don't loop? I think that's what scared me."

"Well, yeah! We could ride the Georgia Cyclone!"

"There's NO loops, right?"  I gave Steve a hard, hard look, cause he's a bit of a trickster.

"NO!  This is a replica of the one from Coney Island...."  And truth to be told at that point of the story I kinda zoned out.  So, off we trekked to the Cyclone.  Only to be terrified by this ride as well.  Ok, tis a potent combination of both drops and loops that scare me colorless, the drops alone are only slightly less terrifying, no shaking like a leaf after this ride, but still a ride that was horribly scary.



More walking about the park, more watching and blanching at the rides Steve happily rode and making the FIRM decision to NEVER EVER RIDE A COASTER AGAIN!, we came to Bugs Bunny Land.  Oh, the land of the Loony Tunes!  Fun, and there a coaster sat, gleaming in the afternoon sun.   I begin to think....."tis Loony Tunes!  For wee kids!  How bad could it be?"

"Um, Steve?  Could we ride this one?"

"Sure! This one is fun!  OH..... I suppose we should have started here...."

Standing in line for a little kids ride made me feel quite silly and overly large, but pfft! At that point ask me if I cared.  All I was worried about that I would once again be scared stupid.  The cars came to a stop and we got ready to ride the Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster.  



I LOVED this ride!  Rode it twice!  Would have ridden this ride all day, and loved every single moment of it.  It turns out that in the world of coasters?  Yeah, I'm like 7.

5 on the fifth

Yup folks its that time of the month again, yippee!!  So after getting a gander of my pictures wander on over to Stephen's blog and say "hi!" and look at all the other eye candy.  And without further ado...here we go! 

The theme by the by is "pleasure", and my first thought was not "G" rated, but after a bit of thought came up with these pictures.

 Seeing an Apollo capsule, in real life, whoa that gave the geek boy in me a huge jolt of pleasure.  I wanted to touch it so very badly, but was good and didn't. sigh

 Din-o-saurs!!!  Need I say more!

Bristle Combs!  Went to an aquarium in Chattanooga while down in the Atlanta area, and saw all manner of creatures.  These however are a special favorite of mine.  At one time I thought about becoming a marine biologist, but wee babies kept me in dry dock.

 The Black Keys in concert!  Let me tell you they ripped it up! As you can see, I wasn't all bowed up near the stage.  It was hot and muggy and this Alaskan isn't used to the heat nor the crowds, so no go.  If you are wondering why there is a fence between us?  Its cause TH bought VIP tickets, so there were seats, and air conditioned bathrooms, and really yummy free food!  The fence is to keep the rabble out ya know! LOL

Is there any better pleasure than spending time with really wonderful friends?  If there is, I sure don't know what it would be.  This is my friend's back garden at night, what a perfect evening it was.  A warm beautiful night, the air was scented with the perfume of the garden, and peaceful, happy companionship.

And there you have a mini snapshot of my trip to Atlanta.