Surprises Follow Up

A few weeks back I told you I had a surprise or two up my sleeve. I'm here to follow up on that and tell you what they were.

First, remember back when I went parasailing earlier in the summer? Then a little while later I conquered my fear of roller coasters?  Well, my friend's birthday is in two weeks and I won't be able to be there so I decided an early present was in order. A couple years ago he went sky diving and thought it was amazing. I wanted to do something with him that he loved so I made arrangements for us to make a jump on my last visit.

The day was absolutely beautiful, warm and sunny. The people at the sky diving company were totally cool and made me comfortable. My friend, of course, had no time to stress and be anxious.  I, on the other hand, had nightmares about falling out of the airplane unattached or the parachute failing to open for weeks.

Despite my fears, it was the most amazing thing ever. It wasn't actually scary. You don't have the same stomach dropping feeling like you do on roller coasters. I am thankful I have a video recording to relive the experience again and again. I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat. I was so happy to share the experience with one of my most favorite people.

Now, the day this blog posts, I'm delivering on another surprise. I told my best friend she'd have wine delivered in time to drink with her cake. She was expecting it to be sent via FedEx. Instead I'm bringing it to her.

Obviously I'm writing about this before it happens but I will be jumping on a plane after work today and should arrive at her house around 2 a.m. I'm hoping when this posts that I was able rouse someone and am sleeping in the house, but there's a good chance I'll be sleeping in the rental car waiting to surprise her. I haven't seen her since August and I've missed her terribly. She's been going through a rough time and I can't wait to give her a big hug!

Planning surprises is so much fun! Have you done anything fun lately? What kind of surprise would you want to get?

Update: yes, I did sleep in the car and yes, I totally surprised her and it was awesome. Gave a little mini surprise to another friend later as well. :D

Fail

Do you ever have one of those lifetimes months weeks when nothing you say seems to come out right? When even situations you handled well seem like they've gone horribly awry?  The last couple weeks have felt that way.

There's been a couple situations that turned out alright in the end...I think (one still feels only semi-resolved)...but I still feel awful about what happened and the way it happened.  Even if I had legitimate concerns, I feel like I handled it all poorly.

I don't look cute like this with my foot in my mouth.

The worst is when stuff is coming out of your mouth and it's like an out of body experience.  When you're watching yourself spew, know it's ridiculous, and are powerless to make it stop.

It's like this, only not pretty...more browns and moldy greens.

I've got some icky sinus thing and I don't even feel it's fair to blame it on that.  After all, other people have horrible illnesses and they can be nice...and reasonable.

Ultimately, I blame the toll of long endured stress. There's pretty much only three months of the year left. 2011 is almost over and I'm still stuck in the same predicament I started the year in, but with ever rising stakes. It makes me want to swear at the universe over the unfairness of it all...although I know this is silly and will accomplish nothing.

I also blame fear. I was confronted with losing something very special and important to me. Sometimes you don't realize just how profound an impact something has in your life until you think you've lost it.

If I gave you bad info, threw you under the bus or to the wolves, answered a question I shouldn't have, was snippy, or snarky, or just poorly behaved, I'm sorry. I'm certain to expel this demon soon...one way or another.

Survival!

Eighteen. That's the number of rides I took and didn't die. (No need to update my will after all Tim.)

Nope, I didn't die. In fact, I ended up having an amazing time. Even on the ride we got stuck on. (Just for a few minutes before they let us deboard. It was a great ride...we did it twice.)

The first ride we went on was called X2. It is touted as a fifth demention ride. I have no idea what that means.  It's a new ride at the park and there was a huge line for it. I think there was nearly a two hour wait. Thank you fast pass (and he who made the awesome decision to purchase it)! We had an appointment with destiny and only waited about fifteen minutes to meet it. I'm pretty sure I missed half the ride with my eyes shut. I was told I missed the part where the fire blasts. I would've liked to have gone on it again...with my eyes open. There's a part as the ride comes cresting over a hill that you can't see the rest of the cars, you can't see the track, all you can see is the ground rushing up as screams erupt around you.

The one ride I really, really didn't want to go on ended up the least gut churning in actuality. I did not want to be Superman, or Supergirl as the case may be. The thought of being launched straight up in the air was not a happy one...even after I'd gone on a dozen rides before it. Turned out we were up and back down so quickly there was hardly time to be scared. The sound of the ride echoing across the park probably lasted longer than our trip. I even kept my eyes open.

I think what made this experience help me to put my fears behind me was the safety equipment. The modern rides have thickly padded safety gear that really makes you feel locked in. A significant improvement, in my opinion, to the metal bar that almost didn't keep me in place on the upside-down ride I took as a teen. I had a hand to hold, too. Although its owner was wincing at one point...sorry babe.

All in all, its a day I'll look back on with fond memories. Wonder what fear challenging adventure is up next?

Turn My World Upside Down

I just want to let you all know that I’m probably going to die today and this will be my last blog post. Why? Today I’m going to Six Flags. I’m going to ride roller coasters. I hate rides. They scare me to death. So don’t be surprised when you hear about my death on the news tonight.

Since it’s evident that this scares me, significantly, you may wonder why I’m doing this. For a couple reasons: one, it’s good to address your fears, right? I fear falling. I fear high places. I fear mechanical failure. Two, I’m going with someone who LOVES these things. It’s good to be interested in the things that interest the person you’re interested in, right? Three, part of me actually wants to do this. It’s some sick perverted side I’m not very familiar with. It’s the same side that prompted me to go parasailing a few weekends ago and the same side that will probably get me on the end of a giant rubber band.

So as I head out this morning I hope for a couple things: one, I hope I won’t need the change of clothes I brought. Two, I hope every safety person has done their job with the thoroughness they’d use if they personally were going to be on the ride. Three, I hope the contents of my stomach stay where they belong. Finally, I hope I discover my fear is unfounded after the first ride or two and enjoy the rest of the day…without dying.

Assuming I live, I’ll let you know all about it tomorrow!