Scared of Rollercoasters?

It is currently 11:40pm. I am in some hotel in Lake City, FL and extremely exhausted. I woke up this morning and said goodbye to Brandi who was hosting me last night, I decided that I would allow her to concentrate on her work and just be on my way rather than imposing on her parents for a second night.

My plan for today... go to Busch Gardens in Tampa. On my way there I could not quite figure out why I was going. I have never been one to get excited about rollercoasters. I worked at Geauga Lake in high school and it was not until then that I started riding rollercoasters. The last time I remember riding one was when my buddy Drew took me and his girlfriend from Yale to Cedar Point over 6 years ago. It was something that Rima and I had never done together. But I understood that BG (Busch Gardens) is more than just rollercoasters, they have quite an assortment of animals and other attractions. So i figured if anything, I would at least be able to take a few photos.

I got there around 11am and paid the 9 dollars to park then another 50 or so to get in. I did not pick up a map at the gate, I figured that I would just find my way around, but halfway into the day I wound up with a map just because the place is pretty confusing. The first coaster I came to was a wooden one called Gwazi. I figured that since my first one at Geauga Lake was the Big Dipper (another wooden coaster) I would start off with that one at BG. The wait was about half an hour and the ride was shaky but bearable. In between rides, I would come across some animals and took a few photos of them. The next coaster I came across was the Python. There was no wait for this ride. It was corkscrew style the ride was nice and smooth and very short. But that was the one that got me really warmed up for the bigger coasters. The next was Kumba, I waited for one car to board in front of me. This one is very similar to the Python in that the cars where the kind where passengers are sitting in the car, but the thing that stood out about this one was the ride was much longer and intricate. Instead of just twisting, there was also loops and some spins. I found this ride to be quite enjoyable and road it twice in a row. I had locked my stuff at the Python so I went back and rode it once again before picking my stuff up. I made my way all the way across the park to Montu. This coaster is of the style in which the ridders legs dangle. It has quite a few loops and twists and there are many times when I felt as though my legs were rather close to getting chopped off. I rode this one twice in a row as well with no wait for either ride. I made my way back to Gwazi and rode it again with no wait this time. I did not enjoy it as much as I was the metal coasters. From the time of my first ride on Gwazi I saw a coaster that had a 90 degree drop after the first lift. I told myself that I would not be getting on that ride. One interesting thing about that ride is that after some loops and a second drop of similar degrees the car goes through a pool and though the passengers never really get wet, anyone standing in that area gets soaked. I made a decision that my coaster enjoyment would not be complete without riding it at least once. And ride it once I did. This ride is of the style where the passengers are sitting on top but not in cars, they are pretty much open seats with the restraint coming over from the back. For the rest of the day I had no wait on any of the rides. I finished it off with another ride on Kumba and two more on Montu.

Reflections

I am spending this evening at a friends house in Tampa, she is currently working hard to keep a mediocre job she just started today.

On my way from Sarasota to Tampa today I had some time to think about this previous weekend.

Getting to Sarasota was made easier with the help of two audiobooks. The first was Open by John Feinstein, about the 2002 USGA Open Championships at Bethpage Black (the first to be held at a truly public course). My interest in golf kept me into the book, it would probably be more difficult for those not interested in the sport. The second audiobook, which I have yet to finish was Gasping for Airtime by comedian Jay Mohr. This book was about his two years with Saturday Night Live. The book is actually read by the author who was known for his impersonations, especially that of Christopher Walken, which he does a few times during the reading of the book.

Being away from home can be difficult at times, especially trying to cope with the loss of the "love of my life". While I was watching the tournament this weekend there were a lot of times when I felt very alone even though I was surrounded by hundreds of people. I had always imagined traveling to Sarasota to watch the Championships with Rima it was tough not having her there to turn to when I had something stupid to say. When they were not playing I did get to hang out with Peine and Damon and even though they managed to create some drama over the weekend I enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. Peine's team, Bnogo put me up for the weekend and even though I did not get a chance to get to know them all well, they made me feel very welcomed into their group. My take on the team: KK really made things happen, even though she was not playing she seemed like a huge part of the team. Sarah appeared to be "all business" most of the time. Cookie looks best with no shirt on. Jenny "Can I use your computer?" Fey got a dozen D's in one point that I watched, she seemed to be a pretty strong offensive player as well. Lex was probably trying to get some of her work done during the games. While Allie was actually doing work during the finals. Kris "Could you have any more spirit?" Gizzle has all of my respect. Dawn & Kevin seemed to enjoy their time away from their baby especially on their trips to buy cleats (from what I hear). Alex & Marie I am sorry that you got stuck with me as a roommate. Kerry "We have Wal-Mart" Lutz seemed to have no inhibitions (I hope she washed her hands after picking up that fish). I think Iris was actually only at nationals to flirt with guys. Liz "Goldie" Goldberg when I did not have Peine to talk to she was there to listen to my rambling, I hope she is not too distraught that the Steelers lost to Oakland. I know that I am missing a bunch but they were all great. I was able to cook them a dinner Friday night, the menu: Homemade salsa & chips, Bacon wrapped dates, Chicken & Steak tacos with Fajita toppings and not quite ripe avacados, and Cilantro & Lime rice. I have got to say that everyone seemed to enjoy the dates... it was actually my first time making them. I had just had them in Atlanta and only previously had them this past winter at Wouter's Belgium dinner party. Saturday's dinner (I understand they could not compete) was not so good pizza, watching people dip their crust in buckets of grease about made me sick.

I was also able to meet and hang out with most of the UPA staff. Through doing the website this year I had been in contact with them for the past couple of months and it was nice to be able to spend time with them. Matthew Bourland I had already known since he played in nearby Pittsburgh. I also spent some time at Kent with his wife Jess. It was nice to catch up on times with Matt. Ryan John I meet for the first time. It turns out he is from Massillon, "Go Tigers". He also went to Kent but he was there while I was in high-school. He only heard of ultimate two years ago, he previously worked at the HQ for foosball or racket ball or something like that. We watched the last two minutes of the Browns game together and then saw the Steelers loose, it was quite an enjoyable time we shared. Sandie I only briefly met but she seemed like a strong confident woman. Will Deaver helped his team break that quarter finals barrier and made it to the semis for the first time. I got an awesome picture of him mid-air doing a scissor chop with his arms. He is the man behind the championships tournament. Thanks to him there was a blurb about Rima in the programs, and between the Mixed and Women's finals they had a moment of silence for her and two other players. I was amazed the person on the mic pronounced Rima Viliamas-Boncha entirely correct. It was a nice moment.

Being in Sarasota was wonderful. The weather was great, too great at times. Since I spent most of my summer indoors I felt as though my skin was going to get fried on multiple occasions. While watching I also ran into a few other ultimate people that I knew. Josie and Lyrica (who Rima knew much better that I do) were playing with Nemesis. Sasha and Stacy (Phil was there too) were playing with Backhoe. Cara Crouch, who I only met this past February in Hawaii was playing with Showdown. Colin McIntyre whom I have played with at Gender Blender was playing with Big Ass Truck. Sarah Lima was there even though her dept. at school might have not been too happy about it. I had no idea she was going to be there myself and I tried to freak her at the bar one night while she was in Halloween make-up, once I figured out that it was her I felt pretty bad. We eventually got talking about Rima and she almost made me cry at the bar saying that she her play in the game to make it to nationals was dedicated to Rima and she said that it was the best game that she had ever played. I also ran into April Hansgate who was watching the tournament as well. Some of these people I got to talk to more than the others, but it was nice to run into them all.

3 out of 5

After watching the Women's and Open finals, I spent the evening chilling with the fine folks from UPA HQ.

Looks like I am going to finish this fantasy football week with 3 wins out the 5 leagues that I am in. Also the Browns won & the Steelers lost to the worst team in the league!

Trigger Happy

I have been trying to take some good photos while watching the UPA Championships. The only problem is that I find myself doing more "work" trying to get a good photo rather than actually watching the games. Anyways, there are some new photos up on my Flicker account, check 'em out.

High of 84°

Looks to be a beautiful day here is sunny Sarasota. I am about to head out to enjoy the first day of ultimate here at the UPA championships. My run this morning was 3 miles in 30 minutes (I feel seriously out of shape).

Sonic, mmmmm

I stopped in Georgia for lunch and I came across my first Sonic Drive-In on my trip. Lunch was good.

Getting to Hotlanta

I left Cleveland around 9:15am this morning thinking that I was going for a 14 hour drive to Atlanta GA. Six hour into my drive I realized that Google had calculated the time poorly and I had already traveled halfway there. I got to Joy & Otto's at 9:15pm. We went out for Tapas & drinks. I guess today was a chilly day here the high was 55... people wearing wither coats, if they only knew.

White Halloween

It started snowing in Cleveland today. I am packing to start my trip to Sarasota to watch the Ultimate Players Association 2006 Club Ultimate Championships.

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