Keeping busy

PC and I had loads of fun together this weekend. Friday night we played Wii. PC beat me so many times in MarioKart that I finally insisted we switch games. I tried to do it nicely. Not like the time he beat me at Wii lightsaber fighting and I threw the controller and the couch and said I wasn't going to play with him anymore. "Fine," he said, and he hasn't played that game with me since. So I knew I better be nice about getting whooped at MarioKart. And I was! PC played Rock Band with me. He was the guest bassist in my band, The Godfathers.

Saturday we went to Six Flags with adult friends. Most of our trips to Six Flags have involved the youth group. Going with just adults was great! I don't really like roller coasters, but I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the shade and knitting while everyone else went on the big rides. Just to prove I wasn't a total wuss, I said I would ride the Screaming Eagle, one of the smaller wooden roller coasters. I played the Big Girl, but inside I was hella nervous. When we got to the front of the line, the coaster shut down for repairs. Saved by the maintenance guy! I got street cred AND I didn't have to risk my life.

I used to love roller coasters. Once, when I was in high school, I rode the Texas Giant 10 times in one day. The Texas Giant is a real gut blender - the kind of experience you don't do unless you have a chiropractic adjustment scheduled the next day. And I could ride it all day long. (Heh, heh.) Anyway, a few years ago PC and I hit Six Flags with the youth group. We went straight to The Boss, Missouri's version of the Texas Giant. Halfway through the ride, I knew something was not right. I desperately wanted to get off. I kept looking all around for a way out, an emergency brake or even a parachute. When the ride stopped, I had the shakes all over. I tried to hide it, but as soon as PC asked, "Are you OK?" I started crying. I was surprised because I really thought I liked roller coasters. I guess somewhere between the age of 18 and 25, my G-force tolerance dipped to almost nothing. I wonder whether knitting and roller-coasting are mutually exclusive hobbies. I mean, obviously you can't do both at once - knitting on a roller coaster would be a good way to get a stick in your eye. But maybe you can't even like them both at once. I started knitting when I was 23, so the timing would be just about right. If I could go back in time, I would still become a knitter and sacrifice roller coasters.