Six Flags!

Sorry for the belated post. I wound up making very last-minute plans to go to Six Flags with my church's youth group as a chaperon, and I didn't get back until too late at night to do much before collapsing in bed. We had a blast, though. I hadn't spent much time around the youth before then, and I'm glad I had the opportunity yesterday. We've got some great kids, and I'm excited to see them grow in maturity as they learn more about what it means to be followers of Christ.

Six Flags was a ton of fun. I'd only been once before, and only been on 2 roller coasters then. I rode just about everything this time. I wanted to give Superman a try, but I heard it's a long wait for a short ride that isn't quite worth the wait. The girls in the group I was walking around with (along with 2 other chaperons, older and more familiar with being youth leaders) were keen to ride lots of roller coasters, so we didn't skip many of the others.

My favorites were Daredevil Dive, Goliath, Mindbender, and the Great American Scream Machine (there's a reason it's still around!). Also, being in the front is awesome. When you're in any of the other rows, you always see the seats and heads in front of you; the stationary view is too orienting. In the front row, you see the hills, curves, and everything else, and sometimes you see nothing but air - it's awesome. After riding so many coasters and feeling everything drop out from under me so many times, I might even be ready to ride Acrophobia next time I go, or the Space Shot at the Space and Rocket Center here in Huntsville!

A few of us tried one of the games in the park, the one where someone tries to guess your age, weight, or your birth month. I played it last time I went, and won; I don't remember if she tried to guess my age or weight, it might have been both. This time, I asked the guy to guess my age, capitalizing on the tendency everyone has to undershoot my actual age. The rules allowed him a 2 year margin of error, and he was off by 4 - he guessed I was 18. (Not nearly as bad as other guesses I've heard before.) At the prompting of one of the girls, I chose a plastic scepter that lights up in different patterns as my prize. I had a lot of fun carrying that around; kept feeling like I should make declarations or something, haha.

My foot was not pleased with me for walking around and standing in lines for so long, though. I wore the boot on the ride there and back, and I was thankful for it - my foot is not as healed as I thought it was. I probably set myself back a little with that decision, but I count it worth the discomfort today. Not just because the rides were fun, but because this youth group is incredible and I'm really glad for the opportunity to invest in their lives. I was there Sunday night for their Bible study, and I plan to keep attending those to help the leaders and to keep investing in these kids' lives. (Still, after some convincing, I have decided to schedule a follow-up appointment with the doctor. Maybe there's something they can do that will help my foot heal better and faster.)

As far as the job front goes, I've got a couple active applications with Huntsville Hospital and one application for a part-time job at a small coffee shop. I was going to aim for only full-time work (and any freelance proofreading I could get, which is still the case), but I've got to earn money somewhere, and I know part-time places are always wanting to hire people who won't be gone when the school year starts. I've just got to mark out a day and go out for the rounds of collecting applications.

That's all for this update. Peace out!

Daredevil Dive - check out that drop!!

Goliath - my ears actually popped going up the first hill!