OMFG, revisited.

Ok, so, it appears that

I AM GOING SKYDIVING ON WEDNESDAY.

omgomgomgomg.

Here's the big question: do I spring for the video and pictures? It's expensive, and I have to decide soon, not at the last minute. Arrrgh. The jump is very expensive to start with. And does anyone ever watch those videos? BUT it also comes with eleventyhundred stills also...

omg omg omg omg.

Have you ever been?

The tagline of Tatsu is "fly at the speed of fear".

So, if you're following along at home, you know that I'm at camp, the summer's almost over, and that I'm somehow really into trying new things. So the day after the horseback ride was Magic Mountain/earthquake day, and the day after that I went on my first-ever mountain biking ride. It wasn't too intense of a ride, but it was reallllllly fun and I got to go to new places in camp that I hadn't seen before (i.e. the breathtakingly unexciting and disappointing old well) and I really enjoyed it. The craziest part was the downhill way-back (as opposed to the huff-and-puff uphill way-there) and going uncontrollably fast over a former creek bed which is now all rocks. All I could do was hold on for dear life and hope I kept going on the trail and didn't fall off - gritted teeth, slotted eyes, held breath... love it! Why? Why do we love this, and roller coasters, and fear-as-fun?

Reinhold Messner, the world's most accomplished mountain climber, gave an interview in the November 2006 National Geographic. “Without the possibility of death,” says Messner, “adventure is not possible.”

Think that's it?

(On the last bit of the bike ride, I did something else for the first time ever, something I've sort of been trying to do for weeks: I rode with no hands! Well, I still technically had hands, but I didn't use them to hold on while I rode. It was really easy on the camp's mountain bike, even though I hadn't been able to do it at all on my own bike. I'm kinda thinking maybe it's time to upgrade from my $30 Target special. Whatcha think? And if I am gonna spend a little more for a Real Bike, what kind? How much? From where? Help!)

Coasters and other earth-shaking news

What if you were riding a roller coaster, and there was an earthquake while you were on it, like at some crazy high scary moment??

I know, this is a crazy question and would be a crazy coincidence if it happened, what are the chances, etc. Except... well, I live in California now, and I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain last night and went on SUPERAMAZINGSCARYAWESOME roller coasters, and then there was an earthquake.

Ho.Lee.Cow.

First of all: last night was definitely in keeping with the do-what-you're-afraid-of theme, because while I like roller coasters, I'm no crazy fearless do-em-all kind. But I was with a whole bunch of people, and we were all having a really great time, and I had a buddy to hold my hand, and... well, check it out: Colossus (great classic wooden one to getcha started...clickclickclick on the incline....) and then Scream (oh, I did indeed. This one was great.) and then Batman (um, kind of sucked. Skip it.) And then... WOW: I rode GOLIATH. Wow. And then.

And then.
And then roller coastering changed for me forever. I rode Tatsu and let me tell you, it is a new genre of roller coaster. The website says this is "the tallest, fastest and longest flying coaster on Earth." You gotta try this shit. You will never come closer to actually flying than this thing. It's unbelievable. It's amazing. I almost cried.

And if the park weren't closed by that time, I would have ridden it again. And again. Wow.


So, yeah, and then I got back to camp and was checking my email and there was an earthquake. And apparently, although it was absolutely the first real earthquake I ever felt in my entire life, it was only a minor aftershock of a quake in Chatsworth. (Wow: just added the link above to the reuters article about the quake, and it totally mentions my favorite thing about the Valley, as documented here previously. Love it!)

What a day.

Hope all my bookcases are home are still standing.

Practice what you preach, Or, why Scared Is Ok.

I have a lot to say on the subject of doing stuff you're afraid of. The bottom line is: I believe in it. I think being scared is good and healthy, and going ahead and doing stuff even though you're afraid of it is also (often) good and healthy. Being scared is only not ok if it stops you from doing stuff, from living, from trying new things. Camp always makes me think about this, and inspires me a little, because I spend a lot of time encouraging kids to try new activities or to do things they are scared of. I think I never say, "Don't be afraid." I just say, "It's ok to be afraid, but do it anyway." And then someone asks me if I want to climb the tower or go on a horseback ride, and what can I do but accept?

The result: my butt is going to be very sore, and I've seen yet more bits of our amazing 3,000-acre property that I never saw before. Love it.

Hooray for camp.