So,
I haven't written a blog post in a really long time. I had to stop during exam
week last semester, and then I forgot about it over the summer. Anyway, now
that I'm back in school and not distracted by silly stuff, like baking deserts
that should simply be named "diabetes" and playing with kitty cats,
I've decided to start writing again. I'll begin with a story that occurred this
summer.
Every
summer since I moved to Shanghai I've gone back to North Carolina, where I
lived for 6 years. I visit my cousins, sister, aunts, uncles, and niece. This
means that it's a common occurrence to go to the local amusement park that
resides halfway in North Carolina and halfway in South Carolina. This summer
was no different.
We
actually visited the park twice this summer, as tickets were on sale for half
price. Once was just my cousin and I, and the second time we went with three
friends. We spent the morning going on various rides and water slides, and
being loud and obnoxious while waiting in line. By lunch time two of our
friends left and our group was down to three. The three of us continued on,
saving the best rides (which just so happened to have the longest lines) for
last.
It
was about 8:30 pm when we finally lined up for my favorite ride. It's this ride
where you lie on your back while going up the hill and then get flipped over
just as you begin to drop, so it's like you're Superman for the remainder of
it. The line was so ridiculously long that by the time we had been in line for
an hour we hadn't even made it close to the front.
Usually
the park attendants rope off the lines an hour before closing, but apparently
that rule doesn't apply to the fast pass lane. People kept walking on by the
rest of us in the regular line making the wait even longer. Everyone was
starting to get restless, including our line buddies we had made while waiting.
Our
line buddies were a group of three guys about my age, and a girl a bit younger
than me who was accompanied by her mom. Since two of the boys were cute I said
something like, "I’m gonna tell the next person who tries to through the
fast pass lane that they closed it." Standard talk to make yourself look
cooler and braver than you actually are (which, by the way, I am neither).
So,
of course I chickened out. More people passed us and the guys started to doubt
my badassery. However, at about the same time we hit the 1 hour and 30 minutes
mark I decided that enough was enough. I climbed under the bars into the fast
pass lane, dragged a trashcan to the middle of the lane, and then reclaimed my
spot in line. Unfortunately, my sad attempt at a roadblock was only met by
laughter from the cute boys and ignored by a group of fast passers.
But
I did not surrender! The next chance I got I snuck through the bars again and
went in search of another trashcan. I found one near the front of the line and dragged
it to where the other one sat waiting. I lined the two up, blocking about 80%
of the lane, and once again rejoined our group.
Everyone
watched the trashcans for the next few minutes. Finally, they were put to the
test. A man walked up to the trashcans, stared at them, looked around, and then
left, confused. The part of the line that had stood close by watching anxiously
broke into a small round of applause. One of the boys congratulated me on my
engineering skills. It was an overall success.
More
and more people kept coming to the trashcan barrier and becoming perplexed.
Eventually they started to line up behind it, as if maybe an attendant would meet
them there to take them to the ride. The line started to go faster, and
eventually we made it to the stairs, which meant that it would soon be our
turn.
That's
when an attendant really did go find the fast pass people. They had somehow
found out about the trashcans, and removed them. However, by that point we were
so close to being on the ride that we decided to just be happy that it had
lasted as long as it had. It didn't take long for us to finally ride the
rollercoaster; and while waiting in line I was even personally thanked by two
preteen boys, to which I replied, "Thanks, I like to think of myself as
the Carowinds hero."
Although
the ride lasted all of one minute and we had spent so long waiting for it we
didn't get to ride anything else I will forever remember the night as the night
I conquered the fast pass lane. And I'm sure the tale of the Carowinds hero
will forever be told by everyone who was lucky enough to witness it.
