This is what happens when I take too long to blog

...I end up writing a really long post, with pictures!

I have not been shackled to my computer much this week, and while I do feel like I’m missing out by not keeping up with posting or with the blogs I love, I don’t feel all that badly since I’M NOT SHACKLED TO MY COMPUTER.

It’s Sunday already, and this was a marvelous first week of freedom. On Wednesday we never went sailing, sadly, because there was no wind and it was 101-degree heat index. It would not have been much fun baking out there on the lake. So instead I took my daughter to the aquarium in Camden (yes, that Camden). We went into the city and took the ferry across, baking on the walk over and on the wait for the ferry, but it was beautiful outside so we dealt with it.

As proof that the cranky half of my personality is still alive and kicking in the midst of all this happiness, let me describe for you my feelings while being in this aquarium.

It is when I am in large public places—generally crowded public places—that my cranky side rears up and says, “I hate people.” My daughter and I got to the Camden side and made our way around the building to wait in line for tickets. We bought our tickets at 12:45pm and were told they were good for a 1:30pm entry. I was unaware we were buying staggered tickets, but ok. Too hot to sit outside, we go into the lobby and sit on the floor to enjoy the air-conditioned comfort. We watch hundreds of families and camp children and old people and young couples mill about, some moving in, some moving out.

When it is finally time for us to enter, we give over our tickets and go up the stairs, where we are immediately in the large “snack shack” which is not a shack, but a huge cafeteria filled with tons of screaming kids and screaming adults. We make our way around the massive line of people waiting to buy over-priced food and get into one part. It isn’t the part we wanted first, so we have to go back through the cafeteria madness and through another set of doors. We file past the sleeping hippos so we can go see the sharks. The aquarium has recently been “renovated and updated” so that it is now supposed to be “super awesome” and the big attraction is the sharks and the shark ‘tunnel’, which we were very excited about. The tunnel was pretty cool, but not very large. It is a small walkway through the shark tank, made entirely of domed glass so that the sharks swim right at you and then up and over your head. This gives one a very good view of their teeth, since their mouths are on their underside. The ceiling is not too high, so it was impossible to get a good photo of them overhead. I saw one poor father pick up his son (he was about 2) to show him the sharks coming when BAM! He smacked that kid’s head straight up into the glass! He cried and cried and cried and the poor father couldn’t do anything but strap him back into his stroller and make their way out of there…he was kind of like a cat who runs into a glass door and then struts off as if it never happened. The kid didn’t think nothing happened, though. Not for a second.

Before getting to the shark tunnel, there was a series of very cool displays of bizarre sea creatures that live at deep levels. These luminescent jelly fish were like a giant lava lamp when we first entered…a huge glass cylinder of them rising up out of the floor and disappearing up into the ceiling.

There were giant crabs and these amazing sea dragons that look like plants, too.

When we were done with the sharks, we found ourselves forced into the gift shop, something that pisses me off to no end. Not the gift shop itself, mind you, but the fact that we were fucking forced into it…you had no option of going elsewhere because there were employees all along the way yelling you had to keep moving and could not turn back.  When you exit the gift shop, it is at the top of the stairs that lead to the exit, and also—guess where—right at the cafeteria. We still had not seen more than half of the place, and I was trying to figure out why not…apparently we didn’t follow the sign that read, “your adventure starts here” and pointed us to the place we first started to go. But we wanted to see the sharks first, what the hell is wrong with that?

We made our way through it and into the other part that was, it turned out, the old part. It was what the aquarium was before. Nothing was renovated or updated; really, they just added that new part and the cafeteria and the cattle chute mentality.  This is why I fucking HATE Ikea. Well, it is the biggest reason I hate Ikea—I hate a few other things about the place as well.  In Ikea, you cannot go into the store and head directly for what you already know you want. No, you must follow the path through the entire fucking store, and there is no other way to go! It drives me insane and makes me feel like a piece of meat headed to slaughter, I swear.

My daughter and I had fun—she enjoyed the place and I enjoyed the fact that she was enjoying it. And I got a few good photos and I saw some cool fish. But I stayed past my limit, and only for her. I had to swallow down hard towards the end, and when we needed food badly or I realized we wouldn’t make it back to our car, I had to suck it up and get in line at the snack shack and try to buy the least I could. This turned out to be a soft pretzel that cost—are you ready?--$2.75. I bought us a slushy, too, so my total was over 6 dollars people. SIX dollars for a pretzel and a drink.

When I am in crowds I get a reaction that is, from what I’ve read about it, very much like the reaction a claustrophobic gets when in a closed space. I get anxious, nervous, sweaty, irritated and impatient. What's my own reaction, I think, is I start having evil thoughts about those around me and eventually can get to the point where I know I have to escape or I will fucking kill someone. I look around at everyone stuffing food into their faces, littering, letting their kids scream and run around, yelling, slobbering fools. I think, “People are disgusting.” If another life form came down here and saw this they’d be absolutely appalled.

God, I can be a cranky bitch though, can’t I? Back to the other part of my personality: It was still a fantastic week. I went to see David Gray on Friday for FREE with Cecily and we were so close to him. He was exactly what I hoped he’d be based on his music…sweet, funny, humble. He is also incredibly cute and does a very silly head-bobbing thing when he sings that cracked me up.

I saw two good movies this weekend, possibly a record for one weekend! Broken Flowers and Hustle and Flow. Flowers was a Jarmusch film—meaning it was slow and meandering a bit and leaves you without any real resolution, but captures some beautifully awkward moments. It is sad and funny and beautiful, too. Jarmusch is one of my favorite directors, as those who know where my blog title came from could guess.

Flow was a total surprise. I mean, I had read some good things about it, but was not prepared to really love it—but love it, I did. The script was solid, the story was believable, and the acting was brilliant by everyone involved. Nobody phoned it in, they gave it their all and it showed. The movie even held some surprises for me throughout the plot, which rarely happens for an audience, so that was nice.  It often felt as if we were watching something we weren’t supposed to be watching—as if we were eavesdropping on people. It was an excellent film.

This week I get down to some business. Pete has tutored me on how to do some basic things to help him out, so I have many, many files to go through and set up and label to prep them for drawing tomorrow and the next day. I have to call the hotel to get things moving again for the wedding and ask a bunch of questions.

This week Pete and I find out yes or no, he can come. His interview is this Thursday, so please keep us in your thoughts. I can’t wrap my mind around the possibility of anything going wrong with this. It just has to be okay. It has to!

Comments

[Sheri]

wonderful post Sarah. We went to an aquarium in Kentucky once that had one of those shark tanks and it was so neat! This place also herded the people along through a pre-determined path that ended in the gift shop where my daughter threatened to blow a gasket if she couldn't get a $12.95 stuffed seal, a $2.95 pinwheel and a t-shirt that cost God I can't remember how much.

Neat pictures! I love the blue water... very refreshing looking!

[Coral]

Hi Sarah,

You sound like my dad in crowds!! He looks around after a while and says "There's only ugly people here, take me home" in a very sad voice - I have to admit I feel the same!! But good for you putting up with the Nazi style of your Aquarium!! I hate being organised like that, and then ripped off!! Have these people no shame (stupid question - obviously not!)?

Keep well, keeping fingers and toes crossed for you and Pete.

Coral

[Emma]

I like the pictures, we have an aquarium near us and I haven't been for ages. Maybe when the school holidays are over I'll persuade C to take me again.

Good luck to Pete with the Interview. fingers, toes and everything crossed for you both.

[Heather]

The aquarium sounds like every theme park around here. Every ride/attraction ends at the gift shop. Completely annoying.

I'm glad you enjoyed your first week of freedom though! Very exciting! And I'll be thinking about you and Pete this week! How exciting. No too long now...

[Rachel]

I'll be thinking of you this week...my love for Ikea still exists (we just got one last fall) but I totally understand the frustration. I cut into the warehouse once (I knew where the thing I wanted was located) and I got a LOT of dirty looks...

[Sandy]

Whoah...I did NOT know there were rules at IKEA! We used to have one here, but then it went away. Now I'm wondering if it left because we were just too damn unruly ... roaming through aisles all willy nilly and whatnot!

I will be doing the "all good things" dance on Thursday. Nothing but good karma. Nothing. We will accept nothing else.

[Cecily]

I am on pins and needles with you for Thursday...

[Leggy]

I so could have written that post about the aquarium- I felt the same way (the crowds, the "so this is the big deal," etc.) And don't get me started on how you can't go to the Children's Garden anymore (that was the best part).

Hoping all works out for Thursday. Post as soon as you know anything as we're all crossing our fingers for you.