Kiddieland

Kiddieland is an amusement park from my childhood that is closing this fall as part of a family quabble about land. My dad sent me the news story while I was at camp. I hadn't been there since 1993. I sent him back a postcard in all caps "WE MUST GO TO KIDDIELAND!" So, this weekend, before I left his house for The Stanley Cruise (which is actually just the code name my sister and I gave our week together before I go back to school), we knew we had to go to Kiddieland.

The whole way there I think both of us got increasingly concerned about what we just signed on to do. Yeah, Kiddieland is a place for kids and parents, but I'm, um, 21. It was over an hour away, so it's not like we could just decided to go back home. We entered kind of agreeing even if we didn't do anything it would be worth the trip because we wanted to be in the atmosphere one last time. The middle attraction is the roller coaster called The Little Dipper. It looked like I could do that. As we crept up in line, I saw that probably both of us could squeeze into a car. When it was our turn we both got in t he dink-o-ride, and it took off. It was so much fun! We were both laughing as we zig-zagged all over up and down!

It was great! We went on several other rides, ate a bag of roasted almonds, laughed at all the funny kids being kids, and left about three hours later very satisfied. Blah blah blah being a kid doesn't stop at a certain age blah. But, it's true.

Goodbye Kiddieland! Thanks for 80 great years! You will be missed!

All On One Run

Running along the canal behind Char's house I saw several things worth note:

1. a sign on a bridge that said "NO STOPPING OR STANDING ON BRIDGE" with spray paint over it reading "fuck you Ottawa I'll stand where I want!!!"
2. two guys smoking pot underneath the bridge where I had happened to stop to tie my shoe
3. a swastica on a telephone pole

More importantly I started feeling nostalgic for Japan. The weather is getting to be how it was there around Halloween. And I've been listening to "Halloweenhead" a lot lately...and I remember eating some jack-o-lantern themed Koala Yummies at a Circle K with Bradley and...

Well it's just unfair, really. I was nostalgic for fall in the US when I was there, but now all I can remember is what it felt like in Nihon.

Head full of tricks and treats, it leads me through the nighttime streets

True Phone Conversation

Me: I have a question for you.
Kay: Okay.
Me: How do you wake up Lady GaGa?
Kay: Glitter. I'd--
Me: No.
Kay: I think she'd like that--
Me: No.
Kay: Oh. Oh. Is this a riddle? I thought it was just a cool question. I was into it.
Me: No.
Kay: Okay well usually when you have a riddle, you say it's a riddle. You don't just ask a question--Oh. Poke her face.
Me: Yeah!
Kay: That's a stupid joke, Alice. If you use that joke to audition for Second City, you will not get in.

H-O-R-S-E

Today Char and I played one-on-one and Horse in the driveway. I lost miserably of course. The highlight of everything was probably after missing the second shot him exclaiming quite proudly "My daughter is a HO! A HO!"

Hamster Races

Last weekend, I attended the second annual hamster races at Frank's pet shop. 20 rodents in plastic running-balls lining up against each other to be the fastest critter down the track.

There was a nine year-old boy screaming his head off, turning red, and smacking the floor in front of his 'ster. COME ON CRACKERS! He screeched.

Of course, now I want a hamster. I've wanted one since I found a bat in the daytime curled up on a tree branch at camp. I found it again the next day and it was dead. I took a slew of photos before realizing its living state. Its name was Stellaluna or Stella for short.

In a year I WILL have an adorable dwarf hamster. It will be Stella's pretend sissy, thus named Blanche.