Disneyland, it'll kill ya...

So, there we were, in the dreariest place on earth... and it was inside Disneyland...

The day had started early for me. It had started the day before!

Vicky and I had gone and made a down payment on my new PC. Well, PC Club asks for 40% down when you have them build you a new PC and we put down more than 40%. We put down almost a grand! But the new box will be my best box ever; it'll be the first time I haven't skimped, when I bought a PC that isn't just close to being good, where I don't think, "This may run all of my stuff" but, rather, I think, "This will run everything BEATIFULLY!" Now, I can't wait. (I won't have the next box for a couple of weeks, because we have to pay the rest when we pick it up.)

We got home, had dinner, went to bed... and I couldn't sleep. Dammit! I hate that! So, I was up. I watched Woody Allen's Stardust Memories, his best movie, in my opinion. When 3:30am rolled around, I decided I'd hit the gym - I was bored - and jogged for an hour. Then, I went home and slept for just over an hour.

Let's recap. I'm going to Disneyland so not only do I not sleep but I also run a marathon, more than 5k! Maybe not the smartest thing...

When we met Paula and Don, we decided the best place to hit first was Disney's California Adventure. Considering my love for the kind of amusement parks - Magic Mountain - I started out being thoroughly under whelmed. Then, we went in... and had a few drinks. Margaritas and Long Island Iced Teas! Okay, I liked it a bit more. Then, we rode rides and hung out and had a great time. Vicky suggested we go on Soaring over California, which is just about the coolest thing ever. It lasted only about 4-5 minutes but I wouldn't mind a feature-length version of it! If it wasn't for the line, I would have gone on it ten more times!

By the time we left Calif. Adventure, I was already done - bone tired. And my left leg was hurting. By the time we ate and went on Jungle Cruise, both of my legs hurt, and my right hip hurt - old age, that's what I figured. Then, we took the train around to Tomorrow Land... and my back was hurting.

Can you imagine my surprise to see the Autopia running again? Wow! I really wanted to go on it, but the line for the Autopia - yes, the Autopia - was 35 minutes long! ... okay, maybe not.

Instead, we made the mistake of going into Innoventions, part ride, part show, all disappointment. It was supposed to be filled with lots of futuristic technology but it was actually filled with a lot of two or three year old technology (you know, obsolete junk) that was mostly broken from overuse. I swear! Something has happened to Disneyland - I even saw dirty bathrooms!

And, by that time, my shoulder was killing me, too. Whatever nerve I'd offended went straight up my body - and I was hurting. No more rides for me. We decided to take on one more "Innovention", a virtual vacation. What was that? It was a display for HDTV... oh my god. How sad.

So, I guess you could say the first half of our day was great. But I left the second half looking, walking, and even talking a little like Quasimodo...

But the whole thing was free - thanks to Vicky's incredible luck - and we got to hang out with Paula and Don for the day. And they're pretty cool. Paula has an infectious enthusiasm and Don is totally unflappable. (But you should understand that I tend to think most guys are cooler than me. I look at Alfred E. Newman and think, "Sure, but he's a magazine model so he's gotta be cooler than me.") And with Vicky's schedule being so busy with her CLA-test prep, I would have been excited to spend the day with her, even if I ended up in a full-body cast. So, I liked it.

Now, to find a way to straighten out my back...