The Trials and Tribulations of the not-so-New Bear Icon

Austrian weightlifters competing for Germany!



On MSNBC in the middle of the night they showed Matthias Steiner win the gold in the 105+ KG group. His clean and jerk was over 500 pounds. I have to say I liked that he had to adjust himself in his tight singlet before every lift.

Sadly, he lost his wife in an auto accident last year. I guess the gold medal helps, but could he use some consoling? :-)

Hmm. How hard is it to become a weightlifter? Am I too old?

Before I get into tonight's post, I'd first like to say I never want to hear this phrase again in my life - "The foreign DNA sample inside JonBenet's pants".

While Chris and I were having dinner, the television above us was featuring CNN's wall-to-wall coverage of the increasingly outlandish story, the "analyst" kept repeating the phrase over and over again, making me loose my appetite.

Alright, that's over.

Today I went to see my doctor, making it the first vacation day taken from work since I got there in January. The doc was pleased with the weight-loss, and that I'm working out. He didn't even give me a new drug, but I'm still on the old ones. Frankly I feel better and seem to be having less medical issues, so go me!

Since I had the rest of the day free, I did a few errands for my upcoming trip, and then picked up Chris who I convinced to take a half day off and go to Six Flags Over Texas with me.

What was great about heading to the park today wasn't just that the crowds were smaller, but the crowd was downright sparse because school has started up for most kids in the area. Of course the fact that it was 105 degrees probably kept people away as well.

Generally any ride we went up to, we could get on immediately. Sometimes there would be no one waiting for the next ride, and we could go again. Compared to the madness of the last days of Astroworld where I think we rode three rides for the 6 hours we were there, this was heaven.

I also managed to fit my big frame into almost every ride I wanted to be on. The notable exception was the Batman ride that required a shoulder harness, rather than a lap bar. Being big is one thing, but being big and tall makes it pretty much impossible to get that shoulder harness down, and the connecting belt affixed. I guess i still have a goal there.

Still, I was proud that i got to ride the other coasters, sometimes I was uncomfortable - like in the very bumpy Texas Giant - a wooden coaster that tries to cram you into a seat, and the hard seat dividers then slam your hips for the next 2-3 minutes. I was hurting there, and in my knees that were hitting the front of the car.

I need to loose the hips, I tell you! then I'll fit right into that small, designated area they call a seat.

Still, after the second time through on the Shock Wave, I found that I was getting sick and dizzy. Being jostled around, hot and a little dehydrated was not making me feel good at all. Suddenly I was feeling like the slow walking grandparent that only wants to sit down at the mall. Sadly most of the air-conditioned shows and restaurants were closed due to lack of teenage staff. Still, we made a go of it, continuing to slurp down water at each fountain we saw, then braving the heat. Had there been lines, I know we would have given up and gone home.

My clothes were absolutly soaked - and not from the infrequest misters around the park. When we went home, we needed a shower so neither of us would be mistaken for salt licks.

Still, a great day, and lots of fun riding rides I remember and seeing the changes in the park since I was last there - which I think was 1999. I bored Chris with plenty of recollections on how the park was in the 1970's and 80's, mostly dealing with the before PC usage of Indians attacking the French fort, scalping the settlers, and the fact they still called the southern area the Confederate area, with battle flags flying.

So we've gotten back in the coasters, now to work on fitting in them comfortably.