It's so convenient when a week simply clicks into place, as it did today.
Mom woke me up late this morning to say that the head campus supervisor at La Mesa was on the phone, asking if I'd be available to sub on Wednesday. I am, and it works out well, because on Saturday, I have to be up way earlier than usual. Six Flags Magic Mountain is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and I don't want to miss a minute that gives me a lot of time on Ninja. Plus, I want to see what Superman merchandise there is, especially t-shirts, and maybe a better Ninja t-shirt than the one I have, which isn't even a design of the ride itself, but of a section of the park. It has facts about Ninja, such as the length of the track and the top speed, but that's not enough for me. This will be my final visit to Magic Mountain and I want a souvenir that matches the day.
The job on Wednesday means that I have to go to bed much earlier, probably a little after midnight, since Dad leaves the house at 7 a.m., because installation of solar panels around the school and repaving of the parking lot has left the parking situation a mess. The logical thing to do would have been to get all this done during winter break. This is what Dad has to contend with every day now, so he wants to get a decent parking space that avoids the hassle of driving out of the campus at the end of the day.
Because I haven't been a substitute campus supervisor for a few weeks, I'll be worn out when I get home, which means I'll crash early, towards midnight most likely. That brings me to 8 a.m. or so on Thursday morning, and if I keep to that schedule for Friday and Saturday morning, we can get to Six Flags before the gates open, which is what we've done anyway for the few years we've participated in this toy drive. Mom's still thinking about whether she wants to go, since it is a lot of walking in one day, but she probably will, since there's roasted corn that's the best we've ever had. With the redesign of the former Gotham City Backlot into D.C. Universe, the roasted corn stand is now called Kent Farms (after Superman), and Meridith's hoping that there's more seasonings available. I'm content with the lemon-pepper seasoning they had last time. She's hoping for parmesan or another cheese-like seasoning, because she'll just dump the entire container onto her roasted corn and then tell the person behind the counter that they're out of seasoning. Incorrigible cheese fanatic which is always entertaining.
I won't miss Magic Mountain after we move, but I do appreciate the relief it has brought from existing in this valley. It's the one place that's markedly different from anything else here, and though that's obvious by the rollercoasters alone, there's a different feeling to it, that of pure pleasure, as opposed to supposed-pleasure-while-gritting-your-teeth when there's crowds at the mall. Lines aren't as frustrating there. At times, it was what I knew when my family and I had annual passes to Walt Disney World. You could wander in that universe for hours, and you couldn't find the same thing anywhere else. It's that way with Magic Mountain too. You go there, and unless you're riding Goliath, which goes high enough to see beyond the park, you don't know that there's an entire working valley in front of the park. You're in a wonderfully enclosed world, able to imagine whatever you want from what's given, from the rollercoasters to Looney Tunes World to the back end of the park that includes Apocalypse: The Ride. All yours to do whatever you want.
