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puckngrind · 4 years

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Marry Me - J. Toews

Song inspiration: Marry Me by Jason Derulo

Warning: swearing, mentions of sex

Word count: 2066

Part 2

🎶105 is the number that comes to my head.

When I think of all the years I wanna be with you.

Wake up every morning with you in my bed.

That's precisely what I plan to do. 🎶

Your announcement that you accepted a position in Chicago, found a roommate, and leaving your hometown in the matter of 2 weeks didn’t go over well. You didn’t exactly care because you fell in love with Chicago the moment you stepped foot off the plane for the interview. Your best friend went with you to cover up the real motives and you two hit all the suggestions including the way too fancy for you restaurant. This is where you actually ran head first into him. Your head was down making your way to the restroom and he was turning the corner. You made your apologies and your eyes wandered up to the very tall handsome man who’s suit cost more the entire contents of your suitcase. You were sure of it.

“Sorry, my fault.” His fingers brushed your elbow as you scurried past him. Not even giving him a chance to continue. You could feel the pink in your cheeks before even hitting the door. It was a tell-tale sign how embarrassed you were about the run in. Collecting yourself and returning to your table you were attempting to act like you didn’t just physically run into the most handsome man you’ve set eyes on in real life.

“You good (y/n)?” Your bestie, Savannah, takes a long sip of her drink and takes in your mood change.

“Yup, just embarrassing myself like normal.” You pinch your nose and recount the run in...literally.

“Handsome man? Where?” Savannah pops up a bit from her seat to see if she can put eyes on this man. You were focused getting her to stop that when the server placed the drink on the table you physically jumped.

“From the gentleman over there. He sends his apologies.” The server brought your attention to the room off your best friend’s shoulder where the same man you ran into was standing drink in hand and raised it up towards you. You do the same and the silent squeal coming from Savannah’s mouth was only noticeable to you.

“I swear (y/n), if you don’t go thank that fine fine man I’m gonna for you!” You worked up all the nerve possible and walked towards him.

“Thank you for the drink but I really should be apologizing to you.” His smile was intoxicating.

“Call it even then? I’m Jon, and you are?” He puts out his hand to shake yours. You nervously wipe your palm on your dress and place your hand in his. His grip firm but gentle.

“(Y/N). Are you having a party or something?” You blurt out taking in the room behind him with maybe twenty similarly dressed men loudly joking around.

“Um, something like that. It’s a work thing.” You look down at your hands realizing he hasn’t let go of yours.

“So you are from around here?” You slip your hand out his. Shocked at how large they were.

“No, I work here. You?” His stare into your eyes is intense that you some how babble on about the job interview and possible move. He listens intently. “This may sound forward, but I would love to show you around if you get the job.”

“OH! That’s...wow...uh...how will you know?” You fumble realizing it and bringing your gaze down to your shoes that are kicking at the carpet.

“How about you give me your number and we can start from there?” His phone comes into view at your hand level. You nervously type in your number and name and hand it back.

Jon types away and smiles. “Well, (y/n), I’ll let you get back to your dinner and I’ll talk to you soon.” He reaches out again to pull your attention to his face before retreating to your respective tables.

“Your phone vibrated while you were gone.” Your best friend just looks down at your phone that was face down at the table and then back up to your pink cheeks.

“Yeah. I assumed Jon texted me.” You flip over the phone to find an unknown number.

Jon: Hi, this is Jon. The man you ran into. I’m hoping you respond to this after you finish your dinner.

You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face the next two weeks. The two of you texted back and forth and he was so excited when you sent him word about the job. He helped you find a roommate. One of his co-worker’s girlfriends. You were slightly concerned about rooming with a stranger but something about how Jon treated you made you trust him.

Jon met you and Savannah at your new place with some of his friends to help move you in. You didn’t have much by Kelly said you didn’t need much.

“We are going to go clean up and will meet you out to celebrate.” Jon side hugged you after finishing getting you settled. You and the girls fall on the couch and start talking.

“So they aren’t all from the US are they?” Savannah finally questions Kelly.

“Nope. Actually most of them aren’t.” Kelly just laughs.

“And what exactly do they do? Savannah continues.

“I was told not to disclose that information.” Kelly pops up and heads to change.

“What does that mean?” Savannah waits to hear Kelly’s door before blurting out.

“I don’t know.” You think Jon will tell you sooner or later.

“And how can the two of you afford this...in CHICAGO?” Savannah has moved to the view which you will admit was not what you were expecting.

“Again, I don’t know.” Kelly emerges as you finish your statement.

“Let’s go ladies!” She claps and you grab your bags and head to her car.

Jon is waiting for you on the sidewalk. You take in the third style you’ve seen him in. Suit, sweats, and now jeans and a button down that hugs him just enough. All makes him look so damn sexy. You shake the thought out of your mind. Savannah snags a pic of you and her before heading inside.

The first night in Chicago was amazing. Deep dish pizza even though Jon just got a salad, a bar for drinks, then back to your place. You hardly even looked at your phone but decided to step out to the patio to text your mom. The door was caught behind you and Jon was standing there.

“Want company?” He asks.

“Sure. Just texting my mom.” You finally look at your phone since before dinner. Your brother’s text notification on the screen

Brother: Why is the captain of the Blackhawks behind you in the snap Savannah sent me?

“OH!” You answer aloud

“Oh?” He questions.

“My brother says the captain of the Blackhawks was behind me in the picture Savannah sent. I didn’t even realize.” You click into snapchat and Jon’s hand stops you.

“So....” He grabs your phone and places it on the table.

“Jon, why did you do that?” You look up at him.

“I’ve got something to tell you.” You seem concerned but his soft expression doesn’t make you less worried.

“Ok, what is it?”

“Kelly told me Savannah asked what I did for a living.” Jon leans against the railing.

“Yeah. Said you wanted to tell me.” You lean about two feet from him.

“And I knew when I met you that you had no idea who I was or any of my coworkers.”

“Should I?” You question looking back at the gathering in your now living space.

“If you watched hockey, maybe.” He chuckles a little. “I am said captain your brother is talking about (y/n).” Jon’s hand covers yours.

“Holy shit!” You blurt out. “How...why...fuck. Sorry.” Jon laughs uncontrollably. “Why are you laughing at me?”

“Because I was terrified what you might think. I like you (y/n). I’m not sure exactly how you feel about me.”

“I like you too. Which is weird because this is only the 2nd time we’ve seen each other.” You look up and Jon has closed the distance. His hand comes up to your face.

“And knowing what I do doesn’t scare you?”

“Why would it?” Your eyebrow raises.

“Some previous women only wanted to date me because of my status.” He admitted.

“Well that’s dumb.” You look into his eyes and he smiles.

“It is. Can I kiss you?” His thumb slides down your cheek. You nod because your heart is beating out of your chest and words were not forming. His lips grace yours and that’s where your relationship started.

That was two years ago and you two didn’t spend much time apart. The first summer you stayed in Chicago and you realized quickly when you met him in Winnipeg that you couldn’t ask him to stay in Chicago with you during summers. You loved seeing him home in his element. You moved in that August and found a job that was more freelance giving you a schedule that could bend around his season.

“I love that I get to wake up every morning to you.” Jon whispers in your ear one morning.

“You mean when you aren’t on the road.” You giggle.

“Yeah, but your face is the first I see on the road too.” His lips ghost yours. “Eventually my career will be over and we will be an old retired married couple.”

“Married couple huh?” You question as his body presses into yours.

“Not rushed, but yes. We will be retired in our 40s bugging the hell out of our kids.” You feel him growing between your bodies as he kisses your skin. The conversation left to explore each other.

🎶 Will forever be enough, so there ain't no need to rush.

But one day, I won't be able to ask you loud enough.

I'll say will you marry me.

I swear that I will mean it.

I'll say will you marry me.

How many girls in the world can make me feel like this?

Baby I don't ever plan to find out.

The more I look, the more I find the reasons why.

You're the love of my life.🎶

Your phone buzzes with a text while facetiming Savannah. Your weekly bestie time.

Jon: Wear the dress you wore the night we met and an Uber will pick you up at 7pm.

You: Okay? Any reason?

Jon: Trust me. Love you.

With that you went to the back of your closet to fish out the dress and got ready.

As promised the Uber was waiting for you when you left your shared condo.

“Where are we going?” You look up from your phone without the driver answering and realize you are heading towards the restaurant you first ran into Jon. He’s standing out front in the same suit he was wearing that night. Opening the door he holds his hand out for you.

“J, what are we doing here?” You eye your handsome boyfriend and he takes your arm in his and escorts you in. “No one is here Jon.” You look around at the normally packed restaurant.

“Well, I wanted to bring you back to the place we met.” He stops at the door where you gave him your number. “This is the place I realized I needed to know more about you.” His expression wasn’t one you’ve seen before.

“Same. I couldn’t stop smiling for two straight weeks.” You admit and he chuckles breathes in deep.

“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I to shout out it from the root top that you are mine.” He starts then reaches into his pocket. You gasp realizing exactly what was going on. He gets on one knee and holds your hand.

“I love you with my whole being. Would you make the the luckiest man on the world and be my wife?” He pops open the box with one hand to reveal the perfect engagement ring.

“YES!” You shout as he stands and kisses you passionately.

“Cannot wait to make you Mrs. Toews!” He places the ring on your left ring hand and you wipe the tear from his eyes.

“I love you Mr. Toews!” You breathe out as he pulls you in.

#Jonathan Toews fic #marry me one shot #k's one shots #first time writing for him #I kinda liked it #tazer me 19

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chrysaliseuro2018 · 6 years

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In Praise of the Malteser

A long held ambition for us is now being achieved. We have landed in Malta. This section will be a bit of a sum up as the hectic days and sociable pace of the first month of the trip has meant the blog has been somewhat tardy on the production front. Or perhaps we are just getting old. Some brevity and celerity is required. Neither being my long suits. Anyway we'll try. We had had an early start, 6.15am for the bus to pick us up and one of those round all the hotels jobs (we were the first ones on) followed by a flight from Cappadocia and then 6 hours or so at Istanbul airport. This meant that by the time we got to Valletta around 5.00pm we didn't fancy public transport. It must be said though that we were heavily saved by the Priority lounge at Istanbul which we were able to "lounge" around in (an Amex bonus) for at least 4 hours. A few nibblies, a couple of beers and a rose for Liz. Helps pass the time and coupled with wifi all you need really. Anyway we landed at Malta and the cab seemed the easiest option. Yet again we had a bit of a bizarre cab ride. It's a set fair so no prob on that front unlike Istanbul. However, the driver no sooner had we told him the address of our apartment started a loud (and I mean loud) phone conversation in what sounded like Arabic. He had the earplugs in so we could only hear one half of the conversation (that's actually 90% of the conversation as the yellee on the other end was not getting much of a word in). And so it proceeded for the 15 minutes of more drive in. There was no "where are you from?" no landmarks pointed out, just this raging cacophony. Obviously he was not happy with the person at the other end or Pharos that's normal discourse. Not the cabbie's job to be the face of the city but it's often the first face you really see or person that you have interaction with (let's forget customs) so perhaps municipalities need to put some work into schooling them. With our ears ringing we headed for our apartment which was just in the "restricted for vehicles" zone in Valletta. Keypad access to the apmt and we had the code, all worked well and it was great - bright, clean, virtually newly refurbished and very central. After settling in, we headed for a stroll around town. Plenty of English voices. Lovely 3/4 story older apartments with balconies, typically a sandstone colour but also painted in pastels. Not all in the best of nick but quite charming. We strolled around town for quite a while. It was pretty lively with restaurants opening onto the street. Many served fish but also basics such as pizzas and burgers. Catering very much for an English glut of visitors. We saw a restaurant that we quite liked the look of which served traditional Maltese dishes and breads but it was getting a little late to take full advantage of, so we booked for two days time and ate at a small bar opposite the restaurant sitting at a table in the street. It was very much a local bar with just a couple of tables outside and the small crowd there all seemed to be speaking Maltese. Owner was very friendly. Liz had a salad and me a sandwich so nothing too heavy but a nice rose for Liz and a couple of craft beers for me so all good. We went to bed pretty tired. Liz was not feeling 100% first thing the following day with a migraine so took a couple of tablets and I disappeared round town so she could sleep. Thankfully she felt better by late morning and in the afternoon we went to the national war museum which is in Fort St Elmo down by the harbour. Malta's history is fascinating. Founded by the Knights of St John it was laid siege to by the Turks in the 16th century - surviving that - just. Napoleon also decided to intervene there and famously it held out in the 2nd World War against blockades and air raids particularly by the Italians with the island eventually being awarded the George Cross medal for heroism by King George 6th. This museum, with the assistance of some very good graphics and videos, painted an interesting picture of the history of the island and its inhabitants. The difficulties of getting supplies through to the island in WW2 was a particularly gripping aspect with large naval escorts required for supply ships because German submarines were menacing and sinking many merchant ships. Naval vessels were also targeted by the submarines with many losses. The bravery of the merchant seaman and naval forces against an unseen but deadly enemy was inspiring. That night we ate at one of the many street cafes. A little draughty as the evening weather not quite as warm as we expected but comfortable enough to sit out. Liz had rabbit stew which was good and I had an octopus casserole which was very tasty. Service good and friendly and we did ask what the ingredients of the casserole were. Seemed to be a bit of everything on the herb front though tomato based. Must try to cook in Melbourne. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was watching the World Cup - Spain vs Portugal sitting on the steps outside a bar. Liz did very well as all seats were taken but she squeezed us onto a reserved table at which the reservers never turned up so we had a great view. 3-3 with Ronaldo scoring an equaliser around the 90 minute mark with a sensational free kick. Atmosphere was really good with supporters of both sides there but all really convivial. Next morning was admin with flights to be booked home. A painful process as we have changed our return date and options getting limited. We then headed off to the same bar as the previous night to watch the Socceroos play France in the World Cup. 2-1 loss unfortunately. Our admin as it turned out was poorly timed as the cathedral which we had planned to see that afternoon closed for the afternoon. We had also booked to see the Malta experience which is an IMAX type short movie with the background to Malta which also closed at 3.00pm so we missed that too. Ahh!! Traps for players and we kicked ourselves as we did want to see the Caravaggio in the Cathedral museum though we were able to just look in the door and see the wonderful interior of the cathedral itself. Malta still operates on British country town hours of the 1950s! It's basically closed for biz from pm Saturday through to Sunday, apart from restaurants and bars. We did though manage to go into the Grand Master's palace which until recently was the location of Malta's parliament. Specifically we visited 5 State Rooms which are still used for official purposes including greeting foreign ambassadors and delegations. Some wonderful and large tapestries hanging in one of the rooms picturing also sorts of exotic animals and scenes from Africa. The other rooms were pretty grand too. Touch of Windsor castle. The palace is still the official residence of the President of Malta. Also, by coincidence, the palace was hosting a small exhibition of Picasso drawings and Joan Miro paintings. Unusual stuff from Miro but worth a look. Pablo is, well, Pablo. I pressed on to look at the armoury (with the usual collection of arms and armour through the ages) while Liz went WINDOW SHOPPING. That night we dined in the restaurant we had spotted the first night which promised interesting local produce. Liz had a fish soup which was fine and I had the octopus casserole again which was not a patch on the previous night. Slow service too, so no tips handed out. C'est la vie, one of those days when not everything went right, especially the Socceroos losing!!, though the State Rooms were good. Last day in Valetta, tomorrow we take a car and head off around the island(s).

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living-with-vertigo · 5 years

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I Don’t Ever Want to Stay In a Hospital Again

My friend wanted to me to go with her on one weekend to an her friend’s art gallery opening where she was going to have some drawings exhibited. I reluctantly agreed because I just am not feeling so hot these day -- months, really. The whole year has been crap. There have been some kindness, and a lot of expenses, but overall, this might have been the worst year of my life. And I say that every year, but truly, between school overwhelming me, fighting with my brothers over nothing (aka inheritance), and my dog losing his mind and dying -- no, this has got to be the worst year of my life.

And so, we went to Harrisburg, PA, for the first time. Her pal wanted to go at the last minute. I formerly used my car as a delivery vehicle, and I haven’t cleaned it up since I quit doing the deliveries. That’s another thing -- I was not getting paid for all that work I did. Not this year, not last year, not the year before that -- less, and less and less. And so I got fed up with it, and when the “boss” said I shouldn’t have to do them, that he didn’t want me to do them -- I was like, “Forget this mess then. It’s nothing but a detriment for me. It costs me to work for you doing this. It hurts me physically, wears me down spiritually and I end up suicidal after a few hours on the road. Each and every week.” I mean, how did I go from delivering newspapers as a kid, back to delivering newspapers as an adult. Ah, another story....

My car was really loud on the way up there. It sounds like a truck, but it’s a Honda Fit. I think the tires need balancing, but I don’t want to spend the money. It needs airbags and all kinds of work. It’s been banged up and run into by so many people -- just by being parked on the street or in a lot. I mean it -- I swear, someone ran into it again today and scuffed the bumper up all over again. It’s terrible. I was embarassed by the state of my dirty car, but oh well. I didn’t have any head rest for her friend because I took them out for the deliveries. It took an hour-1/2 to get there. Her friend was an older lesbian who works as an architect, but she’s lived all over. She said during the car ride, that she didn’t think I wanted to work anymore. It kind of struck me that someone I met brand new would just blurt out something like that. But she asked if I watched porn, too -- which was totally out of left field; not even close to what we were talking about. Well, it took me a moment to process what she said, and I thought and said, “You may be right about that.” But really, that’s not true. I want to work -- I just want a job that I can do, and I want to do a good job at it. And I don’t feel nearly confident as I used to that I’m qualified. All this school, and I don’t yet qualify for anything in particular other than needing more training. Maybe that’s the way the world works. I don’t know after all this time I spent dedicated to this company that never pays me but a modicum of cash -- plus health benefits. The health benefits are the #1 thing, though.

We spent an hour or so at this friend’s tiny gallery in Harrisburg. It was essentially the 2nd floor of a townhouse. He had a good turn out. The artwork was a mix of ideas and stuff. No real theme. They had food there and drinks. And I was talking to my the older lesbian about stuff, and she had set her drink down. And I brushed it with the back of my hand and it spilled all over their new carpet. It was just diet soda; no big deal, but I embarrass so quickly. We had been sitting on a kind of bench -- like not new, like weaved straps of leather. The spill cleaned up pretty quickly. But not before the gallery owner’s husband saw us. It was so embrassing.

I went outside after that. And then we went to a local bar/restaurant. Before we got there, my low-air tire warning light came on. Oh, God -- we’re in Pennsylvania, and it’s way after dark. So, we went to eat and I said I’d get air when we would come out. It was just common American restaurant food. I had a Cobb salad, as usual. It had corn on it. I ate the corn, which I wouldn’t use to because I’m low-carb. Or I used to be, very exclusively. The mood I’ve been in has made me less stringent. It didn’t affect my glucose too bad. I didn’t have a drink or anything other than soda and water. We paid and left -- not many people there, mostly on the outside deck.

We got in the car and I tried to find a gas station with a pump. I got gas, but the pump was broken. I was concerned, and frustrated and my eyes were kind of blurry and my head was swimming all day anyway. So, I didn’t follow Siri’s instructions and took a left at the next light. Before we got there, the lesbian said that I should watch out for the cop that had just pulled someone else over. I laughed, like why would I get pulled over?!? So, then the cop pulled me over. WTF? She said I had turned left at a no-turn light. And she was really crabby and acted like I had brazenly done it in front of her like a dare. And this cop, who also looked like a butch lesbian, was like: “What are you doing here?!?” And I was like, “I just want air. I’m not from here.” And she goes, “I’m sure they have no-turn signs in your city, don’t they? And you don’t ignore those, do you?” Uh, no. So sorry.... She came back after a while and let me go with a warning, thank goodness. And then she said I was in a bad part of town and that I needed to turn this way and that to get out across the bridge, and get out of the city -- the Capital of Pennsylvania, because I didn’t want to stop at any of the gas stations there. It’s dangersous. Oh brother.

So, we high-tailed it out. And I got some air way down the road. It was a really good air pump, I must say. And we made it home, but I was exhausted. It was like 2am by the time I got home.

The next day, I laid in bed and didn’t do much around the house. That was Sunday.

Monday, I woke up and went to pee around 6am. And got back in the bed and went to sleep some more.

At 9 am, I got up and ate some broccoli and cheese, and pretty soon after I felt like I had to poop. And it felt like it might be kind of runny. So, i went to the toilet, and it was runny. Gross. But it was plopping out in this weird, soft way. I thought, ugh -- this is going to be blood.

I’ve bled from my behind before -- from a fissure for years, and a hemorrhoid after that, for years. It comes and goes. Very irritating. But this felt like a lot of blood was going to be on the toilet paper.

And so, I looked at the toilet paper and it was a horror show. And what was in the toilet was so much blood splattered. Dark maroon blood and some bright red, but mostly dark maroon.

And then it kept coming out, and coming out, and coming out. After an hour, I was running around the house trying to pack stuff up to go to the hospital and phoning my partner and my ex in desperation. And I packed up all my diabetes stuff and my wallet and stuff in a panic and by 11am, I had called 9-1-1 telling the operator that I was bleeding out of my butt really bad.

And so, they sent a fire engine. A fire engine? Well, they explained that they were the first responders, and an ambulance would be by in a minute. So, I kept telling them in the most embarassing way that I was bleeding out of my rear end, and had to keep running back inside to let it out. And they looked like -- like confused, and weirded out. I’m sure they see worse or weirder. It didn’t matter. The ambulance came and took over. I kept running inside to go to the bathroom. It was awful. Then they said that they weren’t going to transport me, and that another ambulance would come.

I begged the next ambulance to take me to my hospital, but they didn’t -- they took me to the closer one, a famous teaching hospital with not a very good reputation. It’s an “urban school for urban pupils and urban patients.” At least that’s the reputation it has, based on both media and colloquial. social understanding. Pride, really. But for those of us not likely to participate in their “urban” pride, it is not anyone’s first choice.

They wheeled me into the ER and I had to go to the bathroom immediately. They checked me in and I laid there on the wheelie bed for a little while. But then they told me to get off and go wait in this waiting area. There were some very urban people there, waiting. I sat down and this woman came over and bitched at me for taking her seat. There were at least 2 other seats there. Freak show, and it got worse after that with the other patients, but I wasn’t caring about any of them. Because I was being ignored. I had to beg and plead for attention. And because they couldn’t see me bleeding, they were like, “There’s people ahead of you.” And I’m saying, “I’m going to die if I don’t see someone soon.” And so they finally had someone see me after 4 hours of constant trips to the toilet. I had to clean the public toilet of my bloody spatters; and I kept wondering what else might be in that toilet. Gross. I washed my hands so many times and used that alcohol rub. There were people screaming in the waiting room. My ex came, and the my partner. And they stayed with me for a little while.

The first doctor asked what was wrong, and asked for a stool sample, and I was like, “it better be a big cup because it’s going to all be blood. Nothing but blood. Do you have a bag to go with this?” And so, they gave me this little 1/2 cup container, and I filled it up with dark, maroon blood coming out of my butt. “No stool?” No, it’s all blood!

So, then the took me a little more serious. And they had me go for a CT scan.

The thought from beginning to end of my experience was that I had a diverticuli on my colon -- a weak, balooned-out section of my large intestine -- and that an artery was bleeding into that diverticuli. They kept asking if I had pain, and I kept saying no. So, they called it a “painless bleed.” I didn’t doubt what they had been thinking, but they kept saying it could also be a hemorrhoid. And I was saying, “It’s dark blood, clotted, and it’s making my belly gurgle before it comes out; so I don’t think it’s a hemorrhoid.” But they kept saying it could be backflowing up into the intestine, or somesuch.

The CT scan “shows diverticuli, and maybe some inflammation, which may be due to an infection.” So they started me one IV drips with antibiotics, and saline with dextrose in it. I’m Type 1 diabetic. I know you shouldn’t be giving me this sugar drip. But I fully expected this.

So, after 8 hours waiting in the ER, they finally checked me into a room, and there was an old urban man in there already, on the opposite side of the room. It was a blank room, not a lick of art. It wasn’t clean looking -- not filthy, but all the corners and stuff looked scuffed and not like they’d been cleaned well. It was very 1970s-looking; and a little chilly. The bathroom was next to the bed, and the sink was on the outside of the bathroom. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t because I kept bleeding and bleeding out of my rectum. It was awful .... [Part 2 to come]

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cebeavers · 15 years

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Six Flags Over Georgia 2010

March 5, 2010 Photo Album

Not long after I moved to North Carolina I had an idea: I could go to Atlanta for opening weekend of Six Flags over Georgia! Since my first (and last) visit was rained out and gloomy over 2 days at the park, and there were lots of things I didn’t get to do, I hoped I would have a nice warm day with minimal lines. Unfortunately the weekend before I planned on going I was very sick. I had planned to make reservations that weekend but was so sick that I ended up second guessing my decision to go. When Monday came I was still sick. Then Tuesday. Then Wednesday. But by Wednesday evening I started feeling some better, so I made reservations on Orbitz. On my last visit in March of 2009 I ended up staying in Marietta at a Ramada Limited. It was clean, convenient, and close to the highway, so I decided I would try for Marietta again. I found a similar room, same ratings as last year, for about $10 cheaper in Marietta so I booked it at a total cost of around $80 for 2 nights.

Friday came and after work I rushed home to get my stuff and head out. Traffic thru Charlotte was awful and put me behind schedule. All of my driving was at nite and this gave me a terrible headache as the lights bothered me due to so much traffic. Around midnight, though, I had finally arrived in Marietta. Eventually I saw the Inn and my GPS told me to turn right, which was impossible as there was only a wall and no exit. I had trouble trying to get to the place, so eventually I called and the lady guided me to the entrance, which was up and off a side street across a bridge I’d kept going under (I should have turned left, then right, but the GPS didn’t say anything about turning left). I checked in rather quickly because I wanted to get to the room. The motel looked nice on the outside so I was happy.

After parking around back I got my stuff out of the trunk, locked up and walked towards the stairs. Then I heard a man start coughing, which startled me. He watched me as I walked up the stairs and then started yelling incoherently at me. I didn’t like this at all, so I rushed to my room. I opened the door…and immediately wished I wasn’t staying there. It was dirty. It was really nasty. I closed and bolted the door shut. I was not happy. People started walking by my door loudly talking and stopping right outside of my door. I felt unsafe. I didn’t want to sleep in the bed, but had no real choice. After about 30 minutes, I got on my phone and used Hotwire to get a better room, which ended up being at the Atlanta Hilton in downtown for $71. I knew I’d be losing my money for the 2nd nite here, but I didn’t care. I didn’t get much sleep and as soon as morning came I packed up, checked out, and left. I’ll never stay there again.

Six Flags was about 20 minutes away. The park was supposed to open at 10AM, which means the rides usually open about 30 minutes later. I was meeting Dawn and Russ and got a call from Dawn on the way to the park. The ride to Six Flags was fairly easy and quick. Once I got off on the exit I paid to park at separate parking lot which was $5 more than Six Flags charges, but right outside the front gate. I walked over to buy a season pass which was only $4 more than a day ticket and then got in line to get it processed. This took about an hour total because everyone there was buying a pass. There weren’t a lot of people there, but everyone who was there was in this line.

During this whole time, the rides weren’t running that any of us could see. I talked to Dawn and let her know I was almost done and that I’d be there shortly. After getting my pass I headed over to the entrance of the park. Everyone up until this point had been more than friendly. The morning was beautiful, and walking into the main plaza of the park there were balloons everywhere. I spotted the Palmers quickly and after saying hi (and taking a quick picture) we headed to Goliath as it had just opened. We got to the entrance and everyone else had run to Goliath too. We waited for about 40 minutes (which is much more bearable with 2 other people to talk to) before finally getting on in the middle of the train. After a quick lap bar check (and a double high five, something that would be had plenty through out the day), we were off.

Goliath-I enjoyed Goliath on my last visit. It has no real ejector airtime (my favorite), but very good sustained floating airtime (good enough for me). We head up the lift hill rather quickly. The first drop was so much better than I remembered. It felt like a really big drop this time, and I don’t remember it feeling like that last time. The floater air over the first few hills was great and the helix has some nice sustained lateral forces. I really wish the trim brake after the helix wasn’t there because I think the rest of the ride would be just insane, but you can’t always get what you want. The last few hills and the overbanked turn deliver a nice pleasant feeling of floating. On the last 3 bunny hops we noticed a cell phone go flying up about 2 rows ahead of us. As it came down, it hit one of the girls in that row in the head before flying up again, then back down. When it flew up a third time, a girl on the end of the row caught it. We were in amazement that it was caught and everyone was laughing and talking about it. Then there is the last (wonderfully evil) hop before the brake run.

Sadly Goliath ran only one train, but the ride delivered very well. I almost purchased the on ride picture because we all had a look of astonishment on our faces due to the cell phone incident, but I passed. We walked over to Gotham City next. This is still the best Gotham City of any Six Flags park I’ve been to. As we came around the corner Batman The Ride’s new paint job stood out. Dawn didn’t care for it, but I like the 2 toned blues. We headed directly for Mind Bender. My last (and only) ride was okay, but nothing to write home about. I was hoping for a better ride this time.

Mind Bender-We got on near the back of the train after about a 20 minute wait. Again, only 1 train operation, but I can’t complain as the wait really wasn’t bad. The other train was still disassembled, which we saw going up the lift hill. Mind Bender was much better this time. Again, the first drop was better than I remembered. The first loop was good. There were some very nice pops of light ejector air on some of the hills. Mind Bender is in a nice setting in the park and makes good use of its location. It was running better this time than list time and I was much happier with it. Even the horizontal loop was much more fun. So another coaster moves up in my rankings due to a much improved ride.

I needed a restroom stop so we walked over to the restrooms in Gotham. Then we went to grab a bite to eat. The original plan was Johnny Rocket’s across the park. We got in and the staff, while friendly (and hollering Hello to everyone that walked in with their little spiel), weren’t moving fast. We waited for a while and eventually decided to go elsewhere. Russ wasn’t happy with the service and suggested the BBQ joint over by the USA section of the park. Theme park food is over priced, but the pulled pork BBQ, fries, and potato salad were actually not bad. We sat and ate and talked and what not for a bit. Once we were done we headed to the back of the park to go ride Great American Scream Machine.

Once we arrived at the entrance, however, we were informed that the ride was closed to the public. A local radio station was holding a marathon on the coaster. We went over to their booth and Dawn and I played their Plinko game. I got a shirt, she got a tote bag. Since the Palmers had to leave to pick up Dawn’s mom at the airport, we headed to Superman Ultimate Flight for a final ride before they left. Once we got there, though, the line was about an hour long, and they didn’t have that kind of time to wait. We walked back down by Ninja and Dawn and Russ decided to call it a day. I planned to walk out with them to put my hoodie in the car and get my 4GB memory card, but when I walked by the Sky Buckets, I decided I’d hop on to the other side of the park. We all hugged and said good bye and I headed over to the Buckets.

This is one of those rides that I’ve started riding when I get a chance at parks. They’ve started to disappear so I try to get on them when I can. This one is actually useful as it goes from one side to the other quickly. When I got off of the ride I walked around that part of the park as Acrophobia stared down at me, taunting me. I didn’t ride it on my last visit. Drop towers scare me and this one is even scarier. But I knew if I didn’t do it then, I wouldn’t. The line wasn’t very long, so I hopped in.

Acrophobia-I like the signs in the queue showing height comparisons. After about 3 cycles I was sitting in my seat. The seats were different than I had imagined after hearing about the ride. Once we started to lift off, we started rotating around for a nice view of the park and Atlanta. At the top I closed my eyes. The gondola stopped rotating and the tower shook a tad. The operator went through his spiel the seats having already leaned forward. Soon we were falling. I like the falling part, but the ascent is what really scares me. Still, I was glad I rode.

I walked over to Cyclone, which had opened at this point, but the line was the same length it was when last I rode. They were only running one train, and the last time I waited almost an hour. The ride isn’t worth that kind of wait to me so I skipped and put it off until later. Being close to the front gate, I opted to run out to the Xterra and do what I had to do as my Camera’s internal memory was full and I was getting hot with a Hoodie and my jacket. My car was in the front of the private lot, which was just across the street from the park entrance, so it was ultra convenient. I was back in the park in about 10 minutes.

The mine train wasn’t opened yet and I wanted to ride. I took some pictures and then headed to the train. The train ride takes you all around the park, but I only rode to the stop in the back of the park. As we were riding you could clearly see the backstage areas, and even they had balloons and a festive atmosphere. The conductor mentioned that when we passed by employees, they weren’t waiving at the trains, they were smiling and waiving at us personally, and to remember to return the courtesy. That was a nice touch, and something that was prevalent through out the day. After I got off the train I remembered that I wanted to ride Monster Mansion so I headed over there next.

Monster Mansion-The façade is very well done. It really does look like an old mansion in the middle of the park. The line wasn’t very long, so in about 15 minutes I was sitting at the back of the boat and on my way. This is a very well done dark ride, one of my favorites. I liked the quirkiness of the whole ride, riding thru the first scene and seeing a dining room set set up in the water. The music was fun, the animatronics were done well. I like that there is a story and so many fun scenes. Then the scary scenes start. The face on the mist effect was really cool. The marsh scenes were really fun and spooky looking. This is a well rounded dark ride, with fun, light hearted scenes and a few scary scenes thrown in the mix. Some of the animatronics were rather huge, too.

I walked over to see if the mine train had opened up, but it had not yet so I walked back to Gotham City to ride Batman. Six Flags over Georgia is a very nice park with plenty of shade, and even though it has a slightly hilly terrain it isn’t hard to get around. I took some pictures here and there and eventually made it to the newly painted Batman. The wait was about twenty minutes with one train running.

Batman The Ride-While I was in line, someone in front of me got a call from someone in their party who said that Great American Scream Machine had opened to the public, so I now had a plan for after this ride. Soon I was sitting on the train ready to go. This is still my favorite Batman clone. The first drop was really good today, and the rapid succession of loop/Zero G roll/loop is intense, but fun. The twists and turns at the far end are so close together and pull strong forces. Even the corkscrews on Batman are fun. I don’t like a lot of inversions, but Batman is a great layout.

I booked it over to the Cotton States section of the park in hopes of a ride on Scream Machine. I got over there and the attendant told me that the Marathon was still going on, so the wait could be a little long. I didn’t care and got in line anyway. It was maybe a 20-30 minute wait tops before I was sitting on a train.

Great American Scream Machine-I really like this old woody. It had been running all day for the marathon since early morning, and it was running WELL. I didn’t feel any rough spots like I did last time. The first drop was good, the second was fun. Not a lot of air for the next hill, but the short hill before the turn around had nice ejector air. Every hill on the return trip delivered. It wasn’t major ejector air, but it was a lot of fun. I really like this classic wooden coaster.

I decided that since Ninja was so close I’d hop over and get in line. I really didn’t like the ride much on my last visit because the trains are uncomfortable and the ride shakes. But there was literally no line to ride, so I figured I might as well give it a courtesy ride.

Ninja-I think I said it before and I’m saying it again, I’m never riding this coaster again. The layout isn’t bad but the trains are terrible. The first drop rattled, the 2 inversions that followed rattled, the turns and swoops rattled, the corkscrews rattled. Even the jump to the brake run was uncomfortable. Ninja isn’t any fun and I don’t have any plans to get back in line again.

I have to remember that there is a reason for it not having a line. I walked over and got in line for Superman Ultimate Flight next, but once I got up to the end of the line and saw that it was about an hour wait, I promptly turned around and left. This was one of the coasters that really needed 2 train operations on opening weekend. It’s a fun ride, but not fun enough to wait that long with a closing time of 7PM. I walked up on the hill to get a picture of the carousel and rocking tug. I wanted to ride the cars, but they require 2 people and I was by myself. Going off the other side of the hill, I noticed that Canyon Blaster was running and I needed the credit so I made my way over to get my ride on.

Wile E. Coyote’s Canyon Blaster-This kiddie coaster was closed on my last visit and it looked like a lot of fun so I was bummed that I missed it. It had been closed all day, so I figured I wouldn’t get the chance to ride yet again, but thankfully there wasn’t a very long line when it did open, about 2 hours before the park’s closing. It’s actually rather fast for such a family ride, but it’s well done and uses the terrain and buildings that it rolls around.

I walked over by the mine train once more and it was running one train and I figured there may be a wait. I should have ridden, but opted not to. I passed by Cyclone again, and the line was still as long as it had been. So since I’d gotten my credit and all, I walked around the long way over to Goliath. I stopped and watched the beginning of Mr. Six’s Dance Party while waiting to take a picture of Goliath coming down the first hill before heading over to the entrance. I sat closer to the back this time, and again, the ride was just outstanding.

By the time I got on, it was getting pretty dark and the park was closing. After I was done I walked around a bit more and then headed to the front. The staff around the park was friendly and helpful all day and everyone at the exits and on the rides were high fiving guests and spieling, which made for a nice atmosphere. The day was cool but bright and beautiful. I’m glad I was able to get back and now that I have a season pass and live much closer to the park, I’m sure I’ll be back soon.

I left Austell and headed to downtown Atlanta. I made my way to the Hilton for my 2nd nite. After checking in and having my car parked (yay Valet parking!) I headed up to my room on the 23rd floor. I was hungry, but since I didn’t expect to be staying at the Hilton, I hadn’t brought any close that I felt were suitable for any of their restaurants, so I did the next best thing, I ordered room service: Pizza, a bread plate, and ginger ale. My 2nd evening was much nicer than the first, and I promised myself that the next time I take a weekend trip to Atlanta, I’ll just go ahead and book the 4 star room first. I’d planned to go to Turner Field and maybe the aquarium on Sunday but when I woke up I just wanted to head home. I packed up and headed out to pick the car up.

The ride home was rather uneventful, save for my stopping in South Carolina for a nap. In the end I was home by 5PM. Atlanta has quickly become one of my favorite cities. Next time I head down I’m going to spend time in the city proper for a few days instead of just Six Flags, but now that I’m so much closer, getting there is much easier than before.

#Six Flags Over Georiga #Atlanta #Georgia #2010

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