I’m Glad I Did It, But I Won’t Do It Again.

How many times have I uttered that line in my lifetime?! No Comment. But those very words roll off the tongues of tens-of-thousands of guests at theme parks everyday in America. This reaction is prompted by a certain ride or attraction not living up to the participant’s expectations. Many times our expectations, whether they be high or low, are over-shadowed by reality. We’re often grateful for the experience, while also being thankful there’s not a promise of a “next time.”

The often-empty promise of a next time often rears its ugly head in fresh relationships. Comments like “I’ll call you tomorrow.” or “We’ll do that next time.” or even “We should go there sometime.” all suggest that the person speaking those words has intentions of making the “next time” happen. Or at the very least it suggests that he or she expects the relationship to continue in some form or another.

On the other side, the absence of a next time statement at the completion of a “first outing” sometimes comes as a great relief. Not many things are worse than when the other person obviously was (so to speak) not in the same room (or on the same date) as you were.

And then some attractions are just boring, lame, or actually cause motion-sickness or (god forbid) nausea and vomiting. I believe these all to be reasons for immediate dismissal. But what are the other deal breakers? Smoking? Snoring? Lack of sexual chemistry? What if you simply don’t sleep well with the person? Are ear-plugs a viable option for combating the snoring tendencies of one partner? Are these things we should just get used to, or should we bolt at the first signs of disability?

There are a great number of questions here with one mutual question that can be used to help answer them: How much do you like this person? (By now you know that the “Space Mountain” analogy has faded away)

More on this subject later; I just felt like getting that out there!

And for the record, my O’town vacay was great. I came back a bit tan and loving life on the island. I almost OD'ed on Disney, family and Cracker Barrel, but life is good and I’m ready for spring in a ridiculous way!