My brother-in-law has been wanting to see Legoland for some time, so we skipped Comic-Con on Sunday to go up to Legoland instead. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but actally had an okay time. Smaller than I thought it was, and more ride-oriented. The lego creations are fun to look at, and while they didn't have as many as I thought they would, what they had was impressive. New Orleans, San Francisco, Cape Canavral, all were well-done. The rides, of course, are aimed at kids, which has an advantage, in that I could go on the scariest ride there without fear. Unfortunately, none of the rides are particularly designed for people over six feet tall. But I managed okay.

The most excitement of the day came on the dullest ride I rode. Some sort of bicycle cart thing, that we waited an hour to ride, and which really sucked. But during the long line-up, this five-year-old kid was running amock, bugging various people in line the whole time. The mother was just watching this and smirking. Which is particularly galling because they actually have a play area where kids can build with legos while the parents wait in line nearby. Eventually, the kid stars hitting my sister, she tells him to stop. He sticks his head under her arm and looks up at her, and she yells at him to stop and stop bugging her. That shut him up a little bit. We get on the ride. When we get off, she is just finishing arguing with the ride operators, who would not let her ride with her infant (the dozen or so "Must be 48" to ride" signs apparantly don't mean much if you're illiterate). As we're leaving, Michelle in the back, the woman starts talking to her, which I can't at first make out. Turns out she's arguing with her for talking to her child. When Michelle repeatedly points out the terror her son was raising, she doesn't deny it, just keeps saying, "You shouldn't talk to a child like that." After she repeats that three or four times, I say, "Maybe you should control your child." She didn't like to hear that. She goes off on me, How dare I and such. She's shouting at me, picking a fight, while holding her infant child in her arms. Now that's responsible parenting. So I'm yelling at her to stop ruining the park for everyone else, being careful to remember I'm in a children's amusement park, and as such should not use profanity. I also am careful not to physically touch her. So I'm arguing, she's being nasty, and her kids get off the ride, and her 12- or 13-year-old daughter runs up, "Get away from my Mom!" So I roll my eyes, but stand my ground, when the mother asks, "Why the Hell are you even here? You don't even have kids with you!" So that pisses me off even more, and I tell her that we have every right to be there, and she responds, "Hey, I'm 29 years old, I have an excuse!" Which surprises me, and I puzzle over what she means, when she adds, "You're in your 40s and you're here." At which point I have no choice but to ask, "Are you retarded?" In retrospect, I realize I should have just kicked her ass, the police would be looking for a white male in his mid-40s. But I digress. This actually diffused the situation a bit, since now I realize she's a moron, who apparently cranked out her first kid at 16 and decided two more bundles of joy could only improve her life, and the humor of the situation was a little more apparent. We exchanged a few more choice words, and went our seperate ways, where she would no doubt find other ways to endanger the life of her infant child. The more I thought about it, the more disturbed I was by the callousness with which she treated her baby. She even egged me on at one point, encouraging me to hit her so she can call 911. But, whatever, fuck her. One less person I need to brake for crossing the street. I just hope I put her in as nasty a mood as she did me.

But as for Legoland itself, I must again say it wasn't as dull as I thought it would be. Obviously a place for kids, but adults with the right attitude might enjoy themselves (though at full price, its questionable).

So that was my week. It's Wednesday now, and I'm still a bit worn out. My foot is bothering me now, so looks like I was a tad premature saying that was better. Maybe this week I'll find myself a sports podiatrist, and make an appointment. Seeing the Edward Gorey exhibit this afternoon, at last! Just booked a room in Vegas for November. My sister is going for a wedding, so I'm meeting them there. Works out good; there's a convention in town, rooms are hard to find and very pricy, but I was able to get two free nights at Bally's (hoping to upgrade to a suite when I get there). My sister has challenged me to a ride on the mechanical bull at the New Frontier...I thought the web would have lots of tips on how to ride one, but the closest I've come are ads for mechanical bull classes. But then the point of riding a mechanical bull is looking like a jackass, so I guess ignorance is bliss in this situation.