Friday, August 31, 2012

Playing Like A Kid


Barbara: As you may have guessed from our copious posts here asking serious introspective questions (or sometimes, silly introspective questions), that I am quite curious (and—apparently—introspective) by nature. I like me some good, hearty questions, and I love the follow-through of the convoluted and shifting “answers”. It’s one of the reasons I find that subject matters for our blog come pretty effortlessly—there’s always something spinning around in here (points to noggin). However, I have spent the last few days playing, playing, and playing, and am so far out of my head that I haven’t asked a single question of my deep internal core, and can only share the recent fun I’ve had with you in the hopes it’ll inspire you as it did me, or that it’ll trigger your own questions that you can bring to our forum.

It’s been three days of adventure:

First, on day one, there was my niece/aunt special day. My youngest niece suggested we should go to The Ex, which is a fair that comes every year for two weeks to downtown Toronto. It’s a hundred year tradition, and a fun one, given the midway rides and action and the indoor shows. I am not one to do anything that triggers my fear of heights (or my fear of death). And—while I didn’t do all the stuff my niece did—I did follow her on a number of rides, including a huge, high-in-the-air swing that had me screaming from the moment the ride started to the moment it stopped. Later, at one of the indoor shows—the amazing and wonderful Superdogs—Emily even got picked out of the crowd to perform with the talented creatures. She was beside herself. I was beside myself! At the end of the day, we had to tear ourselves away, exhausted and spent, so we could get her home on time.
That's my youngest niece on the right!


Yeah, that would be my niece hanging upside down up there (she did this ride THREE TIMES!!)
On day two, a bunch of friends came in from out of town and we had a chance to really catch up after a long absence. Which may also have involved way too much eating and bit too much drink. Wish I had some photos to share with you of this night, but we were just so caught up with each other that we forgot to snap pix!

Then on day three, I took my other niece out for her special niece/aunt day—and she picked trampolining!! Yes, that was me making a fool of myself on the wall-to-wall trampolines at SkyZone yesterday. I haven’t been on a trampoline since I was a young’un, and I’d be lying if I didn’t have almost the same trepidation as I did for the super-high-in-the-sky swing at The Ex! But I LOVED it. First of all, it’s an amazing workout. We jumped for an hour (stopping several times to catch our breath and drink water), and I was sweaty and exhausted at the end. But, most importantly, there’s nothing like jumping around with wild abandon to make you feel like a little kid. We topped off our special day with a relaxing lunch and fancy manicures.




All in all, the last few days have been a grand way for me to get out of my head for a while, to be so immersed in the pleasures of life and the special people in it that all else pales for a moment.

Oh, so wait, I do have an introspective question for us: at the dinner with friends, one friend asked us what our “true names” would be if we were in a fantasy book (I guess “true names” figure large and are veeeeerrry important in fantasies). We played this game to our amusement and fascination. Of course, it’s interesting to name the people around you at a dinner party, but I’d like to share my own “true name” with you (dubbed, btw, by me and not my buddies): “Curiouser”. Because curiosity hasn’t—yet—killed this cat!

DebWow, it’s too late at night for me to give my name (side note: this was posted at 11pm Thursday night...) because today it would be “Night Everyone” as I am spent. I have had a similar summer, Barb, with entertaining friends and summer city fun. Colin and I went today to Canada’s Wonderland and saw our nephew do his wonderful trampoline and diving show and it was fantastic. The look on his face when we came to see him was already worth the price of admission. 

Hmmmm, still don’t have my name. Maybe it would be “Flit”. Yeah. Flit. I like that.
 


51 comments:

  1. Wow!!! Those rides....sheesh. I remember one time at my county fair at home my best friend and I went on this ferris wheel that went upside down. If you didn't want to go upside down you just had to pull this lever. Well....our cart didn't HAVE the lever. So we were at the top....upside down....screaming our guts out. And that was the end of that. I HATE being upside down!!!!

    Trampolining reminds me of when I did gymnastics. Though I was never Gabby Douglas good, it was still fun. Looks like an ideal time of "getting away" and being a kid again!

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    1. It was truly wonderful, Kelly. The missing-lever story??? Oh boy, that would be my nightmare!

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  2. I can relate to this topic very well. I babysit my niece (6 yrs) for few weeks during the summer. Then I watched my other niece (6) and nephew (almost 4) (b) for half a week while their parents were celebrating their 10th anniversary in spa. Now I have been taking and picking up my niece (6) and nephew (2,5) (s) from daycare. Although with this last thing I have also gone to school, so I have had time to be very curious :))

    Oh yes, the "true names" are really important. Someone can comand you to do things if they know your true name. So it usually is a big secret ;)

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    1. I cant stop laughing at the last sentence :D

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    2. I know - Kasku, your last sentence killed me!!! Oh dear, are we doomed now ;) It's okay, I'm cool with you guys knowing.

      I remember you telling us about some fun this summer with your niece. It really is its own kind of special, isn't it?

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    3. Oh yes indeed it is. Also it is so wonderful to see the learning process that kids do. It is so fast with kids. :)

      Hih, I thought you might like the last comment. :D

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    4. I wish I had a niece...I have THREE nephews...*sigh*
      Love them of course, but still...

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  3. AWESOME!!!! Looove this.... Aww Making fool of ourselves is so much fun...!! I do it all the time...BTW your trampolining pic is SOOO CUTE!!!!
    LOL I was always tooo scared to sit on those rides...

    And you know how much I love playing age of empires :3 or Age of mythology......-- Actually any game where I can yell stuff like "So...Chiron...We meet again", "You will never get me KRONOS...DIE!!!!!!" blah blah...

    BTW I LOVE THE NAME CURIOUSER!!!!! I havent had time to think about a name for myself but...off the top of my head... "Destiny" or "Aurora"...

    IDK what do you think my name should be? Anything that says....wonderfully weird!!!

    P.S. Deb...you are a sucha CUTE 'flit'!

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    1. Oooh, yes, reaaaaalllly good names for you!! I would also give you "Flow", I think (so much flows through you and from you, you "go with the flow", you are open and so obstruction-free). What do you think???

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    2. OH YES!!!!!! FLOW.....LOVE.IT! See I knew you'd choose the perfect name for me! :*

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    3. Barbara -

      Now, I'm imagining Shalaka saying, "Kiss my grits!" with an Indian accent!!! :D

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  4. Oh WOW it look s like you all had so much fun. I love the big huge trampoline I would love that.

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  5. Looks like quite the fun week, I haven't managed to get out to our own Ex (the Red River Exhibition)in a few years but we did head to Valley Fair earlier this summer. I went on a giant swing there too. Did the one you went on only have a lap belt, nothing across the shoulders? I did NOT enjoy it, my screams were of actual terror and I usually like rides!

    I LOVE the giant trampoline! We have a standard one and it's always fun to bounce on, although I have to pee every five minutes whenever I go on it, ahh the joys of having had children....

    Way to be a great Aunt though, your nieces must think you are the best and they may be right. As for my true name I ain't got a clue.

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    1. The trampoline was amazing! I had no idea I would enjoy it so much! The giant swing? Yeah, only a metal bar across the lap. It was, as you say, truly terrifying. But, I will also say, a great adrenalin/endorphin rush afterward :)

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  6. Barbara, I'm so glad you got to go to the fair, too! Do they have competitions and 4-H displays and stuff at your fair? What did the exhibits look like? BTW, you totally missed out by not riding the Fireball with your niece. It's fun! Maybe try it next year?

    That trampoline place looks like a blast! I'd love that! A room with all trampoline for the floor is the sort of thing I would've designed into my dream house while imagining as a little girl. lol

    True name, huh? I don't know. I have to work tonight, and when we're slow, I'll be glad to have something like this for my brain to fidget with. I'll come up with some options tonight. :)

    NOT my true name but suitable nonetheless, late, late the other night a bunch of us reluctant members of #teaminsomnia were being silly on Twitter and playing with a hashtag with the intent of one of the guys pulling it all together into a fabulously hilarious Storify. We assigned ourselves and others spy names. For my espionage code name, I chose Periwinkle Sequin. :)

    Gonna have to give some thought to the whole true name thing, though. That's not for silliness. It'll have to be a full name with first, middle, and last. Or, maybe I'll be royalty and have bunches of middle names. I don't know. It'll depend on how boring work is tonight! :)

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    1. Okay, Periwinkle Sequin -- while not your true name, I know -- is ADORABLE!!

      The Ex is more like a midway fair with farm animals and store-type boutiques, as opposed to competitions and homemade goods (which I would sooo prefer, btw) This year we were pressed on time and weren't able to see the farm animals, but the Superdogs were amazing!

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  7. p.s. Deb! Flit cracked me up! :) You could be royalty, too! Dame Futzing Flit McLaughter the Buxom! :)

    (Please take this with all the loving hugs with which it's meant.)

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  8. Well, I didn't last until tonight. My mind couldn't put off having fun with this and immediately started creating ideas. I reserve the right to modify my name after giving it more thought tonight at work. But, my current draft of my true name is:

    Dame Bibliophilia Midori Lavender Cervicatas Autrice-Artiste de la Mer

    Dame: my title, in both the knighthood sense and the saucy broad Ethel Merman-esque sense

    Bibliophilia: love of books

    Midori: Japanese for green, my lifelong favorite color

    Lavender: Because my other favorite color is purples, esp. deep violet and lavender. I went with lavender instead of violet because of the scent of lavender and the plant's uses in herbalism.

    I included colors to represent crafting, photography, and things I find beautiful.

    Cervicatas: Latin for stubbornness - Because I survive and will eventually prevail. And, because I will never stop being a mamabear when it comes to social justice issues and tending to folks.

    I chose Autrice-Artiste as my last name because it's Author-Artist in the feminine. This was to honor creativity and womanhood.

    de la Mer: of the sea (in French)

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    1. Oh, wow, how do I LOVE this!! Excellent name, Rigel.

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    2. oh love your name!! by the way I am totally keeping Cervicatas in mind. I am soooo stubborn : )

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    3. Love Bibliophilia!

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  9. Souzan Rezai from Vancouver, BCAugust 31, 2012 at 11:34 AM

    That trampoline looks like an amazing day! My friend used to house sit for her neighbour, who had a trampoline in their backyard and we always went to town-- it always amazed me that I-- who used to be fearless in going on the big scary every things-- am now even scared when I jump too high...

    I agree that playing is vital. In a really big job interview once, I was asked what I considered my most influential job to date was, and I startled the crap out of them by saying ''babysitting''. This was a theatre job, and I think everyone else used this question to name drop or such, but I really liked the question and was surprised by how easily the answer came right to me. I mean it still -- and I've had lots of jobs... If you can get kids to do all they need to do, stay safe, and have nothing burn down ALL while getting everyone to have fun and feel stimulated? Gold fucking star in my books. You can do anything.

    As for my true name? Hmmm, that's a fun one! I wonder if it would stay the same day by day? But today I think it would be my own name, pronounced properly. My parents knew we would be immigrating when they had me, so they purposely picked a Farsi name that would be easy to say in an Anglicized way, and I went by 'Susan' all through primary/secondary. I started using the proper spelling in University (Souzan) just because the techinicalness of all the forms and stuff was too hard to mess up, and then I just really liked it; but I still go by the English pronunciation in my western circles, which is dear to me in it's own way, but...my actual name is so much cooler...

    so my true name is Souzan: soo-zAHn (the 'ah' is like the 'ah' sound you make when the doctor checks your throat. Add a 'z' to the beggining' and an 'n' to the end, and you're there!)

    p.s. I've been away, and leave again for a month on Sunday, and frankly...I really missed this place! Hope you've all been happy and healthy :)

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    1. Souzan, we will miss you while you're away! Always, love your comments!!

      What a great answer "babysitting" is! In fact, thanks for that one because I would never even have thought of it -- and yet, look how comprehensive it is! As for the playing: does the actual jumping high bother you or the thought of it. From my experience, everything was worse in theory than in fact (except, maybe the super-high swing, which was way scarier than I remembered. Although I would probably still do it again :) )

      And, man, do I LOVE your name description. The poetry of your description got me first, but I also truly love your intention behind your beautiful words. Does Souzan mean anything in Farsi???

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    2. Souzan Rezai from Vancouver, BCAugust 31, 2012 at 12:27 PM

      Thanks, Barb!

      Souzan does have a meaning in Farsi, it means an intense encompassing heat, for example a bright clear hot sun would be described as a Souzan Sun. Fun fact: my friends generally call me Suz, and in farsi "Sooz" means a chilly breeze. So I'm like a Hot/Cold ice pack, basically.

      As for the jumping, it's more the falling that scares me, I like jumping really high, but then am afraid of landing/falling off the trampoline. I think I'd have less fear maybe on a larger trampoline, the kind you were on, or the kind in gymnasiums, but this was a little garden one meant for kids, and 3 20somethings jumping on it felt really close to death...

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    3. Yeah, I have a feeling you'd be pretty comfortable on the wall-to-wall tramp. Even the sides are tramp material. Each tramp is individual, separated from the next one by a matted platform. Very safe feeling. Although I'm sure you could still get hurt in some ways...

      I am fascinated by your name duality. Soooo interesting! Okay, does it reflect the "true you"???

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    4. Souzan Rezai from Vancouver, BCSeptember 1, 2012 at 12:11 PM

      OOOh, you know I haven't really truly thought about it that way, but I think it actually does. I am a warm person, I believe and have come to find that as ''intense'' as I can be, it is what ultimately my friends love about me, and I think it helps bring out their comfort to be themselves in turn with me. But, betray my trust, or hurt someone I love, and I will definitely become a very scary chilly breeze...

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  10. Having only had sons I love spending time with my three nieces. They are now out of their teens and approaching their 30's but oh the memories. Our favorite was eating breakfast for lunch. I can see by your photos that it was a great time and so special when you are the aunt and not the Mom. In our family we call these special outings and we try to do them as often as possible. Sometimes I participate in everything and sometimes I just watch their joy doing things I would never do like hanging upside down. Great adventures today and everyday with nieces.

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    1. I like "special outings" too! It's nice that we get to choose which activities to join in on and which to watch from the sidelines, right?!

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  11. Talk about an adventure hunh... I was up at the crack of dawn...okay 7:30 but it felt like dawn to me!
    Anyway we were celebrating my brother's birthday today which ment he picked what we do. He picked quad riding. We went to this place with riding tracks and mud and mud and more mud! My brother loved it. My dad and I are so sore we can barely move!! Not to mention the pile of muddy clothes still sitting on my dad's tail-gate. I have got to get to those clothes. Ugh... But it was fun just bumpy : )
    Your few days sounded very fun Barbara!


    I am not sure about this name thing........
    I guess mine would go something like this..

    Atheos-american Silence Letitbe

    Ok Atheos-american because well I am american : ) and then the atheos is greek (because I love greek food) for not believing in a god (you all know me by now)
    Then silence because I am shy and quiet but also because I like it as a name. and I am a history buff and who doesn't love Ben Franklin and a little trickery?
    and letitbe ..litterly let it be because I am very relaxed and carefree : )

    and I wanted my initals to be ASL for american sign language : )

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    1. Ooooh, awesome names. Well thought out too!

      What's a "quad"? Is that like an ATV??? sounds like messy fun, either way!

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    2. Yeah exactly same as ATV. we use both names interchangably here. and I even paused while writing on which name I was gonna use for ease of translation.... I picked wrong! LOL

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  12. Wow! So glad you all had so much fun and excitement this week! Wish I could say the same. I have been back to work and classes, FUN!!
    Good news though: I will be going to see Whose Live next month for my birthday, which gives me something to look forward to.
    As for the "true" name thing...I have no idea. Any suggestions?
    Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Hmm...I think my "true" name would have to start with Perdita. It is one of my favorite names in a Shakespeare play.

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    2. Thought of you last night -- went to see Midsummer Night's Dream in the park, put on by the exceptional Canadian Stage. It was so wonderful and organic and interactive. I like Perdita for you. How about "Wisdom Seeker"?

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    3. Aww, sweet that you thought of me. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of my favs. So glad you got to see a Shakespeare performance. That sounds lovely.
      I like "Wisdom Seeker"... Think I'll keep it! xoxo

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    4. Yeah, I like that one for you too :)

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  13. Of all the strange things to remember, this post reminded me of when I was a little girl in early elementary school and had picked out what I wanted to name a daughter someday: Athena Cassiopeia Serena Babbette Rosemary. The first 3 were drawn from the original late 70's Battlestar Galactica. (Although, I didn't spell it Serina like in the show.) I didn't know about the mythology back then. I just thought they were space names like mine and thought the actresses were sooooo pretty and adventurous. LOL Hey, Cassiopeia is still one of my favorite constellations to look for in the night sky! LOL Babette was the name of a French doll in a cartoon I once saw. Rosemary was the name of a woman from Africa I met at Girl Scout Day Camp.

    Don't worry. As an adult, I gave my son plain ole first, middle, and last. :)

    But, can you imagine for a moment Dame Bibliophilia Midori Lavender Cervicatas Autrice-Artiste de la Mer having a daughter named Athena Cassiopeia Serena Babbette Rosemary Autrice-Artiste de la Mer?

    ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Ha!! Absolutely!!! Fyi, Babette is sometimes a nickname a few of the girls call me...

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  14. The picture of the wheelie ride reminds me SO MUCH of the London Eye!!! :D

    Looks like you and your niece had a smashing time!

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    1. London Eye -- on a really really smaller scale! And we had a GREAT time, thanks, Holly!

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  15. Oh, I LOVE trampolines! Any chance to be a kid again. :D We're taking our two to a theme park on Monday if the weather's nice - one last hurrah before school starts again. :P

    As for a name, I have no idea... I'll have to think about that one. :)

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    1. I hope your day was great, Roz! Did you think of a name yet???

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    2. No! I've been racking my brains but I honestly can't think of an appropriate one for me. I even asked my husband and he was spectacularly unhelpful!

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  16. Sounds like a fantastic three-day vacation from reality! Rides will do that every time. I would never get on that thing in the second picture. I have this thing against nausea. Steel rollercoasters are my thing. The trampolines look like fun, though. I've been on one a couple of times. It's really a surprise that you can get that tired, isn't it?

    When I was pregnant, I called myself "Iceberg." Large and slow-moving.
    My first email address was BoomC98. "Boomchild" is the name of Dennis DeYoung's third solo album. I used 'Boom' for message boards and such, and it's stuck with the gals I started chatting with. Boomy, Boomer... any version works for me.
    If I had to come up with one on my own now, I think I like devotee. "Fan girl" sounds too creepy.

    P.S. Barb and Deb, I had a dream last night involving you two and a cast of several others. Long story short, thanks for inviting me to the party. I had an AWESOME time! And my dad did show up to drive me home. Yeah, I don't know why, either. :D

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    1. Let's call it Devotee. Looks better that way.
      Now off to clean up after a sick cat. Ah, the joys...

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    2. I might've guessed that you would have come up with a few apt names already, Dawn!! I really love Boom (and the other incarnations of it) for you--it feels like big beginnings, boldness, raw power, honesty. That speaks to me for you (more so than Devotee and its ilk -- sure, that's a big part of your life, but it doesn't say YOU to me, ya know???) And thrilled the party worked out :)!!

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  17. These are two of things I loooove doing. ;)
    Why didn't you take me with you? *lol*

    Nah, I'm still enjoying my time on that little, cute, island with lots of swimming in the sea, biking, taking pictures, entertaining my grand-cousin (?), who is 2, and of course...geocaching. :P

    My true name? Never thought of that...hmmm maybe Silentia Kind (I'm usually a very quiet, shy person...but I am a nice person, too...oh and Kind is German for kid...so guess that works :P)

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