Camelbeach

My family didn't get a chance to really go on vacation this year. Instead, we took the day off yesterday and went to Camelbeach, the water park at Camelback Resort. Since it is only a two-hour drive from our house to the park, it was absolutely perfect for a one-day summer getaway. Luckily, the weather cooperated with us. For the most part, anyway. The park itself isn't huge. There are around 10 slides, varying between mat slides, tube slides, and family tube slides. My daughter's favorite slide was Spin Cycle. One or two people ride tubes through a shoot before swirling around a bowl only to be spit out at the end. It was tons of fun. My favorite ride was Sandstorm. A family tube, that fits up to 4 people, splashes through two funnels that throw the occupants into complete darkness. The best part about the park is that we managed to go on a majority of the water slides (there were a few none of us wanted to hit) before a thunderstorm rolled in around 4:30PM.

Price-wise, the park is pretty reasonable. General admission (purchased online) is $33. However, you can buy a 4-pack of passes for only $100. The catch is that all 4 tickets must be used at the same time. I think the park was way more fun with four people anyway.

If you are in the Pocono Mountain area in the summertime, this is definitely a must-visit place. And I recommend reserving a cabana. Not only do you receive a complimentary fruit basket in the morning, you also receive a complimentary dessert basket in the afternoon AND there is a waitstaff that will bring you whatever else you need. Very worth the money.

Create Your Own Coin

I am always on the lookout for new and interesting things to give away to my Zumba participants. I found a site that has military coins BUT they also have a "create your own coin" thing. It might be different to create a variety of coins to give out for accomplishments. Things like "100 classes attended" or something. What do you think? If you were attending a Zumba class, would you like to get that as a thank you or is it a terrible idea?

Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

Last night, my husband, my daughter, and I went to the symphony at The Mann Center in Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. The orchestra performed 4 movements featuring music from a variety of the Legend of Zelda video games.

My husband is the true gamer in the family. He has played most, if not all, of the Zelda games. Both my daughter and I watch him play but we're not as familiar with the series as he is. However, we all enjoyed the concert. There is a large video screen above the orchestra that shows videos, both game play and cut scenes, from the games. The music was beautiful and even I recognized a few of the tunes. I also thought the video screen was a nice addition. I don't always know which game is which just by the title. Having the video helped me identify each game.

The downside of the concert was the crowd. Since this is obviously aimed at gamers and not normal symphony-goers, the crowd didn't know the appropriate behavior for a symphony. While I will forgive those that wore jeans (to the SYMPHONY!), it was extremely annoying that people would cheer and scream when fan-favorite characters showed up on the screen. Yes, I understand that Epona is awesome. But I paid a lot of money to listen to the music, not you screaming your head off for a video game horse.

If the concert is coming to your neck of the woods, I would recommend checking it out. Just keep in mind that the audience will be full of people with no knowledge of social etiquette.

A geeky tattoo!

While my daughter was away on vacation, I got a new tattoo. (She doesn't like when I get new tattoos.) It is a Sailor Moon themed design. Sailor Mars' symbol in front of a red heart from the live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series. Since I just got it on Thursday, July 19, it's still pretty gross. I'll be sure to take a picture of it once it's healed and pretty.

Medicine is not 'medicine'

My allergies have been going haywire since last week. Despite taking my allergy medicine, I've still been majorly congested. So I did what any good geek would do - look online for methods of relief. I must have screwed up my Google-Fu somewhere because I came across this website: http://www.shoppharmacycounter.com/t-Adipex-Medicine.aspx. That isn't allergy medicine. It's weight loss pills disguising itself as "medicine." That is annoying. Yes, I want to lose weight but I know I can't pop a pill and the weight will magically drop off. It annoys me that companies take advantage of people's desire to be thin that they market this crap as medicine. Medicine makes it so I can breathe, not to make me look pretty. Blargh.

Protect Yourself!

In Pennsylvania, there is no motorcycle helmet law. As a result, I see a lot of people riding around helmet-less dressed in inappropriate clothing for riding. For example, shorts, tank tops and flip-flops. They should, at minimum, have on a mesh motorcycle jacket. Something that will protect their body if they are in a crash. Yes, I know you want to "feel the wind in your face" but that won't help you if someone cuts you off and your face ends up on the concrete. Protect yourself!

JDorama review: Hito ni Yasashiku

Title: Hito ni Yasashiku Also known as: Be Nice to People Broadcast dates: 1/7/02 - 3/18/02 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: Drama Cast: Katori Shingo, Matsuoka Mitsuru, Kato Koji, Suga Kenta Plot: Three men with no "real" family live together. One day a boy appears on their doorstep with a note from his mother asking them to care for the boy. Maeda Zen (Katori) takes it upon himself to care for the boy until his family returns. What is good: The interaction between the men and Akira (Suga) What is bad: The storyline drags at the end. Letter rating: C

I am a fan of Katori Shingo and there were references to this show in an episode of SMAP X SMAP so I knew I had to watch it. As you should know by now, it took me a long time to get through this series, even though it's only 11 episodes. There just wasn't anything to make me want to watch it. Yes, I loved the playful teachings of Zen (Katori, Taro (Matsuoka), and Ken (Kato) but it wasn't enough. I'm glad I watched it. I think it would have been better if it was a little longer.

It's so quiet in here

It has been a fairly slow day. My boss' son is getting married today so he hasn't been around. As a result, the office has been very quiet. Somehow that seems to make the day last much longer. I'm sure things will be back to their frantic pace next week when the boss returns. (And he'll most likely have tons of pictures...from the guests not raleigh wedding photographers.) I'm not sure which I like better - the quietness or speeding to the end of the work day.

It's band camp week

My daughter has band camp this week. (Yes, I know you want to make an American Pie joke but, c'mon, my daughter is 10 years old.) She spends every morning playing her trumpet and eating snacks and talking with her friends. Then, on Friday night, they are having a little concert to show what they have learned. Since this is 5 half-days of band, I am half expecting them to be playing kazoos or harmonicas or something. I do know better though. My daughter has shown me her sheet music. They are playing the theme song from the old Batman TV series and the theme song to the old Spider-Man cartoon. It'll be an interesting concert, to say the least.

My house is a wreck

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but my house is a wreck. To be completely honest, we didn't pay a lot for this house because it needed a bunch of things fixed. (For example, the entire house needs replacement windows hampton because a lot of the glass is either cracked or broken. Luckily, the really bad windows are at the back of the house so you can't see it from the front.) We knew this up-front. It's the "behind-the-scenes" stuff that actually annoys me. The previous owners tried to fix some stuff by themselves and screwed it up worse. I think we've finally fixed everything they've broken so now we're down to the things we knew were wrong. I'm almost ready to just level the place and start all over.