random-rob-thoughts: april 14

:: I keep hearing about this place happy hollow in san jose. I looked into it and saw that there were kids rides, a train, and a zoo- so I was really looking forward to taking jane there.

it was ghetto.

and we had a pretty cruddy time there.

maybe it was just that it was hot outside, maybe its that we are spoiled with all of the new parks that we have been going to, and maybe it was just gross.
we are used to this cool park flooring made of old tires that’s super-soft; this place had a mixture of woodchips and sand in the playgrounds that made jane’s feet hurt. also, the new park equipment is made to never really get hot, its mostly made of plastic, and the slides are at a slow angle. at happy hollow, they have those old steel climbing areas that look like they could knock your teeth out if you run into them. jane went down a steep steel slide. first of all it was blazing hot, second, she went down so fast that she fell hard.
its bizarre to think that i grew up playing on that kind of stuff and never got hurt, and yet i won't let jane near it.

the train wasn’t a train- it’s a giant dragon- she flipped out.
some girl practically mugged her in a maze trying to steal her sunglasses. dad came to the rescue.

there was a fire truck that we liked:



and a Viking ship that she REALLY liked:



the zoo was pretty boring, but they had a jaguar that I thought was cool:



jane didn’t like the jaguar.
so, happy hollow: thumbs down!

:: while I was at happy hollow, I could hear all of these parents calling their kids or giving them instructions. I couldn’t help but notice all of the lame names that parents give their kids these days. I heard, “connor!” “Jordan!” “cooper!” “Madison!” “Harrison!” “taylor!”
and then it dawned on me: parents are giving their kids last names for first names!
I can’t really tease, I have a first name for a last name.

:: I went to a sabercats game with bruce and jeff- it was fun. the sabercats lost. I think that arena is bad luck for san jose teams.

:: what I the deal with electrical outlets and plugs? why is one side of the plug bigger than the other one? because it seems that every time I go to plug something in my plug is upside down. annoying!


:: spike tv has been showing all of the star wars movies lately. one a night for 6 nights in a row. I love those movies. they were so exciting to me when I was a kid. its really fun to watch the original movies after seeing the prequels. it makes darth vader seem so much more tragic.
there is so much in those movies about the power of deception, redemption, teamwork, friendship and hope. maybe someday I’ll explore the spirituality of star wars, although I’m sure its already been done.
they added some new things to the original movies, which is cool in some spots, but lame in others. they replaced the ghost of “old Anakin” with the ghost of “young Anakin” which doesn’t really make sense to me- since the ghost of obi-wan Kenobi is old. oh well.

:: lots of bay area teams to cheer for right now: sharks are in the play-offs, but are down. warriors are 1 game out of the playoffs, and giants aren’t as bad as everyone said they would be. its kind of sad to see the park unfilled.