Cedar Point has a new ride for 2005 … which swings riders back and forth in a seemingly out-of-control pendulum motion while rotating counter-clockwise; at the peak of the pendulum movement that reaches a maximum speed of 70 mph, riders are upside down 140 feet high above the ground.
I was at Cedar Point a couple of weekends ago and I chose not to ride this ride. I didn’t really feel the need to wait in line for 1+ hours to physically feel what I’ve been mentally feeling since early August.
Recently, my friends have been wondering if they should contact my local police and file a missing person’s report because I’ve just not been hitting my regular social scene (which basically means I’ve not been super responsive to emails, and especially unresponsive to voicemails). I’ve been jumping from one thing to the next, leaving me feeling like my head was swinging “back and forth in a seemingly out-of-control pendulum motion while rotating counter-clockwise”
It started with Ore to Shore in early August – a long weekend in the UP with Jess and Mom. Followed shortly (VERY SHORTLY) thereafter by our fantastic Oregon trip – 11 days of travel, including a whirlwind camping, biking and touristing adventure. In my first week of returning from my Oregon bliss, while contimplating and planning our ‘off-the-grid’ fugure, I found myself once again interviewing for a job that I thought was long since lost. Meanwhile, financial problems (due to complete lack of attention to bill collectors, and not so much from lack of funds) created severe stress. Toss in a blown engine in the Jeep (enter serious price tag on getting that fixed), sending the oldest off to college (paying for housing & amenities, and dealing with the ex-wife in the process), and not yet being able to pay for my fantastic new bike (and therefore, having to leave it at the bike shop after every ride) for spice.
Now, all of this alone is alot to process, in my opinion. But then I was offered the new job. So, I’ve got all this other stuff going on in my (already fragile to the point of medication) mental world and now I have to figure out how to leave Harman after 5 years and start something new and scary. I have to say, that overall, I think I’ve dealt with it all quite well. I mean, I won’t deny a blow up here and there, but seriously .. I came out better than I definitely could have ..
I think the ride is finally over. I’ve unbuckled the silly seatbelt and have started to exit the structure. I’m still a little weak in the knees, wobbly and dizzy, but I’m starting to get my bearings now. And with that, I want to say thanks to my pal and soulmate that I married for being so patient, supportive and helpful. Thanks to the rest of my best pals for waiting on the sidelines for me to return to society. The occasional ‘you still alive’ ping was much appreciated and knowing that you’d all still be there whenever I surfaced is touching and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
