Ripley's Believe It Or Not

On Saturday, Leah took me out on a date. She's great at finding deals and got a great discount on a pair of tickets to the Baltimore Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum.

Back when Leah and I first started dating, we went to Atlantic City. While we were walking around the boardwalk, I saw a Ripley's museum there and mentioned how much I loved reading the newspaper features as a kid and that I had a couple of books that collected many of said features. She listened and when she came across a sale on tickets, she asked if I wanted to go. It was sweet of her to remember something so trivial, so of course I said "yes."

The museum was filled with artifacts and reproductions of amazing things. Some were based on people, like the tallest man in recorded history, while others were works of art using unusual media, like giant portraits of Bill and Hillary Clinton made out of hamburger grease. One thing I liked was how there were several displays that focused on Baltimore, like Chessie, Charm City's version of Nessie.

Me standing next to a life-sized animatronic of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man the world has ever known

A(n admittedly creepy) mannequin or Robert Ripley

Ants painted like basketball players (for some reason)

There were also interactive exhibits, like funhouse mirrors, a mirror maze, what was called a "kaleidoscope room," and other attractions, some of which that didn't involve mirrors.

Inside the mirror maze -- finding our way out was much harder than I expected

The kaleidoscope room was pretty disorienting and I didn't stay in it long

We also got to see a "4-D" movie, which was a couple of short cartoons -- one staring the Angry Birds, the other staring the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote (we enjoyed the second one more, probably because we were familiar with the characters) -- that were in 3-D and required glasses and had chairs that shook. It was... okay, but I'm glad that we got to try it out.

We didn't take any pictures of the movie, so here's one of us having fun in the gift shop

After the fun of the museum, we went to a Japanese restaurant that was right on the Chesapeake Bay. Once again, Leah had a coupon. To save on parking, we walked from Ripley's to the restaurant, which was about a mile and a half away. In the rain. We both had umbrellas, so the walk just meant that we were really hungry when we sat down. Luckily, the food was pretty good.

This was Leah's first time trying unagi (eel)

Overall, it was a really fun day and further solidified the fact that Leah's a keeper.

Self-induced Sleepiness

As mentioned before, I have to take allergy medication everyday in order to function at my peak. My medication of choice, Flonase, contains low levels of steroids. I had a mild case of bronchitis a few weeks ago and was given a steroid pack to take, which meant I needed to stop using the Flonase for a while and switch to something different. The different medication worked great, so when I had finished the pack, I decided to try using both. However, this made me feel sleepy, so sleepy that I had trouble staying awake at work. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it was the double dose of allergy medication that was causing my drowsiness (despite this exact thing happening before). Not until I had finished off the replacement medication, anyhow.

I have a lousy memory, but this blog helps me recall the past, but only if I review it.

Ten Years Ago

I was thinking today that things are very different for me than they were in 2006.  That was the year that I first experienced being let go.

Prior to that year, I had only ever quit my jobs, giving proper notice each time.  But I decided that I was ready for something new, so I took a job in construction.  I had never done anything like it before and it showed.  Three-and-a-half weeks in, I was let go (the reason I was given was that, despite my learning the job at a fast pace, there was just too much work to do, so someone with a couple of decades in the field was being hired as my replacement).  I hated working construction, so I was happy to have a reason to not do it any more, but it felt weird suddenly not having a job.  I remember feeling like I would find something new right away, but I was still worried that I wouldn't.

Two-and-a-half months later, I finally started my next job, this time in a printing house.  It was a decent job with nice perks, but the tight schedule meant that I couldn't continue taking classes at the community college I had been attending.  So, after another five months, I gave my two week notice without having my next job lined up.  This was different than before, not just because I was the one who terminated my employment, but because I had prayed about it and felt that I would be okay.  Sure enough, I found something in time so that I was able to start the new job without any down time.  That new job was with BNi, a company I worked for under different capacities for three years, still the longest stint I've had at one location.

While 2006 was my first experience with being let go, it would sadly not be my last -- I was even straight-up fired a couple of times.  Still, looking back, I learned a lot and I can certainly say that I'm in a better place than I was a decade ago.