New Year's FAQs

I'd like to take this opportunity to answer some frequently asked questions about my Super Happy New Year's.  At least, I think these questions would be frequently asked if I were one of those popular bloggers who got e-mails with questions from time to time.  If you have any other questions that you frequently ask in your head, please comment below.  I will do my best to answer each one individually (but you know, I'm so swamped with comments I may not be able to.

Question #1:  How did you celebrate your New Year's?

Our New Year's usually involves sitting around with my husband possibly watching the ball drop on Global (because for some odd reason we don't get Citytv).  This year (or rather, last year) I decided to have a party instead.  I invited all my Mommy friends and their families, some of whom showed up.  The goal was to relive my party days, when New Year's Eve meant drinking with friends.  And we succeeded, sort of. The last guest left at 11 pm, because over-tired children tend to be less well behaved than well-rested children.  Who knew?  Anyway, William did make it to midnight (he saved his meltdowns for the next day).  We watched the ball drop in Niagara Falls (on Global).  The Barenaked Ladies sang Auld Lang Syne.  Also everyone brought snacks, so we had our New Year's Day breakfast and lunch covered.  Thanks guys.

Question #2:  Have you made any New Year's resolutions?

I actually make resolutions throughout the year, so New Year's isn't special to me in that way.  Normally my resolutions involve writing more and playing computer and video games less.  This is tough because I got Mario Galaxy 2 in my stocking. Also there's literally an infinite amount of online games I can access using the same tool I use to write.  It's like storing your heroine in the same drawer as the stuff that helps you not take heroine (I have no idea what that stuff might be, since I've never been a drug addict, so that analogy didn't work as well as I thought it would).  But I do have ammunition.  This year, my writing group friends and I are taking an online course called Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviours (aka how not to procrastinate 101).  The first lecture had, among other things, some stuff about how sleep is good.  So at 12:30 am I was sitting at my desk, reading about how sleep will help you loose weight, be more productive, etc.  Now I'm trying to go to bed at 11 pm and get up at 7am.  That's been going okay.  I'm still playing lots of games, but I'm sure the second lecture will help me out with that once I get around to reading it.

Question #3: What is your favourite Star Trek movie?

Ever since I was a kid, my favourite Star Trek movie has always been Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.  In it, Captain Kirk and his friends have to go back in time to get some humpback whales (they are extinct in the 23rd century).  The result is a ridiculous 80s comedy in which Spock jumps into a tank in a cetacean museum to mind-meld with a whale. Gold! The moral of course is that we should save the whales, because you never know when they are going to stop an alien probe from destroying the planet.  Okay, nobody has asked me this question, but Adam recently bought Star Trek IV on blu-ray for only $7.00!!!!  Score!

Edit:

Question #3 (From an anonymous comment below): If you found yourself on the sinking Titanic, what would be your Survival strategy?

I probably got to the Titanic using some kind of time machine, in which case I would prepare myself before the trip by appearing to be insanely wealthy.  That way I would be let on the life boats with the first class passengers.  If I had no preparation (ie: I fell through a random time portal, on the way to the grocery store) I would dazzle the captain with whatever futuristic technology I had on me (iPod, digital watch, disposible diaper, etc) so he would believe that I am from the future/an alien and do whatever I say.  Then I would have him turn the ship away from the icebergs and sail safely to a tropical island.  Failing that, I would find a giant piece of floating debris and hang out on it until help arrives.

Question #4 : If you could be the leader of a religion who would you be?


As an atheist, I really have no desire to be the leader of a religion, but if I had to choose one I would have to go with the Pope.  He's got power.  He's got cool hats.  He's got a bulletproof limo (such faith!).  I'd have to be a man, though, which is annoying because I enjoy my breasts and vagina.

Day 7: Whale Watching

Our whale watching excursion was all the way in Ventura, 2 hours away from our hotel in Anaheim.  We woke up at 6 am, left about 15 minutes behind schedule, then drove through LA and the worst traffic imaginable.  The ship sails at 9am, so of course we made it there by 9:04.  Our boat had already pulled out, but we made pouty faces and they radioed it back for us.

We immediately saw some sea lions crowded on top of a buoy, and some dolphins playing in the surf.  "I saw a whale!" William exclaimed as the first dolphin leapt past. This is going to be great, thought I.  Then the boat picked up speed, I began to feel nautious.  Jadzia started crying.  I took a swig of children's gravol and tried not to think about it. While Adam wrangled the children, I puked over the side of the boat and felt instantly better.  One of the crew brought me water and some gorn-awful ginger candies, which I ate just in case they would help. I stood at the railing and enjoyed the cold wind for a while.

Then Adam had to use the head so I was back to Mommy duties.  The instant Jadzia was on my lap, she vomited all over me.  The helpful crewmember brought me paper towels and wipes.  A few minutes later, Jadzia got cranky again and I thought she would puke but instead she fell asleep in my arms.  At that moment, the ship started to slow down for our first whale.

The whales we saw were humpbacks, just like the ones in Star Trek IV. And we didn't just see them in the distance, either.  Some swam right up to the boat (the Captain said that this is called "mugging"). They splashed and rolled around in the water.

We also saw two types of dolphins, both of which swam up to the boat.  The bigger ones (which I forget the name of now) were swimming under the boat and jumping right beside us.  Every once in a while, a seal or sea lion would poke its head out too.

Jadzia slept through the whales, and woke up as we were approaching Chanel Islands.  There she enjoyed the pelicans. Those goofy-looking birds really look amazing when they dive, straight down like an arrow.  The Captain drove the boat right into a large sea cave.  As we approached, William got nervous of the dark so he lay down on the deck.  I couldn't help but laugh.

On the way back the waves weren't as bad so noone got sick.  William fell asleep on my lap and I had to wake him when the boat docked.  The crew member apologized that we had had such a rough start, but I told him it was worth it.  We bought Jadzia a stuffed dolphin and William a stuffed whale at the gift shop on the way out.

William's 5-month Birthday Marineland Extravaganza

It was William's 5-month birthday yesterday so we went to Marineland with William's best friend Aedan and his parents Becca and Drew. Truth be told, I didn't actually remember that the 15th was my son's 5-month until Becca reminded us. In any case, we saw much marine life and I took many photos.

I like the one above the best, because everyone is looking and pointing the other way while a killer whale swims by. This begs the question: what could possibly be more interesting than a killer whale?

The sign next to the underwater viewing area read "ANY LEAKS YOU MAY SEE ARE NOT A SAFETY CONCERN AS THEY WILL EVENTUALLY SEAL ON THEIR OWN." I found this less than reassuring because it told me that a) the tank (full of killer whales mind you) sometimes leaks and b) the park staff do nothing to fix these leaks reasoning that the problem will just go away on its own.

Other stuff we saw/did: a seal/dolphin/walrus show, a roller coaster, one of those swing-of-the-century-type rides (that's my favourite kind of ride and I'm not sure why, I guess I'm a 7-year-old at heart), one of those drop-you-from-ridiculous-heights-type rides (I watched the babies while the less sane adults went on this. Am I the only one who finds hurtling towards the ground from high altitudes to be a less than appealing prospect? I am. Alright then.), bears (which you could feed corn pops), beluga whales (which you could feed fish), fish in a river (which you could feed fish food), and fish in an aquarium (which wasn't stroller accessible). We didn't approach the deer pen, because most of us had had bad experiences with the viscious marineland deer, and I refused to go near them with my baby.