Just Another Day

Six Flags or Disneyland?

So…I had the opportunity to visit Six Flags Magic Mountain a week and a half ago (I was there on April 2) with my AP Physics class. Let me first say this - I was SOO nervous about going. I’d never been to six flags. I didn’t know the park and where I needed to go. I didn’t know the best route to go on to hit all the rides. And the only roller coaster I’d ever been on was California Screamin’.

Disneyland is pretty much the only theme park I’ve ever been to. When I was younger I went to Knottsberry farm but I was too young to enjoy most of the rides, and I had been to Universal Studios once before, but I have been to Disneyland NUMEROUS amounts of time. I no longer need a map to know where I am and where I need to get to. I have a system down whenever I go - where I go first, my route, etc. I know what rides I HAVE to ride on to give me that Disney fix. I admire the Disney company and love everything they stand for. I love Disneyland!

But when I found out we were going I was excited. I was going to try new things. I was ready to completely conquer my childhood fear of roller coasters. It was going to be a new experience.

I guess I should just start out with the beginning. I’ll go in order of my trip, comparing and contrasting Disneyland as I go. Sooo…

Six Flags doesn’t open until 10:30. At least on April 2 (a Saturday) it doesn’t. This upset me. With Disneyland I get there at 8, spend my two hours at the park, and then when California Adventure opens at 10 I head over there. I would have preferred it to be open earlier, because we already didn’t have much time at the park and I wanted to cover as much as I could for just our one day trip. So the opening time was a disappointment.

Also, when I walked in and they checked my bags, I learned that only water was allowed. No snacks. I always bring snacks to Disneyland to keep my energy up throughout the day, and most of the food in theme parks is over priced and not that good, so it’s cheaper and probably healthier to bring my own granola bars in. Sadly I had to throw most of my snacks upon entering the Six Flags area.

Since we got at the park around 10, we had an aggravating half-hour to wait until they let us in. During that time two performers came out to keep us “entertained”. They played music that had been popular two years ago and kept trying to get us to jump and yell and dance. Almost everyone wasn’t amused. It was hard to feel pumped up when I had no idea who these people were. I’ve never had anything like this really happen at Disneyland, because I’d never been there early enough for them to try to keep us entertained before entering, but I imagine they would have some sort of Disney character out and about, instead of two random strangers wearing strange clothing. Maybe I’m wrong on that one, but that’s what I thought. I also didn’t appreciate the obvious advertising done by the two. “Don’t forget to pick up your FLASH PASS before you get in the park!” “While you are shopping for souvenirs, why not upgrade your ticket to a SEASON PASS?” “If you have a Discover card you can go to the Discover gate and get into the park at open time!” I just didn’t appreciate it. I also didn’t appreciate the billboards on Viper for their stupid hair gel or whatever. Are you really resorting to advertising on the side of roller coaster trains?? I know the park is trying to get your money, but I don’t like it to be thrown into my face. 

And since I just mentioned flash passes…let me just tell you how RIDICULOUS the whole thing is. Why should I have to pay more money than my park ticket to let me save my wait time on rides? I’m pretty sure Disneyland has a system like this, but uh…FREE. It’s called the Fast Pass. I love how the Fast Passes work. They are amazing. Just scan your ticket and there you go! You get a little pass to let you know when you can come back and save your wait time. And since I’m already talking about wait times, I think it is a crime to have to wait over two hours for one ride. Even on Space Mountain on the busiest day in the summer I’ve seen the wait time at 140 minutes. Which is ridiculous. But if X2 would have had that short of a wait time, I totally would have ridden it. I don’t know what Six Flags is doing wrong, but Disneyland has it down. Maybe Disneyland has more rides, or maybe Six Flags needs to do more control on how many people they let into their park, but something needs to change. But I was at Magic Mountain for a total of nine hours, and I only got to ride seven coasters. Granted I didn’t know the shortcuts how to maneuver my way around the park as well as I do with Disneyland, but that average is just a bit ridiculous.

And I’ve touched on this before…but the PRICES of things were insane! $4 for a water bottle? I think that’s asking a bit too much. I felt that Disneyland was cheap compared to Magic Mountain. And I thought that the food at Disneyland was better and tastier. But then again that just might be me being completely biased. 

I can’t put my tongue on the reason why, but the atmosphere was just so different at Six Flags. At Disneyland it definitely has that magic in the air. It is so happy. The children running around, the excitement…it was all lacking at Six Flags. I guess the main audience is different there. And I’m not blaming the park for this. But there’s mostly teenagers and young couples just wanting to get their thrill fix. And because they are with their friends, they don’t care how obnoxious they are to the rest of the world as long as they are having fun (and as long as they get to wait less than you). I also didn’t feel that the workers and employees of Six Flags enjoyed their job as much as the cast members at Disneyland. They all seemed mean and not happy. They hardly said “hi” or smiled. That’s one thing that has always really impressed me about Disneyland - the happy atmosphere encouraged by the cast members! Those workers really make or break the experience. But I guess if I had to wear those obnoxious highlighter yellow shirts that they have to at Six Flags I wouldn’t be a happy camper either. At Disneyland they get to wear cool costumes that go with the theme or feel of the ride. And at six flags there isn’t really a theme to a ride. I can tell that some thought had to be put behind each ride, but it could have been much better reinstated with a storyline or the employees dressing up as a part, I felt. The only ride that had any sort of what I was looking for was Apocalypse, which I think was recent (it replaced Terminator Salvation). Despite having to wait an hour and a half for the ride (it wasn’t worth THAT amount of time) it was a good coaster. The workers had army costumes, and there was a little clip that they showed us before we got on. If they would have spent more time on the special effects in the clip, and hiring new actors or giving the actors acting lessons, I would have definitely been impressed by that ride. 

Well, I think I just about hit everything I hated about Six Flags Magic Mountain. But I’m not going to say the whole trip was a waste of my time. Because it wasn’t! The roller coasters were AMAZING. My favorite would have to be Tatsu. We were on our stomach and…I can’t even describe it. I was so nervous and thought I was going to die, but it was so fun! Like I said, I only got to ride a few of the rides. The biggest thrills were Tatsu, Superman, and Scream. And if those are any indication to the other rides I didn’t get to go on, I’ll definitely be heading back in the future. :)

Disneyland still holds my heart, and it probably always will. But as far as rides go - Six Flags gets the prize. But this trip made me realize that the rides, believe it or not, don’t make the experience for me. I’d much rather be in the magical atmosphere of Disneyland.

- Love, Sydney Kaye

I’M SICK OF MY NAZI FATHER ACTING LIKE AN IDIOT.

Lately, my dad has been in a bad mood. And I mean BAD. Nothing I do is right. He is constantly nagging at me to do my chores and homework WHILE I AM DOING THEM, and then makes up new chores for me to do because “I haven’t contributed to the family enough”.Yesterday I was doing my homework and he ordered me to go pull weeds to make up for my phone bill.

A few days ago he yelled at me for “wasting time during the day” because I went on the computer to print something off. He told me I should always ASK before I use his computer and that I should have done this earlier in the day. (This is totally unreasonable because my mother teaches piano and the computer is used by her piano students on music theory games, and I also work from five to eight.) He told me I wouldn’t be allowed to sleep in even though my school didn’t start until 10 am and it usually starts at 8. So he woke me up at 7 that morning. I then had to type something up and asked if I could use his computer because it was already on and the other computer wasn’t, and since it was old it takes like five minutes to upload. Of course, he was irritated by this request and made gruff remarks that I ignored. So, I finish my work and get ready for school. I’m about to leave around 9:40, when my father tells me that I have to scoop up the dog poop in the backyard. I was frustrated because I needed to leave for school, but he wouldn’t let me leave before I did this task. So I quickly scoop up the poop and by the time I get in my car and drive away it’s 9:50. It normally takes me about 9 minutes to get to school so I was feeling a bit frantic, because then it’s another 3 minutes to walk to my class. Of course, I’m a third of the way away from my home when I realize that my dad had taken out my parking pass that allowed me into the school parking lot. Regretfully I had to make a U-turn and speed home to grab that. It was 9:55 when I finally was on my way to school and I got there around 10:03, and got to my class at about 10:10 after dealing with attendance. Thanks, dad. 

The other day I came home from work at about 7:45 and needed to go grab something at the local drug store. I started to leave but was barked down by my father, who told me it was “too late, too dark, and too dangerous” to be out that late at night (…???). Luckily my mom came home a few minutes later and I complained to her about the situation and so she was going to take me. He then started yelling at my MOTHER and calling her irresponsible and a bunch of other junk. By the time we left it was 8:30 and he was complaining how “this is the reason that you can’t wake up because you stay up so late doing crap.” Because of this he has taken away my iPod every night. I listen to podcasts on my iPod because it helps me fall asleep. Without that it can take me hours to actually fall asleep. Yep, good one dad, PROBLEM SOLVED. 

Me and my sister share a bathroom. When I woke up this morning I went to go take a shower, but my sister was going to the bathroom. I told her to hurry up because I wanted to shower. A few minutes passed and she hadn’t moved (she was playing games on her gameboy). I went in and turned the shower on so she would get the hint. She still didn’t move. So I asked if she would please get off the toilet so that I could get in the shower. Finally she got off and left. So I jump in the shower. Of course, my sister being an immature 13-year-old, goes and tells on me. So WHILE I’M SHOWERING my dad starts yelling at me for “kicking my sister off the pot and wasting water.” Later, my mother and I were reorganizing my desk because it had gotten pretty jumbled up and was really dusty. My dad comes barging into my room (he NEVER knocks) and demands that she come to WalMart with him to go grocery shopping. She told him that she was helping me with my room and that they could go afterward. My dad was in the mood to go THAT SECOND so he threw a fit and stormed out, after much arguing between them. 

About 30 minutes ago I came home and asked if I could go to the hot tub with my best friend. My mom and my sister were gone so I only had one person to ask - my WONDERFUL father. He said, “How’s the homework situation?” I hate this question. He ALWAYS asks about my homework and nags to me about getting it done. I’m a good kid and I have good grades. I ALWAYS GET MY HOMEWORK DONE. I don’t see why it is such an issue for him to nag me to get it done! I get it done, on my own timeframe. But since he asked and I don’t like lying, I told him I had to finish my essay in English. He told me I should work on that, but I took that comment to be “advisory” rather than a “command”. So I got ready for swimming and put on my suit. It wasn’t until I was going to leave he stops me, and demands that I sit down at the computer and work on my essay for an hour. And then I could go to the hot tub. Of course my friends will have left by then but that doesn’t matter, does it? I hardly ever get to hang out with my friends and have a social life, and it’s something that really upsets me. But why would he care? He NEVER hung out with his friends when he was in high school. I’m sure he was always doing his homework and never did anything else. I just hate how much of a hypocrite he is. He wants me to stop wasting so much time, when all he ever does is watch Jag reruns on TNT and read about college basketball on alumni discussion boards. Way to contribute, dad.

I’m not just being a biased teenager who is trying to rebel from my parents. I WANT to be obedient, but lately my dad has just been driving me nuts, to the point of tears. And I don’t cry easily. I appreciate the good things he does for me, like providing for the family and paying the bills. And I think it’s good that he wants to be involved in my life by asking questions and stuff, but he doesn’t have to nag me. I’m almost eighteen and I want to be treated like more of an adult. What really upsets me is how SELFISH he is. Every example I’ve given (and some others that I can’t remember that have happened in this past week) is an example of how selfish he is. He only thinks about what HE wants to see, what HE wants to do, how HE thinks I should act. If he wants me to respect him, he needs to have respect for who I am. I wish I could have a relationship where I could tell my father things and he would be understanding and listen. But instead when I try to tell him something he just yells at me and tells me what I “SHOULD” do to solve the problem, and I end up just not talking to him and giving him one-worded answers because I’m afraid of how he will respond.

I have more things I want to say, I just can’t form them at this exact moment. I guess I should get back to my essay on how Frankenstein ignored his moral obligation to be a father-like figure to his creature which ended in his downfall. Ironic, I know. 

Pedicures.

So, a few days ago, my mother took me to get a pedicure. It’s something we do often, maybe about every other month, just the two of us. It’s a good bonding time. Getting a pedicure is great. They tickle my feet, give me a really good massage, and make my toes look beautiful again. No matter how hard I try I can never paint my nails (and make the polish last) as long as the people who give me pedicures do! It’s amazing. And the cute little flowers they paint? Adorable. I feel like a pampered princess by the time the experience is over.

But there’s one complaint I have about the entire process, and you are probably thinking me silly for thinking this is my biggest concern. But I can NEVER decide on a color! I stand by the rack of nail polish until it is my turn to sit in the chair, and pick up twenty different colors. I use process of elimination (“I got a color like that last time” or “well it’s spring so I should get a bright color” - things like that) and usually narrow it down to about three or four colors. But after that, I’m at a loss! Then next thing I know they have called my name, and I have to pick the first color I can think of, and I usually regret my decision and wish I had chosen another color after I sit down. 

Oh well..

- Love, Sydney Kaye

my secret obsession…

I’m almost embarrassed to admit this…

But I LOVE youtube makeup tutorials. I can’t get enough of them!

I’m not too daring when it comes to makeup, so I usually stick around the neutral palette. But until a few months ago, I put on eyeliner and mascara and called it good. If I did decide to use eyeshadow, I used the little applicators the makeup comes with. But now I go all out (when I have enough time). It’s so fun and I don’t understand WHY I love makeup so much! But it’s amazing how much I can make my eyes pop with just five extra minutes in the morning. I love shimmery and sparkly eyeshadow, and I’ve been experimenting with different foundations and powders to cover my face. And it’s not like I HAVE to wear makeup every day now. Most mornings I actually don’t apply it. But when I do take time out of my morning schedule to put makeup on, it makes a big difference on my appearance. 

All of this couldn’t have been discovered if I hadn’t accidentally watched a MichellePhan video a while ago. Now, my favorite “makeup guru”s are juicystar07 and missglamorazzi just because they have similar hair/skin tone/style as me.

And I know that makeup gurus are kind of the joke of youtube, but I will admit that I love them. They make me want to run out to the nearest Ulta and try out new products. 

So say what you want about me, but I know a lot of you have probably secretly watched a makeup tutorial and tried that on yourself!

- Love, Sydney Kaye

Hello there. My name is Sydney Kaye. I like daydreaming, watching movies, going to Disneyland, and making messes. My birthday is August 20, 1993. And as I was reflecting on myself and the things I  enjoy, I realized they were all childish. Not that that’s a bad thing. But the reason this concerned me is that I have five months left of being a child. I turn eighteen on August 20, 2011. It’s a Saturday. But that means I have five months left of my childhood! I wish I would have realized this sooner. I feel like I spend all my time doing adult-like things, things like earning money, writing papers, stimulating the economy, solving problems, fixing relationships, planning out my future. Things I will have to do for the rest of my life. 

Okay, it shouldn’t matter. Age is just a number. It’s not like on my eighteenth birthday I’m going to magically be a mature adult. (Let’s face it, that’s not going to happen!) But in our society, eighteen is the “it” number. You can buy cigarettes. You can vote. You can gamble. If you are raped, your molester is no longer a sex offender. You can stay in a hotel. If you murder someone, you don’t go to juvy. You go to prison. It’s when your parents are no longer held accountable for your actions and you are forced to take responsibilty. It’s when, by law, you are considered an adult.

Being an adult scares me. Already my mailbox is filling up of pamphlets from colleges wishing me to waste my money at their school. I can’t even see the last email I got from someone I cared about, because every email I receive is from another college asking me to “take our personality quiz to see if our school is the right one for you!” And the more and more information I receive, the more I ask myself questions: How am I going to pay for college? Are my grades good enough to get a scholarship? How do I raise my grades? When do I take the SATs and ACTs? aaand the question that never goes away, What do I want to be when I grow up??

So, this is supposedly one of the most crucial times in my life. My junior year. And the more I learn about myself, the more I realize I don’t like doing all the things that adults have to do. I just want to be a kid again. And while I SHOULD be studying for the SATs, I think I’ll go watch The Lion King instead.

- Love, Sydney Kaye.