Coasting For Kids 2014

Thanks, Bunky, for suggesting that I call them. Had previously spoken with Kaylee Rodriguez, who sounded very nice, and will ask about getting a shirt in my size. As to Raven-Phile, did you notice that I said on the other hand, wearing the T-shirt would be a good idea? Raven-Phile seems to have some sort of personal vendetta against me, as he attacks me at every opportunity. I assume that he's a guy so he would never understand why, after going from 214 to 128 lbs., I would prefer to wear something that shows off my figure. (No guy would really understand this because men are not judged on appearance and subjected to pressure to be thin the way women are.) However, it will make a nice photograph for everyone participating to be wearing a Coasting For Kids T-shirt.

If my dad ends up driving me to Dorney, I wonder whether they'll let him in for free in return for driving one of the participants, so that's another question I'll ask Kaylee. I have to borrow his car anyway in order to get there and would feel less stressed out if one of us were to drive and the other navigate. Up to $193 now; I'll contribute the extra $7 to make my $200 goal.

Jeff, I wish that your offer could be extended to tomorrow, as I don't get paid until tomorrow. May be able to work something out but not sure.

Bobbie1951 said:

(No guy would really understand this because men are not judged on appearance and subjected to pressure to be thin the way women are.)

Oh Gonch, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

As for having a personal vendetta? Attacking you? Nah. I just think you're whiney and ungrateful, and I'm going to call you out on it every time I see you whining about something trivial.

You mean... I'm not supposed to look like that? Well, that's a relief.

(btw, I was referring to Barbie...)

I've always been really, really ridiculously good-looking, so it's never been an issue.

I can't seem to get the hang of turning left, though.

Bobbie1951 said:

I assume that he's a guy so he would never understand why, after going from 214 to 128 lbs., I would prefer to wear something that shows off my figure.

Vanity?

A feeling of smug superiority over a group of people that is stereotypically (and regularly admitted by many on CB) slightly heavier?

If you had said "I would prefer to wear something that fits comfortably for a day of walking and riding," I'm sure no one would be giving you such a hard time.

Jeff, do the donations go to our specific CFK accounts? I don't care as long as the money goes to GKTW, but was just wondering. I'm still just shy of that damn lap counter. And I'm still trying to somehow usurp Mike in the top 3 fundraisers.

No, they would appear on my account.

Okie dokie I'll get on it in a bit!

Very generous of Jeff indeed! I, too, have been planning on joining this year -- this sealed it. Just signed up.

Jeff, I have my credit card right here, and I'm about to do it. Thanks for the opportunity..my computer clock says 9:30, so I assume I'll make the deadline.

*EDIT* Just did it, but the transaction shows as 5/30..that's tomorrow? I'm in for the CFK deal, right, Jeff?

That time is UTC. You're good. :)

Well, I just renewed last week. Dammit.

Jacqui, where's the link to your page?

Jeff said:

I don't have your credit card. Duh. :)

Whew! 7 minutes to spare!

Picked a lousy week to work evening shift.

Bobbie1951 said:

Jeff, I wish that your offer could be extended to tomorrow, as I don't get paid until tomorrow. May be able to work something out but not sure.

It's on a credit card, so it's not like you need to hand Jeff the cash today.

3 minutes. Hurry!

Tommytheduck said:

Bobbie1951 said:

I assume that he's a guy so he would never understand why, after going from 214 to 128 lbs., I would prefer to wear something that shows off my figure.

Vanity?

A feeling of smug superiority over a group of people that is stereotypically (and regularly admitted by many on CB) slightly heavier?

"A feeling of smug superiority?" Hardly. The organization to which I would most like to donate, after Give Kids The World Village, is the National Association to Aid Fat Acceptance. The people whom I most admire are those who don't let their weight get in the way of leading full lives. I simply wasn't mentally tough enough to do that. Could have phrased the issue about the T-shirt better, I must admit. A little vanity, yes - such as when I was given a Gatekeeper jacket that was so large it made me look like a linebacker and I ended up paying $50 to have it altered.

If you had said "I would prefer to wear something that fits comfortably for a day of walking and riding," I'm sure no one would be giving you such a hard time.

Fat Acceptance is a joke.

I'm a bit overweight and I hate it. The last thing I need is someone to stroke my ego and tell me it's OK, and that HAES (Health at Every Size) exists. I'm overworked and lazy. I need to get off my ass and get back down to my 185 lbs and I know it. Having someone come along and tell me I should be "accepted" is complete horse crap. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it.

I'm not going to discriminate or "hate" on someone because they're fat, but unless there's a legit medical reason, such as paralysis, a severe case of RA, etc, there's 0 excuse to at least try to put less junk into your body. Again, I'm a hypocrite right now and I know it, but I don't want anyone pandering to me and telling me I should be accepted.

If you really love someone, you should want them to live as long as possible, with as little complication as possible - if that means telling them that they are being unhealthy and you're concerned, then so be it.

kpjb said:

Bobbie1951 said:

Jeff, I wish that your offer could be extended to tomorrow, as I don't get paid until tomorrow. May be able to work something out but not sure.

It's on a credit card, so it's not like you need to hand Jeff the cash today.

3 minutes. Hurry!

Well, not exactly on a credit card. On a debit card linked to my bank account. I did join Coaster Buzz yesterday b/c Jeff's generous offer was more than sufficient motivation to do so. Made a very small donation to Johnnyecks and wish that I could afford to donate more.

I wonder what factors are taken into consideration when they decide which coasters will be in the marathon at any given park. The choices for Dorney are pretty much a no-brainer but at Cedar Point it's another story. They could have broken it up between Magnum, Gemini and maybe Raptor in lieu of limiting it to the first two. And what about MF? They don't want to tie up the coaster for this event or they think it might be too intense for prolonged consecutive riding?

On the subject of fat acceptance, one of the things that bothers me most is gratuitous cruelty. I couldn't walk out of the house without someone on the street yelling "Hey, fatso!" and there's no reason why anyone should be subjected to this. I was also denied employment on the grounds that I was too fat to qualify for health insurance. Thanks to advocates for the overweight, the law has now changed so as to prohibit that type of discrimination. It's true that being morbidly obese is not healthy but I say live and let live.

Theme parks discriminate against fat people to some extent and although I'm not happy about it I'm resigned to the fact that this cannot be helped, for safety reasons, unless a park were willing to invest the money to make modifications to the rides. I'm aware that there are some coasters with rows or seats that will accommodate larger riders but this does not include my favorite, El Toro. I remember standing in line to ride it and seeing a lady also waiting to ride who could not possibly fit into the restraints. I couldn't very well say that she should save herself the trouble of waiting for that reason; that would be too cruel. She eventually did board the train and as anticipated, was turned away. I often wonder why more park guests don't try out the test seats before getting in a ride queue.

Ugh.

Everyone can't do/have everything.

If there's something you can't do/have, you're most likely not being discriminated against, treated unfairly or whatever.

Seems to me this mentality is becoming more and more prevalent and it's scary. We're becoming a nation of victims with no sense of personal responsibility.