"I'm going to Disneyland!"

When I was a kid, I remember professional athletes winning championship and being asked, "So what are you gonna do next?".  They'd respond with "I'm going to Disneyland!".  Not sure if anyone got the reference in my title, but if not, that's where it's from. :)

Last month I went back to Disneyland for the first time in over 20 years.  My parents had taken me there several times when I was young, although we spent a lot of time at Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain as well.

I know a lot of people complain about how prices have increased a lot for Disneyland, but seeing how I haven't been in so long, I wasn't one to have an opinion.  I bought a 2-day pass for a total of $250, allowing me to see Disneyland one day and California Adventures on the other day.  I've never been to California Adventures before, but I still .

Going to Disneyland is such a better experience when you are older and have money you don't mind spending.  My favorite area was the new Star Wars Galaxy Edge.  We immediately went there first and stopped at Oga's Cantina for a couple drinks, by far one of the coolest bars ever!  I highly recommend checking it out if you're able to get in.  I think we got in because we went there super early at like 10am.

My favorite ride in this area was the Rise of Resistance, it's a long and exciting experience.  Also, I did buy the Lightning Lane daily pass for an extra $20 because my time is invaluable and I don't mind spend a few extra bucks to skip lines.  We as a group also used the single rider options quite frequently, since these rides are short anyway and I just wanted to experience as many rides as possible.

At Disneyland, I went on basically every ride I wanted to, starting there at 9am and closing down the park at midnight (I got into Space Mountain at exactly 11:59pm).  California Adventures closes two hours earlier at 10pm on the weekends, but that was fine since there's slightly less to see.  At California Adventures, I'd say the best rides were the new Spiderman Webslingers and also the Radiator Spring Racers.

I've also learned that as I've gotten older, I'm more sensitive to motion sickness for some of the rides.  Kind of sad since I used to be able to handle roller-coasters so well (Six Flags Magic Mountain was one of my favorites as a kid).  But I admit that the Guardians of the Galaxy ride (formerly known as Tower of Terror) had me feeling a little nauseous after I got off.

While Disneyland was a really fun experience with my friends, I don't think I need to go back for a while.  Maybe once every 10 years.  My next trip is planned for later this month, I'm going to San Antonio for a friend's bachelor party!

I caught Omicron and it was terrible!

Early this month, I fell victim to Covid, catching what I'm pretty sure was the Omicron variant.  I know I put myself out there with all my extracurricular activities, so it was only a matter of time until it made it to me.  As you see in the picture below, Omicron spiked towards the end of January in Arizona and my symptoms kicked in on Sunday, January 30.

The week before I had symptoms, I had a pretty busy week.  I celebrated a birthday with a friend on Tuesday going out for Korean BBQ and drinks.  On Wednesday, I went to the gym.  Thursday I had bowling league.  And Saturday I had a pool tournament for most of the day.  There's not really any way to tell what day I caught the virus, but if I had to guess, I think it's most likely from the gym.

The first two days of Covid were the worst (Sunday and Monday Jan 30-31).  On the first day, my throat was very sore, never before in my life has it ever hurt that much.  I was in so much pain that all I wanted to do was lie in bed.  I started having chills in the evening.  On the second day, I was so tired.  I had so much fatigue and could barely leave my bed.  All I wanted to do was sleep, but it was difficult to since my throat hurt so badly.  Even if I could fall asleep, it'd only be for like an hour or two until the pain woke me back up.  I finally broke fever that night and I woke up the next day dripping in sweat.

The third day (Tuesday Feb 1), I was less fatigued, but my body felt sore.  I still remember my right elbow being sore to the point where it felt like I had just worked out the previous day.  My throat was still sore and to make matters worse, I was coughing as well, which was extremely painful.

The fourth and fifth days (Wednesday and Thursday Feb 2-3) I finally felt okay enough to sit in my chair at the computer, so I was at least able to play a few games to pass the time.  It wouldn't last very long as I would want to go back to my bed and lie there, trying to pass the time by watching some movies in bed.

After 5 days, it felt like Covid had passed, although I still had a lingering cough that wouldn't fully go away for a couple weeks.  I also noticed that my sense of taste and smell had weakened, and wouldn't come back to full strength for a few weeks later.

I didn't get the booster and it had been 8 months since I was vaccinated in May of 2021.  In hindsight, I probably should have gotten the booster.  Who knows how much it would have helped lessen the symptoms.  Regardless, Covid was the worst flu experience of my life and I can see why some people feel the need to go the hospital from it.  I'm glad Omicron variant seems to have passed, but of course we have to assume that there will be another mutation coming later in the year.  I can't get boosted until 90 days pass, so I'll be patiently waiting for that opportunity.

Stay safe out there guys!

Bowled a 299- Game

I've been getting a lot better in bowling and you may recall that I ended the 2020-21 bowling season with my highest average ever, finishing with over 200 for the first time.  Last night, I did something that I never had done before: I started a game with 11 strikes in a row.  Usually in the past, I miss around frame 6 or 7.  That's also when the pressure starts building up because you realize you're halfway to a perfect game in bowling, which is 12 strikes to record a 300.

My nerves really kicked in on the 10th frame, in fact I don't even remember watching what happened to my teammates before my turn because I was zoning out so hard.  As I approached the lane on my 10th frame, I knew that everyone was watching.  I couldn't see anyone down the lanes to my left or to my right.  It's like I had the whole entire bowling alley to myself.  3 more strikes is all I needed to record my first ever perfect game.

My first ball went down the lane and perfectly hit the pocket and I could hear my teammate Butch yell out behind "GET UP!".  One strike down, two to go.

My second ball, I tried to stay focus, but had so much adrenaline in the system.  I let it fly and it wasn't as clean as the previous strike, but everything still went down smoothly.  I clapped my hands pretty hard after that and was then holding them up to my face, breathing through them as if they were cold and I was trying to warm them up.  Just one more strike to go.

The last ball of the game felt like an eternity.  I was up on the lane going through my pre-bowl routine and almost wanted to stop to take a sip of beer so that I could calm the nerves more.  I decided not to and thought to myself, "just get this over with".  I was throwing well all game, it should fall right?  I ended up extending my pre-bowl routine because I was so nervous, my body hadn't felt something like this...like ever?  I let the ball roll, it was a great ball, and in the end the only pin that didn't fall was the 10-pin.

And so my game ended, with a 299.  Not perfect, but literally the closest you can be otherwise.  It's my best game ever, and here's hoping that I can get it someday.  Everyone came over to congratulate me on the game, the bowling alley announced it over the intercom afterwards.  Some of the top bowlers came over to give me encouragement, telling me that it's happened to them before, or when and how that perfect game eventually came.  It was a definitely a wild ride and so unreal that a game could make you feel like this. :)

Anyway, here's the three throws in final frame of the game.  Thanks to leaguemate Crystal Kennedy for recording this.  Yeah, I don't like watching myself bowl and my pre-bowl routine was exaggerated because I was so nervous and it helped calm my nerves.  Until next bowling night!

 

Getting into Sports Betting...online?

My friend was recently able to convince me to try a sports betting app now that gambling is legal in Arizona.  I signed up on Fanduel and he and I both got $100 in bonus credit.  I honestly don't bet much on sports, other than Fantasy Sports where you put down say $100 at the beginning of the year and just see how things pan out on a weekly basis.  Or putting down $100 on a team to win the title and seeing how far they can go (like I did with the Chiefs in 2020).

With the Fanduel app, I mostly stick to $10 single-game parlays, but I only if I am able to watch the game in its entirety.  I also like to pick the prop bets for individual player performances tied to my fantasy teams.  So if they have a good game, not only does it win me some money, but it helps my fantasy team as well. :D

Here's a screenshot of my first parlay I won:

As you can tell, I have both Trae and Capela on my fantasy basketball team.  They both performed well and I won $50 as a result.  Honestly, I only hit these parlays maybe 20% of the time, so I've been breaking even so far.  I don't really expect to win big on these bets, but it does add another level of excitement to the game.  (Or frustration when you lose a bet by an assist or a point.)  I'm also learning a lot about betting in the process, regarding lines and lingo commonly used in these propositions.

Anyway, so ends 2021, another Covid filled year.  Hang in there everyone, it has to get better eventually, right?