A cold December day in north Vancouver. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect setting to explain the events of October 29th , the day my view changed. The night was young, I had just finished another menial shift at “The Bakehouse” scraping food off of endless dishes and scrubbing greasy kitchen floors. As I walked away from the back door of my job a depressing thought came into mind, “Is life always like this? This constant cycle of work in hopes of pursuing happiness one day? Will I ever break out of this repetitive existence I am living right now?” As these thoughts started to overwhelm my mind, one other thought came into play. My girlfriend, Maybelline. We had been together for close to 6 months. I started asking myslef, "Where do we go from here? Are we wasting our time? Do we have a future? She's already graduated, and i'm graduating this year. What if she wants me to move in with her? Am I ready for that?"
I got home. I was walking downstairs to work on some music to get my mind off of everything, when I got a call from Maybelline. She invited me to the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition's) annual halloween "Fright Night". I thought to myself that it would be a good way to get my clear my head, so I accepted and within 20 minuets I was picked up by Maybelline's family driving across "Iron Workers Bridge" towards the PNE.
When we got to the gates of the PNE, dark green light shimmered off the smoke pouring out the fog machines. Actors dressed as popular horror icons ran around the entrance scaring and wowing standing patrons. After getting inside the PNE I realize they have renovated the whole park to halloween for this one night. There was even graphic model displays of mannequins getting their heads chopped off, gushing blood. Right after we had walked about 50 steps inside the PNE, An actor dressed up as the main character from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" came running at me with a rubber chainsaw that had an actual motor in it, I almost had a heart attack as he ran by me to scare a younger girl with her family.
We decided to explore some of the "Haunted Houses" after purchasing some Cotton Candy from one of the snack stands. Approaching the door of the "Asylum Haunted House", hands moistened with sweat, I turn to Maybelline and ask "Are you ready?". She looked nervous yet confident as she replied with a soft "yes." We opened the doors and explored the low budget haunted house full of rubber limbs and actors dressed as mental patients throwing themselves around barred cages. I felt Maybelline's hand clench mine with each frightening scare around every corner.
As we left the haunted house, I though me and Maybelline would head to the ferris wheel for a spin or two. On the way there we passed the most obscene ride I had ever laid eyes on in my entire life. "The Revelation". Maybelline noticed me looking at the mechanical atrocity and keenly asked "Have you every been?!", pulling my hand closer and closer toward the entrance to "The Revelation", I replied with a hopeless "No.", knowing that Maybelinne would insist that we face this fear of mine together.
As we approached the entrance of "The Revelation" I felt my throat drop deep beneath my stomach, straight to my feet. This mechanichal monster towering 200 ft over the amusement park, hurled its passengers throughout the night sky propelling them vertically in full circle rotations. This, added with the chair your strapped into being on its own full spinning axis, resulted in one very frightening, and what seemed some-what dangerous, form of entertainment.
As we waited in line to board the death vessel I felt Maybelline's hand squeeze mine in an attempt to make to moment a tad more comforting. "Really, you have nothing to be scared of. Hundreds of people ride this a day", she went on to tell me. She explained how she has ridden it before, and how her first time she was intimidated up until the pause at the top of the ride. "Pause at the top of the ride?" I asked, swallowing a lump in my throat. "Yes silly. After we go around 5 or 6 times the ride pauses at the top to give us a beautiful view of Vancouver"
As we watch the last couple board the machine before us, I felt nervous and excited about this journey we were about to embark on. Could this be the last amusement ride I will ever experience? We walk to the seats, the roll cage opens and we enter, climb into the cramped cushioned seats, and got strapped into our seat belts. After all that a final secure bar locked down and the roll cage was closed. I was so nervous my whole body was sweating.
We started moving. The comfortable tranquillity of sitting still was abruptly shattered with every rotation we made. Colors started to blend, my whole body felt tingly, I started to feel my stomach moving into my mouth when we gradually began slowing to a stop. Maybelline was right. It was beautiful. Vancouver. As far as my eye could see. It felt comforting. Suspended in air. Suspended in time. I had a relization at that moment, everything in my life isn't all about to erupt on its own individual clocks of doom. It was quite the opposite. Everything is exactly how it should be, supspended through air and time, approaching when it meant to, and meant to be faced when it arrives, not worried on in anticipation. "Beautiful isn't it" Maybelline said in a soft voice, noticing that im staring into the distance in deep thought, "Yes, it truly is." I replied. The perfect moment. The type of moment that is forever remembered, shaping us for the rest of our lives.
The perfect environment, broken by the movement of gears. I seemed to have forgotten that we were on this ride, and we slowly began to fall, until we were hurled around backwards another 6 times in a whirlwind of motion. We once again came to a stop. "Not so bad was it?" Maybelline asked as we climed off of the chairs and began walking away from "The Revelation". "Not to bad at all." I replied as I put my arm around Maybelline. We stumbled around the PNE for another hour or so and returned on the journey home.
I always am thankful of that night and experience I got to share with Maybelline. How just when I thought everything was about to explode, it resolved itself and layed way for new train of thought. That night I thought nothing would bring me happiness, but that realization showed me ,wether your on a roller coaster or sky diving out of a plane, happiness can be found in the most unlikely of circumstances and you should always be open to let that happiness in.
I got home. I was walking downstairs to work on some music to get my mind off of everything, when I got a call from Maybelline. She invited me to the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition's) annual halloween "Fright Night". I thought to myself that it would be a good way to get my clear my head, so I accepted and within 20 minuets I was picked up by Maybelline's family driving across "Iron Workers Bridge" towards the PNE.
When we got to the gates of the PNE, dark green light shimmered off the smoke pouring out the fog machines. Actors dressed as popular horror icons ran around the entrance scaring and wowing standing patrons. After getting inside the PNE I realize they have renovated the whole park to halloween for this one night. There was even graphic model displays of mannequins getting their heads chopped off, gushing blood. Right after we had walked about 50 steps inside the PNE, An actor dressed up as the main character from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" came running at me with a rubber chainsaw that had an actual motor in it, I almost had a heart attack as he ran by me to scare a younger girl with her family.
We decided to explore some of the "Haunted Houses" after purchasing some Cotton Candy from one of the snack stands. Approaching the door of the "Asylum Haunted House", hands moistened with sweat, I turn to Maybelline and ask "Are you ready?". She looked nervous yet confident as she replied with a soft "yes." We opened the doors and explored the low budget haunted house full of rubber limbs and actors dressed as mental patients throwing themselves around barred cages. I felt Maybelline's hand clench mine with each frightening scare around every corner.
As we left the haunted house, I though me and Maybelline would head to the ferris wheel for a spin or two. On the way there we passed the most obscene ride I had ever laid eyes on in my entire life. "The Revelation". Maybelline noticed me looking at the mechanical atrocity and keenly asked "Have you every been?!", pulling my hand closer and closer toward the entrance to "The Revelation", I replied with a hopeless "No.", knowing that Maybelinne would insist that we face this fear of mine together.
As we approached the entrance of "The Revelation" I felt my throat drop deep beneath my stomach, straight to my feet. This mechanichal monster towering 200 ft over the amusement park, hurled its passengers throughout the night sky propelling them vertically in full circle rotations. This, added with the chair your strapped into being on its own full spinning axis, resulted in one very frightening, and what seemed some-what dangerous, form of entertainment.
As we waited in line to board the death vessel I felt Maybelline's hand squeeze mine in an attempt to make to moment a tad more comforting. "Really, you have nothing to be scared of. Hundreds of people ride this a day", she went on to tell me. She explained how she has ridden it before, and how her first time she was intimidated up until the pause at the top of the ride. "Pause at the top of the ride?" I asked, swallowing a lump in my throat. "Yes silly. After we go around 5 or 6 times the ride pauses at the top to give us a beautiful view of Vancouver"
As we watch the last couple board the machine before us, I felt nervous and excited about this journey we were about to embark on. Could this be the last amusement ride I will ever experience? We walk to the seats, the roll cage opens and we enter, climb into the cramped cushioned seats, and got strapped into our seat belts. After all that a final secure bar locked down and the roll cage was closed. I was so nervous my whole body was sweating.
We started moving. The comfortable tranquillity of sitting still was abruptly shattered with every rotation we made. Colors started to blend, my whole body felt tingly, I started to feel my stomach moving into my mouth when we gradually began slowing to a stop. Maybelline was right. It was beautiful. Vancouver. As far as my eye could see. It felt comforting. Suspended in air. Suspended in time. I had a relization at that moment, everything in my life isn't all about to erupt on its own individual clocks of doom. It was quite the opposite. Everything is exactly how it should be, supspended through air and time, approaching when it meant to, and meant to be faced when it arrives, not worried on in anticipation. "Beautiful isn't it" Maybelline said in a soft voice, noticing that im staring into the distance in deep thought, "Yes, it truly is." I replied. The perfect moment. The type of moment that is forever remembered, shaping us for the rest of our lives.
The perfect environment, broken by the movement of gears. I seemed to have forgotten that we were on this ride, and we slowly began to fall, until we were hurled around backwards another 6 times in a whirlwind of motion. We once again came to a stop. "Not so bad was it?" Maybelline asked as we climed off of the chairs and began walking away from "The Revelation". "Not to bad at all." I replied as I put my arm around Maybelline. We stumbled around the PNE for another hour or so and returned on the journey home.
I always am thankful of that night and experience I got to share with Maybelline. How just when I thought everything was about to explode, it resolved itself and layed way for new train of thought. That night I thought nothing would bring me happiness, but that realization showed me ,wether your on a roller coaster or sky diving out of a plane, happiness can be found in the most unlikely of circumstances and you should always be open to let that happiness in.
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