Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Do You Have A Need For Speed?

I'm off to the Universal Studio theme parks today as part of my birthday celebration. Fun will be had. Fattening, delicious food will be eaten. But most importantly, roller coasters will be riden. Repeatedly.


I am a thrill junkie when it comes to coasters. I have no desire to jump off a bridge attached to a giant rubber band or pitch myself out of a perfectly good airplane based on the assumption that a large sheet of nylon will keep me afloat, but lead me to a coaster and I will ride.


According to some research I did online, people who enjoy roller coasters are thrill seekers - people whose lives are structured, stressed or somehow controlled. The coaster experience allows them to "scream it all out." There may even be a gene that contributes to the thrill seeking drive in some of us. In my case, it came from dad. I can remember being the only one who would ride coasters with him when I was younger. He'd hold my glasses firmly in one hand and the safety bar with the other. Ah...those were the days.


So. Are you a thrill seeker or do you prefer to play it safe? (And is there any correlation between being a thrill seeker and the kind of books we like to read? I'd love to know.)

7 comments:

  1. I am not a thrill seeker. I do like the old fashioned coasters that go up and down hills fast. But not the ones that take you upside down or drop you from so high that you have to go back up and find your stomach.

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  2. Oh GOD I love roller coasters...LOVE THEM!! I'm a total thrill-seeker for those. I don't like the pukey ones, though, like the Superman ride--that one makes me hurl. LOL

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  3. I love, love, love Roller Coasters and Islands of Adventer is one of my fave places on earth to ride. Hulk and Dueling Dragons get me all hot and bothered.

    I'm not jealous AT ALL. (ptthhhhhh)

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  4. Anonymous1:38 PM

    I wouldn't call myself a thrill seeker in general, but I do lvoe some some good looping roller coasters. The faster and more loops, the better.

    My dad is the same. Mom, brother, and husband? Not so much.

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  5. First, happy birthday!! Second, I soooo relate. I can't do some things anymore, being an old decrepit lady, but ooooh how I love the weee factor. And I grew up in a town where one of the oldest town fairs in the country comes every summer.

    Have fun!!!

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  6. No roller coasters for me. I used to like the ones that went up and down fast - like Gwen - but I never liked the ones that turned my upside down.

    I've never been much of a thrill seeker in any other way either. Thrilling books are more my speed.

    Have fun on your birthday!

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  7. I love coasters sooooo much! I rode The Patriot at Worlds Of Fun at least 5 times in a row. You can't beat doing loop-the-loops and having the floor drop out from under you. It's fantastic!!! Absolutely no-one in my family, except my eldest sister Tina and her husband, will ride coasters with me. So I usually have to just take my friends along. Either way, I'm getting on the highest and the fastest. I also adore heights, the higher the better. Nothing like heights to make your heart race and your blood pump faster. Lol.

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