Another Point of Singularity

Welcome back to work, everyone... those that didn't take a nice long week off, like myself, I commiserate with you. We had a fun little New Years. I did indeed end up taking the family to FAIRFAX FIRST NIGHT which was somewhat of a surprise in that we ALL had a good time, myself included. The event was geared towards the kids somewhat but they did make a valiant effort to keep us parents involved. There was faux ice skating (odd little dull skates on plastic tile), stand up comedians, music of all sorts, face painting, balloon tying, pies in the face, clowns and tons of inflatable bouncy things... not to mention hot apple cider and coffee if required. Early on in the evening it was hellish... long lines and impatient kids & parents. I enjoyed a little bit of street theater as one defensive dad got into a donnybrook with a somewhat white-trashy mom. "YOU are a common piece of crap, woman!" he shouts, stalking off. She returns with about ten cops to haul the guy away for verbal abuse, but alas, he has flown the coop. All the while, the kids bounce on the moonbounce, totally oblivious to the great people-watching opportunities I was getting. The later it got, the more jaundiced the ride operators got and the kiddies got to got through the line a few dozen times. I had fun later reminiscing with a street juggler with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, while Anne and Garrett went through the Atomic Moon Bounce a gazillion times (get tired kids.. that's it... yessss). We made a couple of flamboyant (and embarassing-- for me) attempts to pass clubs back and forth before I gave it up to watch instead. We tried waiting in line for carriage rides, but that was ONE event where the lines never got shorter. Sigh. The evening ended with a ho-hum laser light show that just screamed "Canned", and a countdown live video of the "Rotary Clock" striking midnight. Not bad.