(Years ago, my aunt generously invited me, my two cousins — our age group was somewhere around five or six — and all our parents to come spend time with her and then to go to Disneyland. This was a very expensive gift from her, even decades ago. However, when we get there, my cousins decide they don’t want to go to Disneyland; they want to go to Magic Mountain. They start whining about it. I have never been to Magic Mountain OR Disneyland before, so I am curious about both. My cousins begin to whine so much that we are all asked separately:)

Aunt: “[Our Names], would you like to go to Disneyland, or Magic Mountain?”

All Of Us: “Magic Mountain.”

Aunt: “Well, you know, I’ve actually already paid for the tickets to Disneyland.”

(I apparently thought about that, then shrugged:)

Me: “Oh. I didn’t know that. Okay then, let’s go to Disneyland. I’d like to go to Disneyland too.”

Cousins: “I don’t care! Disneyland is for babies! We want to go to Magic Mountain!”

(My cousins whined and complained the entire time we were at Disneyland, about how boring it was, how it was for babies, and how Disneyland stunk. I do remember how even I got thoroughly sick of their complaining, and told my parents that I didn’t want to wait in line with my cousins anymore. I had a great time, and even got a stuffed toy and some activity books from one of the stores. My cousins complained so much, and hated the Disney trip so much that they didn’t get anything. Years later, I learned that while I was invited to visit my aunt and occasionally go to the various theme parks over the years — I’ve been to Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Magic Mountain while growing up — my cousins were never invited back. It’s also a family saying to tell my cousins, “You would be bored at Disneyland, so stop complaining!”)

My husband and I are at a well-known theme park, sitting in the audience of a Bush skills show — sheep shearing, whip cracking, snake handling, making damper bread and billy tea, etc. The showman has just shown around a very large and harmless python; he’s clearly loving the shrieking reactions from tourists, who are all but fleeing from the snake. When he gets to me, I grin and pet the python happily whilst cooing over it as if it was a puppy. He seems a little disappointed he didn’t get the same reaction from me, but the show goes on until he reaches the part about making damper bread.

He calls me up on stage, clearly hoping to get a reaction this time. He jokingly throws random handfuls of flour and salt in a bowl and then pours in far too much water. He looks at me with a grin and tells me to get to it.

It looks like an absolute mess, which is, of course, what he intended.

He goes back to the front of the stage to continue with a demonstration on bush medicine whilst behind him I set about fixing the damper dough. I grab more flour to even out the ratios, add more salt, and by the time he comes back to check on me, I’m kneading a perfect damper bread dough.

He looks at me. He looks at the dough. He looks at me. He looks at the dough, and utterly stumped, all he can say is, “You shouldn’t have been able to do that!” before sending me back to my seat, baffled.

Sorry, mate! You just picked on the wrong lady!

(I work at an amusement park as a ride operator. We have a rule where we can’t allow anyone who seems upset or terrified to ride. As I’m checking restraints, I notice a little girl who looks extremely scared.)

Me: “Hey, is everything okay? Do you want to ride?”

Girl: “I don’t know. I’m scared.”

Girl’s Mom: “Don’t let her off. She’s going to ride.”

Me: “If she’s too upset or doesn’t want to ride, we can’t make her ride.”

Girl’s Mom: “No! You can’t let her off! She’s going to ride!”

Me: “Again, it’s up to her. We can’t let people who are extremely upset ride for safety reasons.” *to the girl* “Do you want to get off?”

Girl: “I don’t know yet.”

Me: “Okay, tell you what: I’m going to finish checking restraints and then come back so you have some time to think about it.”

(I finish checking restraints and come back to her. She’s still undecided.)

Me: “I promise, this is a super fun ride, and if you don’t like it, it’s so short it’ll be over before you know it. Do you want to give it a try?”

(She nodded, so I went to my position and started the ride. After it cycled I watched her train come in because I was curious to see if she liked it. Her mom was slumped over in her seat clutching her stomach, and the girl was clapping with the biggest smile on her face.)

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(My family and I are visiting an amusement park for the day. We got a deal where you’re allowed a free drink every fifteen minutes, with the scan of a wristband you have to pick up at a participating food kiosk. We are in line to do just that; the older woman in front of us has ordered a soda after basically interrogating the cashier over it. It’s good to note that I’m 18, but look rather young for my age.)

Dad: *showing cashier his phone* “I got the drink deals online—”

Woman: *after pouring her own drink* “There’s no lids? Where are the lids?!”

Mom: “I don’t think there are any.”

Woman: “How am I supposed to carry this around without a lid?”

Mom: “None of the drinks come with one.”

Woman: *loudly enough for cashier to hear* “She didn’t tell me that!”

Me: “It’s to reduce waste.”

Woman: “What?”

Me: “There’s no lids or straws to reduce waste. For the environment?”

Woman: “Well, that’s stupid!”

Me: “It really isn’t.”

(My whole family ignored her and she walked off in a huff. I hope she thought about her morals after thinking a kid told her off. And people think millennials are terrible.)

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(I work as a ride operator at an amusement park. My job is checking restraints before the ride starts. The ride I work on is a roller coaster with several loops in it. One day I have the following conversation:)

Me: “Sir, could I have you pull down your lap bar and buckle your seat belt, please?”

Guest: *gives me a blank stare*

Me: “Excuse me, I’m just going to…” *pulls down lap bar and buckles seat belt for him*

Guest’s Friend: “Dummy, why are you making her job harder?”

Guest: “Wait. I thought the seat belts were optional!”

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