Not without a clue. Heights cont.

Tak knows that heights bother me, it isn't like he planned on us sitting in the highest seats he could find! We were just not accustomed to that auditorium and didn't know the layout of the seating. I know I was surprised to find myself on the 2F balcony that first time and got myself into a jittery, hyperventilating mess on my own. Those seats were perfectly fine later, especially compaired to the 3F balcony seats! You know how an auditorium is built so that even the seats on the first floor are sloped upwards near the back? The 2F seats seemed higher than a second story on a building and the 3F seats were higher than that! Especially when you end up looking 'down' at a very small stage. Like looking thru the wrong end of a telescope.

One other time, when I was pregnant with one of the boys (maybe the first---could explain his fear!), we had tickets to a comedy show (stand-ups plus a long skit) and our seats ended up being in the balcony! I didn't enjoy the show as much as I could have (it was all in Japanese anyway and I only 'got' half of the jokes) with my arms cramping up from holding on to the armrests so tightly the whole time. Another time I was with MIL and we saw a traditional Japanese Geisha performance from the balcony seats, but the theater was really small so it wasn't even like being a story high. And we were a row away from the edge, which usually helps.

I never liked riding in the car going up a mountain and being on the 'valley' side of the road! Rather be on the 'mountain' side. Remember Fire Watch Towers? US Forestry Service? My parents loved to drive up the mountains to those towers and go up, look around, talk to the Forest Ranger,.....! Totally scare me shitless even thinking about climbing all those stairs! I got hauled up there once on my dad's back when I was 8-10 years old (old enough to climb the stairs myself... which my 'year younger' brother demonstrated!) I was ok once I was up there and didn't look straight down or go too close to the edge. BUT was sure glad to go back down to the ground!

I've lived in tall apartment buildings before. The last one we were on the second of five floors. Which was just perfect for me. I could have dealt with living on the third floor even, but no higher. We often went up to the fifth floor of the neighboring building to watch fireworks during the summer but I usually stay away from the edge and stand with my back to a wall. There's a new apartment building just finished in our old neighborhood. Twenty-one stories high! I bet they can see all the way to the Harbor from there! Even tho the promotionals are all about seeing into the large park five blocks away!
I was in an 8th floor apartment (of a 9F building) for about a year and a half, but seldom went out on to the balcony. And especially never looked straight down. I did spend one weekend in an 11th floor apartment but couldn't sleep in the corner bedroom. I just had the strange feeling that the floor was sloped to the outside wall and I was going to slide off the bed into thin air! Didn't help matters that there was a grave yard right. below. the. window!!

I do think that the experience of the strange auditorium did something to my fear.... like put it in high gear. One of the escalators that I can ride with no problem (it's in a tall department store and is right next to a whole wall of windows that look out over the city) kind of gave me the shivers the other day. AND because it was evening and the sun was setting, the blinds had been pulled over the windows! So it wasn't like I was looking straight out over the city. Probably just not what I'm accustomed to, I guess. I'll have to visit all my 'Ok with it' tall places now and get used to them all over again.

Hate any movie with scenes looking down from tall buildings. (There is a Tom Selleck movie I'm thinking about.... Lots of robots and he's a policeman who has to fight the bad guys on the 42nd or 49th floor of a building under construction.... lots of open spaces!). http://www.starpulse.com/movie/Runaway/V42331/0/0/

Can ride in a outside elevator. Like the Space Needle in Seattle. But only if there are people between me and the windows and I shut my eyes and breath slowly.

And, why, why, WHY do builders put those clear panels in the floor of observation towers??!! You can look straight down thru them and they are (supposedly!!) strong enough to stand on! But you'll never find me near one of those! ((shudder))