Sweet Catastrophe

Tuesday we got a much later start. We all got up at a decent time, but the shock was starting to wear off and we were all tired. On top of that, Joolie woke up with a sinus infection so we took it easy for a while.

We decided to hit Epcot so off we went. We didn’t really get there until after 3, so it was sort of a short day. Joolie was feeling bad and I was starting to have some blood sugar problems so we had a slow day. We actually didn’t hit much up hardcore, there was mainly a lot of walking around and just enjoying the day.

We rode a couple of rides and Ryan and I did some crazy robot race that was completely tiring and then headed over to the World Showcase to walk around the countries. We only got about halfway around that night, ending in Japan where we ate at Teppan Edo–it was a fabulous hibachi place. Joolie had a mouth-watering cherry blossom martini and Ryan tried a green tea martini–I think it was one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. Easily over $200 spent on a meal for 4 people, but it was incredible.

We missed the fireworks due to our late dinner, and somehow ended up being there two hours after the park closed so we got to watch a little barge blow up which signifies the absolute end of the evening. It was pretty cool–something Ryan had heard about and was really anxious to see.

We got back to the hotel and found out we wouldn’t be able to add another night to our reservations. We were staying at Port Orleans Resort Riverside, but they were completely booked for the next night. So we made a bunch of calls and finally found a room for less than $20 more than our current room, though there ended up being a bunch of confusion because we heard the name wrong and thought it was The Dawson (which doesn’t exist ) but eventually we got it figured out.

Wednesday we got up and got everything packed and thrown in the car before we headed back to Epcot. There was a lot more everyone wanted to check out so we decided to take a second day there. It wasn’t exactly the ideal plan, but who am I to argue about a free trip?

We watched a pretty awesome acrobatic show in China that sort of blew my mind a little. Talk about talent! And balance, I suppose, haha. There was more good food…and a little not-so-good (I’ll pass on the Moroccan next time, thanks) but we made it to the fireworks show–IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. It was an awesome show. There were definitely some bigger tricks than in Wishes, but overall I liked Wishes a little better.

We headed on out instead of dawdling since we needed to get out of the old parking lot and find the new hotel.

So yeah, turns out our new hotel was the Walt Disney World Dolphin. *shock* We could see this place from Epcot. I had been impressed with Port Orleans, but Port Orleans was like a broken down Super 8 compared to this place! There were espresso machines in the rooms!! We walked in the front entrance and the ceiling was set up to look like a night sky with sparkling stars.

Kristi, I thought of you when we got to the room because I fell on the bed and I swear I fell into clouds!! They went down to smoke and came back with these little pre-made sandwiches from one of the few spots that was still open. I suppose we all pretty much know what to expect from refrigerated, pre-made sandwiches, right? Wrong! It was probably the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever had in my life.

I could go on and on about this hotel, but I’ve still gotta finish that darn paper! Suffice it to say, we got LUCKY. Apparently we fell into one of their deal periods and the room was about half the price it usually is. We fully enjoyed it though.

Spa and Downtown to come!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be separated into two films! They’re set to release November 2010 and May 2011.
Alan Horn, president of Warner Bros. (the studio in charge of all Harry Potter pics), said that “it would have been a disservice” to downsize Deathly Hallows into one film.

They say there’s just too much to put in just one movie.

Well that’s nice an all, but couldn’t we have figured this out a little earlier? I mean honestly, with all the story lines they’ve cut from the movies so far, I think they could still do it in one film. Unless they plan on somehow bringing these story lines back…

The professionals just don’t know what they’re doing these days. Both music, movies and television-wise, they just need to turn it over to the fans. We know what’s best I’ll be buying medicare insurance by the time they get that figured out though….assuming we don’t all die in 2012. But hey, if we do–we’ll have at least finished off those last Harry Potter films, eh?!

I dunno how many posts it’ll take before I get through all my Disney rambling, but I’m sure it’ll be more than one. I won’t be posting pictures until I have Joolie’s as well, so you’ll have to check back later for the pictures and videos. I know we’ve got videos from the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and I think there’s a parade or two as well.

So Sunday after work I took off for Gainesville and had a stressifying drive. I get crazy anxiety when driving long distances. Mostly I freak out over car noises and possibly getting lost. It’s pretty lame. I made it there in record time though and we all settled in for the ride to the resort.

I dozed for most of that ride. We had to drive 60 or under the whole way–I’m not sure why but that’s the fastest Joolie and Brandell can go in their car. *shrug*

Once we turned onto Disney property–wow–what a freakin maze! We actually made it there relatively easily. We only had to turn around once. There was a total The Office moment when Ryan wanted to follow the GPS on his phone even though we were looking at the road the resort was on….I laughed a lot.

After checking in, we parked in the general area where our room was supposed to be and split up to find the right building. The boys called so we headed off in their direction and I discovered some amazingness–there were bunnies EVERYWHERE! Just all these little bunnies running around on the resort property. That was total happiness =)

We settled in and had pizzas brought to the room and marveled at the cutesy Disney accents in the room. Eventually we all went to sleep.

Monday we got up, got our tickets and hopped the bus to The Magic Kingdom. Most of the events of the days are somewhat of a blur, but we started off at Space Mountain. It’s been a while since I’ve been on any major rides, so I really got into it. I love to scream! The boys were pretty calm, but Joolie and I really took advantage– “AAAAAOIYOIHCAT5eeeeee!!! I think we ended up hitting most of the major rides.

The whole trip, I don’t think it took more than 30 minutes for any ride–line time plus actually riding. The temperature wasn’t over 74 the whole time and it was overcast so there was no sun beating down! I only remember feeling hot once or twice.

Let’s see, what else did we do?

Stitch’s Great Escape—This was really cute! A simulator-type ride complete with a smelly burp from Stitch!

Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor—This was basically a little comedy show. They used cameras to show people in the audience and say they were the different characters. They decided Brandell was Sulley! They also let you text in jokes before they show and they pick a few to perform. They chose my joke! I used the first joke I ever learned—one my papa taught me. It was good fun.

Snow White’s Scary Adventure—A little disappointing. One for the younger kids, but the ride descriptions don’t really give you the best idea of what to expect.

Mad Tea Party—They all three have really long legs so we had to split up. I got a great video of Joolie and Brandell spinning like mad!

Splash Mountain—Brandell and I opted out of this one. Brandell’s vertigo was really kicking in and I was feeling on edge of a panic attack that I wanted to avoid. Ryan and Joolie loved it though!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad—Same situation as Splash Mountain.

The Haunted Mansion—So much fun =) I still really love this one.

Pirates of the Caribbean—This was even better than I expected! The effects with the stars and the clouds that were even moving were amazing!

Jungle Cruise—We had an excellent tour guide on our boat who was hilarious!

ummm and of course there were little shops and food stops.

We had the perfect standing spot for “Wishes,” the huge fireworks show. It was pretty incredible!

I think that about covers The Magic Kingdom.

I got great sleep that night–I was SO tired.

More to come after I do some of my homework!

Well, I’m back… We got in sometime after 3. Never pay bills online at 4 am when you’re exhausted–I somehow managed to pay my bill, and next month’s bill so yeah…Ryan’s check needs to go through asap so I can cover that! lol

Now I’ve got full shifts today, Saturday, and Sunday, a project to fine-tune for a presentation on Monday, a paper to finish for Monday, a Spanish test to study for on Monday and some regular homework to do.

It was a fantastic vacation though! There were actually very few low-points, most of which were really just over tiredness anyway.

It must be said–I need a vacation after my vacation!

I don’t know why I’m so tired! I mean really, I feel like I’ve been running 18 hours straight or something. I’m gonna have to do something to pep back up before I start driving. Luckily I’ve only got to go about two hours and then Ryan can take over when I get there and I can sleep the rest of the way.

I managed to get out of work about 30 minutes early so I hit Target for a few little things I needed before I left. Of course I found some awesome pants in my favorite style, and on clearance–I hadn’t even noticed that they were in the plus size clothing section. Bummer! Now I’ve got to finish packing, tidy up a few things so nothing grows while I’m gone and I’m outta here!

Now where did you put my camera?

Head cashier didn’t show up. Neither did the two guys who were supposed to open down in Lumber. I’m sleepy and grumpy….and broke, and I’ve got a ton to do today. I’m trying to stay in a good mood and work in my excitement, but it’s really hard when every other customer who walks in the door wants you to hold their hand through this shopping journey. And they get angry at me if it doesn’t go the way the want it to.

Would you believe it’s not even 12 and I’ve already been yelled at because we don’t carry a long enough 2×4, and because we don’t provide low vision aids for people who can’t freakin see? I’m sorry sir, that’s something people generally need to take care of on their own–I’m sorry you can’t read that sign, perhaps you should get a little closer.

Please…don’t take your anger out on your cashier. Call and make a formal complaint, otherwise, no one cares, and if it didn’t bother you enough to take a few minutes to make a formal complaint, then I’m pretty sure you’ll be okay.

I just want to take a nap and then finish up all the stuff I need to do before I leave. Instead, I have to go back to work for 5 more hours and try to cram all these little chores and errands into an hour after work to try to get there in a timely manner. I know I’ll get there when I get there, and they’ll just have to deal with it, but I’m too tired to really function on that attitude yet

[That was a squeal of excitement in case you couldn’t tell….]

Tomorrow night after work, I’m driving down to Gainesville where Joolie, Brandell, and my Ryan are for the weekend–Ryan’s helping out with a dance show and Joolie and Brandell decided to take a break from painting and installing cabinet hardware so they went to keep him company and go furniture shopping.

When I get there, we’ll eat, and Ryan will take over driving ’cause WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!

I’m SO effin excited! Ryan’s never been and I’ve only been once. Joolie and Brandell had said a while back that once they got their settlement, they wanted the 4 of us to go, but we never really settled on when we could work that out, but this is perfect!!

I’m already off work Tuesday and Wednesday so I’m gonna let ‘em know when I come in today that I won’t be there on Monday. I’m sorry, but I’ve got a free trip to Disney World to take care of. There’s no way I can turn that down….

This really has to be one of the coolest impulse plans ever.

Ryan called and talked to me about it just 30 minutes ago and at first I was a little skeptical, but it sank in and I’ve already made out my list of things I need to pack up and checked the weather for Kissimmee! The high during the time we’ll be there is 75 and it’s gonna be cloudy the whole time–but the only chance for rain is on Wednesday!

I have to go be excited and get ready for work lol

I keep falling into these phases when all I want to do is eat. I’m just really not sure how to get past it…I know boredom plays a part, but that really can’t be all it is. I’m pretty occupied right now, but I still want to eat even though I’m not hungry and there’s not even anything tempting here in the apartment.

I’ve tried weight smart vitamins–I’ve tried a few different ones actually and I’d say probably for the first week or so, they really help curb my appetite, but after that, they just start making me hungrier, faster. That might work if I was in a position where I could truly do smaller meals all day, but all of my professors are very strict about having no food in the classroom and of course I can’t just stop and eat while I’m at work. I get one break, that’s it.

I’m always really tempted to try weight loss pills, but most interact negatively with either my asthma, or my proneness to anxiety attacks.

I know I truly need to just start working my ass off (literally) if I want some results, but I can’t get past the mental block that I’ve never had this problem and it’s hard to get motivated when it used to be effortless. Really, I’m a lazy person when it comes to stuff I have to do. I’m not a lazy person–you wouldn’t believe what all I got done yesterday on my day off, it was pretty amazing; but when you tack on a ‘have to’ to the task, I’m suddenly sloth.

I guess I’ve really just gotta get past this mental block if I want to see some results. There’s not an easy fix…

Wow it flooded last night! One particular burst of thunder (really, it sounded like a cannon went off outside our window) woke me up in time to watch the cable die. Honestly, the screen looked really cool when it went out.

The power kept going out as well which was really annoying. Every time it would go out or come back on, both mine and Ryan’s phones would make noises and one of the breakers would make a loud thump. I was too asleep to think about it at the time, but when I woke up I was really freaked that all those surges might’ve fried something, but so far everything seems okay.

All the cable receivers in the apartment were still showing 12–which was weird since even when the cable goes out, the time is still correct. So after finding the internet was out too, I called to make sure there was a message up saying that there was an outage in my area–but there wasn’t so I actually had to wait and talk to someone. Turns out power had been lost to the place that provides all our stuff, so there were like 75 people without cable. Since before my call they weren’t aware of the problem, I was expecting no net for most of the day, but less than an hour later they had it all back up! I was pleasantly surprised!

It rained a lot more than I had thought though. I threw on flip flops to run to class since I was running late due to the cable phone call, and wow–there was water standing in the park. So halfway through my walk I was getting blisters and my feet were sliding out of my shoes. It wasn’t a fun walk this morning! So I woke Ryan up and made him pick me up so I wouldn’t have to walk back.

Now I’m listening to the rain outside. It’s making me want to go back to sleep, but I really shouldn’t.

Speaking of my taxes, I know this time of year is when most people think about what they want to spend ‘extra’ money on. A lot of bloggers are buying new hosting or moving to new hosts while they’ve got the money to do this. I’ve considered moving myself–not because I have a problem with my current host, but because I hear of other hosts who are just as good and more user-friendly.

It’s really hard to gather enough research to feel comfortable with making a definite decision on something like that though.

Today, I found WebHostingBluebook.net which I think is an awesome idea. Already I’ve gotten some information on some of the hosts I was considering, such as 1and1, and bluehost. They’ve got charts breaking hosts down into price, setup cost, domain cost, disk space, bandwidth, overall rating and reviews. This could be a good place to start my research.