Where to Begin?

Well, I won’t begin with ‘boy, it sure has been a long time since my last entry,’ or ‘I can’t believe it’s been so long…’ Those statements are just a given, aren’t they? So I will just jump right in.

I was pretty busy the last couple of weeks of July. Busy running around and getting things together for our vacation; busy socially – trying to see everybody who arrived in town right before we left it; and busy with work.

Our vacation was amazing. I enjoyed experiencing Las Vegas for the first time, and will definitely return, perhaps with a group of friends next time. Among the highlights were seeing Jerry Seinfeld; walking the Strip and taking in the Vegas atmosphere; renting a car and driving to Hoover Dam; and hooking up with Devon and Steve, and bar-hopping with them till 5 AM. We were on a 9 AM flight the next morning to Orange County. Needless to say, as soon as we got to our hotel in Anaheim (a few hours prior to check-in), we stored our bags, and crashed by the pool. There is nothing like having a snooze in the California sun.

On our first full day in Anaheim we ventured over to Disneyland (one of my favourite places in the world). We got a lot of ground covered our first day in the Magic Kingdom: it was Sunday, so a good majority of people were at church, which meant little or no line-ups. By the end of our first day we had more or less ‘completed’ Disneyland and began working our way through California Adventure.

This was my first time in the new Disney park. I really enjoyed it, especially the rides – they were different from Disneyland. California Screamin’ is the most amazing coaster I have ever been on; the Maliboomer is the Hellivator on crack; and the ferris wheel was the scariest ride of all.

We saw a 3-D Muppets show where you actually sit in the Muppet theatre with what’s-their-faces jeering from the balcony. It was pretty cool. We also went to an animation studio where, after taking a photo and answering a few questions, the computer told you which Disney character you were most like: I must have been having bad day – I was Ursula, the creepy sea queen, and most diabolical of the Disney villains. Colin’s laughing didn’t help the situation any either…

On our second day in Disneyland, one of my co-workers from WPGA lined-up right behind us. We couldn’t believe the odds. Talking to someone whom you haven’t seen in a while helps the time pass while waiting in those line-ups.

Tuesday was far busier than Sunday, but we still got everything in. We decided to check out the re-vamped Subs, now the Finding Nemo Ride. So not worth the two-hour line up. Yes, I wasted two, precious hours of my life and time in Disneyland to find Nemo…

For our final meal in Disneyland we dined at the Blue Bayou, the restaurant that’s inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I have always wanted to eat there. It was expensive, but well worth it. It was a truly different dining experience.

Since I’ve been back from vacation life has been quiet, and the weather crap. I still have my precious California tan, but it is slowly fading thanks to a particularly crappy August.

Things are very quiet right now, almost boring. But I think it’s just the calm before the storm in both my personal and working life. The one thing I have been doing of late is meeting up with friends, especially ones I haven’t seen in a long time. Come September things are going to get hectic, so I am trying to appreciate the quiet in my life right now, which is something that is often hard for me to do.