Since last night around 10:40pm or so, I've been mulling over my ideas surrounding a little movie I'd just seen called Rogue One. I had a small discussion with the couple of friends who attended with us. I discussed a bit with my husband on the way to the store and then on the way home. Then I went to bed with no further discussion until someone asked me at work this morning, "So did you go last night?"
That's when I smiled and said, "Yes. Yes, I did."
I realized it was the first time I burst into a big smile, but it was also then that I realized I'd sort of been smiling since I walked out of the theater last night. Not a really big smile, mind you, but a little teeny one at the corners of my mouth. Or in the back of my mind, working its way forward. Like a little bit of light trying to push its way through darkness.
So after I had my brief nerdy discussion (which included no spoilers because this person will not see the movie until Monday), I pulled up a couple of reviews on the internet because I was curious what critics were saying. I made a point to read the mediocre reviews, just to get a clear and honest opinion aside from "OMG IT WAS FREAKING AMAZING!!!!1!!". While there were some points that I agreed with in these articles, I also found that I could argue lightly against some of them. Some of them are founded grievances, yes, but I also find that in my heart I can forgive these things simply because of what this movie is.
This movie was never marketed as a "saga" movie. This is not in the same line as 4, 5, and 6. Or even 1, 2, and 3. Even 7 has a completely different feel from what we're offered in Rogue One. In this film, we were presented a stand-alone story with stand-alone characters in a war movie like setting. I personally think it delivered on what it promised - with enough tie-ins to the saga to let you know what universe you were playing in and enough division from the typical "feel" we get in a standard Star Wars movie. I don't feel let down in that aspect at all.
I'm going to make an effort here to not post anything spoilerish just yet, but I will be working on a post in the background to try and sort through everything in my mind. Once I see the movie a second time (or a third...or fourth), then I'll go back over my writing and finally get the post out there to share.
But here's my advice - go see it. Go see it. Know that what you're seeing isn't a Star Wars "Saga" movie, and then decide for yourself how you feel about that.
As for me, I'm sporting my Rogue One shirt from Publix today. Thank you, Florida.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2016
"It's Rogue. Rogue One."
Today is the day that I have long-awaited. From the moment that I scraped my knuckles on the low ceiling of the Celebration Anaheim auditorium when Gareth Edwards showed us the "first trailer" for the film Rogue One. It wasn't even a trailer, he said. It was just some stock footage from the Lucasfilm archives that they spliced together. But it was perfect. So epic and so perfect that I cheered and pumped my fists in the air and then - of course - punched the ceiling and scraped myself all up.
But it was worth it.
That TIE fighter flying through the trees. The overlay of Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice talking about the Death Star. The music swelling until finally the TIE breaks from tree cover. Then there it is. What is that? Looming on the horizon... OMG IT'S THE DEATH STAR. That's pretty much how it went. And I don't think I've seen that clip since that first day, but I can remember it.
(There are only fan-shot videos of this trailer online. I can't find any sort of official release for it, which makes me so, so sad. This is the best video I can find of the trailer: Rogue One Celebration Teaser Trailer.)
And now - so many awful days of 2015 and 2016 later (seriously, these last two years have sucked beyond measure) - I am sitting here waiting for my 8:00 PM EST showing of Rogue One. I've been through the death of a beloved pet, illness close to home, assisting friends and family with personal trauma and loss, cancer and a loss of a grandparent-in-law due to said cancer, and most recently my mother (56 years old) suffered a stroke and is in the hospital. None of this mentions my own inner-workings of my mind, which is not always a pretty place. And this also doesn't mention all of the other crap that's going on in this world that makes you feel like you're carrying it all on your shoulders. I'm almost too tired to even cry anymore when I feel depressed. Mostly, my eyelids just twitch (speaking of which, it just happened - just now - twitching buggers).
None of that stuff I listed above really has a place in a "blog of happy" like I want this one to be, but this blog can't ignore the crappy stuff. I've said that before. Star Wars deals with the crappy stuff, and I have a feeling Rogue One is about to show me a lot of crappy circumstances that a lot of really normal people are going to have to step up the awesome and overcome. But see, that's the thing - they overcome it. The situation might stay crappy, but they don't let it determine what they can and cannot do. I hope to be like that. I hope to be a rebel against this world and its efforts to continuously bring me - and the people that I love - down.
I like to say that I go into these movies with "no expectations", but I know that's not true. I'm expecting a lot of this movie, even though I actually say otherwise when I'm talking to someone verbally. This movie...feels like it's being made for me. I realize that's selfish and really unfounded. Gareth Edwards knows nothing about me. I sat in a room with him once - well, an auditorium. I punched a ceiling for him, sure, but he doesn't know that. But the thing is that this film goes back to what made me a Star Wars fan - overcoming the odds that are stacked against you and doing what you feel is "right" for you and the people around you. It goes back to the Rebellion and overcoming evil and just trying to make sure that people aren't being oppressed or hurt by others. It's going back to the twin sunsets - to knowing that your destiny lies out there waiting for you, but you don't know exactly how to reach out and grab it.
That's why I hold this movie in high regard - higher than I held The Force Awakens. Higher than I hold Episode VIII. This movie feels different because it is different. And I believe that to be a very good thing.
But it was worth it.
That TIE fighter flying through the trees. The overlay of Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice talking about the Death Star. The music swelling until finally the TIE breaks from tree cover. Then there it is. What is that? Looming on the horizon... OMG IT'S THE DEATH STAR. That's pretty much how it went. And I don't think I've seen that clip since that first day, but I can remember it.
(There are only fan-shot videos of this trailer online. I can't find any sort of official release for it, which makes me so, so sad. This is the best video I can find of the trailer: Rogue One Celebration Teaser Trailer.)
And now - so many awful days of 2015 and 2016 later (seriously, these last two years have sucked beyond measure) - I am sitting here waiting for my 8:00 PM EST showing of Rogue One. I've been through the death of a beloved pet, illness close to home, assisting friends and family with personal trauma and loss, cancer and a loss of a grandparent-in-law due to said cancer, and most recently my mother (56 years old) suffered a stroke and is in the hospital. None of this mentions my own inner-workings of my mind, which is not always a pretty place. And this also doesn't mention all of the other crap that's going on in this world that makes you feel like you're carrying it all on your shoulders. I'm almost too tired to even cry anymore when I feel depressed. Mostly, my eyelids just twitch (speaking of which, it just happened - just now - twitching buggers).
None of that stuff I listed above really has a place in a "blog of happy" like I want this one to be, but this blog can't ignore the crappy stuff. I've said that before. Star Wars deals with the crappy stuff, and I have a feeling Rogue One is about to show me a lot of crappy circumstances that a lot of really normal people are going to have to step up the awesome and overcome. But see, that's the thing - they overcome it. The situation might stay crappy, but they don't let it determine what they can and cannot do. I hope to be like that. I hope to be a rebel against this world and its efforts to continuously bring me - and the people that I love - down.
I like to say that I go into these movies with "no expectations", but I know that's not true. I'm expecting a lot of this movie, even though I actually say otherwise when I'm talking to someone verbally. This movie...feels like it's being made for me. I realize that's selfish and really unfounded. Gareth Edwards knows nothing about me. I sat in a room with him once - well, an auditorium. I punched a ceiling for him, sure, but he doesn't know that. But the thing is that this film goes back to what made me a Star Wars fan - overcoming the odds that are stacked against you and doing what you feel is "right" for you and the people around you. It goes back to the Rebellion and overcoming evil and just trying to make sure that people aren't being oppressed or hurt by others. It's going back to the twin sunsets - to knowing that your destiny lies out there waiting for you, but you don't know exactly how to reach out and grab it.
That's why I hold this movie in high regard - higher than I held The Force Awakens. Higher than I hold Episode VIII. This movie feels different because it is different. And I believe that to be a very good thing.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
How a "Planner" Became a "Pantser"
There's an event that happens around the world in November called NaNoWriMo. To quote their description on Google, "NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world." I've participated in Nano (as I'm going to call it for short) a few times in the past, as well as some of their smaller Camp NaNoWriMo events that they hold in April and July. I have only completed my goal of 50,000 words once and that was in November 2013 (which Facebook kindly reminded me today with my "WINNER" picture I took). All of my other attempts at fallen pitifully short of my goal, but that's okay - and I'm okay with it. The point is that I tried, and I did my best to enjoy my writing while I was writing it.
Now you might be saying, "Hey, Shada," (which is my nickname, if you've forgotten). "What's this writing business? This doesn't have to do with Star Wars or Disney. Isn't that what you said this blog was about?"
And I would say to you, "Now, you hold on to your horses just a gosh dern minute there, whippersnapper." (My Nano novel that I "won" with as a western of sorts; I'm sorry.) "You give me some time here, and I'm gonna learn you at thing or two about a'plannin' and a'pantsin'."
That just...sounds weird. I am so sorry. Moving on.
The terms "planner" and "pantser" are things that I learned about in the Nano writing community. There were some people who carefully spent the month of October (or earlier) planning out their novel piece by piece. Writing up character sheets. Gathering research and information. They were the "planner" group. Then you have the people who sat down on November 1st with a blank slate. Maybe a rough idea of where they wanted to go. No solid leads or characters. These are the people who are writing by the "seat of their pants" - the "pantser" group.
There are parts of me that have always been a planner. I loved my little schedule/planner in high school that they gave us for free every year. I'd get my different color pens out and color coordinate everything so I knew what was homework, what was personal, what was extracurricular. When our Star Wars Celebration group prepares to go to a convention, I like to have group discussions, make hand-outs, discuss plan of attack and what we'd like to see. I like to know what will be there when I'm going to a certain place. I don't need to know exactly where I'm going to be at 2:15pm, but I like to know the things that are available to me, what times they're open, and what my "must dos" are. And I like to have some things very planned - flight times, pick-up times, dinner dates and times, etc. Things like that need planning. You can't just show up at the airport and go, "Hello, sir, put me on an airplane. I want to go to Florida." That doesn't work. I haven't tried it, but I'm assuming it doesn't work.
While I have usually considered myself a planner in my lifetime, I also know that I have a bit of a pantser in me, as well. This goes back to the idea of I don't know where exactly I'm going to be at 2:15pm. I hate hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute schedules. I hate to feel like I've tied myself into a work-day schedule when I'm really just trying to have a weekend off or a vacation day. That drives me batty and makes me more stressed because what happens if I don't obey my schedule? What happens if I fail? See? Not fun for me. When it comes to Nano, I'm also a "pantser". Characters and writing need to flow. If I force myself into the research element of it without really having purpose or care behind it, then I'll just feel stressed and bored and I won't want to write anymore. Not really a productive attitude when you have 50,000 words to write.
These two paragraphs only describe me and my style of writing and vacations and life. Not everyone is the same, and that's okay! It makes life uber-interesting when we're not all carbon-copy cookie-cutouts of each other. We are not the Emperor's Clone Army! (Which, really, is a bad example because even the clones prove that they aren't carbon-copies of each other despite having the same genetic structure...but I digress.)
What I'm really trying to say here is that my planner lifestyle has had to make a huge shift into the pantser lifestyle just because life (and myself) made it that way. I learned that I can't be rigid in my plans and still expect myself to roll with the punches. If there's an issue with one way of doing things, I can't keep doing things that way and not change to something else so I can get a different outcome. I encountered a lot of crap over the years that bucked up against my planning abilities and threw me totally out of whack, so I finally learned to just say, "Fine. You win. We're wingin' this one." And I learned that that's okay. You can be a planner and a pantser, and there's nothing wrong with either of them.
For me, a bit of both suits me just fine, and that's the attitude I'm trying to take toward my planning of our next Walt Disney World trip in December. We've been dealing with so much this year - from personal illness, to family illness, to sudden losses and death, to depression and anxiety, to just living the day-to-day. I didn't plan any of that, and if I'd clung so desperately to a personal plan during all of this craziness, I think I'd be a lot more insane than I currently am. I had to let it go - all of it. I could do what I could do only in that moment I could do it, and that was okay.
I'm keeping that in mind as I'm looking at all of this Christmassy stuff at Disney and reading blogs and gathering information. Some of it makes me really nervous because it's the typical things we hear when we read about Disney. All of the websites tell me to plan - I need a plan. I need to know which park I'm going to go to on which days. I need to make advances dining reservations. I don't have any FastPasses. I don't have a Dining Plan, but it says I should have a Dining Plan. I can't eat that much. Omg. What if we don't make it to blah? What if we can't walk it? What if we're sick? What if it rains?
I hate all of that. All of it. I understand that having a Disney vacation means you have to plan, yes. But I personally believe in not making myself physically ill while planning the gosh dern thing (there's that old Nano novel coming back around again). So when I've been doing my reading and researching, what I've been attempting to do is just make a list. Make a list in my head of things I'd like to see, where they are, when they're available. I have quite the list thanks to lots of different websites, including Disney Tourist Blog. I found their articles to be quite helpful, including the self-tour of all of the decorations at the Disney resorts. This was a big thing on the Nerd Husband's and my list, so it was helpful to find a bit of a guide to get us where we wanted to be.
Also, to allow us a bit more freedom in our time schedule and exploration, we decided to rent ourselves a car for this trip. We have a lot of things we'd like to go outside of the Disney parks, and it can sometimes be rather trying to resort hop using Disney transportation. So we chalked up the extra bit of money (which isn't bad, really), and we're going to test this out to see how we like having our own vehicle while on property. I'm kind of excited to get to drive down there again; it's been a while.
Sitting back and reading all of this again, it sounds a little rambly - but the point I'm trying to make is that maybe you can take a step back from the uber-planning. Even if you just take one day and leave it completely open, maybe that would help. Just a day to say, "Hey, where do you want to go? Let's go play." Because really, that's what it's about, right? Playing and creating memories with your family and friends and loved ones. At least that's what it's always been about for me, and I need to remember that. That should always come first when I sit down and come up with a plan by the seat of my pants.
Now you might be saying, "Hey, Shada," (which is my nickname, if you've forgotten). "What's this writing business? This doesn't have to do with Star Wars or Disney. Isn't that what you said this blog was about?"
And I would say to you, "Now, you hold on to your horses just a gosh dern minute there, whippersnapper." (My Nano novel that I "won" with as a western of sorts; I'm sorry.) "You give me some time here, and I'm gonna learn you at thing or two about a'plannin' and a'pantsin'."
That just...sounds weird. I am so sorry. Moving on.
The terms "planner" and "pantser" are things that I learned about in the Nano writing community. There were some people who carefully spent the month of October (or earlier) planning out their novel piece by piece. Writing up character sheets. Gathering research and information. They were the "planner" group. Then you have the people who sat down on November 1st with a blank slate. Maybe a rough idea of where they wanted to go. No solid leads or characters. These are the people who are writing by the "seat of their pants" - the "pantser" group.
There are parts of me that have always been a planner. I loved my little schedule/planner in high school that they gave us for free every year. I'd get my different color pens out and color coordinate everything so I knew what was homework, what was personal, what was extracurricular. When our Star Wars Celebration group prepares to go to a convention, I like to have group discussions, make hand-outs, discuss plan of attack and what we'd like to see. I like to know what will be there when I'm going to a certain place. I don't need to know exactly where I'm going to be at 2:15pm, but I like to know the things that are available to me, what times they're open, and what my "must dos" are. And I like to have some things very planned - flight times, pick-up times, dinner dates and times, etc. Things like that need planning. You can't just show up at the airport and go, "Hello, sir, put me on an airplane. I want to go to Florida." That doesn't work. I haven't tried it, but I'm assuming it doesn't work.
While I have usually considered myself a planner in my lifetime, I also know that I have a bit of a pantser in me, as well. This goes back to the idea of I don't know where exactly I'm going to be at 2:15pm. I hate hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute schedules. I hate to feel like I've tied myself into a work-day schedule when I'm really just trying to have a weekend off or a vacation day. That drives me batty and makes me more stressed because what happens if I don't obey my schedule? What happens if I fail? See? Not fun for me. When it comes to Nano, I'm also a "pantser". Characters and writing need to flow. If I force myself into the research element of it without really having purpose or care behind it, then I'll just feel stressed and bored and I won't want to write anymore. Not really a productive attitude when you have 50,000 words to write.
These two paragraphs only describe me and my style of writing and vacations and life. Not everyone is the same, and that's okay! It makes life uber-interesting when we're not all carbon-copy cookie-cutouts of each other. We are not the Emperor's Clone Army! (Which, really, is a bad example because even the clones prove that they aren't carbon-copies of each other despite having the same genetic structure...but I digress.)
What I'm really trying to say here is that my planner lifestyle has had to make a huge shift into the pantser lifestyle just because life (and myself) made it that way. I learned that I can't be rigid in my plans and still expect myself to roll with the punches. If there's an issue with one way of doing things, I can't keep doing things that way and not change to something else so I can get a different outcome. I encountered a lot of crap over the years that bucked up against my planning abilities and threw me totally out of whack, so I finally learned to just say, "Fine. You win. We're wingin' this one." And I learned that that's okay. You can be a planner and a pantser, and there's nothing wrong with either of them.
For me, a bit of both suits me just fine, and that's the attitude I'm trying to take toward my planning of our next Walt Disney World trip in December. We've been dealing with so much this year - from personal illness, to family illness, to sudden losses and death, to depression and anxiety, to just living the day-to-day. I didn't plan any of that, and if I'd clung so desperately to a personal plan during all of this craziness, I think I'd be a lot more insane than I currently am. I had to let it go - all of it. I could do what I could do only in that moment I could do it, and that was okay.
I'm keeping that in mind as I'm looking at all of this Christmassy stuff at Disney and reading blogs and gathering information. Some of it makes me really nervous because it's the typical things we hear when we read about Disney. All of the websites tell me to plan - I need a plan. I need to know which park I'm going to go to on which days. I need to make advances dining reservations. I don't have any FastPasses. I don't have a Dining Plan, but it says I should have a Dining Plan. I can't eat that much. Omg. What if we don't make it to blah? What if we can't walk it? What if we're sick? What if it rains?
I hate all of that. All of it. I understand that having a Disney vacation means you have to plan, yes. But I personally believe in not making myself physically ill while planning the gosh dern thing (there's that old Nano novel coming back around again). So when I've been doing my reading and researching, what I've been attempting to do is just make a list. Make a list in my head of things I'd like to see, where they are, when they're available. I have quite the list thanks to lots of different websites, including Disney Tourist Blog. I found their articles to be quite helpful, including the self-tour of all of the decorations at the Disney resorts. This was a big thing on the Nerd Husband's and my list, so it was helpful to find a bit of a guide to get us where we wanted to be.
Also, to allow us a bit more freedom in our time schedule and exploration, we decided to rent ourselves a car for this trip. We have a lot of things we'd like to go outside of the Disney parks, and it can sometimes be rather trying to resort hop using Disney transportation. So we chalked up the extra bit of money (which isn't bad, really), and we're going to test this out to see how we like having our own vehicle while on property. I'm kind of excited to get to drive down there again; it's been a while.
Sitting back and reading all of this again, it sounds a little rambly - but the point I'm trying to make is that maybe you can take a step back from the uber-planning. Even if you just take one day and leave it completely open, maybe that would help. Just a day to say, "Hey, where do you want to go? Let's go play." Because really, that's what it's about, right? Playing and creating memories with your family and friends and loved ones. At least that's what it's always been about for me, and I need to remember that. That should always come first when I sit down and come up with a plan by the seat of my pants.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
"Boo to You" - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Almost a month to the day, I'm posting my blog about attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Don't judge, dude. It's hard to write blogs when you're busy. You end up making outlines, writing them in chunks, getting sidetracked and learning html when you don't really have to, etc. You know how it goes. So let's move on...
Perhaps the smartest thing we did in preparation for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was take it easy that day. The Nerd Husband wasn't feeling quite up to par that morning, and I was pretty tired, as well. We slept in for a long while, and then we hopped a bus to Epcot to get some lunch at the Food and Wine Festival booths. Altogether, we were in the park about an hour and a half. We knew that rain was coming anyway, so we headed on back to the hotel to just chill out and relax. That turned into fall asleep watching TV for three hours while listening to the rain pound on the ground outside - so relaxing, actually. We eventually woke up around 6:00 or so, quickly got ready, and then head out to the Magic Kingdom with no idea what to expect.
I will preface this by saying we had no agenda for our party except to take advantage of the special offerings for the evening - parades, shows, fireworks, trick-or-treating, and one trip on the Haunted Mansion. We didn't want to ride any other rides or visit any characters, so that limited our focus for the evening which was fine for us. Therefore, our schedule wouldn't work for everyone, but it certainly worked for us.
We walked up to the Magic Kingdom and went through security only to be placed in sort of a "holding" tank in front of the entrance. They were holding back the party folks until the rest of the park was empty, which was fine. There was enough room that I didn't feel overly crowded or anything, and the people leaving the park were amused by our costumes. Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were quite the hit, but Nick just took the cake, I think. A couple of little girls went by with their dad and they pointed and squeed as they walked by. I laughed a bit, but I really had to laugh when the dad came back to us, pushing against the crowd with his stroller.
"They wanted to say hi to Nick Wilde," the dad explained with a grin. I giggled as two little girls waved up at NH and carried on with their excited chatter as NH waved back. It was too freakin' adorable. After they left, we chatted it up with the family of three next to us, and then finally the line started moving forward. We received a wrist band from a cast member tasked with standing at the front of this mass of moving people (thank you to that person and their patience), and then we were off to the races!
Walking onto Main Street was pretty amazing - with the pumpkin decorations lit up and the characters our and the general atmosphere of fall and Halloween. I had to admit that I was pretty lost, though - which is such a weird feeling when you've been in a place thousands of times and yet you have no idea where to begin. We walked forward just a bit, not actually hitting the main part of Main Street, when I saw that a gate that is typically closed was wide open off to my right. What's this? I thought. I've got to ask someone where to go. I'm totally lost.
I found a cast member standing right there, and I actually admitted, "I've never been to this before. I'm lost. Where do I begin?"
She very nicely started to tell me about the park, and I laughed a little and said I'm sorry. "No no. I've been here, but never to the party. What's off this way?" I pointed to the newly opened door which usually hides the "backstage" area.
"Oh, that's where you can start off your Trick or Treating! If you go that way, they'll give you the bags that you can use as you explore the rest of the park." Lady, you just said magical words to a 33-year-old adult who still longs for those awesome moments of kid-dom where you just dress up in a costume, say some words with a smile, and people give you candy. For free. Because they have to.
So NH and I headed into the backstage area, which felt kind of awesome and forbidden and off-limits because I've never seen this part of the park before. There was a little courtyard with statues of all of the main Disney characters dressed in Halloween costumes. There were quite a few PhotoPass photographers, so we took advantage of the shortest line we could find in front of Jester Goofy. They had us do a magic shot, and I wasn't at all certain what we'd end up with. It ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the whole night.
We got our Trick or Treat bags (which - I'll admit - felt a little silly but also kind of satisfying), and we headed out of the little area where it dumped us back out at the very end of Main Street.
Now, here is where we were rebels, people. We completely went against every website, blog, and article we had read about MNSSHP. And you know what? It didn't hurt us one bit. Not one little tiny bit.
We figured that the crowd wasn't too big there on Main Street near the castle. And there was a nice little spot near a fence line on the Tomorrowland side of the street. So we parked ourselves and waited for the first Mickey's "Boo-to-You" Halloween Parade. All of the things we read said this wasn't the way to go - watch the second parade, they said. It would be much less crowded. But hey, we were here and we were now, so why the heck not?
The parade was awesome. Freaking awesome. The floats and costumes and characters were all amazing, and I love getting to see the villains really shine. This was a huge highlight for me, and I felt like a little kid watching the ghost dancers twirl in their Haunted Mansion ballgowns. And the ghost butlers with their little shovels dancing and dragging them on the ground. So much fun.
After the parade, we figured - hey, we're kind of comfy here, and you know what? The Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular is going to happen right over there. Sure, we're not close enough to see facial expressions, but I've got a good look at the castle stage. You good? I'm good.
So we stayed and rebelled against the internet once again. This show was a lot of fun, with great characterization and a chance to see of many of the characters that we normally don't get to see! I loved seeing Rapunzel and Flynn and the entire Viking hoard. And Tiana, Naveen, and Louis from The Princess and the Frog were a lot of fun. Plus, as much as I am not a Nightmare Before Christmas fan, I have got to admit that Oogie Boogie is one of the best costumes I have ever seen dance around like a crazyperson ghoul on stage. This show was a ton of fun, and I'm glad we took the time to enjoy it.
From there, we decided to head out and just look at things, finding trick-or-treat stops along the way and just enjoying the costumes, the people, and the atmosphere. The one thing on NH's list of "eats" was a pumpkin spice cupcake from Gaston's Tavern, so we headed on back there for a late dinner. We weren't horribly hungry that day, so we actually opted for some snack items from Gaston's which suited us perfectly. I would definitely get these things again without hesitation. We had some apple slices and caramel and some hummas and pretzel chips. Which left a perfectly pleasant spot in our stomachs for that cupcake...which was amazing. So worth it.
We hit a few more trick-or-treat stops as we made our way around the park, through Fantasyland and into Liberty Square. It was getting close to Celebrate the Magic and Happy Hallowishes fireworks time, so I headed us back up toward the castle. We found a little spot tucked close to the Christmas Shop there in Liberty Square where they typically draw portraits. I figured we might be blocked by some trees or something, but that never bothers me much for fireworks.
Celebrate the Magic was perfect from where we were standing. As long as you can see the castle, you're pretty well set for that show. When Happy Hallowishes first started, though, my heart sank a little. While I could definitely see fireworks, they were hidden more by the building's roof that stood directly in front of me. The lower fireworks were hard to view, and we could have benefited from a different vantage point...
...and then the fireworks went off all around me. All the freaking way around. I had never seen anything like that before. I saw fireworks from back in Liberty Square and maybe even back to Frontierland, and then it curved in an arc behind the castle and all the way over to the edges of Tomorrowland. It might have even stretched in a complete circle; I have no idea. But it was amazing, and I grinned like an idiot. I was okay with my spot from then on out. Plus, the soundtrack was fun. So, so much fun.
I'm honestly trying to remember where we went after the fireworks, but I can't quite recall. I think we were just having fun, laughing, enjoying the evening. We stopped at a few photopass photographers, got some pictures, got more candy, looked in some shops at special merchandise, made some selections to pick up later, and finally - somewhere in the evening - we ended up in front of Space Mountain where I saw a 5 minute wait time.
Now, I haven't been on Space Mountain in years. The last time I rode the thing I might have been 14. So we're talking...almost 20 years. I figured, now is the best time to ride it as an adult - just to see if it's worth doing in the future. The NH wasn't feeling up to giving this mystery ride a shot, so I said, "I'll do this alone. 5 minutes. It won't take long." The 5 minute wait honestly might have been how long it took me to walk through the queue because when I got to the loading area, there were maybe 15 people ahead of me. I walked right onto the ride.
Once it started, I wanted to walk promptly off of it. I was folded into a little car that I honestly don't know how I bent my knees far enough to fit in it with a little safety bar thing that rested between my legs. Then I was plunged into darkness, jerked this way and that way without any warning, trying to steel my body for the coming right turn only to be forced left. I grunted and groaned like an old person. The bar between my legs thunked against my skin, threatening to leave bruises. I got off that ride more messed up in the head than when I walk off Star Tours.
I learned that night that I am too old for Space Mountain.
When I walked up to NH, I said simply, "Never again." We moved on to get more candy and make our way to the other side of the park. The night was drawing to a close, and we had one more thing on our list: the Haunted Mansion.
We were the only ones moving through the queue when we got there. It felt so odd to be so alone, and there was no one to greet us when we got to the double doors. The doors creaked open, and we were then welcomed by a cast member - all normal stuff. But the make-up job on this cast member and the creepiness factor was definitely kicked up a notch. Chalk it up to the Halloween party, it being close to closing time, or anything you want...but she was perfect. Her make-up had a very zombie/ghostly feel, and it was definitely on-point.
We actually ended up in a group of maybe 6 other people, so 8 of us kindly stepped into the dead center of the stretching room. There was no turning back now... She even pulled the joke that I'd been hoping to see - standing behind a guest and staring at them when the lights go down in the stretching room. And when the lights come back up...instant screams. It was brilliant.
When the doors from the stretching room opened into the indoor cue, we walked out and saw the little "exit" doorway in front of us. Typical, right. But what wasn't typical was the four cast members who had strewn themselves in various places in the doorway. One was stretched out on the floor, her feet slightly propped up, her head hanging limp as a the dead, staring at us. A couple more languidly settled against the door frame, while a fourth hung in the back, chin down, staring. Unmoving. All of them. Again, brilliant. Someone needs to do this all the time.
The ride was fun - just super fun realizing we were there celebrating Halloween. It didn't matter that we could quote the thing line for line by now. What mattered was being together, having a celebration, and having fun with all of it. We walked out of the Haunted Mansion chatting about the cast members and how cool they'd been, and then we saw the PhotoPass people. This was the one I knew we needed. I knew what this one was, but I wasn't sure exactly how they framed it.
We stood in line for a while but it wasn't too long of a wait, and it was amusing to see what was going on. They would put the group of people in front of the horseless carriage, and they'd have them smile. Then another cast member would run over to the side, hold up a wood ghost on a stick (very unscary ghost, I might add), and say, "Now look at the ghost! Be scared!" Seriously, it was done so hilariously that I never thought it would look as awesome as it did.
It was our turn. We did our thing. We looked ridiculous, I was sure. But when we got the picture...
Okay, we still look ridiculous (I mean, for goodness sake, look at the ears), but how freaking awesome is that?!
After our fright of the night, we took off back toward Main Street. We did a little shopping and picked up a few things, and then we headed out for the night. Despite the fact that we'd napped earlier in the day, I think we fell asleep pretty soon after getting back to our hotel. It was such a fun night. I loved everything about it, and I'd love to go back someday.
This new experience is going on the list as a "win" for me. I'll definitely be back for more not-so-scary frights...and candy. Because...well, candy.
Perhaps the smartest thing we did in preparation for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was take it easy that day. The Nerd Husband wasn't feeling quite up to par that morning, and I was pretty tired, as well. We slept in for a long while, and then we hopped a bus to Epcot to get some lunch at the Food and Wine Festival booths. Altogether, we were in the park about an hour and a half. We knew that rain was coming anyway, so we headed on back to the hotel to just chill out and relax. That turned into fall asleep watching TV for three hours while listening to the rain pound on the ground outside - so relaxing, actually. We eventually woke up around 6:00 or so, quickly got ready, and then head out to the Magic Kingdom with no idea what to expect.
I will preface this by saying we had no agenda for our party except to take advantage of the special offerings for the evening - parades, shows, fireworks, trick-or-treating, and one trip on the Haunted Mansion. We didn't want to ride any other rides or visit any characters, so that limited our focus for the evening which was fine for us. Therefore, our schedule wouldn't work for everyone, but it certainly worked for us.
We walked up to the Magic Kingdom and went through security only to be placed in sort of a "holding" tank in front of the entrance. They were holding back the party folks until the rest of the park was empty, which was fine. There was enough room that I didn't feel overly crowded or anything, and the people leaving the park were amused by our costumes. Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were quite the hit, but Nick just took the cake, I think. A couple of little girls went by with their dad and they pointed and squeed as they walked by. I laughed a bit, but I really had to laugh when the dad came back to us, pushing against the crowd with his stroller.
"They wanted to say hi to Nick Wilde," the dad explained with a grin. I giggled as two little girls waved up at NH and carried on with their excited chatter as NH waved back. It was too freakin' adorable. After they left, we chatted it up with the family of three next to us, and then finally the line started moving forward. We received a wrist band from a cast member tasked with standing at the front of this mass of moving people (thank you to that person and their patience), and then we were off to the races!
Walking onto Main Street was pretty amazing - with the pumpkin decorations lit up and the characters our and the general atmosphere of fall and Halloween. I had to admit that I was pretty lost, though - which is such a weird feeling when you've been in a place thousands of times and yet you have no idea where to begin. We walked forward just a bit, not actually hitting the main part of Main Street, when I saw that a gate that is typically closed was wide open off to my right. What's this? I thought. I've got to ask someone where to go. I'm totally lost.
I found a cast member standing right there, and I actually admitted, "I've never been to this before. I'm lost. Where do I begin?"
She very nicely started to tell me about the park, and I laughed a little and said I'm sorry. "No no. I've been here, but never to the party. What's off this way?" I pointed to the newly opened door which usually hides the "backstage" area.
"Oh, that's where you can start off your Trick or Treating! If you go that way, they'll give you the bags that you can use as you explore the rest of the park." Lady, you just said magical words to a 33-year-old adult who still longs for those awesome moments of kid-dom where you just dress up in a costume, say some words with a smile, and people give you candy. For free. Because they have to.
So NH and I headed into the backstage area, which felt kind of awesome and forbidden and off-limits because I've never seen this part of the park before. There was a little courtyard with statues of all of the main Disney characters dressed in Halloween costumes. There were quite a few PhotoPass photographers, so we took advantage of the shortest line we could find in front of Jester Goofy. They had us do a magic shot, and I wasn't at all certain what we'd end up with. It ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the whole night.
Seriously. Epic love for this picture.
We got our Trick or Treat bags (which - I'll admit - felt a little silly but also kind of satisfying), and we headed out of the little area where it dumped us back out at the very end of Main Street.
Now, here is where we were rebels, people. We completely went against every website, blog, and article we had read about MNSSHP. And you know what? It didn't hurt us one bit. Not one little tiny bit.
We figured that the crowd wasn't too big there on Main Street near the castle. And there was a nice little spot near a fence line on the Tomorrowland side of the street. So we parked ourselves and waited for the first Mickey's "Boo-to-You" Halloween Parade. All of the things we read said this wasn't the way to go - watch the second parade, they said. It would be much less crowded. But hey, we were here and we were now, so why the heck not?
The parade was awesome. Freaking awesome. The floats and costumes and characters were all amazing, and I love getting to see the villains really shine. This was a huge highlight for me, and I felt like a little kid watching the ghost dancers twirl in their Haunted Mansion ballgowns. And the ghost butlers with their little shovels dancing and dragging them on the ground. So much fun.
After the parade, we figured - hey, we're kind of comfy here, and you know what? The Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular is going to happen right over there. Sure, we're not close enough to see facial expressions, but I've got a good look at the castle stage. You good? I'm good.
So we stayed and rebelled against the internet once again. This show was a lot of fun, with great characterization and a chance to see of many of the characters that we normally don't get to see! I loved seeing Rapunzel and Flynn and the entire Viking hoard. And Tiana, Naveen, and Louis from The Princess and the Frog were a lot of fun. Plus, as much as I am not a Nightmare Before Christmas fan, I have got to admit that Oogie Boogie is one of the best costumes I have ever seen dance around like a crazy
From there, we decided to head out and just look at things, finding trick-or-treat stops along the way and just enjoying the costumes, the people, and the atmosphere. The one thing on NH's list of "eats" was a pumpkin spice cupcake from Gaston's Tavern, so we headed on back there for a late dinner. We weren't horribly hungry that day, so we actually opted for some snack items from Gaston's which suited us perfectly. I would definitely get these things again without hesitation. We had some apple slices and caramel and some hummas and pretzel chips. Which left a perfectly pleasant spot in our stomachs for that cupcake...which was amazing. So worth it.
We hit a few more trick-or-treat stops as we made our way around the park, through Fantasyland and into Liberty Square. It was getting close to Celebrate the Magic and Happy Hallowishes fireworks time, so I headed us back up toward the castle. We found a little spot tucked close to the Christmas Shop there in Liberty Square where they typically draw portraits. I figured we might be blocked by some trees or something, but that never bothers me much for fireworks.
Celebrate the Magic was perfect from where we were standing. As long as you can see the castle, you're pretty well set for that show. When Happy Hallowishes first started, though, my heart sank a little. While I could definitely see fireworks, they were hidden more by the building's roof that stood directly in front of me. The lower fireworks were hard to view, and we could have benefited from a different vantage point...
...and then the fireworks went off all around me. All the freaking way around. I had never seen anything like that before. I saw fireworks from back in Liberty Square and maybe even back to Frontierland, and then it curved in an arc behind the castle and all the way over to the edges of Tomorrowland. It might have even stretched in a complete circle; I have no idea. But it was amazing, and I grinned like an idiot. I was okay with my spot from then on out. Plus, the soundtrack was fun. So, so much fun.
I'm honestly trying to remember where we went after the fireworks, but I can't quite recall. I think we were just having fun, laughing, enjoying the evening. We stopped at a few photopass photographers, got some pictures, got more candy, looked in some shops at special merchandise, made some selections to pick up later, and finally - somewhere in the evening - we ended up in front of Space Mountain where I saw a 5 minute wait time.
Now, I haven't been on Space Mountain in years. The last time I rode the thing I might have been 14. So we're talking...almost 20 years. I figured, now is the best time to ride it as an adult - just to see if it's worth doing in the future. The NH wasn't feeling up to giving this mystery ride a shot, so I said, "I'll do this alone. 5 minutes. It won't take long." The 5 minute wait honestly might have been how long it took me to walk through the queue because when I got to the loading area, there were maybe 15 people ahead of me. I walked right onto the ride.
Once it started, I wanted to walk promptly off of it. I was folded into a little car that I honestly don't know how I bent my knees far enough to fit in it with a little safety bar thing that rested between my legs. Then I was plunged into darkness, jerked this way and that way without any warning, trying to steel my body for the coming right turn only to be forced left. I grunted and groaned like an old person. The bar between my legs thunked against my skin, threatening to leave bruises. I got off that ride more messed up in the head than when I walk off Star Tours.
I learned that night that I am too old for Space Mountain.
When I walked up to NH, I said simply, "Never again." We moved on to get more candy and make our way to the other side of the park. The night was drawing to a close, and we had one more thing on our list: the Haunted Mansion.
We were the only ones moving through the queue when we got there. It felt so odd to be so alone, and there was no one to greet us when we got to the double doors. The doors creaked open, and we were then welcomed by a cast member - all normal stuff. But the make-up job on this cast member and the creepiness factor was definitely kicked up a notch. Chalk it up to the Halloween party, it being close to closing time, or anything you want...but she was perfect. Her make-up had a very zombie/ghostly feel, and it was definitely on-point.
We actually ended up in a group of maybe 6 other people, so 8 of us kindly stepped into the dead center of the stretching room. There was no turning back now... She even pulled the joke that I'd been hoping to see - standing behind a guest and staring at them when the lights go down in the stretching room. And when the lights come back up...instant screams. It was brilliant.
When the doors from the stretching room opened into the indoor cue, we walked out and saw the little "exit" doorway in front of us. Typical, right. But what wasn't typical was the four cast members who had strewn themselves in various places in the doorway. One was stretched out on the floor, her feet slightly propped up, her head hanging limp as a the dead, staring at us. A couple more languidly settled against the door frame, while a fourth hung in the back, chin down, staring. Unmoving. All of them. Again, brilliant. Someone needs to do this all the time.
The ride was fun - just super fun realizing we were there celebrating Halloween. It didn't matter that we could quote the thing line for line by now. What mattered was being together, having a celebration, and having fun with all of it. We walked out of the Haunted Mansion chatting about the cast members and how cool they'd been, and then we saw the PhotoPass people. This was the one I knew we needed. I knew what this one was, but I wasn't sure exactly how they framed it.
We stood in line for a while but it wasn't too long of a wait, and it was amusing to see what was going on. They would put the group of people in front of the horseless carriage, and they'd have them smile. Then another cast member would run over to the side, hold up a wood ghost on a stick (very unscary ghost, I might add), and say, "Now look at the ghost! Be scared!" Seriously, it was done so hilariously that I never thought it would look as awesome as it did.
It was our turn. We did our thing. We looked ridiculous, I was sure. But when we got the picture...
Okay, we still look ridiculous (I mean, for goodness sake, look at the ears), but how freaking awesome is that?!
After our fright of the night, we took off back toward Main Street. We did a little shopping and picked up a few things, and then we headed out for the night. Despite the fact that we'd napped earlier in the day, I think we fell asleep pretty soon after getting back to our hotel. It was such a fun night. I loved everything about it, and I'd love to go back someday.
This new experience is going on the list as a "win" for me. I'll definitely be back for more not-so-scary frights...and candy. Because...well, candy.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
A Bit of Food and Wine
So the Nerd Husband and I took a little trip down to Disney World for a four day weekend at very beginning of October where we attended two new-to-us events: the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. We both did quite a bit of research and reading up to the point of our trip. NH took the Food and Wine festival because he's the resident foodie in our house (aside from our kitty who miraculously munched her way into and through an entire sample bag of treats while we were away - that's another story). I researched the Mickey's No...ok, let's abbreviate this thing: MNSSHP. That's what all the hip-Disners are calling it.
For the sake of me rambling on and on and on and...yeah...I think we'll just split these two events up into two separate posts. So I'll start you off with a bit of Food and Wine.
Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival
A bit of background on my Nerd Husband. NH loves his menus. Loves them. I introduced him once to TripAdvisor a few years ago, and he's hooked. His Disney website of choice is AllEars.net, and he frequently looks up new restaurant videos and reviews. There have been nights before our trips that I'll be lying on the couch, and he'll sit there reading Les Chefs de France menu to me. This is who he is, and this is how we are. I love it. Even our friends ask now, "Where is NH picking for us to eat on the next trip?" Knowing all of this, you can get a better idea of why NH was so excited for this trip and the opportunity to visit all of the many Food and Wine booths that graced Epcot.
At least part of each day of our four day trip was spent at Epcot. Eating. I don't think we even tried that many food items at the Flower and Garden (and food) Festival in April. The number of booths and choices was just insane and oh so yummy. There were only a few things that I'd cross of my list for the next time (surprisingly, not a fan of cheese bread). But here's a run-down of all of our delectable tastes:
Australia
1. Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Peas (Amazing!)
Belgium
1. Beer-braised Beef served with Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes (so yummy)
2. Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream (how could this ever be a bad thing?)
3. Stella Artois Hard Cidre (very crisp and fresh, similar to the taste of an Angry Orchard Crisp)
Brazil
1. Pão de Queijo: Brazilian cheese bread (not a favorite; I ended up not finishing it. The texture just put me off)
Canada
1. Canadian cheddar cheese soup served with a pretzel roll (um...yes; so much yes)
2.“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce (again with the yesses)
China
1. Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles (good, but nothing special here)
2. Happy Peach with Dekuyper Peach Liqueur and Myers’s Dark Rum (amazingly wonderful)
Farm Fresh
1. Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Nueske’s® Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers and Green Onions (probably one of my favorite things here)
2. Woodchuck Raspberry Hard Cider (so crisp and cool; I'll be hunting for this in stores)
France
1. Boeuf Bourguignon: Cabernet Sauvignon-braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes (France FTW - this was wonderful)
Germany
1. Schinkennudeln: Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese (this was good, but a bit on the heavy side for me; not a win in my book)
2. Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce (but this was a win)
Ireland
1. Twinings® Pumpkin Chai Tea Frozen Cocktail with Caramel Vodka (this...choked me at first with Vodka - lol - it was good, but whoa...)
Japan
1. Grilled Spicy Edamame tossed with Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and Chili Powder (so good and fresh, and we felt silly when we both took a bite and then promptly remembered you do not eat the outside of the edamame pod...oops)
2. Garlic Shrimp: Marinated Shrimp sautéed with Garlic and Butter and served over Rice (amazingly wonderful and simple)
Mexico
1. Taco de Camarón: Battered Shrimp served over a Flour Tortilla with Crispy Purple Cabbage and Chipotle Mayonnaise (I adored this one, and I'm not usually a fan of purple cabbage or mayonnaise)
Patagonia
1. Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée (so so wonderful and tender - loved this)
Scotland
1. The Tipsy Laird: Whiskey-soaked Cake with Lemon Cream and Toasted Oats (I wanted to make this...and eat it every day)
South Korea
1. Korean-style BBQ Beef with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi (I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did because I hate cucumber, but this was amazing - one of my favorites of the festival)
Wine and Dine Studio
1. Seared Scallop, Truffled Celery Root Purée, Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mushrooms featuring Melissa’s Produce (the first thing we tried...and I almost cried because I loved this scallop...and who knew we liked brussel spourts and celery root?)
Refreshment Port
1. Pineapple Dole Whip Soft-Serve Ice Cream (because...how do you not?)
You'll notice that we're lacking in the "wine" aspect of the list, really. We aren't big drinkers, so that part of this festival didn't really appeal much to us. And the research that NH found that said that Epcot can turn into a frat-party as the weekend evenings roll around...well, that's pretty much true. There is no shortage of "Drinking around the world" shirts with all of the various puns using "wine" and "beer". That's not so bad...but the obnoxiousness that can come along with too much alcohol can start to become a bit much. So we actually started to avoid the place as the evening wore on, and we would take off for other parks or back to the hotel. That was truly a good tip that we got in our research.
One nice perk that we encountered at Epcot during the Festival was the Chase Cardholder Lounge at the American Adventure. All you had to do was show that you held a Chase credit card of any type, and you were admitted into the Lounge. The lounge was located on the private third floor of the American Adventure building, so that was a treat to get to see a "private" space on Disney property. They provided air conditioning (bonus!), 3 freestyle Coca-Cola machines, coffee, a cash bar, and ample charging stations for cell phones. It was great to take a break and just cool down in the lounge.
Speaking of cooling down, I have to admit that I think this trip was hotter than the one we took in July, and NH agrees with me. I'm not sure if it has to do with the placement of the sun in the sky or what it is. The temperature definitely wasn't hotter, but it felt hotter. The intensity of that sun was just crazy. So we definitely utilized the "duck into the shade and/or air conditioning when you can" strategy to this trip. Forcing ourselves to rest and stay out the heat definitely made this entire trip more laid-back and relaxing, too, so it wasn't such a bad thing. We didn't have too much of an agenda aside from attending the Food and Wine Festival and MNSSHP, so we didn't feel too bad about it.
Speaking of MNSSHP...that's up next...
For the sake of me rambling on and on and on and...yeah...I think we'll just split these two events up into two separate posts. So I'll start you off with a bit of Food and Wine.
Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival
A bit of background on my Nerd Husband. NH loves his menus. Loves them. I introduced him once to TripAdvisor a few years ago, and he's hooked. His Disney website of choice is AllEars.net, and he frequently looks up new restaurant videos and reviews. There have been nights before our trips that I'll be lying on the couch, and he'll sit there reading Les Chefs de France menu to me. This is who he is, and this is how we are. I love it. Even our friends ask now, "Where is NH picking for us to eat on the next trip?" Knowing all of this, you can get a better idea of why NH was so excited for this trip and the opportunity to visit all of the many Food and Wine booths that graced Epcot.
At least part of each day of our four day trip was spent at Epcot. Eating. I don't think we even tried that many food items at the Flower and Garden (and food) Festival in April. The number of booths and choices was just insane and oh so yummy. There were only a few things that I'd cross of my list for the next time (surprisingly, not a fan of cheese bread). But here's a run-down of all of our delectable tastes:
Australia
1. Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Peas (Amazing!)
Belgium
1. Beer-braised Beef served with Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes (so yummy)
2. Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream (how could this ever be a bad thing?)
3. Stella Artois Hard Cidre (very crisp and fresh, similar to the taste of an Angry Orchard Crisp)
Brazil
1. Pão de Queijo: Brazilian cheese bread (not a favorite; I ended up not finishing it. The texture just put me off)
Canada
1. Canadian cheddar cheese soup served with a pretzel roll (um...yes; so much yes)
2.“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce (again with the yesses)
China
1. Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles (good, but nothing special here)
2. Happy Peach with Dekuyper Peach Liqueur and Myers’s Dark Rum (amazingly wonderful)
Farm Fresh
1. Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Nueske’s® Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers and Green Onions (probably one of my favorite things here)
2. Woodchuck Raspberry Hard Cider (so crisp and cool; I'll be hunting for this in stores)
France
1. Boeuf Bourguignon: Cabernet Sauvignon-braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes (France FTW - this was wonderful)
Germany
1. Schinkennudeln: Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese (this was good, but a bit on the heavy side for me; not a win in my book)
2. Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce (but this was a win)
Ireland
1. Twinings® Pumpkin Chai Tea Frozen Cocktail with Caramel Vodka (this...choked me at first with Vodka - lol - it was good, but whoa...)
Japan
1. Grilled Spicy Edamame tossed with Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and Chili Powder (so good and fresh, and we felt silly when we both took a bite and then promptly remembered you do not eat the outside of the edamame pod...oops)
2. Garlic Shrimp: Marinated Shrimp sautéed with Garlic and Butter and served over Rice (amazingly wonderful and simple)
Mexico
1. Taco de Camarón: Battered Shrimp served over a Flour Tortilla with Crispy Purple Cabbage and Chipotle Mayonnaise (I adored this one, and I'm not usually a fan of purple cabbage or mayonnaise)
Patagonia
1. Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée (so so wonderful and tender - loved this)
Scotland
1. The Tipsy Laird: Whiskey-soaked Cake with Lemon Cream and Toasted Oats (I wanted to make this...and eat it every day)
South Korea
1. Korean-style BBQ Beef with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi (I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did because I hate cucumber, but this was amazing - one of my favorites of the festival)
Wine and Dine Studio
1. Seared Scallop, Truffled Celery Root Purée, Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mushrooms featuring Melissa’s Produce (the first thing we tried...and I almost cried because I loved this scallop...and who knew we liked brussel spourts and celery root?)
Refreshment Port
1. Pineapple Dole Whip Soft-Serve Ice Cream (because...how do you not?)
You'll notice that we're lacking in the "wine" aspect of the list, really. We aren't big drinkers, so that part of this festival didn't really appeal much to us. And the research that NH found that said that Epcot can turn into a frat-party as the weekend evenings roll around...well, that's pretty much true. There is no shortage of "Drinking around the world" shirts with all of the various puns using "wine" and "beer". That's not so bad...but the obnoxiousness that can come along with too much alcohol can start to become a bit much. So we actually started to avoid the place as the evening wore on, and we would take off for other parks or back to the hotel. That was truly a good tip that we got in our research.
One nice perk that we encountered at Epcot during the Festival was the Chase Cardholder Lounge at the American Adventure. All you had to do was show that you held a Chase credit card of any type, and you were admitted into the Lounge. The lounge was located on the private third floor of the American Adventure building, so that was a treat to get to see a "private" space on Disney property. They provided air conditioning (bonus!), 3 freestyle Coca-Cola machines, coffee, a cash bar, and ample charging stations for cell phones. It was great to take a break and just cool down in the lounge.
Speaking of cooling down, I have to admit that I think this trip was hotter than the one we took in July, and NH agrees with me. I'm not sure if it has to do with the placement of the sun in the sky or what it is. The temperature definitely wasn't hotter, but it felt hotter. The intensity of that sun was just crazy. So we definitely utilized the "duck into the shade and/or air conditioning when you can" strategy to this trip. Forcing ourselves to rest and stay out the heat definitely made this entire trip more laid-back and relaxing, too, so it wasn't such a bad thing. We didn't have too much of an agenda aside from attending the Food and Wine Festival and MNSSHP, so we didn't feel too bad about it.
Speaking of MNSSHP...that's up next...
Friday, September 30, 2016
#gorogue on Force Friday
Against my better judgement, last night I ventured out to my local 24-hour Meijer store for Force Friday. Rogue Friday? Does this thing even have an official name now? If you don't know what Force Friday is just take a gander at this link here to learn a bit about it on Wikipedia. But basically, it's a merchandising event where all of the new Star Wars toys of a particular wave are released at 12:01 on a certain day. Sometimes big parties have been held, lines have formed, things sell out, freebees are given away. And sometimes no one shows up but a handful of nerds at a small Meijer store to politely sort through the new toys and pass things around.
Apparently, events of this nature have been around for quite a while, but I never truly participated in them when the prequels were around (yay for age limitations and parents - love you, Mom!). I guess back then, though, we didn't have a name for them. But after speaking with a couple of fellow Star Wars fans at last night's Force Friday unveiling, I learned that folks had attended similar toyapalooza's during the Attack of the Clones (AOTC) and The Phantom Menace (TPM) releases. When one gentleman told me he had been there for TPM unveiling, I think my eyes got pretty wide. I audibly said, "Dude, that's crazy." Because it had to have been. I remember the merchandising that went into that movie - it's still joked about today in some circles. I cannot imagine Toys R' Us putting out huge bins of figures so you could "dive in and get what you wanted". That's just insane to me! Insane! (I would have loved it, but - alas - age limitations and parents - love you, Mom! ;p).
So when this type of thing because official before The Force Awakens (TFA) was released, then of course I had to be there. I have a 24-hour Meijer and a 24-hour Wal-Mart nearby. Frankly, I prefer Meijer, so I selected that as my "home" store to attend the event. I think there were a dozen or so of us for TFA, and there was an entire aisle of things. Then they wheeled out displays with more and more things. It was insane. I walked away with so much loot (plus the only Rey action figure I have ever been able to find on the shelves).
Last night, I didn't expect an event quite as large as TFA because the movie seems a bit off the beaten path of Star Wars. I expected a handful of people, a smaller display area, just something low-key.
I did not expect 4 people picking over a little 5x5x5 rolling, 4-sided display of toys. Another fan who got there much earlier than the others had already spoken with an employee about what had been received in their shipment. The employee let them know that - unfortunately - the entire shipment had not been received by the store. So they were going to put out whatever they had received, and they apologized. It was kind of sad, to be honest. However, I picked up the two figures that I truly wanted to get my hands on - Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu) and K-2SO.
After that, I figured I'd pop into Wal-Mart just to see if they had anything else. I went inside, walked all the way to the back to the toy section...and found nothing. Absolutely nothing new. Everything that they had was the old TFA toy selection that they were slowly marking down on clearance. No one had bothered to put out any new merchandise at all. I walked away pretty sad. There was such a build-up in my mind, and then here I am with two figures. That's it.
I do understand that this isn't a "main-stream" movie in terms of how it fits in with our standard Star Wars timeline. This movie is new. Fresh. Different. That makes me so, so excited for it. I hope that excitement spreads to others, as well.
Apparently, events of this nature have been around for quite a while, but I never truly participated in them when the prequels were around (yay for age limitations and parents - love you, Mom!). I guess back then, though, we didn't have a name for them. But after speaking with a couple of fellow Star Wars fans at last night's Force Friday unveiling, I learned that folks had attended similar toyapalooza's during the Attack of the Clones (AOTC) and The Phantom Menace (TPM) releases. When one gentleman told me he had been there for TPM unveiling, I think my eyes got pretty wide. I audibly said, "Dude, that's crazy." Because it had to have been. I remember the merchandising that went into that movie - it's still joked about today in some circles. I cannot imagine Toys R' Us putting out huge bins of figures so you could "dive in and get what you wanted". That's just insane to me! Insane! (I would have loved it, but - alas - age limitations and parents - love you, Mom! ;p).
So when this type of thing because official before The Force Awakens (TFA) was released, then of course I had to be there. I have a 24-hour Meijer and a 24-hour Wal-Mart nearby. Frankly, I prefer Meijer, so I selected that as my "home" store to attend the event. I think there were a dozen or so of us for TFA, and there was an entire aisle of things. Then they wheeled out displays with more and more things. It was insane. I walked away with so much loot (plus the only Rey action figure I have ever been able to find on the shelves).
Last night, I didn't expect an event quite as large as TFA because the movie seems a bit off the beaten path of Star Wars. I expected a handful of people, a smaller display area, just something low-key.
I did not expect 4 people picking over a little 5x5x5 rolling, 4-sided display of toys. Another fan who got there much earlier than the others had already spoken with an employee about what had been received in their shipment. The employee let them know that - unfortunately - the entire shipment had not been received by the store. So they were going to put out whatever they had received, and they apologized. It was kind of sad, to be honest. However, I picked up the two figures that I truly wanted to get my hands on - Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu) and K-2SO.
After that, I figured I'd pop into Wal-Mart just to see if they had anything else. I went inside, walked all the way to the back to the toy section...and found nothing. Absolutely nothing new. Everything that they had was the old TFA toy selection that they were slowly marking down on clearance. No one had bothered to put out any new merchandise at all. I walked away pretty sad. There was such a build-up in my mind, and then here I am with two figures. That's it.
I do understand that this isn't a "main-stream" movie in terms of how it fits in with our standard Star Wars timeline. This movie is new. Fresh. Different. That makes me so, so excited for it. I hope that excitement spreads to others, as well.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
The Force Awakens - Issue/Argument/Resolution - Part 4
Disclaimer: I started this post way back in January/February 2016. At that time, I was writing up Parts 1-3 of my rants about The Force Awakens. I had a lot of issues with the movie upon viewing it the first time. Some of those issues were resolved slightly with a second viewing. Some things still lingered - even after a third viewing and a fourth.
But that's okay, like I've said before. It doesn't change the fact that I'm a Star Wars fan. There were things I didn't like about the prequels (mostly Anakin/Padmé), and I still watch those. Heck, I wrote fanfic for that era for years. That's another story...stories, actually...
But anyway. I went back through my blog posts just a little bit ago, and I saw this draft sitting out there. I had to share it. Basically, the stuff in regular font color is what already existed within the draft. The new stuff that I wrote just today is in blue. Some things deserved explanation.
Some things...didn't. I'll leave it at that. ;)
First Viewing Issue #5: Rehashing the "A New Hope" plot. I really don't even need to go into the details of how it was rehashed. This post was started so long ago, and the internet has already beaten this to death like a dead tauntaun on Hoth. So I'll just move on with my thoughts.
Second Viewing Resolution #6: I'm slowly coming to grips with this. I understand why we did what we did. I mean, come on. If we go back and look at the Legacy Expanded Universe (is that what we're calling it now?), we have so many rehashed plots. I was just going into The Force Awakens hoping for something new. Different. Completely different, I guess. Not...look a bigger, badder, Death Star. Where are the Ewoks? Are we in Return of the Jedi? That sort of thing. (I mean, c'mon. Lucas rehashed his own plot idea...in the span of only 3 movies. This is classic stuff.)
But I also understand this was the best way to bring people back to the fold, so to speak. If you're going to reach out to the original generation that you alienated when you made Jar Jar Binks and the prequels, then you had to go early. You had to go classic. You had to go basic. So they did.
It unfortunately just rubbed me the wrong way because I wasn't prepared for basic. I was prepared for new. Again, though, I went in with my own preconceived notion was what I should be seeing. What I saw didn't match up. That's okay.
First Viewing Issue #6: Kylo Ren doesn't frighten me; he makes me mad. I would have killed him.
Second Viewing Resolution #6: Kylo Ren still makes me mad. I would have killed him harder.
But that's okay, like I've said before. It doesn't change the fact that I'm a Star Wars fan. There were things I didn't like about the prequels (mostly Anakin/Padmé), and I still watch those. Heck, I wrote fanfic for that era for years. That's another story...stories, actually...
But anyway. I went back through my blog posts just a little bit ago, and I saw this draft sitting out there. I had to share it. Basically, the stuff in regular font color is what already existed within the draft. The new stuff that I wrote just today is in blue. Some things deserved explanation.
Some things...didn't. I'll leave it at that. ;)
First Viewing Issue #5: Rehashing the "A New Hope" plot. I really don't even need to go into the details of how it was rehashed. This post was started so long ago, and the internet has already beaten this to death like a dead tauntaun on Hoth. So I'll just move on with my thoughts.
Second Viewing Resolution #6: I'm slowly coming to grips with this. I understand why we did what we did. I mean, come on. If we go back and look at the Legacy Expanded Universe (is that what we're calling it now?), we have so many rehashed plots. I was just going into The Force Awakens hoping for something new. Different. Completely different, I guess. Not...look a bigger, badder, Death Star. Where are the Ewoks? Are we in Return of the Jedi? That sort of thing. (I mean, c'mon. Lucas rehashed his own plot idea...in the span of only 3 movies. This is classic stuff.)
But I also understand this was the best way to bring people back to the fold, so to speak. If you're going to reach out to the original generation that you alienated when you made Jar Jar Binks and the prequels, then you had to go early. You had to go classic. You had to go basic. So they did.
It unfortunately just rubbed me the wrong way because I wasn't prepared for basic. I was prepared for new. Again, though, I went in with my own preconceived notion was what I should be seeing. What I saw didn't match up. That's okay.
First Viewing Issue #6: Kylo Ren doesn't frighten me; he makes me mad. I would have killed him.
Second Viewing Resolution #6: Kylo Ren still makes me mad. I would have killed him harder.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Fandom Blurbs: Rogue One
I feel like I should be writing here, but there hasn't been much going on that I want to write about thoroughly. I could always pop by with a new geeky moment, but the moments are in short little bursts these days - not big, long, rambling, blog posts. But maybe that's ok. Maybe I can do a bunch of short little blurbs into one big, long, rambling, blog post. Hey! That's an idea!
I've been wanting to talk a lot about the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But I haven't touched the topic because there's so much out there. I stay away from spoilers and speculation, but I do love some of the news that's been coming out about this movie. I'm really excited about what we're going to see.
So let's just blurb about it a bit:
I've been wanting to talk a lot about the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But I haven't touched the topic because there's so much out there. I stay away from spoilers and speculation, but I do love some of the news that's been coming out about this movie. I'm really excited about what we're going to see.
So let's just blurb about it a bit:
- This movie now has a new composer, and I couldn't be happier! It's not that I don't love the original composer who was signed on for the production. Alexandre Desplat is quite the talent, and I do adore his work. I wasn't 100% sold that his style would fit this production, but I had to remember that we were going for something different here. So I was encouraged by that thought. I wanted to hear what he would come up with. However, when Rogue One had to revise its schedule due to reshoots, that affected the final scoring schedule. Desplat was no longer available.
Then steps in my latest hero - Michael Giacchino. I have seriously fallen in love with this man's line of work, and I adore his musical ear. It's the closest thing to John Williams that I've found in the "modern" film world, and I love to hear what he comes up with next. I said a long time ago that if - God forbid - we ever lost John Williams before the Star Wars movies were complete, I believe the baton should be passed to Michael.
It seems Michael is getting his chance now to spread his wings and fling his notes across the page of a Star Wars score. And I am thrilled. Thrilled, I have to tell you. Like, bouncing off the walls, I want to flail and hit people with my nerdy flails because I'm happy thrilled. I can't wait for this movie. I really can't.
- I'm intrigued that Jyn Erso (the main character) has both a mom and a dad that we will actually see in the movie. Granted, we might be dealing primarily with flash backs (which I also find interesting), but I think it will be fun to see how her character is shaped by her family. We don't usually get to see that, I feel. I want to see how this one plays out.
I'm giving Jyn the benefit of a doubt here. The first trailer I saw her in, I wasn't thrilled with her character. I didn't connect with her. She was brash and tough and - maybe - a little arrogant. And - ok - a character. "Reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined." That's quite all right; it just didn't feel like me. I guess I wanted to connect or something on a personal level. (Silly, I know). I don't need to see myself in a main character to follow them. There are going to be so many characters in this movie, I think any of us are bound to find someone we connect with.
But there are other trailers I've seen make me like her more and more. I'm curious to see who her character is, why she is the way she is, and what makes her work and move and fight.
- Speaking of trailers - who in the world is writing this music?! Because if this is Alexandre Desplat, then I'm just sad because this is beautiful stuff! I know it's just trailer music, but c'mon. Listen! Seriously. Just sit back and listen. When I listen to the music in the 2nd trailer that I linked to above, I just get goosebumps. It has been known to bring me to tears just by listening to it (and I'm listening now and fighting them back - gah). It's powerful stuff. I think this whole movie will be powerful stuff.
- *Kermit flail*
Monday, August 29, 2016
Operation Orchid Changes to Operation Night Howler
Ohhh, life! Goodness, it's been a while, and I'm in desperate need of some "happy". I figured now is as good a time as any to give a little Disney update.
Our next trip is coming up very soon with a visit in October for our first ever Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I have to admit that I'm pretty excited about this one. First of all, I love Disney. Second of all, I love costumes. There is basically no opportunity to ever wear a costume to Disney except for runDisney events and this Halloween party, so I'm super excited to actually be able to come up with something.
My first jump was a big one - I had landed my heart on making a Rapunzel dress because I love Rapunzel and - I'll be honest - I wanted to feel like a pretty princess. However, Operation Orchid has been placed on hold (despite the fact that I now have all of the necessary materials to make the dress - go figure). Instead of getting thoroughly discouraged, I turned back my brain and started working on a newer and easier to pull together idea. I needed something that I could easily thrift/eBay/craft/cobble together, and I wanted something Disney related.
And thus Operation Night Howler went into effect, and I landed on the new, improved, and easier-to-manage idea of Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps from Zootopia.
Because - let's face it - they're freaking adorable. And I love that pink plaid shirt with the sunhat look.
See what I mean? So, so cute! Okay, done with the cuteness. Let's talk details here.
I cobbled together an items list for each character, determined to check them off as I went. I've done pretty well, and I've even tracked prices - which is something I don't typically do when putting together a costume, really. I used a lot of saved searches on eBay - which is a God-send, and if you've never used it...use it. It sends all of my finds directly to my email each day, and I sort through them from there.
Nick Wilde
Green, hawaiian-ish shirt - eBay find - used - $12.16
Navy blue and red striped tie - eBay find - new (will also use for work) - $15.00
Khaki pants - personally own - $0.00
Belt - personally own - $0.00
Ears & Tail - will hand craft
Faux fur from Fabric.com and JoAnn Fabris - total fabric cost $18.74
Polyfill, thread, and other materials - personally own - $0.00
Hat to attach ears to - Amazon - $6.98
Total Cost: $52.88
Judy Hopps
Pink, plaid shirt
eBay find - didn't work out, too small - $7.48
WalMart find - $15.00
Jeans - personally own - $0.00
Ears, Headband & Tail - will hand craft
Faux fur, flannel, and headband from JoAnn Fabrics - total fabric cost $7.25
Other fabric, Polyfill, thread, and other materials - personally own $0.00
Gray wig - Amazon - $15.99
White sun hat - personally own - $0.00
Total Cost: $45.72
Turns out what I write down the prices of things, I freak out a little. Good times! But honestly, if I sit back and analyze these numbers, I don't find them that bad. These clothing items can share a "real life" purpose, as well - not just for a costume. So the only things that won't get used on a regular basis are the fabric bits - the ears and tails. I think I'm okay with that, and I think I'm pretty good with these prices. Goodness knows what you'd pay when you go to a costume shop for something. That can be scary expensive.
So my next job on this costuming adventure is to start crafting some tails and ears and things - a new costuming experience I have never undertaken. Fun times lie ahead!
Our next trip is coming up very soon with a visit in October for our first ever Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I have to admit that I'm pretty excited about this one. First of all, I love Disney. Second of all, I love costumes. There is basically no opportunity to ever wear a costume to Disney except for runDisney events and this Halloween party, so I'm super excited to actually be able to come up with something.
My first jump was a big one - I had landed my heart on making a Rapunzel dress because I love Rapunzel and - I'll be honest - I wanted to feel like a pretty princess. However, Operation Orchid has been placed on hold (despite the fact that I now have all of the necessary materials to make the dress - go figure). Instead of getting thoroughly discouraged, I turned back my brain and started working on a newer and easier to pull together idea. I needed something that I could easily thrift/eBay/craft/cobble together, and I wanted something Disney related.
And thus Operation Night Howler went into effect, and I landed on the new, improved, and easier-to-manage idea of Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps from Zootopia.
Because - let's face it - they're freaking adorable. And I love that pink plaid shirt with the sunhat look.
See what I mean? So, so cute! Okay, done with the cuteness. Let's talk details here.
I cobbled together an items list for each character, determined to check them off as I went. I've done pretty well, and I've even tracked prices - which is something I don't typically do when putting together a costume, really. I used a lot of saved searches on eBay - which is a God-send, and if you've never used it...use it. It sends all of my finds directly to my email each day, and I sort through them from there.
Nick Wilde
Green, hawaiian-ish shirt - eBay find - used - $12.16
Navy blue and red striped tie - eBay find - new (will also use for work) - $15.00
Khaki pants - personally own - $0.00
Belt - personally own - $0.00
Ears & Tail - will hand craft
Faux fur from Fabric.com and JoAnn Fabris - total fabric cost $18.74
Polyfill, thread, and other materials - personally own - $0.00
Hat to attach ears to - Amazon - $6.98
Total Cost: $52.88
Judy Hopps
Pink, plaid shirt
eBay find - didn't work out, too small - $7.48
WalMart find - $15.00
Jeans - personally own - $0.00
Ears, Headband & Tail - will hand craft
Faux fur, flannel, and headband from JoAnn Fabrics - total fabric cost $7.25
Other fabric, Polyfill, thread, and other materials - personally own $0.00
Gray wig - Amazon - $15.99
White sun hat - personally own - $0.00
Total Cost: $45.72
Turns out what I write down the prices of things, I freak out a little. Good times! But honestly, if I sit back and analyze these numbers, I don't find them that bad. These clothing items can share a "real life" purpose, as well - not just for a costume. So the only things that won't get used on a regular basis are the fabric bits - the ears and tails. I think I'm okay with that, and I think I'm pretty good with these prices. Goodness knows what you'd pay when you go to a costume shop for something. That can be scary expensive.
So my next job on this costuming adventure is to start crafting some tails and ears and things - a new costuming experience I have never undertaken. Fun times lie ahead!
Thursday, July 14, 2016
I Promised Myself a Blog of Happy
I did. Honestly. I promised myself that this would be a blog for happy things. Things that make me smile. Like Star Wars and Disney and family and friends and kittens and rainbows and all of that good stuff. Then I realized how long it had been since I'd written because - frankly - I haven't really had the energy to ramp up the happy feelings due to everything we've been dealing with on a personal level. To put it plain and simple, our family has suffered a couple of losses .
June 11: The first was an uncle of mine who was riding his motorcycle when he got hit head-on by a car. That was sudden, quick, out-of-the-blue. I had fond memories of him as a kid, and he was my mother's younger brother. I spent time helping Mom, and my friends helped me cry and work it out.
June 17: We attended the funeral, spent time with family, and tried to work through the craziness of the whole situation.
June 23: The Nerd Husband's grandfather - my adopted Papaw, basically - is sent him from a smaller county hospital to the larger city hospital two hours away - where the NH and I live. This whole story starts much earlier - around the beginning of May. He had been in and out of the hospital multiple times with a few issues. At first they said it was gallbladder problems, so they took that out. But issues still persisted, and he ended up back in the hospital with what they called pancreatitis. They treated him, sent him home, and he ended up back again - another round of pancreatitis, they said. Treated him, sent him home, and back again to the hospital he went. Finally, on this trip to the hospital, some "spots" showed up on a scan, and the doctors suggested he go to another hospital to get the pancreas biopsy completed. They packed the whole family up in the cars (6 people), came up here to where the NH and I live, and went to the hospital for the biopsy.
That's where we found out it was pancreatic cancer which had also spread to the liver.
June 24: NH goes to the oral surgeon (one of my biggest fears ever) and has his wisdom teeth and other problem teeth removed (6 teeth total). I try not to freak out while helping him that day.
June 25: NH looks like the poster child for oral surgery with no swelling, no bruising, and able to eat with limited issues. I praise God because this really helps me deal with everything. We get a phone call from his family; Papaw is back in the hospital. I ask NH if he feels up to going down, and he does. So we go. We stay the night then go home.
June 27 - June 29: We work our butts off at work, call his family every day, get updates on the situation and what's going on, etc. We plan on leaving early from work on Friday, July 1st and driving down.
June 30 AM: NH speaks with his Mom on the phone; things appear to be about the same.
June 30 PM: NH speaks with his Mom on the phone; things have taken a turn for the worse. We drive down to visit his family because we just know that we should.
July 1 AM: We spend all day in the hospital. They decide to call in hospice. We help with paperwork and discussions and keeping family calm and uplifted and fed.
July 1 PM: Papaw passed away after the briefest battle of cancer I've ever had the history of witnessing.
From the research I've done, this is the way of pancreatic cancer; it masks itself as so many other things. Gallbladder, pancreatitis, etc. It doesn't even show up on scans until it's too late. A man who had been otherwise healthy and capable and hard-working and tenacious and spunky for 89 years was suddenly gone. A man with a love of life and family and God and Jesus and a faith so strong if could move mountains and build bridges...gone. A man who never failed to ask me, "So what are you working on now?" and would sit with me as I pulled out my phone to show him my latest craft or my sewing project or whatever other weird thing was going on. A man who taught me new things. A man who taught his family to love like he did. A man whose grandson I stole for my husband. This man is gone from this world now. But his legacy lives on forever in all of these things. You can never erase your impact on the world. Never.
So this is my post that blows the happy stuff out of the water: Star Wars and Disney and family and friends and kittens and rainbows and all of that good stuff blown to bits by one post. However, if I really stop and think about it, all of these things aren't truly 100% happy. Star Wars makes me cry (like a baby, actually, if we're talking The Force Awakens. Damn you, Kylo Ren. Yes. Damn. I'll even curse on the happy blog because that's how sad you make me). Disney makes me cry (thank you, Up. I was having a bad day and figured I'd take myself to a movie to make myself feel better about life...oh...oops. Cue Shada sinking into the theater seat so no one sees her sobs of ugly shame). There are sad moments that revolve around family and friends, too - losses and struggles that we all face. Kittens...okay, I don't cry in sadness for kittens. Unless they're being hurt or abused. Rainbows make me cry happy sometimes or cry sad if they make me think about people from the past.
So what I'm trying to say as I ramble on is this: Yes. It's my blog. Yes. It's a happy blog (mostly). Will we talk about sad things too? Well, of course. Star Wars is full of sad things. Disney is full of sad things. Life is full of sad things. You can't take the sad out of life because, if we did, where would we find the joy? The belly laughs? The bursts of sheer childlike wonder that fuel us to do crazy things? We have to have all of these things wrapped up in one - joy and sadness (thank you, Inside Out).
That's why the things I love work. That's why Star Wars works - because it's joy and sadness - it's life - mixed in one. That's why Disney works. That's why I love my family, my friends, my kitten (who is a cat now, and I love her even more), and my rainbows as well as the rainstorms that bring them.
They're all good things - even when they come with an order of bad on the side.
June 11: The first was an uncle of mine who was riding his motorcycle when he got hit head-on by a car. That was sudden, quick, out-of-the-blue. I had fond memories of him as a kid, and he was my mother's younger brother. I spent time helping Mom, and my friends helped me cry and work it out.
June 17: We attended the funeral, spent time with family, and tried to work through the craziness of the whole situation.
June 23: The Nerd Husband's grandfather - my adopted Papaw, basically - is sent him from a smaller county hospital to the larger city hospital two hours away - where the NH and I live. This whole story starts much earlier - around the beginning of May. He had been in and out of the hospital multiple times with a few issues. At first they said it was gallbladder problems, so they took that out. But issues still persisted, and he ended up back in the hospital with what they called pancreatitis. They treated him, sent him home, and he ended up back again - another round of pancreatitis, they said. Treated him, sent him home, and back again to the hospital he went. Finally, on this trip to the hospital, some "spots" showed up on a scan, and the doctors suggested he go to another hospital to get the pancreas biopsy completed. They packed the whole family up in the cars (6 people), came up here to where the NH and I live, and went to the hospital for the biopsy.
That's where we found out it was pancreatic cancer which had also spread to the liver.
June 24: NH goes to the oral surgeon (one of my biggest fears ever) and has his wisdom teeth and other problem teeth removed (6 teeth total). I try not to freak out while helping him that day.
June 25: NH looks like the poster child for oral surgery with no swelling, no bruising, and able to eat with limited issues. I praise God because this really helps me deal with everything. We get a phone call from his family; Papaw is back in the hospital. I ask NH if he feels up to going down, and he does. So we go. We stay the night then go home.
June 27 - June 29: We work our butts off at work, call his family every day, get updates on the situation and what's going on, etc. We plan on leaving early from work on Friday, July 1st and driving down.
June 30 AM: NH speaks with his Mom on the phone; things appear to be about the same.
June 30 PM: NH speaks with his Mom on the phone; things have taken a turn for the worse. We drive down to visit his family because we just know that we should.
July 1 AM: We spend all day in the hospital. They decide to call in hospice. We help with paperwork and discussions and keeping family calm and uplifted and fed.
July 1 PM: Papaw passed away after the briefest battle of cancer I've ever had the history of witnessing.
From the research I've done, this is the way of pancreatic cancer; it masks itself as so many other things. Gallbladder, pancreatitis, etc. It doesn't even show up on scans until it's too late. A man who had been otherwise healthy and capable and hard-working and tenacious and spunky for 89 years was suddenly gone. A man with a love of life and family and God and Jesus and a faith so strong if could move mountains and build bridges...gone. A man who never failed to ask me, "So what are you working on now?" and would sit with me as I pulled out my phone to show him my latest craft or my sewing project or whatever other weird thing was going on. A man who taught me new things. A man who taught his family to love like he did. A man whose grandson I stole for my husband. This man is gone from this world now. But his legacy lives on forever in all of these things. You can never erase your impact on the world. Never.
So this is my post that blows the happy stuff out of the water: Star Wars and Disney and family and friends and kittens and rainbows and all of that good stuff blown to bits by one post. However, if I really stop and think about it, all of these things aren't truly 100% happy. Star Wars makes me cry (like a baby, actually, if we're talking The Force Awakens. Damn you, Kylo Ren. Yes. Damn. I'll even curse on the happy blog because that's how sad you make me). Disney makes me cry (thank you, Up. I was having a bad day and figured I'd take myself to a movie to make myself feel better about life...oh...oops. Cue Shada sinking into the theater seat so no one sees her sobs of ugly shame). There are sad moments that revolve around family and friends, too - losses and struggles that we all face. Kittens...okay, I don't cry in sadness for kittens. Unless they're being hurt or abused. Rainbows make me cry happy sometimes or cry sad if they make me think about people from the past.
So what I'm trying to say as I ramble on is this: Yes. It's my blog. Yes. It's a happy blog (mostly). Will we talk about sad things too? Well, of course. Star Wars is full of sad things. Disney is full of sad things. Life is full of sad things. You can't take the sad out of life because, if we did, where would we find the joy? The belly laughs? The bursts of sheer childlike wonder that fuel us to do crazy things? We have to have all of these things wrapped up in one - joy and sadness (thank you, Inside Out).
That's why the things I love work. That's why Star Wars works - because it's joy and sadness - it's life - mixed in one. That's why Disney works. That's why I love my family, my friends, my kitten (who is a cat now, and I love her even more), and my rainbows as well as the rainstorms that bring them.
They're all good things - even when they come with an order of bad on the side.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Operation Orchid (or How Shada Intends To Become A Princess)
I have a lot of crazy ideas that never come to fruition - this is true. I have more fabric in my stash to make random costumes of craziness that come to me on a whim. I currently have enough fabric to make Leia's ceremonial gown probably twice, as well as a fabric for a costume for Morrigan from video game "Dragon Age". I even have parts of these costumes that are completed! Shoes for Leia, a skirt for Morrigan that's been drafted and cut and sewn together and looks awesome.
But they sit. Leia has sat for years - I can't even begin to tell you how long. It's embarrassing, really, when I think about it because it makes me sound like I'm unable to complete any projects. I know this isn't true; I finished a Leia Endor gown in about a month or two before Star Wars Celebration the last time. So I'm capable of working and completing an outfit. I guess I just get sidetracked by real life.
Which leads me to where I am now - with grand ideas and pretty fabric but sidetracked by life.
We've been dealing with a lot going on, honestly. It all hovers around the not-so-great things in life like hospitals and sickness and death and medical tests and recovery. I shudder when I think about it. So since this blog was created as a positive outlet for me, I'm going to try and set that aside right now and focus on the really cool ideas and things that have happened lately.
The best is Operation Orchid.
I didn't even know this project was going to have a cool behind-the-scenes spy-mission type name, but now it just makes it even better. I have a good friend of mine to thank for that, and us both being Once Upon a Time fans just made it that much cooler (if you can say this is cool). So some backstory before I get ahead of myself here...
Utilizing the Annual Passes of Awesome, the Nerd Husband and I have a trip to Walt Disney World planned for October. We'll be attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) while we're there, and it's the one chance that adults have to actually go to the Magic Kingdom in a costume. I love any excuse to pull out a costume, so this just made me horribly happy. The Nerd Husband and I had some conversations about possible costumes, but I recognize that cosplay is not the NH's "thing". He's good enough to go along with my crazy hobby and let's me suck him into it now and then, sure. But he really lets me lead on these adventures.
I spouted off a few ideas, but nothing huge:
- Rey in her Resistance Outfit and Poe Dameron (or maybe just his jacket because that's cool-looking)
- River Song and the 11th Doctor (really, we already have these costumes, but I would have wanted to make a new River dress - the green one - the impossible one)
- Rey and BB-8! (he made a face at this one - an "are you crazy?" kind of face, so I dropped it)
- Random Jedi (both of us)
- Leia dress and Random Jedi
- Marian Ravenwood and Indiana Jones
- Regina the Evil Queen and Robin Hood
I probably had a flurry of other ideas, and I couldn't settle on a darned thing. Once Star Wars Celebration was announced for April 2017 (I guess that's something else I have to talk about), that kind of pushed my Rey costume plans forward for that con. I could completed River Song, I think, but that wasn't really Disney. I wanted something else.
The Once Upon a Time idea was good, but I wanted to try and stick to the easier side of the Disney costume rules which "discourages" floor length gowns. I could put Regina and Robin in normal clothing, sure, but what's the fun in that? So that went out the window. Heck, if I was trying to stick to that rule, it kind of knocked quite a few things of my list, even when I started going through the lists of the princesses.
Until I ran into Rapunzel. Whose skirt does not reach the floor. And I went OMGFANGIRLSQUEE.
For the most part, I am not a Disney princess fangirl. Not that there's anything wrong with the Disney princesses, but I didn't connect with any of them, really. However, Tangled quickly became a favorite of mine, and on some weird note, I connected with Rapunzel as a character. Here was a girl who was naive and knew it, but she wanted to change it as best she could. She was scared to do so, but she did it anyway. She waffled back and forth about whether or not she was right or wrong, and she fought for the things she believed in. She took the good with the bad and hurt and cried and suffered, and then finds where she belongs. I guess I liked that.
So my brain went, "Hey, why not Rapunzel?"
I responded, "But I don't want to wear a ginormous blonde wig in Florida in October."
My brain said, "Hey, she gets her hair cut at the end of the movie. It's cute and it's brown and it's short."
I thought about it, and I gave into my brain. That was how the Rapunzel dress came to be the next project of choice.
With any costume, you spend more time in research and search-for-resources mode than you do in the actual construction - I swear to you. I've looked at more blogs, random Deviant Art pages, screen cap sites, and message boards than I can found. I searched the dark corners of the internet for fabric stores. I downloaded pictures on my tablet, my phone, employed my mother-in-law accidentally to help me out, and this project just sort of blew up and took over. Granted, I let it - because it's exciting to work on something pretty for a change.
However, my research turned up kind of a bust when it came to the fabric arena. I ended up purchasing a quilting cotton that I liked color-wise for the bodice, but it's cotton - I'm not sure how that will look, honestly. So it's not even really officially a start. The colors on this costume are just insanely impossible to match because you don't know if they're pinks or purples. They're neither and they're both, and it's as frustrating as herding banthas (I imagine).
After searching JoAnn Fabric's, two local thrift stores, and a hole-in-the-wall sewing shop I found, I was still empty-handed on fabric. I'd done numerous online searches to see if other bloggers or cosplayers had mentioned where they'd purchased their fabric or what color or anything. Nothing. Sigh. Until one day...I did a search on a whim. I was tired and was giving up. And there it was: Writer, Cosplayer, and Digital Artist - Julie Hall.
I have no idea who Julie is, but I want to make sure this lady gets credit because boy, did she ever help me! Thank you, Julie - from the bottom of my geeky heart. She pointed me in the direction of Hobby Lobby which had the exact color of poly satin I had been looking for - Radiant Orchid. My nearest Hobby Lobby is a bit of a way from me, and with everything going on I knew I wouldn't have a chance to get there for weeks. I could purchase it online, sure, but I really hate not being able to see the fabric sometimes.
So I employed my friend M. We'll call him M because it's safe, and it makes him sound sort of mysterious - like he should be in a James Bond movie or something. M lives on the side of town maybe 2 minutes from the Hobby Lobby, so I thought about it a bit and then I sent him a message.
Me: Question for you. Do you have plans to visit your Hobby Lobby anytime soon? *insert long search explanation here*
M (without hesitation): I can totally go tomorrow morning. What color are you looking for?
My friends are awesome. They just are.
The next day, I get a text message at 9:02 in the morning from M: "I'm on my way to the Lobby. Operation Orchid is now in effect!!" M later sent me pictures - with flash, without flash, described the fabric as best he could, and even searched in the clearance bins for matching thread (though there was none). He even brought a coupon to cut down on the already pretty cheap price of $4.99 a yard.
I bought 4 yards - grand total of $12.88. That's some good shoppin', in my opinion, and Operation Orchid was a success. I haven't figured out if just that part of it should be called Operation Orchid or if this whole project should be - I think I'm going to make that the title of the whole costume, though. I just absolutely love it, and it feel so Once Upon A Timey.
I won't get to dig into that fabric for a while, and I won't be able to go out and search for any coordinating fabric for a while, either. Again, real life (and not the good kind) is creeping in on me, and I just have to face it for a while. But hopefully this good stuff will be waiting on me when I get back.
I just realized I used the name Shada in the title. Do you remember who Shada is? It's Me! I haven't explained where that nickname came from, but that's another post for another time. Until then...you just get a little reminder of a little something I posted ages ago. And now back to your regularly scheduled program...
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Star Wars Dark Side 10K - Part 2
We woke up Saturday morning while it was still dark outside (again). I think the alarm was set for 2:45 AM or so. We dressed quickly and headed out to the bus stop to be there by 3:30 AM. I'd finished the Asajj Ventress costume, and I was pretty darned proud of it. It was time to take it out and show it off and be Sithly! There was a line at the bus stop at our hotel, but it wasn't too bad of a wait and the bus pulled up quickly. We hopped on, and we were off to the races.
It was awesome driving on the property in the dark. Pulling into the Epcot parking lot where it's just a barren wasteland of parking spaces but you can see Spaceship Earth in the distance - that was just cool. We pulled up to the drop off area, and we kind of blindly followed the crowds as we walked...and walked...and walked to the main area. It was kind of a ridiculous walk, honestly. There were a few volunteers, some people checking bags. We didn't have to worry about any of that, so we figured we'd have plenty of time to maybe get a picture or two with some characters or some schemes.
When we got to the main area, it looked like the party had been in full swing for hours to be honest. If busses didn't start running until 3:30 (and we were on that bus), where did all of these people come from? The lines for the characters and photo scenes were outrageous, and they were already announcing the fact that they were closing the lines in 15 minutes because it was almost time to get people to their corrals. Weird. But maybe it's always like this. I have no idea; it's my first event.
So we enjoy the DJ silliness and fan crazies - DJ Elliott was providing some entertainment, and it honestly felt like being "home" at a Star Wars Celebration. So that part was pretty neat, and we decided not to worry about the pictures. It's not like we couldn't grab those at a convention later on. I saw one other Asajj Ventress costumed runner, but other than that, Asajj wasn't anywhere to be seen! That kind of made me sad considering all of the time she got on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but oh well. About 20-30 minutes went by or so, and then they announced they were moving people to the corrals. So we follow the herd (literally) to our corrals, find corral E, get in place and get ready.
Get ready to be smushed in with a bunch of other people for about an hour and a half, unable to sit, unable to stretch, unable to do anything but stand and watch Star Wars trailers and have conversations with the people around you. And freeze. It was pretty darned cold that early in the morning, and we just kept having to think warm thoughts and huddle together. I guess that was one good thing about being packed in so tightly. But the wind was just brutal at times.
The Nerd Husband and I spent time pointing out costumes in the sea of people who just kept flooding into the corral section. It was seriously never-ending, and they kept packing us in tighter and tighter. I knew right then there was going to be no way I could run this thing. Not in the slightest. Even if I had a hope of breaking through in some way, I had a feeling it was going to be like this most of the 6ish miles we had to go.
They released each corral with a length of 10-15 minutes in between. Something like that. I didn't time it; it would have annoyed me far too much, I think. But I spent my time in a pleasant mood instead - watching the fireworks and cheering for the corrals as they were released. Patiently waiting to move up, and finally...it was our turn. Corral E. The "Evil" Corral as we then referred to ourselves. It's the Dark Side 10K, after all.
We got our on your mark, get set, gooooooooooo - FIREWORKS! I filmed it on my phone, we walked until we go to about the start line, and then jogged lightly over the start - because c'mon, you kind of have to start off a run at least kind of running. I think I gave a thumbs up to the camera guy, but who knows if it was broadcasted on the screens to corral F (the only folks left waiting to start the race).
We did our running through the Epcot parking lot and met up with a high school band who was playing Star Wars music. That was a great pump-up, and it made me so excited to be outside running(?) at Epcot. We managed to do a few run/walk intervals, but it was proving to be difficult to keep up with our interval timer on my phone. Even this early on, we were kind of bottle necking in places - especially as we moved our way into Epcot. It was then that we decided that we would do what we could with our intervals, keep up with the folks that were close to us in the corral, and speed up when necessary to not get swept. Honestly, this was the best decision of the race - the decision to not make it a "race".
I never even saw the mile marker for the first mile - who knows what I was gawking at. It could have been the backstage view of Epcot, trying to figure out what the buildings were for and what they housed in them. Or waving at the cast members who were cheering for us. Or checking out the back gate that was open into Mexico as we rounded the corners to Star Wars music playing. The lights on the Mexican pavilion as we made our way into the park and up the pathway toward the entrance to the World Showcase. Or looking at the giant screen playing Star Wars movie clips. Of course, then there was Spaceship Earth - that ball never ceases to amaze me. Somewhere in there I think I saw Artoo and Vader, and I just kept staring at it all and smiling and walking quickly or jogging a bit when I could find a place to break through.
We rounded into Canada and the UK, and then the path took the bridge toward the "back door" of Epcot with the intent of moving on to the Boardwalk area using a little bridge. It was kind of a narrow little pain-in-the-butt pathway, let me tell you. But again, we treated it like a walk-fest when we couldn't do our intervals. No big deal until you see the balloon ladies, right? (The balloon ladies, by the way, are women who do Disney races and walk at the back of the pack at the correct official pace time. It's my understanding that they carry balloons so you can see them, and you don't want to fall behind them because then you will be swept. I am proud to say we never saw the balloon ladies.)
The best thing about this little narrow path was a lady at the end of it who was cheering people on. She had a sign that said sometime like "Good job, Random Stranger. You can do this!" It literally made me laugh of loud, and I said, "Thank you, Random Stranger! That's awesome."
The Boardwalk was just a nightmare to run on with all of those people - lol. So we walked it. And then we walked quite a bit of the pathway from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios, doing little jog spurts when we could get into a good groove and not get in the way. I was starting to worry around this time that it was going to rain on us; we felt a few little misty drops, but that was about it. We ran under a little bridge down by the river that they had bathed in deep red lights and Darth Vader's breathing was playing on a loop. It was pretty cool, but that was about the only thing we saw until we got to Hollywood Studios.
I honestly don't recall what characters or stops or anything were in Hollywood Studios. It was just neat seeing the whole place in the early dawn light. The lights were still on, and the cast members just seemed genuinely thrilled that we were up and out this early in the morning being stupid.
From here on out, the pathway is kind of a blur to me, and I'd have to sit down with a map to really show you were we were. I remember seeing an alligator in a little bog-like thing off of a main road. That was a fun little pit stop. I think my favorite part of this last bit of the run, though, was running down this little dirt/gravel access road. We were surrounded by trees and everything, and it felt a bit like running through Endor. I loved that.
The homestretch was back at ESPN Wide World of Sports, complete with dozens of costumed Rebel Legion and 501st folks. I stopped long enough to ask a stormtrooper if I could take a selfie with him, and he obliged. And then...
FINISH LINE!
I filmed going across the finish line, too. They were calling out names of people as they crossed, but I don't remember hearing my name. Not a big deal. I finished. I got my medal placed around my neck, and I was given a box of goodies. There was really no place to sit down except on the pavement which was weird, so we just took our box of goodies and our awesome medals and decided to head back to the bus. There were huge lines waiting for the bus, and we were all very hot and tired and still standing and waiting. That was just...hard. Really hard. We got in a conversation with teh couple in front of us, and it helped pass the time.
Back at the hotel, I prompted pulled off my shoes. Wearing new socks was a bad idea, and my feet were swollen. That never happened during any of my training sessions, so it was a new one. I let my feet rest and I gobbled through some of my goodies. Then the Nerd Husband took a nap, and I drew up a hot bath and relaxed. Who needs a hot tub when you've got a bath tub? Yay, value resorts!
After our rest, we decided to head out to actually get to enjoy the Epcot Flower and Garden festival, and we spent the rest of the day on our feet. My phone told me at the end of the day that it was my "most active day ever" - clocking in at a crazy 18.25 miles. Holy. Mother. Of pearls.
So as a conclusion regarding the Dark Side 10K race - all-in-all, I had a pretty good time with it. Did I have some gripes? Yep. Did I have some nerdy geek moments? Yep.
Let's start with the complaining first. ;)
Gripes
Fangirl Squee-worthy Moments
It was awesome driving on the property in the dark. Pulling into the Epcot parking lot where it's just a barren wasteland of parking spaces but you can see Spaceship Earth in the distance - that was just cool. We pulled up to the drop off area, and we kind of blindly followed the crowds as we walked...and walked...and walked to the main area. It was kind of a ridiculous walk, honestly. There were a few volunteers, some people checking bags. We didn't have to worry about any of that, so we figured we'd have plenty of time to maybe get a picture or two with some characters or some schemes.
When we got to the main area, it looked like the party had been in full swing for hours to be honest. If busses didn't start running until 3:30 (and we were on that bus), where did all of these people come from? The lines for the characters and photo scenes were outrageous, and they were already announcing the fact that they were closing the lines in 15 minutes because it was almost time to get people to their corrals. Weird. But maybe it's always like this. I have no idea; it's my first event.
So we enjoy the DJ silliness and fan crazies - DJ Elliott was providing some entertainment, and it honestly felt like being "home" at a Star Wars Celebration. So that part was pretty neat, and we decided not to worry about the pictures. It's not like we couldn't grab those at a convention later on. I saw one other Asajj Ventress costumed runner, but other than that, Asajj wasn't anywhere to be seen! That kind of made me sad considering all of the time she got on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but oh well. About 20-30 minutes went by or so, and then they announced they were moving people to the corrals. So we follow the herd (literally) to our corrals, find corral E, get in place and get ready.
Get ready to be smushed in with a bunch of other people for about an hour and a half, unable to sit, unable to stretch, unable to do anything but stand and watch Star Wars trailers and have conversations with the people around you. And freeze. It was pretty darned cold that early in the morning, and we just kept having to think warm thoughts and huddle together. I guess that was one good thing about being packed in so tightly. But the wind was just brutal at times.
The Nerd Husband and I spent time pointing out costumes in the sea of people who just kept flooding into the corral section. It was seriously never-ending, and they kept packing us in tighter and tighter. I knew right then there was going to be no way I could run this thing. Not in the slightest. Even if I had a hope of breaking through in some way, I had a feeling it was going to be like this most of the 6ish miles we had to go.
They released each corral with a length of 10-15 minutes in between. Something like that. I didn't time it; it would have annoyed me far too much, I think. But I spent my time in a pleasant mood instead - watching the fireworks and cheering for the corrals as they were released. Patiently waiting to move up, and finally...it was our turn. Corral E. The "Evil" Corral as we then referred to ourselves. It's the Dark Side 10K, after all.
We got our on your mark, get set, gooooooooooo - FIREWORKS! I filmed it on my phone, we walked until we go to about the start line, and then jogged lightly over the start - because c'mon, you kind of have to start off a run at least kind of running. I think I gave a thumbs up to the camera guy, but who knows if it was broadcasted on the screens to corral F (the only folks left waiting to start the race).
We did our running through the Epcot parking lot and met up with a high school band who was playing Star Wars music. That was a great pump-up, and it made me so excited to be outside running(?) at Epcot. We managed to do a few run/walk intervals, but it was proving to be difficult to keep up with our interval timer on my phone. Even this early on, we were kind of bottle necking in places - especially as we moved our way into Epcot. It was then that we decided that we would do what we could with our intervals, keep up with the folks that were close to us in the corral, and speed up when necessary to not get swept. Honestly, this was the best decision of the race - the decision to not make it a "race".
I never even saw the mile marker for the first mile - who knows what I was gawking at. It could have been the backstage view of Epcot, trying to figure out what the buildings were for and what they housed in them. Or waving at the cast members who were cheering for us. Or checking out the back gate that was open into Mexico as we rounded the corners to Star Wars music playing. The lights on the Mexican pavilion as we made our way into the park and up the pathway toward the entrance to the World Showcase. Or looking at the giant screen playing Star Wars movie clips. Of course, then there was Spaceship Earth - that ball never ceases to amaze me. Somewhere in there I think I saw Artoo and Vader, and I just kept staring at it all and smiling and walking quickly or jogging a bit when I could find a place to break through.
We rounded into Canada and the UK, and then the path took the bridge toward the "back door" of Epcot with the intent of moving on to the Boardwalk area using a little bridge. It was kind of a narrow little pain-in-the-butt pathway, let me tell you. But again, we treated it like a walk-fest when we couldn't do our intervals. No big deal until you see the balloon ladies, right? (The balloon ladies, by the way, are women who do Disney races and walk at the back of the pack at the correct official pace time. It's my understanding that they carry balloons so you can see them, and you don't want to fall behind them because then you will be swept. I am proud to say we never saw the balloon ladies.)
The best thing about this little narrow path was a lady at the end of it who was cheering people on. She had a sign that said sometime like "Good job, Random Stranger. You can do this!" It literally made me laugh of loud, and I said, "Thank you, Random Stranger! That's awesome."
The Boardwalk was just a nightmare to run on with all of those people - lol. So we walked it. And then we walked quite a bit of the pathway from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios, doing little jog spurts when we could get into a good groove and not get in the way. I was starting to worry around this time that it was going to rain on us; we felt a few little misty drops, but that was about it. We ran under a little bridge down by the river that they had bathed in deep red lights and Darth Vader's breathing was playing on a loop. It was pretty cool, but that was about the only thing we saw until we got to Hollywood Studios.
I honestly don't recall what characters or stops or anything were in Hollywood Studios. It was just neat seeing the whole place in the early dawn light. The lights were still on, and the cast members just seemed genuinely thrilled that we were up and out this early in the morning being stupid.
From here on out, the pathway is kind of a blur to me, and I'd have to sit down with a map to really show you were we were. I remember seeing an alligator in a little bog-like thing off of a main road. That was a fun little pit stop. I think my favorite part of this last bit of the run, though, was running down this little dirt/gravel access road. We were surrounded by trees and everything, and it felt a bit like running through Endor. I loved that.
The homestretch was back at ESPN Wide World of Sports, complete with dozens of costumed Rebel Legion and 501st folks. I stopped long enough to ask a stormtrooper if I could take a selfie with him, and he obliged. And then...
FINISH LINE!
I filmed going across the finish line, too. They were calling out names of people as they crossed, but I don't remember hearing my name. Not a big deal. I finished. I got my medal placed around my neck, and I was given a box of goodies. There was really no place to sit down except on the pavement which was weird, so we just took our box of goodies and our awesome medals and decided to head back to the bus. There were huge lines waiting for the bus, and we were all very hot and tired and still standing and waiting. That was just...hard. Really hard. We got in a conversation with teh couple in front of us, and it helped pass the time.
Back at the hotel, I prompted pulled off my shoes. Wearing new socks was a bad idea, and my feet were swollen. That never happened during any of my training sessions, so it was a new one. I let my feet rest and I gobbled through some of my goodies. Then the Nerd Husband took a nap, and I drew up a hot bath and relaxed. Who needs a hot tub when you've got a bath tub? Yay, value resorts!
After our rest, we decided to head out to actually get to enjoy the Epcot Flower and Garden festival, and we spent the rest of the day on our feet. My phone told me at the end of the day that it was my "most active day ever" - clocking in at a crazy 18.25 miles. Holy. Mother. Of pearls.
So as a conclusion regarding the Dark Side 10K race - all-in-all, I had a pretty good time with it. Did I have some gripes? Yep. Did I have some nerdy geek moments? Yep.
Let's start with the complaining first. ;)
Gripes
- The walk from the bus pick-up/drop-off to the Expo and the Finish Line.
- This was just hard. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered me, but I was trying to prep for a race. And then afterward, I was trying to recover from a race. I felt like all of that walking just tacked another 5K onto my distance, to be honest. Can we just move the bus area closer to wherever it is we need to be?
- Expo merchandise
- There was nothing left that was worth getting, and we were there very early on the 2nd day of the Expo. My guess from reading message boards and other blogs is that local eBayers come out, purchase a bunch of merchandise, and then resell at crazy prices on eBay. Sure enough, I did some searches, and that's what happened. I hate this. Please, there are some people who this is their first race. Maybe just having a magnet to put on our cars would make us feel kind of cool, you know?
- Narrow pathways and too many people - not able to "race"
- I understand that part of this is because I was in the next-to-the-last corral, but surely something could have been done. Maybe even split up the last couple of corrals. I don't know, but it was kind of upsetting to not be able to do what I'd trained to do. I accepted that fact early on, though, and it made life easier. Next time, I know - submit a proof of time and get in an earlier corral.
- More entertainment in some places
- There were times when there was just...nothing. Not a lot of times, but I know there's that stretch of road from Hollywood Studios until the access road where my greatest entertainment was the girl who complimented my Asajj hat (without realizing what it was) and the alligator I saw in the bog. I didn't need much, really. Maybe even just some music or a random Star Wars character holding a sign. Nothing big. But there were times it just seemed quiet.
- Fix the Race Day photo weirdness
- If you're on the first bus at 3:30, but by the time you get to the Race all of the photo ops are closing...something is wrong. Severely wrong. If you need to start busses earlier, that's fine. If you need to start the festivities later, then that's okay, too. But it doesn't seem okay that for some reason those of us who stayed on property got left out of the photo op fun.
- Fix the Race Day walk to the corrals
- Did we really have to trek that far to our corrals? lol Holy cow. I mean, I really don't care in the long run - what does it matter? But that just seemed a bit of a stretch to me.
- Seating at the Finish line - benches, maybe
- I'm not sure how to fix this one, but I saw so many people sitting in the sun on the pavement trying to eat their banana. It was hot and uncomfortable, and there they sat. It didn't seem quite fair, and I think that's why we just opted to go to the busses. Maybe a tent? Some bench seating or something?
- Buses
- More of them, maybe? Or just shaded areas to wait for them?
Fangirl Squee-worthy Moments
- 501st and Rebel Legion volunteers
- I was so glad to see all of those costumers out there supporting the runners and walkers. That truly made my morning because there were so many of them and so easily accessible to everyone for pictures and whatnot. Those of us who couldn't afford to wait in official character lines got a chance to take a picture with these folks, and that was just awesome. I really appreciated them being there.
- Epcot backstage
- Why this made me as happy as it did, I have no idea. There isn't much back there, but it still felt like I was getting away with something by being somewhere I'm traditionally not allowed to be.
- Epcot in the early morning
- What more can I say? Epic.
- High school band playing Star Wars music
- This pumped me up quite a bit, and I needed it after standing in the wind for about an hour and a half. Thank you, bandies!
- Random Conversations with strangers
- I'm weird; I know. But this is the part of a convention that always means quite a bit to me - getting into random conversations with random people that you'll never meet otherwise. You meet these people right now - in that moment - because you're sharing something cool. You're sharing fandom. And yes, I'm a natural-born introvert, but I still love interactions like this.
- Getting to wear my medal to the park
- You get into all sorts of conversations with people. You exchanges congratulations with other racers. You get congratulated by cast members, and some of them even stop to admire your medal. It was just another way to meet more smiling people; I liked that.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Star Wars Dark Side 10K - Part 1
I realize that I flake out on writing when I have to write about something huge - like the Star Wars Dark Side 10K race in April. Yep. April. Like over a month ago now. I've ignored it that long. It just always seems so intimidating, and I ask myself all of these questions. What if you leave something out? What if you ramble on too long? Do you really want to talk about how your bank closed down your credit card when you tried to buy your annual passes? Do you only talk about the good things? My word, how many blog posts will this take? No one really reads it anyway, so why are you doing this?
And the list goes on.
So first, I apologize to myself for being a slacker. Secondly, we're going to go back in time just a little and talk about a few things regarding the race weekend. Things I liked and things that need a bit more help in my book.
This was my first runDisney race, so I realize that this was all new to me. I have no idea how past events have been, so none of that clouded my thoughts on how the weekend went. That being said - all in all - I had a great time, and I'll definitely be attending a future runDisney event at some point. I think the Star Wars race is a great concept, full of fun people and fans, but I think it requires some tweaking to make it a truly great event.
So let's see if I can actually write up some sort of trip report here based on what I can remember...
First day we arrived in Florida, we took an ungodly flight time (had to get up at 2:40 AM) and landed in Florida around 8 AM. We hopped the Disney Magical Express to All Star Sports, checked in and linked our credit card to our Magic Bands (first time we've tried this, and there's more on this to come), dropped off some bags with luggage services, and we took a bus to Epcot.
This year, the Nerd Husband and I celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, so we figured our big gift to ourselves would be annual passes to Disney World. One of our favorite parks is Epcot, so we figured we'd head on over there and purchase our passes first thing our first morning. No problem. Until our credit card company flipped out at the amount we'd just charged in another state, and they put a block on our account. So we then get out of line, go to call the bank, fix the problem, get back in line, get the same Customer Service Cast Member, and finally get our card to run and get our tickets in our hot little hands. We get a nifty little Annual Passholder booklet, and we feel kind of special.
It's a pretty early morning, so crowds are low and the weather is feeling pretty darned good. We know that future world is open, but we're not exploring just yet because we have other plans. We walk on back to France to Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie. This is seriously one of our favorite (if not favorite) places to eat in all of Epcot. We picked up a croissant and a cold ham/cheese sandwich to split for breakfast. Good times, let me tell you.
After breakfast, we head on out the back door of Epcot because we figure the next thing on our list to get done in the runDisney Expo. We exit the park and walk on toward the Beach Club resort where we picked up a bus to the Expo. No problems there; it worked like a charm.
The bus dropped us off at the Expo...or at least a mile or two from the Expo. Seriously, it was a hike from the bus drop-off to the actual Expo buildings. It was a little ridiculous, to be honest - especially if you had a race/races to be attending that weekend on top of theme park walking. Oy. But we made it with no problems, and the grounds of the ESPN Wide World of Sports are kind of interesting. Nothing hugely special, but kind of neat to finally see it. We picked up our bibs with no problem at check-in, and I got my pre-ordered 10K pin. We then headed out to check out the merchandise.
This is where the disappointment kind of sets in. The Expo was pretty easy to navigate but also a little strangely set up. There were at least two places to purchase official merchandise, and neither one of them was remotely close to one another. The Expo opened Thursday morning, the day before we go there. We were there around 10:30 AM on Friday...and seriously there was almost nothing worth getting. I picked up one shirt because this was my first event, so I felt I had to have something. There were lots of pins left, but there were no car magnets. No hats. We found one cool shirt I would have loved to purchase for the NH, but it wasn't his size and it was the only one left. We later found out they only had that one because it had been returned. The Dooney and Bourke handbags that had looked so neat on the internet looked...well, not great in person. That was disappointing as well. So I got my shirt (and remember my newly acquired annual pass discount), and we just sort of wandered around for the rest of the Expo.
It was then that we figure we'd grab a quick drink while at ESPN and figure out our next move before heading out. We went to the little food court there, ordered two drinks, and scanned our magic band. Nothing. Actually, something - it said we were "over our charge limit". *sigh* More credit card bank issues - yay. So I finally just use my debit card to get the drinks, the NH spends a good portion of time on the phone with the credit card company, and we finally get everything worked out eventually. Our credit limit is fine - company isn't sure why the error read that way, and they assure us we're okay. No block on the account.
From ESPN, we take a bus back to our resort to drop off our stuff, and we decide to just spend a bit of time at Magic Kingdom. Why not? We have annual passes, right? Let's use 'em! So we bus on over and hit a couple of our favorite rides. The only ride I remember right now is the People Mover which is kind of sad because it's the People Mover - lol - but seriously, how do you skip that one?! I love it! We tried to purchase a drink in the Magic Kingdom using our Magic Bands - again - with more errors. Finally, someone told us that it could be an issue with how the card was linked to our bands originally, and we could get our front desk to fix it. Honestly, I gave up and just used my card. So much easier than the headache of the silly band.
We left the Magic Kingdom early because we knew we needed to get some dinner and hit the hay early for the race the next day. We decided to grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich at Disney Springs, which suited us just fine. But man, that line gets longer and longer every year; soon we'll need two locations! By then, it was nearing bedtime, so we bussed on back to the All Star Sports, got ready for bed, and hit the hay early.
I am so glad we did...because two days of waking up at 2:40 AM will just about kill you. But when you're running on adrenaline and geekery, you're probably going to be okay.
Next time: the actual "race"
And the list goes on.
So first, I apologize to myself for being a slacker. Secondly, we're going to go back in time just a little and talk about a few things regarding the race weekend. Things I liked and things that need a bit more help in my book.
This was my first runDisney race, so I realize that this was all new to me. I have no idea how past events have been, so none of that clouded my thoughts on how the weekend went. That being said - all in all - I had a great time, and I'll definitely be attending a future runDisney event at some point. I think the Star Wars race is a great concept, full of fun people and fans, but I think it requires some tweaking to make it a truly great event.
So let's see if I can actually write up some sort of trip report here based on what I can remember...
First day we arrived in Florida, we took an ungodly flight time (had to get up at 2:40 AM) and landed in Florida around 8 AM. We hopped the Disney Magical Express to All Star Sports, checked in and linked our credit card to our Magic Bands (first time we've tried this, and there's more on this to come), dropped off some bags with luggage services, and we took a bus to Epcot.
This year, the Nerd Husband and I celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, so we figured our big gift to ourselves would be annual passes to Disney World. One of our favorite parks is Epcot, so we figured we'd head on over there and purchase our passes first thing our first morning. No problem. Until our credit card company flipped out at the amount we'd just charged in another state, and they put a block on our account. So we then get out of line, go to call the bank, fix the problem, get back in line, get the same Customer Service Cast Member, and finally get our card to run and get our tickets in our hot little hands. We get a nifty little Annual Passholder booklet, and we feel kind of special.
It's a pretty early morning, so crowds are low and the weather is feeling pretty darned good. We know that future world is open, but we're not exploring just yet because we have other plans. We walk on back to France to Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie. This is seriously one of our favorite (if not favorite) places to eat in all of Epcot. We picked up a croissant and a cold ham/cheese sandwich to split for breakfast. Good times, let me tell you.
After breakfast, we head on out the back door of Epcot because we figure the next thing on our list to get done in the runDisney Expo. We exit the park and walk on toward the Beach Club resort where we picked up a bus to the Expo. No problems there; it worked like a charm.
The bus dropped us off at the Expo...or at least a mile or two from the Expo. Seriously, it was a hike from the bus drop-off to the actual Expo buildings. It was a little ridiculous, to be honest - especially if you had a race/races to be attending that weekend on top of theme park walking. Oy. But we made it with no problems, and the grounds of the ESPN Wide World of Sports are kind of interesting. Nothing hugely special, but kind of neat to finally see it. We picked up our bibs with no problem at check-in, and I got my pre-ordered 10K pin. We then headed out to check out the merchandise.
This is where the disappointment kind of sets in. The Expo was pretty easy to navigate but also a little strangely set up. There were at least two places to purchase official merchandise, and neither one of them was remotely close to one another. The Expo opened Thursday morning, the day before we go there. We were there around 10:30 AM on Friday...and seriously there was almost nothing worth getting. I picked up one shirt because this was my first event, so I felt I had to have something. There were lots of pins left, but there were no car magnets. No hats. We found one cool shirt I would have loved to purchase for the NH, but it wasn't his size and it was the only one left. We later found out they only had that one because it had been returned. The Dooney and Bourke handbags that had looked so neat on the internet looked...well, not great in person. That was disappointing as well. So I got my shirt (and remember my newly acquired annual pass discount), and we just sort of wandered around for the rest of the Expo.
It was then that we figure we'd grab a quick drink while at ESPN and figure out our next move before heading out. We went to the little food court there, ordered two drinks, and scanned our magic band. Nothing. Actually, something - it said we were "over our charge limit". *sigh* More credit card bank issues - yay. So I finally just use my debit card to get the drinks, the NH spends a good portion of time on the phone with the credit card company, and we finally get everything worked out eventually. Our credit limit is fine - company isn't sure why the error read that way, and they assure us we're okay. No block on the account.
From ESPN, we take a bus back to our resort to drop off our stuff, and we decide to just spend a bit of time at Magic Kingdom. Why not? We have annual passes, right? Let's use 'em! So we bus on over and hit a couple of our favorite rides. The only ride I remember right now is the People Mover which is kind of sad because it's the People Mover - lol - but seriously, how do you skip that one?! I love it! We tried to purchase a drink in the Magic Kingdom using our Magic Bands - again - with more errors. Finally, someone told us that it could be an issue with how the card was linked to our bands originally, and we could get our front desk to fix it. Honestly, I gave up and just used my card. So much easier than the headache of the silly band.
We left the Magic Kingdom early because we knew we needed to get some dinner and hit the hay early for the race the next day. We decided to grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich at Disney Springs, which suited us just fine. But man, that line gets longer and longer every year; soon we'll need two locations! By then, it was nearing bedtime, so we bussed on back to the All Star Sports, got ready for bed, and hit the hay early.
I am so glad we did...because two days of waking up at 2:40 AM will just about kill you. But when you're running on adrenaline and geekery, you're probably going to be okay.
Next time: the actual "race"
Monday, May 9, 2016
Oh, She's Not Dead. Not Yet.
I've been putting off posting because I have too much to say and just not enough time (or brain power) to sit down and say it. So I decided a while ago that I should wait, collect my thoughts, and then type it all out for the blog. Then the brain went "OMG SO MANY MUCH THOUGHTS", and it flipped out. So I haven't written a thing until now.
It doesn't really hurt anyone but myself when I don't write about stuff, so really - I'm not out much. lol But I really want to make an effort to keep this blog going and up to date because it's a pretty good source of hope and inspiration for me. All too often, we deal with the negative things in life and have to wade our way through the crap of work, mean people, personal issues, and interpersonal relationships. But here, I'm doing my best to focus on two over-arching things that bring me joy - Star Wars and Disney. That's a lot of happy stuff right there, so I don't want that die out.
Right now, though, my brain is tired. I need to still gather up my mental and physical resources to come back here and type out something that makes some sense. Maybe there's just too much going on in my brain, and I can't fit it all in one post. So what I'll do is make myself a little list of ideas - things I've been wanting to talk about but not having the time.
It doesn't really hurt anyone but myself when I don't write about stuff, so really - I'm not out much. lol But I really want to make an effort to keep this blog going and up to date because it's a pretty good source of hope and inspiration for me. All too often, we deal with the negative things in life and have to wade our way through the crap of work, mean people, personal issues, and interpersonal relationships. But here, I'm doing my best to focus on two over-arching things that bring me joy - Star Wars and Disney. That's a lot of happy stuff right there, so I don't want that die out.
Right now, though, my brain is tired. I need to still gather up my mental and physical resources to come back here and type out something that makes some sense. Maybe there's just too much going on in my brain, and I can't fit it all in one post. So what I'll do is make myself a little list of ideas - things I've been wanting to talk about but not having the time.
- Recap of the Disney trip in April - complete with Dark Side 10K race details (short story - we finished, we got medals, we looked awesomely geeky, my feet hurt)
- Costume ideas for Disney trip in October for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
- Announcement of Star Wars Celebration in Orlando next April 2017
- Which leads to...costume ideas for Star Wars Celebration next year
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