Mama Got A New Toy!

I am not a bicycle person in 2020. In the 80's? Heck yes! I was always on my bike. But there is not one bit of me that wants to pretend I'm anything like a car and ride a bicycle on the road. And I don't want to die. 

I'm a runner. I love running. I've been doing it steadily for almost 11 years. Then the shit show of 2020 happened. All of my races were cancelled. And it got sooooo damn hot. I was running all the time at home, and things were looking good. Then the sun turned on and I paused for a short bit. Before I could resume I found myself with some crazy medical mystery that sent me to the Emergency Room and scared to resume running for fear.... that I would die. 

The day before the ER visit I had an impulse purchase that would take a month to get to me. That was such a wait!! Too hot to run, too nervous to get far away from my home alone, too filled with a desire to exercise and feel healthy despite all that is going on in the world right now... and this led to me getting a bike?? Well, sort of!

Now I can safely exercise in my home. I won't be hit by cars. I don't have to worry about falling over if I get dizzy from Meniere's Disease hitting me at the wrong time. I won't melt by running on the surface of the sun! For a week now I have been a very dedicated cyclist... in the downstairs area of my house!

I am now the proud owner of the NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle!! She's so beautiful. I love her.

It was 5pm last Sunday that she was finally here. This was quite the shipping processes. So freaking slow. But once she arrived at my driveway I was outside welcoming her, and the delivery boys, with open arms. My mom came over to help me with the whole unboxing/assembly process.  This was not a lightweight thing. Hundreds of pounds. It took 2 big boys to get it to my step, and my mom and I were creative enough to get it inside and downstairs, with the help of a curious 4 year old, of course.

Assembly was simple, but time consuming. Not much to do, but screwing everything in took a long time. With the assistance of the 4 year old near the end, I had it all together that night! The unplanned pedal to the inner knee while setting up my profile ended our evening with the bike. I have a pretty little cut and bruise to show for that.

 I've had many questions, so here's the scoop on what I am doing and what I can do with this fun toy!

• I have made my own courses to ride. It is basically like plotting a route on Google maps. Then I hop on for a ride and get to see street view photos along the way, as well as aerial shots.
• Something so cool.... it does the incline all by itself! If I have a hill on my route it automatically adjusts to simulate what I'm riding on.
• Ooh, there is a built in fan that I am so in love with.
• I'm doing a "Back to School" series where every day I ride through various university campuses in the US. This is a silent one with the photos showing where I am.
• There is a tray below the big screen perfect for holding my phone AND my iPad. So on these quiet campus rides I have been watching different things on my iPad for extra entertainment.
  
  
  
• I am working on my cardio while singing... meaning Yes, I have been watching AND performing Hamilton while on the bike. I sing when I run, too.
• I LOVE riding with a trainer. I'm doing a beginner series on Maui. The trainer talks to you the whole time, with riding tips, Hawaii info, just standard conversation. You hear nature and see it all "live". This one is full video the entire time, not still photos like the University series is. I LOVE it!! We are doing interval work, with the resistance and incline all adjusting on its own.
  
• 
• Yet to tackle - live rides done in real time with trainers. I have to make sure to look ahead to put it on my schedule so I can join in. That sounds so fun!
• There are studio sessions with trainers as well, some even incorporate exercise off of the bike.
• That reminds me! This came with 2 weights that have a set spot on the bike, so you can use them during some of the workouts.
• Below the weights are 2 holders for water bottles. 

It seems the possibilities with this and iFit are endless. I'm so excited to keep going and finding more things to do!

Why NordicTrack versus Peloton? Well, all of the above. I love making my own rides, and I can do it anywhere in the world. I've done the Bahamas, South Africa and Florida so far. The Las Vegas strip is on my schedule, too! Another big selling point for me, perhaps the biggest, is the shoes. The Peloton we looked at required buying those shoes that clip in. Um, no. Not for me. 

I am so dang happy with this purchase. I've ridden over 80 miles already. Every day I have done 2 rides, except one where I did 1 ride because of the next thing we will discuss. But then I did 3 rides in one day after the next thing we will discuss.

My butt. It was dying. I've never been so aware of bones in my butt area until I started riding this bike! I immediately ordered a gel seat cover AND 2 different styles of padded butt shorts. What a life saver! I've got 2 more coming of my favorite style. And Shawn surprised me by ordering a seat all the women in the facebook group say they really loved for a more comfortable ride. It isn't swapped out yet, but already all of the padding is helping out a ton.

Am I done running? Hell no!! Am I skipping running while it is 1,000 degrees outside? Yes. But now I can at least exercise at home before work without worrying about childcare, and I can easily pop down and do it anytime if I don't have someone here to watch the busy little girl in this house. If anything, maybe this will help my running! Those races on the calendar didn't disappear after all, they are just delayed until 2021 (knock on wood).

So that's what's going on with me. I'm sure I left stuff out. It's pretty darn awesome, but now my laundry is getting full a lot faster with these multiple rides per day. I haven't worn socks since June and now they are filling my laundry basket!

My Corona

Tuesday, 4:58pm. That's when I got the call. The call telling me I had been in contact with people that have tested positive for Covid-19. Holy s, Batman?!?

I always wear my mask. I leave my house when I absolutely need a grocery item - typically for school lunches. I leave to drop off my daughter for school, and then head to work, then pick her up and go home. Any out of our home activities we do are alone. Can't catch anything when you're driving in your own vehicle through the Wildlife Safari. Can't catch anything when you're alone in a river away from people. 

Ready for the swab!

But the ONE time you get near people, and don't wear a mask because everyone APPEARS healthy and you try to stay socially distant... well that's when you can get the call.

What got me to leave my house? A birthday party for a little girl. I spent most of my time only near my mom and daughter, but as at any birthday party surely we are all going to accidentally get too close. Everyone else there was family to each other, and had been near each other all the time as we are with family, so they didn't really need to worry... right?!?

In the end there were 15 people. Yeah, we should have worn masks. Damn that one time we didn't. Would we pay for it? Am I going to end up in the hospital with things going in my body in who knows what places? Would I be the source of work gossip? With all the women in that building I'd surely be talked badly about. What was going to happen?? How many people would end up sick from this party?

15 people.  FOUR tested positive. Was I one of them? Let's proceed and find out.

Back to the phone call. . . my mom and I were both there, we both got the calls, we were both told to be on high alert. We spent the days after taking our temperature. We wore our masks like we always do. We replayed the whole party trying to see who were we by and how long. My mom decided to go get tested the next day. She was told that at this point it could be too soon to get a positive result if she did contract the 'Rona, and to come back Saturday since that would be a week since the exposure. We decided to go do this together, and drag my step-dad along for testing since he clearly lives with my mom. 

At 11am this morning we were on a FaceTime doctor visit with a woman in Eugene. She agreed we should get the rapid test here in town. By 11:05am we were in the car and on our way to the clinic. We never even had to get out of the car! 

First up for the swab was my step-dad. He was dreading it and wanted to get it over with. Next was my mom. Finally, my turn, the one least afraid of it. I had so much shoved up my nose during my CSF leak, this little q-tip was nothing at all to fear.

Truth.... it wasn't pleasant. I can't say how it would feel for you since, like I said, I've had a lot of up my nose. Cameras, swabs, SIX pledgets for over 24 hours... this was a piece of cake! It did make my eyes water. A dabbing of the eyes and blowing of my nose did the trick. My mom's experience of the swab up the nose: Thank God it was quick. 20 seconds of discomfort administered by a young man with a wonderful sense of humor, but did that sucker reach my tear ducts? She always said it almost felt like she felt it in her ears!

Once done we asked if they just call us with the result and we were stunned when he said if we just wait 20 minutes he can give us our results in writing! WHAT?!?! Um, YES!! 

Last Saturday we felt awesome. Fine. Healthy. Having a lot of fun. We had been doing this Covid stuff like a boss. I have an insane collection of masks. I can wear one a day for a month without repeating, and I have more on the way and in my home production queue. But then that phone call changed it all. We all worried about it non-stop. Did we have it? Most important, would we get someone sick? We all know that for some, getting Covid-19 can be a death sentence. All of this worry would come to an end OR we would have to quarantine even more and prepare for who knows what. 

It didn't take long and our swab guy was coming back. When he came to do the tests he had on a mask AND face shield AND gloves AND full body hospital protective gear. This time it was just a mask. Did that mean he wasn't terrified of us and we were free of the virus?? If we had it would he be head to do in protective gear and ready to throw us in a bubble??

I really liked him. He delivered our results with dramatic flair. A sense of antici.....

.... pation.

First up he did MY results. Such a pause. Oh my gosh. I have it, I have to have it. He doesn't want to tell me the bad news. Oh my gosh, seriously!?!? And then he said it... I AM NEGATIVE!!

Next, my step-dad, who was no longer with us... more dramatics, also Negative.

And then the REAL pause. He hemmed and hawed. He gave my mom a look. He definitely presented her result in a good, story-telling fashion. We were nervous, but I appreciated his desire to leave us on pins and needles.

NEGATIVE!!

We all passed the test! Hot diggity dog!

So what have we learned from this?

Assume everyone has it. Of the 4 who do have it, only 1.5 showed symptoms at that party. Yeah, I gave someone a half of a point instead of a whole. It's my blog, I can do that. Being asymptomatic is real. Covid-19 is real. Ditch your political bias or belief that it is a hoax. That is annoying as F, and so ... stupid! Wear your mask. Stop bitching about it. Wear a damn mask. Wear it over your NOSE AND MOUTH. If you have a problem with this, stay away from me and family. I don't want to lose any loved ones because someone thinks they are smarter than SCIENCE. 26.66% of the birthday party attendees were positive. Think about that next time you are with a large group of people - especially if you are all feeling safe without your mask on. 

Right now we are experiencing a huge sense of relief, all of us ready to pass out now after not really sleeping well since we got that phone call. I can guarantee you we will all continue to wear our masks. And we might even be more vocal about it after having this close call. We all feel like we have a fresh start and are going to double up our efforts to protect ourselves and others. And by the way, our friends that tested positive are doing well!

We are celebrating by ... watching Cats?!? Yes, I've been dying for a Cats drinking game with my mom. This movie is so bad you guys!

We Interrupt This Performance of Hamilton to Bring You....

You'll be back, soon you'll see

You'll remember you belong to me

You'll be back, time will tell

You'll remember that I served you well

Oceans rise, empires fall

We have seen each other through it all

And when push comes to shove

I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!

It was in the middle of this passionate performance of You'll Be Back that this happened. We had performed all of Hamilton in and out of the pool prior to this. Katura took the lead on The Schuyler Sisters, complete with the perfectly timed armed movements... you Hamilton fans know what I'm talking about. The pool was our stage and we were owning it!

And then it happened.

Swimming together in the deep end while I was doing my best King George III when I was interrupted. 

"Mommy, I think I see something?!?" She was confident, but also confused. What she THOUGHT she saw couldn't really be what she thought it was, right? I floated myself around to face the same way she was, and looked up the hill. I was expecting to see one of our many deer, or the one the two turkeys that have moved in. The hillside was bare. She pointed down at the pool. 

Oh, she must have found our pineapple thermometer! It has a tendency to float into the side area where the pump stuff is. Typically I swim over and pull it out and we continue with our pool business. Not this time.

What the heck is that? Its NOT a pineapple. It has stripes. It is round. Is it a rope? I've never seen a rope like that around here. Why would there be a rope in our pool? I clean that thing almost every day and I know there wasn't anything like that around. It was like a slow-motion triple take. One where you feel like you have to rub your eyes to really see clear. There was definitely something coiled in a circle. And in the middle of that coil.... a head. A SNAKE head!

EVERYBODY OUT OF THE POOL!!!

We girls forgot Hamilton was even happening and we were out of the water so fast! 

Okay, deep breathes. Surely we were both wrong. She did think it was a snake, but let's just double check before waking up daddy!

She stood on the edge and watched as I hopped back in and delicately swam over. What, was I think I would sneak up on it in the water?? Like a snake wouldn't know?! Sheesh. I got pretty close, saw the exact same thing, but this time its head seemed even higher up and IT WAS LOOKING AT ME!!

Back to the shallow end and up those steps I went! 

Katura knew what she had to do! "Mommy, you wait here, I'll go get daddy!!"

It didn't take long at all and we were all at the pool staring. Shawn found a long rod to use to open the lid. Sure our hands can easily lift that lid - which is what Katura wanted me to do originally (Hell no!!) - but would YOU want to bend down and lift up a lid with an anaconda floating right below you? What would it do?? Was it going to hiss and jump up and eat us??

Shawn delicately raised the lid and stood there confused. He looked at us standing on the opposite side of the pool. "There's no snake here." "What?? There has to be! I know what I saw! It's a snake! I saw it's head!" I rushed over to his side and looked down. NO snake. Katura and I both saw it. We didn't make it up. WHERE DID THIS THING GO???

And then we heard the shrieks of our little girl. "IT'S SWIMMING! IT'S SWIMMING!"

Sure enough that snake was swimming in the middle of our pool. Damn, it was FAST! And HUGE!! Over 2 feet long for sure. I couldn't even get the entire thing in one shot except for when it was all coiled up getting scooped on the pool net. Shawn worked on the scooping, Katura stood back watching and I was there with the camera. This HAD to be documented!

The snake was set over the side wall in the grass. It flopped around quite a bit and then slithered off into the sunset. Shawn was up there pretty fast to try to relocate it to the other side of our road, but it was already gone.

Will it be back?

I don't know.

But we have our rod handy and you can guarantee we will be checking that area FIRST every day as part of my standard pool cleaning!!

Meet our new pet, Hamilton!

*No humans or California Kingsnakes were harmed in the making of this blog.

WDWCP97 Journal - Looking Back

I wrote so much. So much nonsense. So many unimportant details that make me laugh. So many details that I can read and only I know what they really mean. I left out A LOT. There are so many memories I have that just can't fit in a small book. 

This is definitely a period in my life I hope to never forget! Sure, my family wasn't exactly happy about me leaving to the opposite side of the country, but in no time at all I had created a new family. 3101 will always be an important number to me. We had tons of ups in that apartment, and when we had downs.... Oh boy were they intense!! We don't all talk anymore, but that's to be expected. Marcy and I are not at all friends anymore, and haven't been in well over 20 years. Zaira and Danielle seem to have vanished. Nobody knows where they are. I did bump into Danielle in 1998 when she was working as a frog in Disney's Animal Kingdom, but when I called her to meet up for Pleasure Island that night like she asked - she was impossible to find. Sarah came to Oregon for Spring Break once, and I feel like there will be a time we do meet up again. Brenda, Luis, Maria and Sarah are all my Facebook friends - so I get to keep tabs on them to this day!

When I got back to school I had NO friends. Missing the Fall term made me the weird one that moved into the dorm for Winter term. Everyone had established their friendships already. I left Orlando January 4, 1998 and went straight to my dorm room in Oregon. I left a place filled with people wanting to meet and network, and suddenly I lived where people didn't even say hi to me. It wasn't a great transition. However, being an only child that loves being alone, I soon adapted to life in my room.... and MANY hours on the phone with Vinny! And letters! We didn't have e-mail, so I hand wrote letters to my fellow CPs. There are so many people from that program that I keep in touch with via Facebook. It is pretty much THE reason I still have a Facebook account. 

You may notice I did a lot of writing down of who I saw and where. That's what was important to me. Not the actual work - because come on, I wasn't going to college to have a career as a Quick Service Restaurant Hostess. Meeting people from all over the world, learning from them and making new friends was what I was taking home with me.

Back to Florida - 

I left out a lot when I wrote my journal because I just didn't have room to write it and it didn't seem huge at the time. I spent a lot of time alone when I wasn't at work, especially prior to Vinny. I listened to a lot of music in my room. I danced and sang to Starlight Express in our apartment ALL the time. Without things like cell phones, internet, cable TV, well, you get creative! I was always at Downtown Disney. The Virgin Megastore was my home away from home. I got lost in the sea of imported CDs, greatly adding to my still growing Alanis collection. Vinny and I did so much when we weren't at work that didn't make it in the journal - like our failed trip to find Little Lake Bryan - the Disney Cast Member Only lake. Heck, I never even wrote about our new roommate Amy. Honestly, I didn't know much about her. She was there for 2 weeks, but she seemed pretty cool. She really liked makeup. At Christmas she had an insane amount of gifts from her family to open - it was all makeup!

Our life hours were crazy! It was a running joke that CP stands for Closing Person - and that was totally the case for me. I'd work later in the day until closing. So if we did do stuff at night it was VERY late at night. It was just always the norm for us. Another joke is Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday (Epcot). Those paychecks were needed and sooo tiny. I was sick one week and my paycheck was $7.00. Not kidding. We were paid every Thursday, and those of us on the College Program had $60 automatically deducted from our paychecks to pay rent. We had washers and dryers outside of our apartments that we shared with the whole building, so quarters were important. Laundry was something you tried to not have to do too often. Heck, a lot of times I wore my pajama pants to work (less laundry?). I mean I was just up to get on the bus, get to backstage of the Magic Kingdom, put on my costume, work, and then back in my pajama pants to go home. I probably didn't do this once Vinny was in the picture! 

Life with Vinny was a total blast! The best! He never made it to Oregon. We never got a dog. But we also always stay in touch. Our story isn't over, it just evolves. I think we've always had each other's backs and that's pretty darn awesome! I could go on... but I will just keep it between the two of us.

I'm so glad I did this internship. I loved it so much I did it twice! (The 2nd was nothing at all like this, sadly.) Disney is officially in my blood. I got a  Disney tattoo that I absolutely love. It is mine. It has a lot of meaning to me and is exactly what I wanted. I have a ring that I have worn every single day since shortly after my program. Vinny wanted to buy it for me on Main Street, but we were Disney kids without cash on hand that night. I found it at the Disney Store once I moved home. Its been on my finger ever since. On my desk in my house is a photo from my birthday in my saloon girl costume at the Castle. My Mouseters Degree is framed and displayed in that room, as is my 25 Years of Magic poster. Everything I bought, I still have. I always take care of my "toys" - and my souvenirs from this experience are priceless to me. 

But most important are the memories. The friendships. All the things we did together. The ups. The downs. The things I learned.  It is crazy how much you can take away and apply to your life after spending a term working in a theme park!

Just because my 1997 life is coming to an end, for now, don't think that means this blog is closing up Disney shop. I did say I liked it so much I did it twice! I have oodles more I might have to share!

~ See ya real soon!~ º0º

And now I leave you with this.....

Can take the girl out of Disney, 
but can't take the Tubthumping out of the girl - even in 2019!

WDWCP97 Journal. Where's That?

As I have said before, when I got to Central Florida I was expecting to see Walt Disney World right away. I lived in a Disney apartment complex, so surely I'd be able to easily see the theme parks, right?!? When I went to Pleasure Island for on our first night I looked all over for the Castle during our drive - it was nowhere to be seen. THEN I expected to hop on a boat to get to the Island. Also, very wrong. I walked over bridges. I still remember the anticipation I had during my Traditions bus ride to the Magic Kingdom. I saw Spaceship Earth to my left on the drive and was in awe. Well, if you haven't been there you might be like I was with no idea of what is where.... So I created this post to give a layout of "my" land -- meaning where I spent my time!

Was I far from home? Couldn't have gone much farther. Portland to Chicago to Orlando to San Francisco to Portland!

Welcome to Central Florida! 
         Lime green - the airport, where I began and ended this adventure!
         Aqua - Vista Way. My home.
         Purple - Downtown Disney. My Thursday night home.
         Red - Magic Kingdom
         Yellow - Universal Studios

Let's get a closer look at the Disney stuff!
         Red - Magic Kingdom and where our bus dropped us of/Cast parking lot
         Lime - Downtown Disney -  WestSide, Pleasure Island & Marketplace
         Blue - Vista Way
         Yellow - Walgreens

What will always be my home... Frontierland!
        Yellow - Pecos Bill Cafe & Mile Long Bar, R.I.P.
        Red Xs - my hot dog cart locations
        Aqua X - the Turkey Wagon location

And last, my real home, the land of so many infamous CP tales, Vista Way.
        Yellow - building 31, my building
        Red - the pavilion with parties
        Purple - the Clubhouse (near pool #1)
        Aqua - Pool #2, where the cool kids went!
        Purple outside of Vista Way - where I was picked up and dropped off
        Lime - the path I walked from 3101 to Walgreen's and Wendy's

In all of these maps so much is different than it was in 1997. Things used to exist that are long gone. Things are here where there used to be nothing. Heck Animal Kingdom wasn't even on a map in 1997 - although it was well on its way toward being ready to open. 

So that's where I lived! It was pretty awesome. But it would have been nice to have a car...

~ See ya real soon!~ º0º

WDWCP97 Journal. Days 112-115. The End.

Date: December 31 - January 4, 1997 

Places: Splash Grille (hot dog cart), Disney-MGM Studios, Pecos Bill Cafe, Pleasure Island, Holli's apartment (3508), Orlando Airport, SFO, PDX, Hard Rock Cafe

People: Jeff, Kristin, Vinny, Ryan, Germane, Axel, Victor, Gianni, Holli, Jamie, Jaime, Dan, Kathy, Erica, Rebecca, Jeff, Alisha, Jodi, Recco, Edward, Brenda, Danielle, Jessica, Amy, Anne, Ting, Scott aka Loco o Senor Pendejo, Zaira, Joe, Quame, Josh, Denise, Ricardo, Justin

Sights: Doobie Brothers at the Studios, 1998 fireworks, Hard Rock Cafe, "1000 Acres" - movie on plane

Dining: Wendy's, toast, Fantasyland Cafe, airplane French toast, Hard Rock Cafe

Lodging: Vista Way

Expenses: $16.12 - New York Newsstand; $.83 - Walgreens; $14.36 - Walgreens; $6.79 - Mickey's of Hollywood; $15 - dinner @ Hard Rock Cafe; $1.05 - Diet Pepsi from Walgreens; $35 - Mail Boxes etc.

Vinny & Kathy

Check out that Cast list! It's like the ending credits of a movie, right?!? Talk about going out on a high note with so many friends and coworkers living it up until the last possible minute! Anyone ever heard of or watched the movie I saw on the plane? I must google.... found it... maybe it did a good job of helping me sleep?

So I guess I can't procrastinate anymore. I've been dreading this post. Those last 4 days were just... they were great! I felt like all of us CPs in Frontierland were really appreciating our time together. So many emotions for all of us. We knew it was all coming to way too fast of an end. Every time you said good bye you hoped it wouldn't be the final time. Taking off my costume for the last time, dang, that hurt. That last walk out of Vista Way? Extra painful. Lucky for me I did go back, I had more costumes and more CRAZY times in Vista Way. But for now, let's wrap this up...

And be prepared for just tons of photos of all these awesome people!

Eric and his fashionable pirate socks!

Steve - who used to have my
exact bed/room/apartment
3101 when he lived in Vista Way

Wednesday wasn't that bad. For reference, it is now New Year's Eve. Jeff & I did Splash together & Kristin stocked, so obviously we goofed around a lot. 

I took a quick nap after work & then Jamie & I hit The Studios. I was disappointed because I didn't get to see  Kevin Bacon, (the Bacon Brothers were performing), but we did see the Doobie Brothers on New York St Stage. We rang in the New Year just outside Mickey's of Hollywood with Gianni (a friend of Jamie's who gave me his party hat). I think I still have it. I got to of Tower of Terror one last time. fun!

Happy New Year from Ronda & Jamie!

We took an hour to get home. About 45 minute waiting, then an hour on the shuttle. 22 people in all & I couldn't walk once I got home. Ouch!

**It was a 12 person van. I was the 22nd person to get in. It was get in this shuttle, or walk back to Vista Way because there weren't anymore running. I was squished between the seats and the door. The step up was digging into my shins. I couldn't feel my legs once we got to Vista Way. I almost fell out of the van once the door was opened. Traffic was INSANE, as you could expect in a major theme park on New Year's Eve. It was definitely memorable!

Erica & Carlos

Thursday - 11 hours doing tray runs. Boring! But I got to be in my saloon girl dress again! I got to goof around with Jeff & Vinny & I actually talked to Edward a lot. Don't remember him off hand. I spent a lot of the 1st hours talking to Joe, too. Not the Joe that threw a cigarette on me. Lunch was sad. It was all 6 CPs all in counter outfits (how we began). Rebecca cried when her day was done, & Jodie got plastered. I hope she wasn't plastered at work?!?

We all look so different in real life, right?!? I mean, dang, Hello, Victor!

We all met at PI in 8 Trax. I got pushed onto Victor & danced with Axel a bit. It was the funnest night I've ever had at PI - & now no more! 😭 Gianni took us around all night -> no shuttle! 

Friday was spent packing & doing laundry. How I'll fit all of this into 4 things, I don't know. My bags couldn't have possibly fit one more thing into any of them! 

Saturday was stress! I carted my $5 box weighting 30 lbs to & from 2101 to the Clubhouse 3 times; the shuttle left early; Traditions had to load on the bus; & I still couldn't make my things fit well.

Work was fun. More pictures of people, plus - a 4 hour ER! I still have my ID, too. I got lucky and only made the weenies for about 2 1/2 hours. Ryan & I were working together again I got to say my good byes & get the last addresses from everyone and joined Ryan in Fantasyland for lunch. Will had to kiss me 2 times in less than 10 minutes - yuck - plus PR  kiss from Victor (Puerto Rican aka just kisses on the cheek like all the friends from PR did.)! 

The Pecos crew came out to play!

I left out that at the very end of my day I actually worked at Sunshine Tree terrace in Adventureland doing desserts! Mine were not at all perfect looking, as one would expect from Disney!

Vinny & I both had to cry a little at night - before & after dinner. Yummy - Hard rock Cafe! I even got 2 grilled cheese for 1. I felt so terrible making him cry. 

Wow I left out a lot from that, didn't I!?! It was really nice. Our first actual meal out that wasn't just fast food. It was wonderful, but we also both felt so sad. Universal CityWalk didn't exist then. It was just a big parking lot, with a long walkway up to the Hard Rock Cafe. So different from how it is today!

I'm procrastinating....

Sunday morning almost killed me. My suitcases were so heavy. Vista Way security wouldn't let Vinny in with his truck, so I was on a solo mission. Justin (the Boston guy - never would have expected he'd  be the last CP I'd see on this adventure!) ended up helping me. I think we cried all morning. Don't Speak by No Doubt came on as we pulled into MCO. Saddest song ever to me now? Pretty much. I even made him come to the actual plane with me. Back then that was allowed. I could see him in the window while the plane taxied way and took off. 

 

My first flight was delayed ~ 40 minutes - landed at 11:15 (in SFO) - my next flight was 11:15. I ran from 1 end of the United terminal to the other. I dropped my Santa Pooh in the process, but someone made sure to get it to me! To my luck, Flight 2 was delayed till 12:30. How do I get so lucky! Especially lucky since security screening within SFO took forever. A huge black mass showed up on my luggage x-ray. The TSA agents laughed and were very impressed when they saw it was a souvenir cup full of change! Wow, it is so good being back with mountains - but I think Florida is calling my name!

And we all know Florida won! For a while anyway. I was back in January 1998, and returned to Florida in August of 2001. Had to get my degree first, education is important, kiddos! Get your Psychology Degree and you, too, can go operate a theme park ride on a moving platform!

Tomorrow will be the official end... of this series. Time to start working on new stories!

 ~ See ya real soon! º0º ~

WDWCP97 Journal. Days 108-111.

Date: December 27-30, 1997 

Places: Hot Dog cart, Turkey Wagon, Disney-MGM Studios

People: Vinny, Ryan, Jeff, Kristin, Germane, Josh, Dan, Holli, Cristina, Jamie, Rebecca, Erica, 2 Blizzard Beach lifeguards, Joe, Amado, Eric, Axel, Anne, Victor, Steve

Sights: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade, Sorcery in the Sky fireworks at Disney-MGM Studios

Dining: Fantasyland Cafe, McDonald's

Lodging: Vista Way

Expenses: $3.50 - McDonald's; $16.96 - Tower Hotel Gifts; $12.44 - Walgreens; $7.40 - Walgreens; $58.50 - US Postal Service; $7.07 - Walgreens; $1.25 + tax - cookie shop on Main Street


Typing out the "People" section ... what an epic way to round out my time. This was like the fun all-star Frontierland foods roster! I notice I haven't had Pizza Hut in a while.. and seeing McDonald's listed tells me Vinny and I got food. We were high class I tell ya!

Saturday I did the Hot Dog/Turkey Wagon thing. I believe at night Vinny & I kind of drove around and ate at McDonald's. Be jealous of us, I mean it's McD's! Sunday (I think) I brought my camera to work & took an entire roll of film of my friends. I got most people's addresses too. 

Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights
aka the Golden Girls house!

I'm almost positive that Monday night Vinny & I went to the Studios after work. Unfortunately I ended up crying on Vinny for 1/2 of an hour just 'cause I don't want to leave him. Excuse me while I go grab my tissues. Ok - Sunday night, Vinny & I went to Coronado Springs to look around. (It was brand new.)

[Crud, - OK i know I did these things, but I don't know if the days are switched around - I think this is right.]

We also went to the Swan & Yacht & each Club.

When Vinny dropped me off I ran into David & we ran into Jamie. We did a big address swap & now who knows when or if we'll ever see David again. If you've followed this blog you'll know David and I have had several reunions - 2 of which were in Oregon, the most recent being just under three couple years ago!

Packing it all up. So sad.

Tuesday I spent the whole day with my boy. We mailed 6 boxes ($69 - Yikes!) & went back to MGM. It was so crowded & I got hungry, so we went to Magic Kingdom. We spent a lot of time there & went on Splash Mountain & the Railroad. I bought a huge cookie & Vinny snagged us 25th Anniversary mugs, character cookies & potato chips. 

We had our usual taking forever to say good bye thing - I love that! And this whole part is censored. It's not dirty, just too sad and stays between us. What am I going to do without him for 5 or 6 months?

Tuesday I drove Vinny's tuck through the Studios parking lot!

I love how I made that last point all by itself at the end of my page. It was the only time I had driven a vehicle (other than a pargo) in Florida, so it felt pretty awesome! 
I can't believe it. There is only one post left. I remember those last days so well. I could probably write the blog without even consulting my journal. What a ride it's been!

 ~ See ya real soon! º0º ~