Luau

We've been in Orlando for 3 full days now, and every day has been a different park. Sunday was Epcot, Monday was the Animal Kingdom, and today we did the Magic Kingdom. So far my favorite has been the Animal Kingdom. I feel like I could have spent much more time there. There was a lot to see and do and the rides were pretty impressive.

Today, though, we went to a Luau at the Polynesian resort after a day at the Magic Kingdom. The show was a 8 so we got there about 15 minutes early. There was a bit of a SNAFU with the seating (I didn't have our confirmation ticket, but we definitely already paid). That was a bit annoying, but when we were seated, we found we had pretty great seats.

After a few minutes sitting there, my brother noticed that I was right up at the edge by the aisle. He told me to be ready because they were definitely going to single me out to dance on the stage! I thought he was right, for sure, and proceeded to get very nervous about it. As the show progressed, it didn't seem like they were going to bring people up on stage. I started to relax.

Next thing I knew, they were announcing that they were going to need the audience's help and that if a cast member asked you to dance, you had to do it! I was in a panic. I kept my eye stealthily (stealthy, so he wouldn't see me looking at him) on the guy going out to find women in the audience. The danger passed, two guys and two girls were up on stage shaking their hips, and none of them was me!

But wait! Where did SHE come from? One of the cast members snuck up on our table like a hula ninja and commanded my brother to get going! She wasn't taking "no" for an answer (mostly because she didn't give him a chance to say anything) and just kept telling him to hurry it up to get to the stage.

Poor Ryan! He was up there with just one other guy from the audience and he was surrounded by these dancers. He was a real trooper (and way better than the other guy). It was so funny I was weeping. My dad got photos (which I will post later, with any luck).

The rest of the show was pretty amazing, but I think the crowd really liked Ryan. He got a number of compliments on his dancing on the way out of the luau!

Vacation!

I am less than 48 hours away from taking my first vacation in years! I use most of my holiday time to visit my parents in beautiful St. Cloud, MN or the rest of my family in Erie, PA. The one exception (in the last 3 years) was my 4 day trip to Nashville. That was fun, but it wasn't truly a vacation in the same sense as my upcoming week-long excursion to Orlando.

Some people may wonder why a 31 year old

would be going to Orlando with her parents and 29 year old brother. They would probably expect Key West or some other beach-oriented destination. Well, that is just not us! We have been talking about doing this for a couple of years now and we are finally all gainfully employed with vacation time (I'm talking about myself as the late bloomer in this scenario). The only hitch in the planning had been that my gainful employment and my mother's conflicted a bit when it came time to choose dates. Luckily, this year Mom's Spring Break falls in February, when I'm not too bogged down at work to justify leaving for a whole week.

This is a pretty close approximation of my current level of excitement:

I have one request from my co-workers, though. They are adamant that I get a picture of the four of us in Mickey Ears! I don't know how likely that is, but we may be so infected by the atmosphere of Disney that my father whips his wallet out of his fanny pack to buy Ears for us all. If that happens, I PROMISE to have photographic evidence! (Also, if he insists on wearing the fanny pack, there will be evidence)

Valentine's Day Mess

I was so proud of myself for having gone out an bought some Valentines for my grandmothers and my parents. I had them addressed and ready to go in time to send out on Friday. I took them to work (because I can't send outgoing mail from my mailbox, and I wouldn't trust my mailman anyway). I totally forgot, however, to pick up more stamps!

There was no way anyone was getting their card from me on time, but I figured I buy stamps and send them out on Saturday.

Nope.

I left the cards at work! What a colossal waste. I could have kicked myself when I realized what I had done.

To further complicate my life, I also got a new pair of sneakers and I LOVE them. You may wonder why this would be so complicated...it is because these new sneakers are a replacement for my former favorite "reds". I have owned two pairs of identical red Sauconey Jazz sneakers and they are my all-time favorite shoe. The latest pair is well past prime and I have been searching for a new pair. I finally found some Roos that fit the bill, but that means my reds go into retirement. I am seriously conflicted.

A Memento Moment

Remember that movie a while back, Memento? Guy Pearce played a guy who couldn't remember what happened from one day to the next. Well, instead of having a "senior moment", I've started having "memento moments".

Today I asked Nicole, at work, if we had decided on a place to put some particular files. She told me that we did and I had made a file for it. I knew we talked about it and where it would go, but I thought we hadn't put it together. I didn't remember getting the hanging file, I din't remember writing the words, I didn't remember putting it in the file cabinet at all. It wasn't until she showed me the hanging file, with a label in my own handwriting, hanging where I thought it should go, that I actually believed her.

I was just like Guy Pearce. I couldn't remember or believe that I did it until I saw it in my own hand. Luckily, I have Nicole so I don't have to tattoo little messages all over myself.

Stada Baba...Now With EVEN More Betty White!

I meant to write about this a while ago, but never got around to it. One day, while surfing the interwebs and my favorite blogs, I came across an ad for the the DVD release of You Again. You may ask me "What the Hell is You Again?". To which I would reply: "Oh, that dumb-looking movie about a girl whose brother marries her high-school rival. I'm pretty sure nobody saw it".

It starred Kristen Bell, who I assume people must like because she keeps getting cast in movies, but I must confess that my world wouldn't be any different if she weren't in it. Also in the cast were Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. From the trailers I know that Sigourney and her niece terrorized JLC and Kristen Bell's characters back in High School. Now there is a wedding to get ready for and these women can't be civil. There are incidents of accidental identical dresses, people get thrown into pools, and Betty White quips about being on Facebook and "The Twitter".

The thing of it is, that this ad I saw for the DVD didn't have a picture of Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, or the girl who played the High School Bully, it just had Betty White. Apparently, in order to sell this movie, some marketing geniuses got the big idea to pump up the volume by adding outtakes, bloopers, and deleted scenes with "More Betty White".

I won't deny that I have enjoyed the career of Betty White and her recent renewed popularity. After Sophia, Rose Nyland was my favorite Golden Girl. Betty was pretty much the only spark of bearability in The Proposal, so I imagine the same is true for You Again.

So, as promised, more Betty White!

Skins

Netflix has the British Teen Drama Skins available to watch instantly. As this is the show where Kaya Scodelario (one of the names I've heard most for Katniss) first started impressing people, I thought I'd give it a go. It is entertaining, though it isn't very believable. The show does a pretty good job of making you care about the characters who are generally very flawed.

In the first season, she has maybe 10 lines, and only appears in 3 episodes, I think. She plays Effie, the little sister of one of the main characters, Tony. I haven't gotten past season 1, so I think she must play a larger role in upcoming seasons.

That's not what this is really about. What it is really about is the kid who plays Tony. His name is Nicholas Hoult, and you may remember him as the weird kid in About a Boy. At that point he looked like this:

He was gawky and weird, but pretty good in the movie.

Now, however, he looks like this:

I'm thinking Gale. He's about 21 years old now, 6'2" and strikingly, if not conventionally, good looking. He has popped up in a few other movies in the last couple of years. I saw him in them (Clash of the Titans, A Single Man) and totally didn't recognize him as the boy. I also didn't realize it was the same person in each of those movies, but every time, I did think he was good.

Do it for the children

Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race began on Monday. I know that only a couple of you watch it, but I just can't contain my excitement. I am watching it online, which means that I have to wait until Tuesday each week. This pains me, but I gotta do what I gotta do.

I am going to make it my mission to convert everyone into a RPDR believer.

Reasons to watch RPDR:

1. Religious Sensitivity

One queen (Mimi Imfurst) broke down during the first elimination challenge because she couldn't sew. When her look (a sequined take on Mary at the nativity) was actually praised, she broke down once again.

2. Vocabulary Lessons

I bet you didn't know "mop" means to steal (unless you have seen Paris is Burning, or are a Drag Queen yourself).

3. Anatomy

No amount of blurring can hide Carmen Carrera's assets.

4. Camp, Comedy, and Pathos

While "lip-synching for their lives" to a Vanessa Williams song, two queens drop their wigs and literally duke it out on stage.

If you do one thing for yourself this week, watch Drag Race.