My horoscope recommended that it would be beneficial for me to take some time to reflect on 2012 before I get too anxious for the start of 2013. I think I took some good steps forward, but also wish I would have done some things differently.
I have noticed a shift in my priorities. I have always been extremely career focused and driven, sometimes to the point where I have neglected the precious relationships that I have. My friends and family have been extremely understanding, supportive, and resilient. In 2013 I would like to pay more attention to these relationships. I have always been quick to make friends, but venturing out on my own helped me to realize the quality of the friendships that I already had and how much I have taken them for granted. I have surrounded myself with strong, smart, self-respecting women who are hard to find and I miss my support system. While I know they are always there for me, I wish I could be there more for them as they are embarking on their own exciting careers, families, and adventures.
This past year was the first time I was truly concerned about aging and taking care of my hair and skin. For years I have been able to get away with using cheap shampoos and conditioners and heat styling my hair without any visible consequences. But I started noticing the damage to my hair and that it lacked the healthy shine and thickness it used to have. I also have found a handful of grey hairs, yikes! My skin too has been problematic, as I should be well out of my acne years yet it seems that I still deal with plenty of blemishes and haven't been religious with my skin care regime. I have implemented the cleanse, exfoliate, tone, moisturize method and I hope to become more disciplined about using it every night. Also I need to floss more often, the goal is every night but usually ends up being only once per week. In 2013 I will take better care of myself and get serious about slowing the effects of aging on my appearance. Getting older is inevitable, looking like it is preventable and easier than reversing.
2013 is going to be an exciting year for me, with lots of new challenges on the horizon. I am returning to Eugene in January to live with my grandma while I finish school and I am thankful to have the opportunity to spend some extra time with her. I will graduate with my MBA in March and hopefully have a job and be relocated to be living with DJ again in April. Throughout 2013 I hope to take a little more time to reflect, to be grateful, and to express my gratitude to the people in my life that help keep me motivated and moving forward.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Moving Lessons
Since I was 17 I have not lived in the same place for more than 12 months (usually less), which means a lot of moving over the last decade! I have learned a few things and thought I would share some of my best moving tips.
- Hangers: leave em, they are more of a pain to pack and the extra $10-$20 it will cost you to buy a new set when you get to your new place is totally worth avoiding the hassle
- Laundry: as you clean your place you'll find all kinds of things to wash, save em til the very end, otherwise you'll end up doing several loads of 1-2 items as you find more socks, towels, sheets etc
-Boxes: I was always very fortunate to have connections to get big empty tshirt boxes, and I would definetley recommend finding someone with a connection and getting more than you think you need, they fill up fast. Also since the boxes will probably be flattened I would highly recommend investing in a packing tape dispenser (I don't know if that's the proper term...) I get mine from Target and will pick up an extra roll of tape, the last thing you want is to be in the zone, sitting on your floor amongst a fortress of boxes, rocking to Mariah Carey and realize you have to get up, somehow get out of the room you are in, find shoes, find a hat, find your keys (these things easily get misplaced amongst the packing flurry) and go out in public to buy more tape.
- Bags: we all have at least a few large totes, duffles, or gym bags lying around, use them! even if it's just to tote paperwork, shower supplies, coffee cups or whatever else randomness you are bound to forget to pack in boxes
- Clothes: great opportunity to clean out old stuff that forgot you had and get rid of it, or even better, start wearing it again! Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to sort through your clothes and try old things on, no sense keeping things that are worn out or don't fit anymore.
- Dishes: take up WAAAAY more space than you would imagine, if you have newspaper I would recommend wrapping everything before boxing it up, I happen to have a lot of extra brown paper bags from the grocery store so I just rip that up into pieces big enough to wrap my glasses and dishes. Paper towels will work too, but really that's kind of a waste and expensive compared to other options considering you're just going to throw it away when you un-pack
- Cleaning: the prospect of having to clean the whole house before moving out can be rather daunting, I recommend cleaning each room as you empty it in order to spread out the task rather than wait til everything at the last minute.
Most importantly, if you are moving furniture or any other big items you should definitely recruit some helpers. I find most guys are usually willing to assist with the promise of a meal or beer at the end, a small price to pay. Not saying I can't do it on my own (cause I have) but guys like to show off their strength and will tend to do more than they probably should, which is good because everything will get done quicker than if you were to attempt to do it on your own. And 2+ sets of hands are always better than one.
For me, I'm preparing to go back to Eugene until March to finish my MBA. Which adds another challenge to moving that I've only had to tackle a couple times; long-distance moves on a budget. I'm going to be flying with as many bags as I can, after that I'm not quite sure what the best option is, stay tuned!
- Hangers: leave em, they are more of a pain to pack and the extra $10-$20 it will cost you to buy a new set when you get to your new place is totally worth avoiding the hassle
- Laundry: as you clean your place you'll find all kinds of things to wash, save em til the very end, otherwise you'll end up doing several loads of 1-2 items as you find more socks, towels, sheets etc
-Boxes: I was always very fortunate to have connections to get big empty tshirt boxes, and I would definetley recommend finding someone with a connection and getting more than you think you need, they fill up fast. Also since the boxes will probably be flattened I would highly recommend investing in a packing tape dispenser (I don't know if that's the proper term...) I get mine from Target and will pick up an extra roll of tape, the last thing you want is to be in the zone, sitting on your floor amongst a fortress of boxes, rocking to Mariah Carey and realize you have to get up, somehow get out of the room you are in, find shoes, find a hat, find your keys (these things easily get misplaced amongst the packing flurry) and go out in public to buy more tape.
- Bags: we all have at least a few large totes, duffles, or gym bags lying around, use them! even if it's just to tote paperwork, shower supplies, coffee cups or whatever else randomness you are bound to forget to pack in boxes
- Clothes: great opportunity to clean out old stuff that forgot you had and get rid of it, or even better, start wearing it again! Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to sort through your clothes and try old things on, no sense keeping things that are worn out or don't fit anymore.
- Dishes: take up WAAAAY more space than you would imagine, if you have newspaper I would recommend wrapping everything before boxing it up, I happen to have a lot of extra brown paper bags from the grocery store so I just rip that up into pieces big enough to wrap my glasses and dishes. Paper towels will work too, but really that's kind of a waste and expensive compared to other options considering you're just going to throw it away when you un-pack
- Cleaning: the prospect of having to clean the whole house before moving out can be rather daunting, I recommend cleaning each room as you empty it in order to spread out the task rather than wait til everything at the last minute.
Most importantly, if you are moving furniture or any other big items you should definitely recruit some helpers. I find most guys are usually willing to assist with the promise of a meal or beer at the end, a small price to pay. Not saying I can't do it on my own (cause I have) but guys like to show off their strength and will tend to do more than they probably should, which is good because everything will get done quicker than if you were to attempt to do it on your own. And 2+ sets of hands are always better than one.
For me, I'm preparing to go back to Eugene until March to finish my MBA. Which adds another challenge to moving that I've only had to tackle a couple times; long-distance moves on a budget. I'm going to be flying with as many bags as I can, after that I'm not quite sure what the best option is, stay tuned!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Humana Insurance SUCKS
Been with Humana for only 2.5 months and have had nothing but problems. I thought I was doing the right thing getting short-term insurance coverage to get me through the end of my internship/school, but turns out they won't cover my preventative asthma medication (but they will cover my visit to the dr when I have an asthma attack, go figure) and they won't reimburse me for a prescription I purchased and picked up while I was covered, before I received my card, because I called it in 3 days before my coverage started. I know I'm not a big account, but I do give them $120 per month and I'm just not sure why when I'm having so many issues with prescription coverage. Once I get my 1 free annual visit out of the way I am canceling, might a well get something for the hundreds I have sank into this poor investment. America needs health reform so bad, when someone like me who has a preventative condition and is attending graduate school can't get affordable, reliable coverage for my minimal health expenses then that is just wrong. The UO health center wants me to pay $950 for 3 months of coverage! That's insane on a student budget! Maybe I'm just living on too tight of a budget to get what I need right now, but I am just so disappointed in the service I have received and the premiums I have found for minimal coverage. Fingers crossed that I am able to find a job with benefits in April after I graduate cause trying to do the right thing and purchase individual coverage is a drain on my small budget.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
There's always room for a couple of beers with a friend
Got this from a friends' post on Facebook, a good reminder to all of us struggling to prioritize our time:
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..
‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—-the small stuff.
‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.
Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..
‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—-the small stuff.
‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.
Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
With great risk comes great rewards. Right?
I have to say that I'm usually very good about following this advice, but lately not so much. I tend to be pretty risk adverse when it comes to life decisions and my career. But I also know that great reward often involves taking great risks. I took a big risk moving to Florida to work with Disney and I thought if I worked hard enough that maybe the universe would throw me a bone and help me reach my goals. I don't want to speculate about the future, and I certainly don't have regrets about any decisions I made in the past, but I can't help but be frustrated with my current situation.
One of my favorite sayings that keep me motivated day in and day out is "success is what happens when hard work and determination meet a little bit of luck" and I must say I've been a pretty lucky girl thus far. But maybe my luck has run out. Cause the hard work and determination are still there but I'm struggling to see any movement, any help from the 'luck' to help me be successful.
And so I push on... cause what else is there to do?
Monday, December 17, 2012
You know that feeling?
2 days before I'm supposed to fly home for Christmas an I'm starting to feel ill. Its that tickle in the back of your throat, the difficulty swallowing, mild fever, congested, tired kind of feeling. All the tell tale signs that you've been burning the candle at both ends and now your body is saying "enough"! Maybe it's that I can sense the chilly, wet Oregon air already. Gonna be drinking water, tea, and airborne nonstop for the next 48 hours. I won't let my immune system ruin this trip for me!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Google Wednesday
So we play this game in the office called Google Wednesday, where a question is posed and we have 1 week to give our best guess for the answer. Ironically, there is no googling, or researching of any type, allowed. I love this game because it challenges you to use logic and make an educated guess as to the answer. This week, I was fortunate enough to win! It was my second time winning, but I am still so excited! My coworker Emily is the moderator of this game and she surprised me this morning with the trophy. She played it off like she needed me to help her award the winner, I looked up and she goes 'surprise it's you!' and took a picture (not the most flattering lol). For the rest of the week I will be displaying my Mickey trophy and sign with pride. Now it's my turn to think up a question...
Monday, December 10, 2012
Eeekkk
This was behind my car yesterday! I was told that its not poisonous because it doesn't have a black head... But still! Yikes!
Saturday, December 01, 2012
Los Angeles: Part 2
OK so it only took me a month to finish this post, whoops! But I wanted to share the rest of my trip to LA after the big Oregon win over USC. After getting a good nights rest, DJ and I went for a little adventure run/hike on a nearby hill. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze, and the view was gorgeous! We jogged up the hill where we took some photos (posted below) and then raced back down where we did some strength training.
I was again treated to tasty breakfast (and again I helped with the mimosas!), then we got ready and got on the road headed to visit our good friends Jess and Braden at the beach. I hadn't seen the newlyweds since their wedding in July, and we always used to go out together when we all lived in Portland, so I was very much looking forward to this visit! The Bangays live near Pismo Beach and took us to their favorite restaurant on the beach in nearby Avila Beach. We stopped into an open air bar with a live reggae band next door to the restaurant. The atmosphere was so sunny, beachy, and fun! I definitely felt like I was on vacation. We sat down for dinner and it was delicious! Fresh seafood yummm. Jess and I decided to go for the 'big girl' drinks while the guys stayed with beer. We talked and drank til the sun went down; and then we went and ran around on the beach barefoot. It had been months since I had that much fun!
We stayed the night with the Bangays and then got on the road first things in the morning to go back to LA. I had meet & greets scheduled with different people within Disney in Burbank and Anaheim. One of my previous boss's from when I worked for Radio Disney was generous enough to offer to set up several meetings for me with her co-workers. What an awesome opportunity it was to get to pick these professionals brains and learn more about their role with the company. I spent the rest of the day in and out of meetings that I am hoping will pay off when it comes time to apply for a full-time job. Right now I'm just keeping an eye on the job boards and building my network.
I got nervous about traffic and getting to the airport on time so I decided to go straight there instead of heading back out to visit DJ. Super bummed I didn't get to spend more time with him, it felt like the weekend went so fast and I was very early to get to to the airport. I could have totally made it to Moorpark and back and still been on time, but hindsight is always 20-20 and there will be other opportunities to spend time together. I'm very much looking forward to Christmas-time :) I took a red-eye to Orlando where I slept the whole time; even through take-off and landing! Who does that?! guess I was tired... Got home just in time to take a shower and then it was off to work.
I was again treated to tasty breakfast (and again I helped with the mimosas!), then we got ready and got on the road headed to visit our good friends Jess and Braden at the beach. I hadn't seen the newlyweds since their wedding in July, and we always used to go out together when we all lived in Portland, so I was very much looking forward to this visit! The Bangays live near Pismo Beach and took us to their favorite restaurant on the beach in nearby Avila Beach. We stopped into an open air bar with a live reggae band next door to the restaurant. The atmosphere was so sunny, beachy, and fun! I definitely felt like I was on vacation. We sat down for dinner and it was delicious! Fresh seafood yummm. Jess and I decided to go for the 'big girl' drinks while the guys stayed with beer. We talked and drank til the sun went down; and then we went and ran around on the beach barefoot. It had been months since I had that much fun!
We stayed the night with the Bangays and then got on the road first things in the morning to go back to LA. I had meet & greets scheduled with different people within Disney in Burbank and Anaheim. One of my previous boss's from when I worked for Radio Disney was generous enough to offer to set up several meetings for me with her co-workers. What an awesome opportunity it was to get to pick these professionals brains and learn more about their role with the company. I spent the rest of the day in and out of meetings that I am hoping will pay off when it comes time to apply for a full-time job. Right now I'm just keeping an eye on the job boards and building my network.
I got nervous about traffic and getting to the airport on time so I decided to go straight there instead of heading back out to visit DJ. Super bummed I didn't get to spend more time with him, it felt like the weekend went so fast and I was very early to get to to the airport. I could have totally made it to Moorpark and back and still been on time, but hindsight is always 20-20 and there will be other opportunities to spend time together. I'm very much looking forward to Christmas-time :) I took a red-eye to Orlando where I slept the whole time; even through take-off and landing! Who does that?! guess I was tired... Got home just in time to take a shower and then it was off to work.
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| The couple that sweats together stays together! |
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| Don't fall into the cacti! |
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| Cacti poke, ouch! |
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| Feeling on top of the world! |
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| Two thumbs up for the California sunshine |
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| On our jog/hike workout adventure |
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| Gorgeous view, can't beat that sunshine (even if it does cause glare) |
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| With Mrs.Bangay at Avila Beach |
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| Christina and Jess enjoying live music on the beach |
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| Stepping up our game with Don Julio and Absolut |
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| The boys running around on the beach after dinner |
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| Ready to go sweat it off and repping the Pac12 |
Monday, November 19, 2012
Quick Note - Holiday Spirit
Last night I went to Hollywood Studios with my roommate to preview the new Pirates attraction and see the Osborne family spectacle of dancing lights on the streets of America. This is my first time at Disney during the holidays and the first time I've seen the lights. What an incredible set-up! They even have fake snow drifting down. I tried to take photos but pictures wouldn't do it justice. You ate absolutely and completely immersed in a wonderland of Chrismas lights that 'dance' along with the music. Every detail is incredible, from the huge tree centerpiece, to the angels suspended overhead, to the bicycle along the street wrapped in lights that pulsated to he music. Every building was completely covered in lights, you couldn't even tell what color the walls were. Definitely a must see at Disney during the holiday season.
We capped off the night sharing a big bag of carmel corn and watching Fantasmic. Getting ready to bake some deliciousness for our Thanksgiving potluck. The interns were assigned 'dessert' which is my specialty! Any suggestions? I'm thinking mini pumpkin cheesecake bites, that way they'll be easy to share with a large group of people.
We capped off the night sharing a big bag of carmel corn and watching Fantasmic. Getting ready to bake some deliciousness for our Thanksgiving potluck. The interns were assigned 'dessert' which is my specialty! Any suggestions? I'm thinking mini pumpkin cheesecake bites, that way they'll be easy to share with a large group of people.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Trip to LA part 1
A couple weeks ago I made a trip back out to the West Coast. What a whirlwind tip it was! After getting trough security at the airport I went to board the tram to the terminal and noticed there were a lot of security guards around and that one of the trams was roped off and being held at the station. I asked one of them what was up and he whispered to me that the President was arriving! I never did see hom but he must have been somewhere in the airport because the terminal was buzzing with activity, there was an extra security check before getting on the plane, and takeoff was delayed 30min. I took a direct flight from MCO to LAX on Delta and the experience was quite enjoyable. I slept a little and read some Game of Thrones, although I forgot to charge up my Kindle so it died about 2hrs into the flight. Direct flights are the way to go if you have to fly cross country and I was really satisfied with the service on Delta. The even had free movie trailers and TV to watch on the seat backs. You could also purchase movies and HBO TV shows to watch on demand. I thought seriously about purchasing an episode of Game of Thrones for $2 after my Kindle died but didn't want to watch it withou DJ. We arrived a little late because of the delay taking off and I grabbed a shuttle to the car rental lot. I picked out a cute white little Ford Fiesta for the weekend. It was a great car and got good gas mileage but didn't have the power of my SI. I drove the hour to DJ's house and fell asleep shortly after arrival.
Saturday we slept in and then DJ made us breakfast egg sandwiches with turkey and I made mimosas :) We watched football while we got ready for the day and then started the journey to the Coliseum in downtown LA. There was quite a bit of traffic and it ended up taking us about an hour and a half to get there and another 20min to find parking. We found the tailgate lot and met up with my family. It was SO good to see my family. It can be tough being out here in Florida on my own and football season is always a special time for us when we get together for Duck games. I tried to catch everyone up but there was so much to share and so little time. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas. We ended up scalping tickets at the last minute am I'm glad we did. What a game and an incredible experience! We were in the middle of a USC section but everyone was very respectful.
After the big win we started the journey home with the intention of getting dinner once we got back. But the East Coast time zone caught up to me and I was out the second I laid down and slept like a rock through the night. More stories to come about the rest of my trip. Hope you enjoy these few photos from the first day.
Saturday we slept in and then DJ made us breakfast egg sandwiches with turkey and I made mimosas :) We watched football while we got ready for the day and then started the journey to the Coliseum in downtown LA. There was quite a bit of traffic and it ended up taking us about an hour and a half to get there and another 20min to find parking. We found the tailgate lot and met up with my family. It was SO good to see my family. It can be tough being out here in Florida on my own and football season is always a special time for us when we get together for Duck games. I tried to catch everyone up but there was so much to share and so little time. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas. We ended up scalping tickets at the last minute am I'm glad we did. What a game and an incredible experience! We were in the middle of a USC section but everyone was very respectful.
After the big win we started the journey home with the intention of getting dinner once we got back. But the East Coast time zone caught up to me and I was out the second I laid down and slept like a rock through the night. More stories to come about the rest of my trip. Hope you enjoy these few photos from the first day.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
EPCOT Food & Wine Festival
This year was my first time attending the EPCOT Food & Wine festival and I LOVED it. I have always wanted to complete the 'drinking around the world challenge' at EPCOT and this festival took the challenge to a whole new level. The number of countries featured at EPCOT grows to near 30 and there is delicious food and adult beverages at every station. My roomate Val and I decided to take on the challenge together so that we could split the cost.
Val documented all our meals so I will have to get the pictures from her to post on here. We had a great time and stopped by almost every station, it was nice to have such an adventurous tasting companion. We got stamps in our festival passports at every country, we still need to visit the 'desserts and champagne' station to get our final stamp and then our passports will be marked 'complete'. Unfortunately there is no prize for completing but the knowledge that we've tried it all!
They have an 'eat to the beat' concert series as well and we went to see Boyz II Men. They were incredible, so good live and still rocking it after this many years. One of my friends even got one of the famous roses during "I'll make love to you". She was ecstatic! The festival runs for another couple weeks so we'll probably be going back to see some more concerts and sample some more delicious fare.
Val documented all our meals so I will have to get the pictures from her to post on here. We had a great time and stopped by almost every station, it was nice to have such an adventurous tasting companion. We got stamps in our festival passports at every country, we still need to visit the 'desserts and champagne' station to get our final stamp and then our passports will be marked 'complete'. Unfortunately there is no prize for completing but the knowledge that we've tried it all!
They have an 'eat to the beat' concert series as well and we went to see Boyz II Men. They were incredible, so good live and still rocking it after this many years. One of my friends even got one of the famous roses during "I'll make love to you". She was ecstatic! The festival runs for another couple weeks so we'll probably be going back to see some more concerts and sample some more delicious fare.
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| Avocado Margarita in Mexico. Not part of the festival, but maybe my new favorite drink. Heaven! |
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| Closing down the park late night at Food & Wine day 1 |
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| Day 2 with my wining and dining partner Val |
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| Great seats at Boyz II Men concert |
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| Boyz II Men with some of their family on the stage |
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| Ready for day 3 with my party hat on |
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| Gotta love spaceship earth, so iconic |
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| With some of the other inters ready to take on the challenge |
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| The girls ready for Boyz II Men, great seats! |
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Meanwhile in Florida...
The humidity is finally starting to let up and the locals are saying we are on the verge of 'nice' weather here in Florida. A few more weeks and I will have survived my first hurricane season! The daytime temp is pleasant in the mid 80's and the skies are cloudless in the morning. The afternoons are still a little grey but I have been assured it gets better. I tried to organize a beach trip this weekend but couldn't rally the troops. There's always next weekend.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
USSSA Home Run Derby
I was looking forward to running around in the outfield with my interns until it started raining. It rained for the full 2 hours we were out there! The temperature wasn't bad but I was soaked to the bone, my new Nikes were flooded, and I was pretty miserable. A hot shower felt SOOOO good when I got home. We were able to get a few photos from the night despite the downpour, hope you enjoy!
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| Before the derby with my custom made duck eye-black |
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| During the downpour |
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| Having a good (but wet) time with my roommates |
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| At least they gave us towels when we were done... |
Typhoon Lagoon
About a month ago we got a group of interns together to go to Typhoon Lagoon. When it's not peak season cast members get in for free! Thankfully Mara brought her waterproof camera and we ended up with some great shots from the afternoon. We all really enjoyed the massive tidal wave pool and I nearly lost my new hat! Instead, I held onto it and it got soaked causing the blue dye to bleed all over and my hat to loose its shape.
My favorites have always been the lazy river and the new Crush n Gusher 'water coasters'. I even did the big Humunga Cowabunga slide where I raced 2 of the other interns. Sure enough, I had a wedgie of massive proportions when I got to the end of the slide. I quickly fixed that as discretely as possible, but knew I definitely wasn't the first to have this issue.
Hope you enjoy the photos!
My favorites have always been the lazy river and the new Crush n Gusher 'water coasters'. I even did the big Humunga Cowabunga slide where I raced 2 of the other interns. Sure enough, I had a wedgie of massive proportions when I got to the end of the slide. I quickly fixed that as discretely as possible, but knew I definitely wasn't the first to have this issue.
Hope you enjoy the photos!
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| Our group in front of the wave pool before nearly loosing my hat |
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| Coming off Crush n Gusher with one of my co-workers |
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| The group before the tidal wave... |
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| and during! |
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| Underwater photos |
Monday, October 01, 2012
Frittata Fail
I decided to make a 'green eggs and ham' frittata for my roommates yesterday. My roommate Erin had been working all weekend at the race and I had coffee and mimosa supplies waiting for her when she got home Sunday morning. I asked her if I could make her anything special and she requested a frittata. It had leeks, spinach, tomatoes, and turkey instead of ham (Erin doesn't like ham). I had chopped, prepared, cooked, and baked everything and it smelled and looked so good! All I had to do was pull the frying pan out of the oven (instructions were to cook everything on the stove then transfer pan to the oven for the eggs to set). I opened the oven to take it out and when I gripped the handle it broke, spilling my delicious looking labor of egg love all over the oven and the floor. I didn't even think about the fact that I had put a pan in the oven with a plastic handle. Not only was breakfast ruined and starting to burn into the bottom of the oven but I had also melted the handle on the pan and ruined our good, large pan. As I stood over the mess, incredulous of what had just happened, Erin started helping me clean up. Once the mess was manageable she poured us both mimosas which helped ease the disappointment of failing at making breakfast. I didn't have enough ingredients to make the 'green eggs and ham' frittata again but I made a different variety and cooked up pancakes for my roomies. Hopefully that made up for my epic frittata fail.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Tower of Terror 10-miler
I just completed my first runDisney event last night... on a bike. In addition to working with the sales team at the Expo on Friday and the kids races on Saturday morning (the Diaper Dash was adorable!), I had the awesome opportunity to be a member of the 'SAG team' for Saturday night's villains themed race that started and ended at Disney's Hollywood Studios. There were some GREAT costumes (click link for photos) and the race didn't start until 10pm which made for a long day, but getting to interact with the guests was so much fun and reminded me of my days working at the Magic Kingdom.
The responsibility of the SAG team is to ride at the end of the race and encourage guests who are falling below the required 16min per mile pace to pick it up. We have to have minimum pace requirement in order to open the roads back up on time in accordance with Florida Highway Patrol. There were 2 'major' SAG points along the course where if guests weren't at the minimum pace we had to pull them off the course and take them to the finish line where they received food, water etc and still got to take home one of the fancy ToT medals for participating. The great part about it is that I got to see the whole course and I didn't have to run it! The gears and chain on my bike started acting up before the race even started and I was nervous that I was going to have to stay back. I finally got the chain back on, but it never did feel like it was right and it kept rubbing on a piece of metal. I couldn't change gears for fear that it would fall off yet again so I just pushed up the hills at the highest level and went slow, thank goodness I was able to make it! Needless to say, after 3 hours on a bike I could not feel my booty lol
After the race we got to go checkout the Villains Bash inside Hollywood Studios. They had DJ Steve (who has become one of my favorite Disney DJ's from other events at the sports complex) there and he was spinning the hits and pumping up the tired and sleepy crowd. I saw Maleficent, Captain Hook, and Jafar (there were probably more that I missed). A few of us bikers and interns were able to ride a couple attractions before mentally and physically crashing. We rode Tower of Terror (my fav!), Rockin Roller Coaster, and tried Toy Story Mania for the first time. Toy Story Mania is like Buzz Lightyear on steroids. You're in a vehicle, wearing 3D glasses, which takes you around to different screens and at those screens are different arcade game scenarios. Your objective is to hit as many of the targets as possible to score points. It keeps you moving so fast through the different scenes that you barely have a moment to breathe until it's on to the next one. It's a good thing that was our last attraction because I was physically and mentally exhausted after the excitement. I scored 128,500, not bad for my first go at it but I placed 4th in our group of 8.
There is another runDisney event coming up in November, the Wine & Dine half marathon which is themed around the Epcot Food & Wine festival. I can't wait to help out with that one too!
The responsibility of the SAG team is to ride at the end of the race and encourage guests who are falling below the required 16min per mile pace to pick it up. We have to have minimum pace requirement in order to open the roads back up on time in accordance with Florida Highway Patrol. There were 2 'major' SAG points along the course where if guests weren't at the minimum pace we had to pull them off the course and take them to the finish line where they received food, water etc and still got to take home one of the fancy ToT medals for participating. The great part about it is that I got to see the whole course and I didn't have to run it! The gears and chain on my bike started acting up before the race even started and I was nervous that I was going to have to stay back. I finally got the chain back on, but it never did feel like it was right and it kept rubbing on a piece of metal. I couldn't change gears for fear that it would fall off yet again so I just pushed up the hills at the highest level and went slow, thank goodness I was able to make it! Needless to say, after 3 hours on a bike I could not feel my booty lol
After the race we got to go checkout the Villains Bash inside Hollywood Studios. They had DJ Steve (who has become one of my favorite Disney DJ's from other events at the sports complex) there and he was spinning the hits and pumping up the tired and sleepy crowd. I saw Maleficent, Captain Hook, and Jafar (there were probably more that I missed). A few of us bikers and interns were able to ride a couple attractions before mentally and physically crashing. We rode Tower of Terror (my fav!), Rockin Roller Coaster, and tried Toy Story Mania for the first time. Toy Story Mania is like Buzz Lightyear on steroids. You're in a vehicle, wearing 3D glasses, which takes you around to different screens and at those screens are different arcade game scenarios. Your objective is to hit as many of the targets as possible to score points. It keeps you moving so fast through the different scenes that you barely have a moment to breathe until it's on to the next one. It's a good thing that was our last attraction because I was physically and mentally exhausted after the excitement. I scored 128,500, not bad for my first go at it but I placed 4th in our group of 8.
There is another runDisney event coming up in November, the Wine & Dine half marathon which is themed around the Epcot Food & Wine festival. I can't wait to help out with that one too!
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| Tron themed/reflective safety gear lol Safety First! |
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| My roomie Heather and I arriving at Hollywood Studios, the park had already closed so the streets were empty! |
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| My roomie Heather and I getting ready to get our bike on |
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| Me and some of my fellow interns at the start of the race. |
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| Ready, set, go! Marked by awesome fireworks display |
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| One of the waves waiting patiently to start their 10mile race |
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| Villains fireworks to start the race, this is where the runners are headed |
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| Re-entering Hollywood Studios, right around mile 8 or 9. The fog looked so creepy! |
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| Riding the Rockin Roller Coaster after our work is done |
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