Day #6 - Rollin, rollin, rollin

Check out day. Time to go back to Jersey. Such a quick trip! Had to reluctantly leave our new home. It was a total bummer. My body was on full revolt too. Before we got back on the highway, we went back down to Downtown Disney and actually did some shopping. Believe it or not, we hadn't really bought much of anything the entire trip so we finally picked up some souvenirs. Then we had a bite to eat at one of our old haunts in the area; Panera Bread. It was yummers! Luckily, I can go to Panera Bread practically anytime at all. Disney on the other hand... None of that in Jersey. Boo hiss. After we ate, we got back on the road again. It wasn't anywhere near as much fun as the ride down!

Day #5 - Past Future Magic!

Last full day in Florida, so prior to going to one of the parks, we went down to the hotel pool. This resort we were staying at is so big that it actually has two pools. We went to the first pool and it was massively crowded so we took a walk over to the other one. The other one is not as big, but it's a lot classier. After a little pool time, we went over to Epcot. Spent most of the time just walking around the world and taking it easy. After two straight days of walking, my knees and ankles were about ready to die, but I pressed on! So much to do and so little time! We had to get all around the world and then into the past and into the future and then to the Magic Kingdom. In that magical kingdom, we had to find a hoodie, avoid the parade storm troopers, and find food before Tinkerbell committed suicide AGAIN! We were successful. To end the night, we went BACK to Epcot and tested out some cars. It was a very full day. But it was awesome. I can't wait to go back to Disney already!

Day #4 - Animal Expedition

God willing, the bad weather went away and the sun came back out! It made for a great day at our next destination: Animal Kingdom! It was busier than I'm used to, but it wasn't too bad. I had burnt my tongue the day before on some tea at MGM so we stopped at got some soft serve ice cream that was amazing! Then we went back in time to hang out with dinosaurs and then took a train up Mt. Everest. It was pretty good. Would I recommend it? Probably not. It's kind of a bust. They promise you this long trip and of course, like always, something goes wrong and the trip gets cut short! Classic Disney! Thanks to those nifty Extra Magic Hours, we were there until 12am. It was crazy weird to be there so late. I've never been in the Animal Kingdom after night fall and at that hour it was so dark and so empty. Of course, I heard someone complain that there was no animals in the Animal Kingdom. If you want to see the animals, you gotta go in the daylight hours. I thought that was common sense, but I think I over estimate my fellow Americans when it comes to any kind of sense.

Day #3 - Raindrops of Annoyance

Though we drove away from New Jersey as fast as we could, we clearly didn't get far enough away because the weather was able to find us. Our first full day of Florida was full of rain rain rain. Luckily, I brought my umbrella so I stayed quite dry. After a soggy day at MGM with some of the most annoying families in the world, we went over to the Magic Kingdom. The rain had stopped and it wasn't too crowded so we went on lots of fun schtuff. Thanks to the Extra Magic Hours, we were able to be there til 3am if we so pleased. We only made it to a little after 2, but it was pretty awesome despite the return of the rain. Staying in the Disney Resorts is the way to go!

Day #2 - Toad's Wild Ride

We departed after a grand slammin breakfast and arrived in Florida before the sun went down. It was pretty windy, but it was nice! It was warm! And I didn't pee my pants though I thought I might! After checking in, I hopped behind the wheel to drive Jamie to get her Disney ticket from will-call. Sounds easy, but nothing could have been harder. All I'll say is that not only did we fail in our quest, but I drove in the bus lane, got chased by a lady with a light saber and did a 360 donut in the MGM parking lot. But that coke I got at the monorail huddle house was delish. So worth it. ;) After that ordeal, we went to Downtown Disney and ate in the rain forest. It was really cool. It was raining coins instead of rain! So awesome! Some people liked it more than others. :|

Day #1 - East Coast Ridin

After going to bed a little later than I should have, I got up a little later than I should have but managed to get out on the road at a somewhat reasonable hour. The weather wasn't pretty so it was the perfect time to ditch Jersey. Lots of traffic, lots of singing, and lots of sodas and snacks. Around 2 in the morning, we stopped off to find a hotel to crash in for the night in Yessemee or Ridgeland or South Point. I couldn't tell you which one of these is the correct name for the place. Especially since the first hotel we attempted to get a room at had "Yessemee/South Point" on the wall. Be that as it may, the Best Western there is awesome. The staff was really sweet and we got free breakfast at Denny's for staying there! Thanks ya'll!!

Hooky Wook

Instead of going to my last class of the quarter, I played a little hooky. I don't often miss class so I figured I could get away with it. I finished my project last week so I had nothing that I could even do while I was in there. When a teacher tells you to "bring something to do" you might as well just stay home. Plus, I had laundry and packing to do! Around 4:30, my teacher called me and asked if I was alright. So busted. He actually is just a really nice man. He definitely didn't care that I missed class other than missing the chance to tell me crazy stories. Moreover, he took the opportunity to offer to help me move since he has his car back now. He's such a weird dude, but you gotta love him! Everyone does! And a large portion of the students think they're his favorite. I love to hear people talk about their relationship with him. They all feel like the most important person in his life. I don't know what that means. I guess it just shows how sweet and personable he is. I don't think anyone thinks they're my favorite person. hahaha

Had to go up to Ai to take my Art History final today. It was a pretty crazy last class. My teacher had to cancel last week's class because she was in the hospital suffering from a migraine that she's STILL dealing with. She's had it for nearly a month now. Brutal. All that considered, she kind of had a shit fit at this chick that wouldn't take her sunglasses off while she was going over last minute things that we needed to know for our final. Kind of like a review, but more like a really fast last lesson so that we didn't leave our Art History I class without her ever talking about Leonardo Di Vinci and Michelangelo. hahaha She had a fit though. Classic lines? "You see how bitchy you're making me? Have you ever seen me this bitchy? If you make me anymore bitchy than this, I'm going to throw you out of class!" I can't blame her. I found about 90% of that class to be irritating idiots so I'm surprised she was able to remain composed for as long as she did. After a somewhat difficult test, I went and bought myself a turkey burger. It would have been a total win if they hadn't put cheese on it. Next time I'm telling them I'm allergic to cheese. Grr. Then I went home and fell into a time warp and suddenly it was like 4 in the morning and I had to go to bed. It's probably because I was doing stuff like this...

Baby, I know you like

Had my final classes for Image Manipulation and Life Drawing. I had to take a snap of this drawing. It's not mine, but it's an epic piece of work that spurred a lot of controversy. It'll be one of the main things I'll remember from this class in the long run so I had to take a picture. I left this class feeling a lot better about my art and my style. So, all in all, I had a pretty decent day. Feels like even decent days are few and far between sometimes so I'm counting my blessings for this one!

Like the news, everyday you get pressed

What an awful day. I woke up with a headache and the hiccups, which was clearly an omen. I was looking forward to a day of studying for my Art History final and relaxing, but all of those plans had to be swept under the rug when I attempted to open my Image Manipulation final project to print them. We had to create a realistic magazine cover and an ad which would be in said magazine. The cover opened just fine, but the ad that I worked on for 4 hours last Wednesday when my class got canceled would not open at all. No matter what I did, it was toast. Somehow, someway the file was corrupted and I had to start from scratch. So, that's about all I did for the rest of my Monday. These kind of things really push me away from 3D animation...

Little baby babe

Try as we might, my mother and I were not able to fully avoid visiting family. We're such assholes. hahaha Despite our lackluster attitudes, it was a pleasant little visit. John and Loraine brought their new baby, Ava, over who I saw once before, but she was even tinier. She was too small for me to hold. I don't like to hold babies that can't hold up their head yet. It's not for me. But I held Ava and it didn't suck. Contrary to popular belief, I don't hate babies. I don't get all goo goo ga ga over them, but I do think they are cute. But, in reality, I do get a hundred times more excited about puppies than babies. That'll change. When I have my own babies. Anyway, meet Ava, blogosphere!

Red, red, red

beforeafterI supposed when I did the "after" shot I should have taken it with my hair down, but oh well! I'm not going back and fixing it now! Be that as it may, I dyed my hair! There was a big confusing mess concerning getting an appointment where I normally go for my hair experiments and so this fine job was done by my very talented mother. It was no easy task dying all of my hair. There's a lot of it. With teamwork, we accomplished it! The picture may not do it prefect justice, but it's very red. For about 10 years or so (since the Little Mermaid was out, really) I've wanted to have really red hair. Due to my dark brunette hair, I've never been able to get it. Always getting a more burgundy-purple color than anything resembling red. So, when I started going blond, I decided that when I was over the blond, I would dye it red so I could finally have the red I really wanted. Well, I cut the blond thing short due to financial difficulties and the fact that my hair stylist was really just getting lazy. The last time he highlighted it, it came out all splotchy. It was terrible! So, I went red! I'm happy with it! I'm afraid to wash it! I don't want it to fade! That's the downer to reds. They fade, fade, fade. Ah well. Be fun while it lasts! And moreover, my hair magic has inspired someone else! I wonder if this post will keep that ball rolling!!

I could easily overpower you

My little monster and I took a nice long, much needed walk in one of our favorites places. The weather was perfection. Furthermore, Gizmo really impressed me. Rather than using the leash with the big annoying plastic thing on the end which I cannot hook onto my wrist, I used just a cloth leash. I'm glad I did, because I discovered within the safety of the cemetery I can drop the leash and Gizmo is the perfect gentleman and stays by my side. Now if only I could get him to do that around other dogs and strangers.... Especially since I saw people taking their dogs into the Philadelphia Urban Outfitters! Gizmo and I could go shopping! Amazing!

I hear words in my sleep

Spring springing is awesome! Another thing that is awesome? Second quarter nearly being over! Nearly done everything, really. Had a good handful of my finals already done and over with. I'm completely done Eng Comp II in fact. As a last final hurrah, God made sure to align the stars so that I got to walk with one of the dumbest students in my class more than half of the way to the train station. Even better? I got to hear him whine about not going to bed the night before and praise himself for writing his final paper in a few hours, comparing his ability to write his 6 page paper to God creating the earth. It was a painful conversation to say the least. I hope I can avoid having another with that particular person for quite sometime after being all done my English courses! Yippeeee!

I don't know how to tell if it's Heaven or Hell

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Yet another rainy day

Despite feeling like I was falling prey to some kind of cold or illness, I was able to finish my art paper! There is a certain relief that follows the completion of a paper that I've been struggling with. That's definitely the best part of the writing process! Having that been and done, I prepared to go out and have a nice hang with a few of my favorite people, but plans were changed last minute and I wound up a tad overdressed at Ruby Tuesday's with two mini cow burgers and a mess of rice. You just never know how your night is going to turn out. Or your meal for that matter.

take care, team xo

We just lowered his ears

I rarely update this early in the day, but I highly doubt anything else will happen today that will trump this! I don't remember the last time Gizmo got shaved. Probably Summer 2009. He's been getting by without one since I started cutting his hair the old fashioned way; with a pair of scissors. Don't be impressed. It was never a good job. It was always a hack job. A necessary evil. Just cutting it so it wouldn't be a big mat under his shirt, which he has to wear so he won't bite his dry skin. After his bath yesterday, I did my usual hacking off of chunks of fluffy matted Gizmo hair (which is always so much thicker and longer than the hair on his lower back which has never grown back the same since his infection), and I told my dad he could shave him whenever he had time. Well, low and behold, he had time today! He's lookin' pretty handsome! You gotta admit! But I won't be sad when his hair grows back either. I loves his fluffy Gizmo hair!

Yes! I hope every Saturday is this good!

Gizmo and I spent the day as hostages in our bedroom. Despite the tremendous rain, my uncle came over to work with my mother on the book he's writing. He's completely computer illiterate so he continues to use typists to do his work. Used to be me. So glad it isn't anymore because what we thought was going to be something that would take a few short hours took an entire day. I did get some things done. Gizmo got a bath. My room got cleaned. I got some of my HW done. Watched tons of Office extras. And when I left my room, I got to do really fun things like scrub out the refrigerator. So, you better believe that I had the best Saturday ever!

I'm ready to go back to Egypt now

Took another trip back in time through Egypt and Rome. Despite the monsoon like rain, my journey there was better than my last. I didn't get lost! I had a lot more time to wander slowly around and consider things and write things down. I found a piece I'm pretty happy with. Despite the pictures above, I chose an Egyptian piece for my art analysis paper. I have no idea how to go about writing this. I have no template for this kind of thing! Trying to remind myself that the entire class doesn't either and they're a bunch of slackers so what I come up with will probably be ample. I hope.

I hated the city before you came here

Only I would buy a pair of sunglasses the day before a Nor'easter hits. These aren't them, mind you. I bought a pair of sunglasses for $5 at H&M that I haven't been able to wear at all yet. Yeah, I know, I went overboard. I splurged. Instead of eating today, I got glasses. My priorities are absolutely in order.

We're gonna be okay

One day of sun and people done got spoiled. The day before the park was packed. Today? Completely different! It wasn't cold. Just wasn't sunny. People are spoiled! They missed a lot of commotion! There was girls posing as statues, adorable little yorkies comin up to say hi to me, kids crashing and burning on their bikes, a man with a vest covered in real pennies, and so much more! Ah well. At least I was there.

Here comes the sun

Beautiful sunny day in Philadelphia! Loved it! Not only did the sun come to Philly, so did Nathan! Fresh from an extremely wild bachelor party, Nathan came to my neck of the woods and we ventured into Little France and had crepes! They were delicious! Just added to the glory of the day! Well, half of it was glorious. When the crepes were done, Nathan was gone and the sun had gone down, I was hit with a horrible migraine. I've been lucky thus far to be home or at least nearly home before getting a migraine, but I wasn't so lucky. Furthermore, I didn't have any of migraine medication with me and Advil wasn't doing jack shit. So yeah, the end of this day? Not so good. But I'm still glad it happened!

The usual Monday

Got away from my endless toil for a tiny bit and had a little lunch wherein I had a brief brush with celebrity. Meaning that someone knew me from my band, but I had no idea who they were. So, in a very teeny way, it's my celebrity moment. Other than that it was just work, work, work. That's basically what my entire weekend really revolved around. And while I work, Gizmo sleeps. He's got it dead easy. He doesn't even know. He could never live my life! His head would explode! He better just stay on his little pillow!