Roadkill Gourmet

Yesterday on my way to work, I got the impression that I'd just missed the Running of the Armadillo. I must have swerved out my lane at least a half-dozen times (which is never good on a narrow winding road) trying to avoid the previously squished. And then I rounded a corner and came really close to hitting a damn vulture that was feasting on an animal that HAD made it to the side of the road. Dumb birds!

And yet I still believe that taking the back road to work is more fun. Sure, you occasionally get stuck behind a rock truck or a cement mixer going 20 where the speed limit is 45, but it's still faster than sitting in that late morning 192 traffic.

So was anyone out there wondering what I had for dinner last night? Well, I had a chicken sandwich (leftover baked chicken) with provolone and dijon-horseradish mustard on a whole wheat bun. And then our sous chef came in and said that we were doing a great job, and that the kitchen appreciates our hard work... and she brought us each a serving of Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin on a Corn Cake and a Cherry Cider Reduction. Kurobuta pork comes from pure-bred Berkshire hogs, and is considered the "Kobe of pork." I didn't realize that... until I tasted it.

Wow!

In the words of Little Orphan Annie, "I think I'm gonna like it here!"

Breakfast of Champions?

What could be better than pineapple upside down cake for breakfast? After all, it has more fruit than a packet of apple cinnamon oatmeal. AND it has more types of fruit. But are maraschino cherries really fruit? Were they ever actual cherries, growing plump and juicy under the sun? Or were they fabricated in a lab to look like cherries?

Anyway, I finished the last of the cake for breakfast this morning. Tomorrow, who knows? I might have oatmeal or cereal.

Stay tuned!

and before anyone asks, I have no idea who this person in the picture is. I blatantly ripped it off from photobucket.

Thinking of You...

I saw the story of the bacon martini, and instantly thought of Scott. I bet if it were made with Limoncello, he'd be all over that!

And in non-bacon news, it's likely that Karen over at The Naked Ovary will see her daughter's face for the first time tomorrow. I've been following her rollercoaster ride of adopting from China for about a year now, and feel like it's my own best friend getting the news. Apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way -- as of right now there are 494 comments on her "Stork Alert" entry. Hopefully she'll get her referral before I have to leave for work tomorrow... otherwise I'll be going crazy at work all day.

And in my own life... well, I scooped the cat box today. How's that for excitement?

Blog-Jam

I've got a whole bunch of post ideas swimming around, and yet none of them wants to come out. I've decided to call this version of writer's block 'blog jam.' And that's about the most witty and creative thing I can think of to say.

I did absolutely nothing this past weekend. It felt like a good idea at the time, and yet now I feel like a worthless slug. I watched two new movies - Ice Age, which was better than I thought it would be (and yet I'll still give it JJj out of JJJJJ) and Crash. Crash surprised me, and I tried to get Scott to watch it with me (yeah, I wanted to watch it again right away) but he wouldn't bite. I guess that's fair. I'm steadfast in my refusal to watch any of the Mission: Impossible movies because:
a) I'm taking a stand against Tom Cruise, and
b) I just didn't get the first one.

Anyway, back to Crash. It had maybe a dozen different story lines that intersected at strange moments, and yet somehow didn't feel at all disjointed. It had a message, butwasn't preachy. And I loved the cast. I'll have to put it on my "buy me" list. And I'll give it JJJJ out of JJJJJ.

I also caught Phone Booth on FX. I'm going to rent it so that I can see how much was edited out. I also missed the beginning, and apparently that was important. I thought it was pretty decent, despite the violence.

So I'm now off to another 4 marathon days at work. Hopefully I can make some sort of plans for next weekend so that a week from right now I'm not sitting around feeling like a lump. Actually, I think I have plans a week from right now to go to Hoop with a bunch of people I don't know. Woo...I'm feeling better already!

I'm a Big Kid Now!

There's been a lot of learning in the past two weeks. I guess that really goes without saying. But with this new job, my job classification is not covered by a union. This has resulted in two interesting changes.

I no longer clock in and out. I am still hourly, but pay myself online. Of course, this means I had to learn to pay myself online.

401(k) -- I'm eligible. And I got a big packet of information in the mail telling me allll about it. Why is it that the thought of letting them take even more money out of my paycheck is somehow appealing to me? Oh yeah - because it means that maybe one year I'll be able to retire and I won't have to work until I'm dead.

I guess maybe I have some reading to do.

I'm Here

I'm working 10-hour days this month, which doesn't leave me much blog time (or any other time) during my work week. I'm also sick a a dog with a random July Flu that's got me sleeping with the tissues within arm's reach. So I'll see you on Monday. I promise.

two more days... two more days...

Remember When...?

A while back, I told Scott that if he died first, I was going to have "weird but cute" put on his tombstone. He didn't really like that sentiment... and then he really didn't like it when I said I was going to put "weirder but cuter" on my own. So I had some prototypes made:


I think they are just perfect! You can make your own tombstone here.

It's an Epidemic!

Does anyone else think that FIVE reality competition shows on 5/7 of broadcast channels at the same time is... umm... excessive??? Am I the only one who would rather be watching a re-run of Grey's Anatomy or -- hold your hats -- original non-reality programming? Shame on you, network executives!

Oh who am I to talk? I'm just wasting time until 10:00 when Project Runway comes on!

A Great Burger

This is a recipe for a great burger:

Bacon
Melted Provolone
Avocado
Pickles
Lettuce
Mayo
Honey Mustard
and a turkey patty
on a toasted whole grain bun

Scott and I took Frances to the dealership today for $1000+ worth of routine maintenance -- timing belt, 60,000 mile service (6,000 miles late, but let's not go there), and tons of brake work. My old buddy James in the service department said he was going to call around and check for parts to see if he could beat the $600 quote he gave me before for whatever is wrong with my rear brake drum (or something like that...). Plus I printed off a 10% off parts coupon from their website. Let's hope there's no catastrophe and I'll get her back tomorrow like he promised, or Wednesday before it's a major inconvenience, or Thursday morning before it's a crisis! And I'm PRAYING that this maintenance doesn't clean out our savings. Scott's car is coming up on a service milestone too.

After dropping off the car, we went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch. I was leaning toward mini burgers (what? I like mini burgers!) when Scott pointed out the bacon-avocado turkey burger. It was superb -- best burger I've had in ages! And since the skies had opened up and we had a little bit of time, we split a blondie for dessert. Sadly, we finished our dessert, paid the bill, and it was STILL pouring. And since Scott had to get to work, we had to go out into the elements. The bottom few inches of my jeans are still wet!

Scott made it to work on time, and I came home to find a giant envelope from Disney Cruise Line in the mailbox. Two months from now we can reserve our anniversary dinner at Palo and book our shore excursions (not that we're booking any shore excursions...). And our cruise is less than 5 months from now. Woo!

Overall, I'd call it a good day. Well, at least it was a productive day.

Two in a Row

Yesterday, I totally vegged in front of the TV and watched two movies in a row. Here are excerpts from their NetFlix descriptions:

"...dramedy that speaks eloquent volumes about the fragility -- and resilience -- of the human condition."

and a

"...girl-powered buddy flick."

Yeah, it was an eccentric sort of day. The first movie I watched (the second quoted above) was Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. I actually liked the first Miss Congeniality. It was stupid, but original and fun. This one was pretty much just stupid. And William Shatner was in it.

The second movie was Life as a House. Here's the rest of the description. I think it's worth repeating for anyone who isn't familiar with the story line:

Faced with a diagnosis of terminal cancer, George (Kevin Kline) decides to construct a beautiful new house on his land overlooking the Pacific ocean, while at the same time trying to connect with his estranged son (Hayden Christensen).

This movie was really really good. And it was hard to watch. I think that's because most of the characters seemed real. On the down side, I cried so hard watching it that I was nauseous for hours afterward. It's one of those movies like Life is Beautiful and Shakespeare in Love - the ones I own because sometimes I need a good cry and it's easier to cry over a beautiful, sad movie than to cry over other things. I think I'll buy it some day. JJJJj out of JJJJJ

Who Doesn't Love Cats?

I'm off tomorrow, and plan to spend the day watching crappy movies (Miss Congeniality 2, anyone?). Maybe I'll take the time to post something with more words. In the meantime, I leave you funny cat videos. Gotta love AFHV and the internet!

Searching for my Babies

Scalzi's Weekend Assignment: Do a Web search on a pet's name and let us know some of the interesting things that pop up.

Let's start with my favorite cat (yes, the one currently clawing my mini ottoman), Milo:
* Milo is the Australian version of Quik.
* The Milo Foundation is a domestic animal shelter. Anyone want a kitten?
* Milo Ventimiglia is an actor from Anaheim, CA.

And the other one, Kilo:
* There's KILO 94.3, "Colorado's Pure Rock"
* Kilo is a backdoor Trojan that uses an IRC channel to contact a hacker. (according to the Symantec website)
* And The Russian Kilo Class submarine first entered service in the early 1980's.

Of course, we can't forget about ZoePig:
* Well, it looks like she has a MySpace page, but I guess we already knew that.
* And here's a picture of a little girl. The caption reads "Zoe's Pig Hat."

A Pledge

I feel like I'm going to have some fences to mend and bridges to build with other areas when I finally take ownership of my job. My office, it seems, has this attitude that EVERYONE, no matter the location or job title, should be an expert on my location. I've seen some seriously harsh words delivered to hotel concierge people, IT support people, and some other assorted poor unfortunate souls who have to call us.

I don't want anyone anywhere to ever dread having to call me or work with me. So I am pledging the following for the duration of my career in this office:

* I will never tell someone that they should already know my confirmation procedure (all 6 steps), and that because they missed a piece of information they are not doing their job properly.

* I will never reiterate to a person, after they have apologized and done what they could to make the situation right, that they need to do their job better in the future.

* When frustrated with slow (read: brand-spanking new) co-workers, I will never use the phrase "get the lead out." I will instead take a deep breath and offer to help.

* I will l i s t e n when people are talking.

* I will not blame my computer or co-workers for my mistakes

I am so excited to learn all of the facets of our business so that I can take over and make it better. For now, I'll sit back and learn my job. I'll be flexible and patient and helpful when possible (there's still an awful lot I don't know).

Golden Ticket

OK, it's not a golden ticket, but in my world it's close. I got a hang tag for my car! What's this mean? It means I don't have to park across the street and two parking lots away from my work location. I get to park at the back end of the convention center. It's still a trek, but less than half the distance. I feel like I have arrived!

I also have almost my own desk (someone else uses it on my days off) with a brand new PC with flat panel monitor. It turns out that in my little reservation world, there will be four of us, and I'm the only full-time person. I'll be pretty much running the show. And it looks like when all of the dust settles I'll have Monday & Tuesday off. And I'll be working a mid-morning (10am-ish) shift. Sweet!

Today it's back to the trenches. I have a 5 hour class that I'm really not looking forward to. On the bright side, I'll be going over to my office after the class to make up the rest of my shift. Woo!

Things

It's been a while. I know. Here's what you've missed:

* The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -- it was ok. I over-anticipated it though, and no movie could live up to the hype I created in my own mind. Plus, we were sitting on the side of the theater (apparently 30 minutes early just wasn't early enough for this one) and I was having trouble making out some of the dialogue. My only real complaint was that for the length of the movie (2 1/2 hours), there were absolutely no plot resolutions. It really is the first half of a five-hour movie. And did I mention that the second half of the five-hour movie doesn't come out until next May? grr... I'm going to hold off on rating this movie until I see the next half.

* Last days of work -- I had a startling revelation over the past week. It's not the people I hated, it was the job. And I didn't realize how much I hated the job until I had a new job to look forward to. Of course, of the 100+ people I worked with, I will truly miss about 10. For my going away, Melissa baked one of her famous coffee cakes. Sandy and Marilyn both bought me Captain Jack action figures that they had seen. (now that I have three, it's officially a collection, n'est pas?) Karen gave me an angel keychain. And I got a card signed by the gang. The end was absolutely bittersweet, which I guess is how it should be. And of course I cried.

* Orientation Day -- I loathe new location orientation. I have been through them for 3 parks, security, the call center, and now a resort. YES, I know the 7 service guidelines. YES, I know what L.A.S.T. is all about. I don't really need a 2-hour property tour. Can't I take a pre-test and get out of it? Anyway, it was a short and boring day. On the bright side, our lunch was provided, and we got out around 2pm, though we were paid until 4.

I'm off today, and then tomorrow I actually get to start training in my actual job. Won't that be fun? Of course, I only have one day like that, and then the next day I have a class with the word 'basics' in the title. **gag** THEN I get to really get into the meat of the job.

Oh Captain (Jack), My Captain (Jack)

This is a big week for me. Not only did I get to ride the newly renovated Pirates of the Caribbean attraction today (more on that in a moment), but Scott and I are planning to catch an early showing of Dead Man's Chest on Friday morning before work. Actually, I have all sorts of random Pirates blurbs to share, so fasten your seatbelts and try to follow along.

The Video
Scott sent me a video clip of the POTC ride in California, complete with Captain Jack animatronics. And did I mention that Johnny Depp was riding the ride?? They actually let him go up and get face-to-face with one of the Captain Jacks. It's surreal. And he's so dreamy!

The Ride
Scott and I got up early to go sign Janette & John into the park today, and we went over to Pirates after lunch at Tony's (mmm... sundried tomato pesto...). The wait was only 15 minutes and it was worth every second. They really did a great job updating a Disney Classic and integrating parts of the movie. I understand the Disney purists being wary after the way they butchered the Tiki Room, but it was great. Two thumbs up from me.

The Tonight Show (yes, The Tonight Show, stay with me here)
Last night after Scott got home from work, he was flipping channels and all of a sudden got a big earful of "hey go back! I know that guy!" from me. Brian Herzlinger, star of My Date with Drew and fellow alum of Cherokee High School, was on with Leno. It turns out he's a sometimes correspondent.

Yes, but we were on a Pirates kick. What does one have to do with the other?

I told you to stay with me!

Leno sent Brian to the red carpet of the Pirates premiere. And while he didn't get to interview Johnny, he did talk to Orlando and Keira, plus the Governator, Linda Carter, Marilyn Manson, and others. Here's the segment if you'd like to check it out. I particularly enjoy the people booing Arnold from the audience. Ouch!

This means I can totally track my own six degrees of separation from Johnny. Me - Stacey (Brian's sister, who was in a bunch of my classes) - Brian - Orlando Bloom - Johnny Depp! With ties that close, I just may be on his Christmas card list.

The Movie
As I said, our current plan is to go see the movie Friday before work. Of course, we work at 3:00 and the movie is over 2 1/2 hours long. This means that we'll have to see an 11:00 or 11:30 showing. But Scott's got a co-worker who is doing the midnight show, so we'll have to see it before he goes to work or Mr. BigMouth will spoil everything for him. How's that for justifying a ridiculously long day? I'm so excited!!!

Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!

Penciled In

I finally got my schedule for the next two weeks. It's a bit of a mess, I must say. Next week I've got split days off (nope... not Tuesday or Wednesday!). Sunday I have orientation day starting at 8:30am. Wednesday I have a class from 10:30 to 3:30 (yeah... 5 hours... like THAT'S going to pay the bills!). And the rest of the days I work 10 to 6:30. Then the next week I'm off Sunday and Monday, and working 10-6:30 the rest of the week. Really, I'd love it if those were my real hours. That's late enough that I'd be waking up once the sun is up. I definitely prefer that to stumbling around in the dark... which is probably what I'll end up doing.

I also have one night shift shadowing the servers and the maitre d' (yep... I said maitre d'... ain't I hoity toity??). If I'm shadowing, that probably means I'll be in costume. Man oh man... I hope I'm wrong about that! While the picture would make good blog fodder, I'm just not sure I want that hanging over my head! I guess we'll just have to see how it all works out.

Three more days!!!

Waxing

Now that I've only got three shifts left at the call center, I've started waxing reminiscent about my long and random job history. And my random hairstyles. And my glasses. I dug out some old pictures and decided to post them all together, for the sake of history. The only costumes missing from here are my Park Fare costume (pictures from that summer are nonexistent... I must be missing an album), the pink and blue American Adventure dress, and the Comm center (woo... light blue shirt and khaki pants!).

Tree of Life, summer '98. Watching people watch a 3-D movie is a job everyone should have for a day. I was lucky enough to do it for a whole summer. It's ok people -- the bees won't really sting you. ;-)


American Adventure, 2000-2001. This picture was scanned from my scrapbook, thus the black background. I'm not really sure how 'colonial' pigtails are, but somehow they worked for me!

One Man's Dream, 2001. I loved this location. I loved the costume (reversible vest... how cool is that??). I loved working in the same room as Mary Poppins' dress and all the other Disney history. Sadly, after 9/11 I was cut to 30 hours/week and had a new apartment and new car. I had to move on.

...to Security. Of course, if I hadn't made that move, I probably would have never met Scott. Or had to wear that awful hat! Oh who am I kidding? I should always wear hats! I LOVE hats! And I love Scott. But that goes without saying.

Picture Time

Apparently I haven't pulled pictures off of my camera in a while. Pardon the randomness...

Damage from the brush fire earlier this month.


Tom and I at the Magic Kingdom today after lunch. In addition to great company and great food, we had a touch of "Disney Magic" today that was unmatched.

This was Tom's year to buy lunch. Did I mention that before? I think I did. Anyway, after we ordered, another waitress (our waiter was an ex-coworker's husband. if he recognized me, I probably ingested spit) came over to our table to say that another family was on the Dining Plan (pre-paid meals), were leaving today, they had three coupons left, and would like to pay for our lunch.

Umm...ok?

So I went over to thank them and gave them Scott's business card with my e-mail address on the back and asked them to get in touch next time they come to town. If they do, I'll try to hook them up with something cool and unusual. Seems like the least I could do!

...and then we added appetizers and desserts to our meal, since they were included. And all Tom ended up paying was an extra $10 tip. Gee Tom... thanks for lunch!

...and after we parted ways (see you next April!), Scott and I had time to ride the TTA before I had to leave for work. What a great little visit. :o)

Rocky Horror for Kids

I got an e-mail from an old work friend of mine advertising, "Sing-A-Long Mary Poppins -- the Disney classic that’s now an interactive movie experience!

SING-A-LONG – with on-screen lyrics!
PLAY-A-LONG – with your supercalifragilistic bag of props.
MARCH-A-LONG – in the onstage costume parade in your Mary Poppins inspired costume."

Honestly, tickets are only $10. If it weren't down in Tampa, and if I had a solid schedule right now, I'd be tempted to go. It really does sound like the Rocky Horror Picture Show for the family audience. I can't imagine what props they have, or what kinds of costumes people would be wearing...

...but it sounds like a lot of fun!