Default Plans

I had no plans today so I drove out to New Smyrna and read on the beach for a few hours, enjoyed some great conversation too. 

When the afternoon storms rolled in I moved my relaxation to my porch. Right around the time the storms catch up to me I'll be heading out to hang with friends. :)

                             

Second weekend in a row that's played out like this, I think these are my new default plans. 

They are awesome. 

Drunken Balcony Conversation

I'm getting over a cold and took a DayQuil too late in the day and as a result had trouble falling asleep. So I took my book out to my hammock to read in the cool night air around 1:30am. Holy Shnickadoos! I didn't need the book, I had all the entertainment I needed in the available people watching. It was perfect timing to watch all of the young professionals that live in the apartments around me have taxi's drop them off at home and then observe as the stumble to their doors and create a raucous in the street. I even got to meet a couple of my across the street neighbors by having a conversation with them from my balcony. I think I shall have to spend more wee morning hours on my hammock... :)

I love where I live.

Photo Update

I went into 2012 saying it was going to be a monumental year. So many major milestones in my life and the lives of those around me, how could it not be? I mean the year I turn 30...

Not only has that proven to be true but the past few months have been jam packed. I can't even begin to try to document it all so I just chose some photos that would summarize it nicely and server as a memory trigger for me later when I look back over this log of my life.

Like I said, a lot has happened...and these are just the highlights!

Yummy Oatmeal

I was introduced to theoatmeal.com today...it's my new favorite site for a good chuckle. :)

Loved their guide to spelling and grammar.

And their guide to petting a kitty is classic.

Goes nicely with my morning oatmeal breakfast :)

I don't want to be an ANT

Because of this bit from Waking Life my brother, pseudo-sister and I have all adopted an ANTi, nonant sort of mentality about life. Today my brother and I got ant tattoos on our wrists as a reminder to keep up our ANTi status. :)

Plus, like I said, my mom said at her 50th birthday that she wanted a tattoo on her 60th so it was a family affair! Mom got a flower that looks a little like a wooden piece or henna and Laura got a tomato flower in honor of her love of gardening.

In the end I never really found the right ants so Thomas, the tattoo artist who did my other two pieces, came up with the cutest little happy line of ants.

Getting ready for the tattoo party!

My Mom with her new tattoo and Thomas.

Mom's little brown flower.

John's Ant.

Laura's tomato flower.

My line of happy ants.

Ant Time

So almost 10 years ago my dear mother finally joined the modern world and pierced her ears for the first time on her 50th birthday. Afterward she said that when she turned 60 she wanted to get her first tattoo. Boy was that a big mistake, I haven't let her live that one down.

So, in a couple of weeks she will be 60. And my brother, mom and I are all going to get tattoos together. It will be my third and mom and John's first.

I know that I want a short line of ants. I was planning to get them down the outside of my left wrist, however now that I'm officially Cast and have to keep up the Disney Look I think I've been convinced that I either need to keep it smaller or put them somewhere a little less visible. SO, now I'm thinking I want them crawling up the outside of my right ankle.

The biggest decision left is which ants to use....here is what I'm looking at. I think I like the first, less organized one better...

Flower Power

I am such a trend setter! I bought little baby barrettes with a flower attached in Spain to allow my short do to reflect the Flamenco vibe.

Today I was shopping at H&M and look what I found!

Fringe

It was Fringe week!

I didn't see all of the shows I wanted to but I did manage to hit a few good ones.

Medicine by TJ Dawe - I've been a fan of TJ Dawe for years now, this wasn't my favorite of his shows but it was still skillfully delivered.

The Nashville Hurricane by Chase Padgett - Having never seen any of his shows before I went in without knowing what to expect. I was beyond impressed. Chase impressively executes a one man show where he plays the part of at least 6 different characters, shifting between them using only his speech patterns and mannerisms. His talent with a guitar was like nothing I'd ever seen.

Skill Focused Burlesque does Fringe - I went to see this with my girl friends, the night we went they were using a Gotham theme so the characters included The Penguin, the Riddler, Poison Ivy and others from the Batman world. It was awesome as stated in my last post. :)

The show I most wish I had been able to see was Still Alive, they are a group of folks ages 75 and up who sing covers of modern songs. I heard they had an 86 year old woman sing Beyonce's 'If you like it then you should have put a ring on it' complete with the dance! Luckily they are from a church downtown so hopefully I'll be able to find another performance of theirs to go to.

Pancakes, Sun and Nudity

Today was a good day.

I got a lot of stuff done at my new apartment, introduced my buddy to Deleon Springs (which of course means I got pancakes!), napped and read in the sun, had an amazing dinner at Tako Cheena and then saw a smokin' hot burlesque show at Fringe with my girls. Definitely a good start to the holiday weekend.

Family Ride

Yes, that is a large family, complete with a kid with training wheels on his bike. They are apparently out for a family ride along 436 in front of Altamonte mall, an incredibly busy intersection. Seriously? Did both parents forget their common sense today?

Moving On

I moved this weekend. I downsized so now I'm in a one bedroom condo off of Lake Ivanhoe, it's still a big place at 1000 sq ft but it feels much more appropriate and cozy than the 3/2 I was in before. And now I'm close to all sorts of fun stuff like Imperial, White Wolf Cafe, Ethos, Taco China and more!

It was a crazy move too! I had mostly new furniture delivered Saturday from IKEA and somehow managed to get it all put together, all my boxes moved and mostly unpacked by 5pm on Sunday. My family is so awesome like that.

Now I'm on my first official Disney related trip. I'm in Raleigh learning how to use a new software application. As usual life is going a million miles a minute and I'm just holding on for dear life. But right now it's all so positive. I wish I could bottle this feeling so I could reflect back on it later when things are tough to remember to be grateful....

Avenge!

I saw Avengers twice this weekend. For the love of Allah, if you haven't seen it yet go! It's awesome! Not only is there an actual plot and comedy but the graphics and cinematography are impressive too. Now I can't wait for the new Dark Knight to come out. Oh Joseph Gordon-Levitt - how you make me smile :)

The smell of melting rain

I love the way the earth smells after it has rained and the sun is melting away the dirt and moisture. It smells different in different parts of the world.

Random thought for today :)

Europe

Europe was amazing by the way, read all about it on my travel blog here, in the mean time here are some of my favorite shots to entice you to go read up.

The Eiffel Tower

Sagrada Familia 

Beach in Barcelona

Feria de Abril in Seville

Typical scene during Feria in Seville

Cast!

What a way to end a vacation!

Before I left for the EU I had applied for a permanent Cast job and even scheduled a panel of interviews for late May. I received an email from my old boss on Thursday telling me that HR needed to talk to me and it was worth interrupting my vacation. So I schedule a call for Friday when I knew I'd be in a quiet hotel in Paris.

The offered me the job!

Interviews got cancelled and I start May 7th!

Holy Moly!

Europe Bound Again

Tomorrow I leave for Europe with Megan for 15 days! Paris Barcelona and Seville. Check out my travel blog to follow us on our adventure.

SeeUsTravel.blogspot.com

I'm so excited!

Slow Dancing

They more John Mayer I listen to, the more impressed I am by his lyrics. So many of his songs do such an amazing job of eloquently putting words to an every day situation or feeling that most of us can't articulate. Like Daughters or Neon or my current favorite, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.

It's not a silly little moment,
It's not the storm before the calm.
This is the deep and dying breath of
This love that we've been working on.

Can't seem to hold you like I want to
So I can feel you in my arms.
Nobody's gonna come and save you,
We pulled too many false alarms.

We're going down,
And you can see it too.
We're going down,
And you know that we're doomed.
My dear,
We're slow dancing in a burning room.

I was the one you always dreamed of,
You were the one I tried to draw.
How dare you say it's nothing to me?
Baby, you're the only light I ever saw.

I'll make the most of all the sadness,
You'll be a bitch because you can.
You try to hit me just to hurt me
So you leave me feeling dirty
Because you can't understand.

We're going down,
And you can see it too.
We're going down,
And you know that we're doomed.
My dear,
We're slow dancing in a burning room.

Go cry about it - why don't you?

My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room,
Burning room,
Burning room.

Don't you think we oughta know by now?
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?
Don't you think we oughta know by now?
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?
Don't you think we oughta know by now?
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?

Fun Fotos

Just some fun times from the past couple weeks.

Roger in his typical morning position watching me put on my makeup :)

My silly homeschoolin' family pretending to hold court at the Orange County History Museum.

Daily dose of cute. The duck family that lives in the lake behind my building. There were 8, now they're down to 1 :( the turtles stalk the babies but it's so cool to watch the mama birds rally to keep the baby safe.

Me and a new buddy, Jody, out for drinks at Luma. Another buddy, Crystal was there as well but she got all shy in front of the camera. Oh, and Jeff was there too but he's too cool for photos.

An old friend, Sarah, looking beautiful at Chase's at New Smyrna with me.

An absolutely perfect beach day, the water was eerily clear, no clouds, just enough people and a sweet mai tai - life was good.

Great Food and Some Elton

I volunteered at Cook Orlando this weekend, which is a fund raising event to benefit The Human Rights Campaign (HRC). They are primarily a lobbying organization that pushes the Federal Government to enforce equal rights, specifically for the LGBT community, I don't agree with everything they push for, in many cases I think they go too extreme when a more moderate take could get more progress faster, but at least they're doing something. So I decided to get involved, I'd rather be doing something than nothing as well.

Cook Orlando is a food festival, local restaurants set up tents and offer mini versions of their best dishes, there are drinks and music. Guests pay $45 for entry and unlimited food and then the culmination is an iron chef like cook off between the two most popular restaurants.

I worked the registration table and was given a 30 min break to eat and enjoy the festivities. I had so much fun. I met some great people, the food was amazing and it felt good to get out and help the community.

To make a good weekend great I also had tickets to go see Elton John play Saturday night. Now I'm not a huge fan of his but he's such an iconic figure I figured it was a no brainer. He was so adorable. After practically every song he would jump up and thank the crowd, pointing at us saying 'no you're wonderful'. During one song he and his band just jammed for nearly 30 minutes and he played the piano for every single number. The crowd was kind of lame so his encore was short, but he came back out and shook hands and signed autographs for a ton of fans along the stage. Overall it was a very worthwhile experience!

NYC At Last

I tried to go to NYC last weekend but the flights were too full. I've been wanting to get out of town, I've been jonesing for an NYC fix and I needed some catch up time with my buddy there so rather than hope Delta would cooperate I took matters in to my own hands and *gasp!* purchased a ticket.

I went out Friday night and flew home Monday early in the morning so I was at work by noon. Sounds a like a quick trip but three nights and two full days was just what I needed. After an hour of catching up on life with my buddy it was like always, like no time had passed since we last hung out. He had all sorts of things planned for us ranging from uber touristy to totally local. I have an art project in mind that requires lots of great shots of architecture and angles so that guided our travels ab it as well.

Saturday we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, visited the newly opened 9/11 memorial, went to the Chelsea Market and had pizza at a new place he's been wanting to try. This is my favorite pic from the trip, taken from this elevated park they've built on an old railway platform.

Sunday we slept in a bit and braved the overcast, chilly day to wander Central Park, hitting some spots I hadn't been to yet, like Strawberry Field, then we went by Lincoln Center and did a little shopping for houseware goods (sounds boring but Bed Bath & Beyond NYC style is interesting!). For dinner Sunday we went to a Ramen place he'd been wanting to try but since they always have a killer long wait he just hadn't made it there yet. After an hour wait we only occupied our chairs for about 30 minutes, the soup was so good we slurped it down in record time. My wassabi veggie broth was so flavorful with these sweet bean curds on top - oh my. Then, as if that weren't enough of a treat for my belly we went to Milk, a place that specializes in wacky flavors of soft serve. I had Fried Apple Pie ice cream with Cornflake sprinkles. I kid you not, it tasted not only like apple pie but like FRIED apple pie. Yummy but bizarre.

It was the perfect blend of playing tourist, relaxing and catching up with a good friend. Paired with last weekend's beach trip I'm feeling quite content and loved :)

All of my photos are posted on Flickr here.

Good Weekend

Had some crazy stuff go down over the past week and just needed to get out of town. Megan was a great friend as usual and cleared her weekend and joined me for a night of girly insanity out at Clearwater Beach.

The traffic was insane, the NBA All Star game is in Orlando this year so traffic along I4 was slow going. Since the trip was so last minute we didn't even have a hotel booked. Once we arrived we drove around a bit, picked the least skeevy looking low budget hotel and pulled in. We got all dolled up and went for a nice dinner at the Beachcomber. The food was amazing and we had a couple of bottles of Kim Crawford wine which was fantastic. The service wasn't so hot but comical so that made up for it. We were sat next to a couple and the quarters were quite tight so we couldn't help but overhear each other's conversations, at one point they had stopped talking and were so clearly listening in on us that I had to really prevent myself from saying something outrageous just to shock them... :) We closed the place down and had a great night, one of those that will not soon be forgotten. :)

To finish off the weekend I went to a costume Oscar Part at John & Laura's. Everyone was asked to dress as a character from a nominated film, I dressed as Celia Foote from The Help. :)

Tip the Pilot

Found this article to be a amusing. Here's an excerpt: "Even if a mere 20 passengers did this [tipped their pilot] per flight, that’s $100 per flight. I read that regional jets fly somewhere between 3 and 5 flights per day, so let’s settle on four, and that makes $400 per day of flying. And if the pilots are flying, say, 15 days per month, that’s $6,000 extra per month. Even if you split the take 50-50 with the copilot, that’s an extra $3,000 per month, $36,000 per year. That doubles Bridget’s salary, and, quite frankly, ought to make you feel a lot better about Bridget staying focused on doing her job well and not fretting about the rent and the electric bill and her kid’s college tuition and getting her car fixed and funding her 401(k), etc."

Apopka Folk

We spent the day with some friends at a festival in Apopka. We went primarily for the chili cookoff and people watching. Chili was sad, the people did not let us down...

I especially enjoyed the irony of the Hunting & Fishing tent next to the Wildlife Conservation tent and the inflatable kids shooting range.

The Alligator Snuggie disturbed me. It's a 16 year old Cayman, born into captivity, no tape on the mouth, kids petting the head... Not sure if they're sending the right message...but I admit I was a little jealous :)