Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Adventurer Spotting - Like bird watching, but more fun

While we were in Orlando, I was watching for former Adventurers Club CMs. We were happy to spot a few of them.

We saw Chipmunk as Officer Peabody in MGM (sorry, make that DHS). He had attracted quite a crowd, but we lingered there until we had a chance to talk to him. Since he was a police officer I took the opportunity to report a missing person to him. He shared my concern about poor Mr Bleehall once I explained that he was last seen in the company of a known law breaker (Bessie - She gives more milk than any law allows!) but didn't think Emil or Bessie had been apprehended. Sadly, he had not seen Mr. Bleehall recently but he assured me that he would keep an eye out for him. We talked about the Club a little bit, and it was easy to see that he misses it.

We didn't see Lancelot, but we didn't really try too hard. We went to Idol twice and that was more than enough. I'm sure we'll go back on future trips, but it certainly won't be an every day kind of thing. Hopefully we'll see him at a BSS concert soon.

At Epcot, we saw several Adventurers. We saw Tombstone, Simple and Blondie as part of the World Showcase Players. We haven't really taken the time to watch the Players very much on past trips but we did this time, and really enjoyed them. We also talked to Blondie a bit about some of his upcoming stand-up appearances, and we are looking forward to going to see him perform as soon as possible.

We had quite a surprise at lunch one day. We went to Chefs de France, and we had heard that Yvette was appearing sometimes with Remy from Ratatouille. Sadly, she wasn't there but we weren't too disappointed because Blade was there instead. He did a great job as Armand and we were especially happy to see him because we hadn't expected to see him at all on this trip.

And of course we had to go see "What's Your Problem?". We were very happy to see Snoopy there. He told us about his upcoming one man show, and we are trying to plan a trip in April to see it. Given that we fell in love with the Adventurers Club after seeing Snoopy play multiple characters there, we have to see any play where Snoopy plays all of the characters! I am always amazed by the way he can become different people so completely, and I am really looking forward to seeing him play all three dozen characters in his upcoming play.

In other Club news . . . the rumors continue that the Club will be back in some form. The most recent version has a couple of dance clubs (Mannequins and 8Trax, I believe) reopening soon, but being outsourced. They are currently hiring more DJs/performers, so we'll have to see what happens with that. The other part of the rumor says that the Adventurers Club will reopen as more of a dinner show, where an entire group will go to the different rooms of the Club as a group throughout the evening. Supposedly the Club would be expanding into the BET Club next door. What I want is the Club as we've always known it to reopen, but failing in that I'd take the Club in almost any form - as long as they bring back the cast we know and love!

And of course they are taking bookings for private events in the Club through late September. Complete with cast members, if you're willing to pay enough. Rumor is that they will take bookings for October and later at some point, but of course we'll have to wait and see if that turns out to be true. Given the prices involved, I won't be booking an event unless I win the lottery, but it's nice to know it is still an option, anyway. And of course it's not that long till Congaloosh 2009, and we are going to try to go to at least some of that.

The trip was nice, but it wasn't the same without the Club to go to. At least we still got to see some of our favorite CMs elsewhere around the World, but I'm still hoping that the time will come when we will once again be able to see them as Hathaway, Emil, Otis, Graves, and all the rest of the Adventurers!

My Current Life in 89 Questions

1. What was the highlight of your week? I don't think there's been one yet - it's been pretty low key so far.
2. Whose car were you in last? Mine
3. When is the next time you will kiss someone? In a few minutes, probably.
4. What color shirt are you wearing? Blue
5.How long is your hair? Too short - chin length.
6. Are you good looking? I don't think so, particulary, but I'm not horrible either.
7. Last movie you watched? Watchmen (Loved it!)
8. Who were you with? Caradorn
9.Last thing you ate? Cheddar-pumpkin seed flatbread with roasted red pepper hummus.
10. Last thing you drank? Club soda with Ribena
11. When was the last time you had your heart broken? September 27, 2008
12. Who came over last? One of The Kidd's friends
13. Are you happy right now? Mostly
14. What did you say last? "I love you"
15. Where is your phone? In my pocket
16. What color are your eyes? Brown
17. Are you left heanded? Yes
18. Spell your name without vowels. Skrv
19. Do you have any pets? Yes, several.
20. Favorite vacation? Orlando
21. What do dislike currently? Hypocrisy
22. What are you listening to? Attack of the show on G4.
23. If you could have one thing right now, what would it be? A Kungaloosh from the Adventurers Club.
24. What is your favorite scent? The smell of leather
25. What makes you happiest? Spending time with the people I love.
26. What were you doing at midnight last night? Trying (and failing) to sleep.
27. When is your birthday? December
28. Who has the same phone as you? My sister.
29. Last time you went swimming in a pool? Last week
30. Do you read your horoscope? Not usually.
31. Where was the last place you bought something? Bennetts Nursery
32. How do you feel about your hair right now? I don't like it.
33. Do you bite your nails? No, never.
34. Do you have any expensive jewelry? It depends on what you consider expensive, but by my standards I do.
35. Do you have any expensive jewelry? Hmm. I though I already answered that.
36. Myspace or Facebook? Neither. I like Twitter best lately.
37. How fast have you driven a car? Probably under 90 mph.
38. Have you ever smoked? No, never.
39. What was your favorite subject in school? Literature
40. Do you have Verizon? Yes
41. What type of boy or girl do you usually fall for? Men.
42. Do you have any hidden talents? If so, they are really well hidden.
43. Favorite song? Not sure - there are so many I love.
44. Do you like to sing at all? Yes, when no one is listening.
45. Dream job? Used to be to work for David Copperfield. Then it was to work at the Adventurers Club. Now? To be a successful author.
46. Where does most of your family live? Tennessee
47. Are you an only child or do you have siblings? I have a sister
48. Would you consider yourself to be spoiled? Probably.
49. What was the first thing you thought when you woke up? It's raining.
50. Do you drink? Occasionally
51. Know any other languages? Sort of, but not well.
52. Ever write a coded message? Yes.
53. Have you ever been in a wedding? Yes, several
54. Do you have any children? Yes, one.
55. Did you take a nap today? No, but I wanted to.
56. Who has the same birthday as you? No one I know.
57. Ever met anyone famous before? Yes, often.
58. Do you want to be famous one day? No, I would hate to be famous.
59. Any pet peeves? Yes, lots of them.
60. Are you mutitasking right now? Yes, I (almost) always multitask.
61. Do you like Britney Spears? No.
62. What is your least favorite chore? Washing dishes.
63. Last place you drove your car? School and then home.
64. Ever been out of the country? Yes.
65. Where were you born? Mississippi
66. Could you handle being in the military? No, definitely not.
67. What is your average cell phone bill? Too high
68. Who are you thinking about right now? You.
69. When was the last time you laughed REALLY hard? Last night.
70. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Lots - I never get rid of any!
71. Are your toes always painted? No, but my toenails usually are. ;)
72. How many piercings do you have? Two - one in each earlobe.
73. What are you doing today? Dodging the rain and taking this survey.
74. Have you ever been gambling? Yes. . . I love Vegas!
75. When is the last time you updated your page? A few days ago.
76. Do you like rollercoasters? Yes, I love them.
77. Have you ever been to Disneyland or World? Yes - both, multiple times.
78. Do you have a favorite cartoon character? Yes - Snoopy.
79. Last thing you cooked? Eggs, biscuits, and sausages.
80. How's the weather? Rainy
81. Do you email? Of course.
82. What's the stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone? I don't think I have done anything stupid with my phone.
83. Last time you were sick? Last week.
84. What states have you lived in? Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arizona and Alabama.
85. Do you wish you could move? Yes.
86. What is your dream car? Eleanor from "Gone in Sixty Seconds"
87. Have you ever wanted someone you can't have? Yes.
88. If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be? Orlando
89. Are you happy with your life? Overall, yes - very happy.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Extreme Sheep LED Art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

I don't know how much of this is real, but it made me laugh almost as much as Blondie does. Enjoy!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Trying to let it go

We had a wonderful time in Orlando, and I had planned to post about that today, but there's something that's been on my mind lately that I want to get off my chest. I'll post about the trip later.

I've mentioned Nate before on here. He was the guy who taught me to juggle, who I dated for a while. He's also the guy who broke up with me while I was in the hospital with my blood clot, because he couldn't be involved with someone who wasn't perfectly healthy and still be a missionary. Even after we broke up we spent most of our time together. I was still sort of his "unofficial sidekick", performing with him when he did appearances and being a roadie of sorts. Really the only thing that changed was that there wasn't any kissing going on (not that there'd been much of that before, anyway) and we no longer said we were dating. We stayed good friends, though. And he would occasionally mention how much happier he was now that we weren't dating, because he didn't really "believe" in dating - but that eventually, if I recovered from the clot okay and my doctors said I was "normal" again, we might end up married.

I have no idea why I put up with all that. He had hurt me so deeply when he broke up with me, and he made me feel terrible about myself - he constantly criticised me, saying I was fat or that I looked sick if I didn't wear lots of makeup. I wasn't fat . . . I was 5'6" and weighed 110 pounds, but he encouraged me to get healthier and so I got down to 98 pounds. If I sang in the car he'd tell me I really shouldn't; I should leave the music to others who could actually sing. And yet through all this I stayed with him, and I hoped desperately that I could get healthy enough that I would be good enough for him.

For the year after my clot, I had blood tests at least once a week and went back to my specialist several times. Before each appointment Nate would pray that the doctors would declare me "healthy". Each time that they didn't, he would blame me. He said I must not be praying hard enough, or that I wasn't asking enough people to pray for me. He said that if I prayed hard enough that God would cure me, and each time I wasn't cured it meant that I didn't have enough faith. He said that if I was a strong enough Christian that I wouldn't be sick to begin with, and if some lapse on my part had caused my illness then I would be cured as soon as I was "right with God".

After a year of this I was finally declared healthy. And I was thrilled, but of course by this time I was starting to come to my senses and I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Nate. But now that I was normal again he was apparently becoming more sure that we did belong together. I asked him once what would happen if we did get married and then I became ill. He didn't have an answer - he seemed to think such a thing was unthinkable because God would never lead him to marry someone imperfect like that. We still weren't officially dating, and I finally decided that it might be nice to see other people. I warned him I was going to, and he was fine with that. So I started dating again. A few months later, when I told Nate that Caradorn and I were seeing each other, he seemed shocked. Apparently he thought I would get tired of seeing other people and come back to him.

Even after all this we stayed friends. We still juggled together with our other partners Llama and Chelle, we still performed together, we still spent time together. But strictly as friends. He was one of the first people I called when I got engaged, and he was the first person I told (other than family) when we set a wedding date. After Caradorn and I moved to Tucson, Nate came to visit us. We kept in touch for several years after that, but lost touch when I moved to Rocket City. Recently we started communicating again. He still travels around juggling - he even performs at my church and the church in my hometown sometimes. He "friended" me on Facebook a few weeks ago, and that was when I found out the news about his Dad . . . he has cancer, and it's not looking good at this point.

I am not always a very good person. I know I have a mean streak sometimes, and I try hard to keep it under control. I have no problem being horribly mean during raging arguments, or skewering people who I think deserve it, but I try not to hit someone when they are down. What Nate and his Dad need right now is support. They need someone who is upbeat and cheerful, who believes everything will be okay. Someone who has faith and compassion and who can find just the right words to make them feel better and keep their hope alive. So when I send messages to Nate I try to sound like a little ray of sunshine, as though I believe everything will work out for the best and that soon Nate's Dad will be all better.

But that's not what I want to do. I want to ask him what his Dad did wrong. I want to ask him why his Dad didn't have enough faith to avoid getting sick to begin with. I want to ask him why God would let a missionary like him get stuck with a sick (and dying) father who he has to drive to appointments instead of dashing off to his performances. I can't believe I still feel so angry after all these years, but I really do. He made me so miserable for so long, and made me hate myself for not being perfect. Now that it's his Dad who is sick, none of those things apply any longer. Of course Nate thinks his Dad has enough faith. Of course Nate doesn't think it's his Dad's fault that he's sick. And of course I don't think it is his Dad's fault - but I don't think it was my fault I was sick, either. I so want to point out Nate's hypocrisy, but I won't. I will try my hardest to be good friend to Nate and his family, because that's what they need right now. And I know that things worked out for the best - I'm where I am supposed to be, with the person I was meant to be with. I have no regrets about that at all, but I do regret letting Nate make me feel so bad about myself for so long. Hopefully getting all this out here will let me get it out of my system once and for all. I don't want to be the kind of person who would take cheap shots at someone who is losing a family member. I don't want to be the kind of person who would even be tempted to take cheap shots, but sadly I am. I want to be a better person than that. But at least I won't let Nate know that I have any thoughts like that. Hopefully now that I've ranted about it here I can finally just let it go.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

So much to do, so little time

I've been sick for the last few days, and it's really been inconvenient timing. Not that there's ever a really good time to be sick, but this week I was supposed to be getting ready for our Orlando vacation. We had thought about going this summer, but decided on Spring Break instead because Space Mountain will be closed this summer and it's The Kidd's favorite ride. I haven't done much to prepare for the trip - I had intended to be finished with the packing by now, but I haven't really started. I'm hoping to have everything ready by tonight, though.

And speaking of inconvenient timing . . . why on earth does it always work out that Black Ship Sky and Blondie are performing when we're in Orlando on family trips but not when Caradorn and I are there without The Kidd?!? It's annoying! Blondie has a stand-up gig on Friday and Saturday, and we'll actually be in town on Saturday night, but of course we won't be going because The Kidd isn't old enough for that yet. And then at the end of the week Black Ship Sky is in concert,but The Kidd is really not old enough for that yet! I know in theory we could leave The Kidd with some of the excellent child care available, but I don't like to do that on our family trips. That's why Caradorn and I go so often without him. When we're all there, we focus on the things that all of us can do together, and when Caradorn and I go alone we do everything we can't do with The Kidd there . . . or the things that bore him to death, like meandering through World Showcase taking pictures of all the little details, or doing lots of shopping. Caradorn and I have already agreed that if Black Ship Sky or Blondie have any shows over the summer then we will leave The Kidd with my family and head down to see them. I would be really happy if we could also manage to see Snoopy and Blade perform while we're down there!

(Okay, BSS and Blondie? I promise - if you plan shows for late May, or June, or even early July, Caradorn and I will make every effort to be there! So please plan shows for then! Bonus points if we can see both of you on the same trip! And if Blade and Snoopy could be doing plays then also, that would be perfect. As long as all the times are different so we don't have to choose between you. Thanks!)

On this trip, I'll be keeping an eye out for any former Adventurers in the parks. I'm excited about the trip anyway, but I'll be even happier if we spot any familiar faces performing while we're there. I'm especially hoping to catch Lancelot or Sugar Snap at Idol and Blondie and Snoopy at Epcot. And of course I heard Chipmonk is a Citizen of Hollywood sometimes - I'd love to see him. And people have reported spotting Adventurers other places as well, so we'll be keeping our eyes peeled wherever we see entertainers just in case!

We're doing much less on Disney property this time than we've done before. We'll be going to the parks, of course, but spending much more time elsewhere as well. Instead of shopping at Downtown Disney we'll do any Disney shopping in the parks and we'll also visit the local malls. Instead of Goofy's Candy Kitchen we'll be raiding Dylan's Candy Bar, which we actually like more than Goofy's so that works out well! I'm still boycotting DTD - the one possible exception is DisneyQuest and I don't think we'll be going there this trip. We won't be going to the water parks, either - the time we would have spent there will be spent at Seaworld instead. The Kidd hasn't been to the one in Orlando so he's especially looking forward to that.

We're also planning to do more Geocaching around Orlando than we've done on previous trips. Now that we've finally gotten the hang of it and it's easier for us, it isn't such a huge investment in time to do a few park-and-grabs as we travel around town. Hopefully we'll have quite a few new "smilies" on our page when we get home.

I have so much to do today to be ready to leave tomorrow. In addition to the normal packing, I have to get the house ready for the housesitter and load the caches on the GPS. And see what we can delete from the DVR so we have room for our favorite shows to record while we're gone. And so many other things! I feel like I'll never finish it all, but I really want to be done with everything by tonight so I'll have tomorrow to deal with any last minute things that come up. Hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll be watching the clock, counting the minutes until we leave rather than running around trying to finish everything. Wish me luck . . . I'll need it.

Friday, March 06, 2009

To boldly go . . . back to Vegas!

I was unhappy when the closure of the Star Trek: The Experience was announced last year, but it was overshadowed by the fact that the Adventurers Club was also slated to close. We haven't been back to Las Vegas since the Experience closed, and though I am really anxious to get back there sometime soon I was sad that I wouldn't be able to enjoy a visit to Quark's while we were there.
Well, today there is some exciting news . . . the rumors that have been swirling for a while have turned out to be true. Star Trek: The Experience is returning to Vegas! It won't be at the Hilton, and at the beginning it may just consist of a shop and restaurant, but it will be coming back! Yay! Warp Core Breaches for everyone!
http://scifiwire.com/2009/02/confirmed-new-contract-to-keep-star-trek-the-experience-alive-in-vegas.php

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

30 Things You Wouldn't Think To Ask.

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
No! Why? What have you heard?


2. Do you close your eyes on roller coaster?
No.


3. When's the last time you've been sledding?
I can't remember - probably High School


4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
With someone else - Caradorn, of course.


5. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes


6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Sometimes, but not as much as I'd like.


7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Yes. (Though wasn't she his ex?)


8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Angelina Jolie - her movies are better.


9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics?
Yes.


10. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes, and I just bought new poker chips.


11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
No.


12. What's your favorite commercial?
Of all time? No idea. Lately? The Weight Watchers ones featuring the Hungry.


13. Who was your first love?
David


14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light?
No

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
Probably.


16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Red Sox, if I have to choose one.


17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
Yes


18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Most of the time, I think.

19. What's the one thing on your mind?
I am ready for next week.


20. Do you always wear your seat belt?
In the front seat, always. In the back seat, only if the driver makes me.


21. What talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could act. Or write really well.

22. Do you like Sushi?
Very much


23. What do you wear to bed?
Pajamas or pajama pants and a t-shirt. Or just the t-shirt.


24. Do you truly hate anyone?
No, but I really dislike a few people.


25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
I wouldn't - I'm married. If I was single . . . it depends on what you consider famous.


27. What food do you find disgusting?
I'm not real big on the idea of blood sausage or any organs.


28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
No. But in front of them, yes.


29. Have you ever been punched in the face?
Yes. But supposedly it was an accident.


30. Do you believe in angels and demons?
Yes.

Monday, March 02, 2009

A last little bit of winter

Caradorn, The Kidd and I spent some time with family in Tennessee this past weekend. We had a great time, but somehow the weekend seemed to fly by and we didn't do everything we had planned to do.

Of course we did some Geocaching while we were there. I think we must be getting better at that. We had looked for a cache there before with no luck. We knew it was hidden somewhere on or around a train that's on display there but the last time we looked for it we couldn't find it. This time we looked for a little while and as we were deciding to give up because it was starting to rain I looked over and there it was. I can't believe we missed it last time, but I was thrilled when I found it this time.

We discovered a new favorite restaurant on Saturday. It's called Crawdaddy's, and it isn't really new. It's new to us, though. We only went because they have Buzztime trivia, which we love. The food was very good and I think we'll try to go there for trivia every time we're in Cookeville from now on.

My sister and her husband just got a new pool table, so Saturday night we went over to their place to see it. I played a couple of games with Becky, and let's just say there is no danger that I will be going pro any time soon. Actually, someone suggested that we play pool the way some people play chess - by drawing diagrams and playing one game over the course of several months - and that might not be a bad idea. I somehow managed to hit the balls in such a way that they would bounce around and end up almost exactly where they had been before I hit them. And this happened several times. Becky was much better than I was, but of course that's not saying much. She really was fairly good though. I was so bad it was almost embarrassing. Somehow I just can't see how to aim, which is especially bad since I am usually pretty good at visualizing things. And I can juggle fairly well, so I know that I do have some hand-eye coordination, but you wouldn't know it from watching me play pool.

We stayed at their house far later than we had intended to, and by the time we left it had started to sleet pretty heavily. The roads were fine, though, so we headed back to my parents house. By the time we were ready to go to sleep it was about 2:00 in the morning. We glanced outside and were quite shocked to see that it was snowing so much that it looked like a blizzard outside. We have seen very little snow over the past couple of years, so we ran to the front porch to watch it for a bit. I'm really glad no one was out driving through the neighborhood then, because I'm sure they would have found it a little strange that Caradorn and I were outside having a snowball fight in our pajamas and bare feet at that time of the morning. (Although I guess really it would have been odd no matter what time it was.) Yes, we should have taken time to change clothes and put some shoes on. But it was so late, and we weren't thinking all that clearly, and I was afraid that it would stop snowing and we would miss it. We did have fun, at least.

Now we're back home in Rocket City, and although it did snow here as well the snow didn't stick around to wait for us. It's freezing today, but by the end of the week it's supposed to be in the 70s. I guess that was probably our last taste of winter for the year. That's just as well, though. I am ready for warm weather again! Hopefully I'll be enjoying the warmth while basking in the sun in a couple of weeks, since we're heading to Orlando for Spring Break. We hinted wildly about the trip to The Kidd while we were driving home from Cookeville, but somehow he doesn't seem to have picked up on it yet. We are going to try more hinting tonight. I'm really excited about it, and I think he will be too if he ever figures out that we're going. He seems tired of the cold weather, too. And if we decide we miss the snow too much, we can always get another taste of it by riding Wild Arctic while we're at Seaworld or by spending the day at Blizzard Beach!