Awesome show. If you ever go, every seat is a great seat and they sell student tickets for $35 the day of at the box office. We bought a drum head- at one point in the show they beat their drum with a different colored paint on each head. It creates a cool effect between the three of them.
The next day I woke up to buy my first Vinylmation. Vinylmations are yet another Disney collectable. They are mickey shaped figurines that are painted differently for each set. There are park sets that are themed after different attractions in the parks, or some sets that are themed after different characters in movies. I find them to be just another profit for Disney. Alas, I did fall in love with one.
It was a 9 inch figure (bigger than the normal 3 inch ones, which are tradable). And it was themed after the movie, UP. Probably my favorite Pixar film. A wonderful soundtrack and beautiful graphics. Plus a great story line.
And so I woke up early to arrive at the story a whole half hour before open and there was STILL a line around the building.
I got the last one :)
The start of a great day. I celebrated with friends the next night at Seito, a decent Japanese restaurant (try the "boat" if you ever go) in downtown Celebration, the big win in New York for Gay Rights. Since I have a lot of gay friends here (and hardly any in Memphis) we were a decent group. This has been a long time coming. And for any conservative who thinks someone else doesn't have the right to love, I would love to ask how many divorces they've had.
So much for a sacred vow.
I don't believe Jesus ever hated "the gays." In fact, he said, "above all, love." The only place in the Bible that talks about hating gays is in Leviticus. A book full of other rules that no one (Christians included) follows these days. All in all, there is nothing wrong in not following them. But Jesus came to break down a rule filled religion.
But clearly it's just easier to live by made up rules than love.
The next day a friend and I hung out at EPCOT. I finally saw Captain EO, a 3D film revolving around Michael Jackson and his sweet dance moves. Before, the area housed "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience," but soon after his death, they brought Captain EO back. Afterwards we hit up the Figment ride, something I believe was designed by Imagineers on acid. Trust me.
We ended the day with playing in the jumping fountains outside of the space. A fun time for sure. Makes for great pictures.
Wednesday I had volunteer training for Give Kids the World. Give Kids the World is an organization that houses families from wish giving organizations, the major one being Make-A-Wish. These terminally-ill kids and their families stay at Give Kids the World for the week, a wonderfully themed place with no signs of medical facilities around. In fact, the closest hospital is here in Celebration. They sought to remove all things hospital for this one week the kids get. So much so that some parents choose to stay off property instead and are still permitted use of the facilities, like the awesome pool or giant Candyland (they play live candyland every sunday night). The families stay in really nice houses for the week.
Their volunteers are just as organized as St. Jude. They allow seasonal people and snow birds alike to volunteer and have plenty of committed volunteers every week. I have my first shift tomorrow bright and early serving breakfast and I"m super excited. Volunteers do anything from greet at the airport, check-in, drive the pizza cart or cookie cart (each delivering free food items of their name).
All this week through my runs I have been listening to Cold War Kids latest album "Mine Is Yours." It is well worth the money. Especially since they aren't well known yet. Get to know them and buy their album now on iTunes before they get big. I promise they will.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to dive in Boynton Beach (about a 3 hour drive from here). It was a drift dive from a boat. Drift dives are always nice since they require little swimming and are great with helping to practice buoyancy. Maintaining buoyancy on a dive is important. You can waste air going up and down and waste energy trying to keep swimming down. If you don't watch it you can move up too fast and really hurt yourself. By hurt yourself, I mean having a nitrogen bubble in you blood or muscles, or worst, your brain. If you move too quickly back up the nitrogen you breath in through your tank that is naturally in the air we breath everyday doesn't have time to adjust and can move straight from your lungs into your blood stream, or, if they are already in your blood stream just as particles, they can move from the stream into your muscles, creating a very uncomfortable bump in there. In essence, you can only get rid of them with a decompression chamber, which will run you about 100k.
Not kidding.
Get dive insurance. Health insurance NEVER covers that stuff.
Anyway, the dives were great and easy. I dove with a guy I had just met that was willing to carpool down with me. He had gotten certified the week earlier in the nearby freshwater springs. I was excited to be there for his first ocean dive. On the second dive he got out his camera. You can buy a casing for your camera that will withstand the pressure and keep it from getting wet, but be prepared to spend around $200 for it. We saw a 10 foot nurse shark.
Incredible.
Completely harmless of course, but it was amazing to see one so big.
We ate at a local place called Hurricane's which has great Marlin Dip as an appetizer. Last night was a wonderful sleep as always. Sleeping off nitrogen really gives you a great and deep sleep.
Today we kept it easy with laying by the pool at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club where my roommates parents were staying while they were down to visit for the week. It is a beautiful property. But I don't think I would ever take out a mortgage to stay there as a timeshare owner. I guess I have never understood timeshare ownership. I think it is mostly pride.
"Why yes, I have a Hilton (Disney, Marriott, etc) timeshare. I'm an OWNER."
If I take out a mortgage, I intend on one day owning that house. Timeshare is just owning time. Even once you pay it off, you still have maintenance fees. What happens if your finances hit the fan?
Bad move buying timeshares. Don't do it. It's a waste for sure.
We ended the evening watching Disney's Fourth of July fireworks from the beach of the Polynesian resort. Watching any Magic Kingdom firework show from the Polynesian is grand, but if you want to do it for any of the three night of the fourth of July fireworks (two days before and day of so guests can watch the fireworks at EPCOT and Hollywood Studios as well), I reccomend it from there with a dole whip in hand (which you can purchase from Captain Hooks, expect a line. The parks are crazy crowded fourth of july weekend so plan ahead. You can' park at any of the resorts during the weekend unless you're staying there or you have dining reservations there. We made fake reservations last night and tonight to eat at Kona Cafe so we could get in (they keep a list of reservation holders at the front security office to get in). They were wonderful, of course, and I can't wait to see tomorrows shows at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.
Being back at work these past couple weeks has felt a little out of place at moments. When I worked here, I worked with incredible people that made my internship a great time. Since then I have only worked once or twice every six months to maintain my proficiencies where I work and keep my perks. Now that I am working more often, it is a little less fun and feels like I'm working with strangers. They are all fun, but at the same time, it isn't my team. I miss them all dearly, but I feel like I"m living in a memory. I feel as if so many people try and keep the great times alive by extending their programs and moving down here after school.
But it isn't the same.
I have had great times in my life with great people I had just met as we came together for an extended period of time. But there comes a time for goodbyes in every chapter in life and it is best to accept that for what it is. Being seasonal the last almost two years has made for great vacations (I mean who else goes to Disney for free). And who knows, maybe I will maintain my seasonal status for the rest of my life. But after this, I don't think I will be moving down here for Disney. Sure, I am thankful that I discovered who I was here and I feel as if I will never let that go again, but I don't want to ruin my love for this place. Now I feel like the scene in Titanic where Rose revisits the ship in her mind and everyone she met was there as normal.
But that's all it is.
A memory.
A memory to maintain and keep you moving forward.
A memory to help you remember what you love and why you loved it so you make for a better life ahead.
Much love.
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