If I ever feel better

Today I am trying to motivate myself to draw. I haven't done a serious drawing in over a year and considering I went to school for drawing...that's pretty bad. However, since it's been that long since I've drawn anything I'm kind of scared to draw again. What if I can't draw anymore? What if I never really could draw in the first place? What if this is all a dream?

I'd like to do a drawing of Bag End so I've been looking at a lot of cover art of the Hobbit. Ideally, I'd like to draw it in a van Gogh-esque style but that might be a little tricky with pastels. All of my acrylic paint dried up years ago (I used to be a painting major) and I don't have the funds to buy new paint so that's out. I do have some watercolors but I've never been very skilled with wet media. Maybe if this pastel drawing comes out okay I'll try it with watercolors. Maybe.

In other news, I went to a party on Friday with all my mates. It was a mustache themed party. There was a game where you had to identify the celebrity just by their mustache and I won. I guess I'm a mustache expert. I'll have to add that to my list of talents. As usual, I was the only one not drinking since I'm the quintessential "wet blanket" at parties. By about 11:30pm everyone was pretty smashed and before I knew it they were all singing at the top of their lungs and dancing to Ke$ha. Being a hipster, I'm not that into "popular" music so I had never heard any of her music. Me and my friend Heather aren't really into dancing so we were both sitting on the couch looking uncomfortable. It wasn't very long before everyone grabbed her and made her dance and I worried that my turn was next. For once my worries were justified because soon enough I was being dragged off the couch and thrown into the center of the dance party. At this point I had no other choice--I had to dance. For the first time in my 29 years on this planet I danced in public and I wasn't that bad at it. It's not like I don't ever dance, in fact, I dance quite often but only in the privacy of my own home. At least I wasn't forced to sing. That I cannot do. It's not that I can't sing, it's just that I won't. So don't ask.

Anywho, tomorrow I'm going to see one of my favorite bands. I haven't been to an actual concert in ages. I've been to plenty of shows but not concerts. I'm usually too cheap but I figured since my birthday was coming up that I'd treat myself to a real concert. It should be fun. 

Now back to the drawing board for me--LITERALLY!

The Birthday Approaches

Yesterday was a fun day. I attended my Harry Potter bookclub (although I've read them loads of times but I'll take any opportunity to talk about Harry Potter). As usual we didn't discuss the assigned reading very in depth. Mostly we just talked about random topics including but not limited to cats, food, shoes, etsy, lion king, crafts, tobogganing, and okcupid. 

Maddie found us a Patronus test since we're currently reading "The Order of the Phoenix" and my patronus was a Snowy Owl. Not too shabby. The best part of the meeting was looking at Harry Potter book cover art from its various translations. Some were pretty wicked but others were just...strange to say the least. Anyway, I must say that I'm very happy to have met all of these lovely ladies. I don't think I've ever had an entire group of female friends. I usually hang out with one or two friends at a time and they usually belong to separate social groups so it's refreshing to have a whole gang who are all friends with each other. I'm also happy that these girls are active and like to go out and do things. I've always been a bit of a homebody and it's gotten a little stagnant over the years so I'm really enjoying going out more and trying new things. 

In other news, I'm currently planning my 29th birthday party. Since this will be my last year of my twenties I've decided to have a "Kid Party" theme. Everyone will dress in kid's clothes and we'll play lots of games. I might even buy an ice cream cake :p

I'm still in the midst of my job search but in between I've been working on inventory for my Etsy store. Here's my most recent embroideries: 

I guess that's all for now but if it's not too much to ask, keep your fingers crossed that Mama finds a good job soon. Thanks, lovelies!

Beware of Traveling Ghosts

On Tuesday I got back from having a lovely holiday with my dear dear Ashley. Lemme tell you about it!

We started our journey on Saturday morning. Ashley's little boy, Ben, had only been to Disneyland as a baby so he had no memory of going to the park so it was supposed to be a surprise for him. Me having a terrible short term memory managed to say "Disneyland" about 10 times on the drive there but luckily, Ben was too consumed with the I-pad to notice. Since Ashley and I don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, there was a lot of chatting going on in the car, so much chatting that we missed our exit to get onto I-8 and had to drive about an hour out of our way. Oops! We stopped for Chipotle in Yuma and I managed to eat most of my burrito without getting carsick! WIN!

We stayed at her mom's boyfriend's house in San Diego and they had a gorgeous view (I saw tons of Anna's Hummingbirds and a Rufous Hummingbird too). That first night we decided to go shopping and got crazy lost. Her mom let us borrow her GPS and it had an Australian accent that was impossible to understand. Ashley got so stressed out trying to find Target. It was kind of hilarious (wouldn't have been if I was the one driving). When we got back home we ate fajitas, watched 10 billion episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (one of my fave shows) and got to see Jupiter with a bitchin' telescope--yes, it was worthy of the word "bitchin'". The kitty who lived in the house was a sweetheart and we made friends very quickly. His name was Izzy and he had the cutest little fangs :3

The next day we had waffles then went to La Jolla Beach and saw the seals. It was super duper cool! Here's some pics!

The last time I saw seals was at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco when I was a wee lass. The seals at La Jolla looked so happy just soaking up the sun. There were lots of baby seals too that were sooooo cute! Loved it! I did a bit of wading too because I can't get that close to the Pacific without at least putting a toe in but I zoned out for a minute and my pants got all wet. Rats! We had sammiches for lunch then I took a big girl nap. When I woke up Ashley and I decided to make Pina Coladas (I don't normally drink but I was on vacation so I thought what the hey!) We went to this Vietnamese grocery store by her mom's house to get the ingredients that was so cool! They had stuff from all over Asia. We got a kick out of all the bizarre snax they had (ie: cuttle fish chips, pizza-flavored seaweed, milk-flavored Hello Kitty chews). I got some red bean moichi since people are always eating it in the mangas I read but it was too weird for me (Dad liked it). I had two Pina Coladas and they had no effect on me. Hmmm...


The next day we went to Disneyland. The story we had told Ben was that first we were going to the World's Biggest Grocery Store (he hates grocery stores) then to the Natural History Museum (boring!). He totally bought it...he bought it a little too much. When we got to the parking lot of Disneyland we asked him where we were and he said, "The museum!" When we got out of the car we thought all the kids in princess costumes would give it away but he still didn't catch on. We kept waiting for him to realize where we were and freak out but he never did. Even when Ashley bought his park ticket he was totally oblivious. Finally she shoved a map to the park in his face and made him read it. We got to see the lightbulb turn on in his head for about 2 seconds but there was no freak out. Later he got pretty excited but not what we'd been hoping for.

Our first ride was Splash Mountain and at first he liked it but after the big drop he HATED IT. He said, "I don't want to go on that again for the rest of my life!" He's a funny kid, he didn't really want to go on any of the big rides even though he was big enough to. Ashley and I had to go on Space Mountain and the Matterhorn by ourselves. I was sure he was going to like Indiana Jones but he didn't like that either! The only rides he seemed to enjoy were Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, the Tea Cups, Star Tours, and It's a Small World. Strange...

I made the mistake of asking if he wanted to check out Tarzan's Treehouse, which turned out to kill my knee again. My knee had never fully healed from my Florida trip and going up and down 200 stairs killed it. By about 5pm my knee nearly gave out completely. I had to limp the rest of the day but I still had fun. We got in the front on a lot of rides too. Space Mountain was probably my fave this time since Big Thunder is closed until November. I got a lanyard (finally) for my pin collection and a Donald Duck pin. I also got Ashley and I some mini mouse ears that were so cute! We got so many compliments on them. This trip I actually watched the fireworks show and it was AWESOME! It was narrated by Julie Andrews and they did a different theme for all of the big rides. For example, they projected ghosts onto the castle for the Haunted Mansion and shot off green and purple fireworks while playing audio from the ride. I got so excited when a live actress dressed as Tinkerbell flew all around the castle. At first I thought it was a puppet but then when she did a flip I was like "WHOA! That's a real lady!" It was great! I highly recommend watching the fireworks show in front of Cinderella's Castle. Oh, and one more notable thing, I saw barf for the first time at Disneyland! In the 28 years I've been going to Disneyland I've never seen barf. Mind you, it wasn't technically in the park but it was right outside the gates. Pretty wild! Anyway, here's some pics from our day at the park:

Grumpy Cats

The last day of our trip we drove down to Newport Beach but it was so windy and cold that we only stayed about 5 minutes. We got grilled cheeses for lunch then were back on the rode by 1:30pm. Ashley and I listened to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on the drive and now she wants to read the books this summer. YAY!

So in conclusion, I had a great trip and am looking forward to going on more trips with Ashley in the future since we travel so well together. 

Oh, and I have another interview on Monday so wish me luck on that!

Happy Friday! 

Donny, you're out of your element

So...I didn't get that job but whatever, man. I was pretty bummed about it for a few days but I'm over it. I have to remember my mantra: "Fuck it, Dude." Although I'm not a religious person, I'm still a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Everything in this life is interconnected and that job wasn't on my path. Something will turn up and even if the job I do end up getting isn't the best job ever, there's something (or someone) that I need to learn/meet there. Looking back on my job history, even though all the jobs I've had have felt pointless  and even shitty at times, I gained something from all of them. Let me illustrate that for you:

*Toy Store: first job where I met my best friend and soul twin, Ashley. Also learned a valuable life lesson, working SUCKS.

*The Hotel (I won't name names because I'm now aware that companies use search tools so they can find any and every post ever that mentions their company's name. Cool, Big Brother!): first full time job where I got over a lot of my shyness and fear of people. Before I got this job I couldn't even order a pizza for myself! Even though this job felt absolutely soul crushing at times (all the time) I grew a lot as an individual. I also learned that the more money you have the more of an asshole you become (for the most part).

*Another Hotel: I learned to get verbally abused by strangers without crying! I also learned that I work very well with males. All the dudes I worked with at the hotel were true blue. There was no drama or cattiness between myself and my male coworkers. They always had my back.

*Baby Store: I learned that I'm more intelligent than 90% of the human population. 

*Student Paper: I learned that I'm able to meet deadlines and have leveled up to Responsible Adult. Also gained validation for making comics for over a decade.

*Educational Store: Gained more people skills and realized that I have a likeable personality! Major bonus points for the old self-image! Made lots of friends, including another one of my bestest friends,  Heather, and also noticed that I'm a fast learner (wasn't aware of that up until this point). Also, through the support of a coworker discovered a talent I didn't know I had! Opened up an online craft business as a result!

Craft Store: Met lots and lots of great people and instantly made friends in a new store and a new city. Was surprised how everyone liked me even though I felt shy and boring. Got more skilled at making small talk with strangers.

So as you can see, skills and friends were gained from all of these employers even though they weren't "prestigious" jobs and I hated most of them while I worked at them. 

Yesterday I went on a bike ride with my old man and he really helped put everything in perspective for me. He said, "If you really look at it, your life is pretty great. All you really need to be truly happy is a job you can stand and a significant other. Two things! How many people can say that? Most people need two things and then a hundred other things to be happy!" And I realized that he was right. If I had an okay job and a man who loved me, I'd be the happiest girl who ever lived! Over the years I've gotten to the point where I like who I am and I've found people and hobbies that bring me joy. All that's missing is a bearable job and a babe. What gets me down the most is how hard it's been finding this man. But, as long as I believe that everything happens the way it's supposed to, I have to believe that he'll come into my life when he's supposed to. When the planets (and myself) are in perfect alignment that's when he'll find me. Gotta stay POSITIVE!

 Back to the topic of working, although they're not that lucrative (yet) my embroidery hoops have been selling like hotcakes lately! Here's some of my most recent work:

All of these hoops have been shipped off to their new homes and that makes me very happy. It's cool to think that my work is all over the continental USA and also on a few other continents as well. 

Oh! And more good news before I get back to the job boards today, this Saturday I'm leaving for San Diego with Ashley! She's taking her little boy to Disneyland for Spring Break and asked me to come along. Even though I know I just went to Disney World a month ago and I really should be saving my money, how often to you get to go to Disneyland with your best friend and only have to pay for your food and ticket? Not very often. 

Okay, back to the grind for me but hope your Thursday is a good one! 

Take her easy!

A is for Anxiety

Since my last post life has been a little...hectic. I was hoping that the Universe would give me a bit of a break since last year was such a stress-inducing time for me but 2013 seems to be following suit.

For the past month and a half I've been busily looking for employment. I've been to a few interviews but haven't really found anything I'd want to do long term. One job I applied for sounded promising but they didn't offer health care "at this time" so I had to turn it down. As a life-long hypochondriac a good health insurance plan is indispensable when seeking a potential employer. It's scary to think that I've been without health coverage for 5 years now. Talk about playing with fire. Luckily, I've been relatively healthy up to this point...but lately I haven't been feeling too good. Since I came home from Florida I've been feeling weird. I don't know if it's just stress or if there actually is something wrong with me. Being a person who suffers from Anxiety Disorder it's often hard to tell. Anxiety can cause so many physical symptoms that it's difficult to differentiate between a "real" symptom and an anxiety related one. In case you're curious about the plethura of body symptoms that anxiety can cause, here's a short list:

-chest discomfort/tightness
-heart palpitations
-dizziness
-tingling in hands/limbs
-numbness in hands/limbs
-headaches
-diarrhea
-jaw pain
-disorientation/confusion
-hyperventilation
-nausea
-muscle tension
-body aches/pains
-trembling
-fatigue
-feelings of unreality
-depression

I've struggled with anxiety for most of my life and have experienced all of these symptoms at some point. It's not fun and overcoming this disorder is a life long battle. In the past decade I've made tremendous progress but sadly, you don't ever get cured from this condition. A lot of it is biological and runs in families but it can be intensified by one's environment. My great grandmother had it, my grandmother, my mother and then me. That's a big reason I don't want to have any children; I don't want this to be passed onto my child. Even if I was to adopt, my neurotic-ism is bound to be picked up by my child. Honestly, I wouldn't wish this disorder on anyone. Life is hard enough. 

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'll get back on topic now. So before my trip to Florida I met someone new. It wasn't an ideal situation but I've been trying to live more in the moment this year and not living too far in the future. It's been a long time since I've been in a real relationship and this person seemed really special. The last time I started a new relationship I had to go on Paxil and almost lost my damn mind so you can imagine that the thought of another relationship could cause me to freak out a little bit. On top of that, I had two interviews for a really great job opportunity. If I were to get this job I would be able to be financially independent, I'd have health coverage from day one, and I'd be able to get my own apartment. So there's a lot of pressure over this job on my shoulders right now. Both of these things on their own would be enough to cause a panic attack but together they are an unstoppable team of anxiety inducing chemicals! Oh, and I forgot to add the icing to this stress cake! After my first date with this potential suitor my mom has another SEIZURE! I had just come home from having a great time to having to call 911 and follow an ambulance to the the emergency room. Good times! Since then I've been on constant alert wondering if my mom is going to keel over. 

This past week I went to my in person interview. I had prepped for this interview like a madwoman and when I got there they didn't ask me a SINGLE question I'd prepared for! I felt like I did okay despite having to make up examples on the spot but after the interview they said it was a pleasure meeting me and thanked me for coming in. I was hoping they'd give me a time frame of when they'd make their decision but no such luck. Two days after my interview things came to a screeching halt with new romantic interest. Although I knew from the start that this relationship had no long term potential I was still majorly disappointed. It's rare for me to even entertain the possibility of letting someone new into my heart these days and then for it to fall apart so quickly... Anyway, so back to me feeling weird. I was hoping that since one of the stressors had been removed that I would start feeling better but unfortunately, the vertigo I've been feeling for the past 2 weeks has only intensified. My head feels like it's spinning and since it's a symptom I haven't encountered in my long term experience with anxiety it has me a little freaked out. It's kind of a vicious cycle, really. Your brain causes these physical symptoms in response to the stressful event you're experiencing but people who suffer from A.D. become so concerned with these physical symptoms that they completely disregard whatever the initial stressor was and focus entirely on their physical health. It's counterproductive if you ask me and I wish my brain would realize this. 

What's bothering me the most is the fact that I can't even go to a doctor to get checked out. It would ease my mind so much to be able to go to the doctor and get a physical exam. It's so crazy to live in a country where you can't even go to the doctor when you're sick unless you have insurance. It should be a basic human right to have access to health care. What if I DO have a brain tumor or something and didn't get checked out until it was too late? If that happens, America, it is your FAULT.

Hopefully, I don't have a brain tumor but as a hypochondriac, whenever I feel any kind of discomfort my mind immediately thinks it's cancer. Seriously, every time. 

Well, I'll let you know if I get this job and I'll keep you updated on my hypothetical tumor.

Take her easy!

Your neurotic friend,

Courtney
  

Operation Vacation

On February 1, 2013 a dream twelve years in the making came true. I got to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and it was one of the best days of my life. I'll even admit that I got a little emotional at parts. My expectations were pretty high but I'm happy to say that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter exceeded all of them. Let me tell you all about the vacation to end all vacations.

It all started back in July 2012. My friend Heather was feeling pretty overwhelmed due to her new grown up job and I was feeling a little blue because I was all alone in Seattle and had no job and no friends. I thought maybe if we had something to look forward to it would help us through our current situations. When we were on the phone one night I suggested we plan a trip together and she asked me where I was thinking. I said, "OH MY GOD! We could go to Harry Potter World!" She concurred. I soon found a job and the trip became a real possibility. Since I couldn't request anytime off from Oct-Dec at my job we decided the end of January would work best. As you might know, I decided to come back to Arizona in December so it sucked having to rebook my plane ticket but you win some and you lose some (that's what people say when something sucky happens, right?) It was crazy how fast the time when by but before we knew it, January was here! At this point I'll start at Day 1 of the trip.

I'll tell you right now that I was NOT looking forward to Day 1. As a person with anxiety disorder, traveling is always pretty nerve racking. As much as I want to just enjoy myself, there's a moderate amount of anxiety ever present when I travel. In addition, I hadn't been on an airplane in 5 years and I would be flying ALONE for the first time. Since I had originally booked my ticket for Seattle to Orlando I had to book again with the same airline in order to get my credit back--that meant Heather and I would fly separately. My flight left at 7:15am so I had to be up at 4:50AM. If you know me well, you'll know I'm a night owl so just the mere thought of waking up that early was dreadful. Little did I know I would be waking up at 5am almost everyday for the next 5 days. >______<  I had a connecting flight to Atlanta because a non-stop flight was mad expensive so I arrived in Georgia around 9:40am (11:40am FL time). First flight wasn't so bad. I got to read my book (1Q84) and got an aisle seat (looooove the aisle). Connecting flight...not so good. I got a window seat this time and was watching all the people boarding the plane when I see this dude holding the cutest little Asian baby. I thought, "Oh, my goodness! What a beautiful baby!" I totally geek out whenever I see Asian children; I think they're just the cutest children ever (sorry non-asian children!) So then the dude with the bebe sits next to me and gets out his I-pad for the baby to watch "Power Rangers", which I thought was funny because I watched that show as a wee lass. However, eventually the I-pad along with all other electronic devices needed to be turned off in order to prepare for takeoff. That's when I walked into a NIGHTMARE. This baby completely lost his shit and screamed his fuggin' guts out for 40 minutes!!! I thought my head was going to EXPLODE! Everyone in the plane was in agony. Nothing could calm this child. Finally the plane took off and the flight attendant brought him some juice and he shut his yapper. Lawd, I definitely could never have a baby. I'd lose my DAMN MIND.

Anywaaaaay, I met up with Heather at MCO airport and we took the shuttle back to the hotel. There was a Carraba's within walking distance from the hotel so we had that for dinner (and for dinner every night of the trip--their pizza is AMAZING!) Mama didn't sleep well that night because the fuggin' air conditioner was loud as hell and I'm the lightest sleeper of all time. The morn came way too soon and I had to haul my corpse out of bed and try my hardest to get psyched about my first visit to Disney World. Once we got to the park I perked up and got really really really excited. You can tell I've reached maximum excitement when I start jumping and clapping like a 5 year old. The Magic Kingdom was kind of disconcerting, though. It was like a Bizarro World Disneyland. Like in Wayne's World when Garth says, "We're looking down on Wayne's basement, only that's not Wayne's basement." It was a strange feeling. They were doing some kind of construction in Fantasyland so there was this abysmal crane in almost all of our pictures of Cinderella's Castle. Such a bummer. Here's a few pic from the MK:

As for rides, Disney World can't compete with Disneyland. The only major rides they had were Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain (which was CLOSED). When I realized there was no Indiana Jones I was devastated. When I found out there were no Matterhorn Bobsleds, I wanted to cry! Somehow I managed to get frontsies on Space Mountain the second time we went on it and that was pretty pretty pretty good. I screamed my guts out because I was honestly worried I was going to fall out. It seems so much faster being in the front and we were seated in a line instead of two together. Big Thunder was pretty wicked too but again, I still prefer D-land's.  For lunch we ate in Tomorrowland and I had the absolute worst sandwich of my life. They only had ONE item I could eat in the whole GD park and of course it had to be disgusting. :/

All day we searched for the churrio guy and around 4pm we finally found him. However, as soon as we started eating them we got attacked by seagulls! It was SO SCARY! I'd never had birds flying into my head before. Even now I'm still pretty paranoid whenever a bird flies over my head. Totally traumatized. I didn't really buy much at the park since I knew I was likely to go crazy at Harry Potter World. All I bought were some Minnie Ears and a Daisy Duck pin to add to my collection. 

Day 2 was the BIG day. We had planned our entire trip around this day so there was a lot of excitement surrounding it. Again we woke up with the sun in order to make the shuttle. We got all decked out in our costumes, I went as Bellatrix Lestrange (gotta represent Slytherin) and Heather went as Luna Lovegood. Heather had been apprehensive to go to the park in cosplay but it turned out to work in our favor. Everyone at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was SOOOOOO nice to us. We got treated like royalty the entire day. We didn't come across one employee who wasn't totally awesome. Everyone was so happy to be there and their personalities were true to their houses. When we walked into Hogsmeade it was like a dream. We were really there in this world that we had only seen on film and in our imaginations. It was surreal. When we approached the castle our hearts about burst.  The castle was phenomenally beautiful in the morning light; I was in complete awe of it. Inside Hogwarts castle was Harry's Forbidden Journey which is without a doubt one of the most fantastic rides ever built. Just waiting in line was a joy. We could not believe the attention to detail that went into building this world. The designers didn't miss a thing (we even peeked in the bathrooms to see if there was anything special in there too and Moaning Murtle was talking to you in there!) It blew me away. You started off in the herbology greenhouses then you walk into the castle. In the hallway you walk past the hourglasses that were filled with jewels for each house then at the end there's the gold phoenix statue that leads up to Dumbledore's office. Next we walked through a room with moving portraits all the way up to the ceiling. There were portraits of the founders of each house and they were all arguing with each other. It was really cool to see what they all looked like since they never showed them in the films. When we rounded the corner we were inside Dumbledore's office and they had put in a video of Dumbledore talking to you. It looked like he was really there speaking to you from above his desk. All of his little trinkets were all there too including the pensieve. Bloody brilliant. Next was the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and inside was Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were explaining how they were going to sneak all of us Muggles into the castle. So so cute! Again, this classroom was exactly as it is in the film so you really felt like you were there. Next was the Griffyndor Common Room that had gorgeous tapestries all over the walls, it was so cozy. The only thing I wish it had had was the fire going with Sirius's face inside it. That would've been super duper cool. Last was the Sorting Hat that gave directions on how to get onto the ride. When we got onto the ride the girl (who was a Slytherin) said, "You're Ravenclaw and Slytherin, right?" and we said yes. Then she said, "Anything's better than Griffyndor." Eek! Loved it!

This ride was mind blowing. The way they mixed video with live props was flawless. The ride begins with Hermione using flew powder to get you into the castle and we all had to yell "Observatory". Then you're flying and are greeted by Harry and Ron on their brooms. Honestly, it all felt so real! You follow them up into the air past Hagrid on the bridge who asks if anyone's seen a dragon. You turn the corner and a humongous dragon is chasing you! You fly into the castle and it scratches the walls. Then you turn another corner and an animatronic dragon's head is right in your face and breathes tons of smoke in your face. It was so awesome and unexpected that I got EMOTIONAL! The rest of the ride I'm half laughing and crying with joy! I could not believe how wonderful and realistic it was. I honestly felt like I was in this world that I'd fantasized about since I was 17 years old. I'd grown up with this story and these films. It was a total dream come true. Anyway, back to the ride! After the dragon you go through the Forbidden Forest with all the spiders everywhere. Next you go onto the quidditch pitch and there's dementors all over the field. Harry yells "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" and you follow him into the Chamber of Secrets. You get to fly past the basilisk's skeleton and the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin. When you come out you fly through the main entrance and into the Great Hall where you're greeted by all the students and Dumbledore who are all waving at you (I waved back every time).

When we got off the ride we were both like, "OH MY GOD!" then we both got really emotional again. It was great. We bought a ton of stuff in Filch's Emporium, got on the ride again, then got in line for Ollivander's. The Ollivander's show was great. They let about 20 people in at a time and the wand master chooses a child who looks about 11-12. Then that child gets to try out a few wands until a wand "chooses" them. It was so cute! The first wand the little girl tried made the books go flying off the shelves (the dude used his wand to fix them). For the second wand he asked her to point it at some flowers and say "Aguamenti" and instead of watering them, it made them wilt (again he fixed everything with this wand). When she took the third wand a spotlight came on her and the same music that played when Harry's wand chose him started playing. So cool! We then went into the shop and picked out our own wands. I chose Dumbledore's since he's my favorite character and I thought it'd be cool to own the Elder Wand. Heather decided to get "her" wand. They had wands for the month you were born in which was pretty awesome but I had my heart set on the Death Stick :p We also got Timeturners and the guy who helped ring us up was also totally awesome (and cute!) He gave me a high five for being a fellow Slytherin. I got some postcards too since they postmark them from Hogsmeade.Heather wanted to get some too (they were right next to the counter) but she walked right past them and the guy said to me, "Are you sure she's a Ravenclaw?" and whispered, "She's really Hufflepuff." and we giggled (Heather didn't think it was funny).

Next we went on the Flight of the Hippogriff which was more of a kid's rollercoaster. It was cute though, and we went on it twice. The second time Heather filmed it and you could hear me screaming "HAGRRRRRIIIIDDD!" as we went flying around the corner. We watched a few shows after that. They had the boys from Durmstrang and the girls from Beauxbatons dance. It was pretty neat. Next we went on the Dragon Challenge. This was a big kid's ride! It was NUTS! My wig almost flew off my head! There were two lines, one for the Hungarian Horntail and another for the Chinese Firebolt. They had a separate line for people who wanted to sit in the front seat so we got in that line (twice). The first time we went on it we had trouble getting off the ride and the girl who helped Heather out of her seat said, "Are you sure you're a Ravenclaw?" Ouch! (I laughed big time)

Since we had tried all the rides by this point we decided we should eat lunch (I felt so dizzy and gross from not eating all day). We went in the Three Broomsticks and got mac & cheese. Heather got a butterbeer and let me taste it. It was surprisingly pretty tasty. After lunch we went shopping in Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeyduke's Sweets Shop. Honeyduke's was so lovely! It was all pastel colors, pinks, mints and yellows. I had planned on buying a ton of candy there but quickly changed my mind when I saw the prices. Heather bought a chocolate frog and some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that we shared later. I was getting pretty sick of being in my costume by this point (my wig was very tight and uncomfortable) so we decided to go on the Forbidden Journey one more time in costume then we'd go back to our lockers and change. I'm glad we did because when we got into line one of the boys who worked there said, "Hello students! I don't want you to be late to your classes so when you get to the prefect inside tell them Tyler sent you and they'll help you get there on time." We were like, "Oookaaayy!" When we got to the next person we told them Tyler sent us and they let us get into the Express Pass line (it's equivalent to a fastpass but costs extra) and we went right to the common room with no line! So awesome! The next girl we met asked us for our Express Passes and we timidly said that Tyler had sent us and she said, "Go right ahead!" Awww yeah! I love love love getting to cut to the front of the line. It's the BEST!

After that ride Heather wanted to go on the Mummy Ride so I stayed behind and changed clothes. I still felt pretty whoozy from doing too much for the past few days and decided I should eat something again so I wandered over to Comic Stripland and got some fries. I really really needed a nap by that point but there wasn't any place to lie down. When Heather got back we went back to Hogsmeade and rode the Forbidden Journey ride one last time and got some Pumpkin Juice. Our shuttle was supposed to pick us up at 6:55pm and we still needed to go pick up all our shopping bags they'd held for us at the Trading Post. The dude took forever to find all of Heather's bags so we had to run about a mile back to the parking lot all while holding 10,000 bags. I was completely out of breath by the time we reached the shuttle stop and the moment we got there it was DRIVING AWAY! So we had to get a taxi back. Totally uncool. When we got back to the hotel my knee was totally fucked up. I have bad knees and am not supposed to run so my knee got all swollen and hurt like a mutha. Anyway, here's some pics from our day at Hogwarts:

The next morning my knee hurt WAY worse than the night before and I limped all over Animal Kingdom and Epcot. It seriously sucked. I took Ibuprofen but it didn't help at all. I honestly felt like crying all day, that's how much pain I was in. It was unfortunate that I hurt my knee the day we were supposed to do the most walking. I was also completely exhausted and pretty dehydrated too so I felt like shit the entire day. I worried I was going to pass out the all day, that's how bad I felt. Animal Kingdom was kind of boring but still very pretty. We got to see all kinds of animals including some beautiful tigers, one of which stared at me for several minutes. It's not everyday you get to have a staring contest with a Bengal Tiger! Pretty sweet! One ride that was superior to Disneyland's was this Everest Expedition ride in Animal Kingdom. It was really something. You go up this massive incline up the mountain then you go zooming down the track until you're stopped because the yeti has torn up the tracks. That's when the train goes flying backwards at what felt like 90mph. It was so cool! Totally was not expecting that! By the time we got to Epcot we were both like the walking dead. I was so hungry I felt sick. When we got our food they fucked up Heather's order and she was one unhappy pappy. On top of that there weren't any free tables so we had to eat on the floor. Even after eating I felt really queasy and ill so there was a lot of complaining going on. My favorite countries there were Japan, Germany, China and the UK. Too bad I felt so crummy and couldn't walk because we easily could've spent all day at Epcot. There was a store in Japan called Mitsukoshi that I went completely ape shit over. Everything in this store was ME. Mario stuff, Zelda stuff, Hello Kitty stuff, Pokemon stuff, Ouran High School Host Club stuff, Fullmetal Alchemist stuff, Sailormoon Stuff AND STUDIO GHIBLI! My knee pain temporarily dissipated and I started jumping up and down again. I wanted everything but it was all really expensive. Heather bought me a Jiji plushie to shut me up (I love it so much!) and I got some stickers and a postcard of Kiki on her broom ^___^ The shuttle was scheduled to pick us up at 6pm and I barely hobbled my way back. It's totally lame how people stare at you when you have a limp. I'll have to make sure to never do that in the future. Here's some pics from Animal Kingdom and Epcot Center:

When we got back to the hotel we packed up our suitcases and went to bed. When I woke up I was alone. My Super Shuttle driver picked me up earlier than expected so I had to wait 2 hours at the airport. I had a layover in Atlanta again and had to wait another two hours before leaving for Phoenix. It was a long long long day. I think I spent 9 hours traveling that day and only ate 1 protein bar, a cookie, 2 bags of peanuts and 5 cups of cran-apple juice. To be honest I still feel like hell. It takes me a few days to recuperate after a big vacation. I'm still waking up at 6-7am :(

In conclusion, although the last day was crappy, overall the trip was a great success. I'd highly recommend you take a trip to Harry Potter World if you have the chance. It was a truly magical experience!

Attack of the New Year

Once again, I am absolutely terrible at updating this blog regularly. My apologizes to all of those who were on pins and needles wondering if I ever got back to Phoenix. To tell you the truth, I wasn't too confident that I was going to get back to Phoenix alive. I won't go into all of the details but the return journey was quite the adventure. Here's a brief summary:

Day 1: Went to pick up Pops at the airport. Circled around for 40 minutes until I thought to check the Departures instead of the Arrivals. He was in the Departures the whole time :/ Loaded up the U-haul truck and cleaned up my bedroom. Crazy-ass landlady conveniently wasn't present for my inspection so she wouldn't have to deal with my father. Horrible horrible traffic all the way out of Seattle. Pops asked to switch drivers after it got dark; the moment I took the wheel I lost control of the trailer and nearly crashed the truck. We switched drivers again. Stopped in a town called Kelso, WA for the night.

Day 2: Drove to Eugene, OR when Pops decided he wanted to ditch the trailer that was pulling my car, meaning I would have to follow him the rest of the way home. Was not thrilled about this idea but wasn't given any choice. On the bright side, was looking forward to listening to my Harry Potter audio books (the U-haul truck had no CD player). Torrential rain and crazy sick fog all through the mountains. Drove white-knuckled for about 400 miles. Stopped in Medford, OR for the night.

Day 3: More torrential rain ALL day. Immense stress following my Dad because he had no cell phone and wouldn't be able to contact him if we got separated. Dad decides to get off I-5 and switches to a different highway. Almost made it to Fresno when traffic comes to a standstill. Stuck in traffic for 3 hours!!! It turned out that there had been a gas leak on the freeway so they couldn't let anyone through. When we finally got off the freeway my windshield wiper broke. Had to locate an auto parts store through flooded streets. Once windshield wiper had been replaced we drove to Stockton, CA then called it a day. Not a very happy pappy by this point.

Day 4: Rain Rain Rain again alllllll day. Add crazy California drivers to the mix and you've got one tense Mama! Drove until I thought I might pass out. Stopped in Bakersfield, CA and counseled with Pops on where we should stay for the night. We found two Super 8 motels on my smart phone, one in North and one in South Bakersfield. We decided on the southern one since it was closest to the freeway. I told my dad three times to exit onto the 99 S but before I knew it he was getting on the 99 N. I honked my horn at him but he exited anyway and the thing I had dreaded had happened. WE WERE SEPARATED. I didn't know what else to do so I continued to follow my navigation system to the motel. When I got there, it wasn't even a Super 8 but a Roadway Inn & Suites so if my dad tried to call the Super 8 in south Bakersfield I wouldn't be there. I pulled over anyway and prepared myself for an epic meltdown. All I could think was "What am I gonna tell Mom?" It was the one of the most terrifying 10 minutes of my life. I had lost the old man. But then my cellphone started ringing; it was the front desk of the north Bakersfield Super 8!! I couldn't believe my dad had A) found the other motel completely on his own and B) remembered my cell phone number was in his wallet. I used my GPS to find the other motel but was still very shaken for the rest of the night. Also of note, we had the worst pizza ever for dinner.

Day 5: Woke up to SUNSHINE. Had not seen actual sunshine in about a month. Kept getting cut off by truck drivers and there was a lot of screaming going on in my car. Drove to Needles (that's where Snoopy's brother Spike lives) and stopped for lunch at Denny's. We had grilled cheeses at Denny's almost every day of the trip. >___< After lunch we switched to a different highway which turned out to be a nightmare. Constant bumps and winding roads for almost 2 hours. Once it got dark I almost fell asleep at the wheel--very scary! Had to turn off audio books after that and crank my I-pod for the rest of the drive. I could tell we had entered the Phoenix city limits when folks started driving 85 mph on the I-10 and I was getting constantly cut off by Honda Civics. I did not miss Arizona drivers one bit. No, sir. Arrived home about 10:30pm and felt close to death but thankful to have made it home ALIVE.

In summary, I felt like Frodo trying to get the ring back to Mordor this entire trip. I honestly didn't think we were going to make it home. It was just one unfortunate event after another. I am glad to be home though. I missed my people here sooooooo much. I've been doing some hardcore hanging out for the past 8 weeks. It's been the cat's pajamas. 

Tomorrow I leave for Florida with my very dear friend, Heather. We are going on our long awaited Harry Potter Land/Disney World trip. It's going to be EPIC. I'm super stoked! Once I return though, playtime will officially be over and I'm going to have to make a real effort to find a full time job. But I'm not gonna think about that now, gonna just focus on VACATION...it's all I've ever wanted ;)

SO LONG STINKTOWN!