Writer's Block: Me, myself, and I - plus, Disneyworld!

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Myriad.

The runners-up were "eclectic" and "amalgamation". I've used eclectic for years as a shorthand way of describing myself, so it's a bit nostalgic to me, and I like the science-y connotations of amalgamation. However, both of them imply drawing from other sources for the composition of the whole. I like myriad because it speaks of nothing more specific than innumerable aspects and possibilities. It's nice.

Plus, it was the name of one of my favorite teacher's dogs (because her eyes were speckled with all sorts of colors), so it's got that twist of nostalgia as well.

Back from vacation, in case you couldn't tell! Benny greeted us with doggy puke in the car and an accident this morning because we were too tired to walk him last night. Poor thing. At least he seems content and back to normal now. For his part, Jacks poked his head out and flicked his tongue when I said hello, then ambled about his cage for a while when Jaime went into the room. Either he likes us or he's attempting to ward us away from his territory. I'm gonna choose the former to go with. Aww.

Disneyworld was huge and fun and hot and fun and would take far too long to describe blow-by-blow, so here are a few highlights:

Monday
- On the Great Movie Ride, at the end, they show you clips from various "classic" films. A guy in the room behind us kept saying, not yelling, but talking loudly enough for me to hear clearly, the names of the films he could recognize. A clip featuring Barbra Streisand popped onto the screen. Without missing a beat and without a single trace of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Tootsie".
- Jaime heard someone talking about "that drop ride, The Haunted House, or The House of Terror, something like that."
- We sat next to a large Triceratops and its baby at the T-Rex Cafe for dinner. I built my own stegosaurus doll at the end. His name is That Guy.

Tuesday
- Haunted Mansion twice in a row. Got Ezra at the end the second time, too. The weirdest thing happened the first time - when we walked into the entrance, both doors were open. I veered into the one that looked less crowded. It was actually post-stretching; I don't know why the door to the entrance was open, but it was, despite the room clearly being stretched and the door to the loading area also being open. We walked straight through and into the ride portion of the mansion. Second time went normally (and awesomely, natch).
- Bought a doll of the dog holding the keyring from Pirates of the Caribbean, holy crap, can't believe that doll exists. It's too cool. His name is Gus. He has a wonky foot too. It turns in all pigeon-y and makes me coo and hug him like an imbecile. At least I'm a happy imbecile.
- The right side of the log is where the water goes on Splash Mountain. That is where I sat. Splash Mountain also has the honor of being the first ride I made it through on the trip without even a twinge of anxious energy. It set the trend for the day, too, which was so very much appreciated. Thanks, Splash Mountain.
- Also, I'm totally the Brer Fox to Jaime's Brer Bear. We agreed on that point. It just works.
- Jaime burned his nose to a vibrant pink. I put SPF powder on it for the extra protection. And so it would look better. And because putting make-up on him makes me cackle with glee.
- I love Epcot. Not a unique point or a new thought, but it's always worth mentioning.
- We parked in Create 42. The greatest channel and the greatest number.
- We made the greatest Spaceship Earth video ever. I'm not even joking. Just look.
- I want that sweater vest my character wears in the Spaceship Earth video.
- Saw a teeny tiny baby seahorse in a tank at The Seas. He was hovering near the top of the tank, taking charges at the surface to try to break past the tension. So young, he was still transparent. I didn't want to stop watching him.
- Batted the fountain water by Imagination. Saw a girl take one in the head, too. Braver than I.
- A girl at Club Cool had the picture perfect reaction to Beverly. Her older brother tried it and (once he'd recovered) immediately prodded her to get a cup. She physically recoiled and doubled over when it hit her mouth.
- On that note, try the Beverly - it's delicious!
- Got my first ever daruma in Japan! I'm extremely excited about it, for some reason. I was a total dork and said, "Doumo," to the cashier too, but she smiled and said it right back. Didn't laugh or anything. So... maybe I'm a socially acceptable dork? In the context of Epcot, at least? Hm.
- Mango Green Tea slush is delicious.
- We ended up skipping Test Track because of the ridiculous line. It varied between 90 and 130 minutes wait the entire time we were there, and the single rider line? 40 minutes. To ride by yourself. 40 minutes.
- Captain Eo is weird.
- Extra magic hours are also weird, but when they let you stay at Epcot until midnight if you so choose? Epic.

Wednesday
- Met up with Kiri and his Gilligan crew (girlfriend Kaisa, sister Indi, and bff Ben) for the day. Nice people, all. This was the first time we'd met Ben and we were a bit apprehensive, but lo and behold? Great guy. Loud guy. Didn't bother me, of course. Jaime rolled his eyes at our combined loudness. It was fun!
- The safari lied. 45 minute wait, my ass. Took us over an hour and a half to get to loading.
- Kiri teased me about my blissful face in the Dinosaur ride photo. What can I say? Carnotaurus is my bro.
- The bat exhibit in the jungle trek is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It was sweltering, and the bats kept flapping one wing to fan themselves. I wanted to take one home, but Jaime killjoy just had to remind me of Disney Jail like the killjoy he is. Killjoy.
- I spotted Park #4 Vinylmations at the Animal Kingdom entrance merch booth and did a double-take. Everywhere else had been insisting that they weren't supposed to put them out until later this month, but there sat an entire box of them, ripe for the picking! I was hoping for either the Epcot logo one or the Pirates of the Caribbean dog and got the latter. <3
- The tram attendant on the way out gave a spiel about making sure your child is not in the stroller when you collapse it. He then peppered the ride back with "Let me oooooout" in a low, strained voice.

All in all? A good, dense, happy trip. Can't ask for much more than that.

( For my own personal reference: To-Buy and To-Do )

Writer's Block: Me, myself, and I - plus, Disneyworld!

[Error: unknown template qotd]
Myriad.

The runners-up were "eclectic" and "amalgamation". I've used eclectic for years as a shorthand way of describing myself, so it's a bit nostalgic to me, and I like the science-y connotations of amalgamation. However, both of them imply drawing from other sources for the composition of the whole. I like myriad because it speaks of nothing more specific than innumerable aspects and possibilities. It's nice.

Plus, it was the name of one of my favorite teacher's dogs (because her eyes were speckled with all sorts of colors), so it's got that twist of nostalgia as well.

Back from vacation, in case you couldn't tell! Benny greeted us with doggy puke in the car and an accident this morning because we were too tired to walk him last night. Poor thing. At least he seems content and back to normal now. For his part, Jacks poked his head out and flicked his tongue when I said hello, then ambled about his cage for a while when Jaime went into the room. Either he likes us or he's attempting to ward us away from his territory. I'm gonna choose the former to go with. Aww.

Disneyworld was huge and fun and hot and fun and would take far too long to describe blow-by-blow, so here are a few highlights:

Monday
- On the Great Movie Ride, at the end, they show you clips from various "classic" films. A guy in the room behind us kept saying, not yelling, but talking loudly enough for me to hear clearly, the names of the films he could recognize. A clip featuring Barbra Streisand popped onto the screen. Without missing a beat and without a single trace of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Tootsie".
- Jaime heard someone talking about "that drop ride, The Haunted House, or The House of Terror, something like that."
- We sat next to a large Triceratops and its baby at the T-Rex Cafe for dinner. I built my own stegosaurus doll at the end. His name is That Guy.

Tuesday
- Haunted Mansion twice in a row. Got Ezra at the end the second time, too. The weirdest thing happened the first time - when we walked into the entrance, both doors were open. I veered into the one that looked less crowded. It was actually post-stretching; I don't know why the door to the entrance was open, but it was, despite the room clearly being stretched and the door to the loading area also being open. We walked straight through and into the ride portion of the mansion. Second time went normally (and awesomely, natch).
- Bought a doll of the dog holding the keyring from Pirates of the Caribbean, holy crap, can't believe that doll exists. It's too cool. His name is Gus. He has a wonky foot too. It turns in all pigeon-y and makes me coo and hug him like an imbecile. At least I'm a happy imbecile.
- The right side of the log is where the water goes on Splash Mountain. That is where I sat. Splash Mountain also has the honor of being the first ride I made it through on the trip without even a twinge of anxious energy. It set the trend for the day, too, which was so very much appreciated. Thanks, Splash Mountain.
- Also, I'm totally the Brer Fox to Jaime's Brer Bear. We agreed on that point. It just works.
- Jaime burned his nose to a vibrant pink. I put SPF powder on it for the extra protection. And so it would look better. And because putting make-up on him makes me cackle with glee.
- I love Epcot. Not a unique point or a new thought, but it's always worth mentioning.
- We parked in Create 42. The greatest channel and the greatest number.
- We made the greatest Spaceship Earth video ever. I'm not even joking. Just look.
- I want that sweater vest my character wears in the Spaceship Earth video.
- Saw a teeny tiny baby seahorse in a tank at The Seas. He was hovering near the top of the tank, taking charges at the surface to try to break past the tension. So young, he was still transparent. I didn't want to stop watching him.
- Batted the fountain water by Imagination. Saw a girl take one in the head, too. Braver than I.
- A girl at Club Cool had the picture perfect reaction to Beverly. Her older brother tried it and (once he'd recovered) immediately prodded her to get a cup. She physically recoiled and doubled over when it hit her mouth.
- On that note, try the Beverly - it's delicious!
- Got my first ever daruma in Japan! I'm extremely excited about it, for some reason. I was a total dork and said, "Doumo," to the cashier too, but she smiled and said it right back. Didn't laugh or anything. So... maybe I'm a socially acceptable dork? In the context of Epcot, at least? Hm.
- Mango Green Tea slush is delicious.
- We ended up skipping Test Track because of the ridiculous line. It varied between 90 and 130 minutes wait the entire time we were there, and the single rider line? 40 minutes. To ride by yourself. 40 minutes.
- Captain Eo is weird.
- Extra magic hours are also weird, but when they let you stay at Epcot until midnight if you so choose? Epic.

Wednesday
- Met up with Kiri and his Gilligan crew (girlfriend Kaisa, sister Indi, and bff Ben) for the day. Nice people, all. This was the first time we'd met Ben and we were a bit apprehensive, but lo and behold? Great guy. Loud guy. Didn't bother me, of course. Jaime rolled his eyes at our combined loudness. It was fun!
- The safari lied. 45 minute wait, my ass. Took us over an hour and a half to get to loading.
- Kiri teased me about my blissful face in the Dinosaur ride photo. What can I say? Carnotaurus is my bro.
- The bat exhibit in the jungle trek is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It was sweltering, and the bats kept flapping one wing to fan themselves. I wanted to take one home, but Jaime killjoy just had to remind me of Disney Jail like the killjoy he is. Killjoy.
- I spotted Park #4 Vinylmations at the Animal Kingdom entrance merch booth and did a double-take. Everywhere else had been insisting that they weren't supposed to put them out until later this month, but there sat an entire box of them, ripe for the picking! I was hoping for either the Epcot logo one or the Pirates of the Caribbean dog and got the latter. <3
- The tram attendant on the way out gave a spiel about making sure your child is not in the stroller when you collapse it. He then peppered the ride back with "Let me oooooout" in a low, strained voice.

All in all? A good, dense, happy trip. Can't ask for much more than that.

( For my own personal reference: To-Buy and To-Do )