Remember how it's only been six weeks since my last trip to California/Disneyland? And how this past trip marks my third time going this year? For The Cousin, it was his first time. However, because I have been So. Many. Times. Now, I didn't take many pictures.
I honestly can't tell you how long it has been since I last rode the teacups, but I don't intend on riding them again anytime soon, if ever.
I'm a real toy!
A mirror Dad found in one of the shops on Paradise Pier
It is also very windy here today. Supposedly I am supposed to be doing homework, but we all see how well that is working out for me. Two more weeks, guys, and then classes are over. Three weeks from today I will have taken my last final. I can hardly wait!
So, last week I went with the college's Art Department to the Los Angeles area to do artsy stuff. A lot of the pictures I have already posted on my other blog, so for the better looking ones, you should go there. Also, this is not exactly in chronological order. And I've run out of storage space (how did that not happen before now?), so a lot of things are being cut out, and I guess I'm not uploading any pictures onto my blog for a while? This will be remedied before I leave the country.
Thursday when we reached California, our first (real) stop was the Huntington. Stephanie and I spent most of the time there in the botanical gardens, and a minimal amount of time in the art galleries. Because apparently I don't like art as much as I thought I did. Or I just prefer being outside with the flowers.
This was the Chinese garden. The Japanese one was mostly bonsai trees, which were cool, but... I was less inclined to photograph them.
The guy who chopped off Medusa's head. Sorry, I'm not well versed in my mythology and I have no idea what his name is, nor do I really feel the need to Google it right now.
Friday night we went to Disneyland! Kaiyo was a dear and signed Steph and me in. It was, of course, busy (being Friday and Spring Break season), but it was still fun.
Also awesome, when they roped off the castle (for the fireworks) and I was able to snap a couple of pictures without hordes of other people being in it! Bonus, it wasn't so dark that my camera felt like it needed a tripod yet.
I don't know how many times I've been past Pooh Corner or been on the ride, but this was the first time I noticed sign for Pooh Stix bridge. Steph was the one that pointed it out to me.
Earlier Friday we went to the Getty Villa. There was this fountain that had faces like that one on Roman Holiday (you know, where Audry Hepburn puts her hand in the mouth?) So, of course, we felt like we had to do the same. Um. There's a picture of Steph, too, but it is either on her camera or my other camera, of which I have not yet downloaded any of the pictures. Not that that really matters at this point.
Even more earlier on Friday we stopped at Redondo Pier, which, in my opinion, is really lame. Especially since ALL THE STORES WERE CLOSED, the ocean was cold (and stinky), and the beach was not that clean. Anyway, this little figurine was in the window of one of the shops, and I thought it was kind of endearing (look at it! It's Titanic!). Not that I would have purchased it, but it was still cute in it's own gruesome way.
There were, however, these two pigeons that were kind of entertaining. The one on the left is missing a foot, and the one on the right was feeding it. And then decided to climb on the back of pigeon on the left for about 2 seconds before getting back down. That was...awkward, and we left them alone after that.
Then there was the small child that was feeding all the seagulls with his mom. Precious.
Also, homeless people sleeping under the pier in sleeping bags. That was a little eerie, and I did not altogether approve.
At the LACMA, there was a Japanese exhibit (among many others), and I fell in love with this screen. I want one!
They also had this exhibit on fashion. Look at this amazing dress.
Also, while we were looking at the fashion exhibit, we ran into this lady. She was very friendly and echoed my sentiments of the bustles and various other fashion implements: "torture implements."
This is the other dress I loved.
Saturday we went to the LA LDS Temple. Most of the group went to the Visitor's Center, but I favored walking around the grounds more. I know it is hard to see in this picture, but that big tree in the background? I loved it. I want one. It was gnarly (literally) and reminded me of a giant bonsai.
Sunday we stopped at Forest Lawn before heading back to Utah. Cameras aren't allowed in any of the buildings, so I only got a few pictures outside.
For my English class this week I am required to watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks (well, there are actually 4 other movies I could have chosen, but I have had an itch to watch this one for a while, so it's a good excuse). I wanted to share my Favorite Part Ever with you:
You're welcome, Kaiyo. But don't be too surprised if, just randomly, my soundtrack appears again one day. (I hope it catches you when you're in class and that you have your volume up to maximum. THAT would be awesome.)
Also, my parents and I were walking around the park this morning (thanks, FeFe), and it was kind of misting. And then it started raining and there were puddles on the ground and I went "Oh. Hello, water. nice of you to be in my shoe, soaking my socks because I have a hole in my soul. I mean sole." Both shoes, btw. So I am now the proud owner of two new pairs of shoes, both of which are very dry. Also, I was smart enough to bring extra pairs of socks, even though I wasn't smart enough to bring different shoes.
And can I just tell you that Anaheim still feels like home to me? A very expensive home, but I could still live here again. Someday. When I, you know, have money.
Anyway, headed back to the park in just a bit, where I will be meeting the Trifecta. FeFe gets to face one of his greatest fears, because we are going on Pinocchio, and there will be a whale jumping out at him, and it will be awesome. I still need to go on Small World, too, and a few other rides. Not like I won't be back again, though. We all know I have Disney in my bones (even if I do never want to work for Disney again).
So, I meant to blog this yesterday when I got home from work, but instead I fell asleep for two hours (which I also did today, and it was lovely. I love sleeping).
Once upon a time I was working and having lots of annoying camera problems. I am actually starting to think that some of it my be psychological, because I only really have major problems when my Christopher Robin is EQ. So it's probably my way of sending a curse to my camera/pda just so he has to visit me.
So my Christopher Robin comes and switched out my cable, and then proceeded to break his costume. Because he wanted to see if he could. It was pretty awesome, but hard to explain unless you have the costume in front of you. But he only broke it on one side, and that made me think to myself "unbalanced!" every time I looked over at him. With very little peer pressure, I was able to convince him to break the other side. And that is how my Christopher Robin's vest became One of a Kind.
(Kind of like jello, but with less movement -I've been napping a lot)
You may wonder why I haven't blogged for a week. Well, let me tell you.
I had some of my favorite people ever visiting me. Namely the Grandparent People (and Cousin, but he fits in with the "people" bit. Usually). Also the Parents came to keep them company when I Party Pooped out of Disney, which was sure nice of them. It was also sure nice of me to get them into Disney for cheaper than the average Joe's ticket price. (The perks of being a Disney Robot.) So that's what I've been up to.
Anyway, like I said. There were Disney things. I didn't really do the whole picture-taking thing with them at the Parks (except for the part where they came and visited me while I was working, but that doesn't count because that was Work and I was payed to take that picture). But I believe they had fun (and got soaked on a ride or two), despite the weather not being as hot as it was today. Darn weather.
Unfortunately, The Mom got sick on Wednesday and had to stay at the hotel all day. Don't worry, though, she didn't spend the whole day alone. After a while I was Disney'd out and walked back over there where we promptly both fell asleep for a while and I also watched NCIS (Season 3. It's beautiful, but I believe I will need Season 4 for that one thing in May that is coming up). There were also shopping things involved where I helped the Grandmother Person and the Cousin Person get discounts and the Grandmother Person also bought me the adorable Precious Moments Finding Nemo snow globe.
Thursday was fun times with Relatives at the Santa Ana Zoo. Please enjoy this short/long/medium sized Photo Essay (I have yet to decide how many pictures I am uploading. It's a surprise for all of us!)
I'm not entirely sure how it can be ethical for the National Bird to be locked in a giant cage, but I guess that's not something I have to worry about.
The Santa Ana Zoo likes monkeys. A lot. I don't know what kind this one was other than the sleeping kind. He (she? Werf. We'll go with "werf") and werf's hand sticking through the fence.
No photo essay of mine is complete without flowers. We should all know this.
We once learned that Red Panda's do not make good pets. But I couldn't see any sign that said anything about adorable little monkeys.
Emu Fume. I had a book of palindromes once. (If you think about it, that second statement totally makes sense.)
Last night the Trifecta did something a little different and actually let other people in on our shindigs. These other people should feel honored and blessed right now, because this is not something that happens every Monday. Also, we all got to witness something Beautiful and nearly sacred. My Mushu had his first Bonfire.
Whoa.
My Mushu also had his first s'more. It was a very special moment and one that I think the whole trifecta will cherish forever and ever. It was almost like watching a baby take it's first steps, or seeing that first tooth poke through the gums (OK, that's a little gross, so maybe not the second one).
I also ate several s'mores, but I think I had more fun lighting all the marshmallows on fire and trying to make them go hollow without falling off the stick. Mostly I failed at that, but it was still fun to watch the marshmallows explode in the fire. If you've never witnessed this phenomenon, then you seriously need to reconsider your roasting priorities next time you are around an open fire and roasting something.
Also, minorly disappointing: hot dogs do not explode in the fire.
Meanwhile, I hope you all enjoy this very magical picture of My Mushu and My Christopher Robin.
(Man, check out those magic skills I have. I am so amazing, I could almost work for QA*.)
*This is a Work Related Comment. If you don't understand it, don't worry about it.
Yesterday the Trifecta got together for our weekly meeting at Tiffy's. It's this cute little restaurant/ice cream parlor on Katella and Disneyland Drive. The food isn't, like, the best food ever, but the service is good (our waitress was adorable), and best of all, THEY HAVE PLAYER PAINOS!!!
Always I hear these things playing when we go eat at Tiffy's as a family, but for the first time ever, it was me playing them (well, my quarter, anyway. Mushu put the quarters into the piano).
You're going to have to forgive the sound quality (or lack thereof) as I took this video on my phone. Actually, maybe just mute it as you watch.
So, I've recently been commissioned to do, what I consider, a moderately huge project. You can see part 1 of 7 on my other blog, as well as a few new photos I have taken, etc. etc. (See here.)
Sometime in the near-ish future I want to go to the Newport Beach temple grounds and take pictures there. I've only ever seen the temple from the freeway, but it's gorgeous. Also, I want to go to the San Diego temple grounds again, because I haven't been there in several years. Only that is a longer drive and will probably have to wait until I go to Sea World. Which I don't know when that will be. Something about having Days Off and Money to Spend and People to Go With (I would feel lame-faced to go to Sea World by myself).
Also, even though I already spend 5/7 days a week in the Parks, I kind of have this pressing desire to go and take pictures around there before the pink blossoms at Partners go away. I kind of feel lame-faced doing that alone, too, even though I shouldn't since I practically live there. I don't know that picture-taking adventure will ever happen, though. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.
And one more also: I think I'm getting carpel tunnel, because my wrists hurt. That's all.
So, I think my head is about to explode. This is the 3rd migraine I've had in two weeks and I'm getting desperate. If you know of a really good doctor in Orange County, let me know. I prefer someone not scary, but I'll almost take anyone. This is how desperate I am.
Anyway, other than that small detail, life is still good! Last week my Love Duck and parents came to visit me. There were 12 days of Disney in a row (what with work and all that), but it was the first time I've really played in the parks since I got here 2 months ago. I screamed my lungs out on Splash Mountain (I think I mostly just scream because, you know, I can, not because I'm scared), rode Small Word for the first time since it re-opened last month (so cute!), and ate like a million marshmallow sticks. I love those things so much. Surprisingly enough, though, I didn't take many pictures! This was probably a mistake on my part, but I think it's because I take so many pictures at work that, when I'm not working, I find it is kind of nice to be able to see more of the world than what's in a view finder.
Mondays have basically become my favorite day of the week, despite having class on what is usually my day off. For this coming Monday, I believe I am looking forward to a non-dance party at Barnes and Noble, and I'm pretty sure it will be the best non-dance party in the history of non-dance parties.
So, yup. That's basically life right now. I need to run out to Target today to pick up Pinocchio and probably The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but we'll see if I actually make it that far. I guess it's more of a want than a need, anyway. Probably I will, though, seeing as how I'm nice and don't really know how to say "no" to people, so I'm taking a fellow CP to some train station by the Honda Center in about 20 minutes.
And, oh yeah! Bless the IRS, because I got my tax return today! That was excitement in my bank account. I'm now trying to decide if I can justify buying a macro lens for my camera or not. It's a lot of money for one of those puppies, though, so it may have to wait a little longer. I kind of like seeing bigger numbers in my savings account.
People in California are funny. Or maybe it's just now that I am in California, people are funny.
Anyway, I've actually been sort of on-again, off-again composing this post for a while, but it takes effort to think of 'nyms for everyone that I will remember in the future. And I have met a lot of everyones in the past nearly-two months. Like*, seriously. A lot. But a recent conversation with the leader of TK kind of nudged me to finish the job so that I can prove my point (next time we hang out, I'm taking notes).
Curly: "I'm playing with pigs. I don't think I have any pride."
Christopher Robin: "I feel like you have to show your 'Mormon Stick' before they'll even let you into Utah."
Christopher Robin: "[Katria]. Now do you understand why everything you say should be a Hallmark card?"
Christopher Robin: "You're quiet for like 10 minutes and then you open your mouth and everything that comes out of it is hilarious."
Katria: "You do look like you're from Utah since you're walking around with 3 girls." Christopher Robin: "You just made the joke I have been thinking all day. I can't believe you said that!"
Christopher Robin: "I have the legs of a Greek god. I may be missing a few other things, but my legs are beautiful."
Christopher Robin: "Verbose is just a nice way of saying he won't shut up. Nice try, though."
Rip Torn: "Mater's eyes are hypnotizing. I bet if you watch them long enough, you'll turn redneck."
Katria: "It's Brigham Young University." Bartholomew: "Did you say 'Bring 'em young?'" Katria: "No, but that is very fitting."
Katria: "I watched some seagulls poop on the picture." Doc: "Did you capture the magic?"
Christopher Robin: "If I were related to Kohler, I wouldn't do anything except sit at home on my porcelain throne all day."
Christopher Robin: "I'm proud of the fact that people think of me in their most vulnerable moments"
Captain: "I know there're people in Africa, but there's a lot of work to do."
Geri: "What mountain is that?" Katria: "[Geri], that's a tree."
*As a side note, I'm trying to limit my usage of "like." It is such a Utah word to say, and I've noticed recently (like, as of Monday) that I say it way too much.
(When all else fails for creating Titles, I can always count on Hoops and Yoyo.* This time the title comes from my adorable Hoops and Yoyo perpetual calendar. Which talks to me. Daily.)
Just a few thoughts from my day. And pardon me if they're all disorganized and random, but I'm tired and about to fall asleep.
1) Waking up because the smoke detector's battery in the hallway is dying is really uncool. Coming home from work to find that the battery hasn't been changed yet (even though management has been told about it and it is, supposedly, their responsibility to fix it) is even more uncool.
2) When I went to Target to find some 9v batteries (to replace the dying one, you know), I found Muppets from Space on DVD for less than what the batteries cost me. I couldn't pass up such a good deal. Rizzo, I will love you until the day I die.
3) Chopsticks are so work appropriate. So nyah. (This is the sound of me sticking my tongue out, if you are wondering. Someday I'll have someone spell out my tongue-sticking-out nouse phonetically, because this one is not accurate.)
4) We played BINGO at work today. That was kind of awesome and made the time go by a lot faster. I was winning when I left, but I have a feeling that some of the people who still had a few hours left on their shifts probably got black-outs. Considering I only worked 4 hours, though, and also considering the fact that we didn't start BINGO until half-way through my shift, I think I did pretty well. Also, there were TOPS coins involved (which, admittedly, means basically nothing to the vast majority of my readership. Sorry. Just accept the fact that I am awesome).
5) And last, but not least, it was Family Reunion Day today! Today marks the second time in the history of my career that my whole training group has been working in one location at the same time. It was almost perfect. We just needed our Favorite Trainer there with us, and then life would have been complete.
*Dood, I never said my titles would have anything to do with my posts!
So, like... our fridge handle fell off. Well, half of it did. I mean, that's cool, right? Sure, we keep wacking ourselves in the face pretty much every time we go to get some food or a drink, but at least it is all stainless steel and stuff.
Right?
Meanwhile, as I am thinking pretty definitely of staying on at Disney after my internship is over (granted, this is still like... 6 months away or something), I have started looking into housing. I've found this one place in Anaheim that's like, way nice looking and brand spanking new and I think I really want to live there. Problem is, living anywhere in California, especially when you want to live alone and not have to deal with the whole roommate thing anymore, is very expensive. So if anyone wants to donate to my cause, I won't say no. I also won't forget about you.
And my brownie cake is done now. So, you know, I'm going to go take care of that.
P.S. I've also finished seasons 1 and 2 of NCIS. I am now accepting seasons 3 and/or 4 on DVD.
This is for those of you who have not been on the ride. Spot the hidden Mickey! (For the record, I don't even remember if you can see it in this video. But I do know where it is.)
If you don't like big crowds, don't come to Disney on a Sunday, long weekend, holiday, or any combination of the above.
In other news, I did at least get to pet a dog today. A guy came to view his photos and had a service/companion dog with him named Cookie and he let me pet it. I felt really bad for this guy, though. His wife (of several years) cheated on him, they got divorced, he went on a business trip (like just this past week or so) and came home to find all the furniture had been moved out, and today was his birthday. But at least he got to spend it at the Happiest Place on Earth with his dog. And they got their picture taken with Pluto.
Tonight on the Cast Shuttle back to the parking lot, the radio was playing "Sexy Back" (by Justin Timberlake) and I started snickering because all I heard was "I got a sexy stache." Thank you, Divine Comedy.
Also yesterday someone who is leaving in a week gave me his really, really nice neck-strap, saying that they were hard to come by and he wanted me to have it (even though we've never met!).
And I'm perfect more often than not when it comes to Primary shots (which are the portrait ones). I think this is because I prefer to shoot portrait as opposed to landscape (we're talking format here, not like actual portraits/landscapes). My secondary shots (landscape) are usually perfect, but not as often as the Primaries. And my trainer says I've caught on too fast. All of us in TK (team [my trainer's name]) have caught on too fast, actually, and we ran out of things to do tonight so we had a long... discussion about the college program.
Man, you guys. I love my job so much. Tomorrow we shoot Characters!
Well, the good news is that I have an apartment now. Granted, I stood in a line for six hours yesterday to get said apartment, but at least now I have one. It wasn't all bad times, though. Yes, the hallway was crowded and I'm pretty sure we were breaking at least 10 different fire codes. Yes, it smelled like dorm rooms. And, sure, I didn't get to eat at all until about 4:30 (pm) due to the whole standing in line thing, but it wasn't all bad. I met some cool people in that line and, I swear we were best friends by the time we all got into the housing office. One of the guys behind me had this game called "Pass the Pigs" and we played that several times. Weirdest game ever, yet strangely fun. We even played for prizes, but I didn't win anything. First prize was the extra McDonalds french fries (gross- I was actually winning this round and then they announced the prize and I purposely kept shaking the pigs until I was sure to loose all my points from that round), second prize was this talking baby Shrek figurine and the third prize was a wrist laser pointer thing (happy meals- they don't do Barbies and Hotwheels appartently anymore). I also had a headache by the time we started playing for prizes and was losing interest in being social. Also that many people around me causes Vast Tensions inside of me and I was clenching my jaw so bad that by the time last night rolled around, I couldn't even open my mouth (remember those fun times how my jaw locks up really bad ever since I got my wisdom teeth out?). My mouth stil doesn't open very wide right now, but it opens enough that I can eat and talk and drink liquid and that is all tha matters.
Other fun things that happened in line yesterday (but that I had too much dignity to participate in- I know, party-pooper, right?) was a napkin eating contest. Dr. Suess, one of the three people that played Pigs with us (the game actually belongs to him) pulled out some napkins. The object of the game is to see who can get the napkin completely into their mouth the fastest without using their hands. Dr. Suess won. He says he has lots of practice and after watching him, I believe it. Some girl's mother video-taped it and is going to put it up on youtube. So, if you are really bored, you can try finding it. I have no idea how.
Getting the internet here is like playing musical chairs. Ever time the music stops, you have to find a new internet. Problem is, we don't know what the music is or how to make it keep going, so instead my roommates and I just keep switching to different internet connections. For some reason, the connection in our apartment is.... lacking to say the least. We've tried everything we can think of (short of going up to the housing office, but none of us actually want to put shoes on or call them, we're just all complaining about it instead), and it still doesn't work. So instead we are mooching off all the other Disney connections (it's all the same, really, and doesn't matter). But I can't get the connection that my two roommates are getting and they can't get the connection I am getting and it's "What signal are you using right now?!" ever 5 minutes until we are all able to get connected. So, I guess, just don't expect too much internet time from me for the next little while. We are still trying to get settled in, anyway, and there are all kinds of training things going on this week, so that keeps us quite busy and doesn't allow for a lot of down time.
Speaking of training things, it's time to leave for one right now.
I'm not entirely sure how it can be ethical for the National Bird to be locked in a giant cage, but I guess that's not something I have to worry about.
The Santa Ana Zoo likes monkeys. A lot. I don't know what kind this one was other than the sleeping kind. He (she? Werf. We'll go with "werf") and werf's hand sticking through the fence.
No photo essay of mine is complete without flowers. We should all know this.
We once learned that Red Panda's do not make good pets. But I couldn't see any sign that said anything about adorable little monkeys.
Emu Fume. I had a book of palindromes once. (If you think about it, that second statement totally makes sense.)
