Beauty is in the Eye of the CP

It's been a few weeks since I've posted and I would apologize but I"m sure not many of you out there have noticed. Since my days consist of eating, sleeping, working, going out, and repeating, here are pictures to show you my past two weeks.

Sunset at Yacht and Beach

I broke an apartment bowl.Looks like a crime scene

You can't see it, but Lariza got a shout out from a guest. Hellz yeah

Colleen and I with the guy who performs at Downtown Disney and his groupie 

Me, Austin, and Kayla spending the night on the town like it's summer again 

U+God = :)    I asked for a sign , too bad it was upside down 

Lauren and I trying dresses on at Express.  

Ducks eating just as much food as me at Food and Wine

In summary, I have been continued living the dream.

Food and Wine fest has been amazing minus the inverse relationship between my wallet and waist band because of all the spending and eating (and of course drinking). Most everything has been good except for the Singapore Sling, a crazy concoction of a drink which sounded intriguing when the cashier was explaining but was a terrible idea to order. Here is what is in it:

Gin

sour mix

cherry brandy

club soda

grenadine 

cherry

Okay, so it sounds gross. And my friends, it was. 

Work has been pretty good just getting old. Sure, I love dancing, but whoever decided the chicken dance would be a fun dance was most likely on crack because on a fun scale of 1-10, that dance is -5.  We have to play these specific playlists for our pool parties which is fine, but we have been listening to the same ones for months and for months I can't fathom who thought putting "It's still Rock and Roll to me" by Billy Joel on a kid oriented party list would get them in a frenzy.  The other day a girl asked if she could get a prize for coloring her mask. She thought it was a competition. No, 10 year old girl, you do not get a prize for coloring in the lines. Sorry for not being sorry. 

I don't have much time left down here so I have decided to just have fun. You're probably shaking your head thinking, "well, if that wasn't fun you were having, I don't know what is." I mean have fun embracing all there is here. You know I've only been to Magic Kingdom for a combined 5 hours since I've been here? True story. I have eight weeks starting November 1 and I have a bucket list for what I want to do which includes seeing the Fantasmic Fireworks, taking a picture with a princess, seeing the 3 o'clock parade, seeing the Christmas lights, and so on. Eight weeks doesn't seem like much time because, well, it's not. 

 Umm well that's it. I have had some other funny and entertaining times like the guest who walked from Epcot to Yacht and Beach asking where the guest relations building was for his stroller refund.  Didn't you realize you LEFT THE FREAKING PARK AND WALKED ALL THE WAY TO THE MARINA  before asking where the Epcot Guest relations building was?  People..... 

But that is all I have for you because I literally do the same thing over and over again. Only thing that changes is my socks. Get ready for the blog next week though because I will write all about Halloween and the parental units are coming for a visit. There will be many pictures and video! 

Happy Birthday to Karissa J and Buon Compleanno to Floriana! 

To the Past, Present, and Future

Trivia fact: More people have the birthday October 5^th then any other calendar date.

It has been a busy week down here between celebrating a national holiday, working, and recovering from the race. Official race times were for Lauren 5 miles 58:30 with a 12:11 min/mile and for me I finished 8.1 miles in 1:25:33 with a 10:18 pace. In all we finished the 13.1 miles in 2:24:04 with a 10:59 min/mile. Not too shabby for first crack and I am now hooked, already looking into running a 10k in November and a full half marathon in February. I ran about 4 miles on Tuesday and felt something I wasn’t used to feeling. No it wasn’t pain in my legs, it was the sense of accomplishment. There are so many things I’ve tried; theater camp even though I can’t sing, lacrosse even though I cried after games, a horseshow, even though a blind kid beat me, and countless other things I tried and didn’t succeed in. Playing the piano is the only thing I did for ten years straight and although at the time I didn’t care I am mad at myself now because if I would have practiced even just a little I could have been really great instead of just ok. But running this race made me feel that I had accomplished something I put my mind to. There were plenty of times I could have stopped but I didn’t. It’s a really great feeling and maybe a sign of growing up.

Thank you to Mrs. Wood, our official sponsor of the shirts!

Our medals! 

I look sweaty and ridiculous, but hell I finished 

Just chillin' with some characters

Monday was not a day of rest. I went to work and afterwards met Lauren and her mom, sister, and aunt in Epcot for dinner. They had dinner at the pizza place, you know the one with the hot waiters, and let’s just say the dinner was delicious. And so was the pizza. At one point I was mesmerized in the waiter’s eyes I couldn’t even answer a simple question of if I would like birthday wine or not. I asked him if he had any single friends and he brought over this amazingly cute (and single) waiter who is on the college program as well. I would love to be those guys; they get to flirt with everyone, get flirted with, and I’m sure they get good tips. Overall the dinner was really great and I love Lauren’s mom and sister. I already invited myself over for next October for the Texas State Fair (something I’ve wanted to go to for a while) and she had the great idea of meeting in Orlando to run the half marathon and then going to Texas. It’s already on my calendar.

October 5^th. The day started out normal and to be completely honest it didn’t feel like my birthday at all until I went into the kitchen and saw a card and chocolate chip muffins from Lauren. She said since she had to go work early she didn't want me waking up alone so she left a surprise. Pause for the awwws, I know I did.  It’s weird being at Disney on your birthday because it is a place that prides itself on everyone being a kid and not having to grow up. Speaking of growing up, it was also hard not being home for the first time in 23 years for my birthday. Even in college, I would come home for the long weekend to celebrate with family and friends. I know that there may be more birthdays to come where I won’t be home, but home is where the birthday cake is.  As for my birthday cakes, they seem to always be blown out by my short stack, Alicia. This is just one of the pictures of her beaming over my cupcake platter circa 1993.

After work a few of the girls and I met up at Howl at the Moon, a piano bar in Orlando. It was a lot different then the Disney one we normally go to but it was really fun. Since it was my birthday I got in for free which was even better news for Colleen who offered to pay my $5 cover. We mingled with some local guys and eventually grabbed a table. Some older guy who could have easily been my dad came up to us and long story short ended up buying me a birthday shot. Because this is a family friendly blog I won’t get into the details of what kind of shot it was and won’t put up the pictures but let’s just say Kodak memories were made. Probably the best part of the night is when Colleen and Jacki had the piano guy say “Happy Birthday, Lariza!” Yes, I am still wearing that name and no I don’t plan on wearing my new one when it comes in.

Me, Colleen, Jacki, Lauren, and Lauren 

Michael, my buddy I wrote about in an earlier blog, sent me a birthday card and email to his favorite Disney cast member, Lariza. It made me smile so much that in just one week I was able to make a kid’s vacation. I don’t know if the parents have figured out yet that my name is Sarah, but that’s ok, it’s all a part of the magic.

Thursday night we went to our usual hang out and I got to see all my work friends. It as always was a fun night and I love that my new Disney family came out to celebrate my birthday. On Friday we weren’t going to do anything but Lauren, Colleen, and I just went to JellyRolls, the piano bar on the Boardwalk, just for a bit. Standing there (since it was standing room only for once) in my Mickey fleece and sweatpants I realized that 1) I look like a bum and a tourist and 2) whoever decided wearing Hawaiian shirts with socks and sandals was a good look was horribly mistaken. I also realized that a place like this would be an awesome date. I am always scoping out good date places like some people scope out good new restaurants. But think about it, you can enjoy great live entertainment, eat free popcorn, drink moderately priced drinks, and if the date is going well and you want to chat you have to purposely lean in because its loud and if it’s going bad you can choose to ignore them because of the noise level. Amazing. My kind of night.

Being deployed to my new resort is going really well, as I’ve said before. Everyone is so nice and encouraging and for the first time in four months I’ve been told I’m actually pretty good at my job. I was starting to think I wasn’t right for the job because I didn’t get any feedback but only six days at the new resort they are telling me I’m very good. Nothing makes you want to do even better then by someone saying how happy they are to have you on their team. The other day before the movie I was talking to a guest as he was coloring his Mufasa mask (the movie was The Lion King, obvi) and we started talking about the job and all that. He said he worked at ESPN in CT and was giving me all these pointers on how the system here works. I ended up telling him my name was Sarah and he said I have a great Puerto Rican accent. After the movie, he came up to me with his adorable two sons and handed me his business card and said to email him with any questions I may have. Yes sir, I will be emailing you and my last name is Thornton, spelled T-H-O-R-N-T-O-N. 

Friday morning I was asked to come in a little early to play “guest in distress” for the life guard practice for their competition at the end of the month. It was really fun being able to play someone with an amputated leg, a stick in their eye, blinded by chorine, and unconscious in the pool. I was really glad I decided to shave because otherwise this would have been an awkward experience for all involved. After I got lifted out of the pool, I went into unconsciousness to full cardiac arrest and the guards put the AED pads on me. Nothing is scarier then praying the AED they are using is a practice one and won’t really shock the crap out of you. Overall it was fun and I offered to do it again next week.

This week the technology world lost an icon, innovator, and a guy who loves forbidden fruit. Steve Jobs was a game changer and has changed society in how we get our music, download apps, and receive phone calls. Some don’t know he part owned Pixar and Disney bought Pixar, so Jobs has a huge share in Disney. Disney was also a game changer in how society views life. When we say we want to be a princess, we always say which Disney princess we want to be. When we see a deer in the road, it’s Bambi, and when we finally meet “the one” he is Prince Charming. We all secretly wish our toys would talk, our animals would rescue us from danger, and a fairy Godmother would make all our wishes come true. O how different our lives would be without those thoughts.

And how different many of our lives would be  if one person didn’t touch it. I was home two weekends ago for a memorial service honoring Lauren, Rutgers Prep class of 2007 and Rutgers University class of 2011, a life that left us too early. During the service many spoke of how inspiring she was and how her work in activism would continue because of how much she cared about her causes. When I talk to people about what made Prep so different, I always say it was a family where the teachers are more then just teachers, the students are more then just friends you see in the hallways, and the memories you make are more then just pictures for the yearbook. Two weekends ago the family had come back together; faculty, past and present, students, and all the memories we shared flooded back as if we had all been together this whole time. Although this was not the reunion the class of 2007 had in mind, many of us who haven’t seen each other since we walked across the stage four years ago were able to get together and remember a friend and classmate.

There was one picture I wanted to add to this blog for my birthday. It’s a great picture, one of my favorites, but I forgot it at home and since we are without a scanner and internet at home, I couldn’t ask someone to send it to me. I’ll describe the picture to you instead and I think you will understand why it’s a favorite.

It’s 2003 and I’m turning fifteen. I’m wearing an orange shirt with purple lettering on it from American Eagle. I have long hair with blonde highlights and for once it’s brushed. I’m in my dining room, back to the French doors that overlook the view of the hills. A birthday cake from Shop Rite (vanilla icing, vanilla cake, banana filling) is in front of me and behind me there is one of the most special people in my life. It’s not Alicia, it’s my Grandma, and it’s the last birthday she would be able to celebrate with me. At that time I didn’t realize that in just a year and four days she would be gone and so I didn’t appreciate the significance of that day or that picture.

365 days later I turn 16. As promised I get my first cell phone and after school I go to Grandma’s house where all the women in the family are seated around the dining room table, a table that has seen countless holidays and birthdays, drinking coffee and attempting to make the afternoon about my birthday even though there is a dark cloud hanging over. It’s time to blow out my candles and since she hasn’t missed me blow out my candles in 16 years, she wasn’t going to start now. Being helped down the stairs, too weak to even sit up herself, she sits at the head of the table and watches her granddaughter blow out her 16 candles. On my brand new cell phone I take a picture of her, she is smiling. Four days later she passed away and I appreciated the significance of that day and that picture.

Around the World in 13.1 Miles

Happy October! Can you believe we are already in October? I sure can't, especially since the weather down here is gorgeous and people are still enjoying long afternoons holding hands and skipping through the parks, sunbathing, and at night enjoying a romantic dinner with views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.  In my life though I am enjoying the afternoons at the pool working at my new resort, Saratoga Springs, and spending the evenings running and out with friends.

It's been a busy week down here. First as you know I have been deployed to Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. It's right down the road which is really nice for the commute and is a vacation club resort. The resort is nice and laid back with two leisure  pools and who knows how many quiet pools. The activities they do there are the same as Y&B and BW but they do some differently which is great because I can learn new and fun ways of doing the same old games. Because it is a Disney Vacation Club resort, the guests all feel the "own a piece of the magic" and technically sort of do; they pay monthly dues, pay into the program, and get perks. However, Mr. DVC member, you cannot tell me what I should and should not do with my job and no you cannot just take things that aren't yours. If you don't like something, write it on the comment card you get mailed and please don't complain to me. I am just the girl with the microphone. I would love to tell all guests that 1) everyone gets a prize so relax and 2) most of the stuff we get comes from Oriental Trading. It's not Disney, it's just something we get off of page 28 in a wholesale catalog. If you want it that bad, you can order it. But please 37 year old woman do not take our "critters" home with you because you got them from Disney.

On Saturday Walt Disney World celebrated it's 40th Anniversary. This park was from one man's vision and as he said, "it all started with a mouse." I wonder if he were around today what he would say or think of all this company has become. We got yummy cupcakes in honor of it and there were special fireworks at MK but Lauren and I couldn't go because we were too busy running with 12,000 of our new friends.

That's right, finally the Wine and Dine half marathon arrived. We both worked Saturday so we met up at Epcot at 7:30 to get the shuttle to Wide World of Sports. When we got there we hung out a little bit together but I had to take another shuttle to Animal Kingdom where I would be starting my leg of the race. Since I am product of my father, I ended up meeting someone on the bus and we ended up talking the two hours we had to wait until our part of the race. It was about high 70s and we were all shivering with goose bumps waiting for our relay partners to meet us at the switch point.  Lauren's 5 miles leg was from Wide World of Sports to Animal Kingdom, through AK, and then to the parking lot. At about 11:20pm (maybe?) I saw Lauren running in our matching pink t-shirts, ran out, and gave her a hug ( I skipped the kiss like many couples running did) and said I would meet her at our meeting spot (the phone booths in the UK). And with that my leg of the race which was 8.1 miles would  begin. Now I'll be honest, I've been running but the farthest I've ran in the past few forever has been 4 miles. The longest I've ever ran/walked was 6.2 miles and that was sophomore year of HIGH SCHOOL when I would join the XC practices just for fun. I knew this would be interesting but went full speed ahead.

To say Disney puts a  lot of effort into the marathon would be an understatement. It was really well done with everything set up perfect, entertainment on the side including characters, music, live bands, people cheering, a drink stop every 1.5 miles, and the finish line party was great. I wasn't going for time but I still wanted to finish without stopping or going under a certain pace so stopping to take pictures with Buzz Lightyear was just out of the question. My leg of the race was the AK parking lot, going out the entrance, around the streets of Disney to Hollywood Studios, in the service entrance where Rockin' Roller Coaster is, through basically the entire park, exit from the entrance, and run down the BoardWalk, Y&B resort, and turn left into the back service entrance of Epcot and done. Seems like alot, because it was.

I started off strong, passing people, keeping a great pace, rocking to my music and enjoying the lovely night. Heading into Hollywood I knew that would be a long stretch so I braced myself for it. We ran through Hollywood Blvd. Pixar Lane, got to run through the Backlot Tour where the costumes are made, through the off stage areas, on the car stunt show track, through the streets of NYC, back through the front and out. The streets of NYC were lit up it was so pretty I was loving it. About 2/3 of the way through Studios though, I couldn't help but saying under my breath something my dad always says when he's over something, "We get the point already." I was getting tired, bored, and my joints were starting to ache like an arthritic old man. I kept going though, knowing that I would get a boost when I got to my homeland, the resort areas.

There isn't much to do while running so I just contemplated life, tried to avoid people who would rudely stop in front of me, and jammed out on my new headphones. Here are some things I thought of.

First, I bought the headphones at the runners expo on Friday when we got our race bags. The guy said they were guaranteed not to fall off your ears so I was fitted (yup, fitted for headphones) and tried them on. They were actually pretty cool and worked so I bought the Ironman special pair for $50 bucks and said Happy Birthday to myself. What makes them stay in your ears they say is medical grade silicon. Spectacular, I'm wearing a fake boob in my ear. And speaking of boobs....

I can sympathizes with the issues of doing anything physical and having bigger then a mosquito bite chest but PLEASE for our eyes and your comfort, please invest in a good sports bra. They are pricey but  I guarantee it will be a worthy investment.  Speaking of investments...

If you are pregnant, invest in a shirt. You are not Demi Moore. You should not be wearing just a sports bra and a running skirt on a public run. We don't need to see your belly. Even though I was impressed with your run, just please wear a shirt next time. Speaking of shirts....

The really good looking guys, you are ok to keep your shirts off. You gave me visual pleasure besides the characters. Speaking of characters....

Props to the people dressed up as characters. Some were pretty impressive like the Sebastian the crab in the pot of water, countless Tinkerbells, and of course Princesses. The team names were cool too and most  had liquor or food references in them. Speaking of food and liquor....

The only thing on most of our minds was the finish line that had a free beer for us and the food in Epcot. What was keeping me from seeing Lauren and feasting was the runners in front of me for 8.1 miles. Runners, here is some etiquette you should follow while running.

1) if you're slow, stay to the right.
2) if you need to physically stop, get off the course (that includes for taking pictures) .
3) don't run in a straight line and hog the whole path if you are multiple people
4) try not to cut someone off. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but  I will push you back if you try and get all up in my grill again lady with the blue shirt on not paying attention.
5) if you need to stop for water, don't throw your cup behind you, especially when there are still contents in it. Speaking of water...

We all know I can't sit down for a nice meal without making a mess of my area, dropping food on myself, or a beverage on someone else's Thanksgiving plate (I still don't think Floriana has forgiven me for that).  I tried really hard not to go for a drink, but I just had to at mile marker 11. I grabbed the first cup which, since I had my headphones blasting and couldn't hear, was watered down Powerade. I tried to still run and drink which ended up a disaster; it dripped down my face and onto my shirt so without continuing the disaster, I tried throwing away the cup in the garbage to help custodial out. That failed too and I over threw it, causing it to splatter everywhere earning me a not so happy look from the custodial cast member who now had to clean up that cup along with about a thousand others on the ground.


So with all that, I decided that I want to run a full half marathon all by myself like a big girl. It was such a fun experience doing it with Lauren and it is something we will always share together. Once we met up (I had my beer and medal at the point so I was happy) we walked around Epcot where we took some pictures and I got a lettuce wrap from South Korea (amazingggg) and a Jim Beam Lemonade from Amurica. We jumped right on Soarin and then headed out at 2:45 am back home. Although at mile 12 I felt and heard my right knee crack, my knees are actually fine this morning. The back of my right hamstring though and lower back is another story. I recovered today by relaxing at the pool and writing this blog for all you pool side.

Being down here has opened me to a world of trying new things and I can honestly say I normally wouldn't have done this but I have been open to trying new things, meeting new people, and as they say "putting myself out there." So thank you,  Meg Mitchell, for working traffic control that early March day at school and talking up this program to me as I was headed to the GWU grad school open house. Who knows where I would have been if you didn't convince me to apply and try this out.

Here are two pics from the race. More to come soon! 

Beer and Medal in hand. 

Warming up at the Expo!