Life recap
I've been a busy girl these past couple weeks. Not only was there life in general and other fun stuffs, but these past couple weekends were the weekends for the Fall Escondido Faire. The latter will be in a separate update, due to length.
One of the biggest details (for anyone who doesn't follow my FB page) is I received Conditional Acceptance to CSU Northridge's Health Science program for next Fall. I still need another class or two in order to satisy the lower-division requirements, but I think I can do it. It would be a very welcome change, believe me. I also received my paper degrees from Palomar; I'm not sure of their value as they're General Studies degrees, but they're better than nothing.
The 28th of last month was a blast! See, I follow the Disney Parks blog on Facebook, and they periodically announce meetups where folks can get in for free for private access to Disneyland/DCA's newest attractions, shows, and so on. Well, they announced a meetup for ElecTRONica over at DCA, which included free Park access from 4PM until 11PM. Being a TRON fan, I had to try and get my name in for it. It would be an event for 3000 people (1500 RSVPs with one guest each), and I was chosen as one of the RSVPs. I was so happy, both because I'd wanted to do ElecTRONica and because I'd wanted to see DCA. (I had brought it up with Justin as something we could do together, but at $70+ apiece to get into the park, it wasn't feasible for our budgets.) I invited Justin as my guest, he was able to get the time off, and we made plans to meet up there by 4PM (when check-in started).
I got up there first. I took care of a few errands on my end, grabbed some (okay, quite a bit) of food, and headed up. I parked, got to the Entrance Plaza, then spent some time wandering through the Downtown Disney shops nearby. I'd never had the chance to see them; mainly due to the fact that I often get there when the shops aren't open/after they've closed. But I loved getting to walk around and see what they had, and I'd definitely love to do that again with Justin sometime. I headed back to the Plaza at about 2:30 or so to get in line for check-in. While there, I met a LOT of awesome people, got a lot of compliments on the TRON t-shirt I was rocking, and had fun while waiting. Justin eventually showed up about 3:45, got a greeting hug from this girl, we got checked in for the meetup, and we went in.
Now, remember the food I mentioned getting? Well, I need to make a note to myself on doing that: either don't bring that much, or have a place to keep leftovers so they aren't in the way during the day. I hadn't realized Justin likely wouldn't be as hungry as I was by that time (he got food on his drive to the park), and while I was able to eat enough to be satisfied, there was a LOT left over that I got rid of due to not wanting to lug it with me all over the park. But he was such a great sport; he had a little of what I brought, and took some of the smaller, less-messy things home with him. So I appreciate him doing that much for me. I love getting to share things with him that I enjoy, so it's pretty meaningful to me.
Anyway, since we only had about four hours before the meetup (give or take, since Justin did want to see World of Color as well), we didn't exactly do the whole park. But he did show me around DCA, and we did do a few things he enjoyed doing. I thought it was great overall, in spite of not being able to do everything.
Here's what we did:
Soarin' Over California: I really liked this, and can see why it's a popular attraction. I love IMAX films (this was filmed in HD IMAX), and the whole premise was neat. (And yes, I admit to cheering a bit when it came to San Diego. What, you expected differently?) While waiting for this one, I told Justin about past musings of being a fighter pilot for the Navy, and we even got to meet some folks from Russia who were visiting family here in California. Very neat. :)
A Bug's Land: We walked through this on our way to the Tower of Terror. My first thought was 'Great, a whole area that makes me feel even shorter than I already do'. But it's a neat area with a cute theme.
Tower of Terror: I admit, I was both anticipating and leery of this one. I'd wanted to go on it, but thrill rides aren't always my forte. Still, I went on it, and found it an awesome ride! The theming of it is amazing (I joked to Justin that my mother would have a heart attack if she could see how 'dirty' the hotel lobby was), and the ride itself was great, in hindsight. In the moment? Well, I was too busy holding onto his arm and screaming to think about it. It was fun, but damn it scared me! My legs were shaking for a good minute after it was over! (Funny thing: My first thought when it first went to the very top and the doors opened was 'Wow, what an awesome view...waitaminuteohshit!' Yes, I can be a pansy when it comes to thrill rides. Sue me.)
Paradise Pier: Wow, this was gorgeous! I loved walking through this area. Justin tried to get me to do California Screamin', but my fortitude wasn't quite high enough to brave it that time. Roller coasters have never truly been my forte, and that one especially made me a bit nervous. Maybe on our next visit I'll feel up to it.
Toy Story Midway Mania: Wow, this is fun! I admit, I felt slightly dizzy at a couple points, but it's a lot of fun! Justin and I competed against one another (kindasorta), and while he had more points, I had higher accuracy. So we were each happy. :)
From here, we killed the 45 minutes or so until World of Color. Part of that was spending time just snuggling with one another (with his gently teasing me about my tendency to talk too much at times!) and talking about the upcoming Faire weekend.
World of Color: This. Is. Beautiful. We saw it from the 'Standby' area way in the back, so we couldn't see everything. But what we saw was absolutely incredible. The creators really outdid themselves with this show, and I would love to go back and get a Fastpass so I can be in one of the preferred viewing areas for a future show.
ElecTRONica: Ah, yes. The reason we were there. To say it was amazing wouldn't even begin to cover it. The theming was perfect, the music rocked, the teaser footage only makes me want to see the movie that much more, and the arcade (though packed) was neat to walk through. The only quibble I had was seeing the $10-$13 alcohol prices, but I'd decided not to have alcohol so it was a moot point. (Justin did treat for a couple of excellent lemonades, so it was all good.) Basically, if you like a rave-themed event with some awesome extras (and expensive booze!) then go to it. You will not regret it. :D
After that, I went back with him to his car, and he drove me to mine (we parked in different areas, as I can never keep all the parking areas straight for Disney). He left me with his Faire stuff for the weekend, as he would be carpooling with Cutty and space was at a premium. From there, it was a goodnight kiss and a long, happy drive home.
All in all, it was a lot of fun. I'd mentioned to Justin before that I'd been wanting to do more with him as a couple, as opposed to us being part of a larger group. Don't get me wrong; I love going on group outings with friends, his family, and our guildmates. But I just felt like we needed to balance the group outings with the couple outings. And this was a great way to do that.
From here, the next event in life was Fall Escondido Faire. And that's a post in its own right. ;)
One of the biggest details (for anyone who doesn't follow my FB page) is I received Conditional Acceptance to CSU Northridge's Health Science program for next Fall. I still need another class or two in order to satisy the lower-division requirements, but I think I can do it. It would be a very welcome change, believe me. I also received my paper degrees from Palomar; I'm not sure of their value as they're General Studies degrees, but they're better than nothing.
The 28th of last month was a blast! See, I follow the Disney Parks blog on Facebook, and they periodically announce meetups where folks can get in for free for private access to Disneyland/DCA's newest attractions, shows, and so on. Well, they announced a meetup for ElecTRONica over at DCA, which included free Park access from 4PM until 11PM. Being a TRON fan, I had to try and get my name in for it. It would be an event for 3000 people (1500 RSVPs with one guest each), and I was chosen as one of the RSVPs. I was so happy, both because I'd wanted to do ElecTRONica and because I'd wanted to see DCA. (I had brought it up with Justin as something we could do together, but at $70+ apiece to get into the park, it wasn't feasible for our budgets.) I invited Justin as my guest, he was able to get the time off, and we made plans to meet up there by 4PM (when check-in started).
I got up there first. I took care of a few errands on my end, grabbed some (okay, quite a bit) of food, and headed up. I parked, got to the Entrance Plaza, then spent some time wandering through the Downtown Disney shops nearby. I'd never had the chance to see them; mainly due to the fact that I often get there when the shops aren't open/after they've closed. But I loved getting to walk around and see what they had, and I'd definitely love to do that again with Justin sometime. I headed back to the Plaza at about 2:30 or so to get in line for check-in. While there, I met a LOT of awesome people, got a lot of compliments on the TRON t-shirt I was rocking, and had fun while waiting. Justin eventually showed up about 3:45, got a greeting hug from this girl, we got checked in for the meetup, and we went in.
Now, remember the food I mentioned getting? Well, I need to make a note to myself on doing that: either don't bring that much, or have a place to keep leftovers so they aren't in the way during the day. I hadn't realized Justin likely wouldn't be as hungry as I was by that time (he got food on his drive to the park), and while I was able to eat enough to be satisfied, there was a LOT left over that I got rid of due to not wanting to lug it with me all over the park. But he was such a great sport; he had a little of what I brought, and took some of the smaller, less-messy things home with him. So I appreciate him doing that much for me. I love getting to share things with him that I enjoy, so it's pretty meaningful to me.
Anyway, since we only had about four hours before the meetup (give or take, since Justin did want to see World of Color as well), we didn't exactly do the whole park. But he did show me around DCA, and we did do a few things he enjoyed doing. I thought it was great overall, in spite of not being able to do everything.
Here's what we did:
Soarin' Over California: I really liked this, and can see why it's a popular attraction. I love IMAX films (this was filmed in HD IMAX), and the whole premise was neat. (And yes, I admit to cheering a bit when it came to San Diego. What, you expected differently?) While waiting for this one, I told Justin about past musings of being a fighter pilot for the Navy, and we even got to meet some folks from Russia who were visiting family here in California. Very neat. :)
A Bug's Land: We walked through this on our way to the Tower of Terror. My first thought was 'Great, a whole area that makes me feel even shorter than I already do'. But it's a neat area with a cute theme.
Tower of Terror: I admit, I was both anticipating and leery of this one. I'd wanted to go on it, but thrill rides aren't always my forte. Still, I went on it, and found it an awesome ride! The theming of it is amazing (I joked to Justin that my mother would have a heart attack if she could see how 'dirty' the hotel lobby was), and the ride itself was great, in hindsight. In the moment? Well, I was too busy holding onto his arm and screaming to think about it. It was fun, but damn it scared me! My legs were shaking for a good minute after it was over! (Funny thing: My first thought when it first went to the very top and the doors opened was 'Wow, what an awesome view...waitaminuteohshit!' Yes, I can be a pansy when it comes to thrill rides. Sue me.)
Paradise Pier: Wow, this was gorgeous! I loved walking through this area. Justin tried to get me to do California Screamin', but my fortitude wasn't quite high enough to brave it that time. Roller coasters have never truly been my forte, and that one especially made me a bit nervous. Maybe on our next visit I'll feel up to it.
Toy Story Midway Mania: Wow, this is fun! I admit, I felt slightly dizzy at a couple points, but it's a lot of fun! Justin and I competed against one another (kindasorta), and while he had more points, I had higher accuracy. So we were each happy. :)
From here, we killed the 45 minutes or so until World of Color. Part of that was spending time just snuggling with one another (with his gently teasing me about my tendency to talk too much at times!) and talking about the upcoming Faire weekend.
World of Color: This. Is. Beautiful. We saw it from the 'Standby' area way in the back, so we couldn't see everything. But what we saw was absolutely incredible. The creators really outdid themselves with this show, and I would love to go back and get a Fastpass so I can be in one of the preferred viewing areas for a future show.
ElecTRONica: Ah, yes. The reason we were there. To say it was amazing wouldn't even begin to cover it. The theming was perfect, the music rocked, the teaser footage only makes me want to see the movie that much more, and the arcade (though packed) was neat to walk through. The only quibble I had was seeing the $10-$13 alcohol prices, but I'd decided not to have alcohol so it was a moot point. (Justin did treat for a couple of excellent lemonades, so it was all good.) Basically, if you like a rave-themed event with some awesome extras (and expensive booze!) then go to it. You will not regret it. :D
After that, I went back with him to his car, and he drove me to mine (we parked in different areas, as I can never keep all the parking areas straight for Disney). He left me with his Faire stuff for the weekend, as he would be carpooling with Cutty and space was at a premium. From there, it was a goodnight kiss and a long, happy drive home.
All in all, it was a lot of fun. I'd mentioned to Justin before that I'd been wanting to do more with him as a couple, as opposed to us being part of a larger group. Don't get me wrong; I love going on group outings with friends, his family, and our guildmates. But I just felt like we needed to balance the group outings with the couple outings. And this was a great way to do that.
From here, the next event in life was Fall Escondido Faire. And that's a post in its own right. ;)