Em's Wedding Trip: Traveling To Orlando

It's been almost 2 weeks since the wedding so I know this post is long overdue. I just haven't had time to sit down and properly write down all my memories, but now I do so here goes.

I started the wedding trip with no sleep. Typical of me, huh. Well, it was Ryan's last week of class so of course we were going to go out on Friday (I think he went out on Saturday, too) since it'd been ages since we've gone out. R and Julius came out with us, too! Exciting. We finished close to 2 am, transferred my suitcase and dress from R's car to Georgia's, picked up Dem and went to Denny's for breakfast. Afterwards, they dropped us off at the airport. 4 am and I was still wired.

Our flight was due to fly out at 6 am. We didn't actually leave SeaTac until close to 8:45 am. A (almost) 3-hour delay! This is what happened (to the best of my recollection - it was 4 am and I'd just partied the night away): our plane was coming in from Alaska, supposed to stop in Las Vegas, but due to weather-related problems, it got diverted to Houston. Didn't make sense to me either. We checked in and found out our connection's been delayed as well so we'd make our connection with no problem, thank goodness, and we were told our flight would be taking off at 8 am instead. So what the hell are we going to do for 4 hours? Starbucks came to the rescue with a bottle of chocolate milk, a mocha, a caramel latte and two very comfortable, overstuffed armless-armchairs. Yeah, I totally clonked out one of their chairs as Dem watched me with much amusement and made sure to wake me if we were going to get kicked out. We weren't kicked out - and we weren't the only ones sleeping there either! - so bless the staff at the Starbucks at Gate B42! (At least, that's what Dem thinks was our gate number.)

We finally made it onto the plane, at 8:45 am, and were finally on our way to Houston. I read a magazine, a third of my book and slept. (Safe Harbor by Christine Feehan - yet another kick ass book by her! Side note: the only problem with reading these books is that it builds up high expectations of men and then reality hits you hard when you realize men aren't like those in the books. *Sigh*)

Houston airport. AKA George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Ugh. By the way, he was in town last week to campaign on behalf of Congressman Dave Reichert, who annoys the hell out of me because he spams my email AND anti-Reicherts spam my phone. I don't support the lot of you! Stop sending me crap!! I told my boss that I was going to go join the protesters. He just laughed hilariously and said, 'Yeah!' We see eye to eye.

Despite all the delays, we made it into Orlando at 8:30 pm, only 3 hours after our scheduled landing time (it could've been so much worse so 3 hours isn't too bad). Then we checked in at Magical Express, a service that transports you directly from the airport to your resort (and back) and also delivers your luggage directly to your hotel room. Nice, eh? I told the lady we had 2 suitcases, our resort name and our return flight details. Us two tired, bedraggled bridesmaids with bums that were SO tired of sitting finally arrived at the hotel and met up with Pic, our roomie, and crashed on the couches in our room. Em had booked us in at the All-Star Music Resort, the same one we stayed in when Dem and I visited her while she was doing the Walt Disney College Program.

Apparently our room can sleep 6 people. I remember Em telling me that and I'm thinking to myself, 'How big is this room??' Well, it's a rather normal sized hotel room actually but there's a love seat couch that pulls out into a 2-sleeper bed, a giant ottoman that pulls out into a one-sleeper, an armchair that pulls out into a one-sleeper and a 2-sleeper bed in the bedroom. So that's how you get 6 sardines in a room. There was also a small kitchen and 2 separate bathrooms, curtained off, with their own shower/tub, sink and mirror, and clothing rail (and wooden hangers!). It was quite comfortable with 3 in the room but I think 4 would be my limit. Venus was supposed to be staying with us but she ended having her own room.

Anyway, we were very glad to finally get there and we even had presents waiting for us! Em gave each of us bridesmaids a gift and they were really lovely presents. She even included Sephora gift cards for us! Woo, makeup!! Just in time, too, since I'm running out of foundation. This was the first time we saw the headbands that we'd be wearing and they were really pretty. Lavender with a hint of iridescence. Very pretty indeed and a much easier way to tie in the accent color than by changing the ribbons on our dresses. After exclaiming over our gifts and catching up a bit, we trooped down to the cafeteria for some food. I figured that by the time we finish eating, Magical Express will have delivered our luggage since it takes them about 2 hours.

So we're back in our room relaxing and chilling out, looking at Pic's travel pictures (he went to Barcelona and Italy and we totally exchanged notes about the sights, food and men) and trying to find High School Musical 2 on TV. 11 pm and our luggage hasn't been delivered. I'm starting to get annoyed because I wanted to change into fresh clothes and wash my face - I knew I should've packed my usual extra change of clothes in my carry-on but I didn't want to carry another bag in addition to my handbag and suitcase. That'll teach me!

Another hour goes by and I call the front desk. The girl who answered the phone sounded half-dead and when she transferred me to Magical Express Luggage Services, her 'have a magical day!' was terrible and sounded as dead as she did. That's not magical. The girl from ME that I spoke to gave me a bit of an attitude when I told her our luggage hadn't showed up yet. Her reply, 'When did you land?' had a snarky edge to it, as if I had just landed 10 minutes ago. Actually, it was 3 and a half hours ago, you heifer. I can't stand attitude especially when my flights have been delayed by hours, I'm tired and all I want is my fucking luggage so I can go to sleep. Imagine my snobbishness coming through. Oh yeah, I'm good at the whole I'm-a-fucking-princess-and-I-demand-top-notch-customer-service; that's only because I've worked in retail for over 8 years and know when to demand it, and this is Disney World after all, where the service should be magical. Humans aren't perfect, of course, but 3, almost 4, hours is ridiculous.

When I told her our flight landed at 8:30 pm, I could hear her count '8:30, 9:30, 10:30...' then 'Oh, okay! Let me just check backstage.' Yeah, that's right: 3 and a half hours! Not magical at all! She comes back on the line and says we've got 3 pieces of luggage. "No, we've only got 2 suitcases." "Ma'am, I've got you down for 3." More snarkiness, as if I didn't know how many pieces of luggage we checked in. Upon after thought, that also meant that she didn't actually check to see if our luggage had come in because if she had, she would've seen that we'd only had 2 suitcases. "Fine, fine, whatever." "Our delivery guys will be back soon and we'll have them up to you soon." "Okay, how soon is soon?" "15, 20 minutes." "Great, thanks."

Soon came and went. So did later. 1 am and still no luggage, so I called again. This time, a different girl answered and she was much nicer and quite apologetic when I explained that I'd called 40 minutes ago to check on our luggage that should've been delivered 3 hours ago and that we were very tired and want to sleep. I didn't pull the princess attitude on her since she gave me no attitude. I even offered to come pick them up myself if it was faster! She promised they'd deliver it within the next 15 minutes but they can't give it to me directly. Rubbish! Fine. *Insert me mentally twiddling my thumbs, silently fuming and watching the Disney Channel* Dem was quite amused at my princess attitude and half-asleep on the couch; Pic had already pulled out his armchair-bed and was passed out in it. Lucky him. About 20 minutes go by (I gave them 5 extra minutes) and I decided to head down to the front desk and demand my luggage in person. Dem came with me.

The guy who we spoke to at the front desk was nice, friendly and polite; no princess attitude for him, too. I explained that I'd called twice and been disappointed twice. He was also quite apologetic about the delay and about not being able to give us our luggage directly, but he had a cheery attitude and promised that they'll be sent up soon. Dem and I went back to our room, I called up R and bitched to him over the phone, then our luggage finally arrived. Finally, a promise kept! It was 2 am, 6 hours after our flight had landed. And this little princess finally went to sleep.

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Em's Wedding Trip: Day 2, Epcot

Yay Epcot. Yay World Showcase. My favorite park at Disney World because I get 'the UK', 'Italy' and 'France' all in one place.

The soon-to-be-newlyweds had their Honeymoon photo shoot in the morning so we planned to rendezvous with Em at Epcot around noonish.

We skipped and hopped our way (okay, not really but it sounds more Disney than 'we took the Epcot bus') to Epcot, met up with Em (Minnie ears, veil and all!) and took some pictures in front of Spaceship Earth. Our plan was to go on rides, go drink around the world and then watch IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.

We spent the entire day playing around the park in the gawd-awful heat and humidity. Killer! Obviously, lots of sunscreen, water and oil-blotting sheets were involved. Pic kept reminding me of Ryan. Them 2 are so alike, plus Pic to Em is what Ryan is to me. It was weird. And we were totally checking out guys together. One can always look but one can't touch.

Lunch was our first priority, which we had at The Land. While there, we got Fast Pass tickets for Soarin' and someone mentioned smelling oranges. Oranges? We went on the ride after dinner and I definitely smelled oranges. And evergreens. Nice.

We also went on Living with the Land, which was really cool and intelligent. Some of the vegetables were even 'earning their ears'! Mission: SPACE wasn't too nauseating and was hosted by Gary Sinise (Detective Mac Taylor on CSI: New York!). Em the Pilot, Venus the Navigator and I the Commander landed alright on Mars despite lacking an Engineer. Test Track was pretty cool, too, seeing how cars are tested a million and one (if not more) ways before humans are set loose upon them. Spaceship Earth was closed for renovations. Tragic and not very magical at all.

After being disappointed by Figment (he wasn't at his Character Corner), we moved on to World Showcase. Yay, England! Okay, technically it's the UK, but whatever. We started our drink-around-the-world tour at Mexico with margaritas and the Grand Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros. I still have the Three Caballeros on videotape. From there we moved on to Norway to ride Maelstrom. It was nice and cooling, and we gave Em a terrible time about her oil-rig phobia. Dinner was at the Rose & Crown Pub and I had bangers and mash! Yay again! They weren't the best bangers and mash I'd ever had but it was good nonetheless. We all got drinks, of course. Em and Venus had blue light-up 'ice cubes' in their drinks, Pic and Dem had some other cocktails but I think mine was the most magical of all: tropical fruit punch with a clip-on light-up Tinkerbell! Coooooool. I planned on wearing it during IllumiNations.

Dinner was quite a fun and funny affair. Not everyone could understand every word our waitress, Susan, said because of her Scottish brogue. I had to do some 'translating'. The most hilarious moment was when a hostess walked past leading some guests to their table: she said something to the guests just as she walked past our table and everyone was, like, 'What???' and they all automatically looked at me. We cracked up when we realized everyone, but me, had the same reaction. Then there was Ed. Ooooh, he was SO cute! He was English and waiting on some other tables further down from us. Pic saw him as soon as we walked in, but I didn't spot him until after we'd sat down for a bit. He's faster than I am, and he's even more shameless than I am! Love it! He had no compunction about asking for a picture with Ed. And he did. He asked our waitress if we could take a picture with the guy who waits those *points* tables there. Her response was a surprised, 'Ed??' as if she couldn't figure out why on earth we'd want a picture with him. He's hot, duh! It was also his birthday just the day before; he's only 23! We took a bunch of pictures (one on each camera and there were 4 total) with Ed and Susan.

After dinner, Em and Venus went back to their rooms to rest: Em because her feet were killing her and Venus because she had taken a red-eye flight and had just gotten in very early that morning. Dem, Pic and I moved on to France to sample their Grey Goose Citron slushie - it was yummy! I could hardly taste the alcohol. France is always so beautiful, I love it. Dem got a mocha in the US. Then...Italy! Em had told us about a rosé wine in Italy that was very much like the Elio Perrone Bigaro that we love so much (yes, even I like it!), so we definitely wanted to try that out. Pic and I wanted to check out the hot Italian men (since most Italian men are hot and all the World Showcase employees are from their respective countries). Much to our disappointment, there was only one hot Italian about and he looked a bit young. The wine, however, was fantastic. Pic and I took the 'Discovery Flight' and tried 4 different wines. I liked the appetizer one and the dessert wine, the Rosa Regale, Brachetto D'Acqui! The Rosa was the one Em was referring to. The red and and the white didn't score so high on my list so Pic finished those off. I finished off the Rosa while Dem finished off the appetizer wine. I think. Well after much approval and mmmmm's about the rosé, we planned on buying a bottle to take back to our room after IllumiNations.

IllumiNations was pretty spectacular. It was my first time watching it and everytime I think I don't want to watch fireworks, that they're all the same, I'm always surprised at how much I end up enjoying it. Must be the accompanying music, which was very Disney at this particular show. Then much to our dismay, we found out that the shops all close by the end of the show! No Rosa for us :(! (Luckily, Dem found it at a local supermarket after we got home!)

Despite not being able to buy a bottle of the Rosa, it was a very magical day all in all.

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E & C Wedding - August 20, 2007!

After months and months of research, planning and decisions, and many a stressed out moment, the Big Day finally arrived. Whew!

The wedding day itself was actually very unstressful. Since the wedding wasn't until 2:30 pm, we had quite some time for hair, makeup and just to get ready. Our room became Bridesmaid Headquarters, with the Mother of the Bride joining us, too. Since the boys (and Meg) were staying next door, that became Groomsmen Headquarters, with Charles joining them.

Side note about the bridal party: instead of having 4 bridesmaids, Em had 3 bridesmaids and a Pic. However, it was decided that Pic would stand with the rest of the guys on Charles' side so Charles had 3 groomsmen and a Meg. I don't remember the reason but I think it might've been too much of a controversy if Pic was standing with me, Dem and Venus, and Meg standing with Paul, Ian and Oscar, so that's the way it turned out. Em didn't have a Maid of Honor but Paul was Charles' Best Man. (Okay, that was more of a side paragraph but whatever.)

Like I said, we had a lot of time to get ready, with the boys having even more time. Pic even went for a swim when the all the girls trooped in; he hadn't tanned in a couple of weeks (but luckily, he's already got a base coat!). The hair and makeup lady arrived (I forgot her name!) and we got down to business. Dem went first, then Jane (Mother of the Bride), then me, Meg and Venus. Em went last. The steamer lady arrived soon after we started hair and makeup and got to work tackling the wrinkles on the wedding gown. Fortunately, our bridesmaid dresses didn't get squished too badly; a couple of shakes shook them out.

Somewhere in between, we made trips for breakfast and managed to stuff ourselves as much as was comfortable since we wouldn't be having lunch (only cake and champagne!) and dinner wasn't until later. Em's parents brought yummy beignets and fruit and other snacks. Fruit bowls were added to the mix and Dem had a croissant (it's a good thing I got it for her otherwise she would've been starving!). Em had her last meal as a single woman and Pic and I shared a grilled ham & cheese sandwich and a cheese and egg croissant - the croissant breakfast sandwich was SO yummy! Makes me crave one right now...

Em's last meal as a single woman.

In the process of steaming the wedding gown, the bustle had to be let out and we should've taken a picture of it because the diagram did not make any sense at all. I remember a lot of what-the-hells and disbelieving laughter (along with some funny comments by Farrell, Em's dad) as everyone took a look at the bustle diagram while I was getting done up. I looked at the drawing afterwards and what the hell indeed. Luckily, the wedding coordinators know a lot about bustles and Em's was no different. With makeup and hair all done, we moved on to our dresses. Tricky. It's damned hard being a girl sometimes! Hair, makeup, corsets, strapless bras, thongs, no-show panties, not to mention all the accessories: headbands, earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, sexy shoes and matching handbags/clutches. Em had the extra veil and petticoat, too. It boggles the mind. The guys had tuxes, which consisted of a jacket, a shirt, a waistcoat, a tie and trousers. Simple, shiny black shoes completed the ensemble. I know that Pic had cuff links and I think Em's dad and Charles had them, too (I don't recall seeing any on the other guys but I wasn't exactly looking either).

Our accent color was going to be Tiffany blue but it turned out harder to do, so it went to champagne to match Em's dress. In the end, she settled on lavender and it turned out very lovely. The bridesmaid put on their dresses first, helping each other zip and tuck and adjust. Then it was Em's turn. We managed to drop the dress over her head and she shimmied into it with no damage done to hair or makeup. Success. Then came the veil. I slipped it into place and voilà, picture perfect! And yes, lots of pictures were taken. I haven't all of them yet, but in due time... Pic went over to join the boys and helped them all with their tuxes. Much hilarity ensued when Meg, who had been hopping back and forth between the two rooms, reported that the boys were in a bit of a panic when they couldn't figure out the buttons (on the shirts I think...don't really remember now).

Pic helping Oscar and Charles with their tuxes.

The limo picked up the boys first and dropped them off at the Wedding Pavilion, then swung back to pick the girls up. We took deep breaths to prepare ourselves for the sweltering heat and humidity outside, gathered up our belongings (Em's bridal bag, bridesmaids' bag with flip-flops for changing into later and other miscellaneous items) and Em's train, and proceeded down to the the limo. Apparently, the way things are done is that everyone goes first and the bride's the last to get into the limo. Interesting. Sliding into and out of a limo is NOT as easy and graceful as it appears on TV by the way. Damned hard in fact, especially with our dresses and heels. Oh, and our limo driver was pretty cute, albeit a bit older.

The Wedding Pavilion was beautiful and the setting was gorgeous. There were palm trees all around and we could see Cinderella Castle across the Seven Seas Lagoon. Randy the photographer was waiting for us as the limo pulled up. Em's got a celebrity smile. We dropped off our stuff in the bridal vestibule and picked up our bouquets and flowers there. Em's was a bouquet of lavender calla lilies wrapped in champagne colored satin ribbon (with a hidden mickey in the back!) while the bridesmaids carried single, long-stemmed white calla lilies with lavender colored ribbon knotted and wrapped up the stem. Very, very pretty. More pictures were taken, then the wedding coordinator and the officiant walked us through the ceremony. Walk up the aisle in a slow stroll, said the officiant. Slow stroll, HA! Dem said she doesn't stroll slowly and Meg was afraid of tripping. Venus just laughed. It was all kind of hilarious and Dem jinxed herself: the wedding coordinator had said that I'd be going first and Dem was so relieved. Turns out, she was wrong and the officiant corrected us: the bridesmaid standing furthest from the bride goes first, making Dem the first one to walk up the aisle instead of me. Oh dear. Since I was the tallest of the bunch (hard to believe huh), I was the one standing next to Em and was charged with the duty of holding her vows, then exchanging it for her bouquet during that part of the ceremony, and spreading out her train. I didn't do a very good job of spreading out her train though because it was difficult to stoop down in high heels while holding holding a flower and vows (even if it was just an index card haha) with the very high possibility that I may lose my balance and fall down the steps.

Our worries were for naught as the entire ceremony went smoothly. Walking up the aisle was slightly daunting but none of us tripped or fell and we carried it off with much aplomb if I do say so myself. The groomsmen walked before us, followed by the bridesmaids, then by the bride and her father. I remember standing up there and seeing Em and her dad's shadow underneath the door, thinking to myself, 'My best friend of 12 years is about to walk down that aisle and get married. Omg.' I almost lost my composure then and started crying but I managed to get myself under control. There were a couple of other moments during the ceremony when I was close to the edge but I'd look away real quick and then I'd be okay. Dem told me afterward that she also kept thinking about not locking her knees.

Em also included the sand ceremony in which the bride and groom pour different colored sand (hers was lavender and his was black) into a bottle then shake it to mix, signifying the mixing of his and her families. Then they were supposed to both hold the bottle aloft while the photographer snapped off some pictures. The officiant had told Em to pour generously as there was a lot of sand to go through. Obviously he hadn't told Charles the same thing; Em was almost all done pouring her sand and Charles still had almost half still left in his vase. It was a funny. So was Em's expression when they posed for the camera with the finished product. It was a classic Emily.

After the Kiss, we all walked out in pairs, with the bride and groom going first and disappearing for a bit. I was paired with Paul, Meg with Ian, Venus with Pic and Dem with Oscar. (At least I'm pretty sure that's the way it went...) Once outside, we lined the walkway and blew bubbles as the bride and groom reappeared and walked back into the chapel for pictures. One particular shot was with the bride and groom on the steps and the bridal party lounging casually behind them against the table (where the sand was during the ceremony). Randy said to look casual. Em's dad chimed in with, 'Look like you're at a club.' We all laughed and I was thinking to myself, 'No, seriously, you don't want us to look like we're at a club.' Well, I can't vouch for the others but what I look like at the club is definitely not appropriate for a wedding. (That remind me of when Ryan and I were debating whether or not to dance at Sue's wedding. We opted not to, of course, and it wasn't like there was a pole there anyway. Haha!) As Pic would say later that night, 'Party Bus!' Indeed. If you, dear reader, are still with me, I applaud thee! I'm glad someone's still here... I hope this is as entertaining for you to read as it was for me to experience it and remember.

Anywho, moving on. After pictures galore were taken, the bridal party tripped into the limo, which dumped us out at the Grand Floridian. Gorgeous!! Its design is Victorian-inspired and that was my name written all over it! We drew stares as we walked into the lobby and lounged around, waiting for the bride, groom, the parents, and Charles' sister and brother-in-law. Em's brother, sister-in-law and little nephew couldn't make the trip because the kiddo's still too young to fly. He'd be pissed off on the plane and not afraid to let everyone know. They were with Em in the form of pictures in a locket bracelet. Lovely, non? Many more pictures were taken with our personal cameras. The best, and funniest one, was Pic's 'gaysha' (geisha, gaysha - get it??) picture with one of the fans that Em had supplied all of us with. It was too awesome.

Finally everyone arrived and we went to an upstairs balcony for the cake cutting ceremony. Yay cake! It was delicious and Em had also bought a bottle of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. Super thoughtful! Despite being a bit of a snob (yeah, just a bit), I really don't like champagne and much prefer sparkling apple cider. Yummy! Paul, Charles' best man, gave a very nice speech about the couple. I'd probably freak out about what to say if Em asked me to give a speech (although I would do it for you if you asked Em!) and it'd be the only other written piece I didn't procrastinate on (the other being an essay I wrote two days before the due date back in 2005). The cake was equally yummy and the cake topper - a Minnie Bride and Mickey Groom - was too cute. And they get to keep that? Cool. There was a violin soloist present taking requests, too. Wait, was he also at the wedding? Totally don't remember that. I think I recall an organ playing...

More chilling out ensued, emphasis not on the chill, and lots of intense fanning was involved. The wedding coordinator had a hell of a time doing up the bustle but she got it done! I'm glad someone understood that diagram. More cake and sparkling cider, more pictures - yay - and mazel tov's, then Randy gathered up the bridal party for pictures around the resort. By this time, Meg and Dem had already changed into flip-flops. Venus had comfy shoes on already. And there's me adamantly refusing to take off my shoes - they are CUTE - until we'd finished with ALL the professional pictures. So what if my feet were killing me? It's a small price to pay for them to be in the pictures. They'll get plenty of rest for the rest of the night after I change into flip-flops. Then Randy led us out onto the beach. Thought sand in your shorts was bad?? BAH! (But then again, I don't wear shorts.) My heels kept sinking into the sand so I had to walk as if I was tip-toeing and grabbed Pic's arm for support. And I got sand inside my shoes, which made things worse.

One picture that Randy took was really cool - or at least we all think it'll come out really cool: it was of the bride and groom's reflection in a pair of sunglasses, with her bouquet sitting next to it. The wind kept trying to take Em's veil, with a short-lived success at one point, but I rescued the veil and kept watch over it after that. After the last of the pictures were taken - I can't wait to see them! - we all trooped back into the resort (I'm walking very gingerly at this point but not limping) and I was able to finally take off my shoes. Like I said, it's a small price to pay and I've experienced worse. A quick trip to the restroom, then the cutest thing happened: as Dem and I were walking out of the restroom, a family with two little girls was just walking past. They stared at us in the awed way that only little girls can do, then Em, in her full bridal glory, walked out behind us. As we passed the family, I heard one of the little girls whisper, 'Look! A princess!' Awwww!! We got a lot of those stares and whispers all day, but it was so precious coming from a little girl.

Dinner was at Narcoossee's on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon. We all got drinks, even me! It was a strawberry cocktail of sorts. Note I didn't say I finished the entire drink - that's because I didn't. Or couldn't. I didn't even get halfway through it before I started tasting the alcohol and as soon as I can taste the alcohol, it's all over for me. I just can't stand the taste of alcohol. I tried adding more ice cubes to dilute it but still didn't work. I went to have a sip, then set the glass down before it even hit my lips. Sad, innit? Luckily (more for whom though?), Pic finished it off for me. I had the Surf and Turf: Maine lobster tail and filet mignon, accompanied by asparagus and potato gratin. The food was absolutely DELICIOUS! I was quite stuffed with yumminess that I couldn't have any dessert (not like there was any more room in the dress for more food anyway!) which was really too bad because the desserts sounded so lovely! I had a cup of Imperial English tea instead and that wasn't too bad.

After dinner, we lolled around the lobby again, resting and digesting as we waited for 9 pm: the time for our Wishes cruise. We had two Pontoon Boats, with the friends on one boat and the family on the other, and the cruise took us around the lake with the pilot/tour guide giving us tidbits about the different resorts. There was a musical light show on the lake that precedes the fireworks show over Magic Kingdom. Then our pilot commented that we were too quiet of a crowd. Quiet?? We're the Party Bus! Well, Charles' friends up at the front of the boat were very quiet so I don't know about them, but they did go to Pleasure Island the night before... (I didn't go to PI again this time but I am so going next time I'm there!) Okay, you want us to sing Disney songs out loud like that Canopy Boat over there? Pic and I busted out in song (I can't remember which Disney song we sang now!) but it didn't last very long as the Wishes fireworks show was about to start. Our boats were strapped together, the pilot cut the engines and tuned the radio to broadcast the music and dialogue part of the show. Wishes is truly, uniquely Disney and breathtaking, and I loved it. I recorded a short bit on my phone and I'm not too sure about the quality but if it's good enough, I'll post it.

The show ended, we were dropped back onto shore and everyone parted ways. We had to find our own way back to our respective resorts and hotel rooms but it wasn't too hard. Pic, Dem, Venus and I took Em's advice and took the monorail to the Transport Station. On our way to the monorail, we passed by a group of people sitting in the lobby and one guy yelled out, and I do really mean he yelled, 'Hey, it's the gay best friend and the bridal party!!' For some reason, we found it hilarious and we could NOT stop laughing. Way to use labels there buddy! At the Transportation Station, we found out that we were supposed to catch the All-Star Music bus at Magic Kingdom - one stop before. Oops! Back on the monorail, we went in a circle because we couldn't go 'backwards' to Magic Kingdom.

At the bus line, we met up with Charles' side of the party and after what seemed like forever, we finally boarded a bus. On the way back to the resort, we started laughing when the radio started playing Garth Brooks' Friends in Low Places, a song that has much meaning to Em, Dem and I. We, of course, had to sing along and when the line 'Everybody now!' came on, I sang that, too, and then a whole bunch of people did sing along! Much kudos to the couple sitting in front of me who sang as loud as I did! It was so awesome.

Once back at the hotel room, the first order of business was to unzip ourselves and get out of our dresses. We could finally breath!! It felt so good to finally divest ourselves of everything and slip into much more comfortable clothes. Venus went back to her room; Pic, Dem and I rested and relaxed and looked over Pic's pictures (he had his laptop with him). Very awesome pictures. I can't wait to get my hands on them!

Dem and I left the next day - we wanted to stay and play some more! Pic, Venus and Em were going to another park and I wished I had taken an extra day of holiday! Our flight home was uneventful - thank gawd! - and the only thing worth mentioning was that I was able to get onto Dem's flights home (hers were earlier). Yay! The Continental lady at the counter in Orlando - Nora was her name - was SUPER friendly, nice and helpful! When I had trouble checking in, she looked and realized my outgoing flight was delayed. She didn't want me to miss my connection so she put me (and my suitcase) on Dem's flight and put me on standby for her connecting flight, which I was able to get on, too. Awesome.

All I have to say now is that it was very magical. Thanks for everything (rooms, cruise, etc) Em and congratulations to you both again. Hugs and kisses and lots of love~

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Facebook On Newsweek

In case no one's noticed, Facebook's on the cover of this week's Newsweek. Way to go! After all my non-school friends and friends not on any college network (friends from Hull, former coworkers from my UK jobs, Ceroc friends) started joining, I knew the times were changing. It's so random to realize that your latest friend request is from your former boss.


Reading the article totally reminded me of my last class in uni, Basic Concepts of New Media with D. Silver, in which the entire platform of the class revolved around Facebook. I still have the emails that the Facebook team wrote to us in response to our final project. Awesome.

Note: after reading about former AOL CEO Steve Case befriending Bill Gates, I had to go look up Bill and sure enough, he's there! R wanted me to befriend him (and say what? 'Hey Bill, I'm dating one of your engineers so you should be friends with me!' HA) but he'd most definitely reject me (it's not like I'm his company's Marketing Coordinator) and I'd be gutted so I'd like to just avoid that.

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H&M Coming To Seattle!!

My favourite store in the world, above J.Crew, Victoria's Secret and Express, is coming to town! YAY!! I've been hearing rumors for a while but finally, finally, I have a concrete and definite answer thanks to the Puget Sound Business Journal. This was front page news this week:

(Source: Puget Sound Business Journal, August 10-16, 2007)

Too bad the online article is only available to paid subscribers, but you can click on the image to read the jpg.

Hurrah!!!

The only downside is that I have to wait until Autumn of next year for my very own H&M. *Twiddles thumbs* Until then, I'll just make do with whenever I go back to Europe (which will probably be at least one more time before it opens anyway).

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Salsa!

R and I went salsa dancing last night and I'm, like, walking on sunshine at the moment. We went to 62 Marion and the lesson started at 8:30 pm. It's only $10 and the lesson went on until 10 pm. There's a social from 10 to midnight and our tenner covered that as well. We didn't stay for the social as we both had to be up early the next day for work. I showed off a little 'flare' last night, too, haha! A flare is an extra something, like a hand gesture/movement or kick, that you add to the basic moves. I just struck a bit of a hand pose, the basic hand posture for ballroom, but it was suitably impressive since everyone else there (besides Jim the instructor) were beginners. Hehehe.

R was laughing at me last night, laughing about how happy I am just because he agreed to go salsa with me. I was happy! And I'm still high from it. Needless to say, I had a BLAST. R actually had a lot of fun, too, and he wants to go back next week. YAY!

I'm walking on sunshiiiiiine, wooahh!
And don't it feel good!!
~Katrina and the Waves

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Orlando, Here We Come!

Em and Charles' wedding is one week from yesterday. Time flies! I still remember when she sent away for the Disney World wedding informational packet, which was ages ago, and how excited she was. My goodness. Sometimes it feels so surreal: to think my best friend of 12 years (and counting!) is getting married on Monday and becoming Mrs. D. It's not that I haven't had time to get used to it - I've had plenty of time believe me - it's just...well, I can't really explain it I guess. This is yet another Life Changing Event that we're going through together (I'm a bridesmaid), but not literally since I'm not getting married alongside her. I admit that there are times I wish things never change but two seconds later I mentally shake my head; if things never changed then we'd never be able to achieve our goals and dreams. (You hear that Rai-Rai?!)

Anyway, Dem and I fly for Orlando at the god-awful time of 6 am on a Saturday morning. This Saturday morning. That means I'm not going to sleep at all because this is Ryan's last week in class and we're going to CELEBRATE and PAR-TAY Friday night. I haven't been to R Place in aaaaaages and it's been too long. Well, I did go to Trinity with R and a couple of his friends for a birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I guess I did get my dance on... but it's not the same: the scene, the people, the music and, most importantly, the dancing. So I'm going to go straight from the club to breakfast to the airport and I'll sleep on the plane which, as we all know, I'm very adept at.

Em's itinerary for us is sitting in my Inbox and although I don't remember much of it (there's a LOT of stuff on there), I do remember that we're having dinner at the Rose & Crown Pub in the UK at Epcot. YAY!!! I remember going there for lunch on our first trip to Epcot together. Funny how that's the only thing that stuck in my mind.

Now with less than a week to go, I need to get a pedicure, my eyebrows waxed and plan out what I'm going to wear. I'm excited!!

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Stardust

GO SEE IT!

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