And Other Tales of Adventure From These Last Couple of Weeks.Well, my life is back to being crazy again. Not actually sure if it ever wasn't, but it's a different kind of crazy now. Two weeks ago I got back from my business trip to Florida; 3 days later I headed off to my extended family's vacation for a week. Promptly after returning from Florida I got sick, and decided to take its affects with me on vacation - as well as a wonderful back injury. BW decided to join me in getting sick and developing a back injury of his own. What a pair we are. Anyway: Florida. There was much newness on this trip. Flying at night, layovers, flying over a coast, purchasing product on my own, having personal meetings with sales reps, being completely in charge of gift purchasing, new city, unknown plans upon arrival, etc. I was pretty stoked to be able to see the sunset from the air. Beautiful. Pictures just don't do it justice. It got a little weird when the sunset lasted a few hours coming back, but I suppose that's to be expected when you're flying into it. I was also pretty stoked to fly at night. Something new, and I happen to love the night, and being in the air. Put them together and it's just great. The lit cities down below looked like the female alien in Godzilla when she's in heat. So that was cool. Despite all of the newness and unknown, though - and craziness that was my week leading up to the trip (engagement, increased work, putting my sweet dog down, and a dear friends wedding right before departure) - I found myself surprisingly confident. I kept thinking back to my first trip (last year in Atlanta), and how wide-eyed and out of my comfort zone I was. So much has changed this last year. It's neat to see how much I've grown; more confidence, more competency, more assertiveness, and so much more. I had my moments getting ready for the trip, trust me. This was probably the first trip that I packed without an extensive list, or a week ahead of time. I'm a list maker. It's what I do. That's what keeps me grounded and on top of life. However, since dating BW, I have learned how to just go with it. A last minute trip to Eugene with his family for the weekend? Just throw crap in a backpack and call it good. This may seem odd to some people; ridiculous, even. But it's big growth for me, and I like it. I managed my way through the airport, only asking 2-3 questions (which for me, is a mile marker), and I just straight-up owned my stuff. Oh, and I also drove to Portland - something I said I would never do because of the stress and anxiety. Booyah! Take that, Rose City! Our flight ended up having to switch planes unexpectedly, so that was fun, resulting in 2 1/2 hours of sleep that was interupted about 5 times by the cries of an infant that, I'm assuming, ears hurt because they wouldn't pop. I also got really excited because I thought we were in a lightning storm at one point. Turns out it was just the lights on the plane... I DID get to see lightning later, however. Real lightning. We arrived at the hotel 7 hours before check-in, exhausted. As always though, God continued to provide. I got a room right away (a room with two queen beds, a TV IN the bathroom mirror, and lots of storage space), my boss and his wife got me water super fast (and for an amazing price), my food was safe, and I had 15 hours to myself before bed. 3 of those hours were spent on a nap, and the rest of them were spent focusing on work stuff while watching a Jurassic Park marathon. I love my job. I also got to do some wedding planning, which was good for the heart (and mind. Because short engagements leave you with less time to plan). It was a good trip, with much to do. Most of my evening were spent going over work catalogs and orders while watching movies/TV. My dear friend Madi joined us 1 day into the trip and stayed in my room, so we watched Sharknado while I took care of some business-type stuff. Again, I love my job. I didn't mind the humidity difference all that much. Except when I was hoofing it to the conference center in three shirts; I minded it a bit then. It was amazing how much the lobby of the hotel smelled like childhood. I don't know what it was about it, but every time I stepped foot on that floor, scent memories flooded my nostrils. I have also come to the definitive conclusion that hotel elevators make me very dizzy. Not regular elevators - just hotel elevators. It was great having Madi there. We haven't been able to connect as much due to busyness and schedules, so it was wonderful to spend a near week with her. She got to hang out with one of her friends that lived there a couple of times, which meant that I still got my down time to unwind by myself, but we also got time to talk and be our silly selfs. And in case you were wondering, this is what happens when we get a hotel room to ourselves: And yes, the reason why I'm wearing pants for part of the time and shorts for the other is because I peed myself laughing. Come Wednesday, the business part of the trip was over. And though it was fun, the real fun began the next day - Thursday. And oh, gosh, what to say about Thursday... I've decided not to go into detail about it. I just can't convey it. We spent the day - 8:00am-10:15pm - at Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. This is the reason that Madi joined us on the trip. We spent the whole day gallivanting through both parks, just the two of us. Marvel, Dr. Seuss, Transformers, Minions, Jurassic Park... But best of all, and the main reason Madi came down to join us: Harry Potter world. It's real, guys. It was so wonderful to step foot into the world that I love so much. It's cheesy, but it felt like home. Strolling down Diagon Alley, riding the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross Station to Hogsmeade, wandering around Hogsmeade, and exploring the Hogwarts Castle - complete with talking pictures. It was amazing; something I never thought would actually happen. But it did. And I got to experience it with one of my besties. We ended the day by celebrating 100 years of Universal with a large video tribute and fireworks that would put the 4th of July to shame. A perfect end to an amazing day. The last day, I couldn't adult. We met down in the lobby after checkout, and I promptly realized that I left my food (which is kind of important) in the fridge in our hotel room. Halfway down to the lobby after getting my food, I realized that I had left my claim ticket to my cooler (which I was storing in their fridge) on the bed. So I had to go all the way down, all the way back up, and pray that my keycard still worked (it was set up to work for only a short amount of time). It did. Thank goodness. The plane rides home were enjoyable, both containing new experiences for me. Flying over part of the ocean (a very SMALL part. Probably more like a bay, really, but I'm counting it) and TV. I watched some Judge Judy, Ellen, Dirty Jobs, the beginning of How To Train Your Dragon, iCarly, Age of Ultron (thanks to my boss' fabulous wife), some crime show, the second half of RED, and about half of one of my most enjoyed movies; The Terminal. Which was fabulous timing, as I was flying home from the airport in the film - on the same day as it was in the movie. So great! I love it when that happens. Though the trip home was enjoyable, once we got to JFK I was just ready to be home. My goal was (and still is) to not pee on a plane. I'm happy to say that I have successfully fulfilled that goal so far. Not sure if we'll be returning to ICRS next year. But if we do, this little blonde one will be hitting up Cincinnati! Also, my family/extended family is the best.
Motor boats, pontoons, lake swimming, Loaded Questions, spontaneous prayer time, lots of hugs, and tons of laughter. Also this little guy, who flew onto my finger and just hung out with me for an hour. I thought he was injured, but nope. He genuinely liked me. So that was nice :)
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