Cinderallabration...

We got in from 5 days in Orlando last night (my folks, my boyfriend & moi) -- and got to endure their RECORD LOW temps (we're talking freezing here, folks). Yep, that's right -- in what is normally sunny & warm Orlando, Florida, we were chilled to the bone!!! However, we did have some warm days thrown in here & there, and while the cold can put just a titch of a damper on outdoor activities, it didn't slow us down too much...

We were there for the NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) convention, so we had all kinds of fun & interesting parties and stuff to attend -- at Universal Studios' City Walk, the Hard Rock Cafe', etc. Free booze & munchies... try to beat that with a stick!!! We spent the night of one of the parties (Honda's) in Pat O'Brien's piano bar being rambunctious & requesting such classics as "My Ding-a-Ling" (they knew all the words -- I was quite impressed), Hank Williams Jr.'s "Family Tradition", "Sympathy for the Devil", among others... I also successfully tied a cherry stem into a knot using just my mouth, after boasting that I could do it (although I'm too sure if it's something one should boast about!). Way too many hurricanes later, we called it a night, but had a blast!!!

Also, I have a few suggestions for those of you planning to visit the Orlando/Disney/Universal Studios theme parks at any point in time:

1. Piece of Advice #1: Unless you are a multi-millionaire who can shit $100 bills (a talent I would love to possess but have yet to master, though I have been practicing), prepare to be raped by the prices. I mean, I don't know how most people afford to ever take a kid with them, much less more than one. Whenever I do actually have a child, well, they may just have to stay home and I'll go. It's probably much more pleasant that way anyway. ;)
2. Piece of Advice #2: If your child cannot yet talk, cannot be reasoned with/silenced (i.e. "bribed"), or will not even remember the trip, then they are too young to go. Save your money and actually enjoy your trip without having to push little strollers/tanks around filled with overpriced souvenirs piled atop screaming children while running over unsuspecting pedestrians. Plus, they are loud & kill the ambience for all of us non-parents -- and let's face it, that's the most important thing. Ha! [However, I must admit, some of the temper tantrums I saw were quite entertaining.]
3. Piece of Advice #3: When your mother tells you it's going to be cold on a trip that she will be on with you, just go ahead and pack a fucking parka and spare yourself from the incessant "I-told-you-so" comments each time you shiver because you didn't bring a coat lined in thermal/aerospace/sub-atomic/polar fleece/Antarctic-ready material. Trust me on this one.
   So now I'm playing the game of catch-up at work (and blogging, of course -- nice, eh?) -- not to mention trying to get through the GI-NORMOUS number of e-mails I apparently missed... Fun, fun, fun!!! More later...