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A Disney Diversion

Sometimes you need a break, a break that’s an actual break not just doing homework somewhere else. This December, after my semester ended, that is exactly what I needed. So, per my demands, Jason and I took a few days off from life and headed to Disneyland.

We bought ponchos around the time the rain tapered out.
We bought ponchos around the time the rain tapered out.
This 1,350-pound gingerbread house took up a large space in the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel.
This 1,350-pound gingerbread house took up a large space in the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel.

Our first hour in Disneyland it rained a lot. I was under the impression that California never received precipitation anymore but, apparently, that isn’t exactly true. We got completely drenched and then waited in a long line to buy ponchos just in time for it to let up.

Cars Land has an inviting nostalgic feel.
Cars Land has an inviting nostalgic feel.
I got a warm hug from Olaf.
I got a warm hug from Olaf.

I was also under the mistaken impression that Decembers at Disneyland were warm because they have been for us on every other occasion. However, this time, the shorts I packed did not get used. If it looks like I’m wearing the same thing in all of this post’s pictures, it’s because I am wearing the same thing… everything I brought with me. Yes, in the evenings I wore a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a sweater, a hoodie, a jacket, one of Jason’s jackets, a scarf, and gloves. One afternoon I did strip down to a t-shirt for about an hour though.

Disneyland is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. They have photo spots like this one placed around the park to commemorate.
Disneyland is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. They have photo spots like this one placed around the park to commemorate.
You can't beat the glamour of a fake open road.
You can’t beat the glamour of a fake open road.

So my preconceptions about weather and precipitation were off. Now, let me address your incorrect preconceptions. People often have a notion that Disneyland is no fun without kids. That is false. Jason and I have been there on many occasions as a couple and we consistently have a fabulous time. Sorry, your kids really aren’t as useful as you think.

Disneyland adds a lot of holiday cheer to their parks in December.
Disneyland adds a lot of holiday cheer to their parks in December.

You can always find new amusements at Disneyland, no matter how many times you’ve come. During this trip, we discovered Disney Animation, a whole interactive area in California Adventure we didn’t know existed. There, in addition to talking with Crush the turtle, we learned what Disney characters we would be. I would be EVE from WALL-E and Jason would be Syndrome from The Incredibles. (Jason a villain? No surprise there.)

Forget princesses, I wanted to meet Chewbacca.
Forget princesses, I wanted to meet Chewbacca.
Wookiees give soft hugs.
Wookiees give soft hugs.

The Force Awakens was opening just days after our visit and Disneyland was hopping like a cantina party in anticipation. Tomorrowland had been converted to Season of the Force. Hyperspace Mountain traveled to a galaxy far, far away. Instead of sparkly princesses, you could get cozy with Darth Vader, Chewbacca, or Boba Fett at the Star Wars Launch Bay. As we are sci-fi nerds, we were totally down with all of these galactic alterations. I might have bought a little too much Star Wars merchandise… or I might not have bought enough really. Would you call a dress, a couple t-shirts, some Christmas tree ornaments, a few comic books, a wallet, a book, and a Luke doll enough?

Everyone loves Pluto.
Everyone loves Pluto.
You have to get a picture in the dog pound when you're in Toontown. It's required.
You have to get a picture in the dog pound when you’re in Toontown. It’s required.

We always have a long list of places and foods we need to eat when we go to Disneyland. Jason made sure we had reservations at Napa Rose, Storytellers Café, and Blue Bayou. We also devotedly chowed corn dogs, churros, pineapple floats, asparagus and bacon skewers, and hand-dipped ice cream bars. You know, just the healthy stuff.

Mickey's Toontown is a vibrantly interactive section of Disneyland.
Mickey’s Toontown is a vibrantly interactive section of Disneyland.
Big Thunder Mountain here I come!
Big Thunder Mountain here I come!

Disneyland wasn’t exactly paradise this trip. It was cold and occasionally wet. However, it was also a much needed breather from the occupational and scholastic summersaulting I’ve been doing the last six months. Twenty layers or not, we had a great time being the big little kids that we are. Plus, it snowed back home the whole time we were gone so that made Disneyland’s disagreeable weather seem far less nasty.

Rachel January 11, 2016 2 Comments

Wired

Centuries ago, somebody realized that if a woman’s voluminous layers of petticoats were kept away from her body she would be less likely to cook like a lobster in a pot of lace. (Apparently, the obvious solution, just decreasing the layers of petticoats, was completely overlooked.) Thus, the hoop skirt, an underskirt with stiffening materials to hold its shape, was created. It really was a clever concept until someone, probably a man, remembered that bigger is better. Hoop skirts became larger and larger until women took up as much space as bloated cows. And that brings me to my performance in precisely such a vintage tent.

We dance with a fantastic bunch of people.
We dance with a fantastic bunch of people.

This December, Jason and I danced again at the Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for Primary Children’s Hospital, in attire appropriate for the 1860s and also appropriate for causing some exasperation. The circumference of the hoop skirt I wore to this affair measures just over 231 inches. Trying to squeeze that overinflated balloon through the festival crowds was like pushing an orange through a flour sifter.

I know Gay Gordons so well, I only mess it up if I actually think about what I am doing.
I know Gay Gordons so well, I only mess it up if I actually think about what I am doing.
The Oslo Waltz is danced in a round and makes inflated skirts sway like bells.
The Oslo Waltz is danced in a round and makes inflated skirts sway like bells.

Our group of six couples danced nine numbers in the half-hour we were on stage. Since this was our second time performing at the festival, Jason and I were unruffled by the little pack of spectators that gradually expanded during our show.

The Windmill looks impressively complicated but really isn't.
The Windmill looks impressively complicated but really isn’t.
There is quite a bit of bowing, curtsying, and hat tipping done at the end of our performances.
There is quite a bit of bowing, curtsying, and hat tipping done at the end of our performances.

After our routine, my imposing underskirt infrastructure slowed our movement across the exhibit hall. I got stared at and stopped frequently by excited youngsters because of my resemblance to a princess but I didn’t mind being mistaken for royalty.

My girth was exponentially enlarged at the Dickens' Ball also.
My girth was exponentially enlarged at the Dickens’ Ball also.

A week or so later, we attended the Dickens’ Ball. I donned that same wired slip and gave up fitting through doorframes in exchange for an evening of spirited stepping. For, although simple tasks, like sitting, are rendered unpleasant when you’re wearing a skirt bulkier than a bath tub, dancing in such an outfit is a stimulating drama. Your dress’s momentum doesn’t always coincide with your own and its insistent will makes you feel like you’ve a mixed mind about you. It’s quite an amusing commotion. Incidentally, if you know a family of four looking for some new housing, I have the perfect skirt.

Rachel January 6, 2016 No Comments

No Silence This Night

Every December, we invite a small group of friends to join us for an energetic Christmas gathering. This celebration has evolved over the years and now has its own long-standing traditions. Those traditions range from tasty to tacky… and sometimes borderline nasty. Here are a few of them.

Wouldn't you want this prancing around your rooftop on Christmas Eve?
Wouldn’t you want this prancing around your rooftop on Christmas Eve?

Dinner is served. This time it came in the form of blackened chicken pasta, provolone and salami salad, cheesy breadsticks, chocolate cake, and buttermilk pie from Magleby’s. The food they provided seemed ample enough to feed a mass much larger than our little crowd.

Games are played. Common among them are pool, shuffleboard, Just Dance, and ping pong. I love Just Dance even though it tends to repellently jiggle everything the good lard gave you.

Jason wore a Star Wars sweater and I wore a Doctor Who one. Remarkably, we weren't the only couple dressed in that exact combo.
Jason wore a Star Wars sweater and I wore a Doctor Who one. Remarkably, we weren’t the only couple dressed in that exact combo.

We go around the world. A few matches of Around the World involving everyone are a standard at our Christmas party, although most of us don’t have the ping pong skills to even go around the net.

Christmas sweaters, mostly of the ugly variety, are worn. (Is there any other variety?)

If it is juvenile, puerile, vulgar, or detestable, it is likely to occur at our party.
If it is juvenile, puerile, vulgar, or detestable, it is likely to occur at our party.

And, of course, a white elephant exchange game is played. In our version, nothing is opened until the end. We like our guests to fight over the boxes that inevitably end up containing old socks or something with Justin Bieber’s face on it.

This year, I did add one new diversion to the merriment. I brought my camera equipment and took some shots of any attendees that desired them. I’m not entirely sure if I will do this again. It ate up too much time and it was hard to focus on my photography with so many distractions swirling around me. Still, it’s not every day you get a picture of Jeremy in tight sweats and antlers… oh wait, it is.

We encourage the wearing of tasteless attire to our party.
We encourage the wearing of tasteless attire to our party.

Cheers to the tacky-sweater-sporting and outrageous-present-begetting gang that joined us this year. Thanks to them, Santa’s got a brand new bag, a bean bag, and moose knuckles, in a miraculous feat of science, have been transplanted onto reindeer. I’d say the party was a success.

Rachel December 28, 2015 No Comments
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