iwanderlust

wanderlust: a strong innate desire to rove, or travel about.  

wanderlust. i has it.

the magical kingdom

I have a Disneyland hangover. Sometimes that happens after being awake and exerting massive amounts of energy for twenty-one hours....and being the driver is just the icing on the cake.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely.

My first Disneyland experience occured when I was at the age of experiencing everything and remembering nothing.  My only recollection of the trip was the fact that my sister had a minor meltdown upon discovery that the ride "it's a small world" was closed; a fact that I'm sure my parents found as a blessing from God.  (There's nothing quite like having the small world song running around your head for fifteen or more hours.)  Upon residency in the state of California at age 18, I found it necessary to re-discover the magic. Needless to say, I've had a mild case of obsession with the happiest place on earth since then.  As such, I could only jump at the chance to go for Amanda Crowley's birthday.  

The group was as follows: Amanda Crowley, Mike Magnusen, Maddie Jacks, Ryan Smith, myself, and Todd Pulliam.  It is important to note that having the optimum Disneyland experience heavily relies on your group.  These people are stellar, and I recommend each one of them should you ever need an additional body to join you at the magical kingdom.  

We started our day at 5:45 a.m., and ended at 2:30 a.m.  Pure bliss.  The park was packed because it was Memorial Day Weekend. This fact caused a little concern at the onset of our arrival.  However, with our combined expertise, we navigated the park so well that we had time to spare; even after the fourth time through on Big Thunder Mountain [the wildest ride in the wilderness].  It's all about fast passes.

a day in the life...

date: may 21, 2009

location: santa barbara, california

status: unemployed

Ever since my untimely leave at my unnamed previous employer [wait....no, I think I'm going to name it...]. Ever since my untimely leave at Davies Public Affairs, I have had a lot of time on my hands. With this time, I've been quite contemplative about my life. For example, I've had time to mull over my "dream job," what I would most love to spend the rest of my life doing, where I want to live, etc. All of those big questions that you always feel too busy to really think about when submerged in the fury of full-time employment.  I've also had time to hone in on the best possible approach to total world domination, and I will say that I'm getting closer and closer each day.  I've also been pondering what life would look like as the worlds greatest knitter. I've shared this dream with a few people, and I've been told to be careful. Knitting is a hobby with a heavy demographic in the...how can I put this nicely...older age groups.  As such, I've been warned about the feistiness of said demographic. However my confidence is supreme. I have the cunning edge of youth on my side; and while they might be feisty, chances are they're also athritic. Just think about that!

I made salmon and sweet potato for dinner. And the answer is no, they don't go well together.

Here's another thought. Urges.  I've always been one to have them....I can't quite explain it. 

Some mild examples: 

- I see someone walking with a tray full of food, I have the urge to tip the tray and make the food FLY!

- Hopping. Who's to say I can't spend an entire day hopping rather than walking as a method of transportation? Because I have an urge to do it.

Many of my urges lack follow through. However, with my recent abundance of time and introspection, I've been given the opportunity for implementation.  Yesterday, mid conversation with a friend, I had an inexplicable urge to make lemon meringue pie. Now obviously I wouldn't try this feat sans recipe, so first things first: allrecipies.com.  My first obstacle was to figure out how the deuce to spell meringue. That accomplished, I found a recipe which PROMISED to be a success, four and a half stars.  I'm trying not to be too judgemental on the recipe, because I'm sure if I had made it correctly, it might have tasted better. As it is, however, I made a few critical errors in the baking process.

My first error involved eggs, or the lack thereof.  I maintain that I was so focused on the fact that the top of the pie, the meringue if you will, was composed of egg whites, that I misread the call for egg yokes in the actual lemon pie filling.  I'm sure it's better my way anyway, cholesterol free.  The second mistake involved a complete LACK OF POOFINESS from the egg whites whose SOLE PURPOSE is to make the pie pretty. The poof is what makes the meringue meringuey.  Well I beat those whites for a good 15 minutes, and no poof was to be found. I even added three tablespoons extra sugar, not sure why, just felt like it.  In hindsight, that might have had something to do with the absence of stiffness in the egg whites.  Regardless, I finally gave up and just poured the whipped, yet completely un-poofed, eggies on top of the pie and cooked it for about 15.  All this to say, the presentation of the pie is anything but impressive. It's edible, but ugly. I mean really ugly.  

But now I can say I've made a lemon meringue pie.  More importantly, I now know how to spell meringue.