Staples.

I've been enraptured lately with the individuality that throws itself in your face. I wish I had one of those faces or looks that would allow me to have a staple. People like Mike Tyson or Zoey Deschanel who wander around looking however they please and no one questions it. It's just like there is just a wide spread understanding that certain people get to do whatever they want because they DO it. I can talk about dying my hair all I want, but it doesn't matter until I actually do it.

I admire Adele so much for having this look. It's one of those things that if someone else even attempts a 60s debutante style everyone will immediately accuse her of trying to copy Adele. I view Bruno Mars this same way. 

I can't even rock bangs. Especially not Bardot bangs, which is something I've tried before - trust me. But bangs, nails, clothes aside, there is one look that I'm dying to rock. 

The red hair. I just can't get enough of it. I look at pictures of Zoey or Adele and think, "oh I'd love to rock that look" and then two seconds later I'm totally over it. I really want that red hair though. Sometimes I think, 'Maybe it's not about the red hair. Maybe I just want a staple of my own.' Nope. I just want that red hair.

Disney

To be frank, I'm taking the easy road here and will be using up a couple posts on my trip. The first installment shall be of the first installment: DisneyWorld.

I went to DisneyWorld under the pretense that I would be there for 24 solid hours. The night before I was still getting used to my creepy hotel room and thus only got about four hours sleep, on top of the three hours from the night before ON TOP OF the time difference. So that was great.

I've only been to DisneyWorld once in recollection, and it was six years ago so my memory is a little foggy. For some reason (monetary) I decided against getting a park hopper pass, so it was just me and the Magic Kingdom the whole day long. That was fine by me - I've grown up on Disneyland turf as it was, so Epcot and Animal Kingdom and MGM weren't of the utmost importance. And anyway, Magic Kingdom is just so magical on it's own.

I just love being in the Disney Bubble. It's the little things, really, like this hedge. Looks like a real bush, doesn't it? It's a tarp. (p.s. notice the lack of people?! In FANTASYLAND!?)

And then it's not always the little things. Like when I went on the People Mover, and classically we went through Space Mountain. Except, it was down (the fifth ride I experienced with at least one technically difficulty that day). Just for a few minutes, but long enough to need the lights on. I know this sort of thing irritates some people, but I find it fascinating. It's a glimpse behind the curtain, if you will.

In a shocking turn of events, I didn't find Space Mountain all that enjoyable. I loved Splash Mountain, though. I'm serious. Around 11AM a blatant pattern emerged: ride Splash Mountain, walk straight to Fantasyland for Mickey's Philharmagic, then head right for the People Mover. I "rode" each at least seven times. What's ridiculous is that I still managed to ride at least 70% of the rides there as well. 

The longest line I stood in was about 45 minutes, and that was for Splash Mountain at 4PM in the hot 94 degree weather. Someone several paces ahead of me actually collapsed of heat stroke, giving herself a nasty cut and concussion on the way down.

Honestly 24 hours at an amusement park is a lot longer than it may sound. At 1AM Disney performed their Electrical Parade for probably the seventh time that day. It was a blast, and it was a great sendoff. I don't know what it is about Disney parks and maybe even Disney in general. It just feels like home.

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things. Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax - of cabbages and kings. Of why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings."
-The Walrus and The Carpenter, Lewis Carroll

BEDA

It's April. I'm bored. All reasoning leads to me doing BEDA, right? Right. Okay.

I've known for some time that I suffer from illusions of grandeur. I have theories that it stems from my childhood with Peter Pan. It was natural and common when I was younger: the singing group I formed called Epic, the tryouts for Star Search and Radio Disney, the YouTube show. I've recently noticed though that I never really put all that much effort into it. Ever. I mean yes, when I was forming Epic, I memorized all the dances to the new Cheetah Girls movie. And when I was auditioning for Radio Disney I practiced the songs over and over. But I never really tried.

Thomas Edison once said, "If we all did the things we were capable of we would literally astound ourselves." There is a thing I really want right now. With all of my being I want this one thing. It's one of those wishes that you're afraid to tell anyone for fear of it not coming true. It's both out of my control and entirely within it in so many different ways. It's killing me that it's not entirely up to me.

Anyway, with this thing, I want to try. I want to do the things I'm capable of. I'm beginning to wonder if I've ever really tried my hardest at anything, and if not, what will happen if I do so now.

So we're going to see.

Run Away With Me

       For some unforeseen reason, this trip has left me with a very fresh sense of loneliness. Normally I'm wrought with loneliness on my first few days - usually chalked up to being hungry and incredibly sleepy. But this time it isn't like that. I actually haven't felt that way at all - even during the traditional first few nights. Maybe it's because I'm expecting to be gone for so long. I'd just sort of gotten over it since I knew it was something I was going to need to be accustomed to for awhile. And I expected it. But I've never felt this way before.
       I don't even know if I would call it loneliness. It's just a constant state of awareness that I am completely and entirely alone. (I feel like there's a significant difference between those two.) Even going by myself to Alderwood Mall sounds better right now that going to the South of France. It's not necessarily about familiarity, either, as I've been to Nice and was rushed into figuring it out, so Toronto would be more threatening than the Mediterranean.
        I think the big issue here is that I know what I'm going back to, and it's not the same. Normally, my options were Vacation or Work. Now that is not the case. I've given myself the opportunity to spend all my time with my dog, at Starbucks, and writing, and that's what I want to do with my life, so now that I have that opportunity, I don't want to be in the suburbs of Dublin, or fluttering around in Italy trying to communicate with strangers.
        It just seems silly to me that I've created my ideal life, and now I'm running from it.

Ramblings From A Tired Vagabond

Theme parks -the good ones- are very precious ideas to grasp. There's that fine line between enjoying where you are, and believing where you are. I don't even mean the people who take it too far - I mean sitting in Hogs Head and dwelling on the fact that Ron and Hermione will never walk through that door because they don't go to school in that fake castle across the lake and you've actually just paid a hefty sum to allow a group of individuals to guide you along in your delusion that fiction and reality are interchangeable. And the problem is, those people are really good at it. You're not the first naive dreamer to walk through these hallowed 'streets' and you certainly won't be the last. But we're not in Neverland with Peter Pan, obviously, because Wendy and Michael didn't have to use lap bars and I don't think I ever saw them with a digital camera.

Or whatever. I'm trying to tan but I think I'm dehydrated and I've been stuck between enough Brazilian tour groups to last me a lifetime.

Another Survey. Deal with it.

When I was a child I would sit in front of the mirror with a hairbrush and pretend I was on The Tonight Show or Donny & Marie.

1. A selection of television programs you do not care for.

- The Voice, Community...there are quite a few I like, so I don't really pay attention to those I don't like.

2. A selection of musical artists you do not care for. 

- TAYLOR SWIFT, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, techno, most rap.

3. A selection of celebrities you couldn’t care less about.

- Shifty Swifty, Kristen Stewart, Kanye West, the Kardashians, Katherine Hardwicke. I'm pretty biased towards 'K's I guess. 

4. A hobby you “don’t get”.

- Skateboarding, snowboarding, smoking pot.

5. A habit you find disgusting.

- Smoking - pot or cigs

6. Something in school you really liked doing that everyone else bitched over.

- Socializing with teachers, eating in E flex, and hanging out nightly in parking lots.

7. Your favorite household chore.

- Scrubbing.

8. Popular video games that make you go “meh”.

- See: all. Except stuff on the original Nintendo.

9. PC or MAC?

- MAC

10. A sport you don’t like, for whatever reason.

- Football, baseball, softball, curling.

11. A sport you really like, for whatever reason.

- Hockey. 

12. Television programs you love but have gotten shit for liking.

- Glee in the early days. 

13. Musical artists you love but have gotten shit for liking.

- Jump5.

14. A hobby you have/find interesting that other people bother you over/make fun of.

- Finding cheap travel deals without even having a trip in mind. Also: Disney.

15. A habit you have that other people bug you over.

- Eating in public. I have gotten flack for doing it and for refusing to.

16. Something in school you hating doing and it felt like everyone else loved.

- Participating.

17. The household chore that makes you want to shoot your own face off.

- Laundry, dishes, recycling, trash, cleaning the bathroom.

18. A selection of video games that you enjoy that perhaps you really shouldn’t.

- Words with Friends. Not a video game but it's the only sort I play.

19. A celebrity crush that maybe even you don’t understand.

- Jeff Bridges & Harrison Ford.

20. Free rant on whatever grinds your gears at the moment.

- People - namely internet celebs [namely YouTubers] - get sooo much praise for not doing anything at all! "She wrote a book! She's supernatural!" No, she's not. Shut up. People write books all the time. "She's a solo traveller! How inspiring!" No, she rode an airplane by herself. She got picked up at the airport. That is not miraculous IN ANY WAY. Ugh I just get so irritated when people who don't deserve praise receive it, and those who are worthy of it are ignored.