MorphStore.com

MorphStore.com hosts our Halloween Party at Adobe's every year and provides us with some of the greatest costumes you will see in Orlando. The guys that head up Morphstore travel world wide teaching people how to use prosthetic make up like to transform people in to the creatures that you see above and also have done work on movies like Avatar and Pirates of the Caribbean (cool right?) Now every once in awhile after a "workshop" that they teach, they wander in to Adobes with their creations and scare all of our customers. I on the other hand am a huge fan of horror and sci-fi so when these people come in for dinner, I take full advantage of taking pictures and asking questions. I am not sure if I am crazy of not but they have asked me to model for their workshops, which involves me standing still for hours, half naked in a room full of people painting me from head to toe, and I am considering it! How many people get the oppurtunity to be turned in to a hellish monster for a day!? I am not even sure that I am THAT excited to be painted, but more so to be a part of what these guys are doing with technology and make-up..and it helps that they have worked with Johnny Depp (which coincidentally I met Johnny Depps sister yesterday..who knew my life was so exciting?) I just can't help but be alittle excited about an oppurtunity to work with such talented people. If nothing else though, and I can't find the courage to actually BE the model, then I will just take one their course and learn to paint other people..its a win, win! For now though, I will stick to the little bit of creature painting knowledge that I do have (stay tuned for halloween Zombie pictures to come, created by yours truly) and hopefully get more involved with MorphStore one of the days..and who knows, maybe I have a new career path in front of me, or just another hobby to add to the list!

Violinist in the Making

When I was young I played the flute, and quite well if I do say so myself but of course as a kid you move on to different hobbies and forget about the old ones. (which I tend to still do sometimes) So I decided a few months ago to give a musical instrument another shot, but this time a stringed instrument (since of course I mastered a wood-wind instrument). Now in my mind I figured I would set aside an hour or two week to play so I bought all of these instructional books that showed you finger placement  (and even came with cd's that haven't been updated since the 90's) but of course time tends to get in the way. I have since learned jingle bells, mary had a little lamb and the intro to a Mozart song, but I like to think that my effort has not been wasted and it is a great achievement for somebody that is teaching themselves!

Now my on going list of new hobbies, is constantly growing but I live my life by the motto that I would rather be good at a bunch of different things, than be excellent at just a few. Maybe in my mind it justifies the overwhelming amount of ideas of new adventures I come up with on a weekely bases, but I would like to think that it just makes me well rounded. So my dream of playing the violin on stage for an audience may never actually come true, but when someone asks me if I can play an instrument, I can say, "Well as a matter of fact I do, I am a violinist." (Who needs to tell them that my greatest achievement is a Christmas song with 3 notes?)

Prosit, Prosit, Prosit!

Bavarian FunFest. First of all, any excuse to make a trip home (Pittsburgh) is a good enough excuse for me, but this time was the greatest excuse of all. Funfest hasn't been held for 20 years ago, but this year they decided to bring it back and see what the younger generations would make of it. Now let me tell you, I was warned about drinking, dancing and down right genuine authenticity, and that's exactly what I got ( minus the dancing on my part, just not having it). There were dozens of food stands, giant tents filled will folk music and polka dancing, and yes my favorite..CRAFTS! But after 5 days of meeting more people then I knew what to do with (honestly by the end of the week I was hugging everyone just because I wasn't sure if I had met them or not) and more rich and greasy food than anyone should consume in that short amount of time, I was tired and about 5lbs heavier (well maybe 10, lets be honest, I am still in denial).  I cannot deny however, that FunFest was an experience, and one that I hope to enjoy next year and lets face it, anything that involves my boyfriend's dad singing Polka music in the car, is good by me.
                           Now I stayed in PA for another few days after the Bavarian Fun Fest ended, and if you can imagine a place on the water, with great company that is surrounded by wineries..that is how I ended my vacation. The cottage on the Lake Erie might possibly be one of the best places on earth and to add to it, I drug Lon on a chartered fishing trip at 5am to catch fish that I refused to touch, all the while I won the biggest fish contest and about 30 bucks! Funfest and the Cottage..combined..they make for an excellent vacation!

StarStruck?

 

Patrick Dempsey..Need I say more? I stopped by my job yesterday..just because I rarely go 24 hours without being there..im pretty sure it is impossible..and I find out that Patrick Dempsey is speaking at BB Kings right next to where I work. Now my first reaction is to run screaming and possibly strangle the first person that keeps me from entering the building..but come on now..who wants to be THAT person. Apparently me, because that is exactly what I did..minus the strangling. If you know me at all I probably will strangler you and who really needs that in their life.

Now I am not really a starstruck individual..mainly because I can never come up with anything reasonable to say to a complete stranger that apparently rocks at life way more than I do..so I keep my distance and then totally exagerate the scenario to my friends in a way that makes me seem like my life is a little bit more exciting than it truly is. But Patrick Dempsey..as a die hard Grey's fan..you have to get a little bit hysterical..and lets face it..meeting people like him is 100% payback for the people that I am forced to serve to make an honest living. When you're day consists of people asking not only where the bathroom is but if you even have one..we deserve a little celeb action to keep us from going completely insane.  On a side note..here's a tip for anyone that has ever been confused about the location of a restaurant bathroom..it is typically in the corner..with a sign above that reads BATHROOM..with a friendly arrow pointing you straight there. And if you have to ask if we HAVE one..do us all a favor and stay home..lets face it..there is no friendly response to that..especially when you wonder in the server station where all the waitstaff is hiding from you just so they dont have to pretend like youre not a complete idiot.

One last tip...if you are trying to avoid washing your hands because the last thing they touched was someone absolutely awesome..thats just gross..but even so..i waited a good 4 hours.

Road Trip

 

The Ultimate Road Trip..who doesn't want to travel the country, stopping as often as you want with no time limit and no real end point. To make the idea of a cross country road trip even better, you add a 1970's shaggin' wagon that will probably cause you more headache than anything...but whats a good road trip without an unreliable vehicle? Next summer I am planning a trip to one of the following..Europe..Australia..or cross country road trip (tough decision right?). All of these trips would be 6-8 weeks long, involve me quitting my job and possibly ending in financial ruin..but all in all I see no real downside to this decision. Not to mention that this quest is TOTALLY bucket list worthy and most certainly "something to tell the grandkids." I've always considered myself kind of..well cheap and careful when it comes to my finances..my whole world can come crashing down from one bad day of overspending due to unrealistic hysteria that I will never overcome the devastating $50 I just spend at walgreens on nail polish. Needless to say that this extravagant trip is waaayyy out of my confort zone...spend every penny I have to not shower for days and possible get attacked by inbreeds in the mountains of montana..anyone would be crazy not to want to do that??? I must say though that I have a friend that has experienced some pretty cool stuff in her life and while she may not be able to afford the finer things in life..she has had more adventure than most people ever will...and if thats not motivation to live fast and experience life...then I really don't know what is.

The Bucket List Begins

Well today is the day that Lon has FINALLY turned 30. After months of planning a surprise party,trying to figure out a mini vaca to take and picking out presents ( which by the way..I totally rock at gift/card giving) .. the day has arrived. Now I have been thinking this whole time that he is stressing about being 30..but let me tell you..it is way more stressful to be the planner, and i will be happy to go back to my usual stresses of work and school. We decided to stay the night in Ormond Beach at a completely and totally serene Hotel that not only has crazy modern decor, but plays slightly awkward indian aromatherapy music by the pool deck while random girls talking about converting their possible love prospects in to greek orthodox enthusiasts. Dinner would be the most eventful part of this trip thus far though. Hibachi...not my taste..as you get to know me you will quickly find out that food is not my thing and my Bucket List will consist of very little adventures surrounding cooking/eating. We were placed at a table by ourselves ( mind you this table fits about 20 people) while we had rice tossed in to our mouths (which Lon almost choked and died on..Happy 30th right?) and I reluctantly tried a piece of Sushi. Thankfully I did not spit it all over the table and Lon did not die via rice. To conclude this landmark in Lon's life, we have Japanese lanterns that you light on fire and send them soaring in to the night sky that will be set off tonight while we comb the beach for baby sea turtles. All in all I would say this day has been a success, and thankfully I can scratch elaborate Dirty Thirty celebrations...off of my Bucket List.