Sequins and Sneakers

In the last two and a half days I have baked two kinds of cupcakes, three kinds of cookies, pumpkin muffins, apple strudel, a variety of fruit tarts and two types of cheesecake.  All in preparation for the fancy gala at the theatre.  For those of you who don't know, back in November I got a second job at a children's theatre in Orlando.  It's called "In the Limelight," and it now owns a very large part of my soul.  I spend every Saturday there, helping with rehearsals and anything else I can get my hands on.  The theatre junkie in me would never leave the building if it could, but unfortunately the Disney addict part of me (as well as the demands of everyday life) call me away, and I don't get to spend nearly as much time there as I would like.  I haven't been a part of the company for very long, but I already love it there.

Needless to say, the time since I joined In the Limelight has been more than a little hectic.  I have spent my days at Disney, my nights drowning in fabric, and all the in-betweens writing my heart out.  There have been several weeks where I go straight from an 8-hour Disney shift to an all-night theatre shift, frantically trying to change clothes in my car and eating whatever snacks I can find in my bag.  And if you know me at all, you know that this is pretty much as perfect as life can get :)

Which brings us to the gala, and the 38-hours worth of dessert that I voluntarily provided.  In fact, may or may not have begged to be allowed to provide.  The gala itself was amazing.  A spectacular awards show, complete with red carpet and paparazzi, performances to break up the awards announcements, and everyone dressed to impress.  Including yours truly.

But, of course, at the end of a long day, trailing at the end of an even longer week, the last thing I want to do is wear four-inch heels for six hours.  You'd better believe that the second the last guest closed the door behind them, the sneakers went back on!  And so, the end of the night found me carrying cupcake trays back to my car in my sparkly party dress ... and running shoes.  Ultimate classy broad right here.

For now, everything is as it should be.  And that's good enough for me.

Star Wars World vs The Real World

For those of you who don't know, the Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios is a wonderful little show where children learn the ways of the Force. They are taught a simple little combination with their light-sabers, and then they fight Darth Vader to complete their training.

Recently, the ending of the show was altered so that the entire group of little ones (with the help of the Jedi Master) "Force-Push" Vader. Which is thrilling when you're a little kid (and, let's be honest, most of us grown-ups would be just as thrilled to participate.) But this new ending brought about a heated discussion about what would actually be possible in the Star Wars World.

"I'm just saying, there's no way that a group of Younglings who had just been trained would be able to Force-Push Vader. It just wouldn't be possible! I don't care how strong they are!"

... I'm sorry, what? Let's just for a moment disregard the fact that Darth Vader is patiently squaring off against each individual child (and that they all manage to defeat him one way or another, despite the fact that most of them don't remember their training combination.) Let's ignore the fact that our Jedi Masters regularly make ridiculously corny anachronistic jokes that have no place in a galaxy far, far away.

Bypass all of that, and still, all I have to say is this : does it look like we're too concerned with reality here?!

The above is a clip from this year's Hyperspace Hoopla. A magical show of wonder and awesome that I can't even begin to describe.  And as it clearly proves, keeping the reality of Star Wars World alive is at the very top of our priority list.

May the Force be With You. Always.

Holy Updates, Batman!

The Show

Compatibility now has a Kickstarter page! Everyone head on over and take a look! We're about halfway to our goal, and every little bit helps! Click here to donate as little as $1 to the cause. And by "the cause," I do of course mean the ultimate geek takeover of the world.

And speaking of geeks taking over, apparently I need some kind of costume for the "convention" scene. Thoughts? Suggestions? Cruel jokes that will nevertheless be taken into consideration?

The Work

Disneyworld is continuing to treat me fabulously. I've just applied to extend my program, which means I'll be here until August (if they approve me.) I love my job, and I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of the magic every day. This is only slightly marred by the fact that my work life and personal life collided rather painfully the other day (the universe has a very cruel sense of humor sometimes) but I'm shaking it off. Picking up the pieces of the wreckage and moving on. All will be well again. I hope ...

The Family

Chemotherapy sucks, but it appears to be working! Every other Tuesday, Mom spends about six hours at the cancer center. Book recommendations for the long hours are always appreciated, by the way. During her first session we had a bit of a hiccup ... she ended up in the hospital two days later, too nauseated to keep anything down. She had to be nourished and hydrated through an IV overnight. But they seem to have ironed out that little kink, and she's doing much better after this second round. It's still a difficult road, but she's a fighter. And she's got a great support group. Thanks to all of you who are taking care of my family. Love you all!

The Friends

Some days, I honestly don't know how I got so lucky. I can't begin to thank all of the wonderful people I've met here and who have become such an amazing part of my life. So for now, I'm not going to try. I love all of you, and you know who you are. Thank you for being there for me, each in your own way.

The Life

It's hard, being dropped into an entirely new set of circumstances. Life throws you curve-balls every other day, it seems, but I'm hanging in there. Here's to new challenges. Here's to adventure. Here's to music and magic and pixie dust.

Downhill

The thing about going downhill on a bike is this : Part of your mind is always going "Hey, I'm on a bike, so this is exercise! It's not as bad as I thought it would be!" Forget the fact that you're not pedaling, or even breaking a mild sweat at that point. It's all in your head.

But whether or not you chose to give in to this part of your mind and believe that you are becoming a more physically fit person by soaring downhill at incredible and sometimes psychotic speeds, going down is an important part of the biking process. Not only because it's a break from the painful uphill that threatens to kill you off, but because you did, after all, have to go up to reach it in the first place. It's not only your break, it's your reward. Somehow, riding downhill if you've simply walked your bike uphill is never quite as thrilling. I always feel a little bit guilty for wimping out, and I can't enjoy the ride down as much as I should.

At the risk of sounding incredibly corny, I believe life, especially student life, can be looked at the same way. Maybe it's just me, but I never trust something that comes too easy. Grades, health, physical fitness. Love. I think that if we succeed in these areas, it's because we've worked for them. Because we were willing to sacrifice more in the beginning to have more in the end. I went through six years of chorus line roles and bit parts before I ever got a lead, and I don't regret a bit of it. I never would have appreciated getting a bigger part if I didn't know what it took to get there, and if I hadn't been willing to work for it.

I'm getting married in August, and I'm facing all manner of sacrifices. In fact, Brayden keeps telling me, "Less now equals more later." I agree with him. Yes, the first year of marriage is the hardest. But the couples who make it through are even stronger. We're willing to work for what we have, because it's important to us. And every now and then in the uphill life, we get that breath of fresh air as we soar downhill. A break. A reward. But we have to ride all the way to the top of that hill first. Then, the downhill is truly worth it.

**image lovingly borrowed from http://mtnbikersblog.blogspot.com/