Emily

01:00 am: Whew
So a crapload has happened since I last updated. Most of which I won't/can't post publicly. Sorry guys. Here are a few of the things that I can post:

My Dad was up this past weekend for the SHOT show at the convention center, and I met him for dinner at Maggiano's on Fri (01/16). First time eating there; wasn't impressed. Saw Grand Torino afterwards. Awesome movie you must go see it.

Sat (01/17) I went with Eric, Michelle, & Richard to Northrop Grumman's family day (Eric works there). Pretty cool. Headed back to Orlando and went with Eric, Michelle, Jon, & Amy to dinner and the circus. Had a great dinner at Brix in downtown Orlando. Fondue for appetizers and dessert and a turkey/stuffing sandwich for an entree. The circus was enjoyable as always, but not as big of a production last year. Guessing because of the economy-there were hardly any people there as well! :o( Boo. Tickets were only $16 too. Jon pointed out that's only slightly more than a movie ticket and you get soo much more.

Worked on the house/putzed Sun (01/18), went to Smokey Bones w/Richard for dinner and came back to my place and watched Disney's Cars (Richard hadn't seen it).

Mon (01/19) I putzed some more, moved the last bit of stuff from Richards to my place, and had "dinner" at Jon's-piece of apple, shrimp, & potato skin. Random but tasty.

I have 2 cases tomorrow-Cape Canaveral AF Station & NASA. I have to do the interviews, come home, type them up, get ready to leave, and then drive down to St. Pete for my Mom's surgery. I'm thinking I'll just drive down on Weds at this point.

02:31 pm: Year(s) in Review
Well, good thing I've been able to keep on top of these updates eh?  :oP  Anyway, here's the past forever in a somewhat small nutshell.   If anyone is interested in more details of any of the listed events, comment and I'll post more.

May 2007: Richard and I went to Vegas; he'd never been there.  Stayed at Imperial Palace.  Went on a helicopter tour, Hoover Dam tour, horseback riding & steak cookout in the hills, kayaking the Colorado River & going in caves (my favorite thing we did there), and of course walked all of new & old vegas.  Had a great time.  We both left to go to the airport; Richard flew home and I continued on to Honolulu Hawaii.  The hotel was amazing.  I hiked Diamond Head & Manoa Falls, went to the Aquarium, zoo, Arizona Memorial, Dole Pineapple farm, Polynesian Cultural Center, and Waimea Bay Beach Park to find Sea Turtles (never saw any), shopped, walked downtown Honolulu, ate shaved ice at Matsumoto's, hiked & swam in Waimea falls, and snorkeled at Hanauma Bay.  Everything was freaking amazing and far surpassed any expectations I could have ever had.  The snorkeling was like swimming in an elaborate fish tank.  It was hard to believe that I was in the ocean.

05/29/07: I started my new job as a Special Agent/Federal Investigator with the United States Office of Personnel Management.  I have been with them around a year & 1/2 and still love it.  I got a promotion in 07/08 and hope to do the same this coming year.  I've even helped out on a counter-intelligence case with the FBI & the Army!!!  How cool is that!?  I had a mentor for a couple of months when I first started and he was awesome.  Still a good friend/co-worker of mine today.

07/07/07: Earl finally took me flying - this was the "date" I had bought/won from the LAE date auction from like 7 years ago.  It was totally badass.  We went in one of the little 2-person choppers without the doors on.  It was so awesome I am really thinking it's something I would like learning down the line when I am a bit more financially secure.

07/21/07: The last (7th) Harry Potter book released.  I went to the release event with Richard, and Janet & Ryan wound up being there.  They acted like nothing had changed, like we had been friends without issue forever.  The entire night was a huge blast, and I was excited that things might go back to the way they were.  Richard was pissed they never addressed anything that night.  Richard asked Ryan about it, and he blew the question off.  We have never heard from them since.  It still bugs me/is a bummer after all this time; I think about them pretty frequently.  To the point that Richard said he doesn't want to hear me mention them again.  Anyway, the book was awesome.

Aug & Sept 07:  I spent a month up in Boyers, PA for the Basic Investigator Course (BIC) - the academy for my job.  It was a lot more lame than I thought it was going to be, but the people were awesome.  I had a great time hanging out with them.  We went to Fallingwater (a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright), the Butler Farm Show, Pittsburg (and watched a Pirates game), Carnegie Museum of Art , Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and around Boyers.

10/12/07 - 10/15/07: Flew out to Austin with Eric and met Richard & Toby there for the 2007 Livestrong Challenge.  Went to San Antonio (beautiful, would like to go there again), had horrible food, went to Inner Space cave/caverns, Sea World, and was the support car for Richard & Toby during the race.  Eric & I got lost trying to find the cheering station and actually wound up on the same road as the bikers.  There were thousand of bikers at all different points on the course, and Richard & Toby passed right in front of us as we were making a turn!!!!  WTF are the chances of that?!  Anyway, I was driving  and Eric was hanging out of the window taking pictures.  It was highly funny, and I'm sure we embarrassed the crap out of them.  But what are girlfriends/friends for right?

10/07: I moved in with Richard into his condo.  We also went to Food & Wine Festival this month and got into a totally retarded & bad argument.  Richard was yelling/swearing at me and I was crying in front of people at EPCOT.  Fun times & very embarrassing.

11/07: Went on a riverboat lunch cruise for my Dad & Mrs. Wright's B-Days.  It was Mr. & Mrs. Wright, my Dad, Gina, Richard, and I.  Nice time, okay food, decent music, great views.

01/12/08: Ate at Gino's pizza downtown w/Eric, Amy, Jon, Richard, Greg, & Kim then went to Ringling Bros. Circus.  The lady behind Eric promptly dropped her funnel cake - sugar side down - on Eric's head the second the lights dimmed for the start of the show.  It was hilarious.  What was not hilarious was that the lady ate the funnel cake afterward!!!!  Bleh!!

02/08: Went to Sleuth's Mystery Dinner Show with Yon, Jon, Sara, and Amy on my birthday, and to Animal Kingdom and dinner at Fuji Sushi with Barclay, Gabrielle (new coworker), Caroline, Babe, Eric, Ashley (Eric's g/f at that time), Greg, Kim, Richard, Scott Ward (from KB), and Terry (stopped by) that weekend.

04/08: Went on a 8-day cruise with Richard & his family to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and St. Maartin, Netherlands Antilles.  Went to the Bacardi "Experience" (lame) in San Juan and on a snorkeling/champagne catamaran ride in St. John (amazing) with Richard's parents.  Went scuba diving for the first time in St. Maartin with Richard.  Really neat.  Not neat was that I wound up getting bed bugs from the room (EW!).  My Mom also came up that month at stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for her birthday.

05/08: Went to Disney's Polynesian Luau with Eric.  Great time & food.  Since 10/07 I had been working in Brevard county for almost all of my cases.  This is where Eric moved to, and we wound up becoming closer friends than we ever were-even as roommates.  So that has been really cool.  He actually just got engaged last month (12/08) to his most recent girlfriend Michelle (she's very cool & pretty).

06/08: Went to Adventure Island with my Dad for Father's Day.  Had a great time.  Eric also visited Pinellas for the first time.  We putzed around Pinellas and went to Seminole Hard Rock & Casino and Busch Gardens.

07/08: Richard's parents came up to Orlando for the weekend and we went to SeaWorld for the Fourth of July.  I was also in Gainesville for two weeks for work the end of the month.  Spent a lot of time with Guzman and got to know him and his girlfriend Jennifer a lot better.  Also saw Middleton and Frierson.  During the weekend I went to Silver Springs with Jimmy (great time).  It was nice to see him again.  I rarely get to talk to him and pretty much never see him anymore now that he lives in Ocala.  I miss him a lot.

08/08: The manager I've had since I started thankfully finally retired.  He was a nice guy, but should have retired a long time ago.  The new guy is super awesome and way on top of things.  He's a great person to work for.  At the end of the month Richard and I took a roadtrip to Philadelphia for the 2008 Livestrong Challenge.  We visited the historical sites and downtown Philly.  Went to Hershey (AWESOME!!!) & Sesame Place (not awesome), Washington D.C. (Richard had never been there), Colonial Williamsburg (I had never been there), and Busch Gardens.  The trip was great and I had a lot of fun.  During the trip I was notified that a bid I had put in on a house was accepted!!  I then had to try and work out all the craziness (inspections, deposit, etc) over the phone on a holiday weekend!  Thankfully Greg really helped me out.

Sidenote: With regards to the house, it was a total fluke.  I was still happily living with Richard and wasn't actively looking for a place.  I was checking out apartments and the housing market every couple of months just because I didn't know what the future held, I was living with Richard, and he's made no remote insinuations, intentions, or anything about a future together.  Yes, 8 years later.  I know I'm stupid.  Anyway, one night we got into a big fight and ended very unhealthy (no violence or anything, so don't worry about that).  Underground Bluz/Broadway/Walk home/Greg.  I didn't know how things were going to work out, so I hopped on the internet when I got home.  I came across the house (3/2 w/pool in Waterford/East Orlando), and couldn't believe the price.  It was out of my price range, so I sent the listing to my Mom and Jon more of a "wow, look what the market has gone to".  My Mom called me less than 2 minutes later and said to go look at and put a bid on the house if I liked it.  She would help me with the small difference of $$ that put it out of my reach.  I did and now own it.  Thanks Mom!

09/08: I closed on my house on 09/23/08.  Went to Halloween Horror Nights with Richard & Jon on 09/26/08 (and the rest of October), and went on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour (interesting but not great) sometime during the month.

10/08: Went on Disney's Steam Trains Tour (totally awesome) sometime during the month.  The Gowers had an amazing Halloween Party that my Mom and I went to along with Eric, Michelle, Jon, & Amy, and Jon and I went to Downtown Winter Park & Orlando on Halloween.  I had a great time and look forward to doing something again next year.  We ran into Terry, so that was neat.

11/08: Went to Food & Wine Festival w/Richard.  Much better time this year.

11/15/08:  Took my Dad to Trans-Siberian Orchestra for his birthday.  Guzman & Richard went; Guzman's girlfriend, Jennifer, actually played in the orchestra!

11/08: At the end of the month I went to Albany, GA for one week for work.  Very ghetto (Hip Hop Chicken & Fish Chicago Style), but had a good time overall.  Went to the Flint Riverquarium and became hooked on the Twilight series.  I finally moved into my house.

12/08:  Went to Mannheim Steamroller with my Dad at Universal Studios & met up with Jennifer (Guzman's g/f who was playing in the band again) and went to dinner at Hard Rock.  Ran into Dan & Annabelle from KB there.  Jon, Amy, Steve, & Arum held the "Lansel Holiday Extravaganza" dinner party-great time with Greg, Richard, Eric, Michelle, Sara, Susan, Kim, & Gabrielle.  I hosted my Office's Christmas party at my house the following day.  My Dad & Carol came up for a day to see the house the day after that.  Earl left for his new life in Washington state near Seattle.  He got engaged (seems to be a trend now), got a new job, soon to be new house, and couldn't have moved any further from here.  Going to miss him a lot.  Thankfully I'll be able to see him in 06/09 for the LiveStrong Challenge that's in Seattle.  We're planning on staying wih him.  Had Christmas Eve with my Mom over at Richard's parent's.  Stayed the night there, spent Christmas morning with the Wrights, visited my Dad at work, went to my Grandma's, my Dad's House, Carol's, Jon's. Kate's, and then drove back to Orlando where my Mom had driven the night before.  Left on a roadtrip with Richard to New Orleans on 12/29/08.  Went to the Tobasco Plant, Jungle Gardens, checked into the pimp hotel, and walked around a little bit.  Walked through Harrah's, ate at a brewery, got Doubletree cookies, and went back to the hotel.  Next day we walked around Decatur & Burbon.  Jon, Amy, Arum, & Steve met us the next day.  Ate at a good jumbalaya/seafood place, walked around a bit more, finally ate Beignets, went to the Riverwalk (lame mall), ate at a pizzaria, and then celebrated New Year's with them.  Went to the Aquarium, drove around the different districts, and then drove home.

Other misc things I've been doing: went to Crash-O-Rama in Bithlo with Jon a couple of times, been working on the house- had to buy new appliances, blinds, paint, fence, landscaping, etc.  UCF finally got a stadium on campus and we've been going to the football games for 2007 & 2008.  Not sure if I'm going to renew this coming year.  Been boating w/Greg, but not recently - miss that a lot.  Also been spending time with Guz and Jennifer whenever he's down here - Margaritaville, Big River Brewery, etc.

I would be surprised if anyone checked this anymore, but if there are any additional events I have forgotten, please let me know.

07:29 pm: Ouch
Totally forgot to mention Richard accidentally beaned one of his 4 year old cousins in the head with a plastic Easter egg. Her pigtails jolted and then she just looked at him sort of stunned. Very funny stuff. (He was trying to throw Easter eggs the kids had missed back in areas where they were currently looking.) Also, I finally got a call back from OPM for them wanting to set up a drug test.

Sunday's Easter was tasty as usual. Uneventful drive home.

Worked during the week of course. One of the girls I work closely with at the studio transferred to the Dayton Beach division so we went out to lunch at this really great Hispanic place.

(4/12) Thurs was one of the best nights I've had in a long time. Jon met me at my place, we headed to Universal, BS'ed at Confisco (which has turned into our hang out place), and ordered at pitcher of Sangria. Only $15!! It was awesome too-first time I've ever actually liked the taste! Kim met up with us shortly after and we hung out, rode the Sneetch ride (while Kim was annoyed by stupid guests), Jurassic Park, Dr. Doom (which I was surprised to find out is Kim's favorite ride), and the Hulk before leaving the park. We walked around CityWalk and checked out some of the clubs before heading home. A super enjoyable night.

(4/13) Took the drug test Friday morning thinking I could swing by before work. WRONG. The lady brought out this gigantic specimen cup. When I told her there was no way and I would just come back at lunch, she said I couldn't leave!!! I had three hours to complete it and I was restricted on the amount of water I could drink. Well that was an embarrassing call to Brad. They also said that if I couldn't make it within 3 hours they would send me to a specialist to see why I couldn't go. If the Dr. couldn't find anything then it would be viewed as refusing the test and I would lose the job. I waited 2 hours and was fine, but the whole thing was just a huge cluster.

Sat (4/14) Richard and I went to the beach in Melbourne and then met up with Eric at his new house and grilled out. Had a really awesome time.

(4/15) Sun we went to the Orlando Science Center to see the Bodies-esque exhibit. Nothing close to Bodies, but still okay.

Tues I went to the Walk in Clinic again because I was still not feeling well and was paranoid about Jon's wedding. They of course spent 2 minutes (after I had waited nearly 2 hours) to tell me to just wait it out and then charged my insurance $157. Nice. Met Jon at Florida Mall, BS'ed around there, came back to my place, played my new Harry Potter game (AWESOME!), and I cooked hot dog wrap-ups. Greg & Kim came over and Jon and Greg nailed down all the details for the video. That took forever and it was midnight before they were ready to head out to Fairvilla. Jon wanted to pick up some stuff to surprise Amy on their honeymoon, but I had to decline on going since it was so late and I was already sick. I was really bummed because it seemed like the last time I'd really be able to hang out with Jon.

Thurs I picked up misc last minute stuff for the wedding (bra, earrings, shoes, etc) at Target and then went to Marshall’s.

Fri I found out for sure I got the job with OPM. I start May 29th. That evening was the wedding rehearsal and dinner.

Sat was the wedding. Arrived at the hotel at 8:45am to get my hair done and nothing happened until nearly 11:30!!! Thankfully though it enabled me to hang out with Jon since everyone else was running around crazy. It was really neat to spend that time with him-it meant a lot. The wedding went well and the reception was nice. I was really impressed with how super nice all of Amy's relatives were. Really awesome people. Good food & open bar all night although I didn't really drink much. They started playing some slow songs and Richard was just about to ask me to dance (for the first time) when Jon walked up and asked and I popped up and danced with him. Pretty funny stuff, although prolly not for Richard (sorry cutie!!!). Richard and I of course danced together after that. Took the limos back to Gaylord, went to the piano bar for a little bit before heading back to the room. Richard hung out with Greg in Greg & Kim's room while I took a shower. We just went to bed after that.

Had breakfast the next morning with Amy & Jon's families & friends, that was super awesome-something I'm going to have to remember to do. Went to SeaWorld with Greg & Kim, and then we went "bar hopping via the monorail" with Betsy & Greg Guzman (a friend of mine from the academy) at Disney. They were staying in a super pimp room on the concierge level at the Contemporary. Made reservations at Ohanas at the Polynesian, had a drink at The Grand Floridian while listening to live music, rode the monorail back around to the Polynesian, and then had dinner. Good, but our server sucked. Betsy had an awesome food pass that saved us all a lot of money(it was still expensive). Guz had work the next morning so they left early. We stayed and watched Magic Kingdom's fireworks before heading home. Good but tiring weekend.

Richard met me for lunch on Tues so I could give him Jon's house key (there was a heavy package that needed to be brought inside) and we ate at the Hispanic place from the week before. I booked our tickets to Vegas and officially made my last day May 12th (I am working that Sat). Kevin had approached me about the extra ticket from work, so I researched that too.

Worked, then spoke with Kevin during a lunch meeting with Brad a little more about the extra airline ticket (from my cancelled trip to Phoenix), and he agreed that I could buy it for $50. So, I am going to Hawaii for a week. Las Vegas is May 14th-20th, and I am leaving from Vegas to Honolulu from May 20th-26th. Richard's not a fan of flying, so he wasn't happy with having to fly back to Orlando from Vegas alone. I booked my hotel and I'm super excited. http://www.aquaresorts.com/aqua-palms/index.htm I also booked the Imperial Palace for Vegas, so now I just have to worry/research activities.

Sat I worked then went to Richard's. Did a couple of errands and ate at Outback. Watched The Shield until late. My Mom called to let me know that the Travel Channel was having a whole Hawaii afternoon Sun.

Woke up and read Harry Potter. My Dad called to let me know that the whole afternoon was all Hawaii stuff on the Travel channel, so I felt very loved by my parents. hehe I'm rereading the Harry Potter series so I can be set for reading the 7th book, and am on the 2nd book so far. Read for nearly 4 hours before I got irritated and grabbed my stuff to go over to Jon's. Richard woke up and said just to wait. We bought some hot dogs, hamburgers, & potatoes to grill out. Brought my gift over, brought in the newspapers, skimmed the pool, relaxed & read a little while Richard was grilling, ate, relaxed a little more, then shocked the pool before we left. I'm planning on doing all the yard work Friday night as a surprise to them when they get back Sat. Hopefully he doesn’t' read this before then. (Act surprised Jon if you do) :o) I figure that's the last thing I would want to do when I got back from a 2-week vacation not to mention your honeymoon. This will be the first time Amy will officially be living at Jon's (now their place). Got back to Richard's and started watching the Hawaii shows. They were actually really informative and I got a lot of good ideas/suggestions.

Today I worked (Brad is out all this week), and have just been putzing and doing some laundry. Chipped my tooth on my fork while eating rice. Nice. Have a Dr's apt tomorrow (unrelated), and of course it figures that Richard has worked 2nd shift for the entire month and the one day I'm by him during the day he's working 1st shift. BOO. Found out from my Dad's old co-worker (WTF?) that Janet & Ryan are getting married, so that's really depressing. Guess we'll really never be friends now. I just don't understand what happened or why they did what they did. Weird, sad, and depressing. Overall a crappy night. Highlight was chatting with Eric on the phone.

12:42 pm: Happy Easter!
I think there's a conspiracy against me.

Tues I worked then went over to Richard's. Feeling a little off, but nothing horrible. Wanted to go bike riding or something active, but Richard didn't want to (he *always* wants to!). We checked out cell plans at T-Mobile, grabbed Starbucks, then headed over to Best Buy. I bought Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire for only $10, and didn't even notice that it's multi-player! I'm excited to play it! :o) That was my only complaint in the other ones. Sprint was closed, so we just headed to Outback for dinner.

Wed I started feeling pretty crappy, and wound up running a fever. Just putzed at home.

Thurs I was still running a fever I stayed home from work. Went into a small coma and slept for 15 hours! I don't think I've ever slept for that long. Cleaned up a little bit, then headed over to Richard's because he was sick too. We just watched TV and went to bed early.

Worked Fri, found out Richard didn't have to work on Greg's project Sat night, so we drove down together to St. Pete. Just stayed up till my Dad got home from work and went to bed early.

Sat was nice. Went to lunch on the beach-my first full meal in a couple of days, and were going to walk the beach but it was too windy and cold. We drove around the intercoastal instead and saw some dolphins. Pretty cool. Went to PetsMart with my Dad and Daisy, got back, and was picked up by Richard. Headed over to John's (Richard's brother-in-law) and had an awesome time. Did an egg hunt, played video games, had an awesome BBQ lunch, and then watched enemy of the state. Very bonding with Richard which is something we really needed. Picked up Toby afterwards and then went to Publix, Starbucks, Target, and Chili's. Dropped Toby off, and hung out at my Dad's place until Richard left around 1:30-2:00am.

About to leave for my Grandma's for Easter Dinner, so will update about that later.

10:03 pm: Week In Review
Sun I didn't do crap. Couldn't fall asleep.

Mon I met up with Amy & Sara for dinner at Panera, and then shopped around Kohl's & Ross. Bought jeans, shoes, and a nice shirt all for $30! Then met up with Greg & Kim and went out to Fairvilla to pick up stuff for Jon's bachelor party. Went to bed late again.

Tues I went over to Richard's and read (he was at work) until Greg got off of work. We went to Goodwill to pick up his stripper outfit. Picked up Kim afterwards and attempted to eat at Arby's, but they were out of roast beef so we went next door to Taco Bell/Pizza Hut.

Weds I worked, headed over to my place to tie up loose ends before I left, and I then headed over to Richard's. Went to bed at 8:30, which was a bit later than I had wanted to.

3am Thurs picked up Jon & Justin and drove to Virginia for Jon's Bachelor Party. Unbelievably Steve and Chris walked in while we were checking in. Couldn't have had better timing. The room was cool. Ate at Applebee's, picked up a few things at Wal-Mart, and then hung out at the hotel. The guys went to the water park while I decorated the room with the stuff from Fairvilla.

Fri we had breakfast consisting of awesome Muffin Top cereal that Justin picked out, and then went Geocaching. Found 8 of 8 Geocaches, and I even found 2 of them! Good time. Went back to the hotel, and Richard and Greg got there shortly after. Hung out, ate some pizza, Greg, Jon and myself did MagiQuest while the other guys went to the waterpark. We met up with them afterwards. MagiQuest wasn't that great, but could have been amazing had they just themed it better and had it separated off. It was just in the hallways on the 3rd & 4th floors-lame! Thankfully the water park made up for it. It was super awesome and their new ride, Howlin’ Tornado, was one of if not the best water ride I've been on. Checked out the arcade and ate at Friday's for a late dinner. Wanted to go to a club/bar, but there really wasn't anything around. Not to mention it was already really late by the time we left Friday's.

Sat we went to Busch Gardens. Decent park, good roller coasters. Best brewmaster beer school thing I've been to. No animals-didn't realize how much I like this about Tampa. Had a good time, but prefer Tampa. Got back, went to the arcade and then the water park. Came back, got the family deal from the onsite Pizza Hut, watched the DVD's we got from Fairvilla, and Greg "stripped" to teach Jon a lesson about saying he didn't want a real stripper. Very funny stuff.

Sun I woke up early and drove home alone. Everyone else didn't have to be into work until later, so they wanted to sleep in and go to the water park again. Would have been nice to have someone with, but not a big deal since I just played my music loud and stopped when I wanted to. Speaking of, I wound up stopping pretty frequently since I didn't want to fall asleep. The first rest stop I got a free bag of cookies (2 came out when the guy in front of me got his and he didn't want the 2nd one), the second rest stop I found .10, and then the third I found $10!!! Good times. The drive was 12 hours. I dropped Richard's car off at his place, went to the bank, dropped off my rent, got my mail, unpacked, checked my email, puzted online for a little bit, and was in bed by 10:30pm. Nice. The guys didn't get back until 1:30am.

Today I worked, did laundry, worked out, took a shower, picked up a few things at Publix, watched an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond while eating dinner, did my Crest Whitestrips, talked with Barclay for a little bit, my daily online puzzle, and now here I am.

11:38 pm: Krunktastic
Last Fri was pretty freaking cool. Met Jon, ate at McCormick & Schmicks, had a schmuck waiter, then headed to Magic Kingdom. Didn't get there until 9:00pm. Bought my Dad's ticket, and then went on Buzz Lightyear, people mover, space shuttles, speedway, snow white, haunted mansion, jungle cruise, pirates, and anything I'm forgetting. We also got Dole pineapple floats (yum!), did the shooting gallery, and played checkers all in 2 hours!! Awesome time. We stayed so late that we were the last people in Frontierland and wound up being escorted out. hehe We weren't ready to go home yet so we headed over to CityWalk and had a few beers at Pat O'Brien's-until they closed too. Saw a mouse in the grotto. Walked around, then headed back to my place and played video games till 4am. Haven't had a night like that in forever. I miss those! Good times.

Sat I worked and Richard came over for a little bit before I headed to bed. He was out with friends for St. Patrick's Day-at Hooters. Real Irish place. heh

Sun my Dad drove up and we spent the day at EPCOT. I stuffed myself till I got nauseous at the German buffet. My Dad enjoyed it equally as well, although with less overfilling. Rode pretty much everything we wanted to except for Mexico (closed for renovation) and Test Track. My Dad rode Soarin' and Nemo for the first time, and liked both. We actually rode Soarin' a second time he liked it so much.

Mon I went to breakfast with my Dad before he headed back for St. Pete, and I just went into work a little late. Worked this whole week, nothing out of the ordinary. Started whitening my teeth with those Crest Whitestrips.

Yesterday (Fri) Richard came over before heading down to St. Pete for the weekend. Really bummed I didn't go-he's going to the Renaissance festival. I've always wanted to go, but have never been. Not to mention I'm in a beach mood (I usually never am). I've been wanting to go for awhile now and the weather is awesome. I'd like to get a good tan before Jon's wedding (the dresses are strapless).

Worked today, then headed over to Jana's for her B-Day. Ate at Carrabba's, then headed back to her place and made a few cards w/Krista & Shaye. Had a good time.

No plans for tomorrow-I can't even tell you the last weekend day I didn't have any plans. Months and months ago. Of course that's my own fault cause I usually try and make plans. No one available though. As mentioned I'd like to go to the beach, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. If I wasn't so tired (and my car wasn't so old), I'd drive down to St. Pete and go to Busch Gardens tomorrow with my Dad or to the beach w/Richard. But I know I'd fall asleep and kill myself, so I'm gonna pass. Not sure what I'm gonna do for the day. Boo. :o(

Everything's coming together for Jon's bachelor party, so I'm feeling pretty good about things. I am *really* looking forward to it. We leave this Weds night/Thurs morning until late Sun.

10:35 pm: Oh yeah!!
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/aquateenhungerforce.html

Ode to Ryan. :o( Wish we could go see it together. :o(

10:22 pm: Yuck.
SeaWorld was fun. Had a good time just hanging out and spending time together.

Mon I went shopping. Got laughed at for my coupons, but in addition to the sales Publix had I saved over $92!!! Crazy stuff. Lots of food-all healthy too. They've really come a long way with all the stuff that's out there now.

Tues I made the mistake of trying to cook the catfish I bought on Mon. Wound up catching my stove on fire. Fun stuff. Don't be expecting fried fish dinners at Emily's anytime soon.

Weds I went clothes shopping at Beall's. Got some super cute stuff.

Tonight I just cleaned up around here, am doing laundry, catching up on paperwork, etc. Tired. I want to head to bed, but I have a load of dress clothes in the dryer. Boo.

Pretty funny: http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/14/nikko-to-pair-r2d2-projector-with-tie-fighter-speakers/

11:24 am: Damn Daylight Savings Time
Well I just wound up going to bed Weds night. The Magic game was cool Thurs. Wound up taking Jana's son and his friend, so that was nice. Magic sucked it up. Didn't get home until late.

Woke up early for some ungodly reason Fri morning and worked on my accounts. Organized my coupons and shopping list after work, but never went shopping. Hung out and watched TV.

Worked a full day yesterday trying to get the flooring system updated. Richard came over, and we were going to go to dinner & a movie, but only made it through dinner. Had an okay meal at P.F. Chang's. I enjoyed mine, but Richard wasn't enthused about his and it was expensive.

Woke up today and have been putzing on MySpace. You totally have to check out the map I added! It's freaking fantastic! http://www.myspace.com/emilyucf Planning to go to SeaWorld today, so hopefully that should be fun. I'd ideally prefer to go to the beach, but not with Bike Week going on.

10:19 pm: Come on!
I haven't been home! Give me time to update! Jeez. Anyway, this past weekend was fantastic. Amy's bachelorette party was awesome and all of her friends are really cool. I am so happy I was invited & able to go. The suite we were staying in was huge and had a great view of the water. Cool games, great food, hit the hotel's tea time, played games/races in the pool, hung out in the jacuzzi, talked, played more games, slept, then had breakfast and walked the beach the next day. Very fun time. Spent a little bit of time with Richard before he had to start studying. Went directly to bed when I got home Sun night.

Mon I headed over to Richard's and read a little bit before picking Barclay up. It was his birthday and we celebrated at Gator's Dockside-the place where I had a cigarette butt and a crumpled receipt in my salads (2 different salads!) last time I ate there. The wings sucked me in and I wound up having some boneless honey mustard ones. Okay, not great; I think I'll stick to avoiding that place.

Tues I worked late, unpacked, cleaned up, and finished the last chapter of the book I was reading.

Tonight I've been doing laundry, going through my newspapers, and watching TV. I'd like to update my accounts, finish going through the newspapers, and then make my shopping list, but I'm really tired now and will be out late tomorrow night at the Magic vs. Bulls game.

07:55 am: Tired
Well, didn't do anything I needed to last night other than work late, laundry, and putz with my iPod for hours on end. Doing everything this morning in the next 30 minutes before I have to leave for Amy's Bachelorette Party. Our room was empty last night (I just called and verified this morning), so the blind plan to get there early and set up/decorate is thankfully going to work out. Plans for this weekend definitely improved over the past couple of days, so things should at least be okay. The place looks pretty cool. I'll let you know how things go. Richard's sick (again), so I hope he feels better!

08:18 pm: Busy Busy Busy
Drove down to Miami, drove around Miami a little bit before getting ready and going to the wedding. Super freaking awesome wedding. Outside-perfect weather and perfect Florida setting-surrounded by palm trees. It was good seeing Matt again-and of course Becky. The reception was fantastic with all sorts of animals (it was at a zoo). A monkey, skunk, 2 parrots, and 2 orangutans! All to take pictures with, pet, hold, etc. Open bar, waiters serving platters of food-awesome!! The dinner was awesome too. Filet Mignon, Champagne, open bar still, and their wedding cake was equally as tasty. About 80 people there, so not too many, and we were able to talk to Becky quite a few times throughout the night which I have found is rare at weddings.

Slept in the next morning, had breakfast at the hotel (Hampton Inn), and hung out until checkout. Drove through South Beach, didn't really understand the whole hype of it. Nothing really interested me. The one thing we missed out on was the South Beach Wine and Food Festival over the weekend. Emeril, Rachel Ray, etc!! We saw them breaking down on Mon, and it looked super huge and awesome. Maybe something to check out in future years. Drove a little bit north, stopped at a Walgreen’s to pick up some stuff, and then ate at a local pizzeria (Richard loves them). Okay food, horrible service. Continued on to the Everglades, and then hiked until the evening. Got back to Richard's around 9:00 Mon night.

Tues I cleaned up, caught up on mail & bills, maxed out my Roth for the year-can you believe it?!?! WOO!! I am so happy. This is the best I've been in since GPD. Everything from here on out is savings. Got a random IM from Robert, so I met up with him, Jon, Greg & Kim at the new flatbread place by Waterford. Richard didn't get home till late since he was working 2nd shift, so I didn't really get to spend any time with him.

Weds Guz came in town, so I met him, Betsy, and another friend of his at Margaritaville. Richard was working 2nd shift again, so he wasn't able to join us. Got home, read a little bit, then went to bed a little early.

Today I met Jana for dinner at CiCi's. It was nice cause I haven't seen her in awhile, so we caught up on things. Putzing now, don't really feel like doing anything, so I'm happy I'm at least updating this. heh. I have a whole bunch of things I need to do too-more paperwork, go through my newspapers, laundry, shopping, etc. Boo.

11:15 pm: Thurs: Didn't do crap

Fri: Didn't do crap

Today: Got up early and did all the stuff I should have done Thurs & Fri, then went to Amy's Bridal Shower/Jon & Amy's wedding shower. Cool time. Good food. Tired. Went home and procrastinated much more until eventually forcing myself to pack for Miami and tie up some misc things around the apt. Of course here I am still procrastinating, but whatever. I guess I'm not since I'm waiting for Richard to respond to my IM, but maybe I am since I should just leave and call? I dunno. Well Richard responded so I have no more excuses and must now leave. Goodnight.

10:31 pm: Hmm well
Okay, not exactly 2am, but close to it at 1:30am. I'm such a doof.

Work was challenging but okay. Didn't get anything I wanted to done, but was still very productive. Yon met me after work and supported me spazzing out trying to start amassing the large quantity of gifts for Jon/Amy. I'm not a fan of the Target by me. Had made reservations at McCormick & Schmicks at Mall of Millenia on the internet and got a $25 gift certificate! Yay! Good food as always, and great conversation. Yon dropped me back off here, and here I am. Planning to go to bed after this.

Anyone other than Josh reading this yet? Not a big deal since I would of course be posting even if no one was reading. I am just curious as to when/if my Dad/Jon/Richard (or anyone else) would randomly check.

G'night! :o)

09:04 pm: So Much I Want To Do
There's so much I want to do and not really much time to do it. I truly enjoy just putzing around. Paperwork, TV, online, reading, etc. I get home, eat, shower, go through my mail & email, watch a small amount of TV and it's time for bed. But I guess that's pretty much everyone's life right?

Last night was pretty weird. I went to bed early (10:30pm or so) and had a whole bunch of weird dreams. The weirdest thing though was that I remembered them all throughout the night and was actually telling someone in my dream about the weird dream I had earlier in the night!!! WTF?!?! Weird. (heh)

Anyway, worked today. Had a super long department meeting which we were just informed about today, so I wound up having to work an hour late because of it. Of course since yesterday was a holiday, I’m not getting any OT. Another thing I wasn't informed of was that the senior PA had sent an email to all of our trades saying that they had to have all their bids for the new Martha Stewart product in by next Weds!!! The stupid project isn't even happening for another couple of months because of land problems, and here we are stressing our vendors out for no reason. So even though today was the very first day I could do anything with the project (the part I needed was just added to the system 8:30pm Fri night), I had to bust ass through everything so I could get it out to my vendors. Meh.

Going through paperwork/bills/accounts now, and will hopefully have a little of time to read before going to bed. I also hope that I won't get sucked into my book like normal and then realize what time it is at like 2am.

One thing I was thinking about tonight was how Richard and I feel differently about fate. I don't believe in fate to the extent that God has planned out our lives or anything like that, but I do believe that I can just do the best that I can, and whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I've been extremely lucky in my life, and I don't really think there was too much I had to do with it. Take my meeting Richard for instance. We went to the same dentist, orthodontist, summer camp for most of our childhood, had friends in common, but didn't meet until college. And what a freak chance that was. I was acquaintances with Elaine from my high school, there were only a few people going to UCF from our magnet program, and she just happened to invite me along with her and a couple of her friends to a campus tour. Those friends were Jeremy and Andrew. We had a blast, and I decided that I wanted to live in the same apt complex they were (Knight's Crossing) so I cancelled my spot in the dorms and signed a lease the same day. I wound up getting an apt downstairs from them. We became good friends and hung out all the time. I actually wound up becoming really close with Jeremy and Andrew. They went to the CAT magnet program at Lakewood, which was just down the street from where I had lived in St. Pete. I was actually going to go there but decided on the CJ magnet instead. Jeremy was friends with Viet, and we wound up becoming friends too. Viet roomed with Jon, who is now my best friend. We all went to hang out one night, and Jon invited Greg who invited Richard, and that is how we first met. I will hate myself till the day I die, but I actually don't remember Richard being there at all that night. How horrible am I?! We were talking about this one night, and he said all hurt "I rode in your car on the way there!!" I wanted to cry, but now I just find it funny/sad/embarrassing. I apparently had to of remembered him, because the next time we were supposed to hang out was going to be another group thing. I was in St. Pete, and I'm not sure how it was arranged this way, but I was supposed to call Richard to see what the plans wound up being for the night I was driving back. Well, everyone was busy and nothing was happening. Richard came out of nowhere and asked me to dinner. I remember being surprised at my reaction because even though we had only sort of hung out once I was super excited and of course said yes. My Dad said I should have yelled "NO!" and hung up the phone-only to call back and say just kidding. I'm thinking saying yes was much better, but his way would have been much funnier. Richard prolly would have died from a stroke, but at least it would be a good story. heh Anyway, WTF are the chances that all of that would fall into place for us to meet? And I'm not even getting into everything that ensued afterwards while we dated!! Gainesville/NASA anyone? Jeez. So yes, I for lack of a better word/term believe in fate. Elaine -> Andrew -> Jeremy -> Viet -> Jon -> Greg -> Richard, c’mon! It’s like I was playing the six degrees of Richard Wright. Also throughout all of this I have met my close friends and the people that I hope/plan to grow old with; I want share everything that comes along each of our ways. Thank you all for being a part of a life I am beyond appreciative for.

09:27 pm: No Suprise
Well, woke up to my Mother's propensity of going crazy. She left around 9/10am. Bummed out and watched TV until Richard came over after work around 2/2:30pm. Talked for a little bit before I left for my dermatologist appt and he took a nap. I finally got my stitches out! Yay!! No more bandaids after tomorrow, so I don't have to worry anymore about my skin peeling off with them. Came home and started the 2nd Eragon book (Eldest) while letting Richard sleep for a little more. He woke up around 6 and grumbled that I let him sleep too long. Spent some time together and then ate at Moe's before he headed back to his place. Nice day minus the morning.

09:55 pm: Full
Well, we walked around at the Grand Floridian, gorged ourselves at the Mary Poppins buffet, indulged in massages and then a facial for my Mom and a pedicure for me, walked around GFL some more before gorging ouselves again at the Garden Tea Room, headed home and walked the dogs, then headed back out to gorge ourselves some more at Sweet Tomatoes for dinner with Jeremy, Angie, and Leonardo. Fun day, but too much food. We were going to try and reschedule with Jeremy but figured it would be too hard for them to find another spot of free time. The spa was fantastic. I can't wait to go back!!!

10:30 pm: Heck Yeah
My Mom and I ate at Friday's for lunch. Good food, slow service. Walked around Mall of Millenia forever, but it was still nice. My knee wound up hurting pretty bad and I got a migraine, so that sucked. Went to Publix to pick up a few things. Watched the Illusionist while writing my thank you notes, and half watched MI3 while doing my taxes. Thankfully my Mom has been falling asleep here and there, so we'll be able to watch it again on Mon with Richard (he hasn't seen it yet). Tired, heading to bed soon.

11:26 am: I'm Still Here
Didn't get my taxes or thank you notes done. Got home, ate, and then Richard came over until my Mom got here, then he left for St. Pete. Jon and his brother made it to Denver okay, so I'll be here for the weekend. Talked for awhile with my Mom before heading to bed.

No real plans today. My Mom wants to go to Publix and pick up some groceries, and I need to pick up Jon & Amy's bridal shower, bachelorette party, bachelor party, and wedding gifts. Weddings are such a racket. heh

11:13 pm: Aww.
Woo!! Just found out a good friend of mine from UCF proposed to his g/f this past weekend (Josh K. from LAE). WTG man! So happy for you!!

Don't really remember WTF I did Mon.

Tues I wound up having to work late and then headed to Target, Publix, random Chinese restaurant, and P.F. Chang's to prep for Valentine's Day. Decorated and then headed to bed.

Weds picked up some sushi from a Japanese place and also picked up some more decorations from Wal-Mart. Rushed home, showered, changed, and then started cooking. I did a whole Asian-style night for Richard for Valentine's Day. Paper lanterns, colored lights, bamboo placemats, little soy sauce/wasabi dishes, egg drop/wonton soups, Ichiban beer, sushi, zen style candles/rocks centerpiece (I made myself!), pot stickers, egg rolls, stir-fry, and brownie cheesecake (doesn't fit but Richard likes cheesecake). Ran out of stomach room for the stir-fry and cheesecake, but it worked out fine since we can make another night of it. I had gotten Richard some presents too: a KitchenAid butcher block of knives to match the KitchenAid skillets I got him, a bunch of Livestrong kitchen stuff, Wasabi Peas, a pickle (dorky story), Bailey's chocolates, and Dove truffle chocolates. I had also bought the placemats for him because he doesn't have any, and has been wanting to get a couple. He wasn't supposed to get me anything because he had gotten me a Disney annual pass for Christmas/B-Day/V-Day, but he brought me roses, a nice jar candle, candies, and a Winnie-the-Pooh Disney V-Day beanie bag. Really great evening.

Today I worked, talked with Jon, cleaned up my place, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, did dishes and laundry, then watched a little TV before putzing online. Heading to bed soon.

No plans for tomorrow. Richard will hopefully be stopping by before he leaves for St. Pete. My Mom may be coming in late tomorrow night, but she hasn't decided for sure whether she's leaving tomorrow night or Sat morning. I'm thinking she'll prolly wind up coming up on Sat.

There's a far flung chance I may go skiing with Jon this weekend in Denver. He's leaving tomorrow to meet his brother up there, but his brother's flights look bad. We made a deal that if his brother doesn't make it he's going to call me and I'm going to fly up instead so he doesn't have to spend the trip alone. My Mom should still be okay since she had talked about coming up here in general even when I was working or whatever just for a little vacation. She might even like it more so she can do whatever she wants and have the place to herself (and the dogs). I've really been looking forward to the weekend with my Mom, and I of course hope that Jon's brother can make it like they originally planned, but I almost hope that I wind up going on the trip cause it feels like the last opportunity I'll ever have to do a crazy trip with Jon. I've had *so* much fun on the different trips we've done over the years, and have so many amazing memories. Even the bad memories are good if that makes sense. We of course haven't done any trips since he's been dating Amy, and I don't really see any happening ever again. I can understand the traditional thinking against it, but it doesn't change the fact that it sucks. I've also been feeling like we've been growing apart, and I don't know how to stop it. We've been hanging out watching Degrassi and playing Wii every couple of weeks, but it's definitely not like it used to be. :o( Meh.

At least whichever way this weekend works out should be a lot of fun. Will keep you posted.

I still need to do my taxes and write my thank you notes. I'm such a slacker. Maybe tomorrow night?

So who is my anonymous mystery reader? I didn't get any B-Day cards after the posting other than my Dad's. Josh?