I Can Kill You With My Brain

I just recently came back from a trip to Florida.  For those not in the know from reading my old blog, I travel to Florida often.  My parents live there and I’m a fan of Disney.  Most of the time I travel alone and when I head into the Walt Disney World parks, I only spend a few hours taking in some of my favorite attractions or eating at a favorite restaurant.  On two occasions in the past I had the opportunity to introduce a first-time visitor to Disney World.  This differs from a normal visit for me because we take in more than just the highlights or my personal favorites.  We try to do and experience as much as possible.  It’s very exciting!

On this recent trip I had the pleasure of going to WDW with my girlfriend, who was not only a first-time Disney visitor, but a first-time Florida visitor.  I was really looking forward to once again introducing someone new to WDW.  We did all of the major attractions, including a few that I hadn’t done before.  As I always do, I had a great time visiting Disney, but my experience was even better as my girlfriend oohed and ahhed all week long as she took in all the neat things that Disney has to offer.  In a way it was like I was experiencing it all for the first time again myself.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the feeling of taking in Disney with a significant other.  I’ve been going to WDW about once a year since I was 4 years old.  Even when I was little, I’d notice all of the couples that would visit Disney.  Of course you have your moms and dads, but then you also have couples without children, and teenage children who are traveling with their sweeties.  Several times on each of my trips to WDW, I’d see an especially happy couple on their own trip and think to myself, “Someday that is going to be me.”  As of last week it was.  As of last week, I have vacationed with my significant other.  Last week I walked hand-in-hand through the Magic Kingdom with my girlfriend.

It’s already quite a magical place, but being there with her made it even more magical; more than I ever dreamed it would be.  She has thanked me time and time again for bringing her to Florida and Disney World with me, but I can’t thank her enough for coming with me.  It’s always been a dream of mine to take a big vacation, especially one to Walt Disney World, with a significant other.  That dream came true and it was simply amazing.  Thank you, hon, for making our trip together even more amazing than I imagined it would be.

I want to take a minute (and this blog entry) to thank everyone who spent this last weekend with me, celebrating my birthday.  It was incredible and the last time I can remember feeling that happy and having so much fun for my birthday was during one of my birthday celebrations when I was a little kid.  The only thing missing was a new Transformers toy, though we did have a relatively new Nerf gun.

So, big thanks to my family, my two closest friends, and my girlfriend for spending the weekend at my house celebrating my start of another year.  Actually, I’m going to change that last sentence to be: So, big thanks to my family for spending the weekend at my house.  Don’t let the omission of a few words fool you into thinking that only my blood relatives joined in on the celebration.  My two best friends and my girlfriend were still there, but the word “family” is meant to include them, too.  Labeling them “friend” or “girlfriend” doesn’t come close to explaining how important they are to me and how much better my life is because they are in it.  For all intents and purposes they are family.  I love each of them like family.  By any definition of the word they are family.  Okay, maybe not this definition:

13. a unit of the Mafia or Cosa Nostra operating in one area under a local leader.  (via dictionary.com)

Yesterday I had several errands to run.  Errands that would take me to not one, not two, not even three, or amazingly four, but five different locations on my way home from work.  Due to all the stops and all the different items I needed to pick up, I made a list.  Unless I’m doing a full-on grocery run, I usually don’t need a list.  I know why I’m stopping at the one or two stores and usually I’m just picking up one or two things at those stores.  But with five different stops and over a dozen separate items to pick up, I knew a list was necessary.

You know what’s also necessary?  Using the list.  After my first three stops went smashingly well, I left the list in the car.  I figured I was in the home stretch, having already purchased the vast majority of what I needed to purchase.  I didn’t think it was at all possible for me to forget one of the last three things that I needed, especially when all three of these items had been on the list since it was just a tiny list in my head and didn’t need to be written out.  Unfortunately, I was a bit too confident in my ability to remember three things after over an hour of running errands and a full day at work.  I walked out of the store with only two of the three items.  I even confidently walked to my car, knowing (thinking) that I had remembered everything on my list.  It wasn’t until I arrived at home and was emptying my shopping bags that I realized I had slipped up and didn’t successfully get everything on my list.

And so I sit here writing this entry with a stomach that craves for the chocolate chip granola bar that I do not own.

I’m currently on a 3-day “cross-country” drive from Wisconsin to Florida.  While I’m not technically traveling alone as there are two vehicles making the trip, I am alone in the car.   Well, not totally alone.  I took a picture of the passenger seat to show who my companions are.

There’s my water bottle, my iPod, my work cell phone, my backpack, some Cool Ranch Doritos, and a cooler.  Except for the iPod, they are all very quiet passengers.  That’s probably for the best.  I’ve probably been on the road for too long if anything else on the passenger seat starts singing to me.