ThanksChristGivingMas

I know, what a loser, I totally did not make a single post last week. Geez.

Actually, there are a couple really good reasons for this. For starts, I spent the 11-16 in Texas visiting my family and some old friends. Obviously, I was planning on posting as soon as I got home, and even working on the post while waiting for my flight at the airport. BUT. One of my best friends surprised me at the airport and we ended up hanging out for the rest of the week. That being said, ThanksChristGivingMas this year was easily the best ever.

It started with a huge adventure getting to the airport. A few days before my trip I called the bus system so I could get a ride from my apartment to the airport at like 4:45 in the morning. Somehow in the process of the phone call they didn’t get all the information from my card to pay for the trip, so they didn’t send a bus. I didn’t check my voice mail until about 4:50 the morning of my trip. So after a moment of panic, I called my roommate, (who was still up, thank goodness) who gave me the number from a business card of a taxi service I used earlier. I called the taxi service and they said they’d come get me. (Julia’s Transportation, if you’re in the area. I’ve never had bad experience with them, and the drivers and operators are super nice. They also have really reasonable pricing.)

The driver was really nice, and so helpful with getting me to the airport in time to catch my flight. I’m pretty sure there was a little bit of speeding going on, but at 5 in the morning there’s not a ton of traffic.

Luckily, I’ve been trained for many years at the art of getting through security quickly without any trip ups, so that was easy. The hardest part was everyone in line ahead of me who had no clue what to do and how to do it quickly. That part was incredibly stressful.

Once I made it through security, I carried my shoes to the monorail they use at the Orlando Airport to take travelers from the security checkpoint to their gates, go on, and put on my shoes while it drove from one end of the track to the other. I got off and walked quickly to my gate. (Having gone through MCO before, I knew my gate was really close to the monorail exit, so I knew that wouldn’t be much of a walk.) Thankfully, I made it to the gate just as boarding started, and was able just to jump in line and go directly on the plane.

San Antonio was so nice and I’m so happy I got to visit home for a bit, seeing as though I won’t be able to for a few months more. I got to hang out with a couple friends from high school and see Big Hero 6 with them, see family, have a guaranteed ride to and from church with nothing scheduled in the way, Thanksgiving dinner (ish), my mom’s baking, my dad’s cooking, and tons of loads of love from everyone. It was so nice. I was also able to go through the boxes of my stuff out in my parent’s garage and pull out my winter gear for Idaho, since I only have summer clothes with me in Orlando, and it’s a lot colder in Rexburg right now.

My dad took my friend, my brother, and I to the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio, where we got to walk around for a bit. We started abut a mile away from the Alamo, near the Pearl Brewery, and walked to the Alamo and back. I loved this because it was my friend’s first time in San Antonio, and he was taking a gazillion pictures, and my dad got to explain all the history of the Alamo and Riverwalk, and my brother and I got to talk. It was really great, and everything was super pretty. It was really nice to get to walk around for a bit downtown too. Downtown San Antonio is one of my favorite places, because it’s so rich in art and culture and there is so much to see. It’s a huge tourist spot, so it gets kind of crowded, but there’s a lot of stuff to see.

I mentioned having a guaranteed ride too and from church, and not having work that day, but really just the whole atmosphere on Sundays at my parent’s home is so nice to be around. It’s really relaxed and family oriented. Growing up, my dad traveled a lot for work, and usually the weekends were the only time we really got to hang out with him. As a result, my family has always tried to keep Sundays as family-centered as we can. I didn’t realize how much I liked this until I moved out and had to figure out stuff to do myself all of a sudden. My first semester of college was actually kind of difficult partially because of this reason. My roommate had family nearby, so she would have Sunday dinners with them, and I’d stay at my dorm and hang out. Usually I’d just surf the net or watch movies, but it was really frustrating. The following semesters weren’t bad at all, because I made friends with a bunch of people and we all just hung out all the time. Here, in the Disney College Program, I usually end up working all day Sundays anyways.

Anyways, it was a fairly short trip, and I’m so grateful I managed it. At the airport on the way back to Orlando, I found out my friend was flying in to Orlando that evening, so I set up a room reservation and we go to hang out at the parks for a bit.

I found out upon returning to work, that I have Christmas off, but I haven’t made any plans, and I’m kind of thinking I’ll just work on packing and cleaning and probably research and development for some projects.

My College Program is almost done, (12 days) and I’m prepping plans for moving, and finishing here and starting school and all the adventuring that incurs.