April 2002 Archives

It seems that I saw Charo just in time at the Venetian. Her show closed on April 16. I just happened to find out what happened by doing my usual Google search for Charo. One of the Las Vegas Ticket sites list her as performing at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. One quick phone call to a rather sleepy operator at the Sahara confirmed the news. I called the Venetian to double check and get the closing date of Charo's show and the lady told me that it was only a rumor that she was moving to the Sahara, and that the Sahara hadn't confirmed anything. Stay tuned!


Today, I am off to Spring Internet World at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I have been to the show the last two years, and it boggles the mind thinking of all the changes that have happened to the Internet in general, and in my own life. Needless to say, I will be heading down there with a fist full of resumes. I only have a few hours to schmooze before it is off to Disneyland.

I made a trip over to the DL casting center to pick up some forms to apply for some full time jobs at Disney. Apparently, there is a rule which states you have to be gainfully employed with Disney for a year before you can transfer between divisions (a la Disneyland to Walt Disney Studios, etc.). If you transfer within divisions, the rules are a bit different and set by the division. Hopefully, Disneyland's rules are a bit more lax.

I was thisclose to having a new vehicle yesterday, but alas the gods at the Honda dealership were not kind. It is looking more and more like I will end up in a Civic instead of the CRV that I want. I almost had a good deal, but they kept trying to up sell me into the EX which had a bunch of extra dealer equipment on it. No thank you. I am still hoping that I can find a dealer with a normal LX. Another sticking point is the trade in, the dealer did not want to give me what I deserved for it, and that pretty much killed the deal. Thankfully, there are dozens of Honda dealers around the area.

I still am toying with the idea of a Jetta or maybe even a Prius (especially since the Civic Hybrid is practically impossible to get). I will probably end up waiting another month, since my next payment is due, and no need to waste that money.

I finally had two consecutive days off at work and it felt nice. Next week, I am scheduled the same, so hopefully I have earned enough seniority to start getting those days off every week. Now, if I can only get them to give me another attraction.

It has not been a very exciting week. I have been picking up some freelance assignments this week, and it is nice to see things heating up in this area. In bad news, this lady that we were going to take over her apartment decided not to move, so we are back to square one in finding a new apartment.

I managed to check out the new store called The Great Indoors in Burbank. They have massive amounts of things from the home from bidets to glassware to DVD players to carpets. The layout of the store seems a bit cluttered, but I think with a bit more familiarity and a bit of work by them it will be a great store. Their web site could use some work as well.

This week also will probably be the week I get a new car. Still not sure which Honda it will be, but I am pretty sure it will be a Honda. I'm hoping I can get a deal on a CRV, but I will probably end up in a Civic.

I am very sad. CBS finally posted a link to the application form for the next version of my favorite TV show - The Amazing Race. However, in reading the fine print, there is a section that says anyone employed by any of the Walt Disney Company or its subsidiaries or affiliates are not eligible. Apparently, Touchstone Television is part of the production of the show. Since I think Disneyland is considered part of the Walt Disney Company, I am not eligible to be on the show. Not only that, but neither is any of my family. Nuts. I guess I have to live vicariously through the contestants.

In watching my backlog of Survivor: Marquesas episodes, I stand firm on my opinion that is no where near as good as the Amazing Race.

Another show I was considering to try out for is E!'s Wild On. Apparently they are looking for a host for the show, but once again, I think I am ineligible. That seems like a fun gig to get, and I think everyone who is eligible should try out.

Tonight was a rare treat. I was at the park until midnight, but I only spent part of my shift with guests. The rest of the time was spent cycling boats at Peter Pan for some testing. It was cool, brainless work, and it was kind of fun to do all sorts of funky things with the boats.

Is 20 GB enough for your CD collection? It certainly is for mine, and the new RioRiot seems to be the best so far. If I had $400 lying around the house, I might be inclined to get something like this so I can carry my entire collection with me. Of course, it would have to wait until after I got my TiVo.

I have almost been sucked in by The Osbournes on MTV. Almost. I am glad I watch it so I can seem hip when the topic comes up with family and friends, but after watching the first couple of episodes, I have noticed that like most other reality shows, it is falling into a rut. Ozzie is still the best on the show, followed closely by Sharon.

Did I just lose an hour or it was just me? I remember wondering why we had something as dumb as Daylight Savings Time, and then California went and had some make-believe energy crisis. I think it is all a conspiracy by all the fire departments and battery companies in the world to get us to buy new batteries for our smoke detectors. Ok, maybe that isn't such a bad idea.

The cold is getting much better. I am in that phase where I sound like Bea Arthur. I don't know why it is, but every time I lose my voice, that is who I sound like. It makes for great fun when you are giving a spiel at Dumbo or Teacups.

Last night, I worked my first Parade shift at DCA. It was a lot of fun interacting with the guests and not worrying about my ride breaking down. I know it is hard to believe, but there were actually guests in the park. I even chatted with some DJ/worker at a local radio station. This was the first Super Soap Weekend at DCA, and according to my friends at DCA it was a success.

Some house cleaning on the site today. I updated the index for the Trip Diaries page to add a bit of pizzazz to it. Nothing major. I am still not 100% happy with it, and I will continue to search for some inspiration for that section. Of course, what I think I want to do with the section will require lots and lots of work. So it will probably be awhile before I do it.

I did manage to update the Sweden pictures and make them 500 pixels wide. While I was at it, I finally wrote the captions for the Chapter 5 photos. Since I did those, I figured I would go ahead and write the captions for Chapter 5 Photos for the French Polynesia Trip Diary. Finally all of the Diary photos have captions. Once I get a new scanner, I want to get some more photos of the earlier Europe trips, since the only ones I have online are the ones with the Gorn. I think that part of the update will come when I figure out how I want to stylize the whole section.

I am feeling a little bit better, but still have mountains of lung butter. I hope it goes away soon.

I still haven't managed to completely shake my cold. As a matter of fact, it has gotten a bit worse over the last 24 hours. I tried to wean myself off of Ny-Quil, but methinks that I should give it another night or two. Also, for the first time since I started work at DL, I called in sick. Last night, I managed about two hours of sleep in between blowing my nose and coughing. Needless to say, I was not in the best condition to go and make magic.

I am trying to get some books to help me with Dreamweaver and Photoshop. I really liked the Bible series of books, but some bad reviews on Amazon have made me think otherwise. I am leaning towards this other series of books called Inside Photoshop 6 and Inside Dreamweaver 4, but now I have noticed that Inside Photoshop 7 is coming out in June. Maybe I'll just wait until then. Besides, a recent trip to Barnes and Noble allowed me to get some vital information that I needed from the book. See, there is still a need for actual book stores and Libraries.