Catching Up

It has been a busy week back in the US after my trip to Hong Kong. As usual with coming home there is the usual UGH factor - as in UGH back to work and UGH back to the normal routine. Thankfully, it hasn't been busy at work since it is now the off-season. Before I left, I cleaned the apartment up - it was nice to come home to a clean house and when I unpacked the mess it made didn't overpower everything.

Last night was a Lead/Trainer party at Disney's California Adventure. It was weird being there - I haven't been over there in a few months and I was kind of looking forward to telling people that I had been to Hong Kong Disneyland more recently than DCA. I was amazed at how nice the park looked. A lot of the trees have matured a bit and filled in the landscaping. I really don't understand why people bag on the park so much. It really is nicer than Disney MGM Studios or WDS Paris. I guess when you are next to the crown jewel it is hard to please the locals.

At any rate, I had a mostly enjoyable time at the event. It was good to see people. I did laugh that most people were in cliques for most of the night (myself included). I also smiled and shook my head at some of the people who managed to get it. There was a lot of what I call "clingy" cast members who somehow managed to get in with a lead or trainer (you can bring a guest with you to the event - personally I wish it was family member or lead/trainer only, but I guess that is cliquish of me isn't it?). Vance looked nice in his shirt he bought from Hong Kong and it was the first time I had seen him since the trip. We still need to get together - I hope we get to hang out more.

Oh catching up on TV: Survivor Guatemala premiered last week and after the first two episodes it is shaping up to be a good season. I still don't know why Stephanie and Bobby Jon were allowed back on the show, but kudos to Mark Burnett for keeping things interesting. I have noticed a couple of challenges look like they have been put in a place where the production crew clear-cut some rain forest. I hope the area had already been cleared. Next week is the premiere of Amazing Race Family Edition - I hope it isn't going to suck. 40 people are a lot of people to keep track of - I am sure it is going to be chaos for the first few episodes.