December 2000
December 8th Florida Holiday
Ok - we are home!! Had a great time (except for getting home ... more of that later). I won't write all the stuff we did - it would take pages, but here is a bit of a taster! We both really loved all the Disney parks - both just big kids I guess! Most of the rides were excellent, virtually no queues (except on Thanksgiving Day!). It was also really good being out there with all the Christmas stuff going on. Having said that, there is Christmas music EVERYWHERE - I swear I will go into a psychotic frenzy the first time I hear "It's the most Wonderful Time of the Year" once I am back in the UK!!
My guide of things not to miss... Fantasmic show and the Dinosaur ride at Disney MGM, Jungle Safari and Bugs Life 3D at Animal Kingdom. Just soak up the sheer fun at Magic Kingdom and make sure you see all the shows and parades!
No shortage of talent about either!! Lots of very nice men in all the parks - especially in the evenings!! We got chatted up by a nice waiter/greeter at Pizza Hut on International Drive and got MAJORLY "cruised" by a VERY nice young man at the Mercado on I Drive. He was definitely "up for it" but we behaved! DAMN!!! :-)) (If you happen to be the guy that cruised us at "Cyberworld" at the IMax cinema on IDrive... get in touch!!).
We also did a two day trip to Miami and the Bahamas - a nice break but the weather stayed just as cloudy as it had been in Florida!
Coming home, we were upgraded to "Premium" class on the flight which was nice... huge comfy seats and MUCH better service! :-) Things started to go horribly wrong though as we started the descent into Gatwick. I was talking to Paul when it suddenly felt like someone had whacked me round the head with a plank of wood - it was a horrible and massive pain across the front of my head. It started me panicking a bit (what with all the stuff in the news about flying and blood clots etc). To cut a long story short, I ended up being admitted to Bournemouth Hospital for hourly tests ending with a brain scan. At the end of it all, all they could tell me was that is what nothing "sinister" but they didn't know what it was. Brilliant end to the holiday and being woken up every hour through the night did NOT help with the jetlag!! At least I am home now although I still have bad head. Awww!! Andy needs a hug.
December 10th
Still not feeling too good but am going back to work tomorrow. Have missed out on the Christmas party at work tonight though. Oh well :-(
Last night I made my first purchase from QVC!! Looks like a pretty good deal - a Ricoh digital camera for £269 - we looked in the shops today and it was selling for £399. Will have to wait and see what its like - but I am sure it will mean some more up to date pictures on the web site!
Christmas is officially here - I have put up the tree (a 3 foot fibre optic one) and today bought a couple of big green garlands and have put little white lights in them along the dado rail. Awww how sweet!
Back to reality tomorrow - I wonder how much stuff they have managed to save up for me to do in the three weeks I have been away!
December 17th
Marc & Mark came round last night - Chinese take away followed by a seasonal video - "The Muppet Christmas Carol"!! If you haven't seen it - watch it!! It's all "feel good" and "squishy"! :-)
Got to bed about 2am only to be woken up by a phone call from the police at 6am - there had been a break in at work... out of bed throw some clothes on and get to the place to find a smashed exit door and £600 worth of cigarettes gone!! All that on a Sunday morning!
December 24th
AAArrggghhh! What is it about Christmas that makes people turn even more fucking stupid than they normally are!?! The shops are closed for two days - you are not going to starve!!! I spent five hours on Thursday labelling 300 turkeys for customer orders. I can tell you that five hours humping turkeys is no joke!! Then the phone calls start - "can you tell me the exact weight of my turkey?" "Can I change my turkey to a different one?" "Did my turkey live a happy life with plenty of sunshine a nice bed and a TV in its hut?"
Then there is the ONE customer who insists on carrying on shopping ages after all the other customers have left the shop at closing time. The staff want a Christmas too - FUCK OFF!!
Christmas obviously brings out the best in me - I think this is the first time I have sworn on this page!! To be honest, we had quite a laugh at work - it's not ALL bad! But its over now and I can enjoy my family Christmas.