My First (and Last) Warm-weather Spring Break - Part 2 of 2

Continued from previous post. Photo album here!

Day 4

We got an early start in order to get to Kissimmee at a decent hour. Our 2 1/2 hour drive from West Palm Beach consisted of more girl talk, plenty of karaoke, and GPS directions. When we arrived at the condo where my family was staying, we headed to the main pool for a barbecue and some more Cupid Shuffle (Sharon and I couldn't resist)...

Then we started on the Cosmopolitans, and did some sunbathing.

We headed back to the condo for dinner in the early evening, chatted for a bit, then said goodbye to Crystal and Sharon, who had to get back to their real lives. Sharon just got hired at a law firm in D.C., and Crystal had to work the next day as well. But my vacation was just getting started.

The evening concluded with card games Rummy and one we call "Bino" (also called "31" and "Scat").

Day 5

Very early rise for EPCOT in Disney World, where the International Flower & Garden Festival was taking place. We were delighted by topiaries and beautiful flowers all day long.

We got there just after the park opened and headed to Soaring, a simulated flight over California, complete with the smell of oranges while passing over orange groves, and other fun surprises.

Next, we ventured over to Test Track where, after the ride, a GM representative offered to mail dad some information on the latest Cadillac (backhanded compliment?).

Arriving at Mission: SPACE, I convinced my sister to take the "more intense" trip to Mars with me, for which she claimed I owed her a consolation prize later.

Mom and dad rode the green "less intense" version.

Sister and I also picked up some of our favorite astronaut ice cream in the gift shop on our way out.

Then sister and I made a quick visit to Innoventions, always one of my favorites. Inside Innoventions West, we became the stars of our own video game, which you can play here!

Venturing into the countries, mom, sis and I stopped for some lunch in France and met Princess Aurora (my favorite princess)!

After France, we had a rendez-vous (hehe) with the grandmas and dad, and one of the Photo Pass employees took a beautiful picture with my camera of the whole group of us.

We all watched "Off Kilter," a Celtic rock band outside Canada. I even got a picture onstage after the show :-p

Just passing through, we saw the Beetles in the UK, watched the "Impressions de France" film, then caught part of a parade. I snapped this cute shot of sis:

Next up: China, for our favorite: The Dragon Legends Acrobats (we actually watched it twice it was so good).

We even watched the world pass us by between Germany and China, as Disney set up the firework display for later that night.

After a full day, we enjoyed an entertaining dinner at the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany. I tasted all four of the beers and then danced the Polka with grandma...

On our way out, I spotted Snow White and Prince Charming. At first, I wanted to meet Prince Charming but the line was too long so I stood to the side and caught a few (utterly) candid shots.

Somehow we ended up back at China for some gift shopping and a second acrobat show, which we had a prime location for viewing this time. We also watched the "Reflections of China" film before staking out a spot for the "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" fireworks.

My view of the water was partially hidden by another guest for most of the show, but this photo came out kind of cute (if you don't realize that the girl wearing the ears is actually about my age).

On our way out of the park, we were all mesmerized by how thousands of guests could leave in such a bottleneck without so much as a push or a shove. I think the NJ Department of Transportation could use some Imagineers. (The things you notice when you get older, huh?) Or maybe some big, gloved Mickey hands waving the traffic on with a smile :-D

Back at the condo, I enjoyed a quick dip in the hot tub before bed.

Day 6

I love the way Magic Kingdom is its own private destination, accessible to the public only after a monorail or a ferry ride. It makes the whole day feel like such a departure from reality.

The first sign was a few little princesses who had visited the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique - a place where parents spend tons of money for their daughters to get all dolled up (wonderful marketing concept)! Despite the cookie-cutter princess ideal, I thought the little girls we spotted throughout the day looked very cute. Also, the Disney Photo Pass (another great concept) ensured some great shots in front of Cinderella's Castle.

We began our day a little later and started off at a leisurely pace with the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

Then we hopped in line for Stitch's Great Escape, formerly the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (that I loved). I was a bit disappointed that, rather than an entirely revamped attraction, Disney tried to tone down the scare factor by using a fluffy, funny character Stitch (from Lilo & Stitch) in place of an evil alien, but with the same storyline. This was somehow supposed to make the loud noises, total darkness, and painful shoulder braces more bearable for younger children, but I'm pretty sure all it did was cause more screaming children who will be scarred for life and fewer entertained adults. Even if I had never been on the ExtraTERRORestrial ride, I think something would have still felt very non-Disney about the way this was all thrown together.

Moving on to another attraction that had been revamped since my last visit, Space Mountain was next on the list. We were happy to have Fast Pass for this one, but the lines wouldn't have been so bad with their newly-added video games along the queue. Rickety and thrilling as ever, dad emerged from the ride with a wind-blown hairdo. Stopped for a bite at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café, then got on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin where we battled Emperor Zurg to determine who would buy the next round of drinks.

Venturing out of Tomorrowland, we set the grandmas in a shady spot to enjoy a parade while we rode Splash Mountain, a ride that never changes and always delights! With only a little time before our dinner reservation, we met back up with the grandmas and ventured onto the Jungle Cruise, then enjoyed our family-style dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Delicious and filling.

Next was Pirates of the Caribbean. We boarded our ship and floated through a dark tunnel as sis joked, "and here comes the drop!" Little did we know - there actually is a 14-foot drop which surprised us all! We waved hello to Johnny (Captain Jack Sparrow) and the other pirates, then waved goodbye as the ride came to a quick conclusion.

As dusk approached, we rode my sister's favorite "it's a small world" (and the tune would not leave our heads for the rest of the night).

Mom, sis and I took a spin on the Mad Hatter's teacups.

As the crowd thinned and guests took their places for the evening firework display, we got right on Snow Whites's Adventures. There was an equally short wait for a new show called Mickey's PhilharMagic, a 4D musical show with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse which I absolutely loved (but I love everything 3D and 4D is even better).

We slowly made our way through the crowds on our way out of the park, enjoying the lights of Cindrella's castle and along Main Street USA.

Dad had the idea to take the ferry back to the car, and we caught the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks as we arrived on the shore opposite the Magic Kingdom. A truly magical end to the night!

Day 7

Woke up a little late (no rush on a rainy day) then headed to Downtown Disney for some serious gift shopping. We also had an early dinner at Planet Hollywood where I discovered a new favorite mixed drink called Gorillas in the Mist:

• ¾ oz. Malibu Coconut Rum
• ¾ oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
• ¾ oz.Kahlua
• ¾ oz. Banana Liqueur
• 1 ½ oz.Ice Cream
• ½ Banana

Next, we entered the West Side Arena for Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba - front row - I almost got run over by a bicycle (or so it seemed)! I had no idea what to expect but it was an amazing and exciting show.

After that, sis and I walked through Pleasure Island and met up with the family back at Ghirardelli's chocolate shop, which you could smell from miles away, mmmm. We ate outside next to the water.

Day 8

Dad and I went for a morning walk through the condo complex, and so I could see the sparkling new Welcome Center. There is so much new development there. We headed back just in time for the rain and pretty much vegged out for the rest of the day with some Cards and Cosmos. Isn't that what vacation is for, anyway?

Day 9

Saturday was spent by the pool sunbathing and doing some reading. Mom and dad did a swamp tour, for real. Then we all had dinner in Celebration at Colombia Restaurant with a truly delicious assortment of tapas and entrees. We went home full and hit the hay early.

Day 10

Early rise for the airport. Goodbye, Florida! It was a long trip home and we had been worried that our flight might be canceled because of the weather. We arrived to flooding and road closures, but at least we arrived. When I got back to campus, I had a marathon group meeting in the Tech Center which kept me on campus until about 1:30 am - back to reality, I suppose...

Until the next update!

My First (and Last) Warm-weather Spring Break - Part 1 of 2

Destinations: West Palm Beach and Kissimmee, Florida.

Day 1

Flight took off and landed just fine. Other than being stuck in the middle seat, my flying partners were both nice and didn't smell, snore, or shuffle, so it wasn't a bad ride.

Met up with Crystal and Brian no problem, right at 7:30 as planned. Sharon unfortunately had a different situation and her flight plus baggage claim took an hour longer. We found a "cell phone waiting lot" near the airport (they think of everything huh?) while waiting for her call, then headed right to Chili's for much-needed dinner. Note: Brian said he wasn't that hungry because he'd munched on some cocktail peanuts while playing Call of Duty earlier, but everyone else was starving. And of course drinks -- they were buy one, get one free which the waitress gave to us all at once, making us look like total lushes with 8 drinks on the table!

Went home, took the tour, met the dogs...

We then proceeded to turn UNO into a drinking game! All special cards (draw 2, skip, etc.) mean the person to your left drinks; wild everyone drinks. Brian was taking shots of grape flavored vodka, Crystal peach schnapps, Sharon and I straight Smirnoff (50% abv) because "it's vacation" so why not? We're champs. We stopped after one hand and thought everyone handled their alcohol very well, until Brian got out of bed at 5 am and threw up "because of the peanuts" he had eaten earlier in the night. Yeah, right...

Day 2

Saturday morning I slept in for the first time in a while. When I woke up I was pleased to find that Brian had brewed a pot of coffee and I drank that with waffles for breakfast before getting dressed, going out for smoothies, and then relaxing at the spa with the girls.

We all got pedicures and then hit the mall in such typical Jersey girl fashion that I felt like I was home except that everything was so much fancier and cleaner. Even the Shell station looked nice.

The mall was huge. Crystal told us there were 3 Starbucks within that very mall and the Victoria's Secret was the biggest I'd ever been in. I did buy a new bra there even though customer service was terrible, then went to MAC where I played with some eye shadows and then bought a beautiful turquoise shade called Steamy Frost.

Finally, we stopped at Hallmark to buy a birthday card for one of Brian's (male) coworkers whose party we were going to later, and picked out a ridiculous zebra print card with pink on the inside for Sharon and I to give. Crystal settled on something a bit more standard. Went home, got ready for a long night, and headed to the party around 7 pm. We were greeted by some very welcoming and warm individuals who offered us pizza and snacks and immediately broke the ice with - get this - party games! I love party games!

We played "How well do you know Matt?" (Sharon and I didn't do too bad, considering we didn't) and "Fluffy Bunny" which was hilarious. You have to shove marshmallows in your mouth, one at a time, and try to say the phrase, "fluffy bunny." It's not only hard to stuff them in your cheeks but to prevent them from coming back out when you laugh at everyone else!

After the party wound down, we headed downtown to Dr. Feelgood's. Unfortunately we got there after 11pm and had to pay the $10 cover (grr), but the rest of the night was a great, typical Spring Break evening. By the end of the night, we were on a first-name basis with the bartender, had each taken a shot from the shot girl, did the Cupid Shuffle in line for the restroom, helped a bachelorette complete her scavenger hunt, danced on the crowded tiny stage, avoided some creepy white-haired man and met some cool guys from Hershey, PA and Tennessee, and danced all night thanks to the fresh oxygen they somehow pump into the club (for real).

After all of this, I actually managed to wake up before noon, and before Sharon, the following day.

Day 3

Even though it was winter for Crystal, Sharon and I were dying to get to the beach, so we put on our bikinis and drove to nearby Jupiter, which was quite breezy by the ocean but sunny enough. Crystal kept her hoodie on.

After the beach, we hit up Publix, the supermarket in FL, for some sandwiches. Everything was much slower there and relaxed compared to supermarkets in the tri-state area. Then stopped at CVS to pick up some hair dye for me. After lunch, Sharon helped me with my hair while Crystal and Brian did their food shopping for the week. When they got back, we girls ended up getting into a long discussion about race and immigration and culture and plenty of other deep topics. Before we knew it, Brian had prepared and was serving us dinner - what a guy!

After dinner and plenty of wine, Brian and Crystal said nighty-night, while Sharon and I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I had never seen before, then headed to bed ourselves for an early rise the next morning.

To be continued...

Homepage Redesign

My headfirst dive into web design began in high school, with a custom Myspace layout and a primitive "blog" at Xanga. After transferring to Temple University and taking our required Computer and Information Science (CIS) course, I created my first homepage. But as I am looking forward to graduation, I realize that Temple won't continue to host my webpage on their servers, and honestly I'm not even sure if they will let me use my @temple.edu e-mail address anymore, but that's another topic...

With this in mind, I purchased the domain name amypospiech.com and a hosting package, but then the question in my mind was, "what the heck do I put up there?" It was actually quite intimidating at first - with no limits on what I could do creatively or technically, I spent a few months just sketching ideas and keeping notes of things I liked on other portfolio sites and personal pages, as well as business sites and blogs. I then scrapped it all, came up with a totally original theme, added in some signature Amy style and at long last came up with this:

I designed the theme around my favorite (abandoned) building in Philadelphia, the Divine Lorraine Hotel. It was built as an apartment complex in the late 19th century in a French Renaissance style, transformed into a hotel in 1948 under Father Divine and the Peace Mission Movement, and closed in 1999 when it was sold to developers (and subsequently re-sold for a hefty profit, but nothing to show for it yet). You can read about it here.

Knowing me, I will probably change this a few times a year (ha, ha) because after looking at something for too long, I get the crazy urge to go back and redo it all again. However, if anyone has suggestions for improvements, I'm all ears!

Your TU Tuition: Printing Quota Changes

According to Computer Services, "All currently-enrolled Temple University students receive a free printing quota." But free always comes with a price.

Trial by Sasswood uploaded by austinevan.

Did you notice that the cost to print a page in our computer labs is now only 7 cents, instead of 10? However, after we use up our printing quota of 300 pages (funded by the $125 technology fee included in our tuition), the rate jumps back to 10 cents per page. That's the fine print.

So now it's more important than ever to print double sided and watch how much you print, especially as midterms approach. And when printing PowerPoint presentations or class notes, print multiple slides per page, or multiple pages per sheet if your eyes can stand it.

It seems that this is Temple's way of balancing the budget.

My Last Semester, with a TimesNewRoman-Loving Professor

If the course syllabus, course description, and course questionnaire are any indication of what this semester is going to be like, it's going to be a long road to graduation for me.

The semester doesn't start until Tuesday, but one of my professors took the liberty of assigning us something mid-week that is due - not on the first day of class, but tonight... in addition to an assignment for the first day. I would say "the nerve of him" but it really wasn't a bad assignment except the fact that my eyes were bleeding by the time I got through the first page. If this business capstone is any indication of what's to come in the "real world," I'll lose my vision within a year. It's like I got stuck in a time portal from the late 90's... I mean, we're already in the next decade of the millennium here. Okay, I'm going to stop ranting. Take a look for yourself.

It actually entertains me a bit. So I come from a graphic design background and hate Times New Roman, sue me. Not that Calibri is all that beautiful, but at least it looks better when you make it bold, add a shadow, and underline it all at once. Okay, nothing really looks that good when bold, shadowed, and underlined, but my professor apparently seems to think so. True story.

Professor, if you happen to read this either before the start of classes or anytime this semester, I sincerely apologize and hope that you will accept my donation of time to update every single one of your Word documents that you use this semester to a format that is agreeable for both of us.

On a lighter note, I'm going out to enjoy this mysterious Spring-like weather and get myself a drink on Main Street, sheesh.

I Must Have Been Good This Year

Santa left some very nice presents under the Christmas tree!

Still figuring some of them out, but I am now blogging in front of the TV from my smart phone while my sister plays on dad's new PS3 :-)

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!