Damn. Damn. Damn. Why do I have to be an ENFJ? Damn me and my stupid heart. Sigh. OK, so I really shouldn't be complaining because it's not like anything horrible has happened..but why is it that EVERY time I meet someone of signficance they live in a different country than me? Why? Is this my fate? Is this my punishment for choosing to travel and meet new people? And what the heck am I supposed to do about it? Am I just going to be an old spinster with a backpack and an impressive resume of travelling?

One thing is for sure - I can't give up travelling for anything or anyone - it's my first love..at least at this point in my life. So, of course, it would make sense for me to find some guy that likes to and is willing to travel around the world with me. Sigh. Easier said than done. And so, instead I meet Irish men and American men that pull my heart strings and make me wish in some ways that I could be satisified with settling in one place. But I'm not there yet.

Anyways - enough about my stupid heart and all that jazz.

Speaking of jazz..and other music...this weekend PEI is hosting the East Coast Music Awards. I am a Welcome Ambassador (volunteer). It's been OK so far - the Delta was buzzing on Thursday , the Rodd Charlottetown not so busy on Friday. Crossing my fingers I'll get picked as a volunteer for the Gala Awards show, but apparently there are over 600 volunteers...so we shall see! ! In any case, I am taking in some of the ECMA action tonight at Myron's (note to all: this is the ONE exception I will make for going to Myron's on a Saturday night). There are a load of bands playing Max Trax Rock showcase and the Yamaha 72 hour jam will also be playing upstairs! Then I have to be up for a 10-2 stint of volunteering tomorrow morning! Good grief- I am getting too old for this stuff.

Things have been great since I got back. Really really enjoyed my time at sister Sahra's in Dartmouth and she has the MOST comfortable couch EVER!!!!! Plus her two black cats are cute and, best of all, quiet! Upon returning to PEI via shuttle (intersting in itself as I chatted the whole way with a guy who was the father of one of my fellow UPEI classmates...such a small Island) I was back in the swing of things immediately.

Wednesday I slept in and then did the gym and sent off my passport application. Wednesday night = creative writing class. Crazily enough the class was NOT cancelled!

Thursday meant more time at the gym, then I had ECMA volunteer duties. Immediately following my shift, I headed to the Charlottetown Driving Park for dinner with my former workmates from Shawn Murphy's office. Apparently the dinner was kind of a farewell for those of us who had to leave after the election. OK, to be honest, my expectations of the restaurant were very very low. I mean, hello?? It's the CDP..I was expecting a burger and fries menu and had vowed only to order a green salad..if they even had one on the menu. To my complete surprise, the restaurant turned out to be very very swank and a divine buffet was on offer. There were steamed mussels, chicken cacciatore, roast beef, pork schnitzel, sweet potatoes, roast potatoes, salads, about a dozen different desserts (including a chocolate cheesecake I somehow avoided) AND, la piece de resistance: a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit for the dipping...and endless supply of warm chocolate. Could it get any better. No way!!!! It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening - the company was spectacular, the food out of this world (or at least above my expectations).

Yesterday I did more ECMA volunteering, followed by more gym and then a quiet night at home - watched a bit of Olympics and then went to bed early. Still catching up on sleep and it seems the next few days will not be kind to this plan - what with Myron's tonight, volunteering tomorrow and then a full day of events for Monday including a post-awards party at the Delta for ECMAs!!!!!

So here I am safe and sound back in Canada. Currently couchsurfing it at my sister's place in Dartmouth, trying to catch up on sleep and reclimatise to the local freaking cold weather. Hmm..so here's a recap of the MOST BRILLANT VACATION I'VE ever had:

Sunday - Depart Charlottetown for Orlando via a stopover in Toronto. Count myself lucky that I've missed the snowstorm that is battering the east coast. Learn just before my departure that Natasha and Thomas's flight has been cancelled and they won't be arriving in Orlando until Monday night. Arrive in Toronto where my friend, ANdrew, whom I haven't seen since BEFORE going to Scotland is waiting. We spend a couple of hours catching up and chowing down on greasy over-priced fast food. My trip had officially begun. Arrived in Orlando at 10.15 pm, and was ecstatic to see Jen and her orange fleece walking towards me at the luggage pick-up. She ended up staying at the hotel with me since we had a pretty big morning planned for Monday. Or rather, she had planned a big morning for us after learning I'd be alone for the day....

Monday- Up bright & early, we were off to the Magic Kingdom for breakfast at the Crystal Palace. Jen had made us reservations for a buffet breakfast with Pooh & friends. Winnie, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore all came round to our table for hugs and pictures. Tigger was a bit of a flirt, but can't say I really go for the whole orange and black stripes... The food was delicious..not your typical mediocre buffet food..and the atmosphere was amazing. Everything about the Magic Kingdom was amazingly clean, beautiful and HAPPY!!! We did a few rides including Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Railway and Pirates of the Carribean. Wandering through the 'lands' of the Magic Kingdom was pretty amazing too...from Fantasyland to Frontierland to Tomorrowland.

Eventually Jen had to go to work at Epcot, serving delicious meals at the number one restaurant in the park - Le Cellier ( a Canadian Steakhouse). I wandered around Epcot for a bit and watched a few outdoor shows in the world showcase arena. The world showcase was pretty amazing - 11 countries recreated - complete with shops, restaurants and authentic buildings to represent the country. I think my favorites were France and Germany. I must admit I started getting VERY nostalgic about Europe and am now seriously missing the UK....

Anyways, Monday night I stayed in the hotel, awaiting the arrival of Tash & Thomas while watching the Bachelor. Then I got the phone call I'd been hoping I wouldn't - Tash & Thomas were stuck in Newark and wouldn't be arriving until Tuesday at noon. It wasn't a big deal though, we'd still have the majority of Tuesday to do the parks...

Tuesday - Meet up with Tash & Thomas and Jen takes us to the parks. We spend some time at Magic Kingdom and get pics with the characters, then it's off the Epcot to drink around the world. 11 countries, three Canadians and two French people. We started in Mexico with margaritas. I don't think we really drank around the world in the end..it was hard enough just to WALK around the world.... We ended the night in the UK, where we watched the evening spectable (aka the fireworks). It wasn't just fireworks though, it was a mesmerizing display of lights, images (on a huge globe) and fireworks all set to music. It was pretty magical.

Wednesday - Jen worked in the day, so she let us into the parks and then we planned a meet-up. We spent the first part of the day in Magic Kingdom doing the big rides like Space Mountain (my favorite WDW ride), Splash Mountain (again) and the Jungle Cruise (lots of fun!!!), then went to Epcot to return to some of the countries in the world and do some of the other rides. We went on Mission: Space which was amazingly cool - it was kind of a ride/simulator..we were on the first mission to Mars and we were in the rocket ship. You could feel the G-force & everything!! Wedneday night Jen took Tasha and I out with some of the Epcot workers (mostly Canadians) to Downtown Florida for a night of clubbing and REALLY cheap drinks. But I think I mentioned this part of my week in previous blog, so won't reiterate...

Thursday - We slept in and had a lazy day of shopping and eating. Strawberries and whipped cream were on the afternoon menu and then we went to a $4 pizza buffet for supper. No wonder Americans are so fat! Thursday night we went do Downtown Disney (yes, they have their own downtown) and visited Pleasure Island, which is an area with six different themed nightclubs. It was a great night and near the end of it we ended up meeting some American guys who lived in (but weren't from) Orlando. They invited us to come out clubbing with them on Saturday night.

Friday - My favorite park day!!! We went to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. These were not kiddie rides - there were some bloody brilliant rollercoasters that I went on (but kept my eyes closed during) and my favorite rides were Spiderman (a 3-D ride complete with sensory experiences like heat and water) and the Mummy (a crazy indoors rollercoaster) . We also wandered through Seussland and went on Cat & the Hat ride....it was by far my favorite themed land!! Friday evening we went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for supper. I was stuffed before we even began our meals. We stayed in on Friday night to catch up on sleep...

Saturday - Jen had to work in the afternoon and evening (sad ) so she kindly let us into the parks and we spent the afternoon in Animal Kingdom & MGM Studios. It was pretty busy so we had to bypass some of the bigger rides like Mount Everest and Kali Rapids, but we still got to go on an African safari and see real Hippos, Rhinos, Giraffes, Lions, etc. It was neat because the landscape was really natural and there were not fences or stone walls...

Saturday evening we did dinner in Germany (at Epcot). It was an all you can eat buffet in a very cool restaurant meant to recreate Oktoberfest. There was entertainment - three guys with muscial instruments- and Tash & I got up to do the chicken dance!!! All in all it was totally worthwhile experience. After dinner we had to haul ass out of Epcot - Tash & I were still keen on going out on the town with American boys but had been having trouble getting through on a phone. When we finally got on a bus back to the hotel I asked a random guy if I could use his phone and lo & behold he said yes. Wow - a friendly American!! So we arranged plans and got picked up by the American guys, who took us to Club Roxy, got us in the VIP line and then bought our drinks throughout the evening. It was a great way to finish off our vacation and my intuition (and Tash's) about the decency of these American guys turned out to be spot on. They were really nice and not at all dodgy...like most men ;)

Sunday - Got driven to airport and almost missed my flight..or so I thought. Arrived at check-in only to be told counters were closed, but the woman would 'see what she could do'. I was NOT late getting to counter..there 45 minutes before departure. Anyways, she gave me my ticket and told me I would have to run to the gates and jump ahead of the line in security. SoI finally arrived at Gate 22 huffing, puffing and all sweaty only to find my fellow passengers still lounging around and the plane hadn't even landed. We waited half an hour more before boarding even began. The flight was over an hour late departing. I was not impressed - I could have used that extra half hour more wisely.... Anyhoo, finally arrived at Sahra's last night, had a lovely dinner and then pretty much slept the next twelve hours....

Yeah - so that was my holiday! I ALMOST didn't leave..my heart was fighting my head on that one. I guess my head won..this time...

I am in ORLANDO and having the time of my life. Ironically that is the last song they played at Chillers last night ..Bill Medley version. It was brilliant! Chillers is a bar with a few stories and a rooftop where people drink and dance. They sell alcoholic slushies for $1. Oh and there are actually MEN that are in their twenties...a novelty after PEI. I was actually recognized by two French guys who work at Epcot and had seen me earlier in the day at the boulangerie in France.

Anyways, everything about Disney World is happy and clean. I love it - it's pretty fantabulous. I wish I could write more but we are heading out to an all you can eat buffet for $4!!!!! And I am so tired after a night on the town..and we are going out AGAIN tonight to Pleasure Island!!!

I'm going to WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!! I'm going tomorrow :):):):)

That, I believe, is all that needs to be said at this point in time.

OK bear in mind this post is being written by a semi-sick, slightly tired and all-round confuzzled gal. So, yeah - if it doesn't make sense, well there ya go. And if it does make sense, well there ya go.

Yeah, so since I last posted life has been rather surreal, boring and exciting. Go figure. A quick recap of the week in chronological order:

Monday = Happy Birthday to Mom!!! I spent the morning working out and getting errands done.The afternoon was dedicated to making a birthday meal: Malaysian chicken stew with sweet potatoes over a nest of couscous and a high-fat, delicious carrot cake!!

Tuesday = I conciously decided to be lazy. It worked pretty well, no complaints here!

Wednesday = Blizzard. So I stayed home, exercised and wasted the day away. I was extremely disappointed to miss my Creative Writing class, which was cancelled. I have now missed 3 out of 4 classes and 2 of those were entirely cancelled.

Thursday = Super busy day in town. I tested out the boxing bag at the gym and punched up a sweat to classics such as Eye of the Tiger and Survivor. I'm so cool. Following tough workout I went to see Alison (the nutritionist) for first time in 2 & 1/2 weeks. I didn't hold out much hope. I'd gone off the plan quite a few times over that period and was majorly stress eating (you know, due to job loss and other things). Anyways, it turns out I gained only a quarter of a pound, which I was actually happy with!! Had lunch with Keri, got my hair cut and dyed, visited my co-workers at the MRO and then did my second workout of the day! After I got home I watched Dancing with the Stars. Uh oh - I now have 3 freaking shows I don't want to miss each week (American Idol, Desperate Housewives and Dancing with the Stars).

Friday = A random day at home. I actually went for a walk outside (4km) because it was warm enough to. I also turned all woodswomany and carried some wood in for the fireplace. So it turns out I'm not completely girly!!

Saturday = Workout in the morning, visited the Farmer's Market (it took all my willpower not to buy the mini-donuts!!) and met with Tash and Thomas, my Disney accomplices!!! I am getting totally psyched about the trip now :) In the evening I headed out for a night on the town (see, I told you it was a surreal week!!) Joined Keri & Becky Rogers at the Olde Dublin pub which was filled with really old people and really young people. Seriously - where did all the mid to late twenty year olds go? Oh wait, I know. Somewhere more exciting or to the altar. It was a fun night, but I guess I screwed my sleep system up cause I couldn't get to sleep for an hour and a half after I went to bed.

Anyhoo, that brings us to today. I woke up pretty late and was all achy and coughy. Jim has pneumonia and a cold and it seems I may have picked up the cold, but I'm crossing my fingers that my immune system is strong enough to fight back. I absolutely HATE being sick and there is no way I am missing my writing class on Wednesday or heading to Florida with a cold.

K -so about the surrealness of the week. I can't really divulge a lot of info, but let's just say the mail has been kind to me, especially the overseas mail. So much so, that I could, and probably will, go live/travel around the UK & Ireland for a month or two....

In other surrealness - I've found myself doing something I promised I wouldn't do. Sigh. Some days I hate email. But I guess you can't undo what's done and there's no room for regret, so will just have to hope for the best.... so yeah. Hmmm. OK, enough about that. No regrets right?? Right!!

Check this site out if youre planning to do any travelling at any time: www.couchsurfing.com


Yeah -w ow - exciting post that one.Don't say I didn't warn you. It's boring, I know.