Delirious Blue

Monday, July 16, 2007

Day Two - Regina to Winnipeg

Another long day, full of prairies. There's not really much to take pictures of, unless you like a lot of flat wheat fields. Wheat, wheat and canola and wheat... woooo... this country is darn big. Darn big, and full of wheat.

I have to say, thank heavens for Tim Horton's... Tim Horton's, with their reliable coffee and consistently clean bathrooms. We've run across many a sketchy bathroom thus far, but the pinacle of sketchy was at a KFC in Moosomin, Saskatchewan. We stopped for lunch and my dad ordered us some salads while mum and I went to the washroom. It was a recently renovated KFC, but the bathroom.... TERRIFYING! The first thing you notice is the massive hole in the floor right in front of the toilet... then, the disgusting toilet... then, while standing and washing your hands, you notice that your feet are slipping on the grease-coated floor... and then the door that sticks and refuses to open. Yikes. We got through that fiasco, and drove to a park to eat lunch, only to discover that our salads were, in fact, totally rancid... *sigh* Needless to say, we didn't eat them, but there must have been something extraordinarily bad about that KFC, since my mum and I were both edgy, twitchy and shaking afterwards. Dunno if it was bad vibes or some toxic fumes, but it was no good.

The lesson I've learned? Stick with Tim's.

I hope Ontario is better :)

Love,
Gillian

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Day One - Calgary to Regina

That...
THAT...
was a long day.

I'm sitting in the Holiday Inn, Regina, watching Edward Scissorhands. I'm a total space cadet right now. Saying goodbye to Nathan, Sheila and Grandma Bell this morning was haaaaaard, and all that driving? I thought it would never end. It felt like we'd been driving for hours, and we were still in Alberta! And then, Saskatchewan, which looks just like Alberta! Ack! PRAIRIES! ENDLESS PRAIRIES!

... I don't really have much to say... um... I'm alive... I'm emotionally all over the place... that's it for now.

Love,
Gillian

Saturday, July 14, 2007

I've Got Those Happy Feet

Last night was my very last chance to dance with my Salsa buddies from the Student Dance Club. Unfortunately, it was 30 degrees last night, so much of the night was spent in front of a big fan by the door. However, this inspired me to get everyone's "Dramatic Model Pose" photos. It was lots of fun, and slightly disgusting at the same time (so sweaty!)... good thing I like these people :P

Enjoy :)

Haha... cheesy shot of me, but I was told to "Ham it up", so what can I say?
I'm going to miss everyone soooooooo much.
Leaving first thing tomorrow... I hope they have wireless in Regina.

Love,
Gillian

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Surgeon General's Warning

I am now an expert on the physical side effects of moving cross-country,

WARNING: Side Effects may include constant tears, nausea, insomnia and irritability. Individuals suffering from these maladies should not be around people because it starts to get really annoying after a while. Especially the nausea. Perpetual nausea. Good times. I should have named my blog Perpetual Nausea. Weeeeeee!

Yesterday we said goodbye to the house, which was incredibly tearful and hard. We moved there when I was twelve years old. I love that house. It's so full of memories. I took some pictures, but I'm not ready to look at them yet, so maybe I'll post them later. Blah. I'm all muddled. I would really love a hefty tranquilizer and a long sleep.

Well, we start the drive on Sunday, so I'll keep you posted on things whenever I have an internet connection.

Love,
Gillian

Friday, July 6, 2007

Video Time

It's good to be home again, but now comes the most challenging part of my journey: Saying Goodbye.

Let's avoid that unpleasantness for now. Instead, a bevy of videos....

I need to see this movie:

And this one, too. I love Claire Danes...

A video of Johnny Depp riding Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland... Me? Obsessed? ... maybe... (I really do prefer him with eyeliner! haha. I'm crazy.)

And this is the weirdest music video I've seen in a while, but I really do like her album:

Love, Love, Love,
Gillian

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

The Happiest Place On Earth

First of all, I want to say Thank You to Josh and Susan for making my Disneyland dream come true! Secondly, I would like to thank Walt Disney for wanting to create such a magical place. I don't really know where to begin, except to say that it was amazing and magical, TRULY magical, and I really felt like a little kid again. It's been YEARS since I really felt that sense of wonder at anything, but I felt it here. You know how when you're a kid and things still have that "wow-factor," so that all you can do is stand there with your mouth hanging open? I just had that! That hasn't happened in years!!!

So what made it so spectacular? Well, my theme park experience has been limited to West Edmonton Mall and Calaway Park, which are really cheesy and loud and annoying. I had higher hopes for Disneyland, but I was blown away with how impressive it was. I swear to you that there really is fairy dust in these buildings and rides. It's so lovingly crafted and impressive and amazing and... real! I really don't know how to explain it. For example, the Haunted Mansion is this beautiful old house and you go in and there's this enormous, amazing ride inside and I was staggered... How... HOW could they fit this ride in there? It MUST be magic, it HAS to be magic. Pirates of the Caribbean!? How? HOW does it all fit in there, how, HOW can the animitronic Captain Jack Sparrow look like the real, live Johnny Depp, so that you swear it's a person, even though you know better? And it's not at ALL loud and annoying and cheesy, and I couldn't help dancing through Main Street, USA like a five year old, because it's just special and beautiful and happy. I love it. I was amazed. It really, REALLY is the Happiest Place on Earth :)

My favourite rides were Pirates of the Caribbean (which I went on four times), and no, not just because of Johnny Depp. I was freaking STAGGERED by this ride, the sheer size and craft of it just blew my mind. My other favourite was Space Mountain (which I also went on four times.) I am soooo not one for roller coasters, but when I finished Yoga School I said to myself "Gillian, some rides are scary, but you're not going to die. So just don't ask if it's scary, just do it. If you die in an amusement park accident, then it was just your time to go." So I marched up to Space Mountain. First Rule of Amusement Parks: Anything involving the name "mountain" will also involve roller coasters. ...and? IT WAS SO COOL! It's a fast roller coaster, but it's totally pitch dark in there except for stars EVERYWHERE, and you're just flying through the stars and it's wicked cool. I love it because I can't see the track, which magically removes the "anticipation fear" of "dear god, I'm going to plummet to my death in that next drop." And without that fear it turns out to be incredibly fun!

So now I'm on a mission to go back, this time with Nathan, Sheila and my parents. It's awesome, trust me, it's worth it. You'll love it. Mum, you'll especially love the Indiana Jones ride... so cool!!!

I took a few pictures, but not many, since most of the rides are dark inside and you can't use flash photography, but MOSTLY because I was too busy having fun to think about silly pictures. But here are a few of the ones I took :)

The Pirates of the Caribbean Sign :P

The Stage at The Princess Fantasy Faire... I would have been in heaven here when I was small.

As requested by Butler, this is me trying to pull the sword out of the stone... didn't work so well! Nice Castle out back, though :P

Tigger, mauling my nephew at our Character Breakfast.

Susan and Caspian on a streetcar in Toon Town.

Caspian and Ariel (and Tiger.)

The Sailing Ship Columbia. You can ride around the lagoon outside Tom Sawyer Island during the day, and at night it's featured in Fantasmic with Peter Pan and gang. It's so neat!