The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[StarWarsGirl]

Let's see if I can go ten minutes without getting a work email, IM, or phone call..

And...that was a no.

 

[93boomer]

Speaking of cats, do any other cat pet owners here witness your cat getting the poop scoots? (Yes this is my term)

It is when the cat is done using the litter box and takes off running to the other end of the house and back.

Yes my cat did that a lot.

 

[MinnieM123]

Speaking of cats, do any other cat pet owners here witness your cat getting the poop scoots? (Yes this is my term)

It is when the cat is done using the litter box and takes off running to the other end of the house and back.

Yes my cat did that a lot.

Sometimes when my dog takes a dump (outdoors), he likes to spin around. and wag his tail and look up at me -- it's like he's super proud of his "accomplishment" -- really, he's twisted like that!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sometimes when my dog takes a dump (outdoors), he likes to spin around. and wag his tail and look up at me -- it's like he's super proud of his "accomplishment" -- really, he's twisted like that!

Kapono spins around before she does her business and if she sees us looking at her she gives us a look like we are interrupting her private time!

 

[donaldtoo]

The bathrooms have been sanitized and the end of summer deck cleaning has been done. Basin take me away

I’m thinkin’ Basin has replaced Calgon these days...?!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

At least it was warm enough to do it while wearing short and a tank top not snow gear

It’s more than warm enough for that here, even right now...!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

I have been liking MOD pizza lately. They have a gluten free crust available and dairy free cheese! I usually have them put just about every veggie they have on the pizza. For whatever reason that shocks the pizza makers. Well, it’s their rules and I want to get my money’s worth.

As do we all want to get our money’s worth...!!!
We’ve always enjoyed MOD all the way around, and we really love the regular crust, but, need to try the other...!!!!!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Final Two Days at Universal Studio's and IOA....

I am going to combine the two days because they were pretty uneventful (for a change). On Thursday we started at Universal Studio's. We went the Shrek, thought about Despicable, but the line was to long and we had seen it all before. So we meandered down the street and got right on Jimmy Fallons Race Through New York, headed back toward the Transformers stopping briefly to see if we could figure out what type of sick mind would ride Rip Ride Rocket, then rode Transformers. Wandered over to the Simpsons area and looked around before riding The Simpson Ride. Then we headed back over to the San Francisco area and had lunch at Richter's Burger Co. (Actually a very good burger, but a cluster system for ordering) Then as the afternoon sun beat down we decided to take the Hogwarts Express over to the other part of Harry Potters empire. We took in the sights and made a mental note about what we wanted to see the next day and slowly made our way out, took the bus back to the Resort. I am fairly tuned into bus Drivers and we only had one that seemed a bit put out because she had to let me enter with the scooter. I was a driver and supervisor long enough to recognize the "Damn, now I have to get out of my seat and make sure that machine is secure" look. Otherwise I was very happy with the way we were treated by the drivers. We got back to the hotel and left off the scooter and got the car to explore my old stomping grounds on Rte. 192 just to reminisce and see what had changed as well as hit the Publix store the we went to quite often in the past to refill our bottled water supply before returning to International Drive and dined in elegance at the KFC across from the hotel.

Friday morning, we slept in a little and then boarded the bus back to IOA. There wasn't much there that we really wanted to see except Spiderman (one of my personal favorites), then up to Kong (very well done combination of screens and animatronics) Then walked through the Jurassic Park area stopping to explore a little and then walking through Harry Potter down to Poseidon's Fury (another of my favorites). Somewhere along the way I know we stopped to eat, but for the life of me I don't remember where. Anyway after Poseidon we headed back up to the Wizarding World and took the Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley to watch the dragon show us what actual heartburn looks like.

If I might digress a bit, I really like Universal and I think that most of the attractions are done better then Disney has done the newer ones, but they are also much less accommodating to someone with some excess weight. There are a number of rides were not real open to those of us in the chunky mode. It's too bad, because that is one place were Disney excels. When it came to disabilities Disney is extremely accommodating for those with mobility problems, be it weight or a mobility device, Disney wins hands down. They are super accommodating and will to do whatever is necessary to let us experience whatever was available and nothing was off limits. Almost all allowed a scooter in the queue which was really handy. Universal had barriers everywhere and a number of the more interesting attractions were either not able to handle a larger person and almost none allowed a scooter in the queue.

Back to the train ride back. I love that train and never fail to be amazed and enjoy the trip both ways. After our brief visit to Diagon Alley we wandered over to Men In Black and rode that one. Just as a point of information, on Buzz, my sister wiped the floor with me in points, At Toy Story I beat her unmercifully by over 20K points, and at MIB she beat me by less then 200 points. I guess that makes her the champion.

Anyway, by that time the fact that I was 71 and she was 63 started to show up in the form of fatigue so we decided to call it a day at about 3pm and rode ET just for the nostalgia of it all and headed to the bus and back to the hotel. I took the down time opportunity to return the scooter while my sister dined on some junk she purchased at Publix and I went on down to the snack bar/restaurant in the hotel and bought something that was so overpriced and memorable that I forgot what it was and then went back up and basically packed up for the early morning departure on Saturday.

Summary: I was really concerned about this trip because, well, let's face it I'm old. Also I had some really serious illnesses this past year and still have not regained all my strength and stamina. However, I did manage to drive 1400 miles from Monday through Saturday along with going two days to WDW and two days to Universal. (at least most of the day and it was warm, but did have a breeze so it wasn't all that uncomfortable). I dealt with the missing scooter with amazing patience and the lost sister with superhuman patience. and still survived it all. The choice of getting the scooter was the right one and I know I would never have been able to make it work without it. I didn't feel self conscious about it. I did feel frustrated that I can no longer do what used to be so easy just a couple of years ago. I dislike this aging process, but completely hate the alternative. I appreciate the encouragement that you kind folk offered while I tried to understand just how this would all go. It went well. As for the hotel, I was really disappointed in the way it was run, the lack of organization and especially the lack of information made available to the guest. The physical building and theme is well done, the staff, for the most part, was polite and helpful, but also seemed to be aware of the fact that the place made no effort to communicate the details to the guests. I really overheard other guests expressing the same upset that I was experiencing. I will never go back there, that much I know. I didn't take pictures because, I was to lazy to take my phone out of my pocket and taking pictures while using the scooter would probably have been dangerous. Besides I was never much for taking pictures to begin with, I like to be looking at the real thing not via a screen on my phone. I did have a good time and felt really good about how much I was able to do and still have some left over energy.

 

[donaldtoo]

As for the reburb of WOD, I don't think it's as fun as the older setup. Rarely find anything I like in there, but if you have kids (or grandkids as the case may be), I'm sure the stock has quite a few things that would interest them.

Totally agree with you on this. It’s more like WoGMS (World of Generic Mall Store) now.
The other version was sooooo much more fun, family gettin’ separated from each other or not...!!!!!
Now... B. O. R. I. N. G.

 

[donaldtoo]

When we were at Uni dh wanted to leave his phone in the room a few times. He just didn’t want to carry it. I said “no”. You never know what will happen. Who will want to split up, etc. Of course before cell phones, there would be a plan, like we meet at so and so at this time. Nowadays you don’t think of making a plan because you assume everyone has their phone on them.

Yep, call me crazy, but, my cell phone is always with me. Call it a (bad) habit...!!!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yep, call me crazy, but, my cell phone is always with me. Call it a (bad) habit...!!!

Me too, and I almost never get a call, but feel absolutely naked if I forget it on occasion. It makes me laugh though, when you consider my age and the number of years when we all had to be disconnected if we traveled. I can remember when I owned my nursing home, Checking in with my staff to find out how thing were going. I even had to arrange for a replacement freezer that went bad while I was gone. Called the appliance place and talking them into delivering one that I would pay for as soon as I got back. All from a pay phone in Magic Kingdom. We always had to deal with not having a cell phone at least to the middle of the 1990's and even then it was iffy getting a signal. Went miles and miles, days and days away with no phone, no texts, no nothing and never gave it a thought. My how things have changed.

 

[donaldtoo]

Newark's changed quite a bit, I'm not saying all of it's nice but there's not one neighborhood I'm afraid to walk in. Trenton is interesting as by the main government buildings it's well patrolled and there's a few nice places to eat and on the edges of the city there's a couple of nice neighborhoods

Sounds like things have, mostly, changed for the better, and that’s good to hear...!!!

DWifey and I were last that way in ‘89.
Her youngest bro was graduating from Army basic training at Fort Polk, NJ, and my buddy and his 2 roommates were runnin’ the NYC marathon. We took a train ride from Trenton into NYC...twofold trip combo...!!!!!
We went to an Italian restaurant in White Plains the night before , where they lived at the time, so they could “carbo load” on ziti for the marathon the next day...!!!!!
We, and many of their friends, spent the time at a TGI Friday’s along the route drinkin’...!!!!!!!
they all 3 hung together and finished at about the 4:18 mark, IIRC.
We all met up in Central Park after the finish, and after everyone freshened up, we headed out for the night. We first went to eat Chinese at a great place in Yonkers, and then went back to a White Plains bar to hang out. It was an awesome trip...!!!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Me too, and I almost never get a call, but feel absolutely naked if I forget it on occasion. It makes me laugh though, when you consider my age and the number of years when we all had to be disconnected if we traveled. I can remember when I owned my nursing home, Checking in with my staff to find out how thing were going. I even had to arrange for a replacement freezer that went bad while I was gone. Called the appliance place and talking them into delivering one that I would pay for as soon as I got back. All from a pay phone in Magic Kingdom. We always had to deal with not having a cell phone at least to the middle of the 1990's and even then it was iffy getting a signal. Went miles and miles, days and days away with no phone, no texts, no nothing and never gave it a thought. My how things have changed.

Indeed...!!!
I first got a cell phone in ‘08, IIRC...
I wouldn’t know what to do without it today. OK, exaggeration, but, obviously, you know what I mean.
Back in our day, you had to either pull over for a pay phone, or call from a friends landline...!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Out for now, gang...!!!
Gonna’ go watch the Disneyland TV show “Our Friend the Atom” on YouTube...!!!!!
sweet dreamin’ to one and all...!!!
Laterrrrrrrrrrr...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gabe1]

Good grief. I'm not a fan of hauling around a phone either, but certainly on vacation with thousands of people around, it just would make good sense to keep it on her. Bet she kept it with her after that experience!!

As for the reburb of WOD, I don't think it's as fun as the older setup. Rarely find anything I like in there, but if you have kids (or grandkids as the case may be), I'm sure the stock has quite a few things that would interest them.

We have concluded WOD is fine. Generically fine. I’m less than impressed. Less impressed with the sloppy overall casual appearance of cast ‘costume’ choice.

 

[Gabe1]

Not this trip anyway, I was kind, but was asking her why the hell she left it there and when she told her son about it, he got pretty critical about it as well. It seems that this wasn't the first time she had done that or that he had been upset because she didn't answer her phone because she had left it home or in her car. Judging by the way she approaches technology you'd think she was 8 years older then me instead of 8 years younger.

My Mom tries real hard to leave her cell phone behind. She has an iPhone 10x and is pretty good at it. She uses a stylist often because of her arthritis. She left it in Cleveland at my Sis home when she went to NY in the middle of nowhere for my nieces graduation from college. They went onto Chautauqua NY for a week. Fortunately my Sis texted me and said this is What Mom did on purpose. Frustrating.

My kids had cells in 2000. We the parents about 5 years earlier. Pay phone just were not existent here as a viable option. My youngest was in 4th grade when I bought her first cell. Rarely used but made me feel better. My son had a pipe bomb go off in his high school early morning I was just seeing on news. The Manchild had the great sense when they all went running out of school to call me from his cell to tell me he was OK and safe and they were all heading to a Park District building.

WORTH.EVERY.PENNY.I.PAID.FOR.PHONE. No regrets.

 

[Gabe1]

Kapono spins around before she does her business and if she sees us looking at her she gives us a look like we are interrupting her private time!

Walter use to rapidly pick up walking speed before his business. But it also gave me a moment to guide him when necessary to a more appropriate place then he was sometimes aiming for. I knew to look away for Kapono reasons. Besides who really wants to look?

My Golden’s were trained well. I asked who wanted to go for a walk and they immediately went into our yard and took care of business prior to walk. Walt jus didn’t grasp that.

 

[Rista1313]

I was an early adopter of the cell phone... I think I got one around 1992.. it was a Nokia... I can't remember who the provider was, but I remember that you always were aware of the time because it was cheaper to use your minutes on nights and weekends. It was $19 a month.

 

[MinnieM123]

If I might digress a bit, I really like Universal and I think that most of the attractions are done better then Disney has done the newer ones, but they are also much less accommodating to someone with some excess weight. There are a number of rides were not real open to those of us in the chunky mode. It's too bad, because that is one place were Disney excels. When it came to disabilities Disney is extremely accommodating for those with mobility problems, be it weight or a mobility device, Disney wins hands down. They are super accommodating and will to do whatever is necessary to let us experience whatever was available and nothing was off limits. Almost all allowed a scooter in the queue which was really handy. Universal had barriers everywhere and a number of the more interesting attractions were either not able to handle a larger person and almost none allowed a scooter in the queue.

I'm surprised to read the above about Uni, and they need to up their game. Certainly, in this day and age, with thousands of people visiting their parks, they definitely need to be more aware of these basic issues.

I did feel frustrated that I can no longer do what used to be so easy just a couple of years ago. I dislike this aging process, but completely hate the alternative.

Exactly. So there's little to nothing to be concerned about. You had a fun vacation, and it's the quality, not the quantity, that matters.

 

[MinnieM123]

I was an early adopter of the cell phone... I think I got one around 1992.. it was a Nokia... I can't remember who the provider was, but I remember that you always were aware of the time because it was cheaper to use your minutes on nights and weekends. It was $19 a month.

View attachment 414494

Nice choice. But mine was prettier --



O.k. I've finally replaced the Princess Phone. But still kept the landline, of course!