This Woman's Whirled
8.25.2006
No Fat Princesses
As Florida residents, we try to get to Walt Disney World on an annual basis. They offer residents great discounts and it really feels like a vacation, even though it is just over a 2 hour drive. This year, we plan to partake in Mickey's not-so-scary halloween party. This is an event taking place at the magic kingdom after hours, and limited to a smaller number of tickets than a usual day at the park. There is trick-or-treating and costumes and, hopefully, smaller crowds.
We have been trying each year to do a family costume but it has never worked out. This year is no exception. My dear son is Dash Incredible. He introduces himself to others that way. While I consider Mrs. Incredible to be inspiring (and my secret blog identity), I am no shape to squeeze myself into her spandex suit. As a matter of fact, that would be laughable as the out-of-shape Mr. Incredible is when he dons the super suit of his glory days in the movie.
That said, I was inspired by the Disney Magic and thought it would be fun to go as one of the famed princesses (preferably one of the 4 non-blondes), so I went online in search of a costume.
Well, it seems that if you google "plus size" and "costume" you may as well have entered "tavern wench." That doesn't exactly exude Disney Magic. So, it would seem, that the plus sized girl cannot celebrate the shape she's in as a beautiful princess - but there were a number of costumes to celebrate the more curvy female form. Check out the plus-sized dirty martini costume or even worse, the sexy Hermione from Harry Potter. Nice.
In all fairness, the disneystore.com site has a pretty, girly costume for me. Tinkerbell. Isn't that ironic? She's supposed to be 6 inches tall. That's just a cruel joke. Tinkerbell should be the one 'princess' we aren't allowed to wear.
So, since I couldn't find anything - my son will be Dash and my husband and I will be wearing Mr. and Mrs. Incredible t-shirts. They're cute and probably much more comfortable than anything else we might come up with. ¶ 23:59 0 comments
We have been trying each year to do a family costume but it has never worked out. This year is no exception. My dear son is Dash Incredible. He introduces himself to others that way. While I consider Mrs. Incredible to be inspiring (and my secret blog identity), I am no shape to squeeze myself into her spandex suit. As a matter of fact, that would be laughable as the out-of-shape Mr. Incredible is when he dons the super suit of his glory days in the movie.
That said, I was inspired by the Disney Magic and thought it would be fun to go as one of the famed princesses (preferably one of the 4 non-blondes), so I went online in search of a costume.
Well, it seems that if you google "plus size" and "costume" you may as well have entered "tavern wench." That doesn't exactly exude Disney Magic. So, it would seem, that the plus sized girl cannot celebrate the shape she's in as a beautiful princess - but there were a number of costumes to celebrate the more curvy female form. Check out the plus-sized dirty martini costume or even worse, the sexy Hermione from Harry Potter. Nice.
In all fairness, the disneystore.com site has a pretty, girly costume for me. Tinkerbell. Isn't that ironic? She's supposed to be 6 inches tall. That's just a cruel joke. Tinkerbell should be the one 'princess' we aren't allowed to wear.
So, since I couldn't find anything - my son will be Dash and my husband and I will be wearing Mr. and Mrs. Incredible t-shirts. They're cute and probably much more comfortable than anything else we might come up with. ¶ 23:59 0 comments
8.09.2006
Insert Foot
My friend and I were emailing back and forth about seeing the new "World Trade Center" movie when my co-worker paid me a visit. We haven't worked together long, and I find that talking about 9/11 is kind of a universal experience. We may have all reacted differently but I think we all felt the same way. Funny how something so painful seems like a safe topic.
Anyway, he commented that he would likely be very upset by the movie. I quickly responded (see assumption above) that we all would be. Then he gently revealed that he was personally affected by this tragedy.
Even then, in my skepticism, I thought about the number of times I have heard that, usually from people working for large companies feeling a connection with lost colleagues they never interacted with...and so on...
No, it was nothing like that I am afraid.
"I lost a team of people, " he said....and it gets worse.
"I was their manager and I had just moved them into the world trade center. our building we getting crowded, so I moved them to our space over there. I hadn't moved yet, I was still in the building across the street."
OK. I guess that's personally affected. My coworker, apparently, was across the street when it all went down and his team, higher in the building than where the plane hit, didn't make it out. One of the guys on the team was one of those classic stories - late to work because he missed his train - and was walking in the first floor just as it all began to unfold. He did make it but only because he was late for work.
I really didn't know what to say.
I love New York. I totally 'get' all the "I heart NY" bumperstickers and t-shirts. I would rather visit there than anyplace else. I even daydream occasionally about living there...realizing, of course, I will have to be independently wealthy. I never saw the WTC. I have seen ground zero - 5 months after and 3.5 years after. When I am in New York, especially on the subway, I look around at all the people and wonder which of them were stuck in Manhattan that day and because of that - being there, seeing it, possibly helping others - I see them all as heroes.
I asked a street vendor in Battery park last year where the towers would have been in relation to where we were standing. Battery park is at the tip of Manhattan where you take the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and not at all far from the world trade center site. The vendor, selling photographs of city scenes, broke into a very rehearsed tale. Describing where the towers were, where the planes came from, how low they were...and I asked if he was there that day. As it turns out, he had never seen the towers either. He moved to NYC post 9/11.
So there you have it - I have stood in the ghost of the WTC shadow listening intently to someone who knew the story as well as I did...but it took a conversation in my cube in Florida to hear the real story from someone who was there to see it. ¶ 22:43 0 comments
Anyway, he commented that he would likely be very upset by the movie. I quickly responded (see assumption above) that we all would be. Then he gently revealed that he was personally affected by this tragedy.
Even then, in my skepticism, I thought about the number of times I have heard that, usually from people working for large companies feeling a connection with lost colleagues they never interacted with...and so on...
No, it was nothing like that I am afraid.
"I lost a team of people, " he said....and it gets worse.
"I was their manager and I had just moved them into the world trade center. our building we getting crowded, so I moved them to our space over there. I hadn't moved yet, I was still in the building across the street."
OK. I guess that's personally affected. My coworker, apparently, was across the street when it all went down and his team, higher in the building than where the plane hit, didn't make it out. One of the guys on the team was one of those classic stories - late to work because he missed his train - and was walking in the first floor just as it all began to unfold. He did make it but only because he was late for work.
I really didn't know what to say.
I love New York. I totally 'get' all the "I heart NY" bumperstickers and t-shirts. I would rather visit there than anyplace else. I even daydream occasionally about living there...realizing, of course, I will have to be independently wealthy. I never saw the WTC. I have seen ground zero - 5 months after and 3.5 years after. When I am in New York, especially on the subway, I look around at all the people and wonder which of them were stuck in Manhattan that day and because of that - being there, seeing it, possibly helping others - I see them all as heroes.
I asked a street vendor in Battery park last year where the towers would have been in relation to where we were standing. Battery park is at the tip of Manhattan where you take the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and not at all far from the world trade center site. The vendor, selling photographs of city scenes, broke into a very rehearsed tale. Describing where the towers were, where the planes came from, how low they were...and I asked if he was there that day. As it turns out, he had never seen the towers either. He moved to NYC post 9/11.
So there you have it - I have stood in the ghost of the WTC shadow listening intently to someone who knew the story as well as I did...but it took a conversation in my cube in Florida to hear the real story from someone who was there to see it. ¶ 22:43 0 comments
8.03.2006
The Presents of our Presence
For the first time since we moved away from 'home' over 8 years ago, we are returning this year for Christmas. It's not that we don't love our families, please understand, but most of them come and visit us at least annually. It's less a question of burdening others with all the travel as it is one of making sure we are here when someone wants to come for a visit.
Beyond that, there are 2 main reasons we haven't done this before.
1. My dear husband hasn't had much vacation and much of the time off he has had has come when I couldn't be off and leave town.
2. It is very difficult to tell a beloved family member that only one day of your week-long trip is dedicated to them. When you're going back 'home' to visit, there is a lot of ground to cover (hooray for unlimited miles). We find we have more quality time with our loved ones when people come to visit us.
Well, with my husband's current job as a stay-at-home-dad and half-time college student, he have some time off to spare. Unfortunately, on one income, we don't have oodles of extra money.
I suggested to my husband that, since we had the time available, we use the money we would spend on Christmas gifts to travel 'home' and visit our families. I proposed that only the kids exchange gifts and that no one buy us anything.
You would have thought I was the Grinch that Stole Christmas.
No, no Betty Lou Who. No holiday joy for you! And may I ask you dear, while you're standing here, if you remember what I gave you last year? An unremarkable bauble or gift card to sears? My friend's brother's first novel or a year's worth of beer? You don't recall? I am appalled! Please think for a second what you got for a present!
Please.
I don't remember what my husband gave me last year. I don't remember what I gave him. It really isn't important.
To make my point, I told him that we were actually spending the same amount of money as we normally would. The airfare alone is $1200 and the car will be at least $300. For each of the 20 people we will see there for whom we normally buy gifts, this comes out to $75 each and that's more that we would have spent on them otherwise. The would get the pleasure of our company and several of them would get to meet our darling son for the first time.
He still wasn't convinced.
"Ok," I said. "Call your mother right now and ask her if she'd rather have another Harry and David's basket or us come home for Christmas this year." He didn't exactly say that when he called to tell her, but she did squeal with delight at the news. ¶ 21:35 0 comments
Beyond that, there are 2 main reasons we haven't done this before.
1. My dear husband hasn't had much vacation and much of the time off he has had has come when I couldn't be off and leave town.
2. It is very difficult to tell a beloved family member that only one day of your week-long trip is dedicated to them. When you're going back 'home' to visit, there is a lot of ground to cover (hooray for unlimited miles). We find we have more quality time with our loved ones when people come to visit us.
Well, with my husband's current job as a stay-at-home-dad and half-time college student, he have some time off to spare. Unfortunately, on one income, we don't have oodles of extra money.
I suggested to my husband that, since we had the time available, we use the money we would spend on Christmas gifts to travel 'home' and visit our families. I proposed that only the kids exchange gifts and that no one buy us anything.
You would have thought I was the Grinch that Stole Christmas.
No, no Betty Lou Who. No holiday joy for you! And may I ask you dear, while you're standing here, if you remember what I gave you last year? An unremarkable bauble or gift card to sears? My friend's brother's first novel or a year's worth of beer? You don't recall? I am appalled! Please think for a second what you got for a present!
Please.
I don't remember what my husband gave me last year. I don't remember what I gave him. It really isn't important.
To make my point, I told him that we were actually spending the same amount of money as we normally would. The airfare alone is $1200 and the car will be at least $300. For each of the 20 people we will see there for whom we normally buy gifts, this comes out to $75 each and that's more that we would have spent on them otherwise. The would get the pleasure of our company and several of them would get to meet our darling son for the first time.
He still wasn't convinced.
"Ok," I said. "Call your mother right now and ask her if she'd rather have another Harry and David's basket or us come home for Christmas this year." He didn't exactly say that when he called to tell her, but she did squeal with delight at the news. ¶ 21:35 0 comments
