Lunch at the Rose & Crown Pub

Here's a picture of me outside the Rose and Crown Pub in the recreation of an English village at Epcot Center in Disney World. Of course, during our trip to Disney World, we ate at as many of the countries' restaurants as we could. It made traveling back and forth to Epcot for lunch AND dinner every day a bit of a trial--but the food made it worth it.

This is my plate of Bangers and Mash--that's Sausage and Mashed Potatoes to you. It was quite good and was, as far as I could tell, rather authentic. We even had a fruit and cheese plate for desert--complete with stinky and totally inedible cheese!

Angela, of course, went with fish and chips. At the time, this was our second meal that contained one of us eating a fish and chips meal. By the time the trip ended, we had fish and chips on three separate occasions. And, while this set of fish and chips was the largest, it was by far our least favorite. The other two times took place at Raglin' Road--an Irish Pub located in Downtown Disney. We ate there twice (the bread pudding is TO-DIE-FOR) and had fish and chips there both times. Believe it or not, Irish fish and chips are better than the English version--at least in Disney World.

Hi-Ho! Hi-Ho! It's Off to Disneyworld We Go!

Here's Angela on the Ferry (yes, ferry) into Disney World. Obviously, the Florida park is built a little different than the California park, but our initial initiation into the transportation around the park was this ferry. When you first arrive at Disney World, you're taken to the ticketing and transportation center--a massive structure that has bus stops, monorail stations, walking trails, ticket booths and this ferry that crosses the lake and dumps you right into the Magic Kingdom. It's by far the best way to get into the park (the line for the monorail was infinitely larger) and it's kind of fun to cross this huge lake and watch Cinderella's Castle float towards you through the mist of the humidity. It's, well, kind of magical.

Anyway, more in posts to follow.

Dads

You know how sometimes, you just get the need to write? Well, maybe not everyone. But for someone like me, who writes for a living, I get that need often--especially when I read something that inspires me. After all, people who write a lot tend to read a lot too. And while I've never read a lot of novels per se, I do read an enormous amount of textbooks, magazine and newspaper articles, web features and a host of other avenues in which to read. After all, books aren't the only things worth reading.

That said, I read this article on my lunch break today. It's from ESPN.com and it's about a father and son who have a great relationship. The son is a writer (like me) and his father has spent a lot of time battling cancer (like mine) and they have a shared love of a particular sport (in mine and my father's case, a love of Denver Broncos football.) The only difference? My father survived cancer. And boy do I feel lucky for that.

The article also talks a lot about the transition from being a son to being a father. I've been reflecting on that a lot lately, as my time to become a father is starting to approach (no Angela is not pregnant) so this article really spoke to my own situation. It's as if I was reading my own experiences and fears.

I remember as a young man growing up in Denver when John Elway was drafted and then traded to the Broncos for Guard Chris Hinton, Quarterback Mark Hermann and Guard Ron Solt. I remember my dad bringing me into the front room when John Elway first suited up for the Broncos and telling me -- "You should watch this guy. He'll be a legend someday." From that moment, I was hooked.

In my house, we lived and died by Broncos football. I remember vividly sitting at at the house of one of the people in our neighborhood as dad and I watched John Elway engineer "The Drive." I remember the subsequent jubilation when we led Super Bowl XXI at halftime, 10-9. I also remember the crushing blow when Phil Simms came out and threw the Giants to a blow-out victory. I remember dad and I sitting there in stunned silence--all our expectations dashed.

I remember more of the same next year as we lucked out against Cleveland with "The Fumble" and I remember the complete frustration watching Doug Williams pick the Denver defense apart for 4 touchdowns in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII. Again, my dad and I sat crushed.

One of my earliest memories was how we reacted during the blow-out loss of Super Bowl XXIV. After getting whacked early on, my dad and I retreated into his office to play an early version of virtual golf on the computer. I remember that we would come out periodically to check how bad it was, but never stopped just playing games together. That's always had a bit of significance for me. No matter how bad things got, my dad and I were still family and that made everything ok.

Years later, after I had grown up and John Elway was nearing the end of his career, I left home to serve a mission for the church in Arizona. During that time, the Broncos enjoyed their best two seasons ever winning back-to-back Super Bowls. Since I was concentrating on the work at hand, I was not able to watch either Super Bowl, nor was I able to enjoy the famed "revenge tour of '97" nor the total domination of the 98 season. However, every week, my dad would send me articles about the games, what was happening and how well everything was going. It was like we were talking about what was happening just like normal, and home never felt closer.

Over the years, my dad has taught me a lot and imparted much of his wisdom to me on everything from dealing with women to how to handle a frustrating co-worker. He's been there for me when I've had professional and personal questions, and has never been afraid to talk about it. He's taught me about hard work, having fun and most of all a love for family. And while we still discuss Broncos football (much to Angela's chagrin) what we're really doing is showing our love and respect for each other. I hope, that when I have a son, I can teach him the same values of respect, hard work and love that my father has taught me. I know that it would make any Bronco fan proud.

The Sun Sets on Finals

I took this picture as I was driving off the hill--just after I had finished my second final of the week. I thought it appropriate as the sun is starting to set on this, my third semester of my MBA program. It was a peaceful setting (and feeling for that matter) to know that school is on the downhill slope.

I still have one class this semester, but it's over on July 17 and then I have a month off before school starts up again in earnest. In addition, the class I still have left is my product and brand management class, and I'm really enjoying it. It's stuff I get, stuff I care about and most of all, my teacher is a lot of fun to listen to. He's been around (he worked for Disney at one point) and has a wealth of experience to share. I think it's been my favorite class of my entire program. But the good news is that I can finally take a break and relax a bit.

As I look back on the last year of my schooling, I've figured out a lot of things. Number one, don't try and do too much (school + work + Mormon Tabernacle Choir + no wife = no sleep*stress) and in order to get good grades in something you haven't studied your whole life (like, let's say music) you've really got to put in the time. I've finally figured that out, and my grades are improving because of it. Thank goodness for that because they probably would have kicked me out had I not figured it out. Plus, now that Angela has returned home (yay!) she keeps me on a more stringent sleep schedule. Thank goodness for that too.

In any case, I've learned a great deal about business in this last year and stuff that I think will make me more marketable in the future. The best part? I'm mostly done with my "required" classes and now I get to start taking all my electives. I'm really excited about that because I don't have to take any more math intensive courses, which I've discovered, I can do, but not without a great deal of perspiration and frustration.

Anyway, a break is coming and I am now officially a second year MBA student. Gotta love that.

Capsule Reviews: Spider-man 3, Shrek 3, Pirates 3

Spider-man 3


The third, and presumably last movie in the venerable franchise, Spider-man 3 brings the trilogy to a satisfying, if somewhat over-packed, conclusion. In this tale, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has the girl and the love of all New York City. But after losing touch with his long-suffering love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) he must not only battle his crumbling relationship, but also the Sandman--now escaped from prison and presumed to be Ben Parker's real killer--as well as the black suited Venom (Topher Grace). Not to mention mending fences with his old friend Harry who has suited up as the Green Goblin and is out for revenge.

If that sounds like A LOT of story to get through in 2 and 1/2 hours, you're not alone. Amazingly, Sam Raimi and company pull it off, mostly. The biggest problem with the movie is that there is SO much going on that all the cool stuff (Venom, a big battle with Sandman, etc.) gets less screen time than it should. That makes the final confrontation seem a little anti-climactic given that it has three movies worth of back story to pay off. In the end though, it's an entertaining enough ride, but this is one case where less truly is more.

Shrek the Third


Honestly, I'm really sad to write a negative review of a Shrek movie--especially when I consider the first one among my all-time favorite animated movies and the second one made me laugh the entire way through. But this third movie is a turkey, and that's just a shame. The movie follows Shrek, Donkey and Puss as they attempt to find an heir to Far, Far Away after Fiona's father passes away (in an excruciatingly over-acted scene--which I didn't think was possible in animated movies, but there you go.) Meanwhile, Fiona and her Princess Pals must find a way to thwart the evil Prince Charming's plan to rule the kingdom for himself.

The problem with this movie is that it feels more like a brand extension than an actual movie--as if Dreamworks had to put it out to meet their yearly earnings reports. There are a couple of funny gags (which can be viewed in the trailers or commercials) but on the whole, I just didn't find it that funny. Or interesting. Or engaging whatsoever. The ironic part? Shrek has now become exactly what it mocked in the first movie--an overproduced attempt at hipness without any of the actual heart.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End


Ok, what? Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley and Geoffrey Rush all return for the climax of the Pirates franchise and quite honestly, I can barely tell you what happened in this movie. Suffice it to say, our intrepid pirate gang is going to the end of the earth to save Jack from Davy Jones' locker and then after they do that a series of crossings, double crossings, triple crossings and other stuff happens. In the end, it all leads to a climactic battle between pirate ships and the East India Company which supposedly resolves everything.

Maybe I should have paid more attention to the plot. Maybe I should have tried to figure out what was going on, but honestly, I really didn't want to. I like a dense story as much as the next guy, but this was just confusing. So, rather than try and figure out who is on whose side, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. And what a ride it is! The special effects are first rate, the battle scene at the end is intense and realistic and the movie as a whole is funny. But it lacks the charm and substance of Curse of the Black Pearl. In the end, the movie is satisfying enough. Just don't come out expecting to have any of your questions answered.

Testing 123

It works! Thanks to some brilliant help from the people at Google, we were able to get my mobile blogging up and running again! Yay!

As most of you know, this picture is of a bear Angela gave me while she was at USC. It says: "Somebody at USC loves me." I kept it on my desk at work to remind me while we were apart that no matter how tough things were, Angela and I still loved each other and we still had a great marriage. I keep it on my desk now because whenever I look at, I'm always reminded of how much my wife loves me and cares for me.

Anyway, enough with the mushy. Since the mobile blog is now in full swing, you'll be seeing more posts from me. That's always a good thing. In addition, since we're into the summer movie season and my school schedule is now bearable, I'll be writing a few mini-reviews for you to enjoy.

Cheers!