#work 10:30am to 8pm....... gross

[arytha]

an hour and 15 mins left of my shift .......

[brinkworthsinwanderland]

Day 2 with the polar bears:

Today we woke up around 4AM (since we’d gone to bed at 7:30PM, this was probably fine). Since there was no tv or internet, or phone reception... we relaxed, read, admired photos and ate PB&J for breakfast.

We headed down to the boat for the 8:30AM departure, walking the 100 meters from our lodging. Ketil and our 4 boat companions were shortly behind.

We had a delightful morning with the polar bears. The skies were just slightly cloudy, the lighting was great, and the bears were adorable! The bears were pretty sleepy this morning, so we didn’t get a lot of action shots. But we spent another 3.5 hours enjoying our moments with them!

Ketil’s boats have a really neat hydraulic anchor system, which works really well in the shallow waters around ‘Bernards pit’, which is the part of the Beaufort sea where we spent most of our time searching for bears.  The anchors consist of four hydraulically actuated poles (like the poles used by venetian canal stripey guys). The captain flips a switch and the four poles extend down into the course sand. It is very steady, and allows for quick repositioning.    

During our trip back to town, Ketil told us about the yearly whale kills. The village is allowed to kill 3 bowhead whales each year. Bowhead whales can weigh 80 tons. But they look for the smaller whales to make it a bit easier on themselves. About 10 boats head out, and identify their whale. The boats surround the whale.  One hunter stands on the front of the boat with a harpoon and throws it into the whale. An explosive pipe bomb type contraption goes into the whale and explodes. This ends the whale. They actually make the explosives used in the harpoon themselves. Once the whale is floating, which means it is dead, they work together to tow it back to town, where they cut the useful pieces of the whale and give a portion to each family. The whale blubber used to be used for oil to power the village, but not as much anymore. Now the whale is mostly used for food.

After a short break for lunch, we headed back out in the afternoon with Ketil’s 22 year old son, Martin. Martin is going to school in Norway next year for photography. So our boat had plenty to commiserate with him about.

Martin took us to Shallow Bay (part of Bernard’s pit) to see lots of adorable bears. The bears were much more active in the afternoon, some wrestling, others walking along the shore line, some nursing, some rolling around being silly in the snow. We admired and photographed all of them! We even got the opportunity to photograph 3 sleeping cubs in the sunset. Our boat photographers had been waiting for this scenario since we arrived, and the pictures turned out amazing!

It was certainly still cold today, but much less windy. We got back to our bed and breakfast windburned and exhausted!

To our delight, shower wrench was less moody and so the hot water had been fixed, and the heat appeared to be working again. It was much more comfortable, although still pretty gross. But we showered in our flip flops, had dinner (some kind of rice) and headed to bed. We’d made it to almost 8PM this time.

[2019dclmed]

Departure Day

Departure Day -Thursday, May 23, 2019

With my 16 year old cat, Kealy, having gotten sick many times throughout the day prior (even though she was already on antibiotics), I had another night of lacking sleep due to worry. 

I went to sleep around 11:30pm, couldn’t get to sleep, took something at 12:30am, and set my alarm for 6am - in case I needed to see the vet at 7am. Of course I awoke on my own promptly at 5:30am. Miraculously all seemed fine with Kealy (after checking the recordings on my Blink camera from overnight). So I set a new alarm for 7:15am. 

I was slow to get up & get in the shower since I didn’t need to leave until 10:30am. So I cleaned up the living room & kitchen, did the final prep & pack of the backpack.

I also made a couple of last minute swaps due to the (sad) decline in forecasted temps.

Grabbed some snuggles in my recliner with the kitty (watching the Rapunzel animated series to get in the mood), & pulled out by 10:35am. I stopped at a grocery near Kara’s to grab last minute gas, Wheat Thins, & caffeine pills in Indy. 

Our themed-luggage tags. We tend to make these for “big” trips!

This is Kara. I slept well, as I often do, and having finished nearly all packing the night before had a quiet, easy morning. I had even finished emptying my work inbox the night before so other than a few last small to do items, I got to just tidy up around the house, say goodbye to my plants and wait for Gayle.

We left by 12:05pm for lunch at Panera. Our flight was scheduled for 3:30pm. 

First it was delayed about ten minutes. Then delayed more. Then the news came: Ground Stop. Due to East Coast storms impacting Philadelphia, everything was stopped from even heading in that direction. 

We started talking about rebooking, as it seemed we’d miss our connection in PHL. However, the plane started boarding and figured we’d deal with it at PHL - at least we’d be closer to Barcelona and at an American Airlines hub. 

I ended up sobbing all the way to PHL. 

Huge Sidenote: Most people, including myself, would read all this and figure, “What’s the big deal? So you take a different flight? Maybe your luggage is late?” For me, this was 14 months of planning falling apart and we hadn’t even left our home airport yet. It was hours of work and planning for this flight, to find an option that would allow me to sleep (as I’m a terrible international/eastbound flier) and in a budget I could afford. 

That’s right folks, I mention that almighty dollar, as for some a trip like this can be a stretch. I have a great professional job, but I also chose a profession and position that can be lacking financial rewards. A “big trip” like this is something I need to plan years in advance, which I didn’t have this time, and wasn’t strong enough to tell Kara no. And putting it off just one year woudn’t work since I have to lead a study abroad next May. So this had been a YEAR of scrimping and saving, living somewhat like a “poor college student”, only to completely lose our business class seats. (Yes, I realize as I type this many are rolling their eyes, but in this moment my reality was crushed.)

We landed at PHL at 7:12pm; our connecting flight left at 7:10pm! We were sent to stand in line at a nearby customer service gate, while having learned from the past, I simultaneously called AA. I put in for a call-back as we waited in the line. The Customer Service desk tells us since we’re international, we have to “go over there” to get help - from C31 to A17! 

During the trek I didn't hear or feel my phone go off - twice! - of AA calling me back. We initially couldn’t find the international help desk tucked in a set-back cove past A17, but finally got ourselves into that line. I finally noticed the 3rd call-back attempt and after many minutes was told there were ZERO options for anything arriving before… SUNDAY! (Our cruise was leaving Saturday!) Another meltdown, now from anger, had set-in. The phone agent told us to stay in the line we were standing in, that the in-person agent might have more options. What? How?

Finally at the front of the line at 8:30pm we were offered two Economy (not our booked business) seats leaving in 30 minutes to…Paris with a 5 hour layover to Barcelona (BCN). (Trying to rebook us was so challenging, this flight would be via Air France, which is the SkyTeam-Delta, not OneWorld-American network.) It’s a testament to how desperate we were that we jumped at that option, with virtually no questions asked. 

When we arrived at the gate to get our seats, they were already boarding! To get any seats together, we were in the very last row- 35 G&H (which gave me deja vu for the very first time I went to Europe). I was able to shoot off a quick email to Barcelona Chocolate Tours, letting them know we couldn’t make our noon tour, as we wouldn’t be landing until nearly 6pm and respectfully requested a refund. We had a suitable Economy dinner and took ALL the drugs we packed to try to get even a little sleep. I think I maybe slept through 2.5-2.75 Harry Potter 1 movies.

This is Kara. Gayle did a good job recapping this crazy set of events.  I’ll add in here that we posted a photo to Facebook to commemorate the crazy turn of events as a last notification to our friends and family of what our status was. This specific photo is very important later in the story.

Breakfast on the plane was yogurt & figs - gross. So I had my packed protein bar. Deplaning we certainly asked for help knowing where to go next. As we suspected, there was no luggage when we got to Paris (CDG). Went to Baggage Service and was told to wait until we got to BCN to put in a luggage inquiry. What?! This makes no sense, especially for how long all this might take. Kara called AA and was again told to wait until BCN.

The small bit of “raging idealist” in me thought our luggage should be waiting for us in BCN. That AA knew we were going to BCN via our original ticket and the Air France ticket showed the same. So throw them on whatever the next BCN flight is. Period. 

After enduring the long layover at CDG (in a new beautiful Air France, but packed terminal), I put my headphones on to BCN because 1) Chatty Kathy was next to me, 2) Kara and I were 2 rows apart, 3) the aisle dude commandeered the armrest, and 4) Kara & I were both in middle seats.

Arrive at BCN - no luggage. We wait in line at the American luggage desk only to be told to go to the next bay to stand in line for Air France, as apparently it’s the final airlines responsibility to deal with the luggage. So yes, there I am again having a meltdown. Why? We’re told to put in an incident report, which requested our entire cruise port itinerary and that our bags haven’t left PHL! At this time I also got email offering us a chocolate tour for Sunday, but at this late time no refund would be given. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Meltdown Sidenote: Again, many might question the freak out. Here was a much bigger issue. They were now giving us indication they had no idea when or if we might get our bags and we were about to embark on a 7 night cruise with nothing but the literal clothes on our back and whatever snacks & tech we had in our small carry-ons! We knew our same PHL-BCN flight was leaving that night at 7:10pm with an arrival at 9am Saturday morning and basically begged to get our bags on that flight! As it was currently only about noon PHL time, we knew they had plenty of time, but all we were told was they would put in the inquiry (via tele-text?!) and PHL would have to act on it in time. If our bags didn’t arrive on that flight, we’d have only a couple of hours to try to go to unfamiliar stores and buy everything we’d need for PJs, toiletries, dinner clothes, port adventures clothes, and much more. 

From Kara - this is where that photo we posted on Facebook came into play.  Some might call my family intense. Nearly all the time I call them loving and incredibly supportive. We use an app called GroupMe and we also use Google Location Services to keep track of one another.  Gayle and I had difficulty getting on wi-fi at CDG so while my family knew we’d made it there okay because my phone had connected and updated my location, I didn’t really share an update.  When we got to BCN and were dealing with the aforementioned request being sent by tele-text, I noticed in the GroupMe app that my aunt mentioned that she’d let a cousin in Phoenix who works for American Airlines know about our plight.  My cousin found our record using the photo we’d posted with our boarding pass and, thankfully, our luggage was on the same record as we had actually booked this as one reservation which is not our norm.  

Before leaving BCN we somehow had the wherewithal to request the luggage be held at BCN if it arrived, as we didn’t trust and couldn’t take a risk of passing it or a delay in delivery to the hotel &/or ship. We’d determined no matter what we’d return to the airport seeking our luggage Saturday morning, as it was the only real strategy we could take control of. 

We finally got to our hotel, AC Hotel Marriott Diagonal D’Illa,  around 7:30-8pm and just like in all telling TV shows & films - yes, it was raining. It was fatefully connected to a mall. We ended up with basic chicken sandwiches (and by this I mean crustless white bread with shredded chicken) and water for dinner. I did pick up a piece of chocolate cake, more out of habit than want. 

That I couldn’t even bring myself to visit the Disney Store tells you how despondent I was. 

Our hotel room was like a “camp version” of a hotel room - just the bare basics. We showered (using every amenity kit we could from the hotel), put our same clothes back on, and borrowed electrical adapters to charge our phones. 

By absolute fate we had initially posted a photo of ourselves with our boarding passes on Facebook. I thought I’d covered our confirmation number, but apparently not. Via the “Monroe Family Network” (Kara’s family), her Aunt Idris sent our confirmation number to a distant cousin who happens to work for… American Airlines Customer Service! Through Idris we were told Cousin Kimberley spoke with a supervisor at PHL who had located our bags and would “do their best” to put them on our requested evening flight to arrive at 9am Saturday morning. Another follow-up re-affirmed. 

Friday night we also logged onto the Air France baggage site as instructed. The only thing it showed was “luggage found - awaiting confirmation”. At some point I decided trying to apply my social media knowledge (as I’m also a known blogger for a popular TV series). I sent the AA Twitter account a Direct Message with our confirmation number begging them to put our bags on the PHL-BCN 7:10pm-9am flight. Around 10:30pm we got a positive response that yes this would happen! 

Between this & Kara’s cousin’s messages, there were more hesitant and slight tears (of relief?), as we feared getting our hopes up.

Continuing to pile on, there was loud party music raging outside our room from somewhere we couldn’t see. So Kara looked for some brainless TV. With my experience in Europe I assured her if she looked long enough she’s probably find NCIS &/or Big Bang Theory. Sure enough Gibbs & the team gave us a slight calm in the midst of our storm. We tried to go to sleep by 11pm (which was only 5pm back home).  

I woke up just past 2am. On the AA app it showed our confirmation number to check-in for our PHL-BCN flight - yay! But for a Saturday departure/Sunday arrival - NO! I figured this was our bags and was again defeated. I freaked-out internally while Kara slept. But the AA website showed our bags were loaded onto the requested flight at 3:20pm? Huh? So I took more drugs to get back to sleep.

This is Kara. There isn’t much I can add to this day other than a little more about my, as my niece Ashley said in a Facebook post commenting later on in the week, “creepy” family. Yes, sometimes we are remarkably creepy in how we keep up with each other.  But, when push comes to shove, having a team of people in your immediate circle who are always in your corner is reassuring. I’d been checking in with them each time we got a network connection and giving them updates. I got to “meet” my cousin’s wife Kimberley for the first time through this situation and look forward to meeting her in person someday. The family was also watching my Google Location icon pop up all over the world all through the trip.  It truly is a good thing to know you’ve got people and they’ve got you too.

Disclaimer: Gayle is a travel agent with Authorized Disney Travel Planner agency - Off to Neverland Travel. Contact me today for a no-obligation quote!

Next up: Embarkation Day! Would the luggage actually arrive?

[chelseaonjta-blog]

a list of all the weird/stupid things i have done so far on JTA (in case i forget)

i’m pretty tired right now because i just came back from italy and the bologna airport. i say those are two different things because one of them is something i truly, really love (italy) and the other one is a weird and grueling experience that is the reason for the creation of this list (bologna airport).

i wanted to list down all my memories on trips, like my itineraries etc first, but since i’m not that masipag yet and am prone to laziness and forgetfulness, when writing this came into my head, i was immediately more excited to write it and i decided to just go for it. so here it is, my weird list of Things I Wouldn’t Have Done If I Weren’t On JTA (alternatively, Things I Would Never Have HAD To Do if It Weren’t for JTA).

- sleep at an airport. this takes the cake, really (so far -- i still have morocco to go!). i guess it was also in the choice of airport i decided to sleep at, but let me tell you, Bologna Airport should not be high up on your “Airports to Sleep At” list. Really. I don’t consider myself very snooty or fresa, and I’ve braved through a lot of gross things. But this. I couldn’t take it. I guess it was through this that I realized I’m not that type of person who can just sleep anywhere. I need to be horizontal, man. It doesn’t even have to be a bed, just something I can lie on. We arrived at bologna at around 1:30, found a cab (ooh, that should go on the list too...more details later) and arrived at around 2am. I tried to sleep. I really did. I just couldn’t. I slept for, at most, an hour, between 2am and 6am. I was sitting, trying to position my backpack and my Italian plates (which were pasalubong and I still have no regrets about buying) while trying to get my upper body and lower body in a comfortable enough position. It just wasn’t possible. Maybe I’m just too long ? which sounds funny, but rly. neither my upper nor lower body could fit in one seat of the chairs, and if i curled myself up on the chair it was just ... difficult. so i ended up sleeping like i would on a bus, except it wasn’t a bus and i was bothered that i had to sleep this way at all. this may sound really angry, but to be honest, i’m not at all. really. i can’t really describe what i felt, it wasn’t really frustration, it was just...grueling. which isn’t really a feeling but...it is what it is. so there i couldn’t sleep, and then when the airport opened and we went past immigration, we found more comfortable seats (these ones actually had cushions on them -- oh yes, the ones we were trying to sleep on at first had no cushion, just metal. it was those chairs you find right in front of check-in counters) and i could sleep better, even if i was curled up and was using my backpack as a pillow (which i had put on the seat beside me...i think at this point i just said fuck it to stranger danger, pickpocketing, stealing, and thieves. i just wanted to close my eyes.) so i slept a little bit more, having 30 minute naps. and then we boarded, and i slept the whole flight. and i tried to go to class. but that’s another point, i think. for this one, it’s very simple: chelsea can’t sleep all night at airports. or chairs.

sidenote: bianca slept fine. i’m truly amazed

- walk around bologna at 1:30am figuring out the cab system. it was quite a stressful early morning, even before the whole airport situation. i didnt know how taxis worked in bologna, which shouldnt have been a problem because they should work like anywhere else in the world, except they didn’t. apparently you’re supposed to call one in advance, and its not common to just flag one down on the street. happy ending for this one though, because on my 2nd try we got one! God BLESS that man. idek how true the whole “u can’t flag one on the street” thing is, but if it is, TYG for this not-so-ugly/kinda cute (he wasn’t cute, but he wasn’t what you’d call pogi) taxi driver. and he had CARD

- oh yeah...which leads me to number 3: pay for a 10euro gelato. guys. it wasn’t even that good. bianca and i were going around florence, looking for cheap gelato. we went to 3 different stores, comparing prices. 4 euro for the smallest size was too expensive for us. so we got excited when we saw this place had gelato for 2.5. steaaal!! we got cups, but then it was only after that i realized that he didn’t get the 2.5 cup...he got the 10 euro cup. :---) and the cannoli, which the dude said was only 1 euro, turned out to be 7 euros. :---) maybe he didn’t say 1 euro, maybe he said 7 but we didn’t hear...either way, i ended up not having cash on hand anymore for the rest of the day. and that was around 11am. :---) and that is how i found out the hard way that most Florentine stores only accept cash. i CRY for my 13.5 euros. it would have saved me a lot of grief later on.

what type of grief? the grief i am currently in as i type this. ok, it isn’t grief. but let’s call it that for now. as i mentioned on my finsta-finsta IG, aka the mobile and easier access version of this blog, I didn’t want to sleep in the afternoon because it would mess up my sleeping sched, so i decided i would go to my spanish class at 3pm. too bad i ended up taking a nap and waking up AT 3PM. which was fine, i mean all spanish people are late and its not uncommon to have people come a little later than usual, even to classes. but i still had to buy a T-10. i had prepared for this -- i had both my card and 50 euros so i could buy a card. neither worked on the machine. i’m kinda worried about my card, it didn’t work on the airport machine either (bianca had to double use her T-10, bless her), but whatever. it worked on the bologna taxi...should be fine. anyway, by the time i tried all 3 machines and decided to give up, it was 3:15 and i felt that even if i did go to class, it would be waaaay too late, even for the spanish. so i called it a day. i broke my 50 by buying ben&jerry’s, bought a T-10 with the loose change (so i wouldn’t have to go through this shit again) and went back to the apartment. like i said on my ig, ben&jerry’s is my alcohol. 

but i digress

- get fined. ok, this one’s on me. and bianca. we deserved it. we were so aware of how much we deserved it that we didn’t even get mad anymore. I mean, we really deserved it. so rewind to 2 days before the gelato and the airport, and we’re in rome. we’re on the bus, and we notice that absolutely no one is validating their bus tickets, and the bus is packed. the driver doesn’t even know who goes in or out. so we decide to just not punch in our cards. big mistake. really, BIIIIIIIIIG MISTAKE. out of all the buses, the police decide to climb on to ours (ok fine..it was crowded, we were otw to Vatican which meant a lot of tourists, etc. etc.). and of course we were caught with unvalidated tickets. so we had to pay a fine...54.9euros to be exact. TYG it could be paid by card or I would’ve cried, because the fee of paying it somewhere else other than the time of getting caught was around 100+ euros. well i already felt bad about losing 54.9 euros, but again, I deserved it. so take note, kids ! be good citizens, ALWAYS ! validate those cards!

- run like hell to catch a bus. i had the paris incident in mind, but i realize that that’s happened a lot to biancs and i. but the paris one is GOLD -- we wanted to watch the eiffel tower sparkle, and we calculated it would sparkle at 8pm. Our Flixbus (best company tbh) was schedule to leave at 8:42 pm. accdg to google maps, it would take us 40-42 minutes to get to the station. so we had to be quick. at 8:00 sharp, the lights sparkled, we gasped, took some pictures, then RAN. i can still visualize the scene. a live performer was playing “can’t help falling in love”, it was already dark (of course), and there were so many tourists milling around. there were also a lot of street sellers. through all of that, suddenly one of the 7 of us (i think it was me tbh), shouted “run run run!!!” and OFF WE WENT ya’ll. through that thick crowd, 7 girls just darting around like mice. we kinda separated a bit at the metro, cause some of the girls thought our entrance would be different, but me and some others stuck to the one we were already going down on. the other girls ran all the way to the other side. when we got down to the station, the girls were also getting down, just on the other side. basically, pointless to go around. trust me, if i wasn’t paranoid about missing the bus, i would’ve laughed. it was actually pretty funny, the whole thing. i remember running the length of the station (our bus stop was at the back) and feeling like i would die. i had never run so fast in my life (i think). we made it, just in time.

- which leads me to another moment i thought i would die: going through Amsterdam’s King’s Day crowd. that shit was wild. that’s as precise as I can be. it was WILDT. that was some stupid, crazy shit. we had just met up with parsley, gabe, shar, and christine. or to be more precise, we met up with the first three and the latter was just pissed to see us. (more on that ...soon lol) and ...ok to be honest, i don’t even remember where we were supposed to go. all i remember is, Gabe or Shar started the navigation, and it led us to the edge of this street concert party thing. when I say “street”, I mean the whole street was occupied with tall white people. the street was actually quite narrow, which made everything worse because the King’s Day people had erected a stage there, so there was a concert going on, and what seemed like a live broadcast of that concert. PLUS, on the other side of the stage, the street was lined with bars. and it was King’s Day. you can imagine the complete chaos. everyone was either drunk, high, or both. it was incredibly crowded. the street was packed, there were people from the bars who were coming out to join in, and there were people who were trying to move through the crowd. we were one of those people. i’ve been through incredibly ...sticky and crowded situations in my life. I’ve ridden the MRT at ultra mega rush hour, I’ve attended enough rock concerts. I thought I would be prepared for something like this. I wasn’t. the crowd was iba, I had never experienced anything like it. It was kind of like MRT at that rush hour, except everyone was MOVING, and you didn’t really want to stay there. at least in the MRT, when ur pushed against other people, no one really moves until the next stop. here, everyone seemed like they wanted to go somewhere else, or were moving to the music or whatever. there was just too much movement. at one point, i wasn’t even moving my legs. the crowd was swaying me along, and yes, I mean swaying. we were going from left to right, kind of suffocating-pushing our way through. oddly, i felt like the band was just repeating songs, and their reactions were being controlled or something. whatever -- all i know is, it was crazy fucking scary. i try not to curse anymore (haha, i know) but i can’t describe King’s Day without expletives. it was just too...WILD. I’m still thankful I even made it out alive. I really thought I would die at some point. 

- ah, amsterdam, what else is there to do? oh yeah, get high. this seems pretty basic considering everything else on this list, but really. I don’t think I would’ve ever tried weed if I hadn’t gone on JTA. I didn’t really wanna do it, plus it was still illegal in the PH and I didn’t wanna get caught up in that. but hey, it was Amsterdam, it was totally legal. I actually wanna amend my earlier point and be more specific: get high on a boat. that was actually kind of fun. we were doing this canal tour thing, and we had eaten the edibles an hour before getting on. to the merit of biancs and i, i think we were still very good clients. it was the nighttime tour on the canal, so everyone else was either drunk, high, or romantically involved. trust me, biancs and i were the most behaved ones there. we would pretend to listen, nod and laugh when we felt it appropriate, and converse with the hosts. it was a good experience. even better? the food and wine on the boat. there’s no better way to say this, but we demolished that buffet. 3 plates filled high with sausages, crackers, and cheese and we only left some for the others (the others didn’t seem to mind though, because like i said, they were knee-deep in the other 3 reasons above). there were free-flowing drinks too, and biancs and i shared with 3 other girls, and i think we had 5 bottles all in all. so like...one bottle each. it was a good time. i felt myself getting slower once i was hit, but wow. i thoroughly enjoyed that. the host even gave me a lei at the end of the tour! maybe he appreciated our participation. or maybe he just knew we were high.

i was high when we were going through the King’s Day crowd too, but that was less...enjoyable. i think that once we were in the crowd, i kinda snapped out of it and focused on not dying. yeah, that was kind of a waste. but hey, generally i had a good time.

- get drunk on 1 euro carton wine. this was actually super fun. its one of those things that become tradition immediately after you start it. it started when bianca bought carton red wine. i think we got pretty drunk off of it, and i vaguely remember going back to the supermarket (yes, the supermarket was still open, which meant...it was pretty early) to buy another one, which we also finished. then all hell broke loose. we started getting noisy, we called pars and gabe, we went to the kitchen and stole strawberries from one of our then-flatmates, Maria (who was honestly really nice), and I accidentally turned on the lights in Marion’s room while she was there. she actually came out and told me that i had turned it on, and all i kept saying was “sorry, sorry”. this was all before the flatmate drama, i think. (lol that’s another story too, i guess). oh and this all happened while we were on the phone with sina gabe. bianca went inside the “coat room” of the apartment and stole someone’s hat (at the time we thought it was manon’s, but it could actually be javier’s??? still don’t know until now, tbh). then we went back into our room and...decided that we wanted to sleep in the empty room beside us. so we tried first to enter it through the adjacent balcony, didn’t work. so we got the keys box and started trying out different keys until we found the one that fit and we just....slept there. didn’t do anything nasty, didn’t trash the place. just...fell asleep. i don’t know if i should be thankful or confused that drunk chelsea and bianca’s idea of a wild night is sleeping in an empty bedroom right beside ours. not even a hotel or another flat, but literally the one that pretty much looks like ours. yeaaah, i don’t know either. that was pretty fun though, biancs and i got to bond and i guess it solidified our reverence for the carton wine. it tastes like shit, but it does its job.

- have trashy tinto-vodka nights with raya. this is steadily becoming Chelsea’s JTA Greatest Hits list, but whatever. i’m enjoying this trip down memory lane. to be fair, i only had 2 trashy wine nights with Raya, when she was still in her old condo and my parents hadn’t come/bianca and I didn’t have a trip on the weekend, but it was one of the best nights. it was honestly really fun, just getting to know and bonding with Raya. I hadn’t known her so well pre-JTA, and when we were thinking of getting a room together (me, bianca, and Raya), I wasn’t so sure how that would play out. but after bonding with her, I realized that Raya and I vibed pretty well. we were into the same stupid shit and laughed at the same nonsense things. so sleeping over at her place and getting drunk was honestly really fun. it wasn’t even wild or anything, it was just...~ hearty fun ~. we’d try to invite bianca sometimes, but she’d always say no LOL mainly cause raya’s place is quite far from us and she didn’t want to sleep over (but biancs is totally fine sleeping at an airport?? i don’t understand, but hey, you do you.) and raya and i would also cook sinigang! ok fine, we cooked it on one day only, but after having it for lunch then getting tipsy, we decided we wanted more so we made another batch at around midnight. we both agreed it tasted a lot better. gooooooood times.

- having to walk Amsterdam alone at night. sorry i jumped back into amsterdam, i just totally forgot about this. this was actually a big deal for me, even though in summary it wasn’t so special. i had had to wake up at around 3am that day so i could walk and catch the bus that would bring me to the Flixbus station. i was worried because amsterdam had had shit weather the day before and i was contemplating taking an uber, but in the end i decided to walk. it was only a 20-minute walk, which in daytime wouldn’t have bothered me. but since it was nighttime and the airbnb wasn’t in city center, i was kind of afraid. i’m matatakutin pa naman. i imagine shadows becoming figures and am generally uneasy in the dark. but at the time i thought, u gotta do what u gotta do, right? so i trudged on. and honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. i saw no one on my walk, and i realize in hindsight that if i had walked in the morning, i would have enjoyed it a lot. i got to see the river and some pretty cute, homey houses. there were parts where it was eerily dark and quiet, but overall i didn’t feel pressured too much. i don’t know why this is a big deal for me, and i feel like it’s silently a landmark experience for me. i guess because it was something i had no choice but to do alone (bianca had left earlier, gabe and pars were asleep and staying another day in amsterdam), and i had to face my fears. alone. epitome of JTA, I guess. well, it ended fine though, and overall I think I grew from the experience. I guess I realized there that I have some of my own inner strength that I can rely on, and that what scares me sometimes is...nothing, really. that I make things up in my head and I’m too praning, but really, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

- get in trouble with an airbnb. technically this wasn’t me, because it was under parsley’s name, but we all felt this. amsterdam really was something else...

anyway, parsley booked the place, but she only put it down for 2 guests, when we were...six. everything was going well until the owner apparently saw parsley and the lille girls going out all together, and the owner messaged pars about it saying that she (pars) has to pay a fine of 25E/night. the owner only saw 4 people though, so i guess that was a silver lining? so that added to the general stress of amsterdam, post-Heineken Experience. christine made pars tell this lie about the other 2 people only staying a night, but the owner then said that she saw four bags in the airbnb. which was weird, considering our airbnb was separated from the main house and was locked, so that meant that the owner went inside to check herself. invasion of privacy right there...the owner even made up this story about a socket burning out in our airbnb, which is why she had to go and check. though when we went back, everything was ok...well, we were also in the wrong anyway. we told the owner that the other bags did belong to 2 people, but that they would soon leave because they had early flights, which technically wasn’t a lie. so it ended up that we had to strategically get in and out of the airbnb. it would all be fine by sunday, because bianca was leaving sat night and pars, gabe, and i were leaving early sunday morning. we just had to time our ins and outs so that if ever there was someone checking on us from the main house window, s/he’d only count two people. it was pretty intense, the tension in that place. not just cause of the owner, but also cause of some people in the airbnb. but that story, maybe for another time.

- getting drunk on port wine. oh, PORTO. I love that place, really. it still has my heart, 6 countries and 9 cities later. it was a great first trip (that i should probably recount soon, before memory fails me and i forget the tiny things about it that i loved). one of the reasons why it was so good was because of port wine. and all i can say is...beshie. sarap shet. really, nothing quite like it. i still remember that one of them tasted like maple syrup, no joke. the others tasted....i don’t know how to describe it anymore, but one was incredibly fruity and one was oaky without tasting outright like a barrel. it was amazing. it was delicious, the best wine i’ve ever had. it was also 20% alcohol content. and we had 3 glasses. we got pretty hit after that, and what made it kinda go away was our mad rush towards a building tour that wasn’t that good anyway. but nonetheless, it was extremely good wine. I still can’t forget it, and at the nearest opportunity I jump at the chance to go back. Porto definitely isn’t one of those cities that a lot of people think of instantly when you say “Europe trip”, but I say it should be. One of the cheapest, beautiful, and most relaxing trips ever. I never would have considered it myself, were it not for its close proximity to Spain.

- see how the french dance. this is more of an afterthought, and honestly not as hard hitting as the other things on the list, but wow. the french dance weird. i will forever laugh at that video of gabe and pars copying them because it’s so spot on. it’s really some sort of robotic, zombie move thing that’s equally fascinating and equally scary. I definitely would not have known about it if I hadn’t been on JTA, going to clubs with my friends.

- tried to make coffee without water. yep, this goes on the list of stupid for sure. so javier has this coffee maker that i’ve never even seen before, and when he explained how to use it, he didn’t mention anything about putting water in the bottom. so when i tried to do it on my own, i did exactly as he told me. of course, without water, the thing just started burning. i think i was too late to realize it, because i had already begun to smell the burning. when i took it off the stove and laid it on the towel, the towel just straight up burned. as in the coffee maker scorched a hole through the damn towel. i felt pretty stupid in that moment, and honestly really scared for my life that Javier would be angry and would rethink this whole “letting us stay for an extra 3 months” thing (yeah, I realize now that I’m actually a pretty paranoid person). thankfully, he just laughed it off and cleaned it for me, and was even nice enough to make a new batch of coffee for me. God bless the man. the next batch of coffee still tasted burnt though, so i had to thoroughly clean the coffeemaker afterward. phew, that was a close one though. I thought I had really fucked things up at that point.

- lost money without explanation? this is a question mark because i don’t really know how this happened. it started when i was short by 200 euros after my parents left, even though i didn’t use any of my own money when my parents were here and they had given me more cash. i let that go and just offset it. then the next time i counted, i was missing 50 euros naman? like HUH ? I can get pretty magastos, but when I’m cheap I’m cheap af. I knew I hadn’t spent that money anywhere, yet here it was being missing. I don’t know either, maybe there was something off from my counting from the beginning? either way, I’m still sad I can’t find it anymore :///

- thought i lost 20 euros to the laundry machine demon. i straight up didn’t go to that laundry shop for like 3-4 months because i thought the machine had swallowed my 20 euros when all it needed was 3 euros. later on, i found out that there was actually a lot of balance left on that card, because the 20 euros wasn’t swallowed up, it was charged to the card! TYG!!!! i was really happy the day i found out. also kinda sad cause i spent a looot of months hand washing or just not washing because i didn’t want to go to the shop.

- sleeping in hostels. ok, i know i said i wasn’t fresa, but i never really would’ve considered hostels and been so positive about them if it weren’t for JTA. I’m honestly really loving the hostel vibe. the people are friendly, its communal, its pretty clean, and you get cheap accommodation. i guess this isn’t really a weird or stupid thing to do on JTA, but I just find it...cool how much my perspective has changed on traveling. (maybe that should be my next post?) and again, i don’t think i would have done this if not for JTA. so thanks, JTA, for letting me experience that :)

I think that’s it...for now. We still have morocco next week, and amidst the polarizing opinions about it (”it’s one of my greatest trips, u should go!” vs “be more careful, there are more sketchy people there”), I’m kinda excited. I hope I get to relax a little more, because I think that’ll be our last out of Spain trip. I can’t believe we thought of going to Germany pa after Morocco. I would’ve died of tiredness. anyway, that’s all I can remember for now. soon, I’ll try to add pictures and finally start recapping our trips. I think it will do me a lot of good in the future if I at least record my JTA experiences.

ciao!

[girlmamalife]

June 16th 2016

It all started on May 29th 2016 at around 8pm. It was a Sunday and a bank holiday weekend. As you know if you read my blog, throughout my pregnancy I was having pretty bad braxton hicks contractions towards the end of my second trimester and all through my third but on this day they were progressively getting worse as the day went on and at around 8pm they were every 5 minutes lasting around 1-3 minutes each time so I called the hospital labour ward to see what I should do as my waters hadn’t broken but I had lost part of the mucus plug (lovely I know ) and they told me to keep monitoring the contractions and keep an eye on my waters and to call back if the pain increased and/or my waters broke but at the minute I was best staying at home as there wouldn’t be anything they could do there that I wasn’t already doing at home and that it sounded like I was in early labour. As the pain didn’t get any worse but didn’t subside either I didn’t get much sleep that night and ended up walking around the house trying to ease the pain, I took painkillers as suggested by the hospital (pregnancy safe paracetamol obviously) but they didn’t help. Finally the contractions slowed down and Monday came along. Since it was a bank holiday Mike had the day off work so we decided to get out of the house and take a walk into town with the hopes of setting off my contractions properly/getting my waters to break. So we wandered around the shopping center and down to various stores but the contractions stayed around 20 minutes apart and didn’t last for very long. Tuesday I had an appointment at the hospital for a scan to make sure the baby was growing properly due to the times I’ve had blood loss and that came back fine and she was growing just as she should be. I ended up calling the labour ward again Tuesday night because of the pain getting more frequent and much more intense and because I wasn’t sure if my waters had broken or if it was just one of the wonderful side effects of pregnancy and they told me to monitor the fluid and call back if i noticed it getting worse. I didn’t have to call back but Wednesday morning I called the maternity assessment unit because I felt I needed to be checked over to make sure everything was going okay because I had noticed that the baby’s movements had slowed down. Thankfully Mike had called work to tell them he wasn’t going in because we were going to the hospital because the baby could be making an appearance so I didn’t have to go on my own. They gave me an appointment for 11am so we got ready and off we went (labour bag in tow just in case) when we got there I was put in a little room and hooked up to a monitor to track the contractions and the baby’s heartbeat before they did an internal examination. I explained everything that had been happening whilst the midwife did the examination and she told me that the rest of the mucus plug (again, lovely I know ) was about to come out so it may feel rather unpleasant once she removed the speculum and man she was right. It felt gross . After that she told me that it could be any day that the baby arrived and to take baths and bounce on a birthing ball and take long walks to speed the process up so when we got home I took a bath and felt so uncomfortable that after around 10 minutes I had to get out so I just lounged on the sofa and watched Mike play video games all day. It was nice and chilled. At this point Mike had called work and booked the rest of the week off “just in case”.  Thursday was when everything really started and I was timing my contractions but all day they were pretty irregular until around 11:30pm/12am when they started getting more frequent and hella painful so I called the hospital and once again because my waters hadn’t broken they advised I stay at home and try stay calm and to focus on my breathing and to take paracetamol and if the contractions became 1-2 minutes apart to call them back. This happened at 2am and we ended up calling Mike’s sister to take us to the hospital. We got there and I was hooked up to the monitor again and then had an internal examination in which I was told I was 2cm dilated but that I had to go home and try all the techniques mentioned above to try ease the pain and to call back if anything else happened because it could still be a while. We finally got home at 4am. Around 4:30am, Mike was laying on the sofa dozing and I was bouncing on a birthing ball the midwife sent me home with when I decided a shower might help with the pain so off I went. The shower helped for the first 5 minutes that I was in it and then it had no effect at all so I got out and suddenly felt the need to pee and as soon as I sat down my waters broke and by 5:00/5:30am we were on our way back to the hospital with me screaming in pain every time I had a contraction which were around 30/40 seconds apart by now. We got to the hospital at around 6am and again I was examined and told I was now 6cm dilated and I was taken to one of the labour rooms. I was given a shot of pethidine at 7am after having gas and air and that giving me a headache and from there I was in and out of the pool and on and off the bed and finally the only place I could get remotely comfortable where there was less pressure on me was sat on the toilet and there I sat with this intense indescribable pain coursing through my body until the midwives told me I had to get on the bed because the baby was coming. By 10:56am and after 5 hours of labour(and quite possibly the worst pain I have ever experienced), I was laying on a bed with my baby girl laying on my chest all covered in blood and goop and I was unbelievably happy and exhausted. I had so much adrenaline running through my body I was literally shaking from head to foot, every inch of my body felt like I was stuck on vibrate and because of this I didn’t feel safe holding her so asked the midwife to take her. I remember feeling so exhausted, as if I hadn’t slept in weeks and I could feel my eyes closing but I couldn’t sleep. I had to have stitches and that felt like to took forever but once they were done it was just a case of waiting for different checks to be done to make sure I was okay and baby was okay before they discharged us and we could go home. After the birth I felt so sleep deprived that I don’t really remember much of what happened while waiting for the midwives to come do their checks other than them getting me a comfier bed and the feeling of how much I loved Mike and our little girl when I saw him holding her and saw how much he loves her.

He was so completely amazing throughout the whole labour, he never once asked the stupid question (“are you okay?”) he just stayed holding my hand and getting me drinks and telling me it would be okay when I said I couldn’t do it. He later told me that he cried when she was born and that he didn’t when his son was born and that he didn’t feel sick like he did before when he was watching it all happen and that he was proud of me. I remember him kissing my head after the last push and the baby being out and I remember feeling so incredibly lucky to have him.  

So there you have it. My labour story. How our little princess arrived in this world and how we became a family

[rudeminnesotan]

Fic #1168: Feathers and Fireballs by Na’hiel

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12050840

Status: Complete

Chapters: 47 (holy fuck! lol)

Words: 114,077

POV: Harry POV (main), Severus POV (one chapter/interlude), Voldemort POV (one chapter/interlude). 

Read on: 1/25-26/2019 (I honestly power read this in like. Less than 12 hours. Read maybe 10 chapters before work, and 37 from 8pm to 5:30am lol. ‘Twas amazing). 

Series: Harry Potter

Pairings: Harry/Regulus/Severus

Warnings: Potions Accident, Veela!Harry, Bonds, Mating Bonds, One Lime?, Character Death, Psychological, TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, non-con, chan? (Harry is 16), 

Summary: The story starts with the Battle at the Ministry. During the battle, stray spells break a vial and it slashed onto Harry. As he stumbles and falls into another shelf, another potion lands on him. He thinks nothing of it, because not long after Sirius dies and everything else that ensues. Then, on his 16th birthday, SOMETHING Happens and Harry CHANGES. The change involves screaming on his part, so Vernon comes in and yells at him... but Harry has changed. So Vernon starts to rape him. Dudley comes in and joins. Harry goes limp and blacks out. When he wakes up, he's in enough pain to know that they... succeeded... but they're gone. All that is left in the room are smoldering bones. Not even corpses, just BONES. 

Harry flees. 

He does take Hedwig with him. The streets are not kind to Harry and he gets assaulted multiple more times. He often blacks out and wakes up to bodies, skeletons, corpses around him. He wonders if maybe Wizards aren't affected, maybe it's muggles, and goes to Diagon Alley. It's a disaster. 

Harry is eventually found a Death Eater who doesn't seem to be affected at all. This person turns out to be Regulus Black who is Asexual. Before THAT was revealed, I was like, "Ugh this is just going to be a cliche fic of Harry being a tiny sub in a triad (the fic shows the pairing in the summary) and I was like. GROSS. BUT THEN REGULUS SAID HE WAS ASEXUAL AND I WAS LIKE "I'M SO GLAD I CLICKED ON THIS" and really, truly, I am. Ace (but not aro) representation! 

Eventually, they find out that Harry is a veela, somehow, and male veela are very rare and it's VERY Hard for them to control their allure. Severus is brought in because, as a natural occulmens, he is basically immune to the allure. Well, at least until Harry makes a mating bond with Severus too. It's actually quite common for Male Veela to make a mating bond with an Asexual person because they feel safe with them, as the asexual person is, well. immune to the allure and it makes them safe. 

There's an OC in the form of Christelle, a representative from the Veela court. We get some exposition from her, but it is needed. 

Harry and Regulus relationship is like fucking goals for me. They cuddle, maybe kiss a bit. There's plenty of affection but not ATTRACTION. No, that's for Severus. Regulus and Severus had actually been in a relationship years before, but Regulus couldn't be what Severus needed (probably because of the sex thing) so this is actually perfect for them: having Harry there too. I liked that. Sometimes triads seem to be just about sex, but this one seems so.... healthy and balanced. Again, goals. lol. 

My problem with the fic came when Harry developed a third bond with Voldemort. The bond is... cold. And, I mean, it's probably there because of the Horcrux more than anything. There is affection between them, I GUESS, but it's ....... Voldemort is very clinical in his relationships. He does kiss Harry at one point, but Harry doesn't like it at all. Voldemort treats Harry like a possession since he is a Horcrux. Harry is precious to Voldemort... it's just. ... eh. It doesn't seem natural, the way that Severus and Regulus came into being with Harry. 

Narcissa is in the story too, as Harry's healer (and Mind healer, hence the psychological tag. They explore therapy and how it can help). 

Overall, I really enjoyed the fic. The epilogue takes places 20 years in the future, where Harry has a 5-year-old son named Sirius (who was born through a surrogate). Harry came back into the public eye just long enough to announce his 'marriage' to Regulus, who came back from the dead (after having faked his death). Harry becomes a healer, but he doesn't have a lot of patients. He gets a new wand lol. Voldemort and Bellatrix get married and Bellatrix is pregnant. 

The Dark side has won, through Draco becoming Minister of Magic. Harry told Voldemort that "Dictatorships never work" so he changes his approach to taking over the Wizarding World. I liked how the story had a blatantly asexual, but not aromantic character. Representation is very important, and I like being represented lol. I didn't like the bond with Voldemort. That's literally my only complaint. 

[cynthiajayusa]

What’s Hot Central Florida: August 2018

Wednesday, August 1

The Amway Arena presents Cirque Du Soleil – Crystal from today until August 5. This new show explores the artistic limits of ice for the first time in the company’s 34-year history. This unique production pushes boundaries of performance by combining stunning skating and acrobatic feats that defy the imagination. Tickets start at $45.

Amalia Arena presents Panic! At The Disco at 7pm.  The tour is in honor of their sixth studio album, Pray For The Wicked. Pray For The Wicked follows Panic! At The Disco’s critically acclaimed fifth album, Death Of A Bachelor, which was released on January 15, 2016 via Fueled By Ramen/DCD2 Records. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2017 GRAMMY Awards. Ticket prices start at $26.00, and go to $66.

Thursday, August 2

Starting today and going through Sunday, the Flamingo Resort presents the 5th annual Florida Puppy Contest: The Year of the Dog. The weekend will also feature classes, mosh, leather themed drag shows and male entertainers. 

Friday, August 3

Southern Nights Tampa presents NeiBEARhood Takeover: Mancakes. Tis will feature an all you can eat buffer of men and fetish gear is strongly encouraged. There will be a performance and games hosted by Bearonce. This is a 21 and over event and there is no cover before 10pm.

Saturday, August 4

The MBA presents their annual Pride Gala Business Awards from 6-10pm at the Hard Rock Live Orlando. The 2018 Pride in Business Awards Gala presented by PNC Bank will honor our region’s stellar performers in business within our LGBT community. With the awards presented by distinguished community leaders and business professionals during an incredible full course dinner, the Gala also includes an awesome silent auction, a special VIP pre-dinner reception, and an epic after party in City Walk! VIP Reception begins at 6:00pm (open bar and light bites), Cash bar, auction and general reception begins at 6:30pm with the Gala dinner and awards beginning at 7:30pm. Tickets are $150, with VIP $250 at MBAOrlando.org.

Balance Tampa Bay presents Avant Garde, their 4th Annual Masquerade, complete with open bar, unparalleled ambiance and entertainment by world class DJ Toy Armada! The best part is the proceeds benefit Epic / Empath Health. They want your creativity to be at the center of this event, so wear anything you want, but they hope you’ll have on a mask. They are increasing the scale of Masquerade this year by hosting the event in the spectacular Armature Works, which features elegant décor, an amazing  view and an unrivaled visual experience. To purchase tickets or for more info, go to: tampamasquerade.com/.

Kevin Hart’s Irresponsible Tour comes to the Amalia Arena at 7pm. Hart’s last multi-city domestic and international WHAT NOW comedy tour sold out large venues all over the world, including being the first comedian to sell out an NFL stadium, selling over 50,000 tickets in one show at Lincoln Financial Field. Internationally, he sold out over a dozen arenas in the European market, selling over 150,000 tickets, and sold out arenas across Australia, selling 100,000 tickets. Hart’s hit comedy tour grossed over $100 million worldwide. Ticket prices range from $35 to $125.

The Parliament House presents “Orlando’s 80’s Ball” with guest judge Dominique Jackson (Elektra from Pose).

Wednesday, August 8

Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber of Commerce August Social will be held at Punky’s (3063 Central Avenue North, St. Petersburg) from 6:30 to 8pm. As always they have complimentary appetizers and a cash bar. There will also be BINGO at 7:30, benefiting the Diversity Chamber’s Foundation. For more info go to: diversitytampabay.org.

Friday August 10

Black Haüs is invading Stonewall Bar Orlando with another fully immersive event, and this time they want you to join the CULT at 10pm. Imagine a dystopian future where the club scene has moved back underground and a resistance is gathering. Stonewall will be transformed into a rebel speakeasy quarantined off to only those who join the CULT; an abandoned underground filled with industrial music and art. They encourage leather and fetish gear, or come in your best cult attire…They will be waiting!

Southern Nights Orlando presents Carmella Marcella Garcia, as the Grand Ol’ gai from the south returns for one night. Show times are at 11pm & 12:30am with Roxxxy Andrews, Tasha Long, Maya Andrews, Sassy Devine & CARMELLA GARCIA! NO COVER before 11pm 21+ (18+ Welcome).

Saturday, August 11

The Ms. World America takes place at the Dr. Phillips Center and the pageant seeks to provide a unique opportunity for all contestants to network, develop, and share their skills and talents while creating impact in their own businesses and communities. The pageant starts at 7pm and tickets start at $30.

The Straz center for the Performing Arts presents the annual Pole for a Purpose pole dance and aerial arts showcase features performers from around the United States in this spectacular demonstration of alluring athleticism. Prepare for an evening of sultry thrills and intoxicating acrobatics on fourteen feet of chrome. The best part? All the fun is for a great cause – Pole for a Purpose has raised over $28,000 for charitable organizations. Tickets start at $42.50, and for more information, visit poleforapurpose.com.

Tuesday, August 14

Amway Arena presents Shakira’s El Dorado World Tour (this is the Orlando tour stop originally scheduled for January 9, and all original tickets will be honored). The concert begins at 7:30pm with tickets starting at $47.50.

Don’t forget that every Tuesday, is FREE Pool night at Barcodes Orlando where there is never a cover!

Wednesday, August 15

From today through September 9, the Straz Center for the Performing Arts presents Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The gold glitter standard of queerglam rocker musicals, follows German immigrant-turned-transgender-Kansas-trailer-park-wannabe-rock-goddess Hedwig Robinson during one life-changing night of her musical act. Full of TMI, towering go-go boots and cult hits “Exquisite Corpse,” “Wig in a Box,” “Tear Me Down” and more, this campy romp reveals the blistering realities of self-acceptance that defy gender identity. Tickets start at $18, and for more info visit jobsitetheater.org/the-2018-19-anniversary-season.

Thursday, August 16

Starting today and going through Saturday, Southern Nights Orlando presents their 4 year anniversary. Tonight will feature, direct from Ru Paul’s Drag Race Season 10, finalist Eureka O’hara.

Friday, August 17

Actor, writer and producer David Koechner will be appearing at the Orlando Improv from today until August 19. He stars as Tush on CBS’s “Superior Donuts.” He’s also well-known for his roles as Todd Packer on “The Office” and Champ Kind from “Anchorman” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” On the small screen, he appears in Showtime’s “Twin Peaks,” Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ABC’s “The Goldbergs” and voices reoccurring characters on FOX’s “American Dad” and Netflix’s “F is for Family” and “All Hail King Julien.”  When not filming, Koechner performs live stand-up comedy across the country and creates original content videos for his YouTube channel, “Full On Koechner.” Tickets start at $20.

The Flamingo Resort presents teir annual Turnabout at 11:30pm at the main bar. The night will feature your favorite bartenders and staff members dressed up with all proceeds benefiting Metro Wellness.

Saturday, August 18

Hamburger Mary’s Brandon presents “Paint Nite” from 1-3pm. Paint Nite features everything you need to create a one-of-a-kind painting. They will guide you and your friends through two lively hours of creativity, drinking, and laughing ‘til your cheeks hurt. The best part? You don’t have to be an artist to have an amazing time. Hamburger Mary’s is an open-air bar & grille for open-minded people, serving a full menu of tasty items… Big and juicy gourmet burgers, yummy apps, soups, salads and entrees, and an extensive bar menu featuring craft beers and cocktails. Food and drinks are not included, but are available for purchase from the venue. No outside food or drinks allowed. This Paint Nite Event is 21+.

Neema’s Upscale Latin night, Amor, at Stonewall Bar Orlando presents “Melina LeonN” live in Concert at 12 midnight. The show will also feature Rochelle Mon Chéri, Rakell Riviera, Yeisa Jovovich, and Saphyre L’Sweet Cardoza. Doors open at 9pm and there is $10 cover till 11pm, and $15 thereafter.

The Parliament House presents “Vegas Night: Celebrity Edition!” where they invite everyone to try their luck at Poker, Blackjack, Roulette with some tables with celebrity dealers. The Footlight Players will feature a “La Cage” celebrity Revue at 10pm and 12am. Proceeds to benefit Bliss Cares!

Amalia Arena presents two of the world’s greatest rock bands – Journey and Def Leppard. They are teaming up for a massive co-headliner with an arsenal of their hits such as “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Lights,” “Photograph,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Rock of Ages” and “Faithfully.” The concert takes place at 7pm, with tickets ranging from $45.75 to $175.75. 

Monday, August 20

Jill Sinclair presents the annual Miss Daytona Beach F.I Pageant, an official preliminary to Miss Florida F.I. pageant. Miss Daytona Beach will be held at Hamburger Marys Daytona Beach at 8pm and star the current reigning Miss Florida F.I. Kalah Mendoza, the current reigning Miss Daytona Beach, Susan Whitney, as well as Natalie Nayles (Miss Heart of Florida Newcomer), Rachel Summers, Brittany Moore (Miss Florida F.I. 2014 and the current reigning Miss Duval), and China Bell. For more information call Jill at 386-307-7944.

Thursday, August 23

The Orlando Improv presents Josh Wolf from today until August 25. When he’s not filming his top rated web series College Experiment for foxsports.com, Josh Wolf’s unique, honest, and high energy style of storytelling has made him a favorite at comedy clubs across the country. Josh wrote for many shows like Yes Dear, Will Smith’s All of Us, and Cuts starring Shannon Elizabeth. Years ago, he was cast on Last Comic Standing and was on the season finale as one of the Last Comics Downloaded. Since that time, he has had a recurring role on My Name is Earl, Raising Hope, played the role of Jack in the musical version of Sideways, and done several hosting type jobs for E! Josh currently is writing a feature film for Adam Sandler’s company. You can also see Josh on the road most weekends either opening for Chelsea Handler or Larry the Cable Guy, with the Comedians of Chelsea Lately. Tickets start at $20.

Friday, August 24

Magic Mike Tour comes to Hamburger Mary’s Brandon, with doors opening at 9pm and the show at 10pm to 12:30am.  Magic Mike Tour All Star Male Revue. We are the hottest male revue in the nation. To date, 3 million women have witnessed our first class stages hunks, live and in the flesh! Appearances include VH1, Fox News, GQ, International Male magazine, and countless others. The ultimate Vegas experience is coming to perform for one night only, so plan to be part of the biggest ladies night ever and come out to see the 2018 Magic Mike Tour! Guaranteed to entice and intrigue women of all ages!! This hard body team is ready to bring you the most electrifying show that you don’t want to miss! Grab your girlfriends and plan to have a girls night out like no other! Ladies, buy your tickets early to beat the crowd at the door! Tis is a 21 and over event, with tickets ranging from $25-$50 at ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1726251.

The Tampa Improv presents Leslie Jones of Saturday Night Live fame from today until August 26. Her work on the long standing sketch show has garnered her an Emmy Award nomination and inclusion on the Time 100 list. Leslie has covered the most recent summer and winter Olympics for NBC and was the host of The 2017 BET Awards. She is currently recording one of the lead roles in Angry Birds 2, for Sony Pictures. Jones also starred in Paul Feig’s reboot of Ghostbusters, alongside Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. Her other film credits include Chris Rock’s Top Five, Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, and the animated film Sing. Tickets tart at $50.

Saturday, August 25

Barcodes Orlando presents their monthly Leather night (last Saturday of every month) with sexy leather men, free parking and never a cover!

Star Wars in Concert continues with Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Featuring the iconic full-length film on the big screen with The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performing John Williams’s legendary score live. In the spectacular climactic sixth episode of the Star Wars saga, Darth Vader readies the second Death Star to unleash the final blow to the Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker joins his droid allies R2-D2 and C-3PO, along with Princess Leia, to free his comrade Han Solo, imprisoned by the vile crime lord, Jabba the Hutt. Reunited, the Rebels race to the moon of the planet Endor where they launch a desperate attack upon the entire Imperial Fleet. But the ultimate battle is between father and son, as Luke faces Darth Vader one last time, for the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. This event takes place at 7:30pm with tickets $49.50.

The Parliament House features RuPaul’s Drag Races Season 4 star Willam with the Footlight Players at 10pm and 12am.

Monday, August 27

Hardrock Orlando presents the 23rd annual k92.3 all-star jam presented by jasper contracting. Taking place from 8-11pm, the event features music by: Chris Young, Lauren Alaina (American Idol), Chris Janson, Kip Moore, Jimmie Allen, Jordan Davis, Dylan Scott, Lanco, Danielle Bradbury and Morgan Wallen. Tickets are $90 Reserved Balcony, and $300 VIP Meet & Greet Balcony.  

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/07/26/whats-hot-central-florida-august-2018/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/07/whats-hot-central-florida-august-2018.html