Hurricane Life: The End of An Era

         So today was my last day at the job I have had for three and a half years. I got the job when I first moved in with my wife. I will miss some of the people that I worked with but what I will not miss is the bologna that I had to put up with from my managers and corporate overlords.
         As excited as I should be today, I am more in a state of panic. This is due to the fact that I am moving on Saturday and starting a new job in sales on Monday. I have no prior experience in sales. On top of this, our baby boy is due on the 27th of this month (One week after we move). My wife and newborn baby will be depending on me to perform at a job that I have no experience at. I am so stressed out!
        I probably won't be blogging much this summer as I will be working 14+ hours a day, 6 days a week. Wish me luck trying to cope with the INSANE changes in my life. I need it.
PS- I'm sorry for not finishing part III of my Club 33 blog yet. I have been crazy busy.

Disney Nerd: Part 1 Rage Part 2 Love

               Today I was reading a blog on a Disney forum that I frequent. (Yes, I am a member of a Disney online forum! I am a MASSIVE nerd, what do you expect?) The blog can be found at http://tinyurl.com/caqutln if you would like to read it.
               Two things I want to discuss from the article: 1.) Mini Monstropolis
2.) Tron in Tomorrowland

               1.) Mini Monstropolis- The Disney Imaginears are drawing up plans to tear down the Muppet-Vision 3-D theatre and use that space and the stage 17 building next door to create a Monsters, Inc. mini area. As much as I love the film Monsters, Inc. and the Mike and Sulley To the Rescue attraction at Disney California Adventure I have only one thing to say to this.... NOooooooooo!!! Despite how awesome the ride sounds that will be going in that spot I cannot allow it to kick out my precious Muppet's. I love the Muppet- Vision attraction! It is maybe my favorite attraction in all of California Adventure. Please Disney, please do not remove this attraction. Despite the recent film, which is awesome, this attraction is often the first exposure that kids today have to the Muppets.  If it is gone, I am afraid that the Muppets will be forgotten. (Thinking about this makes me tear up. Don't mock me!) As much as I would love to see a Monstropolis themed area in the park, a cool new rollercoaster, and some real themeing in that unloved section of the park, I do not want to lose my Muppets!

             2.) Tron-morrowland- Tomorrowland has two of the best attractions in Disneyland but is by far the worst themed. In the article mentioned above, the Imaginears are working on a lightcycle attraction which would utilize the poor, rotting, abandoned PeopleMover tracks. I am soooo hoping that this actually happens. I thoroughly enjoyed the recent Tron movie and am looking forward to the next film. Combine that with my love of the PeopleMover and my anger at Disney for them leaving the tracks there but serving no purpose (Over 13 years now!). Plus, this will give the Imaginears time to work on fixing Tomorrowland and get the area up to par with the rest of the park.

               Do you have any opinions about these Disney rumors? If so, let me know in the comments. Or, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks for reading!

Journey to Club 33: Part 2

             
               Part Two: My wife and I were so stoked to go to Club 33. We wanted to dress up for this special occasion. I bought a new tie specifically to wear to the club and my wife bought a  new dress. We were looking pretty suave I must say.

I clean up pretty well. Check out my mickey tie!

My wife in her new dress. This was taken outside our old house in Huntington Beach. What a hotty!

                 Once we were dressed it was off to the park! We arrived at the park and walked to New Orleans Square. We turned down Royal Street and got to the Club 33 entrance... we were pants peeing excited at this point. We stopped to pose for a photo in front of the entrance. The 33 logo plaque is behind my arm.

                   To get into the club you have to press a secret button next to the door and announce your arrival to the hostess. If you have a reservation they will push a button inside that allows the door to open. My wife pushed the intercom button and waited. After what seemed like an eternity we heard a voice asking if we had a reservation. My wife said yes and announced her name and that our reservation was for two. After a momentary pause we heard the magical buzz and opened the door. Once the door closed behind us the noise of Disneyland was silenced and we entered the magical realm of Club 33.

                    Upon first entering the club you find yourself in the lobby. Everything about the club is ornate and beautiful. The carpet, wallpaper, and artwork on the walls was personally picked out by Lillian Disney when she and Walt went antiquing in New Orleans. But the centerpiece of the lobby is a gorgeous antique french lift which takes you up to the main floor of the club. Before we took the lift upstairs we stopped for a photo op.

                     Once we got upstairs we were escorted to our table in the main dining room. Continuing with us taking photos of EVERYTHING we posed for photos with the menus.

I look WAY EXCITED!

My wife is adorable

 

                 On to the food! For lunch, you choose a main entree and there are buffet style appetizers and desserts. When I say "appetizers" I am not talking about potato skins, mozzarella sticks, or nachos. The appetizer buffet included crab legs, shrimp, lobster tails, California artisan cheeses, and fruit. Sadly, we did not get photos of any appetizers... sorry folks. The menu had a couple different choices but my wife and I ordered the same entree, a Chateaubriand fillet Mignon with Yukon gold mashed potatoes, baby heirloom tomatoes, and blanched green and yellow beans with a Cabernet Sauvignon reduction sauce. It was so delicious!

Even the plates have the 33 logo!

               That is part two of our trip to Club 33. In the next installment I will show you all the desserts we tried and take you on a photo tour of the club. Have any questions about Club 33? Leave them in the comments of this blog or send them to me on Twitter @ReelBigDork. Have a great day!

Goodbye Disney!

                  Mine and my wife's Disneyland passes expired yesterday and we will not be renewing in the foreseeable future. So we took one last trip to Disneyland together. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion and made a few last purchases of in-park merchandise. But everything we did had a sense of melancholy as this was our "last" time doing these things. As we left the park my wife started to tear up and as a result so did I.
                We have had passes for the last 4 years and have been going to the parks about once a week on average. We will miss going on Disney dates together for fireworks or Fantasmic. But with the price of passes increased by $200 and a baby on the way it just wasn't feasable for us to keep them anymore. Hopefully one day we can afford to get our passes back so we can take our son and instill the love of Disney in him.  I will miss you Disney!


See ya Later Walt and Mickey

       

Journey to Club 33: Part 1

A few years ago my now wife, then girlfriend, and myself were able to experience something very magical. We were able to dine at Club 33. For those of you not in the know Club 33 is a secret and ultra exclusive restaurant inside of Disneyland Park. The idea for the club came about during the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York City. Walt was hired to put together some attractions for a few of the pavilions and noticed that many of the companies had exclusive VIP lounges set up in their pavilions. Walt decided he wanted to build a VIP lounge in Disneyland to entertain executives and visiting dignitaries. Thus Club 33 was born. Walt and his wife Lillian Disney went to New Orleans to go shopping for antiques for the club. But sadly, Walt died before the club was able to open. Instead of the club becoming a lounge for VIPs, it became an ultra exclusive club with membership open to the general public ( If you have $12,000-$15,000 a year and can wait for 10-20 years to become a member). The club is located in New Orleans Square at 33 Royal Street.

This small plaque adorns the door to get into the club.

My wife and I had been yearning to visit and dine here for years before we were finally able to. Only members of the club can let you in or make reservations to eat there. There are only 457 members of the club so finding a member is like finding a needle in a stack of other needles. For us, getting into the club was nothing more than a pipe dream. Every time we would pass by the door we would dream about what was inside. Then one fateful day, something incredibly magical happened that would allow us to realize our dream beyond our wildest imagination.
At this point in time my wife was working at a restaurant. She didn't normally work on Friday's at that point in time, but for some reason was working that day. She also was not cashiering that day but was hostessing instead. A customer came in wearing a shirt with a small Club 33 insignia embroidered on it. My wife sat him at a table and unlike what she would normally do, small talk with the customers, she engaged the gentleman in a conversation about his shirt. She told him she liked his shirt and his response was one of surprise, he was shocked that she knew what that was. She informed him that she did know what Club 33 was, due to the fact that she and her boyfriend were HUGE DISNEY NERDS!!! She told him that we had always dreamed of being able to go. He then told my wife that she was in luck as he enjoys making dreams come true.  He asked her to sit down at his table and slid a piece of paper across the table to her and asked her to write down her name. He then took out his cellphone and made the call. He gave the receptionist his member number and asked my wife to write down her phone number. He then asked what day would work best? My wife couldn't believe what was happening and just said "whenever is fine." He hung up the phone and told her he had just called and made a reservation for us at Club 33 for lunch. But there were two conditions; the first being that we pay our bill and please not charge it to his tab (He had done this before and the people had charged it to his account, what kind of a-hole does that!?) The second was that she not tell me and make it a surprise. My wifes excitement level skyrocketed. This was unbelievable, so many things had to happen to make this possible. She worked on a day that she normally didn't, at a station that she normally didn't, and engaged a customer more than she usally did. In the end she couldn't keep it a secret from me, the whole situation was so crazy that she had to tell me.

Part II Coming Soon! Here is a picture to tantalize you:

Nom Nom Nom: Jasons' gameday salsa

It has been a week since my last blog. I blogged a few times about food last month (places to eat and foods I like to buy), but ocassionally I do make food for myself so without further ado here is my recipe for delicious semi-homemade salsa:

Ingredients:
1-14.5oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatos
1- 4oz. can of fire roasted green diced green chiles
2- cloves of garlic
1/8 of a sweet yellow onion
1- bunch of cilantro
1- lime
1- jalapeno
salt
pepper
sugar

1.) Combine tomatos and green chilis in a bowl
2.) Add the juice of 1/2 of a lime
3.) Mince the onion and garlic and add to mixture
4.) Remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno (if you want the salsa to be hot, leave some of the seeds)
5.) Dice the jalapeno and add to the salsa
6.) Add 1 tablespoon of minced cilantro (You're almost done!)
7) Finally, add 1/4 teaspoon sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

Allow the flavors to marry for at least 4-6 hours before using. You can also add a few extra sprigs of cilantro before serving if you would like. Enjoy! Below is a photo of the end result. It is super delicious!

Sorry Folks, I Couldn't Help It

         Today was the first day in a month that I didn't have to blog and I woke up with my head full of blog ideas. I have been trying to occupy my brain with distractions (hulu, netflix, facebook, and Twitter) but I can't shake the compulsion to blog. It doesn't help that I have the day off and hours of time to kill while my wife is away at work. So here comes a random blog!
        Last night, in my sleep, I kicked my pregnant wife in the belly. Probably the worst thing I could have done but because I startled our little fetus he was thrashing around like he was in a mosh pit at a metal show. I was finally able to feel a strong kick. It is the craziest feeling to experience and here's why; I was able to help in creating this person. That is absolutely insane! In the words of Dave Chappelle, "You used to live in my balls man!"
        *Sorry for saying the b- word mom, I know you don't like me using poop mouth words like that.*
         So, after a month straight of blogging, here I am blogging again, which is completely ridiculous, right? I do intend on continuing to blog on a semi-frequent basis. Maybe I will continue to blog weakly weekly.
          Thanks for wasting your time to read this. I appreciate it. I don't have any pictures to go along with this blog post so enjoy a photo of my cat, Louie! (I'm totally an old cat lady)