the whales swim onward
With the whirlwind of thoughts swirling through my brain regarding college, classes, schoolwork, new friends, and new experiences, I was never sure what to do about Fluffyland. Although it is my beloved little business, it was one of the last things on my mind. I considered letting it go… but how could I let something I’ve worked so hard on go to waste?
After making the obvious choice to bring my sewing machine plus some fabric, it seemed to be an almost equally clear choice to keep my shop alive. I now have a huge bin in my closet filled with whales, mousies, totes, and pouches. They all decided to tag along, keeping me company in case I ever get lonely and miss my friends.. hehe. I’ve also received my first custom whale order, which will give me something fun to do and a nice (and still productive!) break from schoolwork.
The first week of classes is going well. It’s fun to be on my own time; actual class takes much less time than that of high school, but homework and outside studying is much more intense than I am accustomed to.
The biggest challenges so far?
- doing homework alone in my room while friends are hanging out down the hall
- getting a decent amount of sleep…
- but not napping every day
- figuring out a time to eat lunch on Wednesdays, when I have class from 8:30-4 and my only break is from 9:30-10:30 a.m. (gross!)
- staying awake during physics class
- figuring out how to use a front-loading washer… i had some embarrassing difficulties.
But really, I’m having lots of fun and meeting lots of really great people. And although all my classes are difficult, since they’re core classes for engineering (calculus II, physics, chemistry, and java programming), so far they’ve proven to be captivating (except for the aforementioned physics). So I am happy!
Seeing as it’s my last summer before college, a trip to Disneyland was clearly necessary. Family bonding, fun, and a chance for me to figure out what it means exactly to grow up. There’s a difference between growing up (maturity) and growing out of things like Disneyland (and plush whales). Only one of those is necessary.
The lines were short, not necessarily because of a lack of park visitors, but more because the Disney cast members are experts at keeping the lines moving and loading up the trains as quickly and efficiently as possible. This allowed us to go on almost everything, and definitely everything we wanted. The new Nemo ride was a nice nostalgic reminder of the old submarines, and just as terrifying as I found it when I was little; I can’t stand the feeling of submerging into the ocean, no matter how shallow I know the real lake is. Then there was the modified Pirates of the Caribbean: the same classic pirates and Yo-ho-ing, with a few Jack Sparrow audio-animatronics thrown in. Sometimes I worry when they plan to modify the rides, but they did a flawless job and he fits perfectly into the storyline.
The Electric Light Parade blew my mind as it always does; the music and the plethora of lights never ceases to amaze me. It’s a classic, and always will be.
The entire park is basically my other home. I always know where I am there, and it really is “the happiest place on earth”. It’s comforting for me right now, with everything familiar to me, including myself, changing faster that I can hold on to it, to know that DIsneyland will always be there. It will change too, I know that, but Disneyland always changes for the better, and there are never any unpleasant surprises.
