Halloween at Disneyland Part 2: The Princesses Encounter

Previously: After Radiator Springs Racers, Jess and I went to the Paradise Pier. We dropped by at Boudin Bakery Tour and got a fresh loaf of bread. Then we ended up getting lunch at Garden Grill with a glass of fresh Strawberry margarita from Rita Margarita in a sunny day. Our lunch couldn't be more perfect, and so was the weather. Jess ended up finishing the margarita.

At around 12.30 pm, after we finished our lunch, we headed to the Hyperion Theatre to catch Aladdin Musical Spectacular. It marked my second time watching it. The first time happened six years ago with my mom and I loved it. The genie is and will always be the real star of the show, pulling jokes and pop culture references that we all know, from Patriots football to Taylor Swift.
His jokes never get old and it is even sad to learn that the show would have less than a hundred more before it ended for good on December. Next year, the theatre would host a Frozen Musical to replace Aladdin. I reached the point where Frozen has become increasingly overrated that it has to replace a beloved classic show such as Aladdin. Anyway...

Quote of the Day

"You try. You fail. You try. You fail. But the only true failure is when you stop trying."

- Madame Leota from The Haunted Mansion (2003)
That moment when a floating head encased in a glass ball is wiser than you.

Halloween at Disneyland Part 1: Grim Grinning Ghosts

Two weeks ago marked the second time for me to visit Disneyland in a year. Two weeks ago marked the fourth time I went to Disneyland after three years living in LA, and yet I'm still not an annual passholder. But anyway, it doesn't matter. What matters is about a Disneyland visit is, it'll be a blast as long as you have the perfect partner.

I went on a Friday morning before Halloween with Jess, who came all the way here from San Jose almost exclusively for a Disneyland visit. As someone who barely has anyone to go there with, I couldn't say no. Jess and I woke up at 6.15 am. We planned on spending the whole day there and Disney's California Adventure. When I said the whole day, I really meant from the moment the parks opened until they closed. I have never been so determined to wake up this early before. Waking up at 6 for any other purposes has always been a pain. But Jess and I decided to sleep early last night so this could happen.

Imagine.

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

- John Lennon

Sometimes it takes the worst situation to bring people together; It's beautiful and sad at the same time; Sometimes it takes blood, tears, and loss to remind us that no matter where we've come from, we all stand united - not as white, black, Asian, Jew, Muslim, Christians, Hindu, straight, gay, transgender - but as human beings that share one hope and one prayer only:

May peace be restored to the world.

My heart goes out to those affected in the Paris tragedy and anyone who experiences violence or injustice of humanity.

Tech in a Fast Lane: Confessions of a (Slightly) Tech-Illiterate Millennial

Friend: “Which social media are you mostly active in?”
Me: “Facebook and iMessage.”
Friend: “Line?”
Me: “Not so much.”
Friend: “Why?”
Me: “It isn't so flexible. I can't use it on the computer and I'm not on my phone the whole time.”
Friend: *begging* “Please be active (on Line)! I'm on it. That way we can chat further and longer!”

That was a brief chat I had with a childhood classmate. He's in Indonesia. For your information, most Indonesians are keen of Whatsapp, Line, and Path as their chosen social media.

I left the conversation finally re-activating my Line, which I haven't opened in quite a while. There were over 100 unread messages on my Elementary School and my Taiwan Study Tour groups. There were over cumulatively 10 birthdays that I missed. 80% of the conversation of both groups revolve around birthday wish (and lately 10% was on a friend's wedding). I felt bad. Most of my friends in USA don't use Line and after years, I didn't really see the point of being active in it.

The movie that made me cry

I really like discussing movies lately. I got a trivial question the other day: what movie makes you cry? Although I am less sensitive in real life, I get easily teary when it comes to seeing movies. Like I teared a up a little when I saw the ending of Steve Jobs. But there's always one movie that gets me cry all the time, and that is The Last Emperor.

What is it with me and biopics lately?

Anyway, The Last Emperor is overall not a sad movie, or at least it isn't Marley and Me or Titanic sad. I don't even think “sad” is the word, but “emotionally powerful” is.

Deconstructing a Visionary and a Man - Steve Jobs Review and Analysis [SPOILER]

I haven't done a movie review in a long time. When I do, it's because the movie is worth reviewing and has left a particular impression to me. The last review I did is on Philomena, an Oscar nominated movie starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.

On the Halloween weekend, my friend and I chose to see Steve Jobs, a highly un-Halloween-ish movie amidst the release of more relevantly-themed movies like Crimson Peak and Goosebumps. The long anticipated movie directed by Danny Boyle with the script penned by Aaron Sorkin.

Corruption Starts Young

Hey guys,

I just penned an essay about corruption. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, I decided not to publicize the essay. However, you can access the following link and email me for permission.

Essay link.

Have a great day.

23

Tell 'em that it's my birthday

Tell 'em that it's my birthday

Tell 'em that it's my birthday

When I party like that

- Selena Gomez

Lift-off

Hey hey, it's been a while since I posted an entry. My blogging muse has recently ceased but I'm working on reigniting it again. Things in internship have been going really well. I've been catching up with deadlines and other than that, I've been having tons and tons of fun, especially after the Epcot visit.

I'm so privileged to be living in what the people here call Space Coast, which refers to the areas around the infamous NASA's Kennedy Space Center. One of the events that buzz around here is of course, the rocket launch.