It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

[Pinkocto]

I'm sorry about your back, a massage sounds like an excellent idea.

Thank goodness the fire didn't affect your apartment, wow.

That sounds like a reasonable price for the cruise photopass.

I have the memory maker as part of my AP. Is there a way you could use that?

 

[Pinkocto]

Oops, just read your update, looks like you already bought the photo pass.

Two weeks to the trip?

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

It's nice that you have the weekend off to sort the outstanding matters out. Well done for getting memory maker!

That is interesting that this is the busiest time of year at work. I am not familiar with your actual role within the air industry.

What a shame you can't get your hands on that standby ticket!

Love L'Octtaine products and I love the sizes they come in. Handy for travel.

The magnets sound nice.

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like you are very organised for this trip. I'm glad you were able to sort out some stuff on the train to work.

One thing about my not having a clear line between work and home life is that I don't get everything I want to do accomplished when I want to. Good for you for being so on top of things.

I hope you can get everything all sorted out once you're in the US for your return trip home.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I'm sorry about your back, a massage sounds like an excellent idea.

The back is fortunately better.

Thank goodness the fire didn't affect your apartment, wow.

We live in a converted cotton mill from the early 18th century that is very solid with huge thick walls. That has its advantages.

That sounds like a reasonable price for the cruise photopass.

I thought so, too.

Oops, just read your update, looks like you already bought the photo pass.

Yes, I am glad that I made that decision.

Two weeks to the trip?

Just 11 days now.

It's nice that you have the weekend off to sort the outstanding matters out.

Yes, it is a rare treat. Still, it actually turned out to be quite busy. We are having a Halloween festival in Manchester at the moment. Graham and I went into town to do a treasure hunt that was part of this today and tomorrow I have been invited to a VIP event at the nail salon I go to.

Well done for getting memory maker!

I am pleased that this is sorted.

That is interesting that this is the busiest time of year at work.

From a customer service point of view, it is normally pretty quiet in October, but this year that is not the case either. What makes October so busy for me is that it is the season for the annual appraisals for my staff and at the beginning of October, I had to do the paperwork for the quarterly performance bonuses for my team.

I am not familiar with your actual role within the air industry.

I am a team leader on the reservations side of things. I do a lot of coaching, look after a team of currently 10 people to make sure that they are OK and performing well and I am also dealing with customer escalations. It is a very interesting job and for all the stress that comes with it, I get enormous job satisfaction. After nearly 11 years with the company and 8.5 year in my present job, I am still looking forward to going to work every day. I work for an amazing company and with a very special group of people so that helps.

What a shame you can't get your hands on that standby ticket!

It will all get sorted out when it is good and ready.

Love L'Octtaine products and I love the sizes they come in. Handy for travel.

I love them, too.

The magnets sound nice.

I am really pleased with how they have worked out. They are all done now.

Sounds like you are very organised for this trip.

I am not quite sure how this happened, but I am very happy with this state of affairs.

I'm glad you were able to sort out some stuff on the train to work.

That is one of the advantages of not being able to drive. You can get all sorts of stuff taken care of while travelling on a train.

One thing about my not having a clear line between work and home life is that I don't get everything I want to do accomplished when I want to. Good for you for being so on top of things.

Even with working away from home, this does not always follow.

I hope you can get everything all sorted out once you're in the US for your return trip home.

Thanks.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Thank you for explaining your role at work I find that really interesting. I am so pleased you still get enjoyment out of your job. That is so important. Does Graham do a similar job?

The Haloween festival sounds fun! Enjoy the VIP event at the nail salon.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Does Graham do a similar job?

No, he is a probate lawyer.

The Haloween festival sounds fun!

It was and it got us out of the house for a couple of hours.

Enjoy the VIP event at the nail salon.

I had a lot of fun and ended up with my brows smartened up and tinted for the holiday for free.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Today is our single digit day. I can’t believe how close this is getting. We are however both ready for a break.

I did OK with things on the to do list over the weekend. Of the things that I can do before we leave, I still need to sort out the Universal photo package, print the documents and pack. Everything else is taken care of. Of course, sometimes to do lists tend to be breeding and over the weekend, I suddenly realised that I needed to do some other stuff. Fortunately they were taken care of pretty swiftly.

I did manage to make arrangements to my jewellery artist in New Hampshire to meet up for lunch in Boston. We are both excited about finally getting to meet in person. She is going to bring a portable work kit and will make a couple of pieces of jewellery for me on the spot. She asked if I will have cellphone access in the USA. I did not even consider doing it for this trip, but this suddenly made sense. So I checked Amazon if I could get a US Pay As You Go SIM in time. I managed to find a preloaded one for $20 that includes unlimited calls and texts plus 1GB data for 30 days. I thought that was a really good deal and will make communicating with people easier as I will meet up with quite a few people. The SIM card arrived today and I will activate this at some stage during the week.

While battling to try and print out the calendar with the reservations that we have for the cruise, I noticed that they have updated the info for the try dive that we have booked. It now states that you have to bring water shoes or reef socks. We do have water shoes, but they are surprisingly heavy and I do not want to use up valuable luggage space for the sake of an hour. So I Googled reef socks and got a couple of pairs on Amazon. I am positively surprised how compact and lightweight they are.

For the final addition to the to do list, I have to thank Polly. She mentioned that she is hoping that there will be plenty of nice dresses. Well, the original plan had been to just pack gowns for the formal and semi-formal nights. I figured that for the other nights, my Ali Baba trousers and floaty tops that I am planning to bring for day time wear would do for the dining room as well. It was only when I read Polly’s comment, that I realised how much I would miss dressing for dinner. So I have now invested in a bunch of lightweight maxi dresses, which hopefully will arrive over the next couple of days. I have gone for nice jewel colours.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great to hear that you are ticking of items from your list. I know what you mean about breeding! Like the gremlins somebody keeps feeding it after midnight..

Cingratulations on single digits!

That is great you are meeting up with the jewellery expert. I am impressed by them bringing a portable kit and making you items in the spot. How amazing is that.

I love the sound of that Simm deal. Is your iphone locked to a network? I am with 3 so I am wondering would this be an option for me rather than the tracfones.

Good move on the reef socks. Anything that saves luggague weight and room gets my vote.

Well I am flattered that you thank me! I am delighted to read about the ordering of maxi dresses. I wonder do you have set evenings in mind for each piece or will decide on the cruise?

Can't wait to see!

 

[dolphingirl47]

That is great you are meeting up with the jewellery expert.

I am so excited about this.

I am impressed by them bringing a portable kit and making you items in the spot. How amazing is that.

I thought so, too. We have had a few sessions over the years via FaceTime where she was working on some of the more complex pieces that I commissioned while we were online with each other. This made those pieces even more special.

Is your iphone locked to a network?

It was locked to O2, but it was really easy to ask them to unlock it.

I am with 3 so I am wondering would this be an option for me rather than the tracfones.

I have just checked how this works with 3 and apparently any devices bought through them since January 2014 are automatically unlocked. So you should just be able to put a US SIM in your phone.

I am delighted to read about the ordering of maxi dresses.

I am really pleased that I came to that decision.

I wonder do you have set evenings in mind for each piece or will decide on the cruise?

For the most part, I will decide on the cruise. However, I think I will wear this on my birthday unless it is formal night or semi formal night on that day, in which case it will be a gown.



Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am so excited about this.



I thought so, too. We have had a few sessions over the years via FaceTime where she was working on some of the more complex pieces that I commissioned while we were online with each other. This made those pieces even more special.



It was locked to O2, but it was really easy to ask them to unlock it.



I have just checked how this works with 3 and apparently any devices bought through them since January 2014 are automatically unlocked. So you should just be able to put a US SIM in your phone.



I am really pleased that I came to that decision.



For the most part, I will decide on the cruise. However, I think I will wear this on my birthday unless it is formal night or semi formal night on that day, in which case it will be a gown.

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Corinna

Imagine my delight to check in to a sneak preview! That birthday dress is lovely. I adore the colour and the belt detail. I can only imagine a lovely new jewellery item to complete this.
Thank you for simm info I am excited about that. Which one did you get?

I am impressed once more facetime doing a consultant. Is there no end to this jewellery persons flexibility and talent. We need more people like him or her.

Can't wait to see!

 

[Flossbolna]

This is a lovely dress! Which day is your birthday? I kind of knew from your Aulani trip report that you were a November baby, too. Mine is on the 6th.

 

[dolphingirl47]

That birthday dress is lovely.

Thanks. I really love it and it was good value, too.

I adore the colour and the belt detail.

Royal blue is my favourite colour.

I can only imagine a lovely new jewellery item to complete this.

Unfortunately I won't get my new jewellery until Boston. The rose gold pendant and he Gaudi pendant will make a return appearance and something may just have jumped in my basket at Amazon.

Which one did you get?

Lyca Mobile USA.

I am impressed once more facetime doing a consultant. Is there no end to this jewellery persons flexibility and talent. We need more people like him or her.

She is an amazing artist and an amazing person.

Which day is your birthday? I kind of knew from your Aulani trip report that you were a November baby, too. Mine is on the 6th.

I am just over a week behind you. Mine is the 14th.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

I am just over a week behind you. Mine is the 14th.

That is easy to remember, my best friend from university was born on a 14th of November, too. But she is a couple of years older than you.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Well, the stars alined for for me last night after I signed off from here.

As soon as we were debating keeping the car for our time in Orlando, too, Graham mentioned that this would mean that we can eat offsite. He is not very keen on most Disney restaurants. I was happy to humour him in this regard, but had not done anything about cancelling reservations.

Out of the reservations we had, I really only feel strongly about three. One of those does not affect Graham at all as this is the Jungle Navigation Co., Ltd. Skipper Canteen and Graham won't come to the parties with me. The other two are The Boat House and Boma. I have sent Graham the menu for The Boat House yesterday evening and asked him what he thinks. I hope that he is going to be about this.

That left Boma. Now this one, I intend to but my foot down on. There was however one issue. Our reservation was for 19:25 on 30th November. This is now a Universal day and I was worried this would make things rather hectic. I figured the best day to go to Boma would be the day we arrive in Orlando. So about a week ago, I started checking availability for that day multiple times a day. I only found reservations at 16:40 and 20:50. The first one is too early for my liking and the last one too late. I decided to check one last time just before going to bed last night and a 17:55 reservation had become available. This is perfect and I jumped on this. I cancelled all the other reservations at the same time. I hope that I will get to keep The Boat House.

In other news, the suitcase arrived yesterday and I love it. It is a lovely antique gold and should really stand out on the luggage belt. It is a little smaller than I had anticipated, but it should do nicely. I have now submitted the details for the activation of my SIM card. Apparently it can take up to 24 hours for this to go through. Then I can let people that need it have my phone number. I also have now purchased the My Universal Photos.

So the things that are now outstanding before I can leave are:
Put together spreadsheet with dining times on the ship
Print documents
Pack

Those are the things that I have control over. I am still waiting for 6 maxi dresses to arrive as well as the piece of jewellery that I ordered yesterday. I also have three more books on pre-order that will be released tomorrow and Monday. Once they have been released, I need to remember that I download them from the Cloud onto my iPad.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

I am not sure if this helps your case, but Michael who is not too keen on Disney dining (he thinks it is very overpriced) absolutely loves The Boathouse. He has eaten there three times already and I was told that this is the one restaurant that is a must do on our upcoming trip. He says the atmosphere and service have always been wonderful and he recommends getting the filet mignon sliders if you like steak.

Looks like you are already very organized!!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Exciting update Corinna!

That is great news that you got a better time at Boma's. Oh how I love those zebra dome's! You cannot leave Boma's until you have eaten your body weight in those. It is a delightful buffet in a gorgeous setting.

I haven't eaten in The Boathouse but it looks lovely and the reviews are as high as the ceilings. I have seen inside it looks amazing.

I do like antique gold. Your suitcase sounds eye candy. Good luck with sim card let me know how it goes.

Are the maxi dressers the same design but different colours?

 

[Flossbolna]

What kind of suitcase did you end up getting? I find suitcase shopping so difficult! But antique gold sounds quite wonderful!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am not sure if this helps your case, but Michael who is not too keen on Disney dining (he thinks it is very overpriced) absolutely loves The Boathouse.

Graham's assessment of most Disney dining is overpriced and mediocre. I was planning to show him this tonight, but when I had my dinner break at work, I found an email from Graham that we can keep the reservation and that the menu looks nice.

He says the atmosphere and service have always been wonderful and he recommends getting the filet mignon sliders if you like steak.

Thank Michael for the tip. We both love steak.

Looks like you are already very organized!!

I am not quite sure where this is coming from. My work to do list is going equally well with only 8 items to tick off between now and Tuesday.

Oh how I love those zebra dome's! You cannot leave Boma's until you have eaten your body weight in those.

I am fully intending to do just that. If I am quite honest, I am going to Boma for the soups and the zebra domes.

I do like antique gold. Your suitcase sounds eye candy.

I really like it.

Good luck with sim card let me know how it goes.

Well, the activation was quick and smooth. Now it just has to work when we get to Boston.

Are the maxi dressers the same design but different colours?

No, they are a total of 3 different styles. The one I have shared is the most stunning though. All the dresses have now arrived.

What kind of suitcase did you end up getting?

A Samsonite Neopulse 81cm:

I find suitcase shopping so difficult!

I am with you on that.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great news the dresses have arrived. I love the suitcase.

The pound / dollar rate got a little better today...