It's Better Than Stuffed Mezzaluna with Sausage! [Update 4/11: Link to TR!]

[RachelNinja]

While most people have grandiose plans for their Friday nights, my typical plan (if you would even call it a plan) is to stay at home and nap. Being a teacher is tiring, so by the time my weekend rolls around, I'm exhausted! This is why I normally don't go out to eat with my family. However, the prospect of having Olive Garden's "Four Cheese Stuffed Mezzaluna with Sausage" special for dinner lured me away from the comforts of my warm bed. With a description like this - crescent-shaped ravioli filled with four Italian cheeses, tossed with grilled Italian sausage and roma tomatoes in a creamy homemade tomato alfredo sauce, topped with melted mozzarella - I had no choice!

Two bowls of Zuppa Toscana and one breadstick later, our friendly, efficient server brought our meals. It was actually funny because my father, mother, and I all ordered the same entree! After one bite, our conversation steered towards Florida.

Here's the thing: We have a timeshare in Kissimmee in April, but the week does not always line up with our vacation times for school. In 2010, it lined up with mine, but unfortunately, it didn't match my brother's. We tried switching the week to the February break, but the search yielded no results! We then thought that I could use the week with my friends, but my cousin's boyfriend's spring break is the week before mine. It was a grim situation! Until ...

Me: We should just go in April then since we have the week, and it'll be cheaper (no exchange rate with RCI).

Momsicles: (to my dad in Chinese so that my younger brother wouldn't understand) Do you think we should just go that week and have him miss 3 days of school?

Popsicles: Yeah, do you think he'll mind missing 3 days of school?

Momsicles: (to ... uhh, brothersicles in English) Would you mind missing 3 days of school in April?

Bro: What days?

Momsicles: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Bro: Of course I don't mind; I hate Wednesdays to Fridays.

And thus, my brother's hatred of those 3 days of the school week secured our trip to FLORIDA! WOOHOO! I was so ecstatic that I literally threw both arms into the arm and started bouncing in my seat as I laughed. It was impossible for me to eat after that. Momsicles jokingly said, "Dear daughter, calm down and eat your dinner" (haha, she doesn't actually speak like that so it was funny).

As excited as I was to inhale that yummy four cheese goodness with sausage, my mind immediately jumped to planning our trip to WDW! Thankfully, there's such a thing as take home containers because I can now enjoy my leftovers today while I read about Disney Disney Disney! Oh, and grade papers and plan lessons for next week ...

Ahhh, the life of a teacher ... WHO IS GOING TO DISNEY IN APRIL 2010!

Table of Contents

The Cast: A Rather Wordy Introduction
Possible Guest Appearance
86%
Mini Me
Ninja's Top 10 Disney Songs
Cringe-Worthy
Experiencing Disney with DBF - Part I
Experiencing Disney with DBF - Part II
Experiencing Disney with DBF - Part III
It All Comes Back to Disney: Incorporating Disney In My Lesson Plans
Comic Howard and Rae: Our First Disney "Pictures"
Comic Howard and Rae: Our First Disney "Pictures" (continued)
Comic Howard and Rae: Our First Disney "Pictures" (continued)
Comic Howard and Rae: Our First Disney "Pictures" (continued)
Comic Howard and Rae: Our First Disney "Pictures" (continued, last one!)
Flashback 2008 - We Found Nemo!
Flashback 2008 - Just a Sandwich?
Digi Scrapbook Practice - Bike Ride
Digi Scrapbook Practice - Fancy Party
Take a Look, It's in a Book!
Our 1st Christmas Eve Together
Being a NYC Tourist
DHS Research - Hollywood Blvd
A Disney Christmas
DHS Research - Echo Lake
Stroller Photos
Japan Photos + It All Comes Back to Disney!
A New Park Bag!!!
An $11 Snack/Souvenir?
DHS Research - Streets of America
Happy 24th Birthday, Weird!
DHS Research - Pixar Place and Mickey Avenue
DHS Research - Animation Courtyard
Best Vocabulary Sentence
DHS Research - Sunset Boulevard
DHS Research - Other
Weird's and Ninja's New Toys!
To Cut or Not To Cut: A Hair Dilemma
Trip Journal
Picture Perfect - Part I
Picture Perfect - Part II
Picture Perfect - Part III
Picture Perfect - Part IV
Two Quick Comments
Trip Mascot
Trip Mascot: A Surprise Twist!
Guest Assistance Card
We Have Arrived!
Learning in Epcot!

And here's the trip report for this PTR:
Weird and Ninja’s Pre-Disneymoon

 

[HowWeird]

I wish I could've been there to record that conversation! Short, sweet, and VERY rewarding! I'm so excited for you!

And maybe I can fly down for a few days

YAY FOR PTR!!

 

[irky416]

Yay! I'm so excited for you!

Although, I have to disagree with your brother. Wednesday to Friday are the best days of the week because it means the week is almost over.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[RachelNinja]

The Cast: A Rather Wordy Introduction

Me (25): As you can tell by my username, my name is Rachel although I prefer Rae. If you were to ask my students to describe me, they would say that I'm a teacher who loves Disney and penguins and is also terrified of buffalo and people in bunny costumes. That's me in a nutshell!

My DBF likes taking pictures of me whenever we go get sushi

For a more detailed version ... this is my 3rd year teaching middle school, and I cannot imagine myself doing anything else! I teach 6th and 8th English Language Arts, 6th and 7th math, 7th Bible, 6th-8th Verbal Coach (in preparation for state tests), and 6th Math Coach. As much as I may complain, I believe teachers have better jobs than anyone else. We have very minimal pay (I get even less because I'm at a private school) and actually work more than most people (it's a lie if you believe teachers are done with the work day at 3pm), I think that teachers have much better rewards by leading a more fulfilled life. All the stresses of faculty conferences, students with IEPs, and parents who think that teachers are ALWAYS to blame go away when there's that one student who finally understands a concept or who choose to behave and focus in class due to one teacher's encouragement. It's really mind-boggling when I remember how much influence I have on the lives of my students.

Other than the fact that teaching is a rewarding experience, what other job allows one to bring in so much Disney into the workplace?!? For example, the latest assignment in ELA is in creative writing. Each student has to rewrite a fairytale for the point of view of a misunderstood antagonist in the same style as Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. In the book, the wolf tells the story how it really happened. I love it when there are twists like that, which is why I also really like the movie Hoodwinked! Anyway, I told the students they could pick a well-known fairytale (ex. Hansel & Gretel or Jack & the Beanstalk) or classic Disney movie (ex. Cinderella or Snow White) or Aesop's Fable (ex. Tortoise & the Hare). Though grading writing assignments can be difficult, it makes it that much easier to read some papers related to Disney movies and characters!

Though there are probably more things that I can include to explain myself, I really don't think much of it is important at this time. That's probably due to the fact that I'm writing up lesson plans while thinking about this PTR ... haha, Disney + teaching is a great combination!

My family after my younger brother's elementary school graduation. Please don't mind the hearts! My mom doesn't want their pics posted.

Momsicles: My best friend in the entire world! I know people love planning the occasional vacations with their friends, but I have been blessed to go on every vacation with mine! At the moment, she's a stay-at-home mom, but she is in the process of looking for a job since my dad lost his (love the economy, don't you?). She took the certification test to be a teacher's aide/para and passed with flying colors! My mom is such a role model for me in terms of her patience and her love for children. She teaches junior worship at church to the same age group that I teach at work. Though she doesn't obsess about Disney, she does enjoy it, mainly because she knows how much her kids enjoy it.

One of the things we love to do is have tea together and chat. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen often because I'm usually at my desktop working on lesson plans or grading (and because we're slightly germaphobic, I won't bring my students' papers to the kitchen table). On rare occasions, we make it out to eat together. We love going to Charlie Brown's and enjoying the salad bar or dining at Outback to have a bleu cheese chopped salad. A vacation will be good for us to get away from all the stresses of our daily lives so we can enjoy each other's company!

Popsicles: I don't have the best relationship with my dad only because it's uncommon for Asian fathers to be open and transparent. As I grew up, my dad always expected me to get good grades so part of me believed that he was never happy with what I did. For example, when I came home from school with the news that I would be graduating as the salutatorian of my high school, my dad asked, "Why aren't you graduating number 1?" It obviously deflated my excitement. But years later, I found out that he bragged about me to all of his friends. He just never let me know that he was proud of me.

Two months ago, my dad had major surgery to remove a kidney. When our family found out about the mass, things changed for us. We became closer as a family, and thankfully, that has stuck for the most part. I don't know why this was what it took for us to begin appreciating us, but now that it's behind us, I'm grateful that we got something good out of it. Though my dad and I may not ever sit down to have a heart-to-heart, he's my one-and-only father whom I will always love.

BTW, does anyone know where I got the nicknames "momsicles and popsicles"?

Matt (11): In my previous TR, I referred to him as Piglet. This kid does NOT like school. It's such a struggle for my mom to get him to do his homework or study. He still gets good grades, but if he put effort into his work, he would be getting higher grades. There's a bit of resentment in him though because he feels as if he's living in my shadow. My parents used to bring up my good grades and my academic accomplishments. He's just not that kind of kid. Academics just don't make it in his list of concerns. The things that are on his list of interests at this time are the following: (1) basketball - he looks up stats, has teams memorized, and even plays online games about bball, (2) guitar - he's learning the acoustic via a book and videos on YouTube, he used to play Guitar Hero for hours on end and watch School of Rock over and over [in fact, he's watching it right now and practicing his drumming because he does that too], and (3) Wimpy Kid - such a chore to get him to pick up a book to read, but he'll reread the Wimpy Kid books every day if he could [I don't blame him though; they're funny!].

As a family, we NEED this vacation. We have had a rough two years with my father losing his job, my older brother losing his job a few months after, finding out that my father had a mass on his kidney, waiting to have it removed and finding out that it was indeed cancerous, and then taking care of him during the recovery time after having a major organ removed. We couldn't go on vacation for a while because of the situations, but now that it's possible, we're grabbing that chance. That's the only reason why we're okay with Matt missing 3 days of school. Normally, we wouldn't even consider it. I especially wouldn't have liked it since it gives me more work when my students are absent for vacations. But sometimes it really is more important to have family time. Sometimes it's okay for school to be pushed to the back.

Well, those are the cast members at this moment! I hope it changes though ... wait for the next installment to see why!

 

[Brave teacher]

Hey! I found you. I am glad to hear that your dad is doing well after the sugery. You sure do have a lot of preps! Since I am teaching high school, I get just the one. My subject area lends itself a lot to discussions of Disney as well. I love that it can incorporate so easily into the day.

I look forward to hearing more.

 

[RachelNinja]

Thanks to those have climbed on board! It's always nice to have readers

I wish I could've been there to record that conversation! Short, sweet, and VERY rewarding! I'm so excited for you!

And maybe I can fly down for a few days

YAY FOR PTR!!

I'm so glad I actually went out for that dinner! If I get news like that when eating with my fam on Friday nights, I'm going to have to go more often!

Yay! I'm so excited for you!

Although, I have to disagree with your brother. Wednesday to Friday are the best days of the week because it means the week is almost over.

Can't wait to read more!

YAY! Irky's here! Haha, when Weird and I talk about you, we still say "irky" instead of using your real name. Yesterday we were watching Men in Black and MIIB on TV since we were babysitting Matt. I think it was the second one, but there was a scene where they showed all the aliens at the headquarters checking in as if they were in an airport. They panned all these strange-looking creatures, and then suddenly I got so scared because they showed these aliens with bird faces! It was so terrifying! Weird said, "Irky would NOT like this movie."

I agree! One of the other teachers at my school told me last year that she has this thing about "Already Wednesday." It's not quite the end of the week yet, so she tells herself, "It's ALREADY Wednesday!" It gives us the right mindset to get through the rest of the week!

Hey! I found you. I am glad to hear that your dad is doing well after the sugery. You sure do have a lot of preps! Since I am teaching high school, I get just the one. My subject area lends itself a lot to discussions of Disney as well. I love that it can incorporate so easily into the day.

I look forward to hearing more.

It's really crazy how much I have to teach, but it's because I'm at a small school. We actually only have one class per grade. I try to make it easier on myself by using the same assignments, at least for ELA. That's why I have both 6th and 8th grade writing that "Misunderstood Antagonist" story. I, of course, expect more from the 8th grade, but anything to make my weeks go by with less stress is always good!

I'm curious to know what kinds of Disney discussions you have in your class!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm here! Saw your post on another TR and decided to join in. I'm a teacher too (though still looking for something full-time...). Oh yes, and I'm going in April 2010 too.

 

[RachelNinja]

I'm here! Saw your post on another TR and decided to join in. I'm a teacher too (though still looking for something full-time...). Oh yes, and I'm going in April 2010 too.

Thanks for joining me! When I was leaving work today, I told our administrative assistant that I'm going in April because she's going with her family in December. I was just so so so jealous, but now I have something to look forward to as well! Even though she'll get her WDW fix earlier, after her trip is over, I'll still have mine to look forward to!

That's one of the great things about my job - a handful of Disney fanatics! I'm curious to know if teachers or people who work in schools have a higher possibility of being Disney fans. Maybe it's that kid in us! My younger brother said that I don't act my age because I love Disney. If he only knew all these DISers!

 

[RachelNinja]

Possible Guest Appearance

While at Olive Garden on that lovely Friday night, another memorable conversation took place. Every time we plan on vacation, it never fails. My dad has to say, "Then maybe Jon can fly down for a few days."

Jonathan (27) is my older brother. He moved out years ago, and although he's the life of the party with his church friends and former college friends, he's typically reserved when he's with us. He vacations with his own friends quite often, usually snowboarding or just going to other states for friends' weddings. I don't even remember the last time he went on vacation with us.

But my dad always says it anyway. It's something my mom and I have come to expect. The next thing he said, however, was entirely a surprise! He said, "Howard should fly down for a few days."

Haha, this is where I need to insert the surprised smiley face!

Howard (23), or HowWeird on DIS, is my boyfriend and future hubby. It was just so shocking to hear my dad say that because it's so unlike him! Weird and I actually dated when we were both still in college. We were together for about 6 months before we broke up. There was just too much of an age gap, or at least that's what I believed. I felt that since I was graduating college and moving on to "real life" things, it didn't make sense to still be with someone who was still in college. It was also due to personality clashes. At that time, I was very "independent" in the sense that I just didn't want to rely on anyone or be completely vulnerable. Weird was also different then too as he wasn't really involved at church and was still coming out of his shell. It just made more sense to go back to being friends.

This is when we dated in college.

Of course, that was easier said than done. We ended up fighting all the time. We went through phases when we didn't talk much at all. He became interested in another girl, and months later, I was interested in another guy. During the end of the 2007-2008 school year, things started looking up. Our church was having a coffeehouse with skits and performances. My cousin even wrote a musical for it! That time of preparation and rehearsal gave us an opportunity to get much closer again. Soon, before we knew it, we were back together once more. And for GOOD!

The closest thing we can get to WDW at the moment - World of Disney in NYC.

It took me a lot of courage to take pictures with these characters!

Because we were apart for 2 years, we had a good amount of time to grow as individuals, get all of the fighting out of our systems, and realize that we are better off together. For the past year, we haven't really had a fight since we appreciate one another and realize that it's just not worth it. Plus, Weird's not a fighter even though I was raised to argue (thanks, Dad!). He knows how to prevent things from escalating.

At South Street Seaport ... love the timer function on cameras!

Thankfully, my parents also love him too. My mom liked him even when we dated the first time around (Weird and I call that FTA for "first time around"). My dad, however, was not a fan. His issue with Weird was that he was a guy ... dating his daughter ... his only daughter. Haha. This time around (TTA - perfect especially since the Tomorrowland Transit Authority is my favorite ride!), my dad appreciates him. Their relationship got even better because Weird was very helpful after my dad's surgery (driving us to and from the hospital, helping care for my younger brother, etc.). For me, that works out well since the plan is for me to eventually become Mrs. Weird!

Our first fancy party together.

The thing I have to do now is see how serious my dad was about having Weird fly down for a few days! Because our trip date is secure, I'm going to have to find out if my DBF should be booking a flight some time soon! If so, it'll be an even better trip! We are huge Disney fans, and I know flat Weird and Ninja really want to see the parks too!

Wait, who are flat Weird and Ninja? You'll have to wait until the next installment to find out!

 

[Brave teacher]

I hope that both Jon Weird are able to join yall for the week. It is so much fun when an extra person comes.

I enjoyed hearing about your story of your history with DBF.

Since I stick with teaching things about choices and financial decisions, the topic is able to come up a lot. Plus, we discuss competing businesses - Universal vs. WDW, etc.

 

[HowWeird]

I always get a little sad when I think about our story. There's just something about it that reminds me of our time apart and how difficult that was at times. But then I think about the fact that we're together again and I can't help but smile!

I really hope your dad's serious about me going down there "for a few days"! I mean, even if I go down for just a few days in actuality or the week, it'll be really fun! But even if I can't go, I'm happy for you because you really do deserve some Disney!

 

[wdwgirl03]

That's one of the great things about my job - a handful of Disney fanatics! I'm curious to know if teachers or people who work in schools have a higher possibility of being Disney fans. Maybe it's that kid in us! My younger brother said that I don't act my age because I love Disney. If he only knew all these DISers!

Isn't it funny how many teachers are on the DIS?! It must be the kid in us.

 

[irky416]

I always think of you as Ninja and Weird, too! Haha. And my sister and DBF used to call me irky (where the name came from...weird thing we used to do with turning part of our names backwards and adding a y...), so it's all good and I would totally answer to that.

And you're right, I do NOT like that part of MIB!

You and Weird are so cute together! I am dying to go to World of Disney in NYC (or just NYC in general!) and now that I know there are characters there, I have to get there! For some reason, the character pictures didn't register with me the first time I saw them.

That would be so awesome if Weird got to go to WDW with you guys! I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Your thread is making me want to do a TR for my MNSSHP trip.

 

[RachelNinja]

I hope that both Jon Weird are able to join yall for the week. It is so much fun when an extra person comes.

I enjoyed hearing about your story of your history with DBF.

Since I stick with teaching things about choices and financial decisions, the topic is able to come up a lot. Plus, we discuss competing businesses - Universal vs. WDW, etc.

I agree! I'll enjoy going with just my parents and Matt, but it would definitely be more fun to share the magic with someone else, particularly Weird!

I love reading the stories of how couples got together. I think Weird and I have a pretty interesting one. Haha, or at least we think so! There are times when we just stop and pause as we think, "WOW, we're back TOGETHER!" After we broke up, I was very insistent when talking with my mom that I would NEVER go out with him again. Haha. My mom thought otherwise. She wanted to tell Weird, "Just give her some time."

The Universal vs. WDW thing sounds interesting!

I always get a little sad when I think about our story. There's just something about it that reminds me of our time apart and how difficult that was at times. But then I think about the fact that we're together again and I can't help but smile!

I really hope your dad's serious about me going down there "for a few days"! I mean, even if I go down for just a few days in actuality or the week, it'll be really fun! But even if I can't go, I'm happy for you because you really do deserve some Disney!

No sadness! We needed it, right? That time apart, I mean.

Hehe, now you know how serious my dad is!

Isn't it funny how many teachers are on the DIS?! It must be the kid in us.

I definitely think there should be a thread about how teachers incorporate Disney in their lessons or in their classrooms! I know there's a thread for teachers on the community board, but I think there should be one geared specifically for how Disney is used!

I started this thread a while back: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2276263

I always think of you as Ninja and Weird, too! Haha. And my sister and DBF used to call me irky (where the name came from...weird thing we used to do with turning part of our names backwards and adding a y...), so it's all good and I would totally answer to that.

And you're right, I do NOT like that part of MIB!

You and Weird are so cute together! I am dying to go to World of Disney in NYC (or just NYC in general!) and now that I know there are characters there, I have to get there! For some reason, the character pictures didn't register with me the first time I saw them.

That would be so awesome if Weird got to go to WDW with you guys! I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Your thread is making me want to do a TR for my MNSSHP trip.

Now I feel as if I'm in the know because I understand the name!!! Haha, that makes me so happy.

DO IT DO IT DO IT! Write one for your recent trip! Feel the peer pressure, irky!

 

[RachelNinja]

86%

I really should head to bed, but I needed to write quick update ...

Yesterday during dinner, the topic of Florida came up again. Haha, it's not just me who brings up WDW related topics! Matt has now started reading The Hidden Magic of WDW so now he knows more than the average Disney goer too!

It was the perfect time for me to start this conversation:

Me (to my Popsicles): How serious were you about having Weird fly down for a few days?

Popsicles: It's up to him.

IT'S UP TO HIM! Haha, it's up to you, Weird! The ball's in your court! Haha, not that either of us has a thing for sports ...

I was so thrilled and still am! I wasn't sure if my dad was being serious, but he definitely is! He said that he could fly down for Monday to Friday! Those are all the days we'll be there other than driving down on Sat/Sun and then leaving the following Saturday morning! Right now Weird is 86% sure he will go.

There are so many things that I would enjoy showing him since he hasn't been there in AGES. I know I shouldn't get ahead of myself though so I'm not going to say anything else ...

 

[irky416]

For some reason, being 86% sure cracked me up!

 

[RachelNinja]

For some reason, being 86% sure cracked me up!

Haha, Weird said 85% initially, and it moved up that 1%! Little by little, we're going to get to that 100%! That was what my Facebook status meant

Last he told me, he was up to 90%!

 

[RachelNinja]

Mini Me

On a lonely day in May 2007, I stumbled across something called Virtual Magic Kingdom on the Disney website. Since I had nothing better to do and no wedding to attend (haha, I was upset that day because I wasn't invited to a wedding of a family friend although my cousins were), I signed myself up and created a little avatar by the name of RachelNinja. What I didn't know then was that VMK would play a HUGE part of my life for the next year.

VMK was basically a tiny, virtual version of everything I loved about Disney World. It had the same areas as the parks and minigames to earn credits to buy items. There are many multiplayer games like this, but none can compare to VMK, especially to Disney fans.

I raved about it to Howard and he too created an avatar named HowWeird (hence the whole "Weird" nickname). Together we explored each land, completed quests to win more prizes, and played The Haunted Mansion game to earn credits. Eventually we both bought quest machines for 30,000 credits each so that we could trade credits for items no longer sold in the game as well as make up fun quests for each other.

Playing HM with Weird! Don't mind our lovely conversation

I ended up having more time for VMK than Weird did, so I would play Castle Fireworks: Remixed for extra credits. I would then trade them for 2 of each item (mainly hats) so that we could match in the game. He would do the quest I made for him with clues that led him to places where we had special memories so that he could win the prize I got for him!

It was also more than just fun and games. The reason why I relied on it so heavily was because during that year, I got really sick. I have many health problems that required daily medication, medical procedures, and surgeries. VMK gave me an escape. Little Ninja (haha, and my "mules" Jinit, GirlyNinja, RaeWrites, and BigBertha) were happy and healthy, and I could live vicariously through them during the time I played.

VMK made me love Disney even more since I was able to be there every day! It also made me realize how much I missed Weird. Though we did fight a few times in game (haha, usually while playing HM), in general, it brought us back together. Weird and Ninja flirted all the time, and I guess it was a way for us to flirt but not openly. Haha, we blamed it on our avatars! Oh, those crazy kids.

Here are a few of our memories! Haha, there are plenty more, but these are the only ones I can find:

Real Weird LOVES Tron. I really don't know why! I gave in and watched it over the summer and couldn't understand the appeal. Hehe. Anyway, when we found an entire room full of Tron cabinets, Weird and Ninja wanted to steal one since the game that gave them out as prizes was no longer in existence. We were joking, of course, and there was no way we could actually steal it, but we thought it was funny. Only after the fact did we realize that there was someone sitting in the room! You can see the person in the bottom lefthand corner.

During the Year of Million Dreams promotion, VMK hosts would stop by random rooms to distribute dream ears. Everyone wanted them. We would camp out to wait. One of the rooms we stayed in was filled with fellow DISers. To pass the time, we'd play games like the ugly costume game! We'd put on the most random pieces of outfits. It was silly but definitely memorable to be with many other DISers! This is also a good picture to show a lot of the costumes.

I'm in the middle left with the Jafar hat, cowboy vest, green superhero pants, and HSM Gabriella shoes. Weird is standing next to the blue candycane with the green backwards cap and cowboy shirt.

In May of 2008, VMK officially closed. Despite the protests of fans, it just ended. Something that was so important to so many people was just gone. Sure, it seems as if it was JUST a game, but it really was more than that. There were so many stories of people with illnesses that played VMK like I did to take away the pain in reality. A known example was Slinkyman (http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1440471) who used the game to help him get through cancer treatments. There were many friendships made because of the game. A couple even got married after "meeting" on VMK!

The last day VMK was opened was devastating. It was the end of an "era" (plus, a kid scammed me out of the best magic pin in the game called "Dancing Inferno" - the ability to dance with a ring of fire around your avatar). The game was extremely laggy because so many were on. Weird and I decided to sign out earlier than the closing time because of the lag and also because we wanted to be in control of when it ended.

The last words that they said to each other were:

BTW, we had to say "glove" because some words, like love, were blocked from chat. And yes, we were sitting inside those Tron cabinets.

Ahhh, writing about it now still makes me incredibly sad! I miss it so much! But on to the brighter side of things ...

To keep our avatars alive, we saved them from the final BSOD (black screen of death) by printing them out and having them laminated. This idea became popular when we knew VMK was ending but another DISer named AmberDaze had already done it earlier. We wanted them to live the life outside of VMK and enjoy each other's company. Though they've had many experiences (the link to a thread FILLED with pictures of flat Weird and Ninja is in my signature!), they have never been to WDW!

We celebrated Weird and Ninja's real life birthday by going to Dunkin Donuts after watching Prince Caspian.

This was the laminated sheet of my flats. You can see my other characters (as well as Weird) there too.

- RachelNinja has the Minnie/princess hat (the ONE thing I really wanted in the game and finally traded to get it!
- Jinit has the crown and the purple clothes. She was always calm in the game. When she played a game of HM with Weird, she was all business-like!
- GirlyNinja has the straw hat with the sunglasses and Mickey shoes. She was the "cool" one out of the bunch.
- RaeWrites is the one with pigtails and glasses. She was working on a novel. But it took her a while to write it since she was also a pink superhero!
- BigBertha is the green one with pink hair! She just represented my weird side.

Random life experiences are great! They had fun at World of Disney, and they had fun in Virginia and Vancouver. But DISNEY is what they crave! Now they will finally get the chance to be in the REAL Disney World!

 

[Brave teacher]

I too found humor in the 86%. I mean, it is such a random number.

I'm glad to hear it's up to him. Come on Weird. WHat's it gonna be?

 

[HowWeird]

Haha I just had to slowly edge it up 1% at a time! I'm secretly 100% in my mind, but I just want to make sure everything is okay before I go out and say 100%! Like Ninja said, I am at 90% now, so that was a whole 4% increase! (I'm daring, I know)

I loved those Tron cabinets. I wish I had them in real life. I did really enjoy being able to flirt with you while we were not together on VMK. I think that got a lot of the subconscious feelings out that just needed to be expressed!