serinde

Neither my passport nor my checkbook is in their accustomed locale. (Indeed I haven't seen my passport since moving, I don't think. Or have I? fkdljaf;jsdkf;jaskdjkdf)

A number of you took amusement from my relay of messages-inna-bottle from elibalin's Expedition of the Damned to outer Pennsylvania. You same lot are likely, therefore, to enjoy his expanded notes.

So, almost everyone at CUNY other than the Big Shot Executives is represented by (and pays union dues to) one of two unions. The faculty and certain random others (e.g., the "educational technologists" downstairs, and the Lab Guy) are part of PSC; everyone else, from $OFFICEMATE to minions to the hewers of wood and drawers of water, are in DC 37. Both of those units negotiated new contracts that just went into effect, so everyone got a nice whomp of retroactive pay in today's check.

Except for three people, that is: $BOSS, spride, and myself. We are "classified managerial" staff. We get benefits like the PSC members, but other than that our salaries are governed by the whims of the CUNY Vice Chancellor for Faculty and Staff Relations. When it pleases him and his court to so do, he issues a "Personnel Policy Bulletin" which declares unto the people that yea, the Classified Managerial titles shall be increased unto 2 or even 3%.

Now, the last one was almost two years ago, so it might be expected that a goodie may be coming down the pike; except that the city and state budgets are both completely in the shitter. The unions, of course, are large and powerful and can say to CUNY "I do not give two tugs of a dead dog's cock for your budget issues, you will give our people raises or we will walk," and CUNY hears and tremblingly obeys. We few haunted spirits do not have this kind of clout, and can go whistle for MOR MUNNEYZ.

(There is also the concept of a "merit increase", which is controlled at the college level, but my gossips tell me that Her Presidentness--a corporate lawyer appointed by Emperor Rudy, she is--has been sitting on the sysadmins' merit increases for, let's see it's now November, so for a full year.)

I have many burbling thoughts about the current Disney World experience, but I am tired and am not sure I'm up to putting it all in. We shall see how far I get. In meantime: I have a bunch of delicious leftover gloppy Moroccan food; do we think it's likely to get bounced by the TSA as a Spooooooky Liquid? It's a little thicker than curry.

Magic Kingdom, the Short Form: There's really not a lot there I'm interested in these days. Space Mountain, chiefly, which I will walk across broken glass for. (I do not, however, recall it shaking my bra off on previous visits.) Some of the Tomorrowland stuff is still kinda nifty in a wacky retro way, and I'll admit to having a good time on the rocket ships.

General Annoyance: Any ride where they have decided to "reimagine" it, not by redoing it entirely, but by having $PRODUCT pastede on yay. The most egregious example of this was Stitch's Great Escape, neé Alien Encounter. They changed almost none of the physical plant except cosmetic lettering & labelling, and making the horrific Cthulhoid alien that crops up in the middle into a 3' tall Stitch. Everything else was animated projections on viewscreens of characters you have not heard of and do not care about with an exceedingly lame plot sort of pieced together around it. -500, would not ride again, even if it was pouring rain outside.

Similarly, in Epcot, the Living Seas, formerly an actual learning experience (however mild), is now "The Seas with Nemo and Friends" which consists of you riding v e r y s l o w l y through a tunnel while having characters from the film projected onto empty fish tanks or undersea sets in front of you. There is even less plot than the previous example, and mostly consists of every character calling "Nemo! Nemo!" while Nemo giggles and swims offscreen. I wanted to take an axe to the whole thing.

Less annoying: Pirates of the Caribbean now has animatronic Captain Jack Sparrows in random places, in a sort of Where's Waldo kind of way. Meh, whatever. Expected it. Universe of Energy now has Ellen DeGeneres imported, without the ride/experience/thing changing much; also meh, whatever. There are still dinosaurs which is, I think, what most people who actually give a crap come to the table for.

A far better example of a partial redo is Journey into Imagination, now Imagination!. They decided that the weird bearded guy wasn't doing it, but Figment the dragonling was, so they re-themed the concept as an imagination lab thingie where Figment is sort of created, or discovered, or something. There are still elements of the previous version, there are even some recycled sets, but it doesn't feel patchwork; the whole thing hangs together tolerably well.

Some really awesome new shit: Test Track (formerly Worlds of Motion) (it was always a GM commercial, but now you get a bitchin' ride that goes very very fast beforehand) and Mission:Space with its space training simulator. I was prepared to be annoyed, because I sorta liked Horizons with its Visions of Future Cities in Inhospitable Environments (though I expect it would be awfully dated now); but the simulator converted me. I am here to tell you, my children, that 2.5 Gs doesn't sound like much until it is pulling on your face. Total Fucking Nerd Moment: I spotted the old Horizons symbol, from back when Epcot had such things, in the center of the wheel-shaped space station model right inside the entrance on the right side. Nice touch.

There is a new ride in The Land, called "Soarin'", which is apparently all that and a bag of chips, since the line was never less than a hour. So I did not bother.

Post-ride playground breakdown: Mission:Space awesome, Spaceship Earth and Test Track pretty good, The Seas, Universe of Energy, and "Innoventions" (formerly Communicore) meh (though that latter is probably better for smaller kids; but words fail to express my opinion of the "Segway Test Zone"), Imagination! serious weaksauce--especially compared to what it used to be.

World Showcase is as it has ever been, only with a Food and Wine Festival added. That is where all my money went. Little kiosks all over the place, each brought to you by a different city's tourism board, with delicious bite-sized food from said place. And they were all good. And since each one is only $3.50 - $5, you think "oh, well, that's nothing" and oh look, there's a wine or beer pairing and that's about the same price, well that's fine, and pretty soon you're blotto before you're halfway around the lagoon. There were a lot of very, very merry people, in a way that is not usually consonant with the Disney Experience. This was mildly hilarious.

Also, let it be noted that Orlando city buses are a functional but tiresome way to get to and from the parks.

It was warmer today, but of course by the time I swimsuited up and sauntered to the pool, it was partly-cloudy (the part in front of the sun) and exceedingly windy. Which is fine as long as you are in the water, but upon exiting for some serious lolling around and maybe reading, it was insanely chilly. So I swam for awhile and then came back to the room and, oh dear, played Ultima IV which there is a Mac OS X port for. But that's relaxing! So it's okay. NYAH

I was not going to spend the whole evening doing that, however. So I have installed myself in the patio bar (which is empty, mua ha ha ha; there is some kind of convention or gathering here at present but it is all oldsters so they are not so much with the night life) with a fruity drink and a jerked chicken snack and am alternately intarwubbing and working on the D&D character class Dr. Nick and I have been giving painful breech birth to for the past N months; something that I love to do, but never have a block of time at home that I am not urgently doing something else.

It is a very nice fruity drink. The weather is chilly and windy, but I have a jacket and I am wearing pants now, so that is okay.

Tomorrow: Happy World Land!

Bouncer birds!!!

(Patio breakfast at hotel. Napoleon's forces are not in sight.)

I was ready to "network" at lunch, where they were herding everyone into a hall and seating them randomly at tables. Naturally, therefore, I was sandwiched between impenetrable walls of non-English-speakers.

I feel like the little kid agitating to try Mom and Dad's (coffee/wine/bitter chocolate). I want to have what the grownups are having, and then I learn that it actually kinda sucks.

Well, that may be unfair. The conference hasn't actually started yet. But so far, things are off to a roaring start.

Checked into hotel, where I learned I had to schlep my shit up hill and down dale to get to the room. Well, that's okay, one of the things I liked about this place is that it's got three pools and fitness room and lord knows what. So I slog to my room (which faces a parking lot, not the gorgeously landscaped interior).

Which has stained carpet, a rusty rickety ironing board, an iron that was actually coming apart (but still turned on! Fire hazard much?), a lamp sans bulb, and a noticeably musty odor. AND THE FREE INTERNET DOES NOT WORK. (I get signal but no DHCP. Calling guest services was, of course, useless and made my eyeballs bleed with rage.)

After serially discovering these things, and not having eaten in too-long, I phoned sweh with minor meltdown, which he fielded with his usual capability. I got a new iron delivered, and ironed my clothes what needed them. I carried my laptop to the lobby (where it works fine), and then had a rather late dinner (mediocre at best; and a mandatory 18% gratuity? excuse me?) and a glass of wine (IT FITS IN MY PER DIEM. SHUT UP), then sat outdoors on a bench in the lovely lagoon area using internets, and then carried my laptop still connected back to my room so it did not have to faff with whatever brokenness is happening on the ghetto side of the complex. And lo! I am in bed and having internets, and I care less about the musty smell.

I need to be at the conference center by 8:30 tomorrow (8 probably better). I am not sure where to get breakfast. I was going to splurge on room service for once in my life, but I will be damned and in hell before I consent to paying $11 PLUS 21% gratuity PLUS $3 "delivery charge" (isn't that what the gratuity is for?!) for a glass of juice, a bowl of Special K, and a bran muffin. Even if Uncle Patterson is picking up the check. (And I bet the coffee would suck.) This would be a good use for a Starbucks, actually: then there would be strong coffee AND virtuous proteinful breakfast sammich. But I haven't seen one. (Also I do not have a car.)

Edit: Also, it would seem that outside-my-window is the favored motorcycle drag strip. Oh, Florida, you so wacky.

1. Look at blouse hanging to dry, ponder "I should sew that button back on now"
2. Pick up button from dresser.
3. Put button down to hunt for sewing kit.
4. Find sewing kit.
5. Fail to find button, which is large and sparkly and really should not be missable.
6. No Profit.