What do ya say to taking chances?

YAY! Mission Celine is a success! Hooray for a fun birthday....next year. Thought I'd let you know.

Anyways, work has been pretty crazy this week. What with the Super Bowl in Miami (Go Saints!), President's Week, and the whole state of Louisiana being in town for their Mardi Gras holiday, we've been pretty busy. We actually had to turn people away from Turtle Talk, which makes people fairly unhappy. Nemo actually had a 30ish minute wait, which is huge when you average 5 minutes at peak hours.

I would also like to announce my first famous(ish) person sighting at the Nemo ride. I put Johan Santana and his family on the ride. For those of you who don't know, he's considered one of the top five pitchers by most baseball experts, even if he does play for the Mets (boo). He was very nice, and I guess I can forgive him for playing for the Mets as long as he doesn't beat the Braves.

Yesterday I had a day off, so I ventured over to Universal with my coworkers Kelsey and Scott and Scott's fellow Aussie Kate. All of us are Annual Passholders, and we had a pretty great time. We arrived before the park opened to allow time for ticket pickup, and we were shocked when we were let through the gates and allowed to walk right up to the first attraction without being held back by Universal workers like we cast members have to walk in front of Guests at rope drop. We were able to do all the attractions at both parks that we wanted to do, and we even had time to stop and take touristy pictures. Here are a few of my personal favorites.

Here's a group shot: me, Kelsey, Scott, and Kate.

In front of Hogwarts Castle. Clearly I am very excited about this, and so were my fellow Universal explorers. We took a lot of pictures of the site, and I am pleased to report that they seem to be progressing very well. Word on the street is that Dueling Dragons, which they're retheming to be Harry Potter related, is closing for three weeks at the end of this month. Good sign, yes? I say yes.

And speaking of good signs, Universal has pretty funny rider warning signs. Here's my favorite. It's outside of Dueling Dragons, and it's my favorite sign that I've ever seen in a theme park. Ever. Please forgive my odd, and apparently somewhat twisted, sense of humor.

This picture fully conveys my feelings after riding Dudley Doright's Ripsaw Falls, the log flume ride at Islands of Adventure. I was wearing a rain jacket, yet water somehow seeped under it onto my shirt. My jeans took four hours to dry.

So all in all, a pretty good week. I'm just enjoying a pretty mellow day before work tomorrow. Thought I'd fill you in. Currently listening to Celine Dion to prepare for the awesomeness to come in March 2011. Can't wait. Also listening to Sheryl Crow lately as I'll be seeing her in April as part of Universal's Mardi Gras concert series. I love living in a place where I can spend one day at one great theme park and the next at another across town. You should all come see me, and we'll do it together. I'll be here.