At this very moment I'm at Disneyland - well, the Disneyland Hotel, actually, not the park. I'm attending a conference for academic advisers, one in which they have so far given out lots of prizes, randomly. At each breakfast and lunch and 'keynote' event (this is vocabulary I've not used before) (i don't mean breakfast or lunch), they give out prizes at the end in an effort to make people stay to the finish. The prizes are fairly lame and useless - gift cards to shops found nowhere near where you might live, parking upgrade passes for your own campus (for people like me who don't drive, anyway), a year's online membership to a website I've never heard of, huge gift baskets that you will not want to bring on the plane - hardly inspiring. Well to make sure everybody stays until tomorrow afternoon, they are promising to give out big prizes, ipods, laptops, cd players. But we got to see Mickey Mouse at breakfast. He came onstage and did his typical stand-up routine, "so what's the deal with donald, who stole his knickers?" before disappearing back to the office. Last night was better - i met Goofy, and he cooked me dinner. Well, I went to Goofy's Kitchen, the restaurant at which he is, so they claim, the chef. I wondered if he was like Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen, all four-letter tirades at the little bluebirds doing the washing up. He came to my table, though, and introduced himself by signing the table. What a gent, Jamie could learn a thing or two. The food was nice - I began with dessert, because it's disneyland, and I can - and I had to try Goofy's special Peanut Butter Pizza. It was as bad as it sounds - my mouth felt like it was glued together. So I fixed it with a margarita (the drink, not the pizza). The human staff were a bit gruff, but I met some of the other characters - Chip, Dale, Mulan, and i got chatted up by Minnie Mouse. Well I say chatted up, she didn't actually speak, but pointed out the empty chairs at my table and did the 'oh so sad' gesture. Yeah, thanks, I'm eating alone and it's being pointed out to me by Minnie blimming Mouse. Yeah, well where's Mickey then, eh? Out walking Pluto, yeah. Off in the cheese shop. The room and the hotel in general are very nice though. everything has those little mickey ears on it, and the pool area is based on Never Land, and full of over-excited kids (oh please, you automatically think Michael Jackson don't you). I might catch a quick swim though before the throng of kids all start to arrive back from the park, and then go and do some drawing. The conference finishes tmorrow, and then I'm off across LA to Santa Monica, on a weekend of urban and beach sketching. That's All Folks.
the happiest hotel on earth
4.5.07 00:33
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Red Queen / Website (4.5.07 09:26) Well, I hate to sound so corny, but Mickey Mouse might have been away to study for a degree just when you suspected him of less worthy activities. Peanut butter pizza sounds thoroughly disgusting, and that's from a person who would eat almost anything. And yes, your work is madder than mine. |
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petescully / Website (8.5.07 06:14) Well, getting Goofy's autograph, it's all networking isn't it. But I tell you what, Mickey came down to breakfast and he was wearing the same tuxedo as the night before, what does that tell you? Been out on the cheese again. |
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