Disneyland

To celebrate the end of 2004, Randy and I decided to party at Disneyland for the holidays. It was awesome. We both had a great time. Randy made reservations at The Annabella Inn, same hotel we stayed for the Gay Days on October. We left my place on Friday morning (31st), checked in, and went directly to the park (that would be closing later than usual, 2 a.m.). We both (unconsciously) decided we would take the time to enjoy and “savor” the park this time. We took many pictures from different angles and distances (even though I insisted on Randy not to take close-up shots), which made me mad for a lil while. With so much joy and beauty, there is no way someone can be upset and moody for too long.
The weather was very “nice” to us, considering it had been raining the whole week. I am not gonna lie to you. It was very cold but we managed to keep ourselves warm. We started by riding the Merry-go-Round, then Pinocchio and after that I don’t remember but we did almost all the rides in Disneyland. We saw the Fireworks and “Fantasmic”, a show that takes place in the lagoon. In the beginning I was not very excited to see, however it did surprise me. Such a great production with lots of effects and characters dancing and singing. We went back to the hotel satisfied and exhausted. In the way back, while we walked the main street, we entered one of those “dreamy” candy stores. They were making all kinds of sweets with chocolates and nuts… It was like being in Heaven or inside Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Randy never thinks twice and one blink there he was full of treats on line to the cashier already. The next day we went to California Adventure. We wanted to see everything we missed the last time we were there. We went to a Bug’s Life 3-D and that was a very fortunate surprise. My co-worker, Martha, had suggested that weeks before. We were thrilled. We watched Alladin, a 45 minutes musical play as majestic as a Broadway show. In the end we watched the Electrical Parade and again the fireworks with snow in Disneyland. It was a very adorable way to end 2004 and begin 2005. I got to thank Randy for the special time. He sure knows how to have fun!

Spanglish

Even though I am not a big fan of Adam Sandler, I really wanted to see Spanglish. The story is pretty good. The way they portrayed a single mother who comes from Mexico with her young daughter and struggles with all the barriers is very close to the reality. I am very surprised it was written by an American director. The acting, specially the kids’ is quite good. Sarah Steele, who plays Sandler’s teenager daughter, is awesome. I hope to see this girl in many other films. She is definitely not a pretty face, but a promising actress. Kudos to James L. Brooks directing who also wrote the piece. I was always very fond of Tea Leoni, ever since her TV show “The Naked Truth”, and I find her to be doing a good job in the film as a depressive mother, who sees Latin people almost as little pets (something to be amused by). It is definitely funny, specially coming from a Latin culture. I can see myself in the same situation sometimes, specially when I first came here and was not “Americanized” yet. I give it a B+. It is a good entertaining movie.