Kenny vs The Woodpecker - Round III

I heard a familiar tapping on the bedroom wall at 6:30 in the morning. I immediately knew what it was... my old nemesis was back.. the dreaded woodpecker. I had already gone two rounds with this bird and it's been a few months so I thought all was well.. nope. Round three is about to begin.

I've tried animal/bird repellent, I've tired hanging shiny things from there but it keeps coming back. I now have placed a large broom just outside my bedroom sliding doors and as soon I hear that little pecker I slowly get up and sneak out side in hopes of whacking it. Well my first attempt was pathetic, not even getting close to the bird as it flies off mocking (no it literally squawks at me as it flies away). My second attempt was a little better and I think I nicked it as it didn't sound happy as it flew away.

Normally when I spray the bird repellent that will keep it away for a day but now it only keeps it away for a half hour or so and then it's back pecking away making a huge hole in the side of my house. Going to go to Lowes and see if there is anything stronger I can use to get rid of it.. or I'm going to get a lucky shot and whack that thing to the ground.

I don't want to hurt it... but mister nice guy can only take so many holes in the side of my house before mister killer is released.

Harry Potter Vacation - Day Five

Well today is my final day on my Orlando Florida Vacation. It's been a FANTASTIC trip. Of course when I was booking everything it never dawned on my that I would need to be out of my hotel by 11am but my plane flight wasn't until 7pm. So I checked out of my hotel, left my luggage there and walked to Universal City Walk. figured I'd just walk around there and check out the shops. Well about fifteen minutes into my walk the skies opened up and the rain came down. I ran to a near by tree and was okay for a short time. I figured these rain falls only last ten or so minutes but then the wind picked up and the rain was going sideways and my dry spot was no longer dry and I got drenched. The rain would fall hard, then light and hard again. I knew if I stayed there I would be completely soaked and since I didn't have a hotel room wouldn't be able to do much about it. So I opted to run to the valet parking for Universal. They had a roof and it was only a few yards away. So the rain let up a bit and to booked it. Mind you my legs were already hurting from the walk but I didn't care. I ran as fast I as I could to reach shelter.

City walk in Florida is much like City Walk here in LA. It's open aired space so a few hundred of us stood under an awning waiting for the rain to let up. But as I said it lasted about 15 minutes and then it was over and the mob made it's way to it's destination. It was lunch time so I headed to the food court and made it inside just as it started to downpour again. I felt bad for those visiting the park as it is suppose to rain for the next seven days.

Talk about timing I couldn't have picked a better time to visit. I had rain for about 10 minutes yesterday but before that it was beautiful skies my entire vacation. The weather gods were kind of me on this trip. But now I'm in the food court having some lunch and watching people run from building to building as the rain would stop, then start again and stop once again. Lucky for me Burger King (which was in the food court) had free wifi.. really good and strong wifi so I was able to pull out my ipad and catch up on facebook and twitter. After the lunch the rain let up once again and I ventured out and walked around City Walk. Was going to try and catch a movie but all the timings didn't work as I need to head back to my hotel at 4pm as my shuttle was picking me up at 4:45 to take me back to the airport.

So I just walked around and ran into buildings as rain would start. That lasted about a half hour and then I went back to the food court and free wifi and pretty much sat there the rest of the day. And at 4pm I left. I wasn't sure if I was going to walk or take a taxi as the skies have been on and off all day but I took a chance and it paid off. I didn't get rained on and at 4:45 the shuttle picked me up and I was off to the airport.

Once again Virgin America was fantastic, checked in, checked my bag and it took two minutes. Only downside is you have to pay $25 per bag, but other then that I will use them whenever I can. Went through security with no real issues and was seated and waiting for my flight with an hour and a half wait. I meet a few other Harry Potter fans while I waited, they were actually on the same plane I was on when we flew in on Monday. Angel was the one really into Harry Potter and we chatted for an hour about the park and various other Potter things. Henry (husband/boyfriend) was a fan but not as much as Angel was so he didn't participate to much in the conversation. But it was a nice way to pass the time.

Got on the plan around 6:55 and we took off about 7:10. The flight home was alot more turbulence then the flight was coming to FL. And I did have a spell of claustrophobia towards the end and I'm not sure why but I really had to focus on my breathing and keep calm. We managed to land, I found my shuttle to the parking structure, got my jeep and drove home.. I'm extremely tired but glad to be home. I'll blog again about my whole experience tomorrow... night all.

KOTG CompanionCast S5E11

Download from itunes - http://bit.ly/KotGCast or listen, get direct download at http://bit.ly/2CrYxk

Show Notes:

It’s time once again for the next CompanionCast for The Guild Season Five. First of all be sure you watched Episode 11 of season 5.

Our Season 4 CompanionCasts were a huge hit so we thought we would do them again for Season 5. So what is a CompanionCast?? It’s a behind the scene look at the current episode of The Guild.

I was on set everyday while they shot Season 5. As actors and crew were finished with scenes I would try and speak to them. Get some inside info about the scene they just shot. I also interviewed Felicia Day and Kim Evey about the storyline and Sean Becker about the directing. Each one of these CompanionCasts will be episode specific and will vary in length depending on how much guildie goodness I am able to gather.

In this CompanionCast I interview Sandeep Parikh, Jeff Lewis, Amy Okuda, Vince Caso, Greg Aronowitz, Robin Thorsen, Doug Jones, Leslie Crystal, Felicia Day and many more. I also sit down Maurissa Tancharoen and discuss the status of her Lupus and how she is doing these days.

I hope you enjoy a look behind the scenes of Season 5 Episode 11
Kenny

Harry Potter Vacation - Day Four

Got up at 7am again. This is my last day at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and I want to be there from opening to close. Also today as part of my vacation package I get one free breakfast at The Three Broomsticks. I wish I would have known that the breakfast was so good I would have gone every morning.

After breakfast I started my new challenge of getting a pictures of me standing in front of every shop, by asking a stranger/employee to take it for me. Well I got about 2/3rds of them done so I'm not completely disappointed in myself.

I did breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Three Broomsticks. Dinner was kind of like a farewell dinner. I got to sit in one of the very few but very cool booths and I gave a farewell toast to WWofHP (you'll see the pic when I post them up on Facebook). Also I stuck with my quota of 3 ButterBeers per day.

About 5pm it rained for about 15 minutes... At first it was light and folks continued to enjoy the park then it down poured and folks scattered for cover.. It was pretty funny.

I also rode Fight of the Hippogrift and The Dragon Challenge one last time and did Ollivanders one last time as well. What I love about Ollivanders is I did it 3 times and each time I got a different wizard, with the last being my favorite. He really interacted with people, and got many laughs.

Did my daily walk around Islands of Adventures and this time The Spiderman ride was open so I got in line. It was a fun ride, 3d animation and practical effects combined to make a really enjoyable ride. And of course I did my 20 minutes viewing of folks getting drenched on that rafting ride.

Oh forgot to mention that I did ride The Forbidden Journey six times today (it was also the last ride I did before my farewell dinner). I really like the "single" rider line. Didn't wait more then 15 minutes to get that ride each time. I also bought more goodies.. Got a really cool Potter hat, a quill pin, and a bludger bat and ball to go along with my quaffle I have at home. Had to resist buying so many more things. I also bought some Honeydukes chocolate and caramel swirl fudge.

I sent out many WWofHP postcards to those who responded to my tweet/Facebook. I even purchased a few more that I plan to send out in the next few days.

Before my dinner I did one more walk through the park and kind of just took it all in. Stood there for like ten minutes and didn't move. I just stared out all the Potter goodness and drank it in. I said my goodbyes and then went to dinner. I got done with dinner around 6:58, which meant I was able to go around one last time and take pictures of the shops and this time they had their lights on as it was starting to get dark. This got me thinking, I wonder what this place looks like at night. Got a little taste tonight, but it was still way to light outside to get the full effect. Next time I visit it will need to be during their night hours.

Anyways... It was another FANTASTIC day hanging out at Hogwarts & Hogsmeade. I was sad to say goodbye but I know it's more of a see you later as I know 100% that I'll be back soon.

Tomorrow I plan to hang out at Citywalk until my ride for the airport arrives at 4:45pm for my flight at 7pm and I'll be back in LA by 9pm.

Pictures Below:

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Happiest Place on Earth!! http://ow.ly/6RChs

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Various Other Hogsmeade Stores http://ow.ly/6RBW7

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Owlery & Owl Post http://ow.ly/6RBIQ

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Performers http://ow.ly/6RBvD

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Flight of the Hippogrift http://ow.ly/6RA5E

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Dervish and Banges http://ow.ly/6RzYB

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Dragon Challenge http://ow.ly/6RzKL

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Three Broomsticks & Hogs Head http://ow.ly/6RztE

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Zonkos Joke Shop http://ow.ly/6Rzfn

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Honeydukes http://ow.ly/6RzbY

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ollivanders http://ow.ly/6RyU5

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Express http://ow.ly/6RyKJ

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Castle http://ow.ly/6RyFm

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade http://ow.ly/6RyDc

Harry Potter Vacation - Day Three

Today I left the hotel at 7:30am and took a taxi into Universal as I wanted to get there early as I have early entrance. So I got into Islands of Adventures right at 8am. I wanted to get video of the place. And since there were very little people this was the perfect time. So I started at the beginning with the Hogwarts Express and made my way to the end at Hogwarts. Took about 20 minutes but I covered everything. I then took my video cam with me inside Hogwarts while I was in line for Forbidden Journey. Unfortunately it's super dark and my flip cam doesn't have a light so I didn't really get that much usable footage. After that ride I did Flight of the Hippogrift.

For the next few hours I took more pictures and video. I found little things that I didn't notice yesterday.

I tried to wait but couldn't manage it and got my 1st ButterBeer of the day at 9am. I also went on The Dragon Challenge, this time I did the blue car. Slightly different then the red but this time I took my glasses off and focused on the ride and had a fun time.

Once again at around noon I went to The Three Broomsticks to have lunch. Got the same thing I got yesterday, Fish and Chips, but this time I didn't get Pumpkin juice instead I got, yep you guessed it, another frozen ButterBeer.

After lunch the WWofHP was getting busy so I decided to walk around the rest of the Islands of Adventure. There are six sections, Seuss Landing, The Lost Continent, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, Marvel Super Hero Island and of course The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

During my travels I watched people get soaked from a waterfall on some sort of rafting ride. Don't know what it is but I was there for a half hour laughing. My second favorite section is the Marvel section. Was going to do the Spiderman ride as I heard it was alot of fun but it was closed, I hope to ride it tomorrow. I did however ride The Hulk roller coaster... That was a blast.

Got back to WWofHP around 3 and just kind of hung out in that world... So much fun. One thing I forgot to mention in my blog yesterday that everywhere in WWofHP they play Harry Potter music and it's AWESOME.

I did the Forbidden Journey one last time and then went shopping. I knew this was going to be bad.. But one of the upsides of being single and childless I have a bit of expendable cash. Though I am jobless and don't have any prospects, I didn't care... It's Harry Potter :). Well I got two Harry Potter T-shirts, two key chains, a beanie cap, and Hogwarts house socks for $150. Then I went to Honeydukes and picked up some Bertie Botts every flavor beans, acid pops, Honeydukes dark chocolate bars, chocolate frog, lemon drops in a Honeydukes glass jar, death eater suckers and some pumpkin juice. That total was $75. And I still might pick up a few more things tomorrow.

After my shopping spree I went to dinner at The Three Broomsticks and had my third frozen ButterBeer for the day. After that I made my way back to the shuttle and the hotel.

Another fun day, but I do wish I had someone to share the experience with. beside seeing and experiencing all these cool things, I can't share my enthusiasm or excitement with anyone.

One thing I did learn about myself on this trip is how shy I still am. I've come a long way but still have the hardest time starting a conversation with a stranger. Evidence is how difficult it is for me to ask someone to take a picture of me. Sometimes I get the nerve and ask an employee if they don't look busy. Or someone will see me trying to take a picture of myself and offer to help. I know it's just a picture and most folks would help out but I just hate interrupting people while they are on their vacation. My big goal for tomorrow is get a picture of me in front of every shop. It's going to be tough but I'm determined to overcome my fear.

Tomorrow is my last day at Wizarding World so I'm going to make the most of it.

Pictures Below:

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Happiest Place on Earth!! http://ow.ly/6RChs

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Various Other Hogsmeade Stores http://ow.ly/6RBW7

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Owlery & Owl Post http://ow.ly/6RBIQ

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Performers http://ow.ly/6RBvD

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Flight of the Hippogrift http://ow.ly/6RA5E

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Dervish and Banges http://ow.ly/6RzYB

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Dragon Challenge http://ow.ly/6RzKL

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Three Broomsticks & Hogs Head http://ow.ly/6RztE

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Zonkos Joke Shop http://ow.ly/6Rzfn

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Honeydukes http://ow.ly/6RzbY

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ollivanders http://ow.ly/6RyU5

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Express http://ow.ly/6RyKJ

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Castle http://ow.ly/6RyFm

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade http://ow.ly/6RyDc

Harry Potter Vacation - Day Two

This is the day I have been waiting for since July of 2010. Today I stepped foot into The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter. WWofHP is located at Universal Studios Islands of Adventures and is at the very back of the park. With my vacation package I had early admittance, which means I can get in at 8am before the public gets in at 9am. But my shuttle didn't leave my hotel until 8:20 and by the time I got to the park it was about 8:45, but when I got in the park wasn't that busy. Of course as I got in I followed the crowds to the back corner where WWofHP is located. I was walking so fast that my calves started to burn. But I made it.. I made it to Hogsmead.

As I entered there was just so much to see I felt a bit overwhelmed. I started taking pictures and was making my way through the park. When I realized that the park was fairly empty and I should try and go on the rides while the lines are short. So I headed to their "big" ride Forbidden Journey, only took 5 mintues to get through the line, which was good and bad. See while your in line for this ride there is so much to see as you walk through Hogwarts castle. But when there is no line you kind of walk by everything very quickly. But for me I knew I would be here for three days and have plenty of time to see everything and I really wanted to get on the ride.

Forbidden Journey is one of the most unique rides I have ever been on. It's part practical ride and part simulator and it goes back and forth. They blow air, water and heat in your face to give you that 4D experience. It's such a crazy cool ride.

Next I did Flight of the Hippogrift, this is a fun but very short roller coaster. I don't want to call it a kiddies roller coaster but that is really what it is.

After the two rides I had to try my very first ButterBeer. Now there are two opitions cold or frozen, so I chose frozen, which means it's like a slushy. Took my first slip and it was incredible. It tasted a bit like cream soda (which I very much dislike) with a touch of butterscotch (which I very much love). I finished it in no time and was ready for another one :)but really needed to wait. While drinking my ButterBeer I walked around Hogsmead and took a bunch of pictures.

After a half hour I needed a rest so I went to the Owlery, which is really cool. There are benches and ceiling fans among the owls in the rafters.

Next up was The Dragon Challange. It's a dueling roller coaster that hangs from the tracks. Again no waiting in line. While your making your way to the coaster everything is set up like the Tri-Wizard Tournament. You also get to see Hagrids Hut and the Wesley's car. You then walk through these dark winding tunnels until you reach the loading area... It's pretty crazy. The ride itself is pretty wild. Lots of twists and turns. I spent most of the time trying to keep my glasses on so I didn't really enjoy it. Had planned to ride again, but a few minutes after my first ride I started feeling some pain in my back.. Not sure what I did but it's not good.

So it's now 11am and I didn't eat breakfast so I opted to grab some lunch before the crowds showed up. I went to The Three Broomsticks and got there special of Fish and Chips. I also tried Pumpkin Juice for the first time. Food was great and the pumpkin juice tasted like pumpkin pie and was super sweet. The best part of lunch was eating in The Three Broomstick... That was pretty amazing.

After lunch I went over to Ollavander Wand Shop. By this time this section of the park was packed and there was a half hour wait (which isn't bad). Once in there the wand maker picks someone from the audience (he picked a woman right next to me). He then proceeds to pick wands until the third one when, just like in the movie, there's a light and wind and he announces the wand chooses the Wizard. It's pretty cool.

After Ollavander's I broke down and got another ButterBeer, I had planned to get a "cold" one but it was hot and the "frozen" one sounded so much better. Once again I drank it way to fast that I got ButterBeer brain freeze. Oh forgot to mention that when you go to the bathroom you hear Moaning Myrtle talking, crying and laughing. It's kind of cool yet makes it difficult to complete your business.

Anyways after I finished my second ButterBeer I opted to walk around the rest of the park looking for an outlet to charge my iPhone (didn't have any luck), but I did get to see the rest of the park.

When I got back to WWofHP I rode Forbidden Journey again and Flight of the Hippogrift. Took more pictures and watch the Hogwarts choir with singing frogs. Did Ollavander's again, walked through Honeydukes sweet shop and Zonkos joke shop. Then did Forbidden Journey for a third time... Such an awesome ride. It was now 6pm and the park closes at 7 and I had planned to eat dinner at Citywalk but The Three Broomsticks was calling to me so I went and had this yummy roasted chicken and potatoes dinner. I also had my third ButterBeer, and this time I went with "cold" and honestly I couldn't tell you which one I liked more... They are both incredible and I can't wait to drink more the next few days. I also found out that both ButterBeers are cheaper in The Three Broomsticks then at the ButterBeer kiosks... Good to know.

One last thing.. There is so much AWESOME merchandise that I want and was about to spend hundreds of dollars when I decided to wait and make sure I really "want" these things. Still doesn't mean I won't spend hundreds :) and I plan on buying my stuff tomorrow.

It was an EPIC day full of awesome and I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow. And for tomorrow it will be my video day.. Took hundreds of pictures today but I plan to take hours of video tomorrow.

Also will be uploading both pictures and video when I get back home on Friday. Until then you'll have to just enjoy my blog.

Pictures Below:

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Happiest Place on Earth!! http://ow.ly/6RChs

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Various Other Hogsmeade Stores http://ow.ly/6RBW7

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Owlery & Owl Post http://ow.ly/6RBIQ

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Performers http://ow.ly/6RBvD

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Flight of the Hippogrift http://ow.ly/6RA5E

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Dervish and Banges http://ow.ly/6RzYB

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Dragon Challenge http://ow.ly/6RzKL

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Three Broomsticks & Hogs Head http://ow.ly/6RztE

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Zonkos Joke Shop http://ow.ly/6Rzfn

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Honeydukes http://ow.ly/6RzbY

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ollivanders http://ow.ly/6RyU5

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Express http://ow.ly/6RyKJ

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Castle http://ow.ly/6RyFm

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade http://ow.ly/6RyDc

Harry Potter Vacation - Day One

Well this day started at 3:30am.. Got up and took a shower and was out the door. Stopped by the ATM to grab some fun money and then headed off to LAX. Got to the parking structure that my friends Teal and Ali told me about. You can park your car there for $9 a day.. Which is a pretty good deal. So I left my car and then took a shuttle to the airport. Once there I checked in and I have to say Virgin America is a pretty good airliner. Only thing I didn't know about was the $25 per checked bag. I had planned to only take a carry on but wanted to bring something bigger because I know me and I'm going to a Harry Potter theme park and I'm bound to buy things that will need to come back home with me.

So I checked in and then headed to security. This is the first time I have been flying since all the extra security. So had to remove everything from my pockets and my shoes. Then had to do a full body scan before grabbing your stuff and moving forward. By this time it was 5:30am and my flight wasn't until 8am...so I waited. Boarding was delayed by 30 minutes as our plane had a hard time reaching us. But eventually it arrived and we boarded. I was towards the front of the plane which meant I was one of the last to board. Security was actually testing people's hands for explosives as we were boarding, luckily I wasn't selected.

The flight it's self was uneventful.. Again Virin America has some very nice planes and the crew was great. Got to Orlando, Florida only 10 minutes late. Once there I made my way to the badge claim and picked up my one checked bag.

Now to find Quick Transportation, I pre-ordered this with my vacation package but when I got out to all the shuttles I couldn't find them. I tried calling the only number I had, which was for the vacation package place, but figured they could help me. After 20 minutes on hold I finally got a hold a woman who said she would direct me to the proper person and the next thing I know I'm back at the beginning. Frustration takes hold and I hang up and do another walk pass looking for Quick Transportation. I ask a few of the other shuttle people but no one heard of the service I was using. Now my phone is dying and I had no choice but to call again and again after 20 minutes of waiting I finally get a hold of a guy who, once I explained everything and what had happen to my last attempt, actully kept me online and helped me out. Come to find out that when I booked this package I was suppose to get an email and contact them seven days prior to set up a time for a driver to come pick me up. Well it took another 20 minutes but a van finally came for me an hour and a half after I had arrived I was on my way to my hotel.

Got to the hotel around 6pm and checked in. I have a huge room.. It's pretty nice. I hadn't eaten all day so I went next door to TGI Friday and grabbed some food. After dinner I came back to the hotel room and am now checking my email and blogging.

Got my shuttle ticket for 8:20am to take me to Universal Studio tomorrow morning... I'm so excited.

Can't add pictures with this blog via my iPad :( but will upload pics tomorrow to my Facebook.

Baby Shower

Today I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower. They still haven't decided on a name.. I'm still pushing for Molly LeeAnne. I got to my brother's house a bit earlier so I was able help set up. The day was lots of fun. We played a bunch of shower games, had some good food and got to play with my nephew Kenobi. I stayed later then expected as it takes me an hour and half to get home and I have to get up at 3am the next day.

But when I got home I had to pack and that took me about an hour and finally went to bed around 10pm.

Can't wait for tomorrow...vacation Harry Potter will began.