A Capitalist Brew

I guess we have been back at school for a little over a week now. For me, this semester seems like an abrupt change from focusing on classes to focusing on research. I have two real classes this semester, but they are very focused on research. I guess that is because I am now on the downward slope of Ph.D. coursework. I will take 3 classes next fall and 1 next spring. Then it is all dissertation work. I am actually starting on my official dissertation credits this semester, which is interesting since I have no area of concentration, topic, or advisor. I have been spending as much time as possible reading papers in an attempt to come up with a general area of research. A month ago, I was leaning towards doing something involving credit rating. Now I am leaning towards something with REITs (real estate investment trusts). All I know for sure is that I need to come up with something soon and get to work on it because I have a lot to accomplish this semester. Wish me luck!

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Today I went to Gymboree to redeem my Gymbuck. For those of you without kids, Gymbucks are an ingenious marketing ploy of Gymboree. They convince you to spend a bunch of money at a certain time in order to bring you back into the store at a later time to spend more money. Essentially, you spend $50 and come back later to get $50 worth of clothes for $25. Of course, you always end up spending a little more than $25 when you return. I, however, did not realize until recently how crazed a Gymbuck can make a person.

A few months ago I had a Gymbuck to spend and went at the end of the redemption period only to find all of the cute clothes were gone from the store. I soon realized that to get anything good, you need to be there on the first day. Today was the first day and I was free, so Brooke and I head off to the mall soon after it opened. The mall was pretty quiet, but Gymboree was packed. Not only were people at the mall when it opened to redeem Gymbucks, they had lots of them. Some of the people even had plastic bags in the back of the store already filled with items they had put away to purchase this morning. I am not sure how this mysterious process works as I am obviously not part of the Cult of Gymboree. I also overheard the cult members talking about how they confer with each other on which pieces they have and how they are mixing pieces from different Gymboree lines. One of the cult members mentioned something about how it was like collecting and trading baseball cards or something.

I know nothing more about the secrets of the Cult of Gymboree as this was the only glimpse I had into their world. They must have seen my dazed expression and working mom looks and did not approach me to join the cult. Perhaps one day you will be approached and will be able to learn more of the inner workings. Of course, you will be sworn not to tell me any of their secrets, but maybe you can pick up a shirt for Brooke with your 6 Gymbucks.

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For the end of my school break, we were good capitalists and went to Disney World to spend oodles of our hard-earned dollars. And we loved every minute of it!

Day 1: Got to Disney and checked into Animal Kingdom Lodge around 1. After settling in we headed to Animal Kingdom to check out a few sights. We went to meet some characters, and Brooke was terrified of them. She would not go near Goofy but tolerated Mickey and Donald. Then there were server problems, so we pretty much did nothing for an hour. Brooke actually fell asleep while I was holding her and dancing during the parade, so we left soon after that was over. We went to Epcot at night hoping to have dinner but couldn’t get in anywhere due to lack of advanced seating. Overall, it was not a great day.

Day 2: Got to the Magic Kingdom at opening and went on a few rides. Unfortunately, we could not ride on Buzz Lightyear because it was being refurbished. We saw the real Buzz, and Brooke was terrified and didn’t want to meet him. We went back to the hotel after lunch to meet my mother, who arrived that morning. After naptime, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for more rides and the character dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. This is where Brooke really warmed up to the characters and had a great time meeting them. I think it was less intimidating for her to not have to walk up to these huge creatures. After that, she loved meeting all the characters.

Day 3: We hit Animal Kingdom in the morning. Everyone but the preggo enjoyed Kilimanjaro Safari, we saw some Asian animals, and then we hung out in Dinoland. Scott went on to Epcot for the rest of the day and night, and we met him there for dinner at the San Angel Inn. Scott’s highlight was waiting in line for like 40 minutes (at one point the line was 120 minutes) to ride Soarin.

Day 4: We got into MGM early in the freezing Florida weather, and my mom and Scott went on Star Wars while Brooke and I walked around the park a little. Then Scott went to the new stunt show while my mom and I took Brooke to see Playhouse Disney Live on Stage. Brooke was so funny dancing, clapping, and shouting to the characters. On our way to meet up with Scott, Brooke got to meet JoJo and Goliath from JoJo’s Circus. JoJo hugged Brooke, and she was just in awe. I didn’t think we would be able to pull Brooke away from JoJo! Meeting JoJo was topped off with meeting Woody, Buzz, and Jessie from Toy Story (Brooke is obsessed with the Toy Story movies, so this was a huge thrill for her) and eating at the Toy Story Pizza Planet. After MGM, we went to the Magic Kingdom so everyone but the preggo could ride the teacups. We were also there to see the parade, which was another crowd pleaser for our family. After some much-needed rest, we met my friend Janina and her boyfriend Danny for dinner. Janina is my best friend from college, and we have not been able to see her since our wedding. It was awesome to see her and to find that even as we have both changed so much from college, who we are inside and what made us friends has not changed one bit.

Day 5: Marathon Day! Originally this whole trip was planned at this time so that I could run the marathon. God had other plans for me, but it was exciting to be around the runners and catch a glimpse of all the fun. Even though I could not run, the energy was so great that I am now very anxious to start running and work towards my first marathon after having the baby. We left for the airport before noon and were back in Alabama by late afternoon. The trip was extremely exhausting but so very much fun. Brooke can’t stop talking about Disney World, and we are anxious for our next trip in 2 years.

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