I should know by now that I’m not 18 any more. I can’t go for extended periods of time without food or coffee like I used to do in High School. (I also can’t consume an entire 36-oz coffee anymore without going into caffeine-related seizure either.) Today I figured I could jam until I got into BWI and then load up on some food, but I timed the whole thing wrong and screwed up my system good. This after two days of very odd eating schedules, thirty pounds of sugar, and a midnight Coors Light. I got into the office, after waiting a half-hour for the braniacs in front of me at the lunch counter explain exactly how they wanted their bagel made (“I’d like a plain bagel, and could you toast it lightly, and then spread some cream cheese over the top of it and throw it in a bag?” Like the people working there didn’t realize that bagel is the second word in the title of the restauraunt. Arrggh) I sat down at my desk alternately feeling like I needed to puke, go to the bathroom, pound spikes in my head, and fall asleep. Sorry, Steve, I had to pack it in early.

The weekend was long and tiring, but lots of fun. The Lockard Reunion was a rousing success, and we left Disney the way we found it. Jen’s aunt Jane brought a bin full of old family pictures as well as a current geneaology, and the documents were the source of a lot of conversation and memories. One of the cool things we learned was that at one time her father’s family owned a good portion of the businesses in their hometown. Some of the pictures showed huge advertising signs with the family name that she’d die to have now.

Ty and Lorie are doing very well, and Bonny was just as cute as a button. They have a beautiful house set back by a lake and old trees (a rarity in most of Orando, I’m told.) I think I took more pictures of their baby than of the Lockards, because she was just so photogenic. And to keep the streak alive, Ty showed us Heavy Metal Parking Lot (our last visit in Houston, we screened The Dancing Outlaw) which I’ve heard of but never had the privilege of seeing. And it was as funny as I thought it would be—it brought me right back to high school, and I could laugh at these people without getting the crap kicked out of me (the folks in this video made up about 70% of my high school population, no lie.)

Jen and I spent our Saturday afternoon at MGM Studios, which was not the showcase of gay pride we were expecting, but still fun. We got our pictures taken with Buzz, Woody, and Jesse the Cowgirl from Toy Story; we rode the Aerosmith roller coaster (good ride) and the Tower of Terror (merely alright). We got rained on twice, and ate plenty of fried American foods. In the evening we met up with the fambly at the Wilderness Lodge, then boarded a bus for Epcot, where they had arranged an ice cream social for us after the fireworks at the lake. The family mingled and told stories until 11, when they took us back home. Sunday was spent in one of the side lounges at the lodge, where we looked through pictures and had barbecue.