The bond that links your true family is...respect and joy in each other's life.

Last night I was doing some reading about the Animal Kingdom Pandora ride "Flights of Passage." Other than the fact that most people really liked it, there seems to be an enormous amount of confusion about what actually physically happens on the ride.

From various reviews and discussion boards:

*Only side to side movement, everything else comes from the visual experience.

*No, there's side to side and up and down, with drops of up to 10 feet that correspond to on-screen "swooping."

*No, it's 10 inches.

*You are never more than four feet off the ground.

*No, the floor platform moves out from under you and you are suspended.

ANYWAY, the only thing I can guess is that the room is somewhat dark and people are thinking about things other than 'gosh, let me analyze this for my blog' when they're on the ride.

In a charming and adorable highlight, just about everyone has something nice to say about the fact that you can feel your banshee "breathing." This is actually what convinced me that maybe I'd be okay, because I had trouble watching 'Up' when they're clambering around on the dirigible, but no problem whatsoever watching the swoopy flight in 'How to Train Your Dragon 2,' because I was confident Toothless would catch him.

My work schedule is changing again, shifting back an hour earlier. Which is fine, that'll work out, but it has led me to think far too much about the exact details.

Should I get up earlier? How much earlier? What about driving? Should I change my route? How will traffic be different? What other ways could I go? When should I try them?

All of these are perfectly reasonable questions, they're just not ones I'd prefer to be spending hours contemplating to no real effect. And so, in writing (just for you, brain!), here is the plan:

1. No change to wake-up time for the first day. Try it, see how it goes, evaluate for day 2.

2. No change to drive in. Leave 10 minutes earlier than usual, assess traffic without having to panic.

3. Take the alternate way leaving work. This will prevent a nutty rush-hour merge, and is a way I've driven before.

4. Plan day 2 when day 1 has been achieved.

Looking ahead, next Saturday is a 5K, and the Saturday after that I will be on the AWESOME FLORIDA TRIP. Both of which I am super excited about! But it also means that today -- a totally regular, no events planned Saturday -- takes on a special glow as well.

What shall I do today? So many chores! (Not cooking; that's tomorrow. But I will clean things! And check things! And maybe do some trip prep!)

((Also I should go to the grocery store. This will... probably happen. I give it 70/30 odds.))

1. Allison never gets a last name? Or parents, although they're mentioned. (As in "this party is full of friends of my parents," not "yes, they're around here somewhere.")

2. I was baffled by all the 'thee' and 'thou' stuff, but I admit I have zero knowledge of linguistic patterns in 1693. (PS: also baffled by their 1693 outfits! And the fact that he was barefoot in Massachusetts at the end of October.)

3. Pretty sure a lot of decisions about this movie got made by someone saying, "You know what would be funny?"

4. Last year when I saw this movie for the first time, I was ::cough:: a little upset. About the cat. And I considered writing a short fix-it fic to ease my mind. It never happened, but here we are again in October, and apparently I'm not over it, because guess what's happening for NaNoWriMo?

5. In conclusion: WHEN A CHILD AND A TALKING CAT PROMISE TO HAVE EACH OTHER'S BACKS FOREVER, THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP THAT SHOULD BE CELEBRATED IN STORY AND SONG.

(*clearly the friend is me)

How early is Too Early to start eating the Halloween candy I bought? It's just sitting there on the counter. Temptingly.

I'm pretty sure I have way more than enough to cover any potential neighbors-who-wander-by on the night of trick or treat, which means there will be plenty left over. The question is, can I eat leftover candy before it's actually left over?

These are complex issues for me on a Monday morning. Probably I should just put the candy away somewhere out of sight and ignore it for a week. Future me can deal with this later!