My week in Florida reminded me of that lack of 'speed'. It made me feel like I've lost a step. Normally speaking, I'm the abnormal one. I'm the one that's 'playing'. This can cause some frustration in others and I've had to become more 'serious', especially in the workplace.
Then I go to Disney where everyone plays. You don't really think about it but the Cast Members, even those 'just' funneling you in and out of a ride, are always one. In fact some of the best rides are the ones where the Cast Members add a little something; whether that be a Pirate 'accent' or loudly smacking a wall during a quiet moment at the Haunted Mansion. I was chatting with 'Muppet Labs Technicians' at the MuppetVision 3D show and they even stayed in character when we were talking normally. It managed to throw me off. They were doing my 'thing' back at me.
I got thrown in deep early on in my trip. Most of the characters you meet are silent as they wear costumes that prevent speech. Mickey and Donald and such communicate via gestures. The human characters don't have that impediment and are eager to interact with you, give you a moment.
On my first day of the trip, we were heading for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride when we saw Ariel was at the Meet and Greet spot in Adventureland. As we had a six year old girl with us and the line wasn't long, we stopped. As Ariel is a pretty red headed girl, I also got in line. In an effort to not take too much of her time and trying to not be too creepy, my pal and I decided to approach her together. I expected to say hi, make a joke about Neptune or something undersea, get my picture taken and move on. That's not what she had in mind.
“What are you chewing?” she asked me as I approached.
“Gum,” I answered, suddenly backpedaling because I didn't know if I could chew gum in the presence of royalty. She was totally confused by my declaration and it led me to showing her the wad of gum within my mouth, which really had to be a bad idea when interacting with a Princess.
Her face crinkled up at this sight. “Did it look like that when you put it in your mouth?” I assured her that it looked better beforehand when it was still a stick of gum. “A stick?” Despite my gestures, it became clear to me that our concepts of the word 'stick' were not the same. “Why?” she questioned. I pointed to the fact that it made my breath minty. This was also lost on her. “Are you going to swallow it?” she wondered. I offered to do so but explained that this wasn't the normal procedure.
By this point, she was totally confused. “You put a stick in your mouth to make your breath minty but you don't eat it?” She turned to my buddy standing behind her, adding “No offense but you humans are weird.”
Then we politely linked arms and took a picture together.
I was on the defensive the entire time. I kept up, essentially playing the straight man, but never took control of the situation and turned it back to her, asking her about life under the sea. I didn't think of it quickly enough.
I wasn't ready. I've lost a step. Or perhaps I never had the step.
I also think she's awesome and have a crush on her. Me like a pretty redheaded girl that messed with me so successfully? No shock there.
