My wife insisted that I only check my BlackBerry a couple of times a day while on vacation. She would have preferred that I throw it away and I would have thought checking it constantly would be acceptable. This was our compromise.

As soon as I was up, I checked messages and saw emails from a potential employer about a job interview and a networking contact about a coffee meeting. Both suggested we meet on the last day I would be in Florida, which obviously wouldn't work. I realized then that I had given both the wrong date for my return and felt pretty stupid. I replied to both with some form of an "I'm an idiot" message and hoped I could put it out of my mind. Not a great way to start your day.

We were off to Epcot. As we were leaving the hotel, the doorman gave the kids a shiny, over-sized coin for the wishing well. I thought that was a nice touch and my son was eager to make his wish. My daughter planned to keep hers and presumably invest it upon our return home. Only when she received coins on subsequent days did she agree to trade them for wishes.

Arriving at the park, I realized it was somehow hotter than the day before. Bag checking was predictably pleasant and there was a noticeably smaller crowd of people.

Epcot is a nice blend of entertainment and learning about different countries and cultures. I worried that the kids would be bored to tears as we spent time in the pavilions which celebrated different parts of our world, but they seemed to enjoy the experiences.

The first ride we did that day would also become our favourite. Soarin simulates flying over California landscapes in a glider and it's simply incredible. My son enjoyed yelling "Hi Grandma!" as we would swoop low over a vineyard or high over a neighbourhood. I have no idea where that came from, but he was clearly amused.

Other attractions that we really enjoyed were Test Track, Mission: Space and Turtle Talk with Crush. Test Track is one of the fastest rides at all of Disney, with your car reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour around a tight curve. Mission: Space makes you feel like you're commanding a ship to Mars and is very well done. It isn't however a good ride for the claustrophobic and I think that one martian round trip is enough for me. Turtle Talk is a must see for its' novelty. Crush, the sea turtle from the movie Finding Nemo, appears on the screen and takes questions from children in the audience. I don't know how they pull this one off, but it's amazing and quite funny at the same time.

Between the rides and shows, the kids lined up to meet some of their favourite Disney characters. We took pictures with and got autographs from Mulan, Aladin, Jasmine, Snow White and Donald Duck. Donald was in the Mexican area of the park and so was wearing a poncho and sombrero. As he turned, he hit my daughter in the head with his sombrero, but no injuries were caused by El Pato Donald and off we went.

Right after lunch, it started to rain. People ran for cover inside of buildings, but I opened my arms to the sky, took off my hat and let as much rain hit me as I could. I will assume that everyone else at Disney enjoys unrelenting heat of 100 degrees plus, but this blogger was thankful for this chance to cool off.

Our dinner was another highlight. We dined in a Norwegian castle with five princesses: Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. All of the little girls, including my daughter, had worn their princess dresses and it was adorable. The princesses came to our table for pictures and autographs and we had a nice visit with each. I'd wondered if my daughter might be too old to enjoy a princess dinner, but she loved every second of it. It appears also that my wife still has princess dreams in her system. While I waited for the bill, Sleeping Beauty passed my table and waved, "Goodbye your Majesty." They're good.

After dinner, we watched the fireworks/lights and music show. There was no waiting this time and the show was well done. When the show ended, it took us a very long time to get out from the crowd, my Wal-mart stroller making escape even more difficult.

We rode Soarin one last time before catching the bus back to the hotel.

Wonder if I got any emails today?

We arrived at Disney's Hollywood Studios as soon as they opened, knowing we had a very full day ahead of us.

The first thing I noticed was how friendly the people were who checked your bags as you entered the park. If border guards were trained by Disney, people would volunteer to open their trunks for full inspections.

We chose the end of September for our trip as we were told this was a slow time for Disney and we hoped to avoid lineups and crowds. This didn't seem to be the case and our very first ride, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, came with a 40 minute wait.

What we were thinking to subject my five-year-old son to this ride is beyond me. The ride is a series of 15 story drops in a pitch-black elevator shaft. My son started shaking during the first drop and I wondered if he would ever speak to us again. We survived, but that is the one and only time this blogger will do that ride.

We spent our day hitting as many of the rides and shows as we could. There were more attractions than we had time for in the day and began picking and choosing only those that we most wanted to see. We found ourselves running from one attraction to the next as Disney seems to have many of the shows scheduled to begin seconds after another popular show has ended.

I learned that Disney staff will move your stroller from an unauthorized parking spot to a stroller parking area. I also realized that every third family on earth owns the same inexpensive Wal-mart stroller and finding ours wasn't always an easy task.

On the topic of strollers, twice that day we forgot to collect our stroller after going on a ride and had to come back from a different area of the park. The second time, I came back to find my stroller was the only one left in that area and curious onlookers laughed at me as I slunk away. Stranger still, twice that day I had a minor heart attack when I lost sight of one of the kids, only to realize that I was pushing them in the stroller at the time. I wouldn't have believed that could happen to a reasonably smart person.

They didn't tell us in the brochures that Disney is a lawless kind of Scooterland, but that is the case. Motorized scooters are everywhere and the riders seem sure to run you over if you're not constantly on the lookout for them. I certainly didn't need this additional stress while at the parks, but such is life.

We had our lunch at a restaurant called Hollywood and Vine. I ate far too much and felt sluggish immediately. The kids were entertained by characters from Handy Manny and other shows which were unfamiliar to me. There were live performances where the kids were invited to sing and dance along with the performers. Regrettably, the lyrics to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot Dog Song have not left my head since that meal.

We made time for the Block Party which was really well done. The kids were thrilled to see their favourite characters from Toy Story, who are the stars of the show. Just before the party started, I bought ice cream cones for the family, only to learn that ice cream melts instantly in Florida. The options are to eat ice cream as quickly as you've ever done in your life or lick ice cream off your fingers, wrists and forearms. You can probably guess how the kids voted on that one.

Our day unravelled somewhat toward the end. We didn't realize that many of the rides close at 7:00 p.m. so we missed out on several we were hoping to do. We also didn't realize that Fantasmic, a nighttime show involving Mickey and friends, required you to lineup at least an hour in advance. We missed the 8:00 p.m. show and I stood in line from 7:30 until 9:30, mostly by myself while my wife and kids walked around to pass the time.

There are very few 30 minute shows that are worth a two hour wait, especially one where people from all sides stand too close, breathing down your neck, bumping into you constantly. Fantasmic failed to live up to the hype and I was glad when it ended and we were able to take the shuttle back to the hotel.

We had been at the park for over 13 hours, which was just about all I could do. I needed some sleep so we could do it all over again.

The day started early. Really early.

We got up, gathered our things and took our bags down to the lobby. We were on schedule and had enough time to enjoy a hot breakfast at the hotel. Somehow, in one fell swoop I managed to spill coffee, ketchup and hot sauce on the counter before I made it back to the table, but can't remember how I managed to create the mess. The breakfast was good and the taste of hot sauce in my coffee was barely noticeable.

My wife finished her food first and went to the lobby to check on our airport shuttle. My son had tagged along and ran back to give me the frantic report that we had missed our bus. It turns out an earlier bus had mistakenly taken our baggage on the trip, but was returning shortly to the hotel with our bags. Let's assume this was merely another example of the telephone game gone wrong.

The kids were very excited about their trip to Disney. My son told anyone who would listen at the airport and on the plane where we were going and what we were going to do once we got there. His volume grew louder as the trip went on and I found myself laughing as he yelled his updates to the little girl in the seat in front of him.

The flight was great and we made our way to our hotel, Disney's Port Orleans Resort-French Quarter. While my wife unpacked, I took the kids to the pool. They were excited to experience the dragon waterslide they had seen online. My daughter immediately said, "Daddy, the slide doesn't look anything like it does on the computer." You're right honey, it doesn't. Welcome to the real world.

I didn't realize quite how hot Orlando was going to be and no one told me about the crazy black bugs. At first, I thought I was seeing my first ever two-headed bugs, but soon realized they were actually two bugs, working in tandem. They were everywhere and highly annoying. I distrusted them immediately.

We also saw small lizards darting to and fro around the pool. I'm not sure if they were geckos, but it's my blog and I'm going to call them geckos.

Later in the day, we took a water taxi to the Downtown Disney Area. We checked out some of the shopping and eventually made our way to Planet Hollywood for dinner. I'm not a big fan of Planet Hollywood, but we thought the kids would enjoy the atmosphere. The food was terrible (as always) and the bill was laughably high. Our meal plan was included in our package, so the cost didn't really matter, although it made tipping a little awkward. The kids wandered around the restaurant, looking at the movie memorabilia. I don't think they knew half the movies featured and neither did I.

It was a long and tiring day and back at the hotel we had no trouble getting the kids in their beds. The next day was going to be a big one and we would need our sleep.

I've recently returned from a family trip to Disney World. The trip was fantastic, filled with stories/adventures, and entirely too much to jam into one blog post. So, I'm going to take this day-by-day and hope that my faithful readers will accept their Disney magic in small doses over the next eight days.

The first day of our Disney adventure involved driving ourselves to Buffalo, NY. Flights out of Buffalo are much cheaper than Toronto, so for the family on a budget it just makes sense. We would spend the night in Buffalo and fly from there the next day.

There was no waiting at the border and the usual interrogation was painless. I knew to remove my sunglasses before pulling up to the shack, my wife didn't, but a gentle scolding rather than the unholstering of his gun was all that was required. Won't happen again sir.

We found our hotel with only one fight between the driver and navigator (I can see now that when you said nothing I should have known to turn left) and it was a much nicer spot than I had expected.

We used our time in Buffalo to do what all Canadians do-shop for bargains. In our case it meant some clothes at Kohl's and a stop at a liquor superstore. The clothing prices were good, not great, but the price of liquor was dramatically less than we pay at home. I should buy all of my alcohol in the U.S. and perhaps should increase my drinking in general.

Although we haven't used a stroller for either child in over a year, my wife thought it would be necessary to have one for Disney. So, we checked out the first kmart store we saw, thinking they would have a very basic stroller, for very little money. I hadn't been inside a kmart in many years and was surprised to find that in my absence they have defied the impossible and now offer less quality and service in a less pleasing shopping atmosphere. We left without buying anything and I hope that is my last visit to the big K.

We were able to find the perfect stroller at Wal-mart and were ready for dinner. The kids loved the Olive Garden for their enormous portions and laughed when I told them about the time I bit into a jalapeno pepper that squirted me in the eye, incapacitating me for about 30 minutes.

While in Buffalo, I chuckled whenever I saw signs for Cheektowaga or North Tonawanda. Growing up, we watched Channel 7 News with Irv Weinstein every evening and I came to associate Buffalo with funny sounding suburbs and building fires. I made plans to review the emergency procedures info once back in the hotel room.

It was time to sleep and get ready for another big day of travelling. My son must have missed the memo and insisted on talking long after the lights were out and the rest of us had closed our eyes. There was yelling and arguing and I wondered if I could fall asleep and hear how it ended in the morning.

I was successful.

I don't have a lot to complain about. But every now and again, some minor annoyance combines with another and I have an irritating situation on my hands.

Annoyance #1

When you have young kids, as I do, it is inevitable that they will figure out how to use the TV remote control. It must also be assumed that they will drop the remote control on the floor, throw it across the room, spill stuff on it and harm it in other, unforeseen ways.

My remote control has been taking abuse for a couple of years. At first, the plastic end-piece was knocked off and replaced a few dozen times. The piece was then broken and only partially replaced. I'm not sure what happened next, but the piece has not been seen in months and the internal workings of my remote control are now exposed. I have learned that exposed remote control pieces have a very short shelf-life when thrown, dropped and dunked.

For a while, I carried on, sadly pointing my remote at my television, looking as though I was stabbing the air with a broken beer bottle. Two days ago, the stabbing no longer changed anything and I admitted defeat.

This wouldn't be such a big problem, if it weren't for...

Annoyance #2

In the past couple of weeks, Rogers Cable launched a new sports station called Sportsnet ONE. It seems to exist for the sole purpose of televising Blue Jays games and carries what feels like every other game on the schedule. The station is being offered as a free preview at the moment, but someday soon I will be asked to pay if I want to receive it as part of my bundle.

I know that it will not be included in one of my existing bundles as this is never how it works with Rogers. They will figure out a way to combine this one station, which I must have, with dozens of channels I will never watch. Someday it will be discovered that Rogers only agreed to carry these additional channels in exchange for the exact location of the holy grail. I will buy the new bundle and I will hear call centre employees snickering at me as I do so.

Why this is such an annoying situation for me right now is that the new channel is #394. When I had a remote control (even the broken beer bottle version), this was no problem. But last night as I stood at my set, pressing channel up to go from channel three to 394, I was not a happy guy.

At least it was a good game...oh wait, no it wasn't. The Jays lost badly to a horrible Baltimore Orioles squad.

If I hadn't invested so much just to see the game in the first place, I'd have changed the channel and spared myself the misery.

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."
Andy Warhol

I was featured in yesterday's edition of the Toronto Sun, specifically in the Guide to Higher Learning section. How exactly did I become involved in the segment? How has my life changed since the paper hit the streets? These questions and more will be answered shortly.

About two months ago, I was contacted by a journalist who wanted to include me in an article about university grads who had gone back to school to get a graduate certificate. My name had been passed along by the Marketing & Communications Department at Sheridan College, who knew me because I had done some work for them in the spring.

I agreed and a half-hour phone interview was arranged. I was asked to send a picture of myself, but my first offering was rejected as it didn't meet the resolution requirement. I asked my wife if she would take some new pictures of me and the photo shoot produced: dorky-looking shots of me with too much sun in my face (back yard), dorky-looking shots of me which were too dark (in front of fireplace) and dorky- looking shots of me trying not to look like I was kneeling under a tree (front yard). The least dorky-looking shots were forwarded and accepted.

I was told the segment would be published yesterday, so I drove down to the nearest store and started flipping through The Sun to ensure it was there. It wasn't, so I flipped through another, knowing full well that I would soon be treated like someone who only wanted a free look at the Sunshine Girl by the store keeper.

The segment was nowhere to be found, so the reporter agreed to mail me a few copies. She also sent me a link to the article, which you can see here. Check out page 26 for a few words about me. No picture. Something tells me my phone won't be ringing off the hook tonight.

My kids have been hounding me all summer to have a lemonade stand. Yesterday, we had no other plans, it was sunny and 32 degrees, I had some frozen pink lemonade in the freezer and a sleeve of Styrofoam cups. It was time.

The kids made two cardboard signs that advertised "lemonade 25 cents and free cookie." One sign was for the table and one would be waved at thirsty passers by. We were nearly ready.

The first sign of trouble came when we tried to organize our "float." My son was certain he would never see this money again and protested loudly. "That's my money for Disney!" he cried. After much discussion, we had his approval and his money. We were in the pink lemonade business.

We had been in business for a while and hadn't attracted a single customer. Had we underestimated the global economic recession? Had we priced ourselves out of the market? Was it true that a Facebook page was required?

And then it happened. A 15-passenger van spied our stand and turned around. In the pink lemonade business I had heard of 15-passenger vans (who hadn't?), but I thought it was a myth. Out jumped a mother and her seven children! All eight wanted a glass of our fine pink lemonade and their free cookie.

We were thrilled that we had sold our first eight glasses of lemonade, but quickly realized that our first sale had depleted half of our total supply for the day and we were in trouble. The beauty of the pink lemonade business is that you can easily close the business and have all staff jump in the car for a frantic trip to the grocery store to buy more lemonade and that's what we did. I hoped that we hadn't lost too many sales while we were gone, but knew we had done the only thing we could do in light of our poor initial planning.

Our lack of supply seemed to increase demand in the neighbourhood and upon our return we were selling lemonade faster than I could make it. It was a good time to be in the pink lemonade business.

We were now running out of cups and I had a tough decision to make. The last thing I wanted to do was close down again, but didn't see any other way. A hastily called staff meeting and a decision to make another run to the store and we were back in business for good.

We were soon out of cookies and there was no way I was going back to the store. We should have included "while supplies last" on our signs, but hadn't thought of that. So, we simply stroked out the free offer on the signs and hoped no one would call us on the bait and switch tactic so common in the pink lemonade business.

While I ran in and out, making more lemonade, my son disappeared to watch SpongeBob SquarePants on TV and I wasn't sure if he was ever to return. The pink lemonade business isn't for everyone.

My daughter was intoxicated with the action and the money coming in and rarely left the table. After my son left to live in a pineapple under the sea, my daughter handled all transactions and sign waving. Twice she saw a chance to go inside for a glass of water and threw the sign to me as I sat on my lawn chair. I realized that I had taken on the immediate appearance of a homeless person and hoped for her speedy return.

We had been in business for several hours and business was not slowing down. My son had returned to the table, my daughter was wheeling and dealing and I was in the kitchen, measuring my four cups of cold water, mess everywhere.

"Daddy, hurry, we have more customers!" came the cry from the door.

My heart pounding, my breath short, I was going as fast as I could. We were running out of cups and lemonade again. The excitement, the thrill.

This is why I got into the pink lemonade business.