Author: SA Otey

Software Engineer

Social Media Vacation Responders

~ SA Otey

Whenever you take a vacation and then decide to share photos or videos via social media you will have one of your pals say one of these gems…

I wish I could afford a vacation.

Well, maybe if you weren’t so terrible with your budget, you could. This is the worst kind of comment because they are trying to add a guilt trip leg to your itinerary. I get it, some can’t afford vacations, but you shouldn’t try to make others feel bad for enjoying themselves. The point is, don’t share your life on social media

Put me in your suitcase

That’s impossible and illegal. Plus, you might die of suffocation in the overhead compartment.

Drink an alcoholic beverage for me

That’s also impossible; it’s like asking someone to go urinate for you. We aren’t that close, and I’m not going to apply a catheter for you.

I wasn’t invited

No, you weren’t because this is my vacation. If you wanted to go with us, then we should have planned ahead, and you could have purchased your very own ticket. That is, if you’ve budgeted properly.

You should have done “X”

There is always someone who’s taken the same trip as you and attempts to induce FOMO feelings of “you’ve missed something crucial that would have made your vacation 1000 times better”. Sucks to be you.

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

~ SA Otey
IMG_1186
Mac and Sauce

In my opinion, this is the best Mac and Cheese that you will ever put in your main face hole. Hope you enjoy it.

  • 12oz Elbow Macaroni cooked and drained
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 1.5 cups of milk
  • 12oz can of evaporated milk
  • 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 1 cup of Colby-jack cheese
  • 1 cup of extra sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
  • Mix and cook in the crock pot for 1.5 to 2 hours.
  • Serve with crumbled crispy bacon as a topper.

My second favorite recipe is to cook the aforementioned macaroni only, drain, and add 2 cans of Stagg Chili mix until hot. Serve a heaping portion in a bowl and top with hot sauce and parmesan. You can thank me later.

Stagg Silverado Beef Chili with Beans, 15 Ounce (Pack of 12)

Making extra donations at Walmart during the holidays

~ SA Otey

They have some great prices, but good grief it’s not worth it about 99.99% of the time. Once you pick a buggy you can’t tell it’s got a busted wheel until you roll it over two levels of cobblestone entrance tile and hit a smooth surface. By then, they are banking on the fact that you won’t care enough to exchange it. Thus, never servicing their shopping carts..

They always have someone begging at the entrance. If you don’t give them any money, they give a condescending look and tell you to have happy holidays, but they are condemning you to hellfire and damnation. The Salvation Army is usually out the day after Halloween, and one lady was apparently using the kettle as an ashtray. I don’t know if she was smoking a cigarette or a bong, but the smoke was billowing into the solarium of vending and electronic recycling machines..

Drinking and Smoking at Walt Disney World

~ SA Otey

There used to be a shortcut to Storybook Circus beside Space Mountain. The path was lined with outcast smokers who were escaping frantic park-goers by calming themselves with a blast of hotboxed nicotine. You had to be mindful if you took your kids down this path of potential inhalations. They would get about a month’s worth of 2nd and 3rd hand smoke, which may have been enough of a taste to lead them to become lifelong smokers. In honor of that special spot, there is now a line of smokers waiting a the Tron rider out of the eye line of cast members. Smokers never give up; smokers find a way.

I don’t know if you ever could, but I know you can’t drink alcohol at the Magic Kingdom. You can still booze it up at Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios and then head on over to Magic Kingdom. However, it doesn’t stop smokers with cigarettes of an electronic nature. No, that’s not pixie dust, it’s vapor clouds.

Enough with the Daylight Savings

~ SA Otey
IMG_2725
St. Simon Island Sunrise

I once read a letter to the editor of a newspaper in which the person was complaining about springing forward. It was causing too much sunlight thus destroying their garden and lawn. I agree with this person. I think it’s time to stop springing forward. Let’s keep falling back though. Each fall we should continue to set our clocks back. How cool would it be to have our days and nights mixed up for a few years like newborn babies? To be honest, let’s start a petition at the White House to stop springing forward and back and just leave the clock in the spring-forward position. Let’s let God handle the daylight.

Parking lot drag strips

~ SA Otey
photography of parking lot
Photo by Jose Espinal on Pexels.com

I’ve noticed that there is a sense of anxiety in theme park parking lots. Everyone is in such a hurry to get one extra car ahead. So much to almost cause fatal car accidents. Stop and yield sign lose their meaning. Flashing signs that indicate your speed only seem to make you want to get a higher number. For what? One extra parking spot closer to the tram ride? Is vehicular homicide worth it?

Do you let your 8 year old smoke?

~ SA Otey

8yearoldSmoker

Just thought it was odd when I was renewing my policy during open enrollment for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Can’t believe it’s an option, but I’m sure if you clicked next on the signup wizard you would be denied coverage and reported to DSS. At least, that’s what should happen.

A side note, I got a letter from South Carolina Blues saying that there are cheaper options than I currently have. There was also a slam about our “current administration” in there too. But the shocking thing is I compared the two plans and one of them was $300 cheaper for the EXACT same coverage. Let that be a warning to you. Go check out your open enrollment options, don’t let your same policy roll over. You could be paying more than you should.

How to get free coffee at Disney resorts

~ SA Otey


I once stayed at the Swan and Dolphin Resort inside Walt Disney World during a company retreat. It’s a really nice hotel and something I wouldn’t choose to stay at normally. The cafes and restaurants are out of this world expensive so I can see why someone would want to float the bill to another guest. I had a large purchase on my room ticket and it turned out to be $28 worth of food at the Java bar. I at first thought it was an in-room charge for using the Starbucks coffee pods.

When I checked in, their credit card machine was down. So they used one of those carbon-copy machines to do an imprint. I’m shocked those things still exist. I assumed someone found my card and went caffeine crazy. To my dismay, all someone had to do was write down a room number to charge it. You should have to at least verify the name or show some I.D. This hotel went retro with the credit and mistakes were made. The good thing is they gave me my money back, but the guy in accounting didn’t act like he believed me. I said I have a digital trail that shows I was in Hollywood Studios during the time of purchase. But their tone from him was “Yeah, sure”. Oh well, at least someone got free coffee overpriced coffee.

How to screen your calls the right way.

~ SA Otey

Caller ID has made our lives so much easier. It’s hard to imagine a time when we had to lift a receiver, listen to a voice, and decide to hang up. Today, we are just a button click away from avoiding a call. We see a contact we know will take at least half an hour away from our lives, and we can silently click to voicemail. However,  don’t send the call directly to voicemail. Let the phone ring to completion. If you double-click your iPhone, they will know you’ve purposefully avoided the call. If you are using the toilet, you can send a custom text message as a reply saying you will call them back. There is no sense in interrupting your Disney eMoji Blitz game in the middle of a movement.

How do you handle unknown callers? My general rule is this. If you don’t recognize a number, send it directly to voicemail; if the call is important, they will leave a message for you. If they don’t, add it to the block list. Mine is currently over one thousand numbers.

Zero wait time at Magic Kingdom?

~ SA Otey

Can you guess which ride? No, it’s not the auto-flush toilet. Even those have a wait time. On a side note, you should probably add Genie Plus Lightning Lane to the toilet bowl near Pecos Bill’s after you eat two pounds of beef nachos. It’s tough to find zero wait times, but it’s possible. Just a tip, if you ever see a 13-minute wait time on Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror, there’s no wait.