As I was checking my e-mail

"Prep & Landing" tells the tale of an elite elf unit assigned to pave the way for the big guy in red each Christmas Eve. Disgruntled veteran Wayne (voiced by Dave Foley) and his new partner, eager beaver Lanny (Derek Richardson), run into a few snags at a little boy's home that threaten to derail Santa's visit – unless the elves go above and beyond. It's a warm, funny, and visually gorgeous holiday treat.


I don't know if it's the Drunken Tuscan Pasta or the fact that it's after midnight, but this amuses me.

Yay for making a meal!
And yay for pasta that turned purple with the amount of Chianti I put in (one bottle)!

Happy Disney Day

Happy 108th Birthday, Walt!!

Today was a pretty busy day, but it ended in one of the neatest ways: there were cosplayers at Farefax tonight! Axel and Riku from Kingdom Hearts made an appearance, dressed for Christmas and traveling with some Christmas elves. Somebody wanted a Diet Coke.

It was so wonderful to see such a familiar element in the parks, and to have that feeling of "home" wash over me, however briefly.

Thanks cosplayers, whoever you are.

For my future

Thank You for accepting your extension offer. We are glad that you will continue to be in the Disney family through the spring season!

I don't suck so much maybe!

Congratulations! Your extension request has been approved for the following role:

Role: Merchandise

Transfer Date: If you are changing roles or locations, your transfer date is Jan 3, 2010. Your first day of work will be scheduled on Jan 3, 2010 or shortly thereafter.

New Program End Date: May 14, 2010


How exciting! Disney views me as a valuable part of the Company and not a complete waste of their time ^-^

Of course, as with the program before, they don't tell you where you're going to be working, but still! I'm so happy to have this opportunity!

This calls for a celebratory Whopper! Normally it'd be a celebratory Big Mac, but I'm sick, and the Whopper seems to be a good cure for that. If that makes any sense.

Of course, the big question is:

Please Accept or Decline your Extension Below:
Yes, I accept this extension. No, I decline this extension.

I've got some thinking to do between now and December 7th.

The possibilities of extending

At 1:01am on Friday, November 13, 2009, I applied for an extension.

My role choices were Character Performer, PhotoPass Photographer, and Merchandise. I also requested to stay at Hollywood Studios, if it was at all possible.


One more iron in the fire?

Should I stay or should I go?

Today marks one month exactly until my family shows up.

Crazy, isn't it?

But their coming to visit is exactly one month away, and I have so much to do in the meantime. I still haven't gotten my Main Entrance Pass, even though I managed to get my holiday booklet sent to me. I've gotta go check on the hotel, look into the events going on when they come down, and, perhaps most of all, I've got to see exactly what Cast Member discounts and perks I have that I can use for them.

I'm looking forward to it. I mean, it'll be a slightly-more-affordable vacation for them, and an actual vacation for me. In the place that I work. And visit frequently.

Ah, I'm looking forward to it ^-^

But in the interim, however, I have much to do. The biggest thing I'm facing now, besides that paper I should be writing for Marketing You, is the debate as to what I'm going to do next. With less than two months to go before my program ends (or about 56 days (I think) or about 7 weeks), January's coming fast, and with that approach are coming some difficult decisions.

Let's face a couple of facts here: though I have a degree, I highly suspect my going home and trying to get a job in that career area isn't going to be very likely, even with Disney on my resume. Jobs are also harder to find, both because of the depression and also, as I learned, because all the good ones are filled by people who hire from within their company. But let us also take note that although I view money as something that has to be dealt with, a necessary inconvenience perhaps, happiness is key for me.

That all said, I've been debating back and forth about my next steps. As of now, my program's ending in January and I'll be heading home. I haven't heard from any of the professional internships I've applied for, I applied for a job, but haven't heard anything on that end either, and there's an audition coming up on the 19th that I want to apply for, but if I do get in, I'd have to extend. And since I haven't heard from or have little information about my Disney Company professional aspirations, it's pretty much come down to whether I extend or go home.

Just a few weeks ago, this wouldn't have been a very difficult decision. I got the "Want to extend?" e-mail in my inbox, said "Nope*" and moved on. It wasn't that I didn't think the notion of staying with Disney was a bad thing, but I had applied for the professional internships, and was hoping (and still am) to pull myself up above minimum wage work.

But now...well, as my Mom puts it, there really isn't anything much for me to return to in terms of a career. I haven't done anything with communications and writing in a long while, let alone anything down here. Since I wouldn't be able to get a job in my major right off the bat (unless I start trying to freelance and do little projects down here, and we all know how likely that is e.e), I get the feeling I'd be stuck back in retail again. No food and beverage. I've had enough food and beverage. And it hasn't even gotten to the crazy times yet. That return-to-retail notion is more than a little depressing. I really would like to start on my career. I really would like to move beyond minimum wage jobs and general job duties. I'd like to actually have some talents and shine a little bit.

But it's not like it would be much different if I stayed down here. Extending would mean I could (maybe) move into another area, which would be awesome, but I get the feeling I would be placed in merchandise. Retail. Just more crazy. Plus there's always that slim chance that I couldn't move around, in which case it'd be Hello Sunset!

No.
No, I don't think so.

This isn't a terrible job that I have, and believe me, I'm thankful to have one. But there's something sort of depressing about knowing, even as a little kid, that you don't want to be in food and beverage, and then to find yourself working in it some years later because you don't know what you want to do with your life.

That's the other aspect of it too - what to do with my life? I spent a little time on the phone with my Mom yesterday, sitting in the Cast Member parking lot of Hollywood Studios, watching some of the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights and taking in what I could of Illuminations. I was telling her how disappointed I was with the Company for, in my opinion, cutting quality. Don't get me wrong, Walt Disney World and the Disney Company itself are models of quality and high standards, but they seem to be lacking a certain something that made them spectacular world-class leaders not so long ago. Maybe it's just the atmosphere and the culture that I've encountered, but it's not for me. But when I expressed to my Mom how I wasn't thrilled with the cutting of corners and the extreme focus on the bottom line (did we really need to buy Marvel? Probably...but that money could've been sunk back into the parks, or into the studio space they're looking to create out in California), she told me that I was essentially looking for a Utopia. And in the business world, that just doesn't exist. I'd be better off going into a helping profession, something non profit. Or I could be a teacher :P

I find myself feeling torn between staying and trying to do something good for my future, or returning home and trying to get my act together, along with a return to happiness. But will returning to no job, very little money, and no free park admission mean happiness? In the same consideration, will staying far from family and friends doing a minimum wage job in a crazy and very business-minded atmosphere with vacation-minded people while not really seeing where else the job could lead except to stay in the parks be any better?

I'm thankful for my job.
Thankful that Disney chose me to come work for them.
Thankful that I have this opportunity to work for Disney, as well as to get into the parks and really enjoy myself.

But there's that happiness that I'm looking for. It's a motivator, that's for sure, and if I could just find the right career, or even the right area, to work happily in, I'd be - simply - amazing.

Maybe I really should do those exercises I've supposed to have been doing all along.

But it comes down to the question of staying or going and trying to determine which one will bring me the most happiness? Which one will allow me to be the most productive and do the most for myself? Which one is right for me at this time in my life?

I think the answer's become sort of obvious, but I want to look into it all and be sure.

And after all, it would be nice, if I were to extend, to get into a job area where I could really shine. Really make Disney thankful for hiring me. That'd be a nice thank you to them, ne?

And at the same time, it would be nice to return home, take a look at all that I've learned from my experiences at Disney, and start making the future I want happen.

But all these thoughts and ponderings will have to be put on hold for just a little bit longer. I've got a paper to write tonight, interview questions to write down, and, of course, work to get to now. Again, let me stress that I'm thankful for the family that I have, who so kindly got me down here. I'm thankful that Disney took a chance on me and brought me into the Company.

I just want to find my own happiness however. I think this is what everyone seeks out, and I know I've been sort of searching for awhile now. But I'm getting that feeling, once again, that I should do something about it. And with such a major decision as choosing between staying and going...maybe this time will be the time I actually start towards that happiness.

No. This time WILL be the time.

But first work.

And maybe a trip to Target,
Every goal-oriented person's gotta look good at some point, right?


Oh, and randomly, my Mom now understands " :P "




*More likely "Hell no!", but lets be polite.

Up!

Tonight there was a movie night at The Commons featuring the just-released-today "Up!"

I ended up going with Amanda, driving to The Commons and asking her a little about character auditions along the way. I felt bad, since when you're off of work, the last thing you really want to do is discuss it, but there's an audition coming up I'd like to try to attend, if anything just to say that I did it and did it well. We ended up in the clubroom, which I had promptly forgotten is probably one of the coldest places on property. Not that I mind the cold, but after sitting there for a couple of hours during one of my training days, I decided it would be best to go back to my car and get my jacket for the movie.

When I returned, Amanda's friend Adonis ::has no idea if this is the proper spelling of his name...sorry:: had found her, and together we sat in the middle back of the room, eating our free (delicious) popcorn and drinking our free soda. I got a Cherry Coke ^-^

Up! is just as I remembered it, full of amazing visuals, furry Dug goodness, and a story that makes you laugh while tugging at your heart. I love that Pixar has such a good grasp on moments like that. Granted, it sucks to experience the sadder side of things (I still got teary...what can I say?), especially in a room with a group of your peers, but I love that Pixar can do that to me. And the plethora of "Awww"s and sad "Ohhh"s I heard around the room made me think I wasn't the only one getting caught up in the story. Oh! And to have the experience where everybody in the room finds something funny and laugh all together? Wonderful! I'm loving these group experiences!

I realized part-way through the movie that the last time I'd seen it was back home, in summer, before I left to go to Disney. I remember seeing the castle on the screen and having my Mom remark that soon I was going to be there. And now, here I was, seeing it again at the beginning of Up!, less than two months before I would be leaving to go back home. There's a sort of profound feeling I get from this realization. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but there's just something about seeing that castle and knowing that I'm looking at it now, as a Cast Member, and also remembering how I looked at it in the theater in the past, thinking to myself that I really was going to be going to Disney.

It was a wonderful night, full of shared experiences and a very good story (although the dogs in the planes still threw me a bit). The very best part though was at the end, when Carl awards Russell with the badge while saying "Russell, for going above and beyond in the line of duty..." The entire audience cracked up over that one, and even though I was feeling a little touched by the emotion of the scene, I too laughed loudly aloud with the rest of the audience. I don't think I'll ever forget that moment, especially when I hear that line.

Afterwards, they had a little raffle for two posters and two copies of the movie. I didn't win anything, of course, but still had had fun. I was hoping they would've been raffling off one of the Dug plushes, but that's what holiday Cast discounts are for, ne?

I also ran into Kimberly, one of the girls I work with whose brother is an Imagineer. We stood in the rain and chatted for a little bit, said good bye to Amanda and Adonis who were off to get food, and then, because I found out she lives at Patterson, gave her a ride. On the way back, I asked her what she knew about extending.

I've got a four day work week this week. Tomorrow I'm sure I'm going to be encountering Fairfax's new menu. But for now, sleep sounds like a good idea.

A bit of a quick morning post

I’ve only got a little bit of time to write. Today I work from 10:45am to 6:30pm, which leaves me about fifteen minutes to write. I just woke up too, having decided since I had stayed up until after 1:30am and had to work early today, that sleeping in a little extra would be a good idea. I was dreaming about Disney water parks and about leaving two “kids” (one was a boy who was a kid, the other was a teenage girl who looked a lot like Emilee from Sunset) on their own. There was an older guy too, and I had a bit of a dry exchange with him. Parent? Ex of mine? Who knows. I was just starting to apologize for my actions since this was the first time I was leaving them on their own, when the alarm rang. Before that, it had been folding sheets with Candice, with her noting their significant importance. I remember asking her and her Mom if they did this all the time before vacation and they said yes.

And I would’ve expected to have dreamed of Christian wandering around with his pants open and low enough to see his boxers almost all the way. But maybe that’s for another night?

That pretty much summarizes my day from yesterday. Since I had class, I pretty much lazed around, getting up at 10:00am, checking out Disney forum websites, seeing my first half-episode of Jon and Kate and full episode of Say Yes To The Dress. I also got to try Misako’s massager, which looks like three three-pointed, clear splats of pink plastic have been attached to either end of a wishbone. It feels pretty good and only costs about $10 in Japan. I may have to look into that.

Somehow, despite, or maybe because of, my laziness, I ran a little behind on making my way to class. I still made it, but I didn’t make it as early as I had wanted. As I signed the roster, I was greeted by laughter over Phineas and Ferb. Good sound.

Class was neat, we learned a lot about the first five Disney animated movies, their animators, a little bit of the history going on at the time of their release. We also learned about television, which was funny because Zorro was mentioned, and earlier in the morning, I had purchased seasons 1 and 2 on dvd to be shipped to Walmart. I’m not pleased with how expensive they are, especially because I could’ve gotten a D23 membership with the money I spent, or at least saved it towards something a little more productive, but I like Zorro, and didn’t’ want to miss out on my chance to get it. Kind of sucks that I couldn’t have bought it at Disney, but I don’t think Cast Members get discounts on dvds, and I wouldn’t have gotten as low of a price.

We also got to see a bunch of film and tv clips, including deleted scenes and songs. It was a wonderful experience, since the clips were watched as a group. The group laughter and group emotion was fun, I’ve never really gotten to experience things like that, at least not in theaters, and not so much where everyone agrees with me that a certain point is fun to watch.

Oh, and my team didn't win the competition. We didn't come in second or third either. But oh well, it was fun anyway ^-^

After class, I debated food, but wanting to see Wishes, I grabbed a graham cracker and a granola bar and left for the Magic Kingdom. I got to park in Happy in the Seven Dwarves lot, just like I had the previous night with Alex. Kind of exciting because it was new to me. I ended up hanging out on Main Street, talking to Alex and her friend, while waiting for Alex’s ER to come through. I ran to the bakery briefly because I was starving, but I’m trying to cut back on spending money ::coughZorrocough:: so I didn’t get anything. Unfortunately, when I got back, Alex had already gone to change, so I ended up wandering and waiting for a few minutes. She came back and found me, but she’d gone to the Emporium first. Oops x.x

The train had stopped running, so we walked over to Frontierland, heading towards Big Thunder Mountain. We made a stop at the Country Bear Jamboree first, which was entertaining. When we got out, it was five minutes to Wishes and we had to make a choice: go back to Main Street and see where Tinker Bell lands, or ride Big Thunder. We chose Big Thunder. It was nice and empty by that point, and despite the sign that said there was a 10 minute wait, we walked right on. Even got to choose our own seats too. We chose the back.

After a wildly awesome ride in which we could see the fireworks going off as we raced around the track, we headed back towards Main Street and through the crowd of zombie people (they all stop and stare, I love looking at them) and Alex showed me where I could find Tinker Bell. Then she headed to her car, and I pushed my way through the now-leaving crowd to mine. Ohh, there was a teen girl and her 10/11/12 year old brother I saw on the way out. She was telling “Drake” not to run, that he needed to stay by her. Maybe those were the kids I was watching in my dream?

Alex and I ended up getting back around the same time, I arriving mere seconds before her. She changed and headed out to Wendys to meet her friends, inviting me to come, but I declined in favor of not wanting to impose on their growing friendships (not unannounced anyway) and also to call my Mom. We ended up discussing my nearish future (within the next couple of months), which proved to be a bit of a downer conversation-wise. Do I try and stay and extend and continue to have a job? Or do I try to free myself and see what options lie at home, where I’d like to be? I was tired and felt kind of down, so even though Alex had her friends come over and build a tent, I didn’t participate. Christian did pull down his outer pants though, numerous time, which was a natural perk :P

I got out of the room later that night, but by then it was after 1am, and seeing as I had to get up early (and am already running late), I headed to bed, only to get one more moon from Christian. I’m just amused by the comfort level some people have with physical humor, especially with pulling their pants down in front of strangers.

Frankly, I feel there’s a lot to be thought over. I tried checking out the Disney careers website on the advice of my Mom, and really didn’t find anything there. I’ve got to try to figure something out, it’d really be a good idea anyway.

But for now, off to work.

Happy Halloween!!

When the crypt goes creak,
And the tombstones quake.
Spooks come out for a swinging wake.
Happy haunts materialize,
And begin to vocalize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

Now don't close your eyes,
And don't try to hide.
Or a silly spook may sit by your side.
Shrouded in a daft disguise,
They pretend to terrorize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree,
Spooks arrive for the midnight spree.
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes,
Start to shriek and harmonize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,
Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell.
Restless bones etherialize, Rise as spooks of every size.

If you would like to join our jamboree,
There's a simple rule that's compulsory.
Mortals pay a token fee.
Rest in peace, the haunting's free.
So hurry back, we would like your company.

Happy Anniversary!!

Today marks the one year anniversary since I came down to Disney on my first solo vacation.

It seems so weird to think that an entire year has passed since then. True, not all my memories of this time last year are as sharp as they could be, but it's interesting to think about what I do remember, both with my trip, and the days leading up to it. I still distinctly remember checking in movies one day at Blockbuster, not being happy about it, but being in the sun shining through the window and thinking "two weeks". Well...I think I was thinking "two weeks". But I do remember.

And now, here it is. One year later, and what have I done since then? Well, I'm out of Blockbuster for one thing, so I guess that's good. And I think I'm a little more on my way towards figuring out what my future is. Although I still totally suck at trying to write cover letters. I'm working on one now for the Communications Professional Internship, and it's just not happening. It's not that I'm not excited about the internship or the opportunities it could provide. I just always seem to have trouble trying to summarize myself in such a business-like way. But I can do it ^-^

I guess the most obvious change since last year is that I'm working at Disney as opposed to just visiting. Or, should I say, just visiting for vacation. We're all just visiting Walt Disney World, no matter who we are. But what a funny thought. I came down here a year ago because I loved Disney and wanted to visit, and a year later I'm working here because I love Disney and I wanted to give it a try.

Speaking of work, tomorrow's my return-return to work. I haven't worked in a long while due to my being sick, which I know I need to update about as well. So much to do. But, right now I'm in a bit of a busy period. I need to finish applying for the professional internships and have to start preparing for the interview phone call. Plus I have homework for Marketing You that really, and I mean REALLY needs to be taken care of. And this Saturday there's a Tower of Terror marathon going on, so the park stays open unti 1:30am (I get to stay until 2am), and then the very next morning, I get to be at work at 10:30am.

Ah, so it's back to work for me. But I did want to mark this occassion, special as it is to me. It was a wonderful time, and I certainly hope there are more wonderful times ahead.

Happy One Year ^-^

Sick

I'm sick.

I arrived back from home with what I thought was a scratchy throat from the change in weather and a stuffiness in my head due to homesick tears. As soon as I stepped out of the airport (after being shot down by the guy at the Magical Express when I asked if they could give me a ride), I thought my throat had gotten better. But, alas, it was still scratchy.

The next day, I had to get up early to get to Vista Way. I was making up my Marketing You class, which I hadn't been able to make on Monday since I was still out of town. I woke up feeling under the weather, and this plus my lack of time prompted me to down some orange juice for breakfast. Class was fine, although I was worried we were going to have to read our revised 30 second commericals aloud (we didn't). Then I rented two movies, headed back to the apartment, and had a lunch of chicken noodle soup and orange juice. The first Heritage class was pretty cool, and it seemd like we'll be doing a lot of interesting things, but I was worried because I started to feel a little nauseous while sitting these. But the class kept my interest, so yay.

The next day, yesterday, was my first day back at work. And what a first day back it was. I was supposed to be there at 10:15am, which is a lot to ask, even if I'm not sick. When I informed Coordinator Tammy about how I wasn't feeling well, I asked if I could be an "outdoor slave" for the day. Not the best choice of words x.x But I did get to stay outside...on condiment bar. Happily, I found a cart early on, but between feeling sick and sniffy and the beating I was taking from the sun, I was moving at a really slow pace. I did get briefly pulled into bussing. A guy approached me and asked me if I could wipe off a table for him. I said I could, and it was totally no problem, but I looked around and noticed all of the bussers had disappeared. Wtf? Four and a half hours of condiment bar later (yes, that's right), I got taken off of condiment bar...only to be put on Scoops register. This was not a happy thought to me. Speech was sort of difficult for me with my scratchy throat, and speaking actually made me feel a little sick too. And since I like to be the talkative type at Scoops, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. But I was delayed a bit from the register as we were just opening the second window, so I took my time getting the napkins and spoons ready, checking the cash, and getting water from Fairfax. Please don't think I was trying to abandon the people waiting in line; there was a window open before I got there. I just needed to take some time and prep myself for what would've been a difficult task for me at the time.

I opened the window, took a couple of orders, and as I was waiting for the last two of five sundaes to be made (cookies I think?), Emilee showed up and I got to go on break. I didn't have a lunch, since I had to toss my peanut butter out (it looked like there was some oil that had separated), I got a fruit cup and some combos and sat down for a much-needed break. Near the end, I gave my Mom a call and, not to gross you out, blew one seriously snotty tissue. This is when I began to suspect I wasn't suffering from just a weather change.

After break, there was no one at the coordinator's desk, so I took my printed job at condiment bar again. I also got yelled at, or at least had a talking-to by Ketty, this Hatian (spelling?) girl who'se been at Disney for 10 years. Apparently she'd noticed earlier that when I was doing condiment bar, the closer-to-the-Guests side at the one by Rosie's had gotten down to bare bones supplies. "You fill them. Not half way." she'd said, to which I responded "Oh never half way."

I don't fill condiment bar half way.

She gave me a look that, frankly, told me she thought I was talking back, and continued "You fill it up all the way." I do agree that, when I saw that side of the condiment bar, I knew I was falling behind and really needed to attend to that side. I mean, I guess logically, the Guests could've seen that that one side was nearly empty and could just walk around to the other side, but these are vacation-minded people. They can't be bothered with logic. Or rational thought (sometimes). Anyway, I got back to work, and yes, I filled the condiment bars. Ketty had wandered by a couple of times, whether to spy or just bored, who can say. I had a pretty good starting base anyway. Who ever had done condiment bar before me (and had disappeared before I had gotten out there after my break), had left things pretty darn full. It also wasn't busy...but all the same, I appreciated it.

And then I got switched the Fairfax kitchen. I had been afraid of this, since when I got back from break, I took a sneak peak at the closing list, and had found my name next to Fairfax kitchen. This, as you may not, was not something I wanted to see. In short, I suck at closing Fairfax kitchen. I never seem to be able to do things in the right order at the right time, and never seem to remember every little thing I need to do. Thus, I end up staying late, and have made a mess with the food more than once. Chili spilled on my shoes after Night of Joy, beans BURNING my fingers, spilling the chili into the big container where the food sits in its dishes (some of it got down the drainage pipe too). Look at my hands - if they're covered in food, I'm closing Fairfax. Plus, I wasn't sure how healthy it was to have me serving up food. But, have no fear. I THROUGHLY washed my hands, kept them safely in the gloves and kept my germy self away from the food as much as possible.

Manager Susan stopped by, but only to second-harvest some of the turkey legs. She didn't have any bags to dump the food in, as a sort of way of speeding things up. Riann, who was closing the front, did have some excellent advice however. She told me to start putting all the salad fixings into salad containers. Since the first and main goal of Fairfax is to get the dishes to, well, Dishes, this would help speed things up a little. I had been worried, since the then-coordinator John had stopped in, pleased with himself that he'd gotten people to their closing positions early, and chatting about how Dishes has already knocked out quite a bit and should totally be done by 7:30pm.

But we closed, and I tried, and somehow, somehow, I managed to get out only 25 minutes after I was supposed to be done. A new record! I also managed to talk to Coordinator John, who I think was the same coordinator I tried talking to back home to say I couldn't work Tuesday because of class. John managed to tell me who my Leaders are (Melissa and Catelyn (spelling?) ) and got me the number of Sunset, which is awesome because...now I have it?

Afterwards, I got to my car...and just kind of collapsed. I was definitely starting to not feel well, and got the feeling that soup would do me some good. However, I wanted restaurant soup, or at least premade soup, not soup from a can, so I drove down 192 for a little bit, trying to see if there was a place with a drive-through that served soup. I'm aware that I had a change of clothes and could've gone into a restaurant, but I was lazy (and sick) and just wanted the soup.

I managed to find, of all things, a Steak n' Shake, which I was plesantly overjoyed at. It took a little bit of manuvering to get to, since I passed it and was in the wrong lane to turn around, but it was neat to find one. As I pulled in, I was kind of creeped out by this guy and his two friends in the parking lot. He appeared to be hitting on two girls, but no matter! I had found a Steak n' Shake!

After pausing at the menu to look for soup (they didn't have any), I ended up getting 3 sliders. I think the guy at the window might've said something to me other than the usual total, "here you go", and "thanks", but I couldn't tell. I'm pretty sure he could see my costume though (I DID manage to take off the nametag beforehand though). As I drove away, creepy guy was taking cell phone pictures of the two girls. I sure hope they knew how to handle themselves.

Back at the apartment, I ate and watched most of The Best of The Mickey Mouse Club. I was really starting to feel tired, and was still drippy and blah. My throat was still hurting too, so before I settled in, I poured myself some water to have by the bed. I left the tv on, tuned into TCM, which was playing all sorts of old black and white "comedy" movies. They were funny, not drop your pants funny (wha?), but they were pleasant and humorous and something interesting to stare at when I woke up a couple of times during the night. This was actually kind of interesting, since, because all the movies were in black and white, when I woke up, i was never quite sure if I was watching something new, or the same movie. Not without paying attention first.

And then this morning...

I didn't have to go in until 1pm, so I managed to sleep in a little more, but I still wasn't feeling well. I was coughing a little more, and my throat was still bothering me. I thought about it...thought about how I wasn't feeling well...how I was dripping and sneezing and coughing and just wanted some rest...how as much as I loved the parade duty (and I was assigned to it today too), I wasn't exactly the epitomy of the Disney look at the time...thought about dealing with Guests and other Cast Members, speaking and lifting objects and being outside...and at 10:02am I called in for the first time ever.

I dialed the number, got a phone menu that asked if I was calling in, then if it was an emergency, and then reached a deployment Cast Member. They asked my name, which I had a bit of a hard time sharing because my voice was starting to fade a bit, where I worked, whether it was a sick call-in or personal, and what my personel number was. And that was it.

Free to spend the rest of the day getting well, I plopped down in front of the computer and discovered a site featuring badly photoshopped advertisements. Misako randomly came in, asking me, and then asking Alex and I, how to spell words like "um" and "blah". After a call to my Mom, and a little more computer surfing to work up the energy, I headed out to Walmart to stock up on health supplies, as well as a couple of groceries. I hadn't bought too much last week since I was going home.

Then it was back to the apartment. Misako had been so gracious as to offer me some of her leftover soup, so I had that with some green tea and honey. The soup was absolutely delicious, reminding me of home, and was exactly what I had needed. The tea seemed to help too, along with the two full spoonfuls of honey I swallowed afterwards. And then...more sitting. Amanda eventually came back to the apartment, and we chatted for a bit about how little kids are scared of Jojo the Clown, and how difficult the life of an entertainer can be. She had a glass of apple juice, and set it down, only to discover it had ants in it not too long afterwards. Bleh x.x Alex came back too, and I chatted with them both for a little while more. But I noticed, as I did so, that I kept resting my head on things (the chair, the table), and that my voice making me sound more and more like I was a smoker. After observing a sort of brief, but torrential rain shower (the lighting set off car alarms!) I opted for a nap, and slept until about 6.

When I awoke, I headed to the bathroom, only to see a note taped to the door with a Mickey sticker. It read "I promise I'm going to fix it... Dramatic pause". Opening the door, I saw the shower curtain rack lying on top of the side of the bathtub. I opened the door to the apartment where I found Alex, and applauded her for the note. But I didn't sleep through a crash, apparently; Alex had caught the rack on the way down. I decided to try my hand at making a Tombstone. Alex had been watching something on pizzas earlier (I got to see the deep dish part, woo!), so I kind of had a taste for pizza. But also, I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make. Ha.

I started by having to clean off the baking sheet, which had little bits of Texas Toast crusted to it. Then I faced a connundrum over how long to preheat the oven, since it's electric and it heats faster and our smoke alarm is kind of sensative. Then, after cooking the pizza once, cutting it, and deciding it wasn't done enough, I ended up microwaving pieces, then laying them on the baking sheet (why did I use parchment paper then and not before when I was starting??) and reheating the oven and the pieces twice!

At the same time, I was trying to finish my Y.E.S. audition video, which had to be delayed when I decided to swap one segment for another. Then I tried to send it via e-mail, my Mom on the phone giving me ideas what to say while reassuring me that the bendy slices of pizza were ok, but could maybe use a little more time in the oven. E-mail failed, the file was too big, so then I had to sign up for a YouTube account, put in "mai" instead of "mail" which caused me not to get the confirmation e-mail, had to fight my way to getting to the page where I could change it, had to change my e-mail address, log into another account, upload the video (took a while), had the video checked...or something (also took a while), rewrote the e-mail, checked the video and the links and how to search for it, and sent it, all while still having to be mindful of my pizza in the oven (again), the smoke alarm, the open patio door window (we now have a little dragonfly in the apartment), and the end of Ratitouille, which was playing on Disney Channel.

Then Alex came in with her friends, and the guy remarked on the way I was sitting (non-conventional indian style). While on the phone with my Mom, she'd remarked on how bad I sounded, but trying to communicate with these people even briefly made me sound like a smoker. I quickly reorganized the fridge, opted to do my dishes later, and slipped into the room.

I need rest, I think. My body's kind of sore, although it could be from my writing this entry. I did try this spray that's supposed to numb my throat, but unfortunately, my aim was off, so the top part of my mouth and some of my lips got numbed instead. It seemed to help, or at least I think it would have if I'd hit the right area. But yes, rest definitely seems like a good idea right now.

Postcard post with a glass of orange juice

Had Marketing You at Vista today. Learned I'm an "S", but also seem to match up with "I" and some points of "C" in the I-DISC test. All letters got combined into groups. Ss were the only groups to include everybody in their "What would your office look like?" question. After class, saw notices for upcoming career events. Also saw posting for something like "Get to know a Disney character". This month is Horace Horsecollar. Learned things I didn't know about him. Need to have stuff like this posted at Patterson. Vista's neat like that. Rented The Best of the Mickey Mouse Club and The Absent-Minded Professor. Yes, I'm a dork. Didn't have breakfast besides orange juice. Went back to apartment for lunch of Chicken Noodle Soup and orange juice. And Mickey Mouse club. Drove to Chatham so I knew where classrooms were. Found my way into a classroom, wasn't sure if it was for Heritage since it seemed full, but I was in the right place. Watched end of Jonas on Disney channel since it was playing. Never seen Jonas before...not sure if there's really any reason I should watch again. Class was pretty cool. Seems to be a lot of fun stuff lined up for us. Teacher was a CP and hated his job too. Has gone interesting places with Company though, nationally, internationally, and to Marceline, Missouri. Got into the closed Disney museum, the Disney elementary school, a bed and breakfast, and the Disney house. Learned what the Dreaming Tree was today. Very cool. Thought I recognized a girl who was on the Expedition Everest tour with me. Also Holly from Sunset? Tried to talk to EE girl, but she left for bus. Can't walk fast in high heels x.x Went to Publix for (more) orange juice, chicken noodle soup, and gnocchi. Then to McDonalds for Bacon-Cheese Angus burger, fries, and Coke. Got to play Monopoly! Intended to do stuff tonight, followed by watching Aladdin on Disney. Instead, helped Misako with cover letter and resume. She met a pilot at the Polynesian and got his business card to be a flight attendant! Amanda was trying out for a face character and didn't make it. While Carter took her out to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, Jenny, Misako, and I went to Walmart and got her a cookie cake. Read "You will always be a princess to us!". Guy gave us a free Belle. Picked up a card that plays "You've Got A Friend In Me". Also got a little tiara. Returned to sign card in laundry room while Jenny took laundry out of dryer. Jenny put "Honorary Princess for the day" sticker on cake cover. Set up for Amanda. Called Mom. Jenny went to Jelly Rolls. Amanda came back with Carter. Was all hugs and smiles when she saw the cake/card/tiara/Belle. Found out peanut butter should not have oily shine inside. Had to toss :( Switched food from above stove with items in lower cabinet. Inspection tomorow, need to clean.

Best advice of the day heard from my Heritage professor: You've got to bloom where you're planted.

Part 2 of 3

And so, I'm back.

My flight got in just a little over an hour ago. Since then, I wandered around the A-side of the airport (and found out it's apparently a Hyatt), was told I couldn't hitch a ride on the Magical Express, took a taxi, greeted my car, called Mom and Dad, called Ralph, and headed inside for a mini-whirlwind of semi-unpacking and a dose of Airborne.

All that being said, I'm tired. I think I have a cold. I have class tomorrow at 8am.

But first, a few thoughts...

In approximately 2 months from now, my family will be here. Approximately two months ago today, I had checked into Disney and was looking forward to a day at the beach with my family. Time seems to fly fast, and yet, not at all.

I'm also not exactly as thrilled to be here as I know I could be. True, this is probably due in part to having such and early make-up class, not to mention that I seem to have acquired a pseudo cold (or an actual one), but I know most of it is because I got to go home again. I got to see my family and my friends, got to experience weather that's more familiar to me. Got to take it easy. Got to sleep in. And, honestly, it's a little hard to think that I've still got another two months before me until I see my family again, let alone nearly three months until I see my home again.

These thoughts are making it hard for me to be interested in applying for the professional internships. Don't get me wrong, I can understand how they'd help me, and I think I'd have fun doing some of them if I got in. But, wow, being home, and then realizing I have to leave again, and that I might have to leave again-again and for six months at that? It's tough.

But I am on to the more-or-less second part of my Disney College Program. Time did fly, at least a little bit, and Amanda told me that it only gets faster once Halloween hits. I guess it's just a little weird to think that I just went through two months of Disney, and now I get to go through another two months of Disney, plus an extra bonus round of crazy.

Right now, feeling tired and sick, I'm not exactly thrilled.

But I did get to go on a plane today. Got to see the plane's shadow on the tops of the clouds. There looked to be a rainbow aura around it; that was cool. The clouds looked like snow too, so that was cool as well. I got to see dots of light indicating towns and factories and civilization. I got to see lightning far off in a neighboring cloud. I got to see the Orlando International Airport again and find my way to the Magical Express busses.

It's just...I know there's good here. I know it's a good thing for me to be back and trying to better myself. I know it's good to continue with the College Program and to have it added to my resume. I know it's good to get the perks like discounts and free park entry.

But when I got on that plane today, I started to cry. I missed home. I miss home.

But I'm back, and hoping to maintain what I've already started, and improve where I see fit. And that begins, of course, by getting a little extra sleep tonight. Especially since I didn't get a lot last night.

Don't get me wrong, I am sort of happy to be back. And I'm sure once I get into the swing of things and have some better times, it will be better. But class tomorrow morning? Having to work starting at 10:15am AND having to close the day after that? Seeing on my schedule I have a 14 hour day coming up? Just a little hard to be excited. Just a little.

But I've got to try.

Off to bed!

Who's got stuff to do? Mee!

Just a quick post because it's late and I still have more to do on my homework tomorrow, not to mention much more to do in general.

I got my first official I-requested-it ER tonight.

I ate chicken hearts and rice.

Good night ^-^

Bob Iger is the highest ever

Jenny's internet stalking a guy she works with.
Not really, but sort of.

Anyway, let's have a mini mathmatically-themed moment, which is something I never thought I'd hear myself say.

A week from today, I'll be home.
A week and three days from now, I'll be back, and starting my second round of the college program.
A week and three days and two months from now, my family will be arriving.
A two weeks and two months from now, my family will be heading home.
Three months from today, I'll be a college program alumni and heading home.

This was all realized as I was driving through the parking lot after I got off work tonight.
Thoughts?

I can't believe I'll be home in a week. I hope I feel better before then. I also can't believe that I've reached that point of my college program. I don't feel like I'm approaching the halfway point. In my mind, this trip's just something of a weekend trip, and then sometime in the future I'll have THE big trip back home. I know that's not the case, but it feels like that. And walking by the pool tonight (having gotten a Coke because I'm not feeling well), I realized I'd never visited the pool, one of many things I just haven't done yet. And I'm almost halfway through.

And I'm really surprised that it's exactly three months until the end of my program. Not that three months isn't a long time, because it is. But looking at things and realizing that I'm a little over a week away from the two month marker, and knowing that I've still done so little of what I'd wanted to accomplish, three months seems very long and yet so very short.

I really need to make a list of all the things I want to do there.
And then I should really do them.

Maybe tomorrow. I'm feeling very tired now, and I still need to try to advance a little more in my homework. Of course, I could've done it instead of watching most of Bolt, but ah well.

Speaking of Bolt, watching it was...interesting. I had wondered what it would be like seeing the castle logo at the beginning of the film, since I've seen the really-for-real castle quite a few times now. I don't think it's less magical, not terribly anyway. But watching the movie tugged on my memory a little and made me think about Blockbuster: watching it there, trying to hear it over customers, seeing it over and over again. And thinking then about now, about being on the program, about getting out of Blockbuster, of freedom and of being with Disney. It seems like such a long while ago... not that it was, and it doesn't even have that "other life" feeling that I get with some of my memories. It's just...in the past.

I saw Entertainers shedding characters this morning. Goliath was chilling on a golf cart, and Leo from Little Einsteins was shedding his...her?...body? It was neat ^-^ Before that, I saw a Sully skin being carted around in a golf cart. It took up most of the cart!

Apparently Avril Lavigne was at Hollywood Studios the other day.
And while she didn't buy any food from me, she did write a song about me. Alex guessed it correctly - it's about how she's a rock star, and I'm an ice cream girl. But, like two flavors on a cone, we'll get together and be one.

Alex called me such an English major for that one.

Amanda was there at some point too, and tried waving and calling out my name, but I was in Farefax and busy and I missed it.

Oh, and Jenny's friend Carter's at the hospital. He's got a bronchial infection and an upper respiratory infection.

And Swine Flu.

He's planning to go to work tomorrow too! He doesn't have any more days off he can spare.
I wonder if Disney'll give you a point off for not coming in due to Swine Flu.


Fun times :)


Oh, and the title refers to part of the discussion I just overheard. Almost all of the roommates were home and awake for the first time in a long time, since we took the group pictures actually. Five out of six of us. Anyway, Amanda was asking who Meg Crofton is, thinking she was higher in rank than Bob Iger. I explained their role titles, naming Bob Iger as "the man" to which Jenny added "He would be Walt Disney, if Walt was still alive. Bob Iger is the highest ever".

And then we began wondering where he lives...

Alex just showed me her Blockbuster card.
That was fun ^-^

...

I need to do my homework.

Waiting for that bright sunlight

You know how you get so used to doing something in a routine that you forget to do it? That was me this morning with turning off my alarm.

Sorry Alex x.x

She's up and wandering around now, looking for her phone. She said my alarm wasn't the reason she's up, which is "unseasonably early" for her as she put it, but I'm sure my forgetting about it didn't help. I had just shut the bedroom door too when it had gone off.

Anyway, as per my usual morning routine, I'm sitting in the main room of the apartment, now-empty cereal bowl by my side, browsing Disney things on my computer. I actually had to turn on a light in here, otherwise things just seemed too dark and creepy in the computer light. I know it's darker because we're technically in Fall now (right?) and the Earth's shifting, but it's so weird to me to have the dark later-part-of-the-year lighting with a lack of cold and weather change. Yesterday I'm sure it was in the 90s and was very bright and sunny. It's not a bad thing, but I know my body's expecting the weather change when I look at the darker mornings. Kind of nice to not have that morning chill, but I do miss the concept of "seasons" here somedays.

I have to write, however quickly, about yesterday, because yesterday was...something else. I had wanted to go to the Salsa sale (Spend A Little, Save A lot), which started at 7am, so I actually ended up getting up early in hopes to try and get a little browsing done before I had to go to work. Misako was up when I opened the door, a little surprising, but we chatted a little bit and then it was off to get ready and go. When I arrived, just a little after 7am, I noticed that there were already a good solid bunch of cars in the parking lot. The Salsa sale's open to all Cast Members, and with 60,000 of us (or more), a sale's going to be a little busy. I parked, and took a long walk up towards the Josten's Center. The event was being held at the Wide World of Sports complex, which I'd never been to, so I was looking around as I walked. It was weird to see all these sports things, mainly just because it's my sister who's the big sportsperson (I just found out not too long ago - she's on the fencing team at her college), and here I was, coming on my own. Honestly, as I stood in line waiting to get in, looking over the various sports fields and trimmed grounds, I kind of felt like joining a team, doing something "sporting", and just generally getting out there and having some fun. Weird.

The line, because there's always a line at sales events (maybe), was a zigzag line, and due to the time I waited in it, I didn't even get past the first zig before I had to leave for work. Even though the event started at 7:00am, it looked like the people running the event were only letting Cast Members in a few at a time. Why? I'm not sure, although there's probably a good reason behind it. But that wasn't very helpful to us Cast Members who had to go to work. I did spot a guy named Anthony whom I know from work as I worked my way back through the line. On my way out, I talked to a woman who was looking to park. I explained to her that the cars were all for the Salsa sale and mentioned the line, to which she replied "Forget it. I've gotta get to work". So did I.

I got over to Hollywood, changed, made a bathroom stop (wasn't feeling well), and headed back out to my car to finish getting ready, only to have sunscreen blop down onto my apron. Well that's no good to wear out for the Guests, so I did a quick Costuming stop and apron swap and continued on my way. I met up with a girl named Kelsey once I got to Sunset and we walked together to the meeting with General Manager (is that his title? It's been a while since my assessment) Perry. I had figured, since this was a roundtable, that there would just be a small bunch of us, so I was surprised to see a group of Outdoor Food Cast Members going up the stairs in the Operations Building (number 2). Following them, I soon found myself in the midst of a bunch of different Food and Beverage people. Shortly after, Perry arrived, and he explained that this was a sort of "Welcome" meeting for the people new to Disney and to Hollywood Studios. We introduced ourselves and our favorite Disney characters; we talked about bad shopping and eating experiences (just like at Blockbuster...imagine that!); we watched a video about kids and families being told they were going to Disneyland (a cute compliation done by marketing, the separate videos of which can be found if you go to YouTube and search "Disneyland surprise"); and we talked briefly about how much Guests pay to come here, and that after all that, we should be offering them nothing less than the best (my words). He also managed to squeeze in a little discussion about our opinons on our training, which allowed me to discover that things seem to be a little diffcult beyond Sunset. Break-downs in communications, training by people who'd only been there two weeks, standards varying from person to person. And then just hearing about the seating charts in the table service restaurants, or the variation between all the outdoor food places: Sunset still isn't all "yaaaaaay", but, apparently, neither are some of these other places. Although these may just be little experiences and not reflective of the whole.

Anyway, Perry ended the meeting and I got a plastic cup featuring the Fab Five (and Tinkerbell and maybe someone else), each dressed in an outfit reflective of one of the lands at Magic Kingdom. I don't know why they had these cups, I don't know what they were for, but they were free, and I think having the characters dressed up is a neat concept. I then got to wander around backstage for a half-an-hour, since it was 10:15am when I got back to Sunset and I wasn't supposed to start work until 10:45am. As I was begining my wander, one of the character golf carts go by, and, amazingly, Annie from The Little Einsteins waved at me. Yes, yes, I'm a dork, but usually the characters are going to work and we're working, so there isn't much acknowledgement that goes on. Kind of sad :(

Backstage wandering was neat. I found a Roy O. Disney Productions building, but it looked like there was construction work going on inside, because fixtures were ripped out and it was dark. I also got something caught in my eye for the longest time. Alas, all too soon it was time to head back, which I did, and found myself assigned to condiment bar. Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with condiment bar. It's just sort of busy with the stocking and restocking of one, having to move and stock and restock the other, and especially during the rushes, trying to keep up on them both. And then to have to do tray runs on top of it all...well...that became the issue of yesterday.

I won't name names, and I'll keep this part really short, but there was one woman who kept telling me to do tray runs. And, granted, I know it's my job, and that they need to be run to the dishroom to get clean, but she wasn't exactly helping. More like throwing her weight around. The trays end up on top of the trashcans, you see, and there's about eight or nine around the dining area. So even when there's a lot, it doesn't look too terrible (in some spots) because they're spread out. Well she'd go, grab a bunch, and stack them all on top of one garbage can, so the pile appeared large and untidy. When I told her I was looking for a cart (which I need to run the piles of trays, and is hard to find because the stockers use them and hide them places), she found one, proceeded to gather most of the trays (I managed to grab a few) and then told me she shouldn't be doing my job, when I had asked her three times to let me take the cart and do the run. Just making a big show out of it, in my opinion. And when I was stocking a condiment bar, and she had to tell me yet again to do a tray run (I was just about done with that particular condiment bar), she got a little peeved that I was putting the barbeque sauce away, rather than leaving it haphazardly on the condiment bar while I raced at her beck and call to go clean up the trays.

I'm not saying that I'm not at fault here. I've ended up doing condiment bar later in the day, where I can get into the rhythm of stocking before the rushes come and I absolutely have to do the trays. And I know my asking "How do they {the trays} get stacked up?" wasn't exactly a question that would lead anywhere good. But I was aware of the trays. I knew it's part of the job. I just wasn't doing it enough, in her opinion. And my lack of finding a cart wasn't exactly helping either. Why can't condiment bar have a cart? Technically, I'm a stocker too at that point.

But the woman had said something about the trays in the beginning, and before her, the manager Susan, so...it just wasn't a good time. Not to mention that there was a little breakdown and build-up in the communication. Jon, one of the guys I've worked with, was stocking things, and he offered to let me use his cart, once he was finished making a stocking run. Since both condiment bars were full, I decided to grab a quick drink, mostly to get out of the heat, but also to avoid the woman asking me about the trays again. When I stepped back out into the sun, I saw Jon, but he was disappearing backstage. I tried to run after him, but when I got back there, he was gone. That's when the woman got the cart...ugh. She could've just handed it to me too. Sorry, sorry, anyway, Jon did reappear later, and asked if "they" had told me he was looking for me, which was a no (the breakdown in communication), but he then said that he was being moved elsewhere, so he'd leave the cart for me by the prep kitchen (the build-up). It was still there once I began being bothered again, which was absolutely wonderful, and I ended up hanging on to that cart and possessively guarding it the rest of the time I was on condiment bar.

But that woman's attitude brought my attitude way, way down. It wasn't a great day for the rest of the day.

I did manage to see a character cart, which had Mary Poppins, a penquin, Chip and Dale, and (finally) Max and Goofy on it, and that perked me up a little.

Oh, and I must applaud Disney on their design techniques. Right after I did MY first tray run (as opposed to the one before that done by that woman), I went to go take them back to the dishroom, only to find out that there was a fire going on. Something had happened with the broiler, but there was now a firetruck and an ambulance sitting behind the restaurant, as well as a bunch of people running around and, oh yes, an alarm going off. Nothing too terrible, I didn't see any smoke or flames, and I got to make two piles of trays on the ground (on the advice of Area Manager Deb and Coordinator Tammy) while I waited for the firemen to do what they do best. But besides Rosie's having to close the Guest windows, and one Guest who had noticed there was a fire in the back and was apparently yelling "fire!", none of the Guests noticed what was going on. Seriously, I walked from backstage to onstage where all the people were, and I had no idea there was an alarm going off and fire vehicles and people around not twenty feet away. Amazing! And then, later on in the day, catering trucks were rolling in with food and chairs and people were pushing carts of flowers and chefs were wandering around, all backstage of course, and not a single scrap of it was evident onstage. They were setting up for a convention of some sort, and it was all hidden!

Amazing work to be able to hide all of that from the Guest through barriers and music and, I suspect, a little magic as well.

One final note, once Rosie's was ok, and I managed to grab more trays, I brought them into the dishroom, only to find that woman was there too. She said thank you. Not very friendly-like, but she said it. And then, when I was leaving work for the night, she was sitting in the prep kitchen and she smiled at me. I said good night, neutrally friendly-like I hoped, and sped out of there.

Ah, what fun, what fun.

Speaking of fun, I've got a ten hour workday today, so I best get started getting ready. I'm still going to try to make it to the Salsa sale, at least to look, and I've gotta make a couple of other stops along the way.

Here's hoping that today I know what I'm doing.

Oh, and I wanted to mention this just randomly. The Hub website features a bunch of different stories and articles, and they have one that comes out every week called "WDW Weekend Happenings". Naturally, it describes things that are going on this weekend, such as the Salsa sale or sporting events or people coming to the House of Blues. This one also mentioned the Epcot Food and Wine festival, which is exciting because it means, one, it's almost been a year since I visited, and two, that I can have me some food and maybe taste a little wine.

But I do like that Disney posts things like that, as well as info about what's happened this week in Disney history. Fun to learn, but also, it reminds me a bit of college and the information they'd pass along (and print up and tape to walls) regarding weekend events. Makes me miss Lewis a bit...

It's just kind of funny how there's things that seem so familiar. Like the Blockbuster business tactic of "You've had a bad shopping experience, would you ever go there again?" popped up in the meeting with Perry (although my Mom said it's because business is all alike). Or the weekend happenings reminding me of Lewis. Or my having homework, or hearing about Ralph and his schoolwork. Or having Penny Hightower as a professor and thinking that, wow, if there was another person to look up to in regards to imparting knowledge, she'd be one of them (one of the others being Dr. Wielgos). Different, but familiar.

And now I'm running late, woo hoo!
Here's hoping for today...?

A 23 Postcard

Happy Eleven-Months-Since-I-Got-Back-From-Disney!!

Only one more month to go to make it an entire year.

Onward to the postcard...

Got up and started realizing how much I have to do this morning. Attempted to make a list. Organized, but didn't help. Went to costuming. Started randomly tearing up. Stressing out over job, things to do, spending $75 on groceries yesterday. Wanted to call Ralph, ended up calling Mom. Went to work. Got to bus for almost four hours. Fine, just a little hot. Manager Susan found me while I was talking to guy. Said I could go on my break whenever I wanted. I think they forgot about me? Break, then Fairfax Fare. Really need to call Mears e.e Met Guest with nametag. Said he was part of tour. Got to have lunch with Head of Outdoor Signage Imagineer. Cool. Back to bussing. Met two ladies and guy. Guy in wheelchair. Had embroidered bag on back reading "Disney Love" with all sorts of characters on it. Bag on side for water bottles/umbrellas ("water-brellas" I accidentally called it later)/whathaveyou. Featured Mickey and the Gang (plus Daisy). Said he was a vet. One of the women had made it. Also celebrating her birthday. She got a carrot cake. Left a little too quickly afterwards, oops. Met a caterer on the way out. Has served Hors D'ouvres to Michael J. Fox. Discovered Ralph left me a voicemail - oh my goodness. Made a test-wrap - fail. Invited to movie, but couldn't go. Watched Mickey Mouse in Black and White: Volume 2, Disc 1 instead. Neat ^-^ Called back Ralph. Found out what it's like to observe eighth graders. Talked about cosplays for Acen. Also, I as Carmen Sandiego and he as Waldo: "Come with me. I know a place where no one can find us." Had sorted laundry; did none. Need to do so very much. Need sleep right now though. Tomorrow's beginning of Salsa sale. Want to try to get there before meeting tomorrow morning. Realized today's the 23rd when I looked at my bumpout.

Have "Boo To You" stuck in my head...again.

She's a filthy girl

I just washed my face with Apricot scrub, and because Alex is still working, I'm getting ready for bed in a room all by myself. It reminds me so much of my college dorm at Lewis...

Anyway, this'll have to be quick, as I'm really tired and tomorrow's my first day of Marketing You, so I'd like to at least look like I'm awake. This morning I woke up in the middle of a dream again. This time I was living with a host family of Christians. I was lecturing them because I felt that they should be Christian because of the possibility of there being no God, and yet believing in a God anyway because that was their choice of faith. Not just being Christian to be Christian and to follow along with everyone else that they knew, which is what they were doing. Needless to say, this brought our relationship to a really uncomfortable level, not to mention that everyone else in town wasn't happy to see me. Awkward.

I woke up, stumbled around for a little bit, and after seeing bits and pieces of the first X-Files movie, which Rut(h) was watching, headed off to work. I brought a sandwich in the sandwich holder my Mom got me! Work was...well...work. I was stuck in Fairfax on register for about four hours, which wasn't...terrible...but there were issues with my computer not registering when I touched it, one of the soda fountains being broken and spraying foamy soda spray all over, and the Yungling (I'll spell it right later :P ) running out in the middle of a two-drink order. Then it was all foamy...blah. The Guests were all right, although I did have this one guy and his son who decided to stand at the window next to mine. So whereas it was obvious that there were three registers open (because there were three lines of people), they decided that the fourth one was open and chose it, despite there being no one there and no one showing up to take their order after five minutes. Eventually I leaned over and asked what they'd wanted (wasn't sure if they were just taking in the air at first) and the guy said he wanted a bottle of water. I motioned him to come to my window, or at least in my line, and he got a little snappy, saying that we should've had a sign saying the register was closed. Granted, but c'mon people, use your brains. If there's lines of people, no lines at one window, and no one's coming to that window while the other people working hard at the registers are taking orders...doesn't it seem a little obvious?

I just blamed it on vacation brain. And the heat. Sure, why not?

I could've acted a little better though. I mean, I apologized, and I got him his water quickly, but I could've done better I suppose. At least been a little friendlier.

Oh, and a woman and her family ordered seven ice waters. That was fun to do :P

Ice water is free, you see, but there's a two-fold problem. First, water isn't just a button one presses; it's a little tab that one must push and hold and keep an eye on while the cup fills. Second, for whatever reason, the tops to the regular-sized cups are just a pain in the ass to get on. They don't just slide on the cup, you really have to press and bend and hope that the side of the top doesn't get all bent inward, because then it'll never stay on. And even when it seems like the top's on, you have to check, because they like to look like they're on, but not stay sealed. The large drinks actually work.

But yeah, seven ice waters, woo!

My break eventually came, and with it was a bit of the Bears/Steelers game. Pitsburg was up by 7 when I had to leave, but it was nice to see a little bit of Chicago via the external stadium shots. Then it was off to bussing, which I like because I can meet people. I met someone from Algonquin and a husband and wife from Peoria today, which is nice because it's kind of like randomly being connected to home. Things started to get a little crazy as dinner-time rolled around and people started lining up for Fantasmic. It got so busy, all the tables were full. People lept for tables as soon as they were open, and in one case, it looked like the new family was sitting at the table waiting for the old family to finish up. I was called over a bunch of times by different people wanting their tables cleaned, which was fine, and kind of fun because I got to talk to people.

I had a hard time understanding the littlest kids though, and it's not just because they mumble something fierce. My ear's been bothering me the past couple of days, and today it was stuffy. That made Fairfax really "fun" with our fans blowing and people talking quietly, but out amongst the people, it was really really "fun".

And speaking of fun, as I tossed some trash out for this one family, I spotted the man of the group wearing what looked like a Hawaiian shirt, but with the sharks from Finding Nemo all over it. I complemented him on it, cause it was totally cool, and he told me that he'd been getting compliments all day. People had also been asking him if he was a doctor or a dentist, which made sense, he said, what with all the teeth. No, it seemed like his wife had made the shirt for him. They left, and not two minutes later, he was back. It seemed he might've thrown his Key To The World out with the trash.

This is his hotel key, so you know, but it's also a park ticket AND connected to a credit card. It really is a key to the world. He'd checked all his pockets and all the little pocketted bags that tourists carry, and had found nothing. Knowing how important it was, having one myself as a momento from my vacation, I walked over to the trashcan and began digging through.

Yeah, that was fun.

I didn't want to take out the bag, fearing that it might shift everything around, but I was having no luck. Another busser stopped by and said I should remove the bag from the can, which I did, and then it was partially open on the ground and I was still sifting through it. Mind you, I did have the fantastic Disney-issued plastic gloves on, but the guy was trying to reach through with his own hands. No good; I kept looking for him. Still nothing...but then he remembered...maybe possibly...wrapping the key in a receipt.

He checked one more pocket...and there it was.

Hooray!

Well it was good that he found it, and he thanked me for digging through trash for him, which was fine. He left, and now I was faced with having a trashbag sitting out in front of the Guests. Now, really, I should've gotten another trashbag to replace the one I'd been digging through, and tossed that full trashbag away. But I couldn't just leave an open garbage pail and a bag of trash on stage. And I had run into another problem.

In order to make sure that while I was searching the trash no one would toss any more in on top of me, I had used a tray to block the flaps. But then, when I couldn't see into the trash pail in the trash can, I had moved the trash pail out and into the light. And then I shut the door. Problem? The way we open the door in the side of the trashcan is by reaching through the flaps. And these flaps were now blocked by the tray.

I had a locked garbage can.

By this point, Tiffany, one of the girls I work with, had wandered by, and I laughingly told her what happened while trying to jam my fingers beneath one of the flaps towards the door. After a couple of finger-squishing pushes - success! I managed to pop the door and remove the tray. I asked Tiffany to please get me a new trash bag, figuring she'd understand why I'd want to replace the one in the pail as she'd closed trash the past two nights in a row. She got two for me, and was even so kind as to tie them like we're supposed to. I had intended to then take the trash bag I'd been searching through to the trash compactor, but ran into yet another problem when I realized that as I walked, I was leaving a trail. Garbage juice was leaking from the bag and across the pavement as I walked. Luckily, I saw a trash cart on the Produce side of Sunset, and managed to get the bag in there. I felt bad about the trail, but what could I do? I stole the trash cart, although honestly I didn't see anyone around using it anyway, and managed to get the trash to the compactor. As I tossed the bag in through the side door, I was rewarded with garbage juice leaking out of the bag and into my sock and shoe.

And then I was assigned to trash.

I ended the night by giving Tiffany a ride home (it was the least I could do after she'd been so kind to help me out), and although I knew I needed more hand soap and to figure out whether or not I needed the book for my first day of class tomorrow, I ended up lounging on the couch, watching the Emmys, and thinking that maybe being a writer in a group might be good way to get superly creative.

Although I'd still like to write on my own too.

I'm sure there's more that I've forgotten, but it's definitely time for bed.

Oh, and I was talking to Amanda, and apparently in the UK part of Epcot, there's an Eeyore that likes to kiss young women up and down the arm. I don't quite know how to feel about that...but it kind of creeps me out a little.

Oh! And Tiffany said that when she was coming back from her break, she got to see one of the character golf carts backstage with people like Meeko and Pocahontas and Goofy and Max! I need to see more of those carts; they're so cool ^-^

Postcard addendum

Met a gaggle of kids today. Started out with my asking one little boy if he was ok. Looked hot and tired. Suddenly discovered his family was all at the surrounding tables. It was his birthday, he's turning 8. Suddenly sister, cousin, and cousin's little brother appear, all chatting about Tower of Terror. Seems these kids from Alabama LOVE this right. Birthday boy said he'd do/give anything for Tower of Terror to be in his backyard. Most of family have ridden the right quite a few times. Little brother of cousin has only ridden once? Not sure how many kids were there total - gaggle of kids really. But really fun to talk with them, really fun to hear how they love they ride, really fun to watch/listen to them talk all at once.

Really should've given them the Mickey stickers Lucie had given me the day before x.x

Just had to mention them though. They were a great (big) family ^-^

Quest for Moroccan lamb postcard

Currently excited over thinking that Dustin Hoffman was Captain Hook. Worked today. Mostly bussing. Really hot. Met two British women who complained about the food. Said they didn't get as many fries as Americans (Maybe bigger portions? they wondered) and that hamburgers were terrible. Had gotten better burgers at an English fair. Felt really bad. Tried to make it up to them, they didn't want anything. Acknowledged that it wasn't my fault though. Reported it to manager. Hope everything's better. Volunteered for bussing again after 15 minute break. Probably not the best idea. Really, really hot outside. New menu item - apple cinnamon pretzels. Really wanted one, didn't get the chance to. Got to bumpout 15 minutes after was supposed to. Debated back and forth regarding funnel cake at American Pavillion. Decided to go to Epcot. Pleasantly surprised to see Spaceship Earth still going after 7pm. Picture still crappy, but not as much. Hand on my glasses in this one. Wandered around World Showcase seeking tea store was told about yesterday. Talked to Mom about food places. Went to France. Got HUGE chocolate chip cookie. Amazingly delicious. Was going to get lamb at Morocco, but not for $10. Got Bratwurst, sourkraut, and a roll at Germany instead. Very good ^-^ Watched Illuminations from Germany. Saw new lazer effect I'd never seen before. Wandered back, taking camera phone photos and sending them to Mom. Arrived at apartment. Watched half of Heathers. Need to watch rest. 10 hour workday tomorrow. Definitely need to update.

Am being faced with notion of my future and life after Disney. It's weird. Always wanted to work for Disney. Never really thought I'd be working for Disney and want another job. I'm working for Disney - now what? Weird.

Really should go try that Moroccan lamb.

Celebrate You

Today is a day to celebrate.

Happy one month since I started at Disney!!

Wow, one month. Can you believe it? I certainly can't, despite having lived through it all. But it is official. In fact, looking at the time, I'd say I was knee-deep in fellow interns waiting in line at this time a month ago.

And now? Now I'm sitting at a table, typing away, looking forward to a twelve hour shift and wondering if I have time to go pick up some sunscreen, although it looks like rain so perhaps I won't need it as much.

Glamorous, no?

But, in my looking back on this month and all the things that have gone on, well...damn, I did a lot! And yet, there's still SO much more I've been wanting to do. Maybe finish unpacking? Yes, you heard me: it's been a month since I got here and I've still got items to unpack. I also absolutely want to start resort hopping. I've met so many people staying at a variety of different resorts, and although I know some of them either by having stayed there or having wanted to stay there, I still have so many more to go.

Today is also a day to celebrate one thing I know I want to do: The Tomorrowland Transit Authority re-opened today! I was hoping (and still kind of am) to get in a ride before I start work. We'll see how that one goes :P

Having been here a month, I can say with no doubt that I really need to manage my time a little more. Just with this blog alone - the updates have been spotty, entries are incomplete. I haven't even mentioned yesterday's encounter with a Yeti! But it's this process of organization that I need to get a better hold on. There's bills and loans to pay, laundry to do, food to buy, dishes to wash. I need to book my travel to and from the airport, need to take care of my family's travel plans, need to send out notes and e-mails and thank yous (people will still accept them even if they're over a month late, right?) and then comes all the personal fun stuff, like resort hopping and exploring the parks, water parks, and minigolfs. And the local areas too! Apparently there's a mall around here, and while current money issues mean that I'm not super ready to shop, I would like to know where everyone's going to get their clothes. Besides that, it's Florida! I should be exploring the touristy and the natural alike!

The fun part of this is actually doing it, and that's going to be made a heck of a lot more fun starting on September 21st. This is when my Marketing You course starts up, eating away more of my time.

Mom was right, I should get the fun stuff done now.

But this is a celebratory post, not a let's-assess-the-future post. It should be mostly celebratory anyway. The last month has been full of events. I've gotten to go on tours of the Magic Kingdom, gotten to go behind the scenes of one of my favorite rides, gotten to go on a bunch of my favorite rides, got to meet characters, got to have a delicious chocolate chip muffin (Starring Rolls ftw!). I've met people from all over the country, and even all over the world, finally got to see Newsies, learned some Spanish, learned some sign language, expanded my Disney knowledge with a couple trivia quizzes, and even went on a few new-to-me rides and attractions. And let's not forget that amazing (and amazingly long) 19 hour trip down here. My car still groans every time I mention going back.

In thinking about it, one of the nicest things about this past month has been the fact that I've actually been out there doing things. I've been going to parks, exploring the area, making myself dinner, and just generally not lazing around, staring at a tv. True, I could be doing more, and I want to, but I do feel a special little sense of pride in reviewing what I've done over this past month.

But there's still plenty more to do, and if I'm going to do it all, I must "tighten up" as my trainer Lisa would say. At the least, I really should make that Disney to-do list both the recruiter and my Mom suggested I make. Along with a normal to-do list of course.

But one month, wow. I can't say that it's just flown by, because it really hasn't, but it has moved at a fairly quick and steady pace. And within that span of time, I've done a lot, seen a lot, ate a lot, and encountered more than I ever would have done at home.

Ha, I say this being all optimistic, and then it hits me that I'm working twelve hours today AND it's Night of Joy. Talk about an experience :P

By the way, it may just be me, but when I was starting up my computer this morning, a thought occurred to me: the name "Disney Consumer Products" sounds like something bland and uninviting, something that's slapped on the side of a low, industrial-style building or a blank white truck. They're creative with their products, how about throwing a little imagination towards the name? I'm not sure if it's "consumer", "products", or just the whole phrase "consumer products" that's throwing me off.

That was random :P

It's about time to get started doing stuff. I'm not sure what stuff exactly, since I'd like to do a variety of things and find my time to be rather restricted. But even if it's just reading the new Eyes and Ears, I should go do something.

Hooray for the TTA being open again! If I don't see you today, I'll definitely see you real soon.

Happy one month ^-^

It's too early to think of a good title...

Add another 25 minutes to that time stamp and here's proof that, on the RAREST of occasions, I can actually get up early.

Your smart phone has received a new text message, would you like to read it now?

Finally! I'm done with work for this week. Five lovely days of hot sun and crazy customers and now I can take a break. Or, at least, I could, if I didn't have a crapload of other things to do, like shopping for food and getting stuff cleaned for the apartment inspection on Monday.

Oh, and going to the parks ;)

But I did want to post a quick entry. I've just finished dinner, which consisted of fettuccine and broccoli mixed with some Italian herbs and olive oil and topped in some places with a little (or a lot) of Parmesan cheese. I'm kind of proud of myself for making this, since the original recipe called for sun-dried tomatoes and no olive oil. Does this mean I've gained the ability "adaptability in cooking"?

Apparently not, for I haven't been feeling well the past couple of days. It all started about three days ago when, making my lunch for work, I decided I should finish up the grapes I had bought about two weeks prior. I figured they were still ok. They'd been plucked from the vine and washed and stored in a tupperware container in the fridge. So I packed them up and went on my merry way. I didn't get a break for a good portion of that day, but I mentioned this to the coordinator (I think it was Tammy that day) and she sent me on break where I had lunch. Now I had been feeling fine all day, but after that lunch, boy I wasn't a happy camper. I was at least on bussing outside, so that wasn't too bad. I was learning sign language too ^-^ Jon, one of my fellow Cast Members (and husband of Tammy, who I'm pretty sure was the coordinator now), was teaching me how to say "yes", "no", and perhaps most useful "Tammy, may I go home please?". It was great fun to learn, but then I was called into Scoops to take Frank's place so he could go to the bathroom. I guess he'd called at least 45 minutes before, and no one had come to get him, so I was glad to help, especially when I heard he wasn't feeling well.

So I scooped some ice cream, and that's when it hit me. My stomach started to bother me, and I felt it would be a very good idea to not really interact with people's food at that point. I really needed to use the bathroom, frankly, and ended up calling the coordinator area to see whether or not Frank was coming back. He was, in fact a minute after I got off the phone, he was there, and I headed out and to the bathroom.

Grapes. Don't eat them when they're two weeks old.

I wasn't sick, but I certainly wasn't feeling well, and I mentioned this when I ended up back in the coordinator's office. Everyone sort of laughed, since "I ate bad grapes" doesn't really sound like a real reason as to why someone's not feeling well.

I did get a little happiness boost though. Susan (I think that's her name?), one of the managers, was talking to a guy who, as far as I understood, had just volunteered to help close an area instead of just leaving when his work day was done. She was very impressed, and then turned to me and asked what I'd done that day to go above and beyond. I answered that I had gotten little cakes and a glass of water for two Guests who were celebrating their birthdays, which was special, but even more-so because they hadn't had much to eat (either as a result of the dining plan they were on or because everything's so darn expensive at Disney). She was pleased with me too, telling me I did a good job and saying she was going to use the guy and I as examples in...I think it's some morning meeting? I didn't quite catch it.

That was nice. And I was happy to help those Guests out, especially as they live near my college, Lewis, and the husband used to work in my hometown (so he actually knew where it was!).

But I still felt poorly.

Then yesterday, I was feeling better, a little iffy, but better, and went to lunch with no grapes...but left over ham and cheese I had gotten the same time as the grapes. Sure enough, I ate my lunch, and by the time I reached costuming to grab my street clothes, I wasn't feeling well again. I made it through the rest of the day, thanks in part to an early release because we were slow, but decided then and there that the left-over spaghetti I was planning to eat that night was a no.

Today was better than the other two days, although my head was hurting and so was my right arm for some random reason. I called my Mom this morning to say hi, and she and my Dad suggested it was from the food (obviously), but also the transition to Florida catching up with me. That, and the water. I could hear my Dad in the background saying all I should drink is Coke and beer. I'm not one for beer, especially after serving it all day and having it drip and chug and spray all over me, but I took the Coke advice. Usually I try to drink water while at work, what with the hot weather and all, but today was all about soft drinks and no ice. I think it helped.

Speaking of yesterday, what an interesting day. I had to work, but because September's a slow month, the managers have been sending people home via Early Releases. I felt kind of bad taking mine (that's why I got off at six instead of five-thirty or earlier like manager Matt had asked) since my work ethic tends to dictate that if I'm working somewhere, I should stay until it's time to go home. Not that I have anything at all against leaving work early, but I feel it reflects poorly on me as an employee if I continually look to go home.

But I was happy to get out early yesterday, mostly because I wasn't feeling well, but also because I had plans for Fantasmic that night. Alex had her day off yesterday, and while she did Magic Kingdom most of the day, she swung by Hollywood Studios (still wanted to type MGM) for the evening. I saw her coming out of Beauty and The Beast while I was in Fairfax Fare, and we agreed to meet up once I got off my shift. Since I didn't want to keep her waiting, I had gone to Costuming during my break to get my street clothes, so I could just change and go. But while I got an early release, I didn't get off until after six. I texted Alex to find out where she was and got the response she was coming out of the animation pavilion. I figured that would give me enough time to run to Take 5 and change, which I did, but then I found myself wondering what I should do with my costume.

There's lockers that we have at the restaurant locations; I've actually been using one to store my rain coat for the awesome Florida hurricane season. But I wasn't sure what all Alex and I would be doing and whether or not I'd be able to get back to my stuff in a decent amount of time. Plus, frankly, I could've used a little freshening up after a day of bussing, which meant my car was the place to go.

Oh but first I had to talk to manager Matt about my schedule and requesting days off. As if I wasn't behind already, I had to hunt him down, had to figure out when I needed off, and then had to learn what Disney's policy is towards days off. Not really anything bad, but when you're meeting someone and are running late, every minute seems to drag on, even if it DOES have super important information. But Matt was nice and helpful, and so I texted Alex, raced to costuming (trying to conceal my costume, which would've been fine except for the hat), got a hanger out of the locker I had rented there, rushed to my car, and headed back.

By this point, I hadn't heard anything more from Alex, and was beginning to wonder where she was. I wandered around, even ducking backstage (with an Animation Cast Member's permission of course), to try to find her. No luck, and I was denied putting in my requested days off on the hub computer in Take 5 by a cast member who decided right then and there would be the time to look at all the Extra Hours available. It's fine, it's fine...just was trying to find my roommate.

By about 7:30, I noticed they were seating for Fantasmic (which was being held because Magic Kingdom was closing early for the first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - which Cordelia had invited me to out of the blue). Figuring that that was where Alex would be eventually (that WAS one of the reasons she'd gone to Hollywood Studios), I headed in and sat down to wait.

It was like Where's Waldo. The two center sections of the seating area were rather full, and more and more people were filing in. I tried scanning the crowd and wandering by the food areas, hoping to find Alex somewhere within the growing masses, but no luck. Eventually I picked Row O and sat down. Surprisingly, I soon found myself chatting with one of my fellow Cast Members from Sunset. She'd been looking for Extra Hours too and was earning some by working as a walk-around cotton candy seller. She informed me that she'd worked at Epcot the day before, and had even had some time selling merchandise. I'm gonna have to look into these extra hours...

8:00pm rolled around and I began to think I was going to be seeing the show by myself. The crowd was much larger now, and I kept alternating between scanning those sitting and those filing in. I took a break to get some chips (similar to what I had done back in October before Fantasmic), and then returned to my seat (now Row N) to keep looking and to listen to some cutsy couple behind me (who had stolen my original seat) talk about why the girl had gotten the guy a light-up bubble machine. Suddenly, I spotted Alex, just a section over and getting ready to sit down. I lept up, jogged over, and managed to get a space on the aisle next to her.

Yes, I am THAT good...thanks to Where's Waldo.

A quick second trip to the refreshment stand (Coke for Alex, bottled water for me) and then it was on with the show!

I should point out, really quick, that the whole theme with Hollywood Studios is "On with the show!" They have this printed backstage on some of the mirrors right before you go on stage. It was also mentioned a bunch of times during training.

Fantasmic was wonderful, just as I remembered it. Fireworks, characters, masterful editing of film (seriously, I applaud whoever edited the sequences shown on the water), and a lake lit on fire. Ahh...such good times. It actually was a bit of an interactive show, because due to the direction of the wind, the spray from the water was blowing right at the audience. It was kind of funny though, since a couple parts of the show are water themed, such as Monstro splashing down and the brooms from Fantasia emptying out their buckets. So maybe Disney just turned it into a 4D show? Thanks also to the wind, when the fireworks went off, the smoke swept back and over the audience, engulfing us in an explosion-scented fog. This was especially cool thanks to some very pretty theatrical lighting, which tinged the smoke with dramatic imaginative colors.

After it was over, and Alex and I agreed it had made us want to watch every Disney movie ever made, the Cast Members began ushering us out back into the park...except that we didn't go the way we had come in. I figured it was because then the people trying to get into a later Fantasmic show (if this was a normal night) would encounter the people trying to get out, and Sunset would become a horrible mess. Instead, we were directed BACKSTAGE.

Now, I remembered this from October. I remember being in a large crowd of people, leaving Fantasmic, and looking around me thinking that I was very most definitely backstage somewhere in the park. I thought it was just something they were doing for that night. But as Alex and I began to walk with the rest of the people, things definitely started to look as I remembered them, and I figured that this must be the normal thing for Fantasmic nights.

Then, as the crowd ahead of us turned left and went around a building, I realized This all looks VERY familiar. So familiar, in fact, it was as if I had seen it every day I worked at Hollywood...

And indeed I realized that the exit for Fantasmic connects to one of the backstage areas I walk through every day to get to and from Sunset.

That was neat. It really was. It was cool to be 100% certain that leaving Fantasmic meant one would actually get the chance to be backstage. It was cool to realize that something I see and go through every day has a second purpose. And on a random note, it was cool because I had just been wondering earlier in the day why that particular backstage area had a little more theming to it than the other backstage areas I go through.

Sure enough, today, when I was walking to work, I looked down the long alley the Guests travel through and could see, at the very end, the beginnings of some green hills.

Neat ^-^

Speaking of today, and one of the reasons I started writing this post, I wanted to mention not what I did during work, but what happened after work. Today wasn't too bad. Rainy near the end, which was funny because it started to rain a little, so I got my raincoat on, only to have the rain stop. I put my rain coat away, and not 10 minutes later, the skies totally opened up. Anyway... On my way out through costuming, I noticed that the Disney Learning Center was still open. Usually it's closed when I'm walking through, but since today was my first "assigned to leave before the park closes" day, it was still open when I got there.

I decided to stop in. Alex had picked up two movies from the Learning Center near her, so I figured I should see what mine had in stock. And while it didn't have tons, I am now the proud borrower of The Black Cauldron, which I've been wanting to see for a while. It's one of those Disney movies that exists, but people don't really know too much about it (ok, I don't know too much about it). I also checked out the cds, since I had just read earlier online that Phineas and Ferb have a soundtrack out now. I'm not a huge fan, but I've seen the show, and I like what I've seen. Thought I'd give it a go and see if it was in. Unfortunately, the Learning Center didn't carry it, but I did see other music I'd be interested in. Princess songs? Disney's greatest hits? I think there was even some park music in there, so woo!

But as I was checking the movie out, I spotted (or should I say re-spotted, since I saw it when I first came in) an entry for a Disney trivia crossword. I glanced over it, seeing as I had done the one at Sid's when I was exploring MGM (HA!), and found that this one had things I knew, and things I didn't know and would have to think about. After a little thinking myself, I asked if I could give it a shot. I only had 15 minutes, since that's when the Learning Center closed, and since today was the last day to do one, I had to get down to business. Things like "What's Belle's favorite activity?" were easy (reading), and I got a little help to some of the tougher ones thanks to other answers (What color is Dumbo's hat? Second letter's an "e". Yellow). But there were three that had me really stumped:

1. What name do Tony and Joe give Tramp in Lady and the Tramp?
2. In Tarzan, what's Jane's last name?
3. What animated film features a character named Ziggy?

#3 had an "l" in it, and after a heck of a lot of brain pounding and clock ticking, I had a flash of lightning "ah ha!" moment and scribbled in "junglebook". The first one...I kept thinking the name "Butch" for some reason, but I hadn't seen Lady and the Tramp in AGES (ditto with Tarzan). It was five letters, so perhaps it could have been Scamp? I know, it's the name of Lady and Tramp's son, but maybe Tramp was called Scamp and then as a sort of inside joke, the son's named Scamp instead? I put down Butch...

And then Jane. Ah, Jane. There was an "e" in this one too, and whether it began with a "P" or I just felt it did, I eventually put down Persen. Yeah, I know..."Persen"?

But I finished just in time, which was nice because I had at least wanted to give it a try. There was one other guy in the room who was working on it too (in fact, he was one of the other reasons I wanted to try. Me? Competitive?). I had overheard him earlier as having been stuck on two questions, and now he was down to one: What character has also been known as Mr. Geef?

OMFG if ANYONE would know this one it would be ME!

That was another reason I did the crossword. I totally know that answer.

The woman working at the Learning Center's desk was...not helping him with it...but was assuring him that "Geef" was the correct spelling as I handed over my crossword. And that's when I noticed the internet-enabled phone in his hand. Turns out we could've used the internet.

F#ck x.x

Well, anyway, at least I gave it my best shot, and as I told the woman at the desk, it would've been kind of scary if I had known all the answers. Although for the "Geef" question, I told her, I knew it because I'm a huge fan. She had suggested that maybe the guy and I could've collaborated, but that never really came to fruition for some reason. Instead, I gathered my things, hoping my wet raincoat hadn't done too much damage to the computer chair I'd been sitting in when I worked on the crossword, and I headed out.

While walking across the parking lot, I realized that the crossword's directions had asked that people "bring in their completed crosswords by September 5th" which made it plainly obvious that internet and other resource usage was encouraged. But they did say that bringing it in could earn you a special prize. How do they feel about second place and a brain bursting with Disney knowledge?

I got back to the apartment, made dinner (surprising, since I REALLY wanted to know the answers), and finally got the chance to sit down and look them up.

Turns out...I was right ^-^

Right about Tramp being called Butch and Ziggy being in The Jungle Book. In fact, Ziggy's voice isn't even credited in the movie, which makes me wonder, who the hell is Ziggy?
Anyway
But Jane, ah Jane.

For the record and my future knowledge:

In Tarzan, what is Jane's last name?
Porter.

And now I know ^-^

Although dang, just the one...

Anyway, but I'm proud of myself for giving it a shot, for knowing random Disney facts, and am just plain happy that that's the way I ended my work day today. And on that note, this has been a pretty lengthy post. There's still plenty more to share, and plenty more to catch up on, but for now, there's dinner dishes to attend to, a shower to take, and some good ol' sleep to be had.

Also, Amanda told me about some Disney character videos online where they take a couple of falls, so those'll be worth investigating.

And to explain the title of the post...Ruth (real name Shalom(e)) left her phone in her room, and has apparently received a text message, and her phone REALLY wants her to check it. So every couple of minutes, that phrase goes off. It's been going off since I got home :P




Oh, and Mr. Geef (if you haven't guessed) is Goofy. During his "everyman" period, specifically when he portrayed the family man with the wife and son, he was often called Mr. George Geef.

Hooray for my crazy Disney knowledge and for there being Disney knowledge to get all crazy over ^-^