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 ^-^

The Good Day

As I sit here in full costume dress, waiting to dry off from the regimental sunscreen I slather on myself everyday before work, I thought it'd be a good time to update my blog.

A little behind, I know, so let's get started.

Today's the sixth day in a row I'm going to be working. Not terrible, but not great either considering Tuesday and Thursday were both ten hour days. It's a little...much, especially for someone new like me, whose training was...well I learned things, but when I officially started working, I had (and still have) a lot of questions.

But I wanted to write about yesterday, since yesterday was actually a (gasp) good day. Now, now, I don't mean to say that since I've arrived here it's been nothing but crappy days. More like really overwhelming days, as I try to grasp the way Disney's organized things while attempting to appear trained.

Yesterday, however, started off with my getting assigned to trash. Now, I know, this doesn't sound like a great way to start off a day, but you have to understand that besides the heat, the smell, and the trash factors, trash isn't necessarily a horrible thing. You get to be outside (which can be good or bad depending on the weather), you go at your own pace, unless there's a rush, and even then you can still take it a little slower, you get to wander both on-stage and off, and, perhaps one of my favorite aspects, you can have a little bit of guest interaction without them expecting food or drink or proper change from you.

So I got my trash assignment and headed out to take over from Cordelia, who was happily reassigned to Scooper at Hollywood Scoops. And then...well...I took out the trash. I noticed the park attendance seemed a little lighter. There were still plenty of people, and lines at all the food places, but the seating areas just didn't seem to overflow with people so much. Frankly, I was a bit happy, just a little bit. After a week or so of mass people wanting food and tossing trash, it was nice to have things let up just a little.

During my trash run, I happened upon an abandoned Guest bag. It was a tote bag (if that's the correct term for it), so basically an open rectangle with two large straps at the top to lift it (think vertical cloth grocery bag?). I could see it was jam-packed with all sorts of touristy park-visiting items, but "SafeD begins with Me" or so our little safety spiel goes, and I got Emilee (who was bussing and whose name I'm sure I'm spelling wrong) to look at it before she ran off to tell a manager. Word reported back to wait for about five minutes, and if nobody showed, they'd call security. After all, this innocent bag could be harboring something not so innocent.

No one showed up, and by this point Omar, who's from Mexico, had joined our little waiting party. He went to talk to a manager and returned saying that security had been called. Twenty minutes later, a guy finally showed up and proceeded to poke around in the bag and talk on a walkie talkie about heading to lost and found. I'm pretty sure they figured the bag wasn't a danger, otherwise I think they would've been there a lot sooner. I had seen one previous unattended bag left in the middle of the Tower-side eating area (as opposed to the Produce-side eating area), and security had acted a little faster and cleared more people away. But because this one was sitting on the little stone wall ledge near Fairfax Fare, I don't think they were as super concerned. While we were waiting, I happened to spot a pair of sunglasses someone had left on Fairfax's counter, and so before the security guy left, I handed them to him too. He thanked us for calling it in and went on his way. Emilee and Omar went back to bussing, I went back to trash duty, missing the shade of the bush I had been standing beneath while waiting.

Unfortunately, because of how long everything took, the trash had built up a little bit, so I spent the next little while trying to catch up. I nearly ran out of space in the garbage roller at one point, and at another time, had such a large bag of garbage I was pulling from a can, that when I tossed it into the rolling garbage holder, it proceeded to nearly tip over. I grabbed it at the last minute, but still, that's a lot of trash.

And, of course, sometimes bags are leaky. We actually put holes in them when we put them in the trashcans because it lets the air out and allows them to hold more. This does cause a little leak problem though, and the bottoms of the rolling holders sometimes end up with a puddle of soda and other garbage juices. This leads to lots of "fun" trying to hoist the bags out of the holder and into the trash compacter, especially with liquid flying everywhere and the bottoms of the bags begin soaked and not very fun to touch when they need that little extra push into the compactor.

One bag was particularly wet and I got juice backsplash. A little lot of liquid landed right on the corner of one of my lips. I finished the trash and rushed over to Rosie's/Eddies to get some water to wash my mouth out.

I did trash for a few hours, managing to get it under control and talking to a woman about her very nice-looking hat, which, it turns out, she got at Kmart. Then, just before I was going to make another round, Emilee found me and told me there had been a slight mix-up. Apparently I was supposed to be scooping ice cream, but the person who was supposed to bump me over there never did, so I had been working trash for a half-hour to an hour longer than I should have. In any case, now I was on break, so I rushed to the assigner's desk to be sure, and when he said it was okay, I ran to Take Five to wolf down a sandwich and some delicious grapes.

And that's where I have to end it for now, as it's time for me to head off to work again.

A backpost of bussing and trashing

This is a backpost, since I was plenty tired at the end of this work day. Plus, I needed a shower.



Today was one of two “double days” as I've decided to call them, wherein I work the same time and hours two days in a row. 11:30 to 8pm were the hours, which isn’t terrible. But, of course, that all depends on what you are doing. I started off the day by sitting in the parking lot of Hollywood Studios, calling my Mom (and hearing my Dad in the background), trying to figure out exactly what to say when I called my bank back. Via text the day before, my Mom had suggested that trying to talk to them about the over-draft would be a good idea, and my desire to have my finances in order (and to not be awarded another over-draft fee) prompted me to pick up the phone and call. I couldn’t completely understand what the guy on the phone was saying – his accent was a little heavy, I was a little tired (and teary), but somehow, somehow, I managed to get some of the fees taken off, which was simply WONDERFUL. I need to watch my bank account like a hawk ::goes to do so now::

Then it was time to go off to work. I have to pause here, because I’m not sure if it was today or the day before or some combination of the two, but I actually got to see some behind-the-scenes work being done for the Toy Story Block Party Bash parade that runs every day at 3pm. In either separate or whole combinations, I was walking from my car to the costuming building where Cast Members enter the park, when I overheard the music for the parade playing. Sure enough, as I was counting the number of rows I was away from the building, I could see people up on one of the floats and could hear directions being called out. I also saw Slim (the walking-stick bug from “A Bug’s Life”) wandering around. Later, when I was on my way to work, the backstage road I was walking down was getting the parade set up, so I saw large orange traffic cones with scooters, and a couple of rectangular costume holders on wheels. They were open, and in one I could see Sully’s body, and in the others I could see the body and head of one of the dorky interns from Monsters, Inc. I know, I know, I should know his name. I’ll get it when I watch the movie. He’s the orange one.

I also saw Mr. Potato head, but he was turned around, so I saw potato butt. But I thought it was kind of neat, seeing people practice in the growing heat and getting this glimpse into all the effort that goes into putting a parade on.

Since today was my final day of training (woo -.- ), I figured that our taste-test lunches would be going away pretty soon and decided to bring a lunch. Of course, I was a little unsure of what to do. Unlike the Magic Kingdom, which has the utilidors (underground tunnels) to transport the Cast to and from where they need to be without being seen, Hollywood Studios only has backstage area. So when it’s time to go to work, a Cast Member like me has to walk from backstage area to backstage area, occasionally going on stage and passing through the park and the guests. For me, it sort of ruins the atmosphere a little bit, seeing Cast Members wander across Hollywood Boulevard with backpacks and purses. I know, I know, they’re people, they need these things, but this is Disney for goodness sakes!

Anyway, I was unsure of what to do because I had brought a lunch with me – a squished, sad looking sandwich from the day before with Lucy and Lisa, an apple I had been trying to eat for the past couple of days, and a water. I managed to put them all into a grocery bag, but it just didn’t seem right walking across stage with it. But I needed to get to work, and I went, trying to quickly speed across the Guest areas so they wouldn’t notice.

I met with my trainer, Ronnie, a guy who I believe is from Puerto Rico if I read his name tag right. He informed Frank and I that we’d finish up with our computer training and then it’d be off to the excitement of bussing and trash. As usual, we were offered something to drink before we set off, and then it was time to wander backstage, past buildings that used to be part of a functioning studio, around the front of the animation building (I like walking by it), across the street from a parking garage and the Earful Tower (water tower with the Mickey ears on it that used to be the park’s icon before the big hat moved in), and into Bungalow 2. They then had us move over to another building where the Disney Learning Center (room with a bunch of computers) was. This is being moved into the Costuming building, but for now, it’s still there. I was surprised to see someone had doodled on the dry-erase board in there. They had drawn Mickey’s head, and a very well-done Donald’s head. Donald looked right on character, and I kept glancing over at it instead of paying tons of attention to the module showing me how to work the register.

Alas, the air conditioned comfort ended all too quickly and it was soon time for us to head back outside. Ronnie informed Frank and I we were first up…on trash. It was lucky someone had overhead we were learning bussing and trash today and mentioned wearing sunscreen, because I spent the rest of the day outside. Trash is…as you would expect it to be. We go around with a big trash holder, checking trash cans and taking out the bags if need be. It’s kind of surprising how quickly those trash containers can fill up. If we take out a bag, we put one in to replace it, tying knots and poking holes in the bag in order to keep it secure and air-free. And once we’ve hit all the trashcans (and occasionally Farefax and Scoops when they need it), we wheel the trash holder back stage and head to the trash compactor. The job can be kind of messy, but this is where it gets really messy. The scent of over-heated, leaking trash permeates the air in this area, and as you pull the bags from the holder and throw them into the compactor’s open door, you have to take care to avoid getting garbage juices on your gloved hands or on your costume. I tried…but I still ended up smelling sort of trashy at the end of the night

Bussing was a little better, despite the heat. It’s mostly cleaning tables and organizing chairs, but every once in a while you can help grab a Guest’s tray and toss their garbage out for them. Which, it’s not that I like working on trash, but when my family arrived in Florida during our roadtrip to get here, we ended up stopping in Gainsville to eat at a Chick-Fil-A. Their service was absolutely wonderful there. Cow mascots, when they were taking a break, would come by and visit with the people eating in. Managers and employees alike would go from table to table, asking how the food was, getting people refills on their drinks, and taking the trash from the customers when they were done. It was excellent service, and that’s something I’d like to try to pass along to the Guests here at Disney. Granted, I can’t get them refills (I guess we don’t do them? Not at Sunset anyway), but I can still try and reflect that service I had at that Chick-Fil-A. I think it’d be just a little better if it wasn’t so darn hot and humid. And that was a bit of an issue. I was sweaty and hot and my face turning red a little bit from the heat. Not exactly something you want to see while you’re eating, ne? But we’re allowed to have water breaks, since it’s important to keep hydrated, so every once in a while I’d duck into one of the Sunset restaurants and get some water.

Our break came around four, and I managed to grab my sandwich, apple, and drink from the Cast Member fridge in the kitchen before we left. While everyone else went to buy something, I sat and ate my squished sandwich in peace. The apple…well before I ate, I headed to the bathroom, and although the apple was in a bag, it fell out of the plastic bag I was carrying it in, and then at the table, it slipped out of its little bag and onto the seat. That kind of ended it right there. Luckily, I had grabbed a granola bar too, so all was not lost. Then, after a little sitting, the trainees and I headed over to costuming to get ourselves rain gear. It was said that hurricane Bill was coming our way, and even if it wasn’t, we were supposed to get rain. It was here that I found out our food is not supposed to be visible to Guests. My clear bag (and apple) were taken back to the fridge, and I walked to Costuming with the rest of the group, wondering what I was going to do about lunches. We soon readed Costuming and walked right in to tell the Cast Members there what we were looking for. We were directed to a portable clothing rack near the door which carried the rain gear. I accidentally picked up rain gear that consisted of a jacket and pants, but the other trainer, Scott, caught it, and I swapped for a big, clear, plastic jacket. Then it was back to work for more bussing, and eventually, condiment table-replenishing for Frank and I. Although it rained a little bit, it wasn’t anything too bad, so I began to get sweaty inside the rain gear in addition to my costume.

Needless to say, that night I took a shower.

The condiment bar wasn’t too bad. It consists of a lot of restocking, both of the things that people grab, and the supplies underneath. Trying to do this in a raincoat was more than a little awkward, and one of the buttons got pulled out because of the thinness of the plastic, but Ronnie, Frank, and I managed to get it done. We had to wait to leave, however, because the Checker (the person who checks to make sure your area is set for the night before you can leave) had to wait until the last Guests left the area. And there were a couple that REALLY liked to linger.

Btw – one of the questions was how Disney gets its Guest out of the park at the end of the night. The answer, as far as I’ve seen, is that the shops and restaurants and rides close, which means that there’s nothing else to really do in the park. And for any Guests sitting and relaxing, a manager or some higher person will go and stand awkwardly next to them, subtly trying to tell them to leave without (as far as I know) actually saying anything.

There’s also a spiel that plays, as when I was in Hollywood Studios in October, I heard it. Alas, either we’re too busy, or it just doesn’t travel by us, but I haven’t heard it yet.

I was supposed to help put covers on the condiment bar, but all the trainees were called to the manager’s office to go over and sign a form basically saying we wouldn’t eat the food while working (or afterwards) and that to do so was a terminable offense. Fun.

Then we could leave, and I happily returned my trashy, sweaty clothes to Costuming the next morning.


Oh, by the way, I got a lovely light "necklace" of sunburn on my chest because I forgot to put sunscreen there. And now I know :P