Lent xx - 5:30am Days - Connecting people by (tele)communications

Today was my Friday. So excited! Got assigned to Spider. One of the busiest sections in the store, especially because of 20% coupon and predicted rain. Oh boy. Stocked what I could, then found a bunch of what I was missing packed up, sitting in the tunnel, waiting to be opened. Managed to unwrap and hang on hangers some of the pj tops I needed. Jeri, stocker lady, took over, and did all the rest. Discovered Kim was at work during the morning meeting. Traded shifts, so she got to start at 9:00am. The Wave was fun this morning. Little girl spotted me and immediately wanted to pin trade. Her sister came over and traded with Brian. So early and right off the bat! Went back, stocked fancy white rain jackets and finished 2/3 of the hats. Deemed it "decent" and went to break. Must say, maybe they stocked Spider really well last night. If so, I absolutely appreciated it. Did not have anything caffinated while on break. Realized on my way back onstage that that was probably not the smartest idea. Got pulled back and forth between working register, directing Guests, and trying to straighten. Didn't get to give that much attention to spider actually. Met a woman from around Elgin. Special Ed assistant on spring break. Talked a little bit about all the education layoffs happening in that area. Later, met a stressed out Dad who was buying all sorts of items for his family. Worked through his pile of items as quickly as I could. Though stressed, he still had a bit of a friendly tone. Hope all's well for him and his family. Biggest event of the day was couple I met who wanted a cloth (soft? Not fleece) zip jacket in navy blue in XL. Tried calling stockroom. Must've not had my radio connected properly, never got a response. Went down and checked. Only had medium and 3x. Woman, annoyed, wrote down the sku number from the jackets, saying she could never get what she wanted at any of the stores. I offered to call World of Disney to see if jacket was there. Had to head to jewlery to get a phone. Soon as I reached it, stopped by the other two Cast Members there. One, older British-sounding guy, wanted to know if we had extra links for a certain watch. Other had a question about batteries being included in the watches and how to start them. I had no answers; it was my first time in jewlery. It was their first times too. Called operator to connect to World of Disney. Had to go through a little phone menu. Pressed key to talk to Cast Member. Phone went silent. Not dead, no ring tone, but nothing was going on. Tried again. Same thing. Tried again, got a little further, then phone went silent. Kept trying, alternating with Mail Order (apparently closed on weekends, thanks a lot), and trying to figure out how to dial the World of Disney number directly so I didn't have to keep using the operators. Got someone's private voicemail, and when I finally figured it out, twice got the message that Merchandise was closed on weekends. I pressed number to talk to Cast Member, how'd I get there? Meanwhile, continued to get asked a couple of questions from jewelry Cast Members, still trying to help their Guests. Couple said they had to meet someone (eventually revealed it was for a Fast Pass). Would come back to find out whether or not World of Disney had jacket. Woman's name was Denise, that's all I got, and then they left. FINALLY reached live person at World of Disney. Was asked to hold as they had a substantial line. Must work really, really quickly, because not too long after, they were back. Explained what I needed. Said they needed to walk the floor. Came back after a bit and said no. Thanked them profusely. Decided to go on break. Just coming up on 1:00pm and figured if couple would be back, I should be there for them. Jewerly was a little better. Meag stopped by and helped sort things out with the links Guest, although they also wanted to do a return, and Meag directed her over to the other Cast Member (busy helping start the watch) to wait even longer, rather than just doing it and getting Guest on her way. On my way to break, recalled what I had learned in the morning regarding white rain jackets and pj tops (and salmon-colored Minnie pants and black patch peace jackets!) and checked with stockers unloading tubs. Jeri had just hung up an XL navy jacket. Thrilled, though didn't show it. Ran back up to get back and Guest hold form, put the jacket on hold, and went to break. Cut break early by 7 minutes. Felt couple would've been back by then. With less than half hour to go, decided to try straightening. Was asked by random Guest if we carried Hollywood Studios shirts. Meag found me and asked to go to register, since Guests were coming in from rain. Explained I was waiting for Guests and had to leave in 15 minutes, but agreed. Got register in Bubble and helped Kim out by cutting down the line. Luckily, in 15 minutes, another Cast Member (possibly Alice?) took over. Finished taking care of packages being shipped out, returned my radio, and clocked out. Never saw couple. Mentioned to woman named Karen (staying until midnight) about the Guests, should they come back. Cleaned up my cart and inktags and left. Took bus to keep out of the rain. Didn't help in parking lot. Right foot feeling pretty wet. Rain coming down at different speeds and angles prompted me to have some crackers and chill out. Managed to take a bit of a nap. Woke up just as the rain was letting up a bit, yay! Started car and was headed out, when noticed the entrance to backstage had big puddle of water people were driving through. Decided to exit by health services. Got back to apartment and ate two bowls of Cinnamon Chex (new, just opened, and quite good). Took care of an e-mail, learned some Disney trivia on The Hub, and fell asleep. Had planned to be up to watch first episode of "Life" on Discovery Channel. Woke up half way through. Said screw it, went back to bed. Woke up again after midnight. Decided to take care of little mess I'd made with my impromptu nap. Clothes away, teeth brushed, ect. Soyoung asleep on couch, so decided to update here. Stacy came back, waking her up, so Soyoung moved in here. Stacy now unnecessarily on computer on couch. Sorry, probably still tired. Much to do, but going back to bed.

This week Wednesday I start at 10:45am (or something like that, maybe 10:00am). Otherwise, all 5:30am days. No Monday or Tuesday off, working those days straight through until Friday, whch was requested off for Easter. All 5:30am days except for one. Still don't know if I'm working Easter. Working Tuesday means I can't go to Kennedy Space Center. Got to change that, yessiree.

Also, while at work, Democrats only needed 2 more votes to reach 216 needed for their healthcare bill.Looking up "yessiree" on Yahoo! just now, looks like they got it. Woo hoo!

Lent xx - 5:30am Days - Princess Night!!

Got assigned to stock pins today. Lots of holes around the store, so stocking important. Didn't get assigned to a section. Instead, I and a couple other people met with manager and got assigned other jobs. Stocking pins busy and sort of tough, but I enjoyed it. Got through two of the three pin collection carts before the wave. Attempted to do what I could afterwards. Was told by a woman to stock a couple of things on the pin pillar. First couple of lanyards. Then later, pin book page refiles and pin books. Manager found me afterwards and said that she said I was doing a good job, that the pins looked good. Helped Kimberly with some cotton candy and went on break. Afterwards, thought I was going to be going on register. Didn't seem as busy with Guests. Was told to check Bubble, and if no line, I could stock. Was no line, but still got put on register on Main Bank anyway. Got to give "1st Time" pins to three girls and welcomed them on behalf of Walt Disney World. That was cool ^-^ Got on 2nd break a little before 1:00pm. Sat with Kimberly and Brian. Saw news story about giant chocolate bunny that will eventually be distributed among orphans. "Great. Obese orphans" Brian had remarked. I shared with Kim that there's information that this current generation of kids might be the first to not outlive their parents. Said I wasn't sure if that would've included orphans, thinking in regards to their food and lifestyle. Kim noted that the orphans have already outlived their parents. That got us laughing. It sounds morbid, but it was funny. Back to work. Got a list and was trying to find pins when woman took my basket, said no more baskets, and that it was 2:00pm. "Put down the list". Visited Costuming, where I got to check out my own costumes (neat computer graphics). Stopped at Vista to return "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie" (both unwatched) and picked up "Dumbo" and "Jurassic Park". Discovered my water bottle had opened in my bag. Spent time taking care of front passenger seat. Eventually got to change, eat an apple, some crackers, and a shamrock cookie, and got to walk around the apartment parking lots chatting with my Mom. Came back for shower. Disney Channel played Snow White. Such a wonderful movie. Good, GOOD stuff. Right afterwards, Mulan came on. Double Disney girls, woo! A little bit into the movie, Ana called!! We chatted for a bit, she had to call me back, and, naturally, we got disconnected at one point, so we had to call back again. She and "Lexi" are doing great. Mike's happy and got to hold Gabrielle and Alexandria together. Wonderful to hear from Ana, could hear little baby in the background too. Aww ^-^ She had to talk to a nurse, so we called it a night. Maybe talk tomorrow. I've gotta call it a night too. Nice to see Disney animation, although wow, what a difference between the styles of Snow White and Mulan. Storywise too. Interesting stuff, but for now, bed.

Alexandria Elyse

Welcome to the world, Alexandria Elyse!!

Congratulations Ana and Mike!!

Lent xx - 5:30am days - 56 feet?!?!

Was in Breezeway today. Good change of pace (I hoped) compared to yesterday's near-disaterous time in Bubble. Found out Kim got awarded a GSF card. Good for her. I'd still like one. Turns out, while Breezeway was still organized, not enough time for my meticulous approach. Tried to prepare a last minute stock of all that I could. Got to go and do the wave this time. Yesterday, had been stuck hanging f*cking Dooney and Burke (:P) purses and missed it. Kid told me I was missing a finger. I was amused. Back in to attempt to stock what I could. Definitely not enough. Open pegs and lack of sizes. Went on break to call about setting up professional internship interview. Apparently they didn't have my application? Need to fix that. Did set up haircut appointment at Kingdom Kutters. Family Feud's interesting to watch. Got off break a little before 11:00am and heard call for stockers to come help out on register. Sure enough, got pulled to help out with someone's break. Was told it was going to only be for 20 minutes or so. Met a Polish woman (finally! Polish person!) and a British man who mentioned how many Americans they'd encountered because of spring break. Finally, at 2:00pm, I finally got to go on my second break. Met Karen, who said she didn't think I'd get to take her Monday 6pm - 12am shift, since it would put me into overtime. Said she talked to Sandra, and that we'd all see. Came back and attempted to start organizing to stock. Not easy with people moving merchandise around and trying it on, but I tried. Felt bad about the appearance of Breezeway, even though I couldn't help being on register for so long. Went to get stock and came back to work on it. Jan appeared (thankfully). Gave me a mini hug. Said she thought I was hiding because I was scared what she'd think of the area. Honestly, didn't want to give her more work to do, and didn't want her to have to come into work like that. Just so I can briefly demonstrate the importance of words - encountered woman who said she'd seen a woman with a white sweatshirt. Said I thought we didn't carry any, but woman insisted, saying she saw it in the woman's hands. Just then, woman appeared. Woman pointed clothing out to me. It was a jacket. But I knew where it was and took her to it. Apologized, saying I thought she'd said sweatshirt, and she said the clothing IS a sweatshirt. Thicker, yes, but it zips, isn't that a jacket? Mom told me later it really could go either way - could constitute as a sweatshirt. Oye e.e Ended up running around to hang clothing, ink tagging pants (incorrectly - supposed to be on a seam, and because they're reversable, have some pants in order one way, and then flipped outwards and in order the other way), and helping her dig out jacket sizes from a huge pile she'd brought up. Ended up getting out late again. Not as late as yesterday (4:45pm) but around 4:20pm today. Ended up not having to drive Brian, as he got to extend how long he kept his loaner car. Took a mini drive around property. Back at apartment, changed into shorts and went for a walk to the Shrine and back. Leftover pasta for dinner and spent my evening watching a tribute to Horizons. No idea the ride vehicle hung 56 ft in the air at some points!! Really tired now. Need sleep.

Just wanted to mention, saw The Princess and The Frog yesterday. Pretty good movie. Liked the music. Happy to see animation again. Felt a connection concerning the characters having to "dig a little deeper" to find out what they want. Loved Naveen telling Evangeline he loved Tiana. And may I just say - Yay Jim Cummings!! Got to take home a Coke and some popcorn.

Also just wanted to mention, one of the ink tags must've leaked. I now have blue splotches of ink on my hand. I'm marked as a Disney merchantainer.

Lent xx - 5:30am Days - Week 2, Day 1 - Anthony Bourdain helps me find a Reuben

After sleeping in late for two days, today first day of full week of 5:30am days. Got less sleep last night (distracted by Horizons), so tired today. Saw plans for Mouse Gear store redo. Assigned to Bubble. Kids being redone, things being moved around store. Disrupted some of my list. Had to ask Manager Ginny about open space where hoodies were. Pulled down into tunnel to talk to stockers about what was in stock to put up. Kept trying to keep up. Got pulled away from Bubble (again) to help put out fancy (expensive) purses. Had to hunt down Manager Ginny, find key, see how to organize, then unwrap and tag purses. Took up lots of time. Could only get the essentials for Bubble. Met couple looking for sweat pants for one of their grandkids. Offered to look around store for them when we didn't have the correct size. Said they'd be back after lunch and took note of my name. Didn't take break until 10:38am. Didn't feel well after food. Busy day. Food and Beverage 20% coupon is in effect. Morning was messy/nuts. Asked permission (sigh) to work on shoes. Got half done before offering to help Manager Sandra with a project. Wanted Jack Skellington hats hung up. Had to hunt around for tag gun (wha?). Found wrong one, as it didn't have a needle. Found the right one and proper hooks. Watched her do it. Tried myself. Hope I did it right. Woman Cast Member remarked that she was watching one of the dressing rooms. Been occupied for an hour. Thought it might be a guy and a girl. Finished hats. Decided to fill up a hole or two, put shoes back in proper stock room place, and be done with it. Encountered Guests all the while. Got a really cool id badge pin. Said it was for Imagineering and featured Figment. Got traded away about 45 minutes before my shift ended. Finally finished and got out of there. Hadn't taken my second break. Decided to go to Beaches and Cream for mint chocolate chip shake, since McDonalds around here don't seem to have them. Tried to park at Boardwalk. Missed parking lot and had to go around again. Explored Boardwalk tiny bit before heading onward. Knees and calves hurting. Shake was good, little foamy, but I got the whipped cream and sprinkles that I wanted, not to mention a cherry and delicious mint and chocolate.

Computer just turned off (needed to plug it in). Blogspot saved draft. Woo hoo!!

Wanted reubin because of St. Patrick's Day. Thought Earl of Sandwich might have it. Debated taking Disney bus. Decided to drive. Parked by Cirque. Thought I could catch a boat. Missed. Walked. Pain. Got to Earl. NO REUBIN!! WTF? Couldn't find boat dock by Rainforest Cafe. Took the boat by Paradiso 37. Back to Marketplace, then to West Side. Boat Captain named Tom. Looked very much like an older Anthony Bourdain. Similar build, hair color, facial shape. Boat ride peaceful. Good suggestion on behalf of family. Thought maybe Panera had sandwich, but Mom said no. Got back to apartment (stairs x.x) and had Lean Cuisine. Managed to edit which professional internships I wanted to apply for, but missed the job in Batavia that my Mom had sent me. Drats. Soyoung listening to music, some of which was covers of songs I'd heard, or was nice music in general. Did have a Stevie Wonder song though. Good choice. Shalom came home and made pizza. Smells good. Said that one of the "single ladies" in the Beyonce video is a guy - and dances the best of the three. Soyoung showed video of two guys at Chatham dancing to song. Off to sleep and a lovely long day of work tomorrow. Gotta figure out what to do next. Need to rest though. Definitely a good idea.

Lent xx - A quick update with less than two months to go

Last two 5:30am days kind of blew by. Sorry about not updating x.x Went to Church today, then to Vista to return biography movie about Walt, then to Magic Kingdom where I hoped to have gotten a hair cut. No good, they were booked. Went to Magic Kingdom, got cinnamon almonds (delcious, but expensive), rode train. Held up by parade at Toontown Station. Wandered a bit, very busy all around. Got on People Mover with annoying teen boys behind me. "I'm on the blue line!" "Where the ladies at?" "I'm scared of the dark!" "Someone touched my butt, I feel violated!". Long journey. Gave me a bit of a headache. Walmart after, and then a pleasant walk around the complex. Dinner, ST: TNG/NCIS, and a shower.

Trying to work things out for my future. Need to update resume, apply for jobs, figure out next step. Unfortunately, seems like my trip back home for Easter isn't going to happen. Costs somewhere between $244 and mid-$300s for a ticket. I understand, but am not happy at all about it. Much to do. Gotta get to bed though. More 5:30am days ahead.

Walt was really like us...really normal...wasn't he? Crazy to think like that, but watching that movie, well, wow. What a life.

Oh, and it's officially less than two months until my program's over.

Lent xx - 5:30 days - Day 2 - 5:30am - 2:00pm

Raining this morning. Little thunder and lightning too. Shoes still wet from yesterday. Parked closer to front to try to avoid more rain. Saw bus and wanted to get on it. Driver said it was going west. Met Kim, who was waiting for east bus. Dropped shirts off at costuming while waiting. Determined maybe east bus didn't run so early in morning. Walked to Mouse Gear. Tried drying inside of my shoes with paper towels before clocking in. Not much help, but a little better. Got assigned to Bubble. Spent morning stocking and watching lots of rain fall. Were supposed to have meeting a little earlier. Rope was going to be dropped a little earlier so Guests could get in and out of the rain. Helped Kim stock "Mine" toothpick holders in Breezeway while the meeting went on. Helped her move mugs she'd replaced and rest of holders into stockroom and tried to move my clothing rack into stockroom too so it wouldn't be out on floor when Guests came in. Made it to the wave, just a moment or two behind schedule. Something like 10 people passed us by the whole time we were out there. Went on break a little late, trying to gather remaining shirts I needed. On break, Kim worried a great deal about not checking what time she was supposed to take break and how long she was supposed to be on it. People kept asking for closed shoes. Felt bad we really didn't have anything to offer. Had Manager Brad explain the new stocking procedures. We can stock until first break/10:30am. Then it's out to help Guests. If something really needs to be stocked (not just like two pairs of socks missing), stockers have to call a manager, have them come, explain what needs to be done, and have manager decide on whether to let the stocker stock. Right... Guest asked for a white hat with a pink Mickey silhouette on it. Didn't have any in stock. Called Brad. He said it was ok to take one down from the display...if I could reach it. Thought about stepstool. Then thought about grabbers that managers usually have. Apparently Food and Beverage and outdoor managers get them, but maybe not in Merchandise? Woman named Frances had a hook, however. She came over to the hat wall and managed to knock the desired hat off one of the stands at the top of the display. A little dusty, but ok. Brad found me when I was chatting with a couple of teen girls. Looked like he wanted to talk to me, but became involved in the conversation with the Guests. Managed to sneak off and straighten. Eventually found me again. Had little project for me. Some of the large Vinylmation out on shelf were supposed to come out next Friday. Wanted me to put them back and bring back the ones originally there. Did so. Midway through, he came around and said that some of the ones going back that looked like bowling pins were ok to stay out. Apologized for giving me more work to do. Said it wasn't a problem, I'm a CP and here to serve. He replied I'm not just a CP, I'm a Cast Member. Said, ok, I'm a Cast Member, and here to serve, wasn't a problem. Told me that I shouldn't let anyone say I'm JUST a CP. Thought that was pretty cool., sort of inspiring. Told him so. Told him that's why he gets to wear the normal clothes. He laughed. I finished project. Became a coat-hanger for a couple of Guests trying on wind breakers. Ponchos maybe not working so well? Were out of a lot of sizes on wind breakers, but the couple finally found ones that worked for them. This was in Breezeway. Manager Rob saw me in Breezeway, asked me to get him the Breezeway rings. I had no idea what he was talking about, which he was surprised (and not in a good way) at. Told him I don't often stock Breezeway. Was told it's a ring with pictures on it showing how things should be stocked. Knew what he wanted and got it. After he used it, was told to put it back and find him. He had another project for me, but when he found out I was in Bubble, sent me on my way. Met a guy from Schaumburg (neat) and two ladies who LOVE Kenny Chesney. One had some lovely photos of him on her phone. The other had encountered a stroller and her KC poncho had ripped under the arm. Had asked someone on register to staple it closed. Took Cast bus to go back to Cast Services. Had to wait a bit, but sort of peaceful. Only person waiting for bus. Only person taking bus back. Found a five-pointed star on Spaceship Earth as we pulled away. Shoes still got a little wet during walk to car. Maria was home when I got home. Spent afternoon hanging out in room, eating food, watching tv. Got phone call from Brian, which I didn't pick up. Voicemail said to call him when I got the message. Called back. He and a girl from Ireland named Karen had been in an accident. Rear-ended someone. Both were fine, her hand was bleeding though, so she'd gone to hospital. Brian needed ride. Said I could help him out. He said he'd call with address of Toyota dealship his car would be towed to. Time passed a bit, still no call. Managed to get to Vista to return Saludios Amigos/The Three Caballeros and The Rescuers Down Under. Picked up documentary on Walt. Apopka/Vineland super crowded. Brian called back once I was driving back. Told him I'd call back. Got to apartment to Mapquest. Off Colonial Drive. Heard of, never visited. Wrote directions. Said it'd be about a half hour. Tried taking International Drive to avoid Apopka/Vineland traffic. Some how ended up on Osceloa parkway. Got onto John Young and followed it north to Colonial. North-South streets connect with East-West streets - Amazing! Passed by the dealership, had to turn around to reach it. Once arrived (with bad parking job - sorry), tried calling Brian a couple of times. No answer. Called Mom to be sure signal worked, then, accidentally rejecting his phone call, tried again. Eventually met up. He set up his GPS as a backup, and back we went. Apparently had to wait for cop for over two hours. Firetruck and ambulance had arrived quickly. Couldn't get ahold of Karen. Turns out, other person, who only had a dented bumper as opposed to bit of a crunch and air bag deployment of Brian's car, works on Illuminations. Said he could get Brian and Karen good seats for the show. Crazy. Dropped off Brian and headed back to apartment. Called Mom and chatted for a little bit. Decided sleep might be good. Had a cup of cereal once I got things a little more organized. Hope Karen's ok. Said she hadn't been feeling well earlier. Hope Brian's doing ok too. Weather's supposed to be better tomorrow too.