No Time!

I really have so little time to do anything. I work at least 40 hours a week, and even worked 52 last week. However, that was some sick overtime and resulted in a $300 paycheck, even after they take out $92 for my rent. Big score there. I picked up a shift to get to that much overtime, but I don't think that's gonna be happening again anytime soon. I always have 2 days off, but now I have 2 classes on one of those days off, back-to-back, from 1-5:30, and I REALLY don't want to work on my other full day off. It's mostly for my sanity and I want to continue enjoying my job. I have a fellow CP working 17 days in a row. What a fool.

My classes seem like they're going to be a lot of fun, though. They're not really classes, more like seminars/lectures. The first is Exploring Marketing at Disney. It's 8 weeks long and each week focuses on different aspects of Disney marketing while bringing in higher ups from within the company to speak. The other class is a bit more personal, for me at least: Exploring Disney Heritage. For 8 weeks, we will basically review everything that one could possible want to know about the history of the company, beginning with Walt and Roy to where the company stands in the present. One of the weeks we get to do a scavenger hunt at Hollywood Studios! I'm really pumped about that. I have the same facilitator for both classes and has been with the company for 17 years, working all types of jobs and is the recipient of the Partners in Excellence award, a very prestigious award, the highest award a Disney cast member can receive. Just another contact in my ever-growing list.

Speaking of contacts, I have another meet and greet setup with a representative from Magic Music Days, more specifically, Performing Arts and Education Programs. However, the meeting is taking place in Celebration, about a 15 minutes drive. I have absolutely no idea how I'm gonna get there, but I have a few ideas. I really don't want to cancel. On another note, I've been searching cars here and there, starting as just a small fantasy, but it's becoming more of a need everyday.

A quick thought I had the other day: I feel like people listen to music in 2 different ways, at least initially. An individual listens first either for the words or the music. Both have the ability to evoke a flurry of emotions. I've always found myself to be a music person, or how the music makes me feel on a purely 'noise' level. I've been trying to add to that by really listening to those words, looking them up and deciphering meanings if needed (the internet is awesome). Some of the time, it completely transforms the song for me. Just a thought. Miss everyone. My parents will be here in 6 days! And I saw giraffes running! Amazing.

Boy I Need a Car

I'll tell you what...yes, I need a car. I thought I wasn't going to really have a problem getting around while I'm down here, but boy, not having a car reeeeally blows. As you know, we have a bus system, but then you end up spending most of your day commuting. For instance, I went to the Polynesian with a friend the other day because they show movies outside at the different resorts. I saw Bolt at Fort Wilderness and it was really fun. It's like a 20 ft. screen and they have a small fire going to toast marshmallows...fo free! Well, the supplies aren't, but at least the fire be there. Anyway, the times for the movie on the website were different then when we got to the resort. We thought it started at 9 but it was actually 8. This turned out to not really be a problem, mostly because they were showing 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'. No thanks. Neither of us were very upset about missing it.

Up to this point, I've been getting around without a car. I go grocery shopping less frequently and I don't mind. I also haven't had to take the bus to work more than a handful of times. The worst part is that you're just so restricted to what the person with the car wants to do. But if I'm going to stay here, I gots to get me a car, no question. Weird thing is, a couple weeks ago, I went apartment hunting. Seriously, what the eff. I've found a couple prospects for roommates, so I'm not worried about that. And the cost of living down here isn't terrible, despite the affluence that is Orlando. Of the couple places we looked, it was between $400-450 for everything. I'll pick up shifts from time to time and HATE it. However, I gotta be a semi-responsible adult and start saving.

In reality, the only thing I really want to spend money on is good food. The older I get, the more I appreciate good food. And down here, there are a ton of good places to eat. We get a 20% discount on table service anywhere on the property.

I'm just gonna post this since it's been sitting here for 2 days now. Things are CRAZY busy.

Thinking About the Future

It's been a couple days, hasn't it? Work is just a killer, and then on your days off, you really just want to sit around and relax or enjoy the parks, since they are still fun and new.

The Food and Wine festival has started at Epcot, which means parents will be here soon! And by parents, I mean my parents, specifically. I've only been once since it started, and boy is it awesome. It runs for about a month at Epcot. There are many booths, each one dedicated to a different country, and many more than there are countries permanently at Epcot. I believe there are 26 booths total, with New Zealand, Poland, Chile, Argentina, and many, many more. They serve small-ish portions; about 3 would equal a meal. Unfortunately, just like anything at Disney,
the costs add up pretty quick. But man is it worth it. Everything I saw, I wanted, regardless of if I even knew what it was.

I know I haven't been here long, but it's definitely time to start networking. It's not terribly hard to do around here, you just gotta be friendly-like. We have some pretty friendly managers who can help hook you up with many helpful people, just so you can get your name out there and your resume distributed. My DAK pak leader, Rob, is really awesome and I met with him the other day to critique my resume. He didn't have much to say in terms of changes, sans a few notes on tense, so that was pretty exciting. Overhauling my resume is really the last thing I want to do. I also met with a college buddy of my dad's for lunch on Tuesday. Bruce works at the Disney Institute, which sounds like a really cool place. Apparently, Disney's way of running things is highly touted by companies all around the world, so much in fact that they pay good money to have people like Bruce teach them our corporate culture as well as strategies on efficiency and creativity. They also bring these individuals into the park to get some hands on. Bruce is a great guy and also gave me some names of people to contact. One individual even works in the Magic Music Days Division! How awesome would that be?


Anyway, I have to get a run in before 'The Office' starts. I feel really good about my safaris now. I hope some friends ride soon!










[Gaston bro-in out]

One of Those Days

Boy, today was just one of those days. My guests blew, hardcore. My first 5 rounds had guests that stood up multiple times, after being told multiple times to stay seated. It's important to know that they also spoke English. There's nothing else that drives me crazier, though, than guests asking me to slow down. I say at the beginning 'I cannot stop at any time, but I will slow down'. Reasonable, methinks, but also keep in mind that the truck goes 8 MILES AN HOUR, 3-4 by animals. Find me a universe where that is fast and out of control, and I will eat a pink-backed pelican. Someone even told me slow down; I almost lost it there. I ended the day closing pram (parking strollers) with one of my less-than favorite people. When I went out to bump my person and saw who I would be working with, I literally looked up at the sky and asked 'What did I do wrong?'.

Anyway, the previous week has been going well. Today was actually the first day I had that I was like, boy, this sucks. But I can't imagine a job where you could go the entirety of it without having a couple days like that. Yesterday we went to the SALSA sale (spend a little, save a lot). We love our acronyms at Disney. It's a big sale they do once a year to get rid of all the crap that guests didn't find enticing. To me, about 60% was stuff that was junk. Big poofy Christmas hats from last year, fuzzy Everest hats, Hannah Montana DVD players, 3 billion key chains, lots of nonsense. I did get a sweet jacket, originally $140, after markdowns, got it for $36. Score. Maybe I'll be back later to spend some of my hard-earned wages.

I really want to go to a beach or something soon. That would be neat. I really don't have much to say today; maybe I'll have a brain wave sometime soon and do a little adding.

p.s. This is a way better way to incorporate photos. Good job me.

Involved

I've had the last two days off, mostly. Thursday, we had a big CP meeting to go over mostly stuff we had gone over before. But the big treat was to go see Festival of the Lion King in Camp Minnie-Mickey at Animal Kingdom, so we didn't have to go far. It is one of the best shows on property, if not the best, so the rumors have been true.

Festival of the Lion King. Epic.

Me at the front desk at our DAK Pak

Yesterday two girls from safari, Carmen and Cassie, and I went to DAK and Hollywood Studios. We rode four safaris during the course of the day, all different. It's really interesting to ride others safaris because they're all so different. It's also tough not judge, because it's not necessarily wrong, just not the way you would do it.

A bunch of us from safari went to Epcot tonight to do the Kim Possible thing, which is where you sign up, get a cell phone, and go around to different areas of the World Showcase looking for clues. We started off with two teams of five, but our phone sucked real bad, so we had to quit pretty soon after we had started. Hopefully we get another chance soon, though, because it looks like a lot of fun.

I guess the most difficult aspect of the program that has risen to the surface has been the involvement of new people. You all know I'm a passionate person and get close to people, if not too close. Already I'm thinking, hey, this is great, I'm meeting all these amazing people and having good times right out of the gate. But unfortunately, all I can think about is in four months, it's gonna be over, and a lot of these people will no longer be a major part of my life. I am usually not Debbie Downer in this sense, but what makes it an issue is that the people that were such a big part of my life, my family and my Gnomies, were gone so quickly. And now I almost feel like I'm cheating on my old friends, that I miss a lot. Not playing this weekend is killing me. Thank goodness I worked today and tomorrow, because if I were sitting around all day...well, that would have been bad news.

But...I gotta learn to love the journey and sometimes it's a bad idea to think about the future.

Finding a Purpose

Disney Cast Members really only have four rules to follow:

1. I project a positive image and energy
2. I am courteous to all guests, including children
3. I stay in character and play the part
4. I go above and beyond

Obviously, the last one is what Disney is known for. New cast members are required to take a two-hour class emphasizing the importance of these 'commandments'. I thought it was going to suck, frankly, but it really reinforced my decision to come here. I know it's early to find a purpose in life, but if anything, this is a temporary if not permanent place for me in life. Going that extra mile for people feels pretty great.

King Triton, looking like a crazy old man

These Basics, as they are called, are derived from hundreds upon hundreds of guests who have visited the parks. Disney spoke with first-time guests, seasoned vets, old guests, young guests, newlyweds, recently divorced, and individuals of many different cultures. Our instructor told us that she could go on for hours about their responses...but they all boiled down to roughly these Basics. All guests also said that no one goes home and talks about how awesome Pirates was, they talk about the cast members. Every person that works here could tell you plenty of stories of how they have made someone's day by completing the simplest of gestures. I had one of these yesterday.

I was working Gatekeeper, which is the cast member that lets through individuals in wheelchairs to get them on the properly suited truck. There's a gate in the middle and on either side are short aisles that keep track of how many people go through line. We weren't very busy and both sides were way open, so I was directing guests through both sides. I had a little boy of probably 3ish and wearing a birthday button walk up with his dad. He looked confused which side to use, so I asked him since it was his birthday, which side he want to use? He was still a little confused, so I pointed to my right and said, 'Well, this is the side for birthday boys'. That helped him and off he went to ride safari. A little while later, they both came back through line. There were a bit more people and the side to my left was open, so I directed them through there. But he was confused and I realized why, because he said to me, pointing to my right, 'But that's the side for birthday boys'. It was really cute and made my day.

We went to Spectromagic last night and did a quick ride of the Jungle Cruise, the 'antithesis' of Kilimanjaro Safaris. But we like it anyway; not all jokes are acceptable on our attraction, so that's why we dig Jungle Cruise to a certain extent. I also had a couple friends ride my safari today and it was fun, despite good natured heckling. Hopefully Hollywood Studios Friday, my day off, to have a fun day and find some hidden mickeys.

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm really starting to miss friends, especially with Stanley Cup coming up.

Wednesday = Friday

Like I said earlier, everyone rarely gets the same days off. Lately, my days off have been Wednesdays and Thursdays; needless to say, I rarely know what day it is. It's weird to have my Wednesday be my Friday. I'm sure you can all guess the severity of this situation. However, there is a fund with all donations going to helping me understand the days of the week. We have a P.O. Box and we're getting around to a website.

Anyway, seems like most days off go the same way: one day committed to errands and laundry, one day committed to parks. At least for me this is how it goes. But I would like to go to the parks every chance I get. I want to do everything at least once, even the 'lame' attractions, like Hall of Presidents and Country Bear Jamboree. I actually went on Country Bear the other night and boy is that thing hilarious. But only once. After that, it's a little sad, especially since that it has been there for many, many years. But if you're into hardcore drugs, I could see you getting upset if it ever leaves.


I went to Blizzard Beach yesterday with some friends, which are starting to become more consistent. However, at least once a week, 10 days, I'm doing that whole, "I'm from here, I work here, I eat this for breakfast" etc. But things are looking up. Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is taking place from now until the end of October and I heard it's a good time. Tickets are about $40, and that's with the cast discount. But worth it. There's also a Tower of Terror 5K and 13K which sounds just right up my alley. Obviously not the 13K part; who runs that far anyway?

I finally hung up my photos that I printed off before I came to Florida and it made me pretty melancholy. I've been doing OK with my transition, but it sure would be nice to just be back for a night or so. I miss a lot of people and the good times we had. Mostly, I hope Stanley Cup gets pulled off. My parents are coming at the end of October and were planning on staying at the Beach Club...but then found out, that even with my discount, four nights costs $1200. Yikes. Plan B time. I would love to see you, so give me a holler if a visit is a possibility. It can be real cheap, because they give good discounts for places off of property as well.