I know, I know. It's been forever.

Trust me on this one, I have a really good reason for not posting. As in- I'm not in Florida anymore. I haven't been for I think over a month now. And it's hard to write this post because I feel like I'm letting all 54 of you down. But I really had to think about what was best for me in this case, so here I sit in pollen-infested Georgia. (Seriously, our pollen count is out of control.) 

I feel like I should explain why I left, especially because I don't want all of the future CPs to freak out. :) The CP is awesome and you're going to love it. It's going to be hard sometimes and it's going to suck sometimes because that's how life is, but you're going to have the time of your life. 

Leaving was literally one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my entire life. I really enjoyed my time there and I haven't had a day go by that I haven't felt sad that I had to leave. Self-terming isn't exactly going out in a blaze of glory and it doesn't bode well for ever wanting to work for the company again. On top of that, I was building some pretty awesome relationships with awesome people and I miss them terribly. So if I feel like this, why did I leave? Because despite all of that, I still needed to leave. I have a lot of underlying personal issues. I've been through a lot in my life and I haven't dealt with any of it at any point. It's been storing up, dragging me down, and interfering with my quality of life. 

I'm now at home working for ChaCha still, waiting to work at camp this summer (my favorite place on the planet), and going to counseling. It's the best I've felt in a long time. And while I'm sad that I'm not in Florida (frequently) I don't regret my decision. I wouldn't be able to be on the path to healing that I'm on now, and I wouldn't trade that. 

Thanks to all of you for sharing in my Disney journey with me. If you'd like to continue on with me in my not-so-Disney journey, I have a non-Disney blog that was deleted but that I've decided to bring back. You can find it here. 

I don't expect everyone to understand why I had to leave, but I hope you can at least respect it. :) 

What's next? Camp. Job. School of some kind (culinary? medical?). Maybe I'll just go ahead and become the next president or something. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog and supporting me. I love you all.

<3

Blog post here.

There will be one shortly. I know I'm slacking. In my defense I've tried to update twice and the internet has eaten my post. I'm in the process of writing one currently but I'm going to Walmart now so you'll have to wait.  

So, I should be doing something more productive (like cleaning out my trunk so my family's luggage will fit in it or packing my bag for the hotel with them) but I bad because I said I would update after Walmart that night and I didn't. So much to catch up on. After my last post I went to work until 6:30 and then headed back home to Georgia. By the time I actually got on the road it was almost 7:30 which put me back home at almost 2:30 (yes, in the morning) because the drive took me EXACTLY 7 hours. I was personally impressed. I gave my dog a spaz attack because apparently she thought she'd never see me again and I'd like to say I went to bed, but I took advantage of having good internet at home to watch the episode of LOST I had missed. I woke up on Sunday and went down to the  Georgia World Congress Center to help set up with PCC and whatnot and hung out with my family and other cool people I hadn't seen in a long time. Some of them in a VERY long time (Bethany!!!). Monday I woke up early and went to hang out with Cheriiise at Starbucks because I love her and because I miss doing that. I waited until her shift ended and we went and exchanged some of my jeans at the mall and then went to my house and colored Disney Princess pictures while watching the worst (BEST) Hallmark movie, Elevator Girl. Then I went to see my grandmother and I also went to see my daddy. I went home to grab the rest of my stuff and head back down to Orrrlando but my sister convinced me to go to Target with her so I may or may not have gotten on the road at 9:30 (therefore putting me home at 4:30). So while the trip home pretty much drained me of all energy I've ever had, it was worth it and I got a lot done/got to see a lot of people while I was home. 

Later that week, on Thursday and Friday (or Friday and Saturday?) I had GAMES TRAINING! They finally rescheduled it (if you remember correctly, my trainer called in sick- if you don't remember correctly, you don't win a prize... okay you don't win one anyway) and it was a blast. I don't understand why so many people complain about it. Yes, you're outside (but I like that part) and yes you're spieling (I like that part, too) but you get to see people and talk to people and NOT listen to the music inside of Chester and Hester's. I've only worked in games for like an hour since my training but I hope to be out there more soon. 

Monday was my day off and I spent the first half of the day basking in the sun on the balcony (okay not really basking I was wearing jeans) and playing guitar while trying to decide if I'm going to audition for Night of Stars. The second half of the day I went to Hollywood Studios with my Boo Boo Bear (Christine) and we were total tourists complete with matching t-shirts (that we bought) and Mickey ice creams (which I've been wanting for like 3 weeks now). It was fun and something that I really needed. Tuesday I woke up with a fever and called in because an 11 hour shift in the rain didn't really seem like the thing to fix that. Yesterday I didn't feel great but I had no fever so I rocked my 9 hour photo shift like a pro (or like a crazy person... example: I was playing with two of our toy dinosaurs and making them roar at each other and fight/eat each other until I realized guests could see me). 

Today I'm picking my family up at the airport which means I need to clean out my car which means I need to go. I'll leave you with my favorite game spiel.

"Come on over to BrontoScore! Just one voucher for one try, two vouchers for three tries. Yes, that's right come test your BrontoScore and aim for the stars!"

<3

Best. Day. Ever.

I had an AMAZING day today. I got to start work at Nemo Cart (which I LOVE) which just started a list of awesome things.

1. Shortly after I started I was talking to a guest while he waited for his wife to go to the bathroom and also exchange a pair of flip flops. He asked where my college was located and I said Georgia. He talked about how when they were driving down from Virginia they loved how beautiful the snow in Georgia was. I told him that I was sad that I had missed it. About five minutes later he came up to me with his camera and scrolled through all the pictures he took of the Georgia snow so I could see them. :)

2. I like to hold Bruce. You know, from Finding Nemo? We have a talking one and he's my favorite way to Merchantain. A little boy came over with his dad and I asked him if he would say hello to Bruce because I had heard that Bruce could talk but I wasn't sure. He waved and said "Hi, Bruce." at which point I hit Bruce's fin so that he would say "G'day, mate. My name's Bruce." The boy was pretty excited and then proceeded to tell me his name and talk to me for a few minutes. I got to see him again after he got out of the show and when he saw me he smiled and waved. It was awesome. 

3. I smiled and said good morning to a cast member walking by to either go on break or get a new assignment. (I later found out his name is Walt. AWESOME.) He smiled, said good morning back, and kept walking. Later on as he was coming back out, when he walked by he slipped a piece of candy in my hand. :)

4. There's a steel drum/Caribbean sounding/awesome band that plays next to the Theater in the Wild (they're really fun and wonderful so you should try to see them sometime). They started playing and since I was already holding Bruce I decided I would dance with him. Well, Bruce is a great dancer and was twirling me and dipping me and all sorts of fun things. I looked up and a family was laughing and dancing as well. Another family was videoing me. Glad I'll be made fun of by them for years to come. :) But yeah. The good part of this one was A. that it was fun, B. that little kids kept joining in by dancing in the line for Nemo.

Lots of other great things happened today but those are my favorite. I was inside on register at Chester's for the rest of the day, so that wasn't quiiite as awesome but it was still fun. It was also relatively busy so my day went by very quickly. Tomorrow I work from 10:45-6:30 and then I'm driving HOME. Yay!!!!

Have a fun Friday night!

<3

I'm Going Home.

Next weekend I get to go home for PCC and I'm SO excited. I realized yesterday on my break that I would be able to and had a small dance party moment. I have Sunday and Monday off and church is at 6 on Sunday night, so it's perfect. I'm planning on leaving Saturday night after work (I'll get home around 1), helping out with/attending church on Sunday, hanging out with Cherise on Monday morning and heading back down on Monday around 3. I'm thrilled. I love it down here, but I can't wait to see my family... including my dog. I can't wait to be at PCC again. I feel like I'ved missed so much and that's one of the main things that I hate that I'm missing out on down here. Now I get to be a part of it again, if only for one weekend. I mean, I know I'm still a part of it down here, but it's different. 

So, I was supposed to start my games training yesterday, right? WRONG. My trainer called in sick. Now my training has been rescheduled. It's okay though because I only had a six hour shift yesterday and I only have a six hour shift today as well because of it. Yes, please. Yesterday was a great day (minus the very beginning). I got to work right at 7:45 because I started at 8 and I wanted to be there early since it was training. I thought it was strange that my trainer wasn't already there but I clocked in and put my stuff in my locker and whatnot. I continued to stand there and around 7:55 logged on to get my assignment for the day even though I knew it would say "Enjoy your training!" (which it did). I continued to stand there until around 8:10 when one of my managers informed me that I'd be thrown into the rotation for the day because my trainer called in sick, therefore my training would be completely rescheduled. Not a problem because since I was there so early I got check that each cash drawer had the correct amount of money and then be one of the two people walking them to all the registers in the store, carts, and at Photo. That took until 9:30 which was sweeeeet. It was really busy yesterday. Dinosaur had the longest wait it's had this year so far apparently. I believe it was 75 minutes which is really crazy considering how uncrowded we've been since I've been here. It's supposed to be crowded again today, what with it being President's Day and all. I had the early shift yesterday so I didn't see it as much, but I'm 12:30-6:30 today so I'm pretty sure I'll definitely experience some of the madness. 

Alright. It's time for me to get ready for work. Woohoo.

Have an excellent start to your week! 

<3

I love my job.

Dude. I really do. Even though my fingers were so cold this morning at Nemo Cart this morning that they were bright red and I couldn't count money. Even though I had to work right up until 7:30 because the store was still crazy even though we closed at 7. All I could think about today was how much I love my job. I love waving to kids and making them smile. I REALLY love when they have cute face paint and I can talk about it or when they bring money up to buy an item on their own. I love talking to adults about where they're visiting from and how much fun they're having. I love talking to the cheerleaders this week (and I loved the dancers last week) about their competition and what it's taken them to get here. Guest interaction is the highlight of my day. That's about all I have for now. :) 

Oh. And this... Check out my new sweatshirt. I'm in love with it. 

Have a good weekend! 

<3

Sick. :(

So Wednesday I worked from 1:30 to 10 (magic hours- otherwise AK would never be open that late) and I wasn't feeling that great. I was pumped though because I was working Dino Photo and that's a BLAST. You either work gallery which is basically gift shop merch or you work photo which is where you help guests find their photos, print them out, and sell them. I spent the majority of the day on photo which is just awesome. By the end of the night I was hurting in the health department though. My Thursday shift was supposed to be from 7:00-3:30 and dude, as much as I wanted to end my program with a clean record card, I called in. I knew I wouldn't have another day off until next Wednesday and I knew if I took a day to take care of myself it would be better in the long run than exhausting myself while trying to get well. It was a good plan until I got to work today (technically yesterday) and ended up working 4 hours at a cart in 40 degree rain. My super nice manager realized how long I had been out there and switched me out so I could be inside. She also tried to get me an ER (didn't work but it's cool I only had an hour left of my shift) and told me that I didn't have to take over my register until I felt dry and warm (that didn't happen either I just sucked it up, ha). 

Dino Cart is everyone's least favorite. I always get sent there. I spent 3 hours there today. I personally love it. For a location point of reference, it's the cart at the entrance to Dinoland- right after you come across the bridge from Discovery Island, across from Trilo-Bites (the turkey leg stand), before the dinosaur skeleton bridge, right on the part of the path that leads to the Theater in the Wild (where the Nemo show is held). It's usually very slow, but I like it because it's so easy to greet guests. At this cart you will without fail answer how to get to the park exit about every 5 minutes and direct people to Asia and Nemo almost just as much. You will also direct people to Dinosaur, Festival of the Lion King (quite a trek), and Kilimanjaro Safaris (I just feel bad giving directions to that one... "Yeah... Pretty much it's the farthest thing away from you right now. Good luck."). The only downside to Dino Cart for me is that you can smell the turkey legs and Flametree. AND dude if the wind blows the right way, you can smell the food all the way from Asia. It's torture when you're waiting for your lunch break. 

When I got home I took a ridiculously hot shower to warm up my frozen toes and fingers (still cold after my 20 minute drive with my heat blasting) and pretty much bummed around until the opening ceremony for the Olympics came on. I watched the majority of it with just one of my roommates and eventually all of the others trickled home. I love the Olympics so much. :)

Now I'm off to bed. I work tomorrow from 11-7:30 which isn't bad at all. I think we close at 7 so it's not even hardcore closing hours. I'm definitely wearing leggings under my dino pants tomorrow. :) 

Have a good night, friends!

<3

EDIT: I forgot. It snowed 4 inches in my hometown today. Of course I missed it. :( Oh well. At least I saw some snow this year before I left. :)

Days Off.

I love working because I love my job, but I definitely LOVE my days off. :) Yesterday I went to Magic Kingdom with Christine. You should check out the pictures on Facebook here. The new ones start after Illuminations. :) 

I got a package today from my sister. It was full of all sorts of fun things and a framed picture from her wedding. It was awesome, but it made me miss my family even more. Good thing they're coming down in a month. Haha. 

Today I have another day off and I'm meeting up with a girl I work with at Animal Kingdom to hang out which is funny. Even on my day off I'm ending up there. 

Next week I only have one day off. Madness. The good news is that my 6th day of work in a week is overtime. Sweet! The other good news is that on Valentine's Day and President's Day (this Sunday and Monday) I have my games training! I'm not sure why they want to train me on busy days and not use me to actually do my job, but I'm certainly not complaining. Haha. 

Every day I'm surprised at how much I'm still loving it down here. Even when I'm homesick it's not that I want to leave it's just that I'm sad about what I'm missing out on at home. I love it here. I'm making lots of friends, my roommates rock, and I get to hang out at Disney World all the time. If you're on the fence about doing the program, DO IT. I mean, I'm just saying.

I'm off to eat breakfast (yes it's almost 11) and catch the bus to AK. Peace out.

<3

Because I love you.

No but seriously. That's the only reason I'm updating right now. Haha.

Yesterday was so intense. I started out the day on register 101 and finished out the day on... register 101. I wish I was kidding. Aside from 30 minutes when I was sent up to Dino Photo because they were short on people and needed someone up there, I spent the entire day on the same register. Listening to the same 7 (6? 8?) songs allllll day ("Diggin' Up Bones" anyone?). I enjoyed myself for most of it which is good. Ha. At the very end of my shift I did get out a little bit to help one of my managers close registers since you can't walk money drawers on your own. 

Today I didn't have to start until 10:30 which was awwwesome. I was out at Dino Cart (the cart at the entrance to Dinoland- across from Trilo-Bites) for the first 3 or so hours of my shift. Dino Cart is verrrrryyy slow but I got to listen to different music, smell turkey legs, and make friends with a little boy. We have these little monkey and tiger things that open and close their mouths when you pull on the handle they're attached to. They also make their respective animal sounds. The boy was slightly startled when the tiger roared and decided it would be really fun to scare me as well. He came up to me and put the tiger in my face and made it roar. I covered my eyes and screamed (quietly). He thought it was hilarious and continued to do this (eventually adding in the monkey as well) while I hid behind various parts of the cart. He's already a rocking Merchantainer at age 4 (5?). I also got to stand in the sun during this part of my shift which was awesome because my face isn't ridiculously pale anymore. What's funny is that there is a very defined triangle of sunburn on my chest in the spot that my shirt doesn't cover. Nothing else burned. It's awesome. 

So that's been my life for the last two days. Nothing too eventful, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

On a random note I haven't talked to Sarah (my roommate) since Tuesday because I'm asleep when she gets home and she's asleep when I leave. So in case you're reading this, Sarah- Hey. You're awesome. The cleanliness of your side of the room puts mine to shame. I'm sorry that my side is still messy. You better not have to work during Lost next week. I can't handle watching it on my own. I'll explode. 

On another random note I went to Target to buy a cd tonight and ended up with a really cute pair of shoes that I don't need at all. I bought them anyway because they were my present to myself for not dying yesterday. Three more days and I get a day off. :) 

For you lucky (ha! yeah right) people in school, have a happy Friday tomorrow. You get your weekend before me. :) 

<3

Very quick update.

Just a quick little post to check in and let you know I'm alive. :) I plan on updating in detail tomorrow because today I worked from 8:30 this morning until closing at 9:00 tonight (yes, that's a 12 hour shift) and I'm freaking exhausted. I hope you're all having a fabulous week so far. <3

First day of work by myself. :)

Today I had my first day of work all by myself. It was really fun, not as scary as I thought it would be, and really tiring. The best thing that happened was when I got home (after driving, what! what!) my power cord was waiting for me on my bed. My old one started sparking, so I kind of had to buy a new one (in case you were wondering, if you're a Disney employee you get a discount on Apple products). The glorious package containing it was waiting for me, so my computer is no longer dead. :)

I just finished having some leftover taco soup (like chili but with taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix) and now I'm just hanging out watching Meet the Robinsons while waiting for Miss America to start.

 I'm way behind on blogging, so here's the recap of my training. After my training day with Cheryl I had Merchantainment which is fun but goes a little long. The cool part is that you get a sweet Merchantainment pin at the end of it. The class itself is mostly just a class to ease you into working the register and learning how to process various forms of payment. If for some reason this seems extra difficult for you, no worries, you have 3 more days of training where they'll drill the exact same information into your brain. 

The next two days after that were my tier 3 and tier 4 days of merch training. They kind of run together because I basically did the same thing both days- practiced at the register. Somewhere along the way I learned how to open and close carts and also passed my Merchandise assessment. Tier 5 was super fun for me because I got to learn photo at the end of Dinosaur. The photo system isn't very difficult to use and it's a fun position to work. The best part of the day was when I was working Preview where basically you get to welcome back the time traveling guests and offer to write their photo number down for them (best job ever). Anyway, I made friends with a little boy who had just turned six ("I was five yesterday, but now I'm not.") and I got the chance to see him again after he rode a second time and confirm that he was as awesome as he thought he was ("Did I get away from the dinosaur faster than all the other cars?"). He totally made my day. :)

I then had two days off which was awwwwwwesome. I spent my first day off (Thursday to give you some sort of time reference) doing laundry and grocery shopping. Then that night I went to meet Christine for dinner at P.F. Chang's which was fabulously fun (and delicious). I'm so excited that she's down here and I can't WAIT for her to start. :) My second day off (yesterday) I went to Magic Kingdom by myself. Yes, by myself. It was a little awkward at first, but I enjoyed it immensely. I would like to apologize to Jungle Cruise because I have disliked it without reason for a long time. I don't think I had been on it in at least 10 years so my opinion was not well-formed. I laughed really hard, though no one else in my boat did. I am as corny as they come though, so it makes sense. I wish I could remember the skipper's name because he was freaking awesome. Aaaaand that brings us all the way up to today.

Today I didn't do anything extreme. I was on register in Chester and Hester all day. I was so afraid I was going to have to go to a cart. I wouldn't mind being at a cart, I would mind being in the rain. Well, I wouldn't mind being in the rain if I had rain gear, but they were out when I was at Costuming so I need to go back tomorrow or Monday and check. Tomorrow or Monday work because I have both of those days off as well. :)

Now it's time for me to grab fruit snacks and watch Miss America. Have a fun Saturday night!! 

<3

Lack of Posting

Hey guys, my lack of posting isn't due to me not wanting to post and not even due to me not having enough time. Our internet is cracked out right now. We called them and they told us to call our router people because that was the problem. We called them and they said we needed a new router. We got a new router. It's properly hooked up and should totally be working but the internet still doesn't work. Thanks, lying ISP. It IS your fault and is NOT the router's fault. So I'll update soon, I promise, but when I have reliable internet. :)

<3

Exhaustion. The best kind of exhaustion.

Sorry for the lack of update about my park orientation yesterday. I ended up going to Magic Kingdom with my roommates yesterday night and we had just enough time to ride Space Mountain and watch Wishes. Then I had to go to Walmart and buy my shoes (where I also bought a Lunchable) and then I was just tired. 

Yesterday was DAKlimation which I found without incident (which is a miracle because the directions they give you to Cast Services are non-existent and it is NOT somewhere you can just wander around and find). We had some help from experienced cast members and it was just fine. Which brings me to an important CP tip- DON'T be afraid to ask anyone anything. At all. Seriously. No one is going to think you're stupid. They'll understand that you're new and that things are confusing and they'll help you get where you need to be. DAKlimation consists of a LOT of information about the park, its history, and Disney's conservation efforts. It also consists of a LOT of walking. In case you were unaware, DAK is HUGE. We didn't go into anything super specific to our jobs, it was all mostly a general overview and a lot of learning the story about different areas of the park. It was very fun but another tip- for park orientation (especially if you're at DAK!) make sure you wear shoes that you're comfortable walking for a looooooong time in. :) 

Today was far more specific as it was my first day of on the job training. After clocking in at Cast Services and doing some online learning, we split with our trainers. I was the only one with my trainer (the coolest trainer ever), Cheryl. She was amazing and helpful and friendly and encouraging and fun and everything that I would expect a Disney trainer to be. She helped me learn my way around all of the fabulous places in Dinoland and gave me several helpful tips along the way. What's exciting is that not only am I in the Chester and Hester store and the Dinosaur photo store, I could also be at any of the Dinoland carts and I also get to be trained to work the carnival games which is awwwwwwwwwwesome. I also got to be a part of a Magical Moment today and made friends with a couple of really sweet four and five year olds. :)

I'm ridiculously tired so I'm going to probably watch a movie or watch The Biggest Loser online and go to bed.

<3

P.S. If you haven't had them already, good luck with your interviews Fall 2010-ers! 

Free day.

Today I had a free day and hung out with my awesome roommate, Sarah. We went to Animal Kingdom and rode Everest (the first time for both of us, we held hands), checked out Dinoland (rode Primeval Whirl and looked at costumes), and went on the good ol' Safari. We also went to Epcot where I finally rode Test Track. We also bopped through World Showcase and found our dream Canadian Man (we WILL find him again) and spent a ridiculous amount of time in Norway making fabulous assumptions about life there.

I have my first day of training tomorrow. Now all I need to do is figure out how in the heck to get to Animal Kingdom Cast Services from the bus stop. Oh well, good thing I'm leaving early. :)

I'm tired and don't want to write anymore, but if you want to check out pictures from today and the rest of my program, find them on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029690&id=1115520002&l=f86627a460. I don't think you have to be my friend to look at them, but feel free to add me. :)

<3

Traditionnnnnnnnnnnnnnn (s)

Today was Traditions. It was fabulous and fun and interesting (even it was long). Only one of my roommates (Brittney) was in the same group as me, so we headed over to the bus stop at the crack of dawn. The sun literally rose on the bus ride from Chatham to Disney University. It was ridiculous. The good thing about this was that after Traditions we had time to come home and eat and then head out to Hollywood Studios with some of our super fun downstairs neighbors. We started off by seeing the Indiana Jones show which I hadn't seen since I was like 10, so that was fun. Then we hit Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and finally Toy Story Mania. The only thing with a legit wait was Toy Story. The park was ridiculously uncrowded and it was fabulous. Dude. It was my first time going on Toy Story and I LOVED it. My score was pathetic, except for I totally owned in the Bo Peep game. My final score was 94,300. I plan to improve upon that significantly if only because a challenge has been thrown down. 

Tomorrow I'm going to buy dranks from the store because I forgot them and then I plan on going to Animal Kingdom, probably with some of the downstairs-ers. I want to go for the fun aspect but it will also be nice to scope out how much time I need to add in for the bus. I'm also going to creep on Dinoland Merch people so I can find my costume. :)

Have a wonderful rest of the night! 

Oh- to all of you Fall 2010-ers, I'm excited about the applications for y'all. Best of luck to you!

<3

Day 2.

This is going to be short. I'm tired. 

Today I woke up and went and got breakfast with my mom. We went to Target where I finally found a pair of grey pants. Then we went to Publix and bought my groceries and then we went to T-Rex and had a final (fun) lunch together. After that we drove to the airport so she could catch her flight. I may or may not have bawled like a baby as I was driving back to the highway from the airport. I got back to my apartment and met our fun downstairs neighbors and watched a very entertaining attempt to make a plastic cup/string phone for communication between our balconies. It was unsuccessful. We then took a massive trip with all of us to Downtown Disney and had dinner at T-Rex. Yes. I ate there twice today. Since then I've showered and dried my hair and I plan on doing nothing else but going to sleep. I have the early Traditions tomorrow which means I have to be at the bus stop at 6:45. That does mean more time to play in the parks afterwards though, so I'm excited for that. :)

I'll have a better update tomorrow. I promise.

<3

Check-In

Hello, friends. I'm officially checked in and my program has started. :) It doesn't feel totally official yet because I'm not sleeping in my apartment tonight because I'm a baby so I'm spending one more night in the hotel with my mom before she leaves tomorrow. 

Today was looooong. Fun, informative, exciting, and awesome- but long. I got to Vista around 7:45 and met up with my awesome roommate Sarah. We walked over to check-in around 8 where we filled out some housing papers, got our housing assignment (3 bedroom at Chatham, exactly what we wanted), got our housing IDs and learned when we would need to be on the bus to go to Casting (9:30). While waiting for the information on our casting session we accidentally found 3 of our 4 other roommates (who are also awesome) so that was cool. We had enough time to go over and pick out our room but that was about all we had time to do before catching the bus for Casting. We were the first group to go to Casting which was great because we got through everything relatively quickly... except for me because the fingerprint scanner didn't think any of my fingers looked like the right fingers. Also, they aren't kidding when they say it's easier to print/fill out your On-Boarding paperwork. My printer ran out of ink so I didn't have mine and while it wasn't a problem to fill it out it was just annoying to have to sit there and do it while other people were already finished. After Casting I had enough to time to go to Target and get some things I left at home (alarm clock!) and get lunch with my mom before I had to go to the housing meeting. A couple of things about the housing meeting: A. They tell you it's cold in the room and they aren't lying. B. A lot of the stuff seems like common sense but don't tune out completely because they really do give you helpful information. The meeting ended a smidge before 5 and I went back to my apartment to meet up with my mom and say bye to my roomies for the evening. Then my mom and I went to dinner and now I'm chilling back at the hotel. 

Here's the deal- people who say check-in day is tiring know what they're talking about. You'll be tired but it isn't unmanageable. Just go into it knowing that it's a lot to handle in one day. The good news is that you'll have Tuesday to let all of it soak in. 

I'm in group one for Traditions so my bust leaves bright and early at 6:45 which is fine by me because I'd love to get it done first thing and have the rest of the day. My park orientation (DAKlimation, I'm Dinoland Merch) is Friday. 

Oh- you may have noticed I didn't mention moving my stuff in. That's because I have an amazing mother and when I got back from Casting ALL of my things were moved in and unpacked. I was so happy and grateful. :)

I think that that's a sufficient amount of information (or I hope it is because I'm about to fall asleep). 

Hope you've had a great start to an even greater week!

<3

Countdown: ONE!!!!!

I leave tomorrow. :) At 9 am I'll be headed to Disney and I can't wait. I'm essentially finished packing. 

This pile of nonsense is going with me (not the guitars, they just happen to be where I'm piling my stuff):

As well as the two clear/green bins in this one:

I just realized that I'm in that picture. Ha. Oh well.

I had quite a fight with my Space Bag last night. First, I couldn't get the air to suck out because I'm stupid and put the hose in the vacuum the wrong way (which took me forever to realize). By the time I figured that out my stuff had gotten shifted over the stop line which I didn't realize. When I sucked the air out it made the zipper part open up and the air kept leaking out. I finally figured it out and fixed it and now my comforter, mattress pad, memory foam, and pillow are wonderfully compacted.

Last night I hung out with my family. My sister (not the one in yesterday's picture) came to our house because her husband is out of town so I got to eat dinner with both of my sisters and my mom and my stepdad. After dinner my mom suggested we hang out some more so we went to see The Princess and the Frog (sans my stepdad). I really enjoyed the movie, but I enjoyed being with my sisters and my mom even more. :) We rarely hang out with all 4 of us anymore. 

Since today is the last day before I leave, it's time for my favorite picture of all from my last trip. My dad thought he was being sneaky and taking a surprise picture, but my sister and I saw him taking it and posed for it. It's also on another ride that both of us just love. :)

Picture #1: 

 Have a fabulous day! 

<3

Countdown: 2 (2?!?!)

I can't believe that the day after tomorrow is when I'm leaving. I just got an email from Disney College Recruiting reminding me to check out the website for transportation information. The reminder was nice but I was more excited because it seemed like they had forgotten about me. I hadn't heard anything from them in quite some time. 

Packing is a pain. I like packing for vacations, but this is completely different. My room looks like things exploded in it which wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't just cleaned it. Almost all of my clothes are packed, as well as most of my bathroom stuff and my jewelry and other various things like that. I still need to pack up things like hangers, my alarm clock, and random things like sunscreen and my umbrella. I plan to be finished by the end of today.

Today's picture for the countdown isn't a great picture. Strange that I would choose it, then. I picked it not because of any cute pose (we both look really awkward), not because of cute children (we were 18 and 21 at the time of the picture), and not because it's an original picture of any kind. I picked it because I'm standing with my sister in front of a ride that we both love and that we couldn't wait to ride together again (it had been 5 years). /Sentimental rant

So here it is, picture #2:

Happy Friday! 

<3

Countdown: 3

I cannot believe that I leave in 3 days. That's madness. Madness I say!! Anyway, today's picture should be like in a Disney promo or something. It's just precious. It happened during the New Year's Eve fireworks and I'm so glad that the moment was captured. :)

Picture #3:

Have an amazing day! If you're in school right now, congratulations it's almost the weekend!!

<3

Countdown: 4

I don't have much to say... I had a wonderful day of not doing much. I played Pokemon, I hung out with my friends, I watched American Idol. I just wanted to get my Day 4 countdown/picture in before the day is over. :)

So here it is, picture #4:

I should tell you that it's not from Disney World but from Universal. It is, however, from the same trip so it counts. :)

<3

Countdown: 5

I've decided to count down my five days until I leave with a favorite picture from my last trip to Disney World for each day. It was a really fun trip with my sister, my dad, my stepmom, and my stepcousins. We went at the end of December 07/beginning of January 08 and it was amazing. My sister and I are park navigating masters and managed to do everything we (and everyone else) wanted to get done without having crowd issues. :)

So here it is, #5:

That's my father being attacked by pirate skeletons at Downtown Disney. Yeah. If you ever wonder where my insanity comes from, just refer back to that picture. :)

Less than a WEEK.

So, once I got into the cleaning I REALLY got into the cleaning. I've now scrubbed every inch of my bathroom with bleach cleaner. I still need to vacuum all the dog hair out of my room (and my sister's room because she's nice enough to let Jessie sleep in there sometimes) and I need to do my laundry but I only have like 3 loads so it isn't so bad. /run-on sentence

My roommate texted me today with a fun little reminder that we only have 6 DAYS until check-in. :) As in less than a week. As in I leave in 5 days. That's not a lot of days. I expect it to go ridiculously quickly only because I'm not entirely sure that I'm ready to leave home yet and because I pretty much have stuff to do every day until then. Thursday was my free day until I realized that I forgot to plan on a time to go to the DMV today so that got moved to Thursday. 

I went to Target with my mom last night and got really cute storage bins and a loofah (finally!). We're going to Walmart on Friday to get bed risers and anything that I realize I don't have when I'm packing. It's weird to think that I probably already should have started packing when a few weeks ago I couldn't wait to pack but didn't want to start too early. 

I've heard birds singing all day today. I think they're confused. It's still January. Why are they even here? Maybe they want me to feel like Cinderella/Snow White while I'm cleaning. Or maybe I've breathed in too much bleach. But I'm going to go with the first option. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day! (Stay away from bleach-induced birds.) 

<3

I'm inspired.

Today my room is going to be fully organized, my car will be cleaned out to make room for all of the things I'm taking, and I will begin to pack. I will finish packing by Wednesday or Thursday so that I can enjoy my last few days at home without being stressed out or wondering when I'm going to pack. My ways of procrastination end now.

In other news, my glasses come in today. I was supposed to get them on Friday, but due to ice on the roads they weren't able to be delivered. I'm also set to receive 2 DS games. One to help me with my Spanish and... Pokemon because I'm a 12 year old boy. I may go to Walmart and purchase bins if I'm feeling really productive but I think I'll wait until my mom gets home because that's more of a 2 person job. 

Seeing how this blog entry is just another way that I'm procrastinating, I'm going to end it now and go be productive. 

Have a fabulous (productive) day!

<3

Remember when I said all my Christmas activities were over?

I lied.

Today we're having Christmas with my stepsiblings who were on a cruise during actual Christmas. My Christmas will officially end later on today. Ha. It's been a good 18 days of Christmas.

This means that starting at the end of this blog post I'll be cleaning my room (trying to pack with a messy room is a nightmare), having Christmas lunch with the fam, and then going to Walmart with my mother to get the final things for the CP. I only need a loofah (still!), storage bins, and bed risers. Target told me online that they had bed risers, but they LIED. I could not find them anywhere in the store and neither could the very nice employee I asked. Oh, well. You can't always win. Ha. 

Tuesday or Wednesday I'm going to the DMV to get my license replaced before I leave because it has a giant crack down the middle of it. It's still in one piece, but it's split pretty badly. I don't know if this affects the validity of it as a form of ID so I'm going to get it replaced just in case. Plus, updating my picture would be awesome since I'm no longer 17. 

I feel like I'm forming the the habit of writing daily pretty nicely. Sorry if the things I'm writing about are boring now. At least a lot of them are CP preparation related. I promise things will get a whole lot more interesting in a week (A WEEK!!). Until then you'll have to put up with me babbling on about going to Walmart, the DMV, and other exciting places. Just know that if you are putting up with that, I love you for it. :)

<3

Mini-Post

Just got home from Target. If you still need/are looking for hangers they had sturdy, white, plastic ones that were $1.42 for a pack of 10. :)

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah it's a party in the USA.

I decided I would do this fun survey that I got from Jenn. It's missing a lot of movies, especially ones from early on (The Three Caballeros anyone?) but I like it anyway. :) I took it upon myself to change the spelling so that "dalmatian" is spelled correctly. Haha. The best part is that when I say I haven't finished Ratatouille I mean it. I've seen like 15 minutes out of the middle of it. Ha. As far as straight to video sequels, I wish it had included Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (especially since that sequel came out before the one listed). I sound like all I'm doing is complaining. I'm not even trying to complain. I was more just pointing out things I noticed. I didn't actually have an issue with any of it. It was fun and I loved it and it made me want to watch Disney movies all day.

8 days until I leave!

[ X ] Seen it \ [ _ ] Haven't finished.

TOP 3, 5, or 10 FAVORITES \ OWN IT \ NOT A FAN

ANIMATED CLASSICS, SEQUELS, & SPIN-OFFS

[ X ] Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[ X ] Pinocchio (1940)
[ X ] Fantasia (1940)
[ X ] Dumbo (1941)
[ X ] Bambi (1942)
[] Bambi II (2006)
[ X ] Cinderella (1950)
[ X ] Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002)*
[ X ] Cinderella III: a Twist in Time (2007)*
[ X ] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[ X ] Peter Pan (1953)
[ X ] Return to Never Land (2002)
[ X ] Tinker Bell (2008)*
[ X ] Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009)*
[] Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (2010)*
[] Tinker Bell: A Winter Story (2011)*
[ X ] Lady & the Tramp (1955)
[] Lady & the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2001)*
[ X ] Sleeping Beauty (1959)
[ X ] 101 Dalmatians (1961)
[ X ] 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003)*
[ X ] The Sword in the Stone (1961)
[ X ] The Jungle Book (1967)
[] the Jungle Book 2 (2003)
[ X ] The Aristocats (1970)
[ X ] Robin Hood (1973)
[ X ] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[ X ] Pooh's Grand Advnture: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997)*
[] Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving (1999)*
[ X ] the Tigger Movie (2000)
[] Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002)*
[] Piglet's Big Movie (2003)
[] Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo (2004)*
[ X ] Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)
[] Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005)*
[ X ] The Rescuers (1977)
[ X ] The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
[ X ] The Fox & the Hound (1981)
[] The Fox & the Hound 2 (2006)*
[ X ] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[ X ] The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[ X ] Oliver & Company (1988)
[ X ] The Little Mermaid (1989)
[ X ] The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)*
[] The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008)
[ X ] Beauty & the Beast (1991)
[] Belle's Magical World (1998)*
[ X ] Aladdin (1992)
[ X ] The Return of Jafar (1994)*
[ X ] Aladdin & the King of Theives (1996)*
[ X ] The Lion King (1994)
[ X ] The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)*
[] The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004)
[ X ] Pocahontas (1995)
[ X ] Pochahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)*
[ X ] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
[] the Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)*
[ X ] Hercules (1997)
[ X ] Mulan (1998)
[] Mulan II (2005)*
[ X ] Tarzan (1999)
[] Tarzan & Jane (2002)*
[] Tarzan II (2005)
[ X ] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[] Dinosaur (2000)
[ X ] The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
[] Kronk's New Groove*
[] Atlantis: the Lost Empire (2001)
[] Atlantis: Milo's Return (2003)*
[ X ] Lilo & Sitch (2002)
[ X ] Stitch! The Movie (2003)*
[ X ] Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch (2005)*
[] Leroy & Stitch (2006)
[] Treasure Planet (2002)
[ X ] Brother Bear (2003)
[] Brother Bear 2 (2006)*
[] Home on the Range (2004)
[ _ ] Chicken Little (2005)
[ X ] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[] Bolt (2008)
[] The Princess & the Frog (2009)
[] Rapunzel (2010)
[] King of the Elves (2012)

* Straight to video release.

OTHER ANIMATED DISNEY FEATURES (TOON DISNEY STUDIOS)

[ X ] DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990)
[ X ] A Goofy Movie (1995)
[ X ] An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)
[ X ] Doug's 1st Movie (1999)
[ X ] Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)*
[ X ] Recess: School's Out (2001)
[] Teacher's Pet (2004)
[ X ] Mickey, Donald, Goofy: the Three Musketeers (2004)*
[ X ] Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)*
[] Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007)*



PIXAR / DISNEY-PIXAR

[ X ] Toy Story (1995)
[ X ] Toy Story 2 (1999)
[] Toy Story 3 (2010)
[ X ] A Bug's Life (1998)
[ X ] Monster's Inc (2001)
[ X ] Finding Nemo (2003)
[ X ] The Incredibles (2004)
[ X ] Cars (2006)
[ _ ] Ratatouille (2007)
[ X ] WALL-E (2008)
[ X ] UP (2009)

Single is good.

I'm now in the SINGLE digits for days until I leave. At this time in 9 days I will be in the car and I will be very, very close to Orlando. :)

Tomorrow I'm going on a final (probably not final) shopping trip for CP items that I still need. I still have not gone to buy bins and I still need hangers, sunscreen, and a bathroom rug/cute shower curtain among other items. We could have maybe gone today but the roads are all icy and apparently everyone and their mom is getting in a car accident. 

I still need to clean, pack, get together all the papers/documents/etc. that I have to take with me, and mostly I need to start preparing myself mentally for leaving home and moving. I'm so incredibly excited to be going, to be doing something I've wanted to do for so long, to be putting my life plan from 8th grade starting here and ending in working my way up through the Disney company into motion. :) I don't know how that last one will work out or if it ever will but I'll never know if I don't try.

I can't wait to start following my dreams and I hope you have that chance (whatever it may be) soon. 

<3

It's Snowing!

Snow. Snow. Snow. None of it is sticking yet but I still have hope. It's all little flakes and flurries right now, but it's supposed to get good later. :)

Today I went grocery shopping with my mom and that's pretty much all we plan to do right now. Haha. We're both just lounging around watching wedding shows. Oh. We did at least go to Starbucks and we got stuff to make taco soup later. It's going to be a wonderful day of staying inside and eating and drinking warm things by the fire. I can't think of anything I'd rather do today.

We're going shopping on Saturday, I think, for CP things I need. It's so close. Woo!

I pretty much have nothing to say I just figured I had no reason to not update since I'm just sitting here like a bump on a log. Have a good Thursday, stay warm, and if you're at WDW already- good luck with your settling in!

Update on the snow: It's now legit snowing and sticking. Woohoo!!!

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?

Hello dear friends. I feel like I haven't written in weeks even though it has only been days. I didn't take my computer to Passion and I probably wouldn't have had a spare moment to write anyway. If you want to know kind of what was going on go here and check out one of the main sessions. They won't be up for long, though. So hurry. :) Otherwise read through some of the tweets here and you can see some amazing things God did this weekend. 

On a CP note, I have 11 days until I leave, 12 days until I check in. That's under 2 weeks and that makes me nervous, excited, scared, and overjoyed. I feel like I can start to pack now without it being ridiculous. Haha. 

Dude, when I came home last night my dog just jumped in circles and wouldn't stop trying to lick me and all I could think about was if she missed me that much after 4 days how much she will miss me after 4 months. She'll probably disown me. To be like Christine (except it's a dog and not a cat) this is my sweet friend:

She kind of hates to have her picture taken. :) I tried to distract her by attacking her with my face. I sneak attacked the next one. She had her head on my feet...

(Note: Regular-sized didn't leave enough room to see the whole pictures but they're thumbnails so if you're that interested you can click them and see her precious face. Ha.)

So now the time has come to end my blog post so that I can go do laundry, dishes, and other various things. Hope you're having a great week so far!

2 to the 0 to the 1 to the 0

Happy 2010!  

Hope you had (/have if you're on the west coast) a wonderful New Year's Eve and did fun things. I am not a party person but Christine, Ivy, and I watched Disney Channel, played Wii, ate a lot of food, drank sparkling grape juice/cider and turned to good old Dick Clark just in time to catch J. Lo's craziness that was somehow classified as a "performance" and watch the ball drop. They had it split screen so we also watched the peach drop. Yay for New Year's in the ATL. It's officially ONE more day until Passion now. I was downtown on the 30th helping out and it hit me how excited I am for it all to just start. :) 

This also means that I am officially 16 days away from leaving and 17 days away from check-in. Ahhhh!!!! 

Have a fabulous start to your new year! Oh. And a large thank you to you if you're following me. :) It makes me feel really happy to think that I might be helping someone now or in the future... even if it's just one of you. :)