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