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. :) 

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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. :)

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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. :)

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