Pictures of Work and Stuff

I just can't get enough awesome pictures of the castle.



Here's where you can create your own light saber in Once Upon a Toy in Downtown Disney.



Ghiradelli chocolate. We didn't buy anything. We just went inside to tease our senses by smelling the amazing smells. Plus they hand out free samples!



Kelly and I.



Lis and I modeling awesome hats in Once Upon a Toy. Lis works here.



We can't have light sabers in our apt complex, but we can go to Downtown Disney and make them and then play with them!



Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parade.








Heather and the awesome hat she was modeling in the store.


This was my costume when I did strollers. Probably my favorite costume so far because I got to wear shorts!



I think Heather likes Stitch. Or maybe just giant stuffed animals.



Awesome place to be in Downtown Disney! The yellow and red balloon in the top left corner is the latest Disney "ride." I haven't done it yet... but it looks fun!



Kelly and me in the Hundred Acre Wood.



Me in my Seas costume.



Heather and I did the "Great Piggy Bank Adventure" and earned "the ultimate vacation." Too bad it all had to be in the imagination...



Marlin and Nemo in the Seas.



Dory!



Heather and I ate in China. Here's our food!



So there's a billion pictures for you... in other news...

I created a Twitter account. Had to for my class.

For my job we're trained in theater. I've been stuck in theater sales a lot lately. This means that I stand in front of the wall of pictures and when someone looks interested I ask them, "Can I help you with anything?" And sell them pictures if they want them.

Yesterday I saw a guy just looking around and asked, "Can I help you with anything?" and he responded, "Yeah, do you have any food for me?"

This caught me off guard but I answered, "Yeah. I have a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the back. I'll have to charge you 20 bucks for it, though." "Hmm, let me guess, you made it yourself?" "Yep. Fresh this morning!" "No thanks, you probably piled on the peanut butter."

Yeah. You meet every kind of person in Disney World. Weird conversation.

These two middle-aged looking ladies came in the other day and were wearing matching flowery shirts. I complimented their shirts and then asked if they were sister. "Oh no, we just got married!"

How the heck do I respond to that!? Especially when I couldn't tell if they were being serious or not. "Ummmm. Goodie! Congratulations! ....I think."

I don't have work until 5 today. I got up slowly, watched a little TV, made a decent breakfast of pancakes and eggs, took a looong shower, put away the rest of my laundry (Finally!) and did other general cleaning and answering emails I haven't gotten around to yet. I finally RSVP'd to a pizza party next Tuesday. It's the beginning of my Management class kick off party thing. I'm pretty excited!

Exhausted

Pretty sure that's the only word that can sum it up.

So much has happened I don't even know what to say to update. So I'll just leave it at this. Be prepared for a real update though. Sometime.

Picked Up A Shift and Met With the Manager

Sooooooooooooo much to write about.

I picked up a shift for the first time yesterday. When you pick up a shift, it's generally in a different location. I think the point (and the reason they mostly just let College Program kids do it) is so you can meet new people and network more. Well I don't know about that, but I LOVED it!

I picked up a shift in strollers at the front of EPCOT so I wasn't very far away (maybe another time a shift will be available in a different park!). I was right beside the golf ball and it was so cool to look up every five minutes and see the typical "metro going by the golf ball" scene that so many think of when they think of EPCOT.

I started my shift just by collecting the strollers as people returned them(cleaning/disinfecting them, putting them away, etc.) as well as giving them to people as they came. Oh, and when I say "strollers" I mean wheelchairs too. Just we rented more strollers.

I had these two identical twin boys come (4 years old, so stinkin' cute!) and I played with them while they waited for dad to finish paying. It's funny just what little silly things can entertain a little kid, and then in turn entertain adults. Haha.

At the end of the night we had to walk around the empty park (with the water show going and lights in sidewalks) and look for strollers. It was awesome! The people there were really nice and fun to talk to as well.

Jean (my Chinese friend) asked me about more words today. She asked me what a "fighting machine" was. When I explained it means you're really tough she asked me what tough meant. Later, she asked me what "trick" meant. I tried to explain it to her but was having trouble. So I told her to give me a high five and then I moved my hand at the last second and said, "Haha, I tricked you!" I still don't think she got the meaning of trick-or-treat but hopefully it helped a little.

I read about the new plans for Magic Kingdom. It's gonna be AWESOME!!! Way bigger, more rides, and pretty much just incredibleness all around.

In other housing news our management here is possibly the best I've ever seen. We have a clean check this coming Friday and if we're super clean they buy our apartment treats! If we're too dirty they charge us each $20 and take pictures of the mess and not only post those pictures in the clubhouse (which is super embarrassing to look at by the way) but they said they send those pictures to future employers as well! I'm pretty sure we'll end up as one of those apartments who is just in between and doesn't get anything special or negative but hey. We'll see.

Maintenance is amazing too, though. When we report a problem (like our food grinder thing broke) they have someone over that same day within a few hours to fix it! Incredible.

Anyway, I've got stuff to do, places to be... ya know. But I'll try and post pictures here pretty soon!

SInce Cameras Can't Get Wet...

I don't have pictures because it was raining pretty much the whole time we were in Blizzard Beach yesterday. But we didn't care. Natalie and I were determined to go down Mt. Gushmore on the ride called Summit Plummet. I decided it should be named differently, preferably something with the words "massive wedgie" in the middle. We did it twice.

It wasn't that bad. I was more afraid of the stupid ride up to the top of the ride. Stupid seats, I was almost in tears because I was certain we'd fall out and die. We rode this four times to the top of Mount Gushmore until I finally insisted we'd walk next time.

What a stinkin good day! We did every single thing in the whole park and almost everything (everything except the two stupid rides) twice! And some things even three and four times since there were no lines at all because it was raining.

Amazing!

Sunburn

In the sun for four hours. It's raining the WHOLE ENTIRE TIME!

I lather my shoulders, face and chest in oodles of sunscreen and put just a little on arms and legs.

And guess what?

I got burned. I got burned good.

But not on my arms and legs where I hardly put anything.

On my shoulders. Where I glopped it on.

Four hours. Raining the WHOLE ENTIRE TIME.

Say it with me now. FAIL!

Owee!

What Does the Luckiest Kid In the World Get Paid To Do?

Today I spent four hours outside playing with glow toys. I played with these light up Mickey Mouse light sabers, glow necklaces, light up glasses, light up Mickey ears, swirly light toys, etc. etc. etc. I was also using the toy that you spin in circles and it says words.

They call it marketing. I call it fun.

I sold enough to more than double the money they made last night. Needless to say my boss was pleased. :)

Pretty sure it wasn't just me. I think it was more chance than anything, but still it was a DANG fun night.

Although I'll admit I almost cried when I had to go inside to count my money/inventory at 9:00. The fireworks show begins right at 9. Poo on that. But it was still DANG fun!

Yesterday I was in the shop playing with an Airzooka. You know the toy that shoots air at people. I was shooting these girls. It was awesome.

A few days ago I was playing and balancing golf balls on top of each other. I learned how to do it and it was fun having the guests try. Not many could. A lot of men came up and payed with it for about fifteen seconds before asking where the magnets were. I told them there were none, it was pure talent. One guy said (word for word) "Well the heck with that then! Come on guys, let's go." I was laughing so freakin' hard!

A little girl was in the store a few days ago. Her mom made it clear to her that "You can buy the stuffed Nemo, or the necklace. You need to pick just one. Which one do you want?" A few seconds after the mother left the little girl to decide I heard a squeal of excitement followed by the little girl's voice, "Mommy! I got an idea! How 'bout we just get both of them!!?" Good idea kid. Good idea!

A little boy asked me how much an item was just as his parents had finished paying for other stuff for him. I could tell by the parents faces that he was not allowed anything else. So I told him, "It's $19.95 except if you're parents don't want you to get it I have to tack on an extra $2000 charge." The kid looked at me, confused for a second as I saw the parents hold in a laugh. Then he looked around and said, "Wait... you're kidding, right?" Turning to his parents, "She didn't really mean that, right?" I replied, "Sure I did! If I'm gonna go against your parents wishes I might as well get something out of it!" Hahahahahaha!

While I have awesome people that I meet, and the majority of the people I talk to are amazing and incredible, I do get that occasional guest that puts a slight damper on things.

A little boy about three or four was walking by holding his parents hand. He stopped right in front of me, looked me right in the eye and said, "Will you give me a toy!?" Okay, I understand a kid that young not understanding the idea that things don't come free in this world and that it's super rude to ask a complete stranger to give you a toy. What I don't understand is why his parents, who were both right there and watched the whole entire thing, didn't say anything. Not only did they stand there silently, but they were looking at ME expectantly!! As if it was my job to give their kid free toys.

Okay, I know parents pay loads of money to get their kids into these parks, but seriously? Wow. I ended up saying, "No. But I can give you a sticker! Here you go." And I gave him a sticker. I kind of didn't even want to give him that because I wish he could have learned that that's not how the world works but whatever. That's not my job.

I have a ton more stories I'd love to share both good and bad. Actually, I think that's pretty much covers the negatives of my life lately. Cuz my life seriously is THAT FREAKIN' AWESOME!

But I have to go now. So enjoy this update.

Oh yeah, I also got a time to meet with my manager (who happens to be like a super boss over like, all of EPCOT). He said he'd set aside an HOUR to meet with me and talk about what Professional Internships I could possibly do and who I need to talk to and what to do to get accepted. Apparently they're all super hard to get into so wish me luck!!!

What To Do In EPCOT For A Day

I never enjoy the part of a new job when I'm the stupid new kid who doesn't know anything, always asks questions, and makes gazillions of mistakes.

Fortunately, it makes me feel better to have my whine sessions at night with friends who make mistakes just like I do. But still....

I still don't know exactly how to close. They do registers completely differently than the bookstore did. And by "completely differently" I mean they don't even count money the same way. It's easier, as long as I can figure it out. It's easy work, but you have to remember every single step. And I'm pretty sure it's because my dad teaches accounting that I've learned to obsess over money and having something be off by a few dollars. Or cents.

I also make other mistakes though. If someone stays in a Disney Resort, we can send their merchandise that they buy to their resort free of charge. In order to do that, we have them fill out a green form and then plug it into the computer at the end of the transaction BEFORE THEY PAY and then keep their stuff in a back and put it in the back. (Okay so it's slightly more complicated than that, but you get the idea.) Well, I always seem to forget to plug it into the computer BEFORE they pay. It's no big deal, I just have to go back and do a resale and waste about three minutes of their time. I usually pretend like that's how it's supposed to go and most (or actually all so far) people don't really even notice or get upset or anything. But still, it's annoying to me and I feel stupid.

Then when we sort receipts at the end of the night I always forget which receipt goes in which pile and where each pile is supposed to go.

Just stupid stuff like that. People are very patient with me, but I still don't like being the stupid one. Hopefully it'll change soon. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Very. Very. Slowly.

On the brighter side of things I spent all day yesterday in EPCOT. And by ALL DAY I mean open to close. I woke up a little after 7 so Heather and I could get there right when it opened. And we did. So here's how I would recommend spending the day in EPCOT. Cuz we did it. And it worked. :)

We got into the park right when it was opening. We headed straight for Soarin' which is the most popular ride of the park. We were just going to get fastpasses (the line is usually 60-90 minutes long and fastpasses go quickly) but seeing that the line was actually only 5 minutes, we decided to walk on. And we did. And it was AMAZING!

Then we got fastpasses anyway for later, and headed to Spaceship Earth. The golf ball. It's not an insanely cool ride, but you just have to do it if you're in EPCOT. On our way to Spaceship Earth we were stopped as we walked through Innoventions and decided to play this piggy game about saving money. It was for little kids, but was fun, cute, and hilarious too.

So we rode Spaceship Earth after piggys and then went back to Soarin' to use our fastpasses. After our second round of Soarin' the International showcase had opened (it opens at 11) so we went ahead and went their. We bought our own little passport books and stopped at the kidcot station in each country so we could get our stamps. It was amazing. We stopped in China to eat.

The World Showcase took a few hours to complete but afterward we decided to do the other two amazing rides in EPCOT. We went to Test Track for fastpasses (you can only get a fastpass every two hours) and while we were waiting for the designated time to come back we went on Mission: Space.

Mission: Space is a very cool looking building and is built purposefully so that when a shuttle (like the one last week) take off from the space station you can stand in front of Mission: Space and watch it take off as if it's leaving from the building. Okay, so hard to describe, but just trust me. It's cool!

We rode Mission: Space which gives me motion sickness and spins you around in circles at 36 mph so you can feel your face pulling back, and then went to Test Track. Test Track is the fastest ride on property and is pretty fun.

After that we went in Mouse Gear which is the biggest store in EPCOT and looked around. Then we watched Chip and Dale play and sign autograph for a while. And then it was finally time for me to go to work. I had to be at work at 4:30. At 4 I went on up and got changed. I was kind of gross and sweaty from hanging out outside all day, but it wasn't too bad.

I worked until 10:30. I have the same shift today. Not bad. Today I would be playing too but my friends are going to the water parks and I don't think I could get home, dry, dressed, and back quick enough to make it worthwhile. So I'm takin' it easy, sleeping in, cleaning, eating and otherwise getting caught up on my life.

The Longest Post Ever

So much to write about I really don't even know where to begin. Just a warning, this'll probably be a super long, unorganized post.

I love my job. I work in three places. Imagination is the ride with Figment and I work in the store the guests go through after the ride. Today a little girl ran up to our table with the Figments and started hugging one. Her dad came right up behind her and said, "No honey. We are not buying the stuffed animal of the guy you've been crying at for the last ten minutes." Apparently she didn't like the ride.

Imagination is also the place where we take the pictures of guests and make it so they're flying over the castle or swimming with Nemo. Some of the pictures we can actually make a puzzle where you're sitting beside Hannah Montana and such. It's so fun.

The Land is another place I work and it's probably my least favorite mainly because I'm all alone there. It's a very small shop that mainly just sells candy. It's pretty slow and there's only one register so whoever's there is the only one there. Which means if we get low on something or have to restock, I can't do it because I can't go upstairs and leave the register.

Stickers. I give out stickers a lot though. I got bored of simply handing them out so I started making little kids earn their stickers. Today I saw a little boy maybe about 2 or 3. I went up to him and asked if he wanted a sticker and he smiled and said yes. So I told him he had to answer a special question first. "What movie is the fish Nemo from?" I wanted him to be able to answer it. He sat quietly for a second and just as I was getting worried he didn't know he said in the cutest voice, "Fineen Neenooooooo!" I gave him his sticker and he gave this way excited squeal and ran to show his parents. So stinkin' cute! I ask older kids harder questions like "What country did the girl who cut her hair and joined the army live in?" or I'll ask "What color are Figment's horns?"

Love it!

I also trade pins all the time. I have twelve at all times and if a kid wants to trade I have to trade. At this point I haven't really gotten "addicted" or anything. I don't feel like spending my money on that stuff. But it is fun while I'm at work.

I'm writing a lot about work because I'm on an eleven day working streak right now. But stuff happens outside of work. My friend Lis was just diagnosed with the swine flu. I spend a lot of time at her apartment and with her roommies so here's to hoping it doesn't spread to all of us!

I went to Walmart last night and on the way home I heard a loud crash and saw a bright red light in my rearview mirror. As much as I wanted to look I refused and kept my eyes on the road because I definitely did not want that to be me. A few seconds later a white car sped past me leaving chunks of white metal behind in it's path and weaving in and out of the heavy traffic. Totally freaked me out but my car's okay and I'm okay. I don't even know what he hit but I'm glad it wasn't me.

EPCOT's Illuminations. The park I work in and I can hear this show every night I'm working and have seen it several times and plan to see it several more.



It's extremely hard to get pictures because everything's is pretty much always moving and it's dark so you have to hold the camera super still.








The finale of Illuminations. The sky becomes so stinkin' bright it's incredible!








Front to back: Me, Heather, Lis, Charlene, and Natalie. I told everyone to smile and we were gonna do a picture. Apparently Heathers the only one who picked up on it though. Natalie kinda knew what I said but... yeeaaah. Anyway... We always like to sit in the back of the bus so we can all sit beside each other.




We asked the custodian to take our picture in Hollywood Studios. Natalie, Heather, me and Lis. Natalie and Heather both work in this park so they were our guides for the day.



Go Mickey!



Still in Hollywood, we watched Beauty and the Beast show which is when my camera died so I have no more pictures of that day. Bummer too because the Jedi training where the little kids get to fight Darth Vader with light sabers was super awesome!







Fantasmic. Heather's favorite show and the show for Hollywood. They spray water up and you can watch a show on the water as it's being sprayed. Incredible.









Lis, me and Heather. We tried to take this picture like a billion times and never got it perfect. This was maybe the best. Meh. We were in the back of the bus.



An amazing game while waiting to get on Soarin'. You can see our bodies on the walls and the goal was to pop the colored bubbles. So cool!



Amazing finale to "Wishes" the Magic Kingdom show. You can see more pictures of that show lower.



My costume for the land. The most boring of the three costumes and my training costume. The others are cooler. I promise.



Natalie and I in front of Animal Kingdom.



Natalie, Charlene, me and Kelly in front of one of the two most awesome rides in AK.



This is right before we went to the parks to play for the first time. Natalie, me and Kelly. We went to MK and it was amazing. We were super excited, but weren't close enough socially yet to act as insanely childishly excited as we were on the inside!



Wishes again...















Kelly was so funny. She wanted her picture in front of the roller coaster while it was coming down. She turned around to watch for it and as soon as we saw it come she got really excited, whirled around and made this face of utter excitement. I'm still laughing. So cute!

Random Stories and Work Stuff

I really do keep up with everyone else's blogs. Really I do. I follow everyone's blog who I know has one as well as a handful of extra blogs I've found along the way. But I hardly ever comment.

So there's that. I don't even know why I had to write that... whatever.

Work is amazing. I love it. I hardly have any free time at all and the little bits that I do have is spent playing with friends. My life is so freakin' awesome!

I worked a ten hour shift yesterday.

I'm on day three of my eleven day working streak right now. I started working Tuesday and don't get a day off until next Saturday. Tomorrow I work from 4:30pm until 1:30am. Goody.

We give out sticker to little kids at work. I got sick of just simply walking up to kids and being like, "Hey dude. Want a sticker?" So I started making kids earn their stickers. One little girl (I bet she was about one or two) I asked to make a face like a fish. This was when I was working "The Seas" so I was trying to stay on subject. I don't think she got what I meant so I sucked in my cheeks to show her. She tried to copy me and made the most adorable face I think I've ever seen. It was so cute and her mom and I started laughing and I gave her a sticker. She was so cute! Some other girls came in today a bit older. I was in Imagination and couldn't think of any "on topic" questions so I just asked them general Disney trivia. It was all really simple since a) they were very young and b) I don't even know that much Disney trivia. I think the kids are happier when they actually do something to earn their stickers though... but I still just handed out a bunch.

We also do this thing called "Magical Moments" with the guests. One "Magical Moment" is that we play tic-tac-toe. We get a lot of international guests, but I've learned how to point and grunt to the point where just about anyone from any country can understand what game I'm trying to play. The kids love it. One little boy (probably like 8) beat the junk out of me like three times in a row. It was pathetic. I gave him an arms length of stickers for that. He was smart!

The power went out in WalMart yesterday. Or maybe the day before... I get my days mixed up.

Anyway, I can't even begin to put everything that's happening in my life on here so that'll have to do for now. Bye!

Scarred For Life

We had a slumber party the other night. We stayed up late watching Disney movies (well, okay it was just one, Hercules) and then in the morning we decided we wanted to wake up early and go to Hollywood Studios (what used to be MGM Studios for those that don't know). That way we could avoid the crowds, but we'd have to wake up around 7 or 8am.

So the next morning my friend gets up and gets a drink of water while were all still sleeping on the floor right by the kitchen. Heather pours her glass and then shakes it.

After hearing the water slosh around in the glass I was up and ready for the day immediately.

Thanks Mom. Thanks a lot.

In other news, Hollywood Studios is an amazing place to hang out. We went on Rock n' Roller Coaster three times as well as Tower of Terror three times. So freakin' awesome! We also saw a bunch of shows like Beauty and the Beast and Lights, Motors, Action!

I have a gazillion pictures but won't post them now cuz I have to get to work.