Crystal's comment from last time made me feel bad about not blogging in almost a week (thanks a lot for that! but I'm glad you like my blog!). So here we go. A Halloween post that has (almost) nothing to do with Halloween!
Things have been a whirlwind lately. First of all, everyone's been getting sick. And it's all been different sicknesses too. This guy I work with actually caught the chicken pox! I didn't even realize that was possible at our age! My roommate is sick with some nasty thing, and I've caught some sort of sore throat, goo-in-the-lungs kinda deal. Not fun. But the good news is I feel totally fine. It's just I can feel liquid in my lungs when I take deep breaths and I've been coughing and sneezing a TON!
Anyway, the animals are still as fun as ever. One of the baby elephants was chasing vultures the other day! Soooo adorable! She would find a bunch on the ground and charge at them until they flew up in the air. Then she'd stop, look around for mom, try to get mom's attention, and then try to do it again wherever the vultures had landed. Cutest thing EVER!
Today this little girl on my truck, maybe nine, got a little freaked out at the beginning when I mentioned it was a two week safari. She just had to ask me, "Is this really a two week safari?" When I told her that "Of course is was" she told me she couldn't leave for two weeks because Dad had to work and she had to go to school to be educated. I told her she'd be educated plenty on this. We had biology. Then she mentioned math. I told her we'd count the giraffes.
Finally at the end of the safari she got my attention one more time. "Um, excuse me, I have a question." "Yes?" "Umm... why...? um... why... never mind!" And she dug her face into her mom, embarrassed. Her mom urged her to ask the question, and finally she looked at me. "Why couldn't it be a two week safari?" she asked. Cutest thing ever. The story on the ride is that our safari gets cut short because we have to chase the poachers, and I make it clear that that's the reason we have to "come back early." She understood this, I think. But I also think she understood the poacher thing was a story, but the two week thing could have been real. I feel bad throwing people off sometimes, but other times it's just plain fun.
It's really sad when little kids leave my truck crying because they don't want to get off. They cling onto the truck or scream, "But I wanna go again!!" I feel bad for the parents, but I feel a slight sense of satisfaction as the slightly annoyed parent explains, "I know you enjoyed the ride, but it's time to get off. Maybe we can come back later!" Some parents enjoy it too, and I love it when I get requests for rerides! (no, it almost never ever happens, and only sometimes I can actually allow it!)
My favorite is when I get a little kid in the front seat with mom and halfway through the ride the kid makes a comment about how "This is my favorite ride!" and mom says, "I know, this is your 6th time!" Ours really is one of the best family rides I've ever been on in my life. Every single age absolutely loves it. Even people who don't speak a lick of English will ride it, because it doesn't really matter if you don't know what's going on. The animals are the show!
I had "Training" on my schedule the other day. I was totally confused, wondering what sort of "Training" I'd have since I've been here more than two months (it feels like it's been a lot longer than it sounds!). Anyway, the training ended up being a tour of the village of Harambe (the village within Disney that I work in). We learned the story behind our town and they pointed out a LOT of details throughout the town that I had never noticed before. Crazy! I'm thoroughly amazed at Disney and the detail and extent that they go to when they do things. Fantastic!
Next week I have more "training." This time, though, it's in preparation for the DAK PAK Olympics! Animal Kingdom is by far my favorite place I've worked so far because we have so many cast activities and things. A lot of them I haven't even written about on here, but trust me, it's been amazing!
The DAK PAK Olympics is basically what you'd think it is. We have six managers over our area, and each cast member is assigned a particular manager who is called their "DAK PAK Leader." DAK PAKs usually do fun things, for example ours toured the ride Dinosaur one morning. Another DAK PAK I know got to go do the backstage tour of Everest. Sometimes they'll take you backstage to the animal houses or do other fun things.
Well, apparently every few years they do the DAK PAK Olympics. The different DAK PAKs are competing against each other to "win." What do we win? I have no clue. But I don't really care, I'm just excited to play! The "awards ceremony" will be in December and they even passed out these official looking invitations for us to RSVP because we're allowed to bring one guest. The whole thing is super cheesy, but also super awesome. It just cracks me up!
So the different things we have to do for our "Olympics" are all basically things that we do for our jobs anyway, for the most part. One is parking ten feet away from a giant plastic zebra we have, because with animal stops, we're supposed to stop the truck ten feet away from animals. Whoever can get the bumper closest to ten feet away from the plastic zebra (without going too close) wins. Other events are timing things, like how long it takes us to switch out in the jog (switching trucks), or getting guests on and off the trucks in a timely fashion (it's all supposed to take about 30 seconds, but realistically... well, you can't really yell at guests to hurry it up).
I'm so excited for this! It's just such a good idea and so funny. Judging begins in another few weeks. I can't wait to start.
Anyway, tonight for Halloween, my roommate and I are making dinner. I know. Lame. Well, it's dinner in a pumpkin, so it's a little bit in theme! We also did Grocery Bingo: Halloween Edition the other night. I love playing Grocery Bingo, even though I haven't won yet. It's a free event housing puts on every once in a while for us poor cheap college students as a way to win free food! And sometimes Duffy Bears and Ipod Nanos. But I digress.
So my roommate and I are making dinner in a pumpkin. It's a recipe she found, and has apparently made before. She's not home yet, so I started making preparations. I cut up the peppers and the mushrooms... not sure how much I'm gonna like this meal, but hey. I'll try it! (I normally don't like peppers or mushrooms)
But yeah, I dressed up as a foreign tourist for Halloween. I went to a few parties, saw a haunted house, got scared, watched Halloween movies, and now am eating a Halloween dinner and carving pumpkins tonight.
Now I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!! The most wonderful time of the year is right around the corner! And I can't even WAIT!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Halloween Party... Sort of
I can't tell you how much fear runs through my body when I get the hiccups between guests on my ride. Seriously. I think about how embarrassing it would be to have the hiccups on the ride and the sheer fear of that gets rid of my hiccups. Thank goodness!
This is me at my friend's Halloween Party Saturday night. The girls crammed on the couch for this. I wasn't planning on dressing up at all, but the day of my friend Kaunnalli (sitting next to me in this pic) texted me telling me that Austin reeeeeally wanted everyone to dress up. It was his party. She texted this to me the day of while I was at work. And I had nothing.
So I went as a Disney tourist. I had the big camera around my neck too, but said camera was used in taking this photo sooo... yeah. I planned on sunglasses but forgot them. Lamest costume ever, I know. But I bet you'll never guess who the girl on the right is. Some chick from X-Men? Something like that.
Anyway, Austin did a really good job and it was a fun party. It was extremely hard to get pictures because the lighting was so dark and there were black lights everywhere. The only way to get a decent picture was to use flash, but that lit up the whole room and was kind of annoying. So I refrained and most of my pictures ended up like this:
Good times!
This is me at my friend's Halloween Party Saturday night. The girls crammed on the couch for this. I wasn't planning on dressing up at all, but the day of my friend Kaunnalli (sitting next to me in this pic) texted me telling me that Austin reeeeeally wanted everyone to dress up. It was his party. She texted this to me the day of while I was at work. And I had nothing.
Anyway, Austin did a really good job and it was a fun party. It was extremely hard to get pictures because the lighting was so dark and there were black lights everywhere. The only way to get a decent picture was to use flash, but that lit up the whole room and was kind of annoying. So I refrained and most of my pictures ended up like this:
Sunday, October 23, 2011
DAK PAC
Yesterday I got to work PAC in Animal Kingdom for the first time ever! I was actually supposed to work on Thursday, but due to scheduling issues and extensions and such, they ended up taking me (and all other Safari Drivers) off of the PAC team. I was pretty bummed because I was so excited, but that just meant yesterday I was even more excited.
Working PAC in Animal Kingdom is just like I expected it from what people told me. Everyone I knew who worked both said that DAK is way more relaxed and chill about everything. It was true. It made me realize just how ridiculously uptight MK was. However I will say MK is more structured and better at PACtivities (entertaining guests before the parade begins). In DAK, the cast members are nicer, more laid back, and happier.
I liked how the people who work the parade daily were actually very patient and kind to us new people. Had we been in MK, they would have been talking down to us, gotten aggravated, and been overall just annoying to deal with.
At one point, a little girl stuck her head out from under the rope. Instead of running down there, screaming and calling to the girl to get back under there or else she'd die, the cast member quietly, calmly walked down to her and bent down to her level to explain that she needed to move back. Very nicely. Fortunately, the cast in DAK don't need to be such sticklers because the floats are much more manageable, less dangerous, and easier to drive. In MK, the float drivers have a much harder time seeing guests in front of them so it really is a bigger deal if people go out in the road.
Anyway, just my opinion on the differences. I can't wait to work PAC again. I did have to upset some people when I explained that they weren't allowed to get to the Safari during the parade (they could, they just had to go way down and around out of their way, or they could wait the 10 minutes for the parade to be over, which is a long time for excited vacationers to wait). However, I successfully kept my area clear and I basically completely owned that place. I think everyone eventually understood. I've learned to acknowledge the fact that people are upset about stuff. Instead of, "No, you can't go through here it's closed." it's better to say, "I'm sorry. I know it's inconvenient right now, but I can't let anyone through because the parade floats are moving and it's dangerous. The parade will be over soon, or if you'd like you can walk around." People are a little more likely to not yell.
Anyway. Good times. :)
Today I had more training. We got to walk through Africa and learn all kinds of things about our town and it's history that I didn't know before. Really, really cool stuff. I love how Disney constantly has training for it's employees. Absolutely love it.
Anyway, I'm hungry so I'm grabbing dinner. Meatloaf! Mmmm. :)
Working PAC in Animal Kingdom is just like I expected it from what people told me. Everyone I knew who worked both said that DAK is way more relaxed and chill about everything. It was true. It made me realize just how ridiculously uptight MK was. However I will say MK is more structured and better at PACtivities (entertaining guests before the parade begins). In DAK, the cast members are nicer, more laid back, and happier.
I liked how the people who work the parade daily were actually very patient and kind to us new people. Had we been in MK, they would have been talking down to us, gotten aggravated, and been overall just annoying to deal with.
At one point, a little girl stuck her head out from under the rope. Instead of running down there, screaming and calling to the girl to get back under there or else she'd die, the cast member quietly, calmly walked down to her and bent down to her level to explain that she needed to move back. Very nicely. Fortunately, the cast in DAK don't need to be such sticklers because the floats are much more manageable, less dangerous, and easier to drive. In MK, the float drivers have a much harder time seeing guests in front of them so it really is a bigger deal if people go out in the road.
Anyway, just my opinion on the differences. I can't wait to work PAC again. I did have to upset some people when I explained that they weren't allowed to get to the Safari during the parade (they could, they just had to go way down and around out of their way, or they could wait the 10 minutes for the parade to be over, which is a long time for excited vacationers to wait). However, I successfully kept my area clear and I basically completely owned that place. I think everyone eventually understood. I've learned to acknowledge the fact that people are upset about stuff. Instead of, "No, you can't go through here it's closed." it's better to say, "I'm sorry. I know it's inconvenient right now, but I can't let anyone through because the parade floats are moving and it's dangerous. The parade will be over soon, or if you'd like you can walk around." People are a little more likely to not yell.
Anyway. Good times. :)
Today I had more training. We got to walk through Africa and learn all kinds of things about our town and it's history that I didn't know before. Really, really cool stuff. I love how Disney constantly has training for it's employees. Absolutely love it.
Anyway, I'm hungry so I'm grabbing dinner. Meatloaf! Mmmm. :)
Friday, October 21, 2011
Twelve Hours
Today was pretty much the longest day ever. I woke up before the sun rose. I walked to the bus in the dark and made it to work around 6:30 so I could start at 7am. Park opened at 8am.
Basically my day was spent driving around in circles. For hours. And hours. During one of my breaks I interviewed one of my managers for my leadership class. And apart from that, I did one thousand safaris today. And that was my life.
Park closed at 6pm. I was extended until 7pm. My shift originally was going to be from 11:15a-6p. But no. I just had to choose to ask for extra hours today. I got on the bus and came home. The sun set while I was on the bus home. And I walked back to my apartment in the dark.
And they told me Animal Kingdom got normal hours... psh.
For the record, though, I'm not complaining. I wanted the extra hours, and the extra money. I'm just exhausted beyond reason and due to upcoming Halloween parties and other events, I'm not going to be sleeping for quite a while... it's okay though. Cuz I've been eating my vegetables. :)
Basically my day was spent driving around in circles. For hours. And hours. During one of my breaks I interviewed one of my managers for my leadership class. And apart from that, I did one thousand safaris today. And that was my life.
Park closed at 6pm. I was extended until 7pm. My shift originally was going to be from 11:15a-6p. But no. I just had to choose to ask for extra hours today. I got on the bus and came home. The sun set while I was on the bus home. And I walked back to my apartment in the dark.
And they told me Animal Kingdom got normal hours... psh.
For the record, though, I'm not complaining. I wanted the extra hours, and the extra money. I'm just exhausted beyond reason and due to upcoming Halloween parties and other events, I'm not going to be sleeping for quite a while... it's okay though. Cuz I've been eating my vegetables. :)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
I Love My Job
I love it when:
people applause at the end of my ride!
little kids tell me my safari was "wonderful!"
little kids cry when they "have" to get off at the end of the ride. "But it was too much fun!"
the gorilla (who looks exactly like Kerchak from Tarzan) is out in the morning or evening and I can go over and watch him for a few seconds.
the animals walk in front of the road up ahead and my guests freak out. "Oh my gosh! Look! There's giraffe in the road! Oh my goodness, we have to take a picture of this! I'm sure it never happens." False.
a group of like thirty safari drivers start at the same time and together we take up about half of the bus going back to the Pride Rock
I come around the corner at the end of the ride to "Little Red" and everyone on the truck, in unison, goes "Awwwww!"
I hear the parents making sure their kids are learning from what I'm saying. "Did you hear that? Those Ankole cattle use their horns to cool off! Cool!"
I talk to guests on land and tell them that I drive the trucks too and they act all surprised like it's a really big deal!
children (and actually adults) ask the following questions about reality:
"Were there really poachers?"
"Is that a real tree?"
"Are those rhinos for real?"
"Is this ride on a track?"
"Are those ostrich eggs real?"
"What are the cattle guards for?"
"How do you get the birds to stay without flying away?" (they can indeed fly away... you would never guess how we do this actually!)
"How do the lions stay with the addax without eating them?" I once had a mom ask me this, wondering, "So do you just let nature take it's course out there?" I just love that it is so hard for guests to figure out just exactly how we do it. Usually it's a little girl around the age of ten asking this question. (it's okay, we don't let the lions kill the animals who are endangered... we have our ways) And yes, I went around today to see the cheetah eating a recent kill. Very nice...
And my personal favorite. "So do you chain the animals to the ground to keep them in the proper places?" How inhumane do you think we are!? What part of "free roaming" reserve do you not understand?
I love my job!
people applause at the end of my ride!
little kids tell me my safari was "wonderful!"
little kids cry when they "have" to get off at the end of the ride. "But it was too much fun!"
the gorilla (who looks exactly like Kerchak from Tarzan) is out in the morning or evening and I can go over and watch him for a few seconds.
the animals walk in front of the road up ahead and my guests freak out. "Oh my gosh! Look! There's giraffe in the road! Oh my goodness, we have to take a picture of this! I'm sure it never happens." False.
a group of like thirty safari drivers start at the same time and together we take up about half of the bus going back to the Pride Rock
I come around the corner at the end of the ride to "Little Red" and everyone on the truck, in unison, goes "Awwwww!"
I hear the parents making sure their kids are learning from what I'm saying. "Did you hear that? Those Ankole cattle use their horns to cool off! Cool!"
I talk to guests on land and tell them that I drive the trucks too and they act all surprised like it's a really big deal!
children (and actually adults) ask the following questions about reality:
"Were there really poachers?"
"Is that a real tree?"
"Are those rhinos for real?"
"Is this ride on a track?"
"Are those ostrich eggs real?"
"What are the cattle guards for?"
"How do you get the birds to stay without flying away?" (they can indeed fly away... you would never guess how we do this actually!)
"How do the lions stay with the addax without eating them?" I once had a mom ask me this, wondering, "So do you just let nature take it's course out there?" I just love that it is so hard for guests to figure out just exactly how we do it. Usually it's a little girl around the age of ten asking this question. (it's okay, we don't let the lions kill the animals who are endangered... we have our ways) And yes, I went around today to see the cheetah eating a recent kill. Very nice...
And my personal favorite. "So do you chain the animals to the ground to keep them in the proper places?" How inhumane do you think we are!? What part of "free roaming" reserve do you not understand?
I love my job!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Lily's Disneyland Surprise
If you love me, watch this video. If you've already seen it, watch again. It gets more hilarious each time.
That's my reaction every morning when I go to work. Well... not quite so dramatic. ;)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my job!
"It's a monster... I mean Minnie Mouse!"
That's my reaction every morning when I go to work. Well... not quite so dramatic. ;)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my job!
"It's a monster... I mean Minnie Mouse!"
Opening Trucks Is Just Not My Thing...
This morning I started work bright and early at 7:15am. Meaning I opened a truck. I made sure not to pick 24 this time, from past experiences. 32 seemed like a good number. I went with it.
I went through all the opening procedures (takes about 20 minutes) cleaning, sweeping, checking, double checking things, etc. etc. Filled out all my paperwork and finally went to drive the truck. As I put the truck into drive and pulled forward I heard a loud squeaking sound. It only lasted a second and I didn't think much of it. But as I went to drive around the VM lot, I realized it was happening each time I accelerated. I decided to tell the manager when I went to get my paperwork signed off. The last step of opening a truck is to get the leader to sign off the paperwork, then you drive on to the ride path.
I pulled up to the leaders and as I put my truck in park and explained what my truck was doing to the manager, a loud alarm went off. I looked around stupidly for a second thinking, "Is that my truck? Can't be... I checked the whole thing!" Turns out my aux brake light and alarm went off. Just like last time. Now the truth is (I swear it normally works like this... just not with me apparently) when that happens, most of the time a simple reset will fix it. So I turned to the manager since she was right there, asked if I could do a full reset, she said yes and I did.
And then I went to turn the truck back on. Nothing. Crank... Crank... Nothing. And that's when we decided this truck was no good because apparently the squeaking sound was from yesterday and it had a loose belt too. Lame.
So she had me pull around the lot, park the truck, shred the paperwork, and start from square one opening a different truck. And this time I didn't get to choose the truck.
Fortunately it wasn't 24 they gave me. That would have been hilarious though. But no, I was put on 12. I went through the paperwork to open 12, swept, did the evacuation ladder, everything. Then drove around the lot, yet again.
As I went to sign off the paperwork, I almost accidentally signed under the number 32 because that was the first truck I opened. I mentioned this near mistake to my leader as I signed under the number 12, and let her know we might want to double check the paperwork to make sure I filled it out for truck 12 and not 32. There are three different places on the paperwork where you verify what truck it is. I accidentally circled truck 32 in one of those places. So I had to pull back into the lot and refill out all of my paperwork from the beginning (fortunately I didn't have to actually do everything again, just the check sheet). But still. Super annoying. Finally, third time around, I was able to check out. Oi!
I'm thinking I'm just bad luck when it comes to opening trucks.
I went through all the opening procedures (takes about 20 minutes) cleaning, sweeping, checking, double checking things, etc. etc. Filled out all my paperwork and finally went to drive the truck. As I put the truck into drive and pulled forward I heard a loud squeaking sound. It only lasted a second and I didn't think much of it. But as I went to drive around the VM lot, I realized it was happening each time I accelerated. I decided to tell the manager when I went to get my paperwork signed off. The last step of opening a truck is to get the leader to sign off the paperwork, then you drive on to the ride path.
I pulled up to the leaders and as I put my truck in park and explained what my truck was doing to the manager, a loud alarm went off. I looked around stupidly for a second thinking, "Is that my truck? Can't be... I checked the whole thing!" Turns out my aux brake light and alarm went off. Just like last time. Now the truth is (I swear it normally works like this... just not with me apparently) when that happens, most of the time a simple reset will fix it. So I turned to the manager since she was right there, asked if I could do a full reset, she said yes and I did.
And then I went to turn the truck back on. Nothing. Crank... Crank... Nothing. And that's when we decided this truck was no good because apparently the squeaking sound was from yesterday and it had a loose belt too. Lame.
So she had me pull around the lot, park the truck, shred the paperwork, and start from square one opening a different truck. And this time I didn't get to choose the truck.
Fortunately it wasn't 24 they gave me. That would have been hilarious though. But no, I was put on 12. I went through the paperwork to open 12, swept, did the evacuation ladder, everything. Then drove around the lot, yet again.
As I went to sign off the paperwork, I almost accidentally signed under the number 32 because that was the first truck I opened. I mentioned this near mistake to my leader as I signed under the number 12, and let her know we might want to double check the paperwork to make sure I filled it out for truck 12 and not 32. There are three different places on the paperwork where you verify what truck it is. I accidentally circled truck 32 in one of those places. So I had to pull back into the lot and refill out all of my paperwork from the beginning (fortunately I didn't have to actually do everything again, just the check sheet). But still. Super annoying. Finally, third time around, I was able to check out. Oi!
I'm thinking I'm just bad luck when it comes to opening trucks.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Class Day
Wednesday. My class day. I actually got a phone call last night asking if I could come in to work today for a six hour shift because they needed people. I wanted to, but of course I couldn't because one class is from 8:30 to 12:30 and the other is 4-6.
In my morning class it was a girl's birthday. So the teacher had us sing Happy Birthday to her in each language that was spoken in our classroom. Because we have a lot of foreign people in my class. We ended up having Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin (the Chinese people I know actually call their own language Chinese, not Mandarin I've noticed), Korean and kind of Japanese. I say kind of Japanese because we have a group of Japanese kids, but they said that in Japan they sing the Happy Birthday song in English. I'm not sure if they were just getting out of having to sing it or if that's true. :) It was awesome, though.
The Asian group in the corner always completely blows away the rest of the class with assignments. I can now personally attest to the fact that Asian kids are crazy smart. With each of our class/group assignments they just go so far above and beyond on things I wouldn't have ever imagined doing. For example we had an activity where we needed to produce as many paper snowflakes as we could in a given amount of time with a set amount of paper and scissors. Our group figured out our design, and made an assembly line to keep things going and did, what I thought, was pretty well. We did in fact do a good job. The Asian group however, used internet research in less than five minutes figuring out designs online that were very efficient and then retrieved extra sets of scissors and came out with this elaborate design practically with glitter. Unbelievable. I conceded defeat from that point on with any and all competition from that group. And that's just one example. With another assignment the average score of the class was 200-300 points (you wanted as few as possible). Our group did second best on that one actually getting a score of 133. The Asians? 96.
How do they do it!?
So far this semester, ever since our first class only three of the five members of my group have been in class each day. One dropped today. We should be fine though. Our first real assignment is due in two weeks.
Then I had a break and I went to my 4pm class. Disney Heritage. Definitely one of the best classes ever. Our teacher is awesome, too. He basically spent almost the first hour of class just talking about his life. Which would normally be kind of weird, except that we all clung on to each word he said because he's had such an awesome life. His experience with Disney is so cool. Plus he showed us about his trip to Marceline, Missouri. Which I've decided I am definitely going to have to visit someday. Just sayin'.
Anyway, in other news our washing machines have been updated. We used to have washers where you got a card and put money on the special laundry card and then used that laundry card in the machines. Now they've gotten newer, nicer machines. These machines are credit card operated. You put your laundry in and then there's a credit card machine on the wall and you put your card in and it automatically charges you. If the machine breaks, malfunctions, or doesn't turn on, or if you choose not to use it, it will (supposedly) automatically refund you the dollar. Pretty awesome. Plus they're the high efficiency machines and they do the thing where is magically weighs how much laundry you have and determines just how dirty it is and uses just the right amount of time and washing. But then that means the time on the machines changes. So you can actually set up the machines so it text messages you when it's done, and you can look online to see what machines are available. Super, super cool. Kinda scary for me to be depending so much on technology, but still. Very cool.
In my morning class it was a girl's birthday. So the teacher had us sing Happy Birthday to her in each language that was spoken in our classroom. Because we have a lot of foreign people in my class. We ended up having Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin (the Chinese people I know actually call their own language Chinese, not Mandarin I've noticed), Korean and kind of Japanese. I say kind of Japanese because we have a group of Japanese kids, but they said that in Japan they sing the Happy Birthday song in English. I'm not sure if they were just getting out of having to sing it or if that's true. :) It was awesome, though.
The Asian group in the corner always completely blows away the rest of the class with assignments. I can now personally attest to the fact that Asian kids are crazy smart. With each of our class/group assignments they just go so far above and beyond on things I wouldn't have ever imagined doing. For example we had an activity where we needed to produce as many paper snowflakes as we could in a given amount of time with a set amount of paper and scissors. Our group figured out our design, and made an assembly line to keep things going and did, what I thought, was pretty well. We did in fact do a good job. The Asian group however, used internet research in less than five minutes figuring out designs online that were very efficient and then retrieved extra sets of scissors and came out with this elaborate design practically with glitter. Unbelievable. I conceded defeat from that point on with any and all competition from that group. And that's just one example. With another assignment the average score of the class was 200-300 points (you wanted as few as possible). Our group did second best on that one actually getting a score of 133. The Asians? 96.
How do they do it!?
So far this semester, ever since our first class only three of the five members of my group have been in class each day. One dropped today. We should be fine though. Our first real assignment is due in two weeks.
Then I had a break and I went to my 4pm class. Disney Heritage. Definitely one of the best classes ever. Our teacher is awesome, too. He basically spent almost the first hour of class just talking about his life. Which would normally be kind of weird, except that we all clung on to each word he said because he's had such an awesome life. His experience with Disney is so cool. Plus he showed us about his trip to Marceline, Missouri. Which I've decided I am definitely going to have to visit someday. Just sayin'.
Anyway, in other news our washing machines have been updated. We used to have washers where you got a card and put money on the special laundry card and then used that laundry card in the machines. Now they've gotten newer, nicer machines. These machines are credit card operated. You put your laundry in and then there's a credit card machine on the wall and you put your card in and it automatically charges you. If the machine breaks, malfunctions, or doesn't turn on, or if you choose not to use it, it will (supposedly) automatically refund you the dollar. Pretty awesome. Plus they're the high efficiency machines and they do the thing where is magically weighs how much laundry you have and determines just how dirty it is and uses just the right amount of time and washing. But then that means the time on the machines changes. So you can actually set up the machines so it text messages you when it's done, and you can look online to see what machines are available. Super, super cool. Kinda scary for me to be depending so much on technology, but still. Very cool.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Stupid Things From the Mouth of Dianna
I shouldn't do the safari when I'm tired. That last sentence was my original title of this post actually. But it's true. I need to get more sleep. Here is a list of the stupid things I said on the safari today... during my 8 hour shift of driving in circles talking about animals who randomly jump into the road in front of me.
"Flamingos are the lightest pink of all flamingos." ....no. That's not right.
"Ostriches can run up to 70 miles an hour!" ....nope. Not right either.
"The Ankole Cattle's long horns can grow up to 6 feet in length and 20 feet around at the base!" I actually said this one a few days ago... the guy behind me repeated, "Feet?" and then I realized what I said. Fail.
"Watering holes like this one up here on the right are great places for black rhinos to hang out!" Guest response, "Umm... that's the left." Me: "I always fail at directions."
"And up here on the left you'll see some giraffes out there in the distance." This would have been normal to say. Except there were no giraffes within sight. In fact there were only elephants.
"These crocs can snap their jaws shut with over 12,000 pounds per square inch of force!" Yep... that would be a gross exaggeration.
Fortunately I caught every one of these and was able to correct it. I just wish the guests would have laughed at me. I think it would have made me feel better. Usually I would just pause after saying it and then say, "Nope, that's not right..." And then I'd correct myself. I've certainly learned my lesson about turning my brain on autopilot.
One time I came around to see the ostrich and accidentally called it a giraffe. I corrected myself in a way like this, "And up here to the left you can see a giraffe.... wait... noooo, that's an ostrich. Just kidding! Whoever caught that gets two points!"
Anyway, final point: Dianna needs more than 6 hours of sleep. Or else.
Also. I'm tired.
"Flamingos are the lightest pink of all flamingos." ....no. That's not right.
"Ostriches can run up to 70 miles an hour!" ....nope. Not right either.
"The Ankole Cattle's long horns can grow up to 6 feet in length and 20 feet around at the base!" I actually said this one a few days ago... the guy behind me repeated, "Feet?" and then I realized what I said. Fail.
"Watering holes like this one up here on the right are great places for black rhinos to hang out!" Guest response, "Umm... that's the left." Me: "I always fail at directions."
"And up here on the left you'll see some giraffes out there in the distance." This would have been normal to say. Except there were no giraffes within sight. In fact there were only elephants.
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| We sell this shirt and it just seemed to fit this post like a glove. |
Fortunately I caught every one of these and was able to correct it. I just wish the guests would have laughed at me. I think it would have made me feel better. Usually I would just pause after saying it and then say, "Nope, that's not right..." And then I'd correct myself. I've certainly learned my lesson about turning my brain on autopilot.
One time I came around to see the ostrich and accidentally called it a giraffe. I corrected myself in a way like this, "And up here to the left you can see a giraffe.... wait... noooo, that's an ostrich. Just kidding! Whoever caught that gets two points!"
Anyway, final point: Dianna needs more than 6 hours of sleep. Or else.
Also. I'm tired.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Rainy Day
It's been raining all day long. All. Day. Long! Rainy days in FL are great, as long as you get to stay home curled up in a nice warm blanket with a good book and some hot chocolate.
Unfortunately, I didn't get that luxury and instead made my way to the bus stop bright and early (actually it wasn't bright... I woke up before the sun did) at 7am in the drizzling rain which was there to ensure that everything near Orlando maintained sogginess all day long. All. Day. Long!
It was also cold today. Freezing, actually. So cold that we had to turn on the heaters on the trucks. And after several months of no use... well let's just say they were smart to announce in the morning that there would be burning smells coming from the trucks and that that would be normal because we would have had lots of worried call ins from people thinking their trucks were on fire.
But it was still a fun day. The animals were really active this morning. I actually heard a giraffe today! I heard it make noise! And after coming home and trying to look up the noise again online, I'm finding that actually, it's super duper insanely rare to ever hear one. But I did! I was driving around and I heard this kind of quiet moaning noise that sounds closest to something a sheep would say (which makes perfect sense because in The Lion King show they tell you that they sound just like sheep... it didn't sound exactly like a sheep, but that is the closest animal noise I'd relate it to). So cool! I heard it and did a double take, wondering where that noise came from. I was on an empty round and I turned my head and looked at the giraffe to my left and there she was and she even made the noise again. I have no idea why, I'm sure she wasn't upset and she wasn't really even close to my truck. Absolutely the coolest thing ever!
I also heard the hippos today. They're much, much louder. I actually had guests too, and I'm always a little sad at the lack of excitement I get from people when rare things like that happen. We even saw a hippo out on land today since it was raining all day. I told them it's very rare to see them out on land during the day, but I think I was more excited than they were!
No sign of the cheetahs all day. Kind of a bummer. Although usually they're pretty far away anyway, and they're kind of hard to spot. The lions were mostly hiding most of the day as well, however there was a short time this morning when they were both out and licking each other.
The elephants were playing with each other. They kids kept pushing each other around with their trunks. So cute!
I never saw the addax and only saw the oryx once. Mandrills, though, were out and visible all day long which is really rare, actually! Crazy!
Anyway, I won't go through all the animals out there, but it was an interesting day. Just when I think I'm getting to know the animals, or decide they're predictable, they change things on me!
Unfortunately, I didn't get that luxury and instead made my way to the bus stop bright and early (actually it wasn't bright... I woke up before the sun did) at 7am in the drizzling rain which was there to ensure that everything near Orlando maintained sogginess all day long. All. Day. Long!It was also cold today. Freezing, actually. So cold that we had to turn on the heaters on the trucks. And after several months of no use... well let's just say they were smart to announce in the morning that there would be burning smells coming from the trucks and that that would be normal because we would have had lots of worried call ins from people thinking their trucks were on fire.
But it was still a fun day. The animals were really active this morning. I actually heard a giraffe today! I heard it make noise! And after coming home and trying to look up the noise again online, I'm finding that actually, it's super duper insanely rare to ever hear one. But I did! I was driving around and I heard this kind of quiet moaning noise that sounds closest to something a sheep would say (which makes perfect sense because in The Lion King show they tell you that they sound just like sheep... it didn't sound exactly like a sheep, but that is the closest animal noise I'd relate it to). So cool! I heard it and did a double take, wondering where that noise came from. I was on an empty round and I turned my head and looked at the giraffe to my left and there she was and she even made the noise again. I have no idea why, I'm sure she wasn't upset and she wasn't really even close to my truck. Absolutely the coolest thing ever!
I also heard the hippos today. They're much, much louder. I actually had guests too, and I'm always a little sad at the lack of excitement I get from people when rare things like that happen. We even saw a hippo out on land today since it was raining all day. I told them it's very rare to see them out on land during the day, but I think I was more excited than they were!
No sign of the cheetahs all day. Kind of a bummer. Although usually they're pretty far away anyway, and they're kind of hard to spot. The lions were mostly hiding most of the day as well, however there was a short time this morning when they were both out and licking each other.
The elephants were playing with each other. They kids kept pushing each other around with their trunks. So cute!
I never saw the addax and only saw the oryx once. Mandrills, though, were out and visible all day long which is really rare, actually! Crazy!
Anyway, I won't go through all the animals out there, but it was an interesting day. Just when I think I'm getting to know the animals, or decide they're predictable, they change things on me!
Friday, October 7, 2011
On The Truck... Day 43-ish
I often look in the mirror at my guests as I drive my truck. Obviously, that's a good thing to do, I make sure the guests are staying seated and sometimes when I tell them there's an animal in a certain direction I like to see how many are listening (or how many actually understand English). It's also nice to watch in my rearview mirror for the direction people are watching in case they spot an animal I don't. When I see several of them looking and pointing in one direction I try to look too to see what they see. It's very rare that they actually see something I don't, and sometimes it's an animal that's so ridiculously difficult to see I don't even bother mentioning it. I refuse to mention some animals that are near impossible to see because when the majority of my truck can't see it, it's just a let down for everyone. But I digress...
So my story for today. I was showing everyone the Thompson's Gazelle's to the right. And the Patterson's Eland, also to the right. As I talked about them I glanced up in my mirror to notice a woman on the front row. She had a really nice, big camera, and while everyone was looking to the right at the animals, she was quite obviously taking pictures left. I looked left again, to make sure I hadn't missed an animal. I had already scanned that area, but hadn't noticed anything.
Finally, just as I noticed a single animal over there, I heard the woman's voice confirm the animal she saw. "Brandon, look over here! A squirrel!"
She was taking pictures of a lonely squirrel hanging out on the grass as I pointed out the very obvious (and numerous) animals to the right. I had to turn off my mic from fear of them hearing me laugh. Totally awesome.
A random manager got on my truck halfway through the day. I literally had no idea who this woman was. I had never seen her before, she didn't say a word to me, and she left before I could talk to her. I'm hoping it was a good thing she did my safari. Unfortunately, while she was on my truck, we had an animal stop. Just as I approached lions an ostrich walked right in front of my truck. I stopped my 10 feet away, but then it walked right up to the truck so it was literally inches from the front of my truck. And then it just stood there. Staring at me.
Fortunately, with every animal stop I've ever had, my guests have been great sports. Everyone was laughing and making jokes. We were stopped long enough to make the ride go down. Animal programs actually had to come out an move the ostrich. I was totally honest with the guests as the truck pulled up, "So, I have no idea what's going to happen here, but I can tell you we should be on the move shortly." I told them all the information I knew about ostriches and all I knew about lions, since both lions were up there. It was one of the most fun animal stops, but I was really nervous with the manager person on board. (I don't really know that she was a manager, she was just dressed like that... she could have been way more important, or not very important... I really have no clue)
Anyway, today's been a fun day. I ended up going to work an hour early because they called me this morning asking if I could and I would never turn down extra hours. Then I realized that despite the fact that I came in an hour early, I only got paid for fifteen extra minutes of work because the hour early turned my 6 hour shift into a 7 hour shift meaning I needed to have an unpaid 45 minute break in there. Also, because I had to hurry in to start my shift early, I drove the car. So basically, I made 2 extra dollars but spent 3 for driving. Fail.
Other than that it was fun, though! I love my job! And the people I work with!
So my story for today. I was showing everyone the Thompson's Gazelle's to the right. And the Patterson's Eland, also to the right. As I talked about them I glanced up in my mirror to notice a woman on the front row. She had a really nice, big camera, and while everyone was looking to the right at the animals, she was quite obviously taking pictures left. I looked left again, to make sure I hadn't missed an animal. I had already scanned that area, but hadn't noticed anything.
Finally, just as I noticed a single animal over there, I heard the woman's voice confirm the animal she saw. "Brandon, look over here! A squirrel!"
She was taking pictures of a lonely squirrel hanging out on the grass as I pointed out the very obvious (and numerous) animals to the right. I had to turn off my mic from fear of them hearing me laugh. Totally awesome.
A random manager got on my truck halfway through the day. I literally had no idea who this woman was. I had never seen her before, she didn't say a word to me, and she left before I could talk to her. I'm hoping it was a good thing she did my safari. Unfortunately, while she was on my truck, we had an animal stop. Just as I approached lions an ostrich walked right in front of my truck. I stopped my 10 feet away, but then it walked right up to the truck so it was literally inches from the front of my truck. And then it just stood there. Staring at me.
Fortunately, with every animal stop I've ever had, my guests have been great sports. Everyone was laughing and making jokes. We were stopped long enough to make the ride go down. Animal programs actually had to come out an move the ostrich. I was totally honest with the guests as the truck pulled up, "So, I have no idea what's going to happen here, but I can tell you we should be on the move shortly." I told them all the information I knew about ostriches and all I knew about lions, since both lions were up there. It was one of the most fun animal stops, but I was really nervous with the manager person on board. (I don't really know that she was a manager, she was just dressed like that... she could have been way more important, or not very important... I really have no clue)
Anyway, today's been a fun day. I ended up going to work an hour early because they called me this morning asking if I could and I would never turn down extra hours. Then I realized that despite the fact that I came in an hour early, I only got paid for fifteen extra minutes of work because the hour early turned my 6 hour shift into a 7 hour shift meaning I needed to have an unpaid 45 minute break in there. Also, because I had to hurry in to start my shift early, I drove the car. So basically, I made 2 extra dollars but spent 3 for driving. Fail.
Other than that it was fun, though! I love my job! And the people I work with!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Picking Up Shifts
I picked up a PAC shift today! It was awesome! I was a little nervous this morning when I first picked it up. I've been checking the Extra Hours line every day, numerous times a day because I've only been getting 30-32 hours each week. And there haven't been any shifts I could pick up. The very, very few there have been have been during the time I'm already working. And no restaurants in the area want to hire me because they need more availability than I can offer.
But today was the day! I was not only able to pick up six hours tonight, but I picked up eight extra hours for next week so I'll have almost 40 hours both weeks. Ugh. Pathetic. Hopefully things will pick up for the Holidays.
But anyway, I worked the Halloween party tonight so I wore the old purple bat hat costume. I saw a lot of friends from last year, which was great too. Plus, it was an awesome night. However, I have learned that there is an attitude among MK workers that is not present in any other location I've ever worked. They really are more arrogant about themselves and their jobs. I wish they'd be more helpful to "new" people than the way they are just judgmental and not helpful. For me, I already knew exactly what I was doing and actually remembered well enough to the point that I was able to help a lot of the new people. Some of the EHH-ers didn't even know I wasn't statused in that location.
Some of the cast members just knew I was "new" though and talked down to me a lot and it was really annoying. However, overall it was a really fun night. My only problem was that I kept wanting to greet everyone with the word "Jambo!" which is an African Safari word. Not really useful in the Magic Kingdom...
I spent the day in Magic Kingdom and even got my hair cut under the castle! I've been wanting to get my hair cut for ages, but it hasn't really been a high priority. Finally today I had time and a ten dollar bill. I was in and out of Kingdom Kutters in less than ten minutes and she had cut my hair exactly like I wanted it with layers and bangs and everything! I was very impressed (and when I told her, her response was, "I should hope so, I've been doing this for thirty years!")
Great day overall! We also got free rice krispies because apparently tonight we did a phenomenal job at everything! A few days ago at work we got a free pancake breakfast too and calendars! They were pushing some sort of donation thing. Yes, I donated. Fifty cents. Of my paycheck. Each week. For however long I choose to continue. They try to get all cast members to participate and they have a looooong list of organizations you can choose to donate to. And you can even choose the percent of what you donate, but they encourage all Disney employees to donate to charity organizations.
I was skeptical this morning but I'm definitely glad I picked up this shift. I could have had today off, but I had a lot more fun at the parks than I would have sitting on my butt watching TV and messing around on the computer all day. Plus, my teacher said to do one thing that scares you each day, and picking up that shift honestly did scare me a bit...
But today was the day! I was not only able to pick up six hours tonight, but I picked up eight extra hours for next week so I'll have almost 40 hours both weeks. Ugh. Pathetic. Hopefully things will pick up for the Holidays.
But anyway, I worked the Halloween party tonight so I wore the old purple bat hat costume. I saw a lot of friends from last year, which was great too. Plus, it was an awesome night. However, I have learned that there is an attitude among MK workers that is not present in any other location I've ever worked. They really are more arrogant about themselves and their jobs. I wish they'd be more helpful to "new" people than the way they are just judgmental and not helpful. For me, I already knew exactly what I was doing and actually remembered well enough to the point that I was able to help a lot of the new people. Some of the EHH-ers didn't even know I wasn't statused in that location.
Some of the cast members just knew I was "new" though and talked down to me a lot and it was really annoying. However, overall it was a really fun night. My only problem was that I kept wanting to greet everyone with the word "Jambo!" which is an African Safari word. Not really useful in the Magic Kingdom...
I spent the day in Magic Kingdom and even got my hair cut under the castle! I've been wanting to get my hair cut for ages, but it hasn't really been a high priority. Finally today I had time and a ten dollar bill. I was in and out of Kingdom Kutters in less than ten minutes and she had cut my hair exactly like I wanted it with layers and bangs and everything! I was very impressed (and when I told her, her response was, "I should hope so, I've been doing this for thirty years!")
Great day overall! We also got free rice krispies because apparently tonight we did a phenomenal job at everything! A few days ago at work we got a free pancake breakfast too and calendars! They were pushing some sort of donation thing. Yes, I donated. Fifty cents. Of my paycheck. Each week. For however long I choose to continue. They try to get all cast members to participate and they have a looooong list of organizations you can choose to donate to. And you can even choose the percent of what you donate, but they encourage all Disney employees to donate to charity organizations.
I was skeptical this morning but I'm definitely glad I picked up this shift. I could have had today off, but I had a lot more fun at the parks than I would have sitting on my butt watching TV and messing around on the computer all day. Plus, my teacher said to do one thing that scares you each day, and picking up that shift honestly did scare me a bit...
Monday, October 3, 2011
Oh Jabali
Jabali is the baby elephant. And he acts exactly like a little kid. He can't just walk anywhere, he just has to run. And he's always looking for attention from the adults. The older elephants just laze around, slowly walking or drinking or whatever. And then Jabali comes in and runs underneath them or rubs up against their sides or something.
Well, the awesome thing about today is that I got to hold right by Jabali and the other elephants. Not only that, but I was running an empty round. So there were no guests on my truck, I didn't have to spiel or entertain anybody, and there were no other trucks within sight of me where I stopped. I just got to sit there, listening to the ducks and watching the elephants play. Or mainly, Jabali annoy the adults. He's also a climber, just like a little kid, seriously. There's the watering hole, and there's a way for the elephants to just walk down to the water's edge to get a drink.
Jabali walked around and tried to get attention from the elephant that was doing that, and when he failed he left her and walked over to the only part of the bank where there's a kind of cliff that goes into the water. And then he kind of slid down backwards on his stomach. So. Stinking. Adorable.
And the whole time I was just thinking how much I love my job! I got to sit there for several minutes before we were back on the move. Even then I pushed it a little bit longer and stayed all the way until I saw the next truck. So great!
On another note, I signed up for Rosetta Stone today. Apparently I have free access to Rosetta Stone. But you have to be put on a 3-4 month waiting list and I've never worked here for long enough before to join the list. But, since now I'm planning on staying through next year, I went ahead and signed up today! I can't wait! Hopefully I'll get to start sometime in January. They also told me that when I do get access, I'll have full access to every single language Rosetta Stone puts out. I seriously can't even WAIT!
And my final awesome story of the day... After my last safari, a 12 year old boy came to the front of the truck to talk to me. I often get guests, typically adults that come to the front asking me extra questions (was that rhino really real?) or wanting to take my picture. Sometimes a concerned little girl will come up who's worried about the lions eating the addax. But today, it was this boy who excitedly told me, "That was the best safari ever! And I would know! I've been on three today!"
He has no idea how good that made me feel. I mean, really. It's hard to impress a 12 year old boy. That comment alone totally made my day! I seriously do appreciate compliments from guests.
Especially since just yesterday I had a kid the same age who spent the whole safari behind me saying things like, "It's not really a two week safari... it's way shorter!" and "I don't think that lion's real! If he's really real, make him move!" or "That wasn't really scary! I knew that was going to happen!"
But really, I always appreciate compliments. And I'm sure my other drivers would agree with me as well. They never get old! And just to clarify, I like my safari, but it is in no way the best.
What a great day!
Well, the awesome thing about today is that I got to hold right by Jabali and the other elephants. Not only that, but I was running an empty round. So there were no guests on my truck, I didn't have to spiel or entertain anybody, and there were no other trucks within sight of me where I stopped. I just got to sit there, listening to the ducks and watching the elephants play. Or mainly, Jabali annoy the adults. He's also a climber, just like a little kid, seriously. There's the watering hole, and there's a way for the elephants to just walk down to the water's edge to get a drink.
Jabali walked around and tried to get attention from the elephant that was doing that, and when he failed he left her and walked over to the only part of the bank where there's a kind of cliff that goes into the water. And then he kind of slid down backwards on his stomach. So. Stinking. Adorable.
And the whole time I was just thinking how much I love my job! I got to sit there for several minutes before we were back on the move. Even then I pushed it a little bit longer and stayed all the way until I saw the next truck. So great!
On another note, I signed up for Rosetta Stone today. Apparently I have free access to Rosetta Stone. But you have to be put on a 3-4 month waiting list and I've never worked here for long enough before to join the list. But, since now I'm planning on staying through next year, I went ahead and signed up today! I can't wait! Hopefully I'll get to start sometime in January. They also told me that when I do get access, I'll have full access to every single language Rosetta Stone puts out. I seriously can't even WAIT!
And my final awesome story of the day... After my last safari, a 12 year old boy came to the front of the truck to talk to me. I often get guests, typically adults that come to the front asking me extra questions (was that rhino really real?) or wanting to take my picture. Sometimes a concerned little girl will come up who's worried about the lions eating the addax. But today, it was this boy who excitedly told me, "That was the best safari ever! And I would know! I've been on three today!"
He has no idea how good that made me feel. I mean, really. It's hard to impress a 12 year old boy. That comment alone totally made my day! I seriously do appreciate compliments from guests.
Especially since just yesterday I had a kid the same age who spent the whole safari behind me saying things like, "It's not really a two week safari... it's way shorter!" and "I don't think that lion's real! If he's really real, make him move!" or "That wasn't really scary! I knew that was going to happen!"
But really, I always appreciate compliments. And I'm sure my other drivers would agree with me as well. They never get old! And just to clarify, I like my safari, but it is in no way the best.
What a great day!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Lions and Elephants and Band-aids... Oh my!
I cut my thumb on an ECV yesterday. It wouldn't have mattered at all except I was bleeding everywhere and needed something so the guests didn't see me with a bloody thumb handled all of their wheelchairs. So I called someone and seconds later someone came with a band aid. He actually brought three band aids. And two alcohol wipes. And some neosporin. And then asked if I needed to be bumped from my position. It's a finger cut! So funny.
Yesterday was a good day. The elephants were even playing. The other day the baby, Jabali, and the other little one, Luna, were playing together by the water. Jabali literally reminds me of a little kid. He was running around, tripping, trying to climb up the water bank and falling or slipping in the mud. So stinking adorable!
The lion was scratching his claws up against a tree the other day as we went by, too. So cool, I've never seen a lion do that before! Just like a cat. Then, yesterday, I was listening on the radio and a conversation went something like this, "Reserve warden, this is safari 8, I think there's something wrong with the lion... it looks like he's choking on something." "How long has it lasted? Do you want us to call animal programs?" "Umm.. it's looking like he stopped... oh no... now he's doing it again. I really think he's choking or something..." "Reserve warden, this is safari 12, the lion is fine. Hairball."
I was in the middle of my safari as I heard this exchange take place and almost died holding in my laughter. Who knew lions get hairballs too? Makes sense, I guess. :)
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the MK opening, so they had special fireworks so my roommate and I went to watch them from the Contemporary. For the record, the contemporary really is a great place to view the fireworks. It's far away, but you can see and hear them, plus they play the music! It's great! My roommate and I saw a random shot of water in the middle of the parking lot that nervoused both of us, but when we reported it, they told us it was a fountain and it was supposed to be there. I still don't think I believe it. Random fountain in the middle of a parking lot? Psh.
Well anyway, I have to get to work. Bus leaves soon!
Yesterday was a good day. The elephants were even playing. The other day the baby, Jabali, and the other little one, Luna, were playing together by the water. Jabali literally reminds me of a little kid. He was running around, tripping, trying to climb up the water bank and falling or slipping in the mud. So stinking adorable!
The lion was scratching his claws up against a tree the other day as we went by, too. So cool, I've never seen a lion do that before! Just like a cat. Then, yesterday, I was listening on the radio and a conversation went something like this, "Reserve warden, this is safari 8, I think there's something wrong with the lion... it looks like he's choking on something." "How long has it lasted? Do you want us to call animal programs?" "Umm.. it's looking like he stopped... oh no... now he's doing it again. I really think he's choking or something..." "Reserve warden, this is safari 12, the lion is fine. Hairball."
I was in the middle of my safari as I heard this exchange take place and almost died holding in my laughter. Who knew lions get hairballs too? Makes sense, I guess. :)
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the MK opening, so they had special fireworks so my roommate and I went to watch them from the Contemporary. For the record, the contemporary really is a great place to view the fireworks. It's far away, but you can see and hear them, plus they play the music! It's great! My roommate and I saw a random shot of water in the middle of the parking lot that nervoused both of us, but when we reported it, they told us it was a fountain and it was supposed to be there. I still don't think I believe it. Random fountain in the middle of a parking lot? Psh.
Well anyway, I have to get to work. Bus leaves soon!
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