There's a stuffed Nemo toy we sell who, when you squeeze his fin, says "First day of school! First day of school! I really LOVE the first day of school!"
That's how I felt this morning getting ready. Except I'm not in school. And I'm not four years old. And I'm not a clownfish.
That said, my job rocks! It's all I thought it was and more, which is super awesome. We met this morning and walked to the tunnels because they wanted to make sure we all knew how to get around. Then they stuck us in a room and showed us Powerpoints for three hours.
Well it wasn't quite that boring. I introduced myself like five times in three different ways including when they forced me to draw pictures of my life. I stuck at drawing, but at least it made people laugh as I tried to explain them. Then we filled out a survey online and had to email it out to people.
They also made me fill out that thing that determines what learning style you are. I'm not even kidding, the last three times I filled out one of those I got one each of the tactile, auditory and visual. Today was visual. Silly tests. I wrote on the other survey I filled out that I tend to learn when I'm sincerely interested in what I'm learning about. If I'm interested, I guarantee I'll learn no matter which style you use.
Then we got to shadow for a while. Each "computer" has two monitors. TWO! I got stressed out at home with my mom's computer that has two monitors. It just throws me off. And every time I'd drag the mouse up to the top right corner to close a window it would slide to the next screen and click on something. That'll take some getting used to. Did I mention this will take six weeks of training? Six weeks. Cuh-razy! Safaris was seven days.
But I'm totally excited and love my job. And that's the point of this post. To let everyone know that. I love my life!
Showing posts with label So Lucky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label So Lucky. Show all posts
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas!
This has been the best Christmas, probably in years.
It all started last night when my roommate and I baked gingerbread cookies. And they came out perfectly. All soft and chewy and all gingerbread-y. So delicious! Then we each opened a present. My roommate bought me a little radio control Safari truck. It's a little smaller than I'm used to driving, but will do nicely.
I was really excited for her to open hers. I recruited my other roommate to go in with me and get her a nice tiara from Adventureland. One of the really nice, legit looking ones. I'm pretty sure she almost fell asleep with it on! Hers was the present I was most excited to give!
Then I had to be at work bright and early this morning. As I opened the front door, one of my friends had left a wrapped present for me just outside on our doorstep. A small stuffed Piglet, my favorite character! So incredibly "thotful!"
When I got to work I got Departure 2, which is my favorite land to have. I loaded people on the trucks all morning. I was hilarious because it was so slow nobody was going anywhere I asked them to. "Party of three? Row eight please." Pause... watch them walk... "Orrrr, you could have two of you go to row five and one in row six. That works too..." So funny.
Then, my first truck of the day I had the best family in the front row. There are some safaris where you just seem to click with the guests. They all love me, and I just love them. I love safaris like that! They are always so much fun, and what a great way to start off Christmas day! And the family in the front row just made the whole safari that much more fun.
We had a pot luck at my location so on my break I got to pig out on the best green bean casserole I've ever had. Also, someone made some incredible mac and cheese, and we had lots of turkey. My friend also made a Jewish dish called "noodle pudding." It was good, for a change (*wink wink* Dad). I'm glad that I tried it!
I got off at the same time as my friend, Allie. On our way home we made plans to go to Downtown Disney (DTD). She actually wanted to brave MK, but I talked her out of it. We went to Earl of Sandwich and got their Thanksgiving Sandwich which is stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, and such on a sandwich. Best sandwich ever! And only five bucks!
Even though DTD is less than ten minutes away, it took over thirty to get home for the traffic. Ten minutes was spent at the same stoplight waiting for it to change three times before we could get through. Cuh-razy!
I opened the rest of my presents and they were so awesome, plus all the Christmas cards and such from friends.
What made this Christmas better than any other I've had in recent years, is that today I'm reminded of the amazing friends that I have, and how much I am loved. And with knowledge like that, not much else is needed in life. I'm grateful for loving family, lots of friends who think about me, incredible co-workers, a fun job, strong beliefs, plans for my future, a safe place to live, a good education, and a working body and mind. I love my life. I love December. I love Christmas. I LOVE it! Not much could make me happier.
Oh wait. Christmas music. Yep, that just made me happier! I didn't think that was possible...
This has truly been one of the most Merry of all Merry Christmases I've had in recent years! Thanks to all who made it great, and to all, a good night!
It all started last night when my roommate and I baked gingerbread cookies. And they came out perfectly. All soft and chewy and all gingerbread-y. So delicious! Then we each opened a present. My roommate bought me a little radio control Safari truck. It's a little smaller than I'm used to driving, but will do nicely.
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| Excuse this picture, I literally just took it, since I decided I needed to put more pictures with my posts. |
Then I had to be at work bright and early this morning. As I opened the front door, one of my friends had left a wrapped present for me just outside on our doorstep. A small stuffed Piglet, my favorite character! So incredibly "thotful!"
When I got to work I got Departure 2, which is my favorite land to have. I loaded people on the trucks all morning. I was hilarious because it was so slow nobody was going anywhere I asked them to. "Party of three? Row eight please." Pause... watch them walk... "Orrrr, you could have two of you go to row five and one in row six. That works too..." So funny.
Then, my first truck of the day I had the best family in the front row. There are some safaris where you just seem to click with the guests. They all love me, and I just love them. I love safaris like that! They are always so much fun, and what a great way to start off Christmas day! And the family in the front row just made the whole safari that much more fun.
We had a pot luck at my location so on my break I got to pig out on the best green bean casserole I've ever had. Also, someone made some incredible mac and cheese, and we had lots of turkey. My friend also made a Jewish dish called "noodle pudding." It was good, for a change (*wink wink* Dad). I'm glad that I tried it!
I got off at the same time as my friend, Allie. On our way home we made plans to go to Downtown Disney (DTD). She actually wanted to brave MK, but I talked her out of it. We went to Earl of Sandwich and got their Thanksgiving Sandwich which is stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, and such on a sandwich. Best sandwich ever! And only five bucks!
Even though DTD is less than ten minutes away, it took over thirty to get home for the traffic. Ten minutes was spent at the same stoplight waiting for it to change three times before we could get through. Cuh-razy!
I opened the rest of my presents and they were so awesome, plus all the Christmas cards and such from friends.
What made this Christmas better than any other I've had in recent years, is that today I'm reminded of the amazing friends that I have, and how much I am loved. And with knowledge like that, not much else is needed in life. I'm grateful for loving family, lots of friends who think about me, incredible co-workers, a fun job, strong beliefs, plans for my future, a safe place to live, a good education, and a working body and mind. I love my life. I love December. I love Christmas. I LOVE it! Not much could make me happier.
Oh wait. Christmas music. Yep, that just made me happier! I didn't think that was possible...
This has truly been one of the most Merry of all Merry Christmases I've had in recent years! Thanks to all who made it great, and to all, a good night!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Gonna Miss These Guys
I see animals doing really silly things on the safari. Believe it or not, an animal pooping is not the most interesting thing out there. It's sad that, when I think the animals are being adorable, the guests hardly even notice.
For example, where the okapi is, there's a giant log on the ground. The other day I drove through and the log was covered in maybe fifteen vultures lined up on it. And then the okapi was pacing back and forth in front of the birds. I almost died laughing. Seriously, it looked like the okapi had recruited the vultures to help with some secret mission. Or some creepy animal ceremony...
Okay, so maybe I have done too many safaris.
Then there's the pelicans. They seriously look like they're doing yoga sometimes! Like, this one stands on one foot and stretches the other out in the air. When it does that, it opens it's wings out, I assume, to keep balance. It looks literally like it's doing yoga. I actually mentioned that on a safari the other day and the lady behind me laughed and agreed with me. Yes, I appreciate that one guest who laughs at me.
The hippos talk quite a bit and it's like a bunch of grunting. But today I got to do an empty safari (miraculously, seriously I thought I'd never get to do an empty round again cuz we've been so busy, but surprisingly today we were dead). I came around to the hippo and she started grunting and for the first time it sounded like she was laughing! Seriously. She started laughing at me and then splashed in the water a bit and laughed again. They've done this many times before, sometimes splashing with each other, but it's never sounded so much like laughter before. Now I'm going to be looking for it...
The flamingos just crack me up too. The thing about the flamingos is that they (and the crocs) are pretty much the only animals we can pretty much guarantee will be on every single safari. So I always have that part of the ride exactly memorized and it's just boring. But then lately I've noticed how silly the flamingos are. I mean, they've always been super noisy. But they "fight" too. And they chase each other which is stinking adorable. This one always is showing off it's wings, and sometimes it'll open it's wings and just run around in circles. I've seen it do that like three times now and it always cracks me up.
Jabali is always funny, too. The baby elephant. Seriously, just exactly like a little kid. He just has to be the center of attention. Although the older he gets, the less he runs around which is kind of sad. He plays with Luna all the time, though. The two of them are always rolling around on the ground and pushing each other. It's so funny to see Jabali try to push Luna with his trunk because he's like half her size. Adorable! The other day Luna tried to climb over a big log and got stuck, so Jabali came up behind her and was trying to push her the rest of the way over. So stinking adorable.
One time I came around to cheetahs and saw one standing on the rock so I pointed her out. "Hey look! There's a cheetah! And it looks like it's about to jump somewhere! Let's watch her jump!" Nope. She wasn't about to jump. She just needed to relieve herself... definitely the funniest time I've ever seen an animal take a poo because my entire truck laughed at me.
I did a safari a while ago and a few trucks up ahead got stopped for an ostrich. So as we waited I told my guests we were stopped for an ostrich and talked a bit about ostriches to fill in the silence during our wait. Then, we went back on the move and shortly thereafter found the ostrich. The guy sitting in the first row had his little two year old sitting on his lap and as we came around the ostrich he proceeded to say to his child, "Wow. That is one ugly animal! Can you say ugly? Yes, see, this thing is what we call ugly. Yuck! That thing made us stop. Look how ugly it's face is." I had to turn off my mic and wipe the tears from my eyes trying not to laugh.
I'm gonna miss these animals. A lot. The people make me laugh too. Like the other day a woman asked me how to tell if the giraffe was male or female. My response? "Umm, the same way as a human?" The whole truck cracked up. I since have been told that male giraffes are darker in color... meh. Whatever!
I'm gonna miss this job! I'm going to miss trying not to laugh so many times a day, and failing at not laughing just as many times throughout the day. Seriously, sometimes just what I hear on the radio makes me laugh. I love it!
Ohhhh, my life is so awesome!
For example, where the okapi is, there's a giant log on the ground. The other day I drove through and the log was covered in maybe fifteen vultures lined up on it. And then the okapi was pacing back and forth in front of the birds. I almost died laughing. Seriously, it looked like the okapi had recruited the vultures to help with some secret mission. Or some creepy animal ceremony...
Okay, so maybe I have done too many safaris.
Then there's the pelicans. They seriously look like they're doing yoga sometimes! Like, this one stands on one foot and stretches the other out in the air. When it does that, it opens it's wings out, I assume, to keep balance. It looks literally like it's doing yoga. I actually mentioned that on a safari the other day and the lady behind me laughed and agreed with me. Yes, I appreciate that one guest who laughs at me.
The hippos talk quite a bit and it's like a bunch of grunting. But today I got to do an empty safari (miraculously, seriously I thought I'd never get to do an empty round again cuz we've been so busy, but surprisingly today we were dead). I came around to the hippo and she started grunting and for the first time it sounded like she was laughing! Seriously. She started laughing at me and then splashed in the water a bit and laughed again. They've done this many times before, sometimes splashing with each other, but it's never sounded so much like laughter before. Now I'm going to be looking for it...
The flamingos just crack me up too. The thing about the flamingos is that they (and the crocs) are pretty much the only animals we can pretty much guarantee will be on every single safari. So I always have that part of the ride exactly memorized and it's just boring. But then lately I've noticed how silly the flamingos are. I mean, they've always been super noisy. But they "fight" too. And they chase each other which is stinking adorable. This one always is showing off it's wings, and sometimes it'll open it's wings and just run around in circles. I've seen it do that like three times now and it always cracks me up.
Jabali is always funny, too. The baby elephant. Seriously, just exactly like a little kid. He just has to be the center of attention. Although the older he gets, the less he runs around which is kind of sad. He plays with Luna all the time, though. The two of them are always rolling around on the ground and pushing each other. It's so funny to see Jabali try to push Luna with his trunk because he's like half her size. Adorable! The other day Luna tried to climb over a big log and got stuck, so Jabali came up behind her and was trying to push her the rest of the way over. So stinking adorable.
One time I came around to cheetahs and saw one standing on the rock so I pointed her out. "Hey look! There's a cheetah! And it looks like it's about to jump somewhere! Let's watch her jump!" Nope. She wasn't about to jump. She just needed to relieve herself... definitely the funniest time I've ever seen an animal take a poo because my entire truck laughed at me.
I did a safari a while ago and a few trucks up ahead got stopped for an ostrich. So as we waited I told my guests we were stopped for an ostrich and talked a bit about ostriches to fill in the silence during our wait. Then, we went back on the move and shortly thereafter found the ostrich. The guy sitting in the first row had his little two year old sitting on his lap and as we came around the ostrich he proceeded to say to his child, "Wow. That is one ugly animal! Can you say ugly? Yes, see, this thing is what we call ugly. Yuck! That thing made us stop. Look how ugly it's face is." I had to turn off my mic and wipe the tears from my eyes trying not to laugh.
I'm gonna miss these animals. A lot. The people make me laugh too. Like the other day a woman asked me how to tell if the giraffe was male or female. My response? "Umm, the same way as a human?" The whole truck cracked up. I since have been told that male giraffes are darker in color... meh. Whatever!
I'm gonna miss this job! I'm going to miss trying not to laugh so many times a day, and failing at not laughing just as many times throughout the day. Seriously, sometimes just what I hear on the radio makes me laugh. I love it!
Ohhhh, my life is so awesome!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Things I Just Love
I've been kind of grumpy lately. I had a bad encounter with a guest that made me angry at all guests for a while. Then I went home early on Tuesday because I wasn't feeling well (and I was still mad). But I'd had the past two days off, and it's been wonderful. And I've been thinking more and more about things I love about life rather than... negatives.
So, here's to happiness!
Today I headed out to Magic Kingdom to get some friends into the parks. On the way I was on the monorail and noticed a little four year old boy who asked his dad, "So, after Magic Kingdom, can we go to EPCOT? I want to see the big white ball!" Many adults don't even understand there are four different parks. I mentioned how impressed I was, how advanced he sounded (he said other things too that just showed he really totally understood what was going on) and spoke with his grandmother a bit. As I did I learned he hadn't even been here in a year. "Oh, so what's the occasion this time?" I asked. "No babies!!!" the little boy yelled. Apparently he had a little baby sister, two months old back at home. Cutest thing ever. He turned his little head to look out the window of the monorail at the castle and said, in the cutest, most excited voice ever, "This is going to be the best day EVER!" And then let out a sigh. I love it!
This past week I've gotten to do two scavenger hunts. One in Magic Kingdom and the other in Hollywood Studios. I love watching the Osbourne Family Lights dance and seeing the families around dancing with their kids and all over just having a fantastic time. Also, it snows during the light show. There's something about softly falling snow that is just plain magical. I love watching the Jedi Training academy and watching little kids take out Darth Vader.
I love when I come around elephants on the Safari and Jabali is out playing. The baby elephant. The other day I went around and the elephants were all in the water playing, splashing and even making noises. Crazy!
Shopping for Christmas gifts for people. I love finding presents for people. Unfortunately I could never afford to get everyone everything I'd want to get them. But I'm pretty excited to give out some of my presents this year!
ABC Family and the 25 Days of Christmas just began. Meaning this is all you're getting for an update. But yeah, Merry Christmas!
And I have to say that what I'm loving most right now is that my favorite month of the entire year has just begun!!!
So, here's to happiness!
Today I headed out to Magic Kingdom to get some friends into the parks. On the way I was on the monorail and noticed a little four year old boy who asked his dad, "So, after Magic Kingdom, can we go to EPCOT? I want to see the big white ball!" Many adults don't even understand there are four different parks. I mentioned how impressed I was, how advanced he sounded (he said other things too that just showed he really totally understood what was going on) and spoke with his grandmother a bit. As I did I learned he hadn't even been here in a year. "Oh, so what's the occasion this time?" I asked. "No babies!!!" the little boy yelled. Apparently he had a little baby sister, two months old back at home. Cutest thing ever. He turned his little head to look out the window of the monorail at the castle and said, in the cutest, most excited voice ever, "This is going to be the best day EVER!" And then let out a sigh. I love it!
This past week I've gotten to do two scavenger hunts. One in Magic Kingdom and the other in Hollywood Studios. I love watching the Osbourne Family Lights dance and seeing the families around dancing with their kids and all over just having a fantastic time. Also, it snows during the light show. There's something about softly falling snow that is just plain magical. I love watching the Jedi Training academy and watching little kids take out Darth Vader.
I love when I come around elephants on the Safari and Jabali is out playing. The baby elephant. The other day I went around and the elephants were all in the water playing, splashing and even making noises. Crazy!
Shopping for Christmas gifts for people. I love finding presents for people. Unfortunately I could never afford to get everyone everything I'd want to get them. But I'm pretty excited to give out some of my presents this year!
ABC Family and the 25 Days of Christmas just began. Meaning this is all you're getting for an update. But yeah, Merry Christmas!
And I have to say that what I'm loving most right now is that my favorite month of the entire year has just begun!!!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Make A Wish
I haven't written much about the Make a Wish kids on here. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever mentioned them. However, they do have a pretty big impact. The Make a Wish foundation brings children who have been diagnosed with life threatening illnesses or only have months, sometimes weeks to live, to Orlando to have one "last" family vacation. It is extremely sad. These kids are distinguished usually by their buttons, but they also have very special cards to bring around with them that show us cast members who they are. It's pretty rare to see them, but we all treat those families like gold. I don't see them often, normally only to let them into the Fastpass line because their card is an automatic Fastpass onto any ride in any park all the time, no questions.
With that said, I have a story. Today, after my first break, I got my next assignment. I was sent to a wheelchair truck. I don't like driving wheelchair trucks. I don't like the drama, I don't like having to come up with extra "filler" spiel at the end when things are blocked up in the jog, I don't like pulling up to that dock since it's the hardest one to go up to... I just don't like it. On top of getting this truck, I went up to bump it and realized it had the headphones that I hate. The kinds that go around the back of your head and pinch your head to the point you get a headache. And since the cord was behind me I kept sitting on it and they kept falling off. I asked to change them and she told me the other set was broken.
Needless to say, I was not happy and actually quite whiny. I did my first three rounds happily driving guests, but being grumpy after pulling up to the dock and ripping off the headphones every chance I got. (It's okay, I pull up to the dock just fine... it's just hard and I'm always scared I'm going to miss it).
As I finished my third round I was sad to see that I didn't have a breaker and I'd have to do another round. I was hoping I could stop after three, I was hungry. I looked back and saw one family in the line to get on my truck. As they approached I noticed it was a mom and dad and four kids. And they had the Make a Wish buttons. At least, the little girl did. They were all very happy and had their faces painted and were perfectly ready and excited for a two week safari. I did my best to sound upbeat.
As they boarded my truck, we waited a bit, and Tara (who was working the dock) noticed there weren't any other guests on their way. Normally, in this situation, we load regular guests onto the truck who don't have wheelchairs or ECVs so that the normal line gets a little shorter, and my truck goes full. We were sitting at about a thirty minute wait. But, this family seemed really sweet and fun. And they were Make a Wish kids. So Tara and I agreed to go ahead and give this family their own, private safari, instead of calling for more guests. The only time I've ever done this... However, it was, quite possibly, the best decision ever!
Instead of doing a normal safari, I gave the family just a little bit of backstage information as we went around, to make it a little special. However, I stuck to the script as much as possible, basically giving them a combination of both VIP backstage tour with the normal safari meshed into one. I chatted with them and joked, and they laughed. The mom was practically rolling on the floor after one of my jokes. I was very conversational and it was quite possibly one of my best safaris yet.
At the end they clapped for me and told me it was absolutely perfect. Their kid only had weeks left, and this was their second day in their final seven day vacation as a family. I let them know how honored I felt to have not only been a part of it, but to be a great, memorable part of it. They said they felt like VIPs as well getting to ride like that.
I know it doesn't sound like much on here. But I nearly cried after I got my break after that round. The family was so happy, the kids so loving, and I was able to give them a pretty decent magical moment that they would remember. It felt so amazing. I don't know how long the little boy had left. But those kids look so emaciated from chemo and whatever treatments they've had. The mom was telling me how they only had the energy to do half days. I could tell the little boy only had a little bit left.
For the record, the vacation that Make a Wish gives them is three days in Disney, two days at Universal, and one day in Sea World. The seventh day is used for whatever extra activity the kid wants whether it be skydiving or going to the beach or visiting local museums or whatever. Usually though, this mom said they spend that day together, as a family, with no one else in the world but each other. I can't imagine the pain of losing a little kid. Knowing your child only has weeks to live, or a sibling will be gone soon. Seeing a little girl who doesn't have hair to braid anymore or this little boy who would never be able to throw around a football again because he could hardly even stand. But yet, they understand joy in a different way than I think I may ever understand.
And now that made my wheelchair truck experience totally worth it. The new perspective. The opportunity to give that family something special. Getting to meet that family. It's all worth it.
I certainly am grateful for my family. I'm grateful for so much, but health and life are some of the most important things I think I could be grateful for! I love my life! I love my job!
With that said, I have a story. Today, after my first break, I got my next assignment. I was sent to a wheelchair truck. I don't like driving wheelchair trucks. I don't like the drama, I don't like having to come up with extra "filler" spiel at the end when things are blocked up in the jog, I don't like pulling up to that dock since it's the hardest one to go up to... I just don't like it. On top of getting this truck, I went up to bump it and realized it had the headphones that I hate. The kinds that go around the back of your head and pinch your head to the point you get a headache. And since the cord was behind me I kept sitting on it and they kept falling off. I asked to change them and she told me the other set was broken.
Needless to say, I was not happy and actually quite whiny. I did my first three rounds happily driving guests, but being grumpy after pulling up to the dock and ripping off the headphones every chance I got. (It's okay, I pull up to the dock just fine... it's just hard and I'm always scared I'm going to miss it).
As I finished my third round I was sad to see that I didn't have a breaker and I'd have to do another round. I was hoping I could stop after three, I was hungry. I looked back and saw one family in the line to get on my truck. As they approached I noticed it was a mom and dad and four kids. And they had the Make a Wish buttons. At least, the little girl did. They were all very happy and had their faces painted and were perfectly ready and excited for a two week safari. I did my best to sound upbeat.
As they boarded my truck, we waited a bit, and Tara (who was working the dock) noticed there weren't any other guests on their way. Normally, in this situation, we load regular guests onto the truck who don't have wheelchairs or ECVs so that the normal line gets a little shorter, and my truck goes full. We were sitting at about a thirty minute wait. But, this family seemed really sweet and fun. And they were Make a Wish kids. So Tara and I agreed to go ahead and give this family their own, private safari, instead of calling for more guests. The only time I've ever done this... However, it was, quite possibly, the best decision ever!
Instead of doing a normal safari, I gave the family just a little bit of backstage information as we went around, to make it a little special. However, I stuck to the script as much as possible, basically giving them a combination of both VIP backstage tour with the normal safari meshed into one. I chatted with them and joked, and they laughed. The mom was practically rolling on the floor after one of my jokes. I was very conversational and it was quite possibly one of my best safaris yet.
At the end they clapped for me and told me it was absolutely perfect. Their kid only had weeks left, and this was their second day in their final seven day vacation as a family. I let them know how honored I felt to have not only been a part of it, but to be a great, memorable part of it. They said they felt like VIPs as well getting to ride like that.
I know it doesn't sound like much on here. But I nearly cried after I got my break after that round. The family was so happy, the kids so loving, and I was able to give them a pretty decent magical moment that they would remember. It felt so amazing. I don't know how long the little boy had left. But those kids look so emaciated from chemo and whatever treatments they've had. The mom was telling me how they only had the energy to do half days. I could tell the little boy only had a little bit left.
For the record, the vacation that Make a Wish gives them is three days in Disney, two days at Universal, and one day in Sea World. The seventh day is used for whatever extra activity the kid wants whether it be skydiving or going to the beach or visiting local museums or whatever. Usually though, this mom said they spend that day together, as a family, with no one else in the world but each other. I can't imagine the pain of losing a little kid. Knowing your child only has weeks to live, or a sibling will be gone soon. Seeing a little girl who doesn't have hair to braid anymore or this little boy who would never be able to throw around a football again because he could hardly even stand. But yet, they understand joy in a different way than I think I may ever understand.
And now that made my wheelchair truck experience totally worth it. The new perspective. The opportunity to give that family something special. Getting to meet that family. It's all worth it.
I certainly am grateful for my family. I'm grateful for so much, but health and life are some of the most important things I think I could be grateful for! I love my life! I love my job!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Ten Foot Hault
Our location is doing the DAK PAC Olympics. Yeah, I think I wrote about it on here before. Today was the "Ten Foot Hault" event. Before we took our trucks out to the ride path, we had to see who could get their truck's bumper closest to ten feet away from Tweezly, our giant plastic pet zebra. (yes, I'm being serious, this really is a true story) The reason is that out on the ride path when there's an animal in the road we're supposed to stop ten feet away from it. Well, I completely failed at that event. I was more than fifteen feet away. Completely embarrassing. I'm just hoping someone is as horrible at depth perception as I am. In my defense, when I'm actually out on the ride path, I creep up a lot closer to the animals (depending on the animal and what's going on around us). I don't actually stop that far away. I just didn't want to get into trouble for scaring animals so I tried to stay in the safe zone. Which really was a bad idea, because the people I work with are extremely chill and people don't really get mad at each other. We get enough angry guests to spread around enough anger for everyone.
Anyway, in other news this has been altogether a completely and totally awesome week. I was accepted to two PIs. I accepted the one I wanted more and in doing so have learned tons about the company. Found numerous friends who wanted me to stay with them, and actually found one perfect apartment to live in starting in January with a perfect location and even better price! I stayed up late one night and watched the midnight showing of a movie that just came out (and proceeded to make it through the next day on only three hours of sleep).
Went to the Ft. Wilderness Campfire thing last night with friends from work (not smart to play football with a bunch of guys twice my size who also happen to be made of steel), ate S'mores and talked to my boss's wife who happens to have worked in both Professional Internships I was just accepted to. Networked with her, and learned a lot about those jobs and what I'll be doing. Ended up with way too little sleep and went home early today, but today's still been awesome. I'm reeeeeally sore from the games we played (I basically ran right into a guy's leg and smashed my face in... found my glasses sitting on the ground five feet away thankfully still in one piece!) and super tired from the lack of sleep lately, but it's been worth it. On top of all of that I even got two GSF cards today! (really good compliments from guests that go on my record card and say I'm a good person basically)
Definitely so incredibly lucky, and so incredibly happy! What an awesome life.
Did I mention I work at Disney World?
Anyway, in other news this has been altogether a completely and totally awesome week. I was accepted to two PIs. I accepted the one I wanted more and in doing so have learned tons about the company. Found numerous friends who wanted me to stay with them, and actually found one perfect apartment to live in starting in January with a perfect location and even better price! I stayed up late one night and watched the midnight showing of a movie that just came out (and proceeded to make it through the next day on only three hours of sleep).
Went to the Ft. Wilderness Campfire thing last night with friends from work (not smart to play football with a bunch of guys twice my size who also happen to be made of steel), ate S'mores and talked to my boss's wife who happens to have worked in both Professional Internships I was just accepted to. Networked with her, and learned a lot about those jobs and what I'll be doing. Ended up with way too little sleep and went home early today, but today's still been awesome. I'm reeeeeally sore from the games we played (I basically ran right into a guy's leg and smashed my face in... found my glasses sitting on the ground five feet away thankfully still in one piece!) and super tired from the lack of sleep lately, but it's been worth it. On top of all of that I even got two GSF cards today! (really good compliments from guests that go on my record card and say I'm a good person basically)
Definitely so incredibly lucky, and so incredibly happy! What an awesome life.
Did I mention I work at Disney World?
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!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Best Safari Day EVER!
For starters, I always like my 8/8:30am shifts because the time goes by quicker and I finish early. For example today, I was done by 2:30. But today's shift was even better because I got to do the Magical Moment on the first safari of the day.
Basically, my job this morning was to create magic. I went up to the front of the park to pick the lucky family. I walked around, looking specifically for a family with several kids, because those are always my favorite families on the safaris. There weren't a whole lot, and I didn't have tons of time, so I went right up to a family with two little boys. I talked to them for a minute, they were waiting in line to enter the park. I brought them right up to the front of the line and got them in fifteen minutes before park open so we could walk back to the safari together.
Not only did I get to take them on the first safari of the day, but that one little family got their own truck, and I got to spiel for them. So we separated it out where the driver was only driving, and I was only spieling. Because it was so different, we turned off the "normal" safari radio and I just spieled on my own, letting them know little random facts we don't always reveal to guests. I let them know little extras like why people can't see the zebras and where hidden Mickeys are. It was so much fun and the little boys just LOVED it!
The awesome thing about that magical moment is that I can tell that family will remember that experience forever. The whole family loved it, and it was so classic. Mom holding the little one on her lap and helping the kids feel comfortable, Dad taking pictures everywhere, older brother showing stuff to the little brother, and everyone absolutely amazed that they, of all people, got picked!
And at the end they got a special certificate. To add to it, at the end this family let me know they'd never been to Animal Kingdom before. They'd visited every park except for this one, so it was awesome that I got to be their first impression! Absolutely loved it!
After I did that, I worked the Cheers 2 dock for a while (the person who opens Cheers 2 gets to do the First Safari family of the day), and then went on my first break. Then I got another land and got to work Fastpass for a while. I hadn't worked Fastpass since training and it's ridiculously rare that we get two lands in a day, so that was extra awesome!
I decided I love working Fastpass. I love being able to fix people's problems and that's basically all I do there. I answer questions, fix machines, and get people the Fastpasses they want. I was really proud of my ability to fix the machines because there were several different problems I was dealing with. Machines eating cards, the paper getting jammed, random beeping noises (a simple reset fixed that... I still don't get it).
At first I actually almost just covered the machine up and called it good since we had like eight more, but then I figured I should at least try to fix it. I was able to keep everything going well, until near the end one of them broke. Someone tried to jam their VISA card into it (no, the machines don't take VISA) and it freaked out the system. I tried for the last like fifteen minutes of my shift, in which time I had another cast member come try and help me too. He told me to just cover it up, but I was entirely convinced that I'd fix it. But then I got bumped from that position so I told the next girl to just cover it up, and I'm fairly certain she did.
After my second break I worked the truck. I only did two rounds before it was time to go, but they were very fun rounds. The guests were perfect and happy. Everyone was excited, and the whole day just went well.
As I was walking to the break room, I heard a little kid yell out my name. I figured I didn't know any little kids in the park, so it couldn't have been me he was calling for. But then I heard my name being yelled again and out of curiosity I turned my head. There was little Zack, one of the two little boys in that family I had taken on the safari this morning. Absolutely one of the cutest things ever and I was amazed that he remembered my name! Then again, it was the same day. I'm so glad I picked that family! And I'm especially glad they had a good time.
My friend even gave me a ride to and from work today, just to make things better. There's a group of us who all have pretty much the same schedule so we've all been going together. I love my job. So. Stinking. Much!
Basically, my job this morning was to create magic. I went up to the front of the park to pick the lucky family. I walked around, looking specifically for a family with several kids, because those are always my favorite families on the safaris. There weren't a whole lot, and I didn't have tons of time, so I went right up to a family with two little boys. I talked to them for a minute, they were waiting in line to enter the park. I brought them right up to the front of the line and got them in fifteen minutes before park open so we could walk back to the safari together.
Not only did I get to take them on the first safari of the day, but that one little family got their own truck, and I got to spiel for them. So we separated it out where the driver was only driving, and I was only spieling. Because it was so different, we turned off the "normal" safari radio and I just spieled on my own, letting them know little random facts we don't always reveal to guests. I let them know little extras like why people can't see the zebras and where hidden Mickeys are. It was so much fun and the little boys just LOVED it!
The awesome thing about that magical moment is that I can tell that family will remember that experience forever. The whole family loved it, and it was so classic. Mom holding the little one on her lap and helping the kids feel comfortable, Dad taking pictures everywhere, older brother showing stuff to the little brother, and everyone absolutely amazed that they, of all people, got picked!
And at the end they got a special certificate. To add to it, at the end this family let me know they'd never been to Animal Kingdom before. They'd visited every park except for this one, so it was awesome that I got to be their first impression! Absolutely loved it!
After I did that, I worked the Cheers 2 dock for a while (the person who opens Cheers 2 gets to do the First Safari family of the day), and then went on my first break. Then I got another land and got to work Fastpass for a while. I hadn't worked Fastpass since training and it's ridiculously rare that we get two lands in a day, so that was extra awesome!
I decided I love working Fastpass. I love being able to fix people's problems and that's basically all I do there. I answer questions, fix machines, and get people the Fastpasses they want. I was really proud of my ability to fix the machines because there were several different problems I was dealing with. Machines eating cards, the paper getting jammed, random beeping noises (a simple reset fixed that... I still don't get it).
At first I actually almost just covered the machine up and called it good since we had like eight more, but then I figured I should at least try to fix it. I was able to keep everything going well, until near the end one of them broke. Someone tried to jam their VISA card into it (no, the machines don't take VISA) and it freaked out the system. I tried for the last like fifteen minutes of my shift, in which time I had another cast member come try and help me too. He told me to just cover it up, but I was entirely convinced that I'd fix it. But then I got bumped from that position so I told the next girl to just cover it up, and I'm fairly certain she did.
After my second break I worked the truck. I only did two rounds before it was time to go, but they were very fun rounds. The guests were perfect and happy. Everyone was excited, and the whole day just went well.
As I was walking to the break room, I heard a little kid yell out my name. I figured I didn't know any little kids in the park, so it couldn't have been me he was calling for. But then I heard my name being yelled again and out of curiosity I turned my head. There was little Zack, one of the two little boys in that family I had taken on the safari this morning. Absolutely one of the cutest things ever and I was amazed that he remembered my name! Then again, it was the same day. I'm so glad I picked that family! And I'm especially glad they had a good time.
My friend even gave me a ride to and from work today, just to make things better. There's a group of us who all have pretty much the same schedule so we've all been going together. I love my job. So. Stinking. Much!
Friday, September 16, 2011
No Accident By Accident
I accidentally didn't get into an accident yesterday.
I was driving my friend home from Bed, Bath and Beyond where she had to return something. The store is kind of far away in a part of Orlando I'm not really familiar with. As we drove home, I accidentally pulled into the left turn lane because I thought I had to turn left at that light. As I approached it, I realized I was making the turn one light too early.
I started complaining about how I had accidentally went to turn in the wrong place, and rolled my eyes at myself, annoyed that I'd have to go slightly out of my way. As I complained inside my head I casually looked over to my right as I heard screeching tires and watched a car slam into the back of another, forcing it to collide with the car in front of it. This occurred not even ten feet from my car. Only a few seconds after I had made the "mistake" of pulling into the left turn lane.
The left turn light stayed red, as Florida lights do, for another several minutes and I hated just sitting there watching the people as they got out of their cars to check out the damage. The front lady's car was smoking, and I started envisioning it exploding right next to my car. The back guy's car (the one who caused it) was probably messed up the most, the hood was really smashed good.
Thank goodness I make mistakes!
I was driving my friend home from Bed, Bath and Beyond where she had to return something. The store is kind of far away in a part of Orlando I'm not really familiar with. As we drove home, I accidentally pulled into the left turn lane because I thought I had to turn left at that light. As I approached it, I realized I was making the turn one light too early.
I started complaining about how I had accidentally went to turn in the wrong place, and rolled my eyes at myself, annoyed that I'd have to go slightly out of my way. As I complained inside my head I casually looked over to my right as I heard screeching tires and watched a car slam into the back of another, forcing it to collide with the car in front of it. This occurred not even ten feet from my car. Only a few seconds after I had made the "mistake" of pulling into the left turn lane.
The left turn light stayed red, as Florida lights do, for another several minutes and I hated just sitting there watching the people as they got out of their cars to check out the damage. The front lady's car was smoking, and I started envisioning it exploding right next to my car. The back guy's car (the one who caused it) was probably messed up the most, the hood was really smashed good.
Thank goodness I make mistakes!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sugar City
Yesterday Stanzie and I went to Sugar City to ride bikes with my friend Kelly. She's lived there her whole life, so she knows this place like the back of her hand. Sugar City is just a tiny bit bigger than my town in Virginia.
Kelly borrowed two bikes from neighbors so Stanzie and I could ride. We rode out to the cemetary where Kelly had some friends/relatives buried. It was kind of sad for me to walk around, especially as we saw so many children/baby graves. Stanzie wasn't sad... she said it was just "melancholy."
Yeah, ask her for the difference.
On the way back we took pictures by this lady's house who just had tons of flowers out front. She actually left while we were taking pictures, and as she drove out of her driveway she had this giant smile on her face. Either she was glad we were enjoying her flowers, or she was leaving for the cops. Since she was super old, and we didn't see any cops, I'm guessing it was the first. :) We really did enjoy her flowers.
Sugar City started out as a town that made sugar and had sugar factories. Apparently, now this one is used to house potatoes, but it's not even used much for that anymore.
As for the above picture? You're welcome. (I have no idea what I was doing...)
Our final stop was to get milkshakes. They were great! I took a picture before this one and started making fun of how white Stanzie looked next to Kelly's dark tan. So Stanzie put on her sunglasses to try to counter it. I LOVE this picture! I just love it!
I have the greatest friends EVER!
Kelly borrowed two bikes from neighbors so Stanzie and I could ride. We rode out to the cemetary where Kelly had some friends/relatives buried. It was kind of sad for me to walk around, especially as we saw so many children/baby graves. Stanzie wasn't sad... she said it was just "melancholy."
Yeah, ask her for the difference.
On the way back we took pictures by this lady's house who just had tons of flowers out front. She actually left while we were taking pictures, and as she drove out of her driveway she had this giant smile on her face. Either she was glad we were enjoying her flowers, or she was leaving for the cops. Since she was super old, and we didn't see any cops, I'm guessing it was the first. :) We really did enjoy her flowers.
Sugar City started out as a town that made sugar and had sugar factories. Apparently, now this one is used to house potatoes, but it's not even used much for that anymore.
As for the above picture? You're welcome. (I have no idea what I was doing...)
Our final stop was to get milkshakes. They were great! I took a picture before this one and started making fun of how white Stanzie looked next to Kelly's dark tan. So Stanzie put on her sunglasses to try to counter it. I LOVE this picture! I just love it!
I have the greatest friends EVER!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Disney Memories...
The awesome thing about being a cast member, is that you get to take pictures like these:
As opposed to pictures like these:
As opposed to pictures like these:
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Classes
I signed up for two classes yesterday. This was either a very good decision, or a very bad decision.
Yes, I'm still set to graduate in July, for all you worriers (even though I'm probably the only one who reads this who's truly freaking out about something coming up making it so I can't).
Disney sent me an email reminding me about the classes they offer during the College Program. I took one my first year, "People Management." I didn't learn a whole heck of a lot. I was given a lot of networking opportunities, though, that I didn't take because I'm so stinking shy and I didn't see the point because I didn't actually plan on staying with Disney this long.
So I didn't take any classes last year because I wanted more time for play and relaxation.
But now I'm on this "You are more than you have become" kick (see The Lion King... the part where Simba sees his dad in the clouds... I love it!). And I'm trying to be more productive with my life (which is why I totally slept in until 11am this morning... we'll just skim over that fact. In my defense I've been up by 8am each day this week).
So, anyway. I signed up for "Disney Heritage." It's a super fun, and free, class where we go around the parks and learn about all the inside fun facts and stuff. There's so many rumors about "fun facts and trivia" in Disney World that I don't even know what to believe anymore. If I don't see it with my own eyes, I don't believe it. But taking a class registered through Disney is probably the best way for me to get my fun random knowledge through a reliable source. I'm excited! Four out of the five classes were actually already filled up when I went online to register. And that was the first day of registration!
The second class is actually a real class. Meaning it's accredited through ACE and most colleges will give you 3 credits for it (except my school cuz my school's dumb, but I had a LOT of friends last year who took these classes and got all kinds of credit from their schools) I think it was called "Organizational Leadership" or Management or something kind of class. I don't actually remember. But this class will have homework and projects and group work and stuff. It cost $30, but to have an intense class like that on a resume through Disney for only $30 (and that includes the textbook and "materials", which we all know are always super expensive)... I'd say that's a pretty good deal. It used to cost over $150 for any of the collegiate classes. That's why I didn't take any my first year. This class includes field trips to the parks as well. I think. (I know the Heritage class does). And, at the end of my program, if I pass, I'll get my Ducktorate!
I already have my Mouster's from my first year in the program... cheesy, I know. But that's Disney for ya!
So yeah. I'm teetering on the edge of how stressed out I want to be next program, and if I want to actually have fun, but I think I can do it. Both classes are on the same day each week... I think it's Tuesday? Maybe Wednesday? And I go from 8:30-12:30am and then 4pm to 6pm. And, I'm allowed to change my mind all the way up til the end of the first week of classes (September 23) and still get a full refund, so that's extremely convenient.
Gotta love Disney! I can't wait!
Yes, I'm still set to graduate in July, for all you worriers (even though I'm probably the only one who reads this who's truly freaking out about something coming up making it so I can't).
Disney sent me an email reminding me about the classes they offer during the College Program. I took one my first year, "People Management." I didn't learn a whole heck of a lot. I was given a lot of networking opportunities, though, that I didn't take because I'm so stinking shy and I didn't see the point because I didn't actually plan on staying with Disney this long.
So I didn't take any classes last year because I wanted more time for play and relaxation.
But now I'm on this "You are more than you have become" kick (see The Lion King... the part where Simba sees his dad in the clouds... I love it!). And I'm trying to be more productive with my life (which is why I totally slept in until 11am this morning... we'll just skim over that fact. In my defense I've been up by 8am each day this week).
So, anyway. I signed up for "Disney Heritage." It's a super fun, and free, class where we go around the parks and learn about all the inside fun facts and stuff. There's so many rumors about "fun facts and trivia" in Disney World that I don't even know what to believe anymore. If I don't see it with my own eyes, I don't believe it. But taking a class registered through Disney is probably the best way for me to get my fun random knowledge through a reliable source. I'm excited! Four out of the five classes were actually already filled up when I went online to register. And that was the first day of registration!
The second class is actually a real class. Meaning it's accredited through ACE and most colleges will give you 3 credits for it (except my school cuz my school's dumb, but I had a LOT of friends last year who took these classes and got all kinds of credit from their schools) I think it was called "Organizational Leadership" or Management or something kind of class. I don't actually remember. But this class will have homework and projects and group work and stuff. It cost $30, but to have an intense class like that on a resume through Disney for only $30 (and that includes the textbook and "materials", which we all know are always super expensive)... I'd say that's a pretty good deal. It used to cost over $150 for any of the collegiate classes. That's why I didn't take any my first year. This class includes field trips to the parks as well. I think. (I know the Heritage class does). And, at the end of my program, if I pass, I'll get my Ducktorate!
I already have my Mouster's from my first year in the program... cheesy, I know. But that's Disney for ya!
So yeah. I'm teetering on the edge of how stressed out I want to be next program, and if I want to actually have fun, but I think I can do it. Both classes are on the same day each week... I think it's Tuesday? Maybe Wednesday? And I go from 8:30-12:30am and then 4pm to 6pm. And, I'm allowed to change my mind all the way up til the end of the first week of classes (September 23) and still get a full refund, so that's extremely convenient.
Gotta love Disney! I can't wait!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Our Bike Ride
Last Thursday, in the middle of the night, Stanzie woke me up. "Hey. Dianna... you awake?" "Wha?" "I know what we should do on Monday. For Memorial Day." "Wha?" "We should rent bikes. And then bike to Idaho Falls." "..........okay. Sure." "It's gonna be awesome!"
For the record, Idaho Falls takes about 30 minutes by car on the highway to get to. It's not fair to make me agree to things like that in the middle of the night. Stanzie says it's okay, though, since once I woke her up to tell her that it was warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than it was here in Rexburg (this has since happened numerous times, including yesterday when it was a nice 70 degrees in Anchorage and less than 40 degrees here with a wind chill on top). In my defense, this fact totally disgusts me, and I thought Stanzie should know.
But I digress. So yes, yesterday Stanzie and I went to the ORC and rented bikes. And then we rode. And rode. And rode.
We prepared well. We printed the directions on Mapquest so we wouldn't be on the highway. We told everyone where we were going and when we'd be back. We checked the weather and saw the rain in the forecast so we dressed appropriately. I used a lot of ziplock bags and packed towels and such in them. We also packed snacks like fresh veggies and peanut butter. We brought plenty of water, of course. We were soooo prepared. 70 mile bike ride, here we come!
Neither one of us had ridden a bike more than the typical bike riding years of childhood. It had been two years for Stanzie and about four for me since either of us had been on a bicycle. We walked to the ORC and got everything we needed. The first five miles were by far, the hardest. In fact, after the first one or two miles I was wondering if this was going to happen.
On miles 5 through about 20, I felt great! I thought for sure this would happen. This was also the most interesting and fun filled part of the trip. For one thing, this was the sky we were looking at and riding into. We planned for rain in the forecast. But about two minutes after I took this picture I felt something coming out of the sky, but it was definitely not rain.
"Ouch... ow!... OUCH! Stanzie... is it seriously hailing on us!?"
Yes. Indeed it was.
It only hailed for a little while and it wasn't totally terrible. It mainly just stung my face. We both found it more amusing than anything. I mean, seriously. Hail?
Then there were the dogs we had to deal with. The first set of dogs were tiny little yappers. I don't have pictures because despite how tiny they were, we still rode away fast because they were aggressive to the point that I didn't want to learn how aggressive their owners were.
We had actually made a wrong turn for those first dogs. Or, should I say, failed to make the right turn. I was the navigator. In my defense, roads in Idaho all have two names. They have their "number" name, like 4200 South, and then their "real" name, like "Miller Street." Sometimes, my directions would only say "4200 South" and the street name would say "Miller Street" so I just had to guess for the most part. But I will say we didn't go more than two miles out of our way due to these problems. I'm proud of this! There were a LOT of turns.
Anyway, we went back and found the correct road and went down that one. The scenery was gorgeous.
And then we saw the next dog. He was much bigger and actually stalked us. We saw him stalking us. At first we thought he might not attack and then he was right by my tires barking and growling. I was scared out of my mind and pedaled as hard as I could. We rode down about a mile and the road was named "400 South" or something. We were looking for "Archer Highway." However, this road was about where it was supposed to be. Stanzie wanted to ask someone for directions, and I wanted to go back the way we came and look again. We compromised and did both. As we rode back we realized we'd have to cross the evil barking dog again. We pedaled as fast as possible and sure enough he came to attack again. My legs were getting tired and I was wondering how many more dogs we'd have to out run and why owners would let their evil little dogs run wild.
Just past the evil dog's house we saw a little old man by the side of the road. As we got closer, we saw he was picking asparagus. He didn't look too creepy, so we pulled over to ask him. I asked if he knew of the road we needed and he said that the road we were just at (400 South or whatever) was the one that would take us where we wanted to go. Then he started telling us about how he met his wife ten years ago and asked if we wanted some cinnamon. "I've always carried cinnamon in my pocket, just for times like these!" He told us with a smile. Such a cute old man. I still have my cinnamon candy he gave us. There's no way I'm eating it. I'm keeping it forever as a memento of the coolest bike ride EVER!
We told the man our fears about the horrible outdoor dog and he explained a different route we could use that would mean we wouldn't have to go by it a third time. So we did, and shortly thereafter we were in Ririe!
The scenery reminded me a lot of Virginia (except for the insanely ice cold air, disgustingly gray mountains and lack of rolling hills). The things that were similar was the wide stretches of beautiful farmland, green grass, cows, numerous tractors, and farmers out working. We even saw some llamas and a camel!
We rode and rode some more, stopping every now and then for water or to look at something cool. The final turn we made was a bigger "highway" (it had a bike path) that would last 10.8 miles. Then we would be in Idaho Falls. The first few miles were fine. Then, suddenly, it just got harder and harder. My butt hurt more and more, mainly. And the wind on this road was unlike any wind I've ever experienced before. Stanzie and I agreed that had we not been pedaling forward, we'd have been moving backwards. It was soooo hard.
I actually enjoyed it when the cars went past literally two feet away from me because their wind would pull me forward for just one second and it felt sooo good. We stopped for some breaks and the main issue was that of our butts hurting from the bike seats. Neither one of us have biker pants and those seats we tiny!
We knew we were close to the end of this insanely long stretch. My bum couldn't take it anymore so I got off and walked while Stanzie went ahead. She waited for me in a chair at an old antique shop by the side of the road. I caught up to her and sat beside her and we began eating. This is when I told her there was no way I was going to make it all the way back to Rexburg. My bum just couldn't take the pain and the wind was extremely painful both in my ears, and in freezing me. I knew she was in pain, too.
I knew we were close to the Mall (which was our ultimate destination). We were definitely in Idaho Falls. We talked about our options and I eventually made the call to my friend's dad to see if he could come get us. I didn't know the names of the roads, but as I described what I saw around me he knew where we were. Fortunately, he's lived in this area his whole life.
I wanted to go all the way to the Mall and get picked up there. Stanzie wanted him to just drive us back to Ririe so we could bike home from there. Both of us could have gone more miles. I could only go probably about 5 more. Stanzie could have gone 10 or 15 more maybe. But it was ultimately easier for us just to stay put. Kelly's dad doesn't have a cell phone and he was worried about the weather since it was pouring in Rexburg. Plus, if we had gone to the Mall it would have been farther for him to drive. We later found out we were literally two blocks from the end of our 10.8 mile stretch and less than five miles from the Mall.
We had ridden over 30 miles on our bikes in five hours (8:30am until almost 2pm). I, for one, have never been so proud to accomplish half of a goal in my entire life.
As we entered Rexburg the rain was absolutely pouring. Craig drove us not only to return the bikes, but then drove us home. I paid him for the gas and his time. I couldn't even say in words how grateful I was for him. He's so stinkin' sweet!
Neither one of us was tired, or even sore... yet. Our butts just hurt and I was absolutely freezing. I had been frozen the whole time, actually. But I kept telling myself that riding would warm me up. Unfortunately, I think it was the wind, but I never, ever was warmed up. In fact, when we used the bathroom at a gas station we found, I lifted my shirt and saw that the front of my stomach had this blueish/redish splotchy rash on it and when I felt it, I realized it was because it was so cold. Crazy!
Later when I got home, my legs from the knees up were purple as I got into the shower. Purple! I couldn't tell if it was because I had worked them more than they had ever been worked before, or if it was because they were so stinking cold. The purpleness lasted for a couple of hours, though.
Some of the purple color never left and I have random bruises on my knee. Stanzie says it's from that one time I fell off my bike. Yes, I fell off once. Or maybe twice. But it was mainly on purpose. Those were the worst bikes to get on and off in my life and they had these horrible little stirrup things you had to slip your feet into that held them in place. I hated them!
Anyway, we got home around 3pm. We took our showers and I stretched for a while. Then we crashed on the couch and watched Disney movies. The longer I sat still, the more my legs started to hurt. More and more... and Stanzie's too. By the end of the night we were both in so much pain. It was unbelievable and I was even happier I decided to quit when we did.
30 miles is one heck of a bike ride! And what made me feel better was that in the school newspaper today, there was an article about the school's biking team. They do 8-10 miles for beginners, and 20 for the advanced riders. Sometimes, they go up to 30.
Yep. The Stanz and I are pretty much amazing. :)
For the record, Idaho Falls takes about 30 minutes by car on the highway to get to. It's not fair to make me agree to things like that in the middle of the night. Stanzie says it's okay, though, since once I woke her up to tell her that it was warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than it was here in Rexburg (this has since happened numerous times, including yesterday when it was a nice 70 degrees in Anchorage and less than 40 degrees here with a wind chill on top). In my defense, this fact totally disgusts me, and I thought Stanzie should know.
But I digress. So yes, yesterday Stanzie and I went to the ORC and rented bikes. And then we rode. And rode. And rode.
We prepared well. We printed the directions on Mapquest so we wouldn't be on the highway. We told everyone where we were going and when we'd be back. We checked the weather and saw the rain in the forecast so we dressed appropriately. I used a lot of ziplock bags and packed towels and such in them. We also packed snacks like fresh veggies and peanut butter. We brought plenty of water, of course. We were soooo prepared. 70 mile bike ride, here we come!
Neither one of us had ridden a bike more than the typical bike riding years of childhood. It had been two years for Stanzie and about four for me since either of us had been on a bicycle. We walked to the ORC and got everything we needed. The first five miles were by far, the hardest. In fact, after the first one or two miles I was wondering if this was going to happen.
On miles 5 through about 20, I felt great! I thought for sure this would happen. This was also the most interesting and fun filled part of the trip. For one thing, this was the sky we were looking at and riding into. We planned for rain in the forecast. But about two minutes after I took this picture I felt something coming out of the sky, but it was definitely not rain.
"Ouch... ow!... OUCH! Stanzie... is it seriously hailing on us!?"
Yes. Indeed it was.
It only hailed for a little while and it wasn't totally terrible. It mainly just stung my face. We both found it more amusing than anything. I mean, seriously. Hail?
Then there were the dogs we had to deal with. The first set of dogs were tiny little yappers. I don't have pictures because despite how tiny they were, we still rode away fast because they were aggressive to the point that I didn't want to learn how aggressive their owners were.
We had actually made a wrong turn for those first dogs. Or, should I say, failed to make the right turn. I was the navigator. In my defense, roads in Idaho all have two names. They have their "number" name, like 4200 South, and then their "real" name, like "Miller Street." Sometimes, my directions would only say "4200 South" and the street name would say "Miller Street" so I just had to guess for the most part. But I will say we didn't go more than two miles out of our way due to these problems. I'm proud of this! There were a LOT of turns.
Anyway, we went back and found the correct road and went down that one. The scenery was gorgeous.
And then we saw the next dog. He was much bigger and actually stalked us. We saw him stalking us. At first we thought he might not attack and then he was right by my tires barking and growling. I was scared out of my mind and pedaled as hard as I could. We rode down about a mile and the road was named "400 South" or something. We were looking for "Archer Highway." However, this road was about where it was supposed to be. Stanzie wanted to ask someone for directions, and I wanted to go back the way we came and look again. We compromised and did both. As we rode back we realized we'd have to cross the evil barking dog again. We pedaled as fast as possible and sure enough he came to attack again. My legs were getting tired and I was wondering how many more dogs we'd have to out run and why owners would let their evil little dogs run wild.
Just past the evil dog's house we saw a little old man by the side of the road. As we got closer, we saw he was picking asparagus. He didn't look too creepy, so we pulled over to ask him. I asked if he knew of the road we needed and he said that the road we were just at (400 South or whatever) was the one that would take us where we wanted to go. Then he started telling us about how he met his wife ten years ago and asked if we wanted some cinnamon. "I've always carried cinnamon in my pocket, just for times like these!" He told us with a smile. Such a cute old man. I still have my cinnamon candy he gave us. There's no way I'm eating it. I'm keeping it forever as a memento of the coolest bike ride EVER!
We told the man our fears about the horrible outdoor dog and he explained a different route we could use that would mean we wouldn't have to go by it a third time. So we did, and shortly thereafter we were in Ririe!
The scenery reminded me a lot of Virginia (except for the insanely ice cold air, disgustingly gray mountains and lack of rolling hills). The things that were similar was the wide stretches of beautiful farmland, green grass, cows, numerous tractors, and farmers out working. We even saw some llamas and a camel!
We rode and rode some more, stopping every now and then for water or to look at something cool. The final turn we made was a bigger "highway" (it had a bike path) that would last 10.8 miles. Then we would be in Idaho Falls. The first few miles were fine. Then, suddenly, it just got harder and harder. My butt hurt more and more, mainly. And the wind on this road was unlike any wind I've ever experienced before. Stanzie and I agreed that had we not been pedaling forward, we'd have been moving backwards. It was soooo hard.
I actually enjoyed it when the cars went past literally two feet away from me because their wind would pull me forward for just one second and it felt sooo good. We stopped for some breaks and the main issue was that of our butts hurting from the bike seats. Neither one of us have biker pants and those seats we tiny!
We knew we were close to the end of this insanely long stretch. My bum couldn't take it anymore so I got off and walked while Stanzie went ahead. She waited for me in a chair at an old antique shop by the side of the road. I caught up to her and sat beside her and we began eating. This is when I told her there was no way I was going to make it all the way back to Rexburg. My bum just couldn't take the pain and the wind was extremely painful both in my ears, and in freezing me. I knew she was in pain, too.
I knew we were close to the Mall (which was our ultimate destination). We were definitely in Idaho Falls. We talked about our options and I eventually made the call to my friend's dad to see if he could come get us. I didn't know the names of the roads, but as I described what I saw around me he knew where we were. Fortunately, he's lived in this area his whole life.
I wanted to go all the way to the Mall and get picked up there. Stanzie wanted him to just drive us back to Ririe so we could bike home from there. Both of us could have gone more miles. I could only go probably about 5 more. Stanzie could have gone 10 or 15 more maybe. But it was ultimately easier for us just to stay put. Kelly's dad doesn't have a cell phone and he was worried about the weather since it was pouring in Rexburg. Plus, if we had gone to the Mall it would have been farther for him to drive. We later found out we were literally two blocks from the end of our 10.8 mile stretch and less than five miles from the Mall.
We had ridden over 30 miles on our bikes in five hours (8:30am until almost 2pm). I, for one, have never been so proud to accomplish half of a goal in my entire life.
As we entered Rexburg the rain was absolutely pouring. Craig drove us not only to return the bikes, but then drove us home. I paid him for the gas and his time. I couldn't even say in words how grateful I was for him. He's so stinkin' sweet!
Neither one of us was tired, or even sore... yet. Our butts just hurt and I was absolutely freezing. I had been frozen the whole time, actually. But I kept telling myself that riding would warm me up. Unfortunately, I think it was the wind, but I never, ever was warmed up. In fact, when we used the bathroom at a gas station we found, I lifted my shirt and saw that the front of my stomach had this blueish/redish splotchy rash on it and when I felt it, I realized it was because it was so cold. Crazy!
Later when I got home, my legs from the knees up were purple as I got into the shower. Purple! I couldn't tell if it was because I had worked them more than they had ever been worked before, or if it was because they were so stinking cold. The purpleness lasted for a couple of hours, though.
Some of the purple color never left and I have random bruises on my knee. Stanzie says it's from that one time I fell off my bike. Yes, I fell off once. Or maybe twice. But it was mainly on purpose. Those were the worst bikes to get on and off in my life and they had these horrible little stirrup things you had to slip your feet into that held them in place. I hated them!
Anyway, we got home around 3pm. We took our showers and I stretched for a while. Then we crashed on the couch and watched Disney movies. The longer I sat still, the more my legs started to hurt. More and more... and Stanzie's too. By the end of the night we were both in so much pain. It was unbelievable and I was even happier I decided to quit when we did.
30 miles is one heck of a bike ride! And what made me feel better was that in the school newspaper today, there was an article about the school's biking team. They do 8-10 miles for beginners, and 20 for the advanced riders. Sometimes, they go up to 30.
Yep. The Stanz and I are pretty much amazing. :)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Disneyland: The Extended Version!
I had to drop my Auto Mechanics class. Sad but true. It required resources I didn't have and money that doesn't exist in my world. BUT I still downloaded some of the Powerpoints and tutorials so I can still learn about cars... hope that's not illegal...
Also, I went to Disneyland last week! Here are some more pics of that trip.
Easter Sunday. The day we left. Heather M., Me, Heather H., and Whitney. We left around noon-thirty (after church), and got to Anaheim around 11:30 (California time, so 12:30 Utah time which means it took us right about 12 hours to get there...)
The reason the trip took so long was because we hit traffic about ten miles outside of CA. Everything was perfect up til then. The weather had been beautiful and there was no traffic, even through Vegas! Then, BAM! Traffic jam in the middle of nowhere! Seriously. As far as we could see, in every direction, there was nothing. Except cars. Lots and lots of cars.
I started to get nervous about gas (despite my AAA card and awesome insurance-thanks parents!) so after a while of moving 20mph we finally found a gas station. I pulled off and it was fairly busy. I think the other cars had about the same idea as we did. We wanted to fill up because we didn't know how much longer this traffic would last and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. The ONLY thing at this exit were two gas stations across the street from each other.
I pulled into the Chevron and Heather M. got her card out to pay while other Heather and Whitney went to find a bathroom. They came back shortly saying that this gas station didn't have a bathroom and they were going across the street. In the meantime, Heather M.'s card stopped working after about $5 of gas. We pulled the car up to a different pump and it started working again. We filled up the car and then waited.
After a minute or two, we decided to drive across the street to where the others were so they wouldn't have to cross the busy street twice. We drove over there and waited a few more minutes. Nothing. Heather got out to look for them and came back a few minutes later. She went inside and saw there was no bathroom anywhere. Still couldn't find them.
So we called them. BOTH girls had left their cell phones in the car. This is when I got a little nervous. We drove back over to the last place we had parted, hoping they'd be there. Still nothing. So we parked as close to the gas pump as possible, and waited. And watched. And waited. Heather got out to look around again. There were some drunk teenagers (or at least they were acting drunk, but sometimes teens don't need alcohol to act drunk). Just as Heather and I were talking about how we were going to react when they got back (we had a great, long, loud lecture planned) and how we would react if they had, indeed, been kidnapped (we tried to avoid that topic), we finally saw their bright, smiling faces coming towards us from across the street. We, however, were not so happy to see them alive and in good condition. "ARE YOU SERIOUS! YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF US! DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONES AGAIN! NOT AT A CREEPY GAS STATION IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! AHHHHH!!!" Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what we sounded like. Anyway, the truth was I was extremely relieved and happy to see them fine. They said the bathroom was outside the gas station and around the corner. They had to wait in line AND they had to wait for someone to clean it so it took a while. Meh. Excuses excuses. I was still scared.
This is looking back down Main Street towards the train station. We were some of the first people to enter the park... we got there 50 minutes early to be a part of this crowd. Really, it was pretty empty. We picked a great time to come!
Itty bitty Sleeping Beauty's castle. I now know why I always had guests asking me where the walk-through in Cinderella's castle was. For the record, Cinderella's castle doesn't have a walk-through. There's a super ritzy restaurant up there and a Cinderella Castle Suite that rich and famous get to stay in! That's it.
If you look carefully, you can see they have a Partner's statue in front of this castle as well (the Partner's statue is of Walt and Mickey... they're partners)
This is me seeing the castle for the first time ever. I'm sooo happy Heather took this picture. I LOVE it! This is me, Heather and Whitney. Morning of the first day! I was so stinkin' excited!
I especially love this picture of Heather because it shows her personality perfectly. Map in one hand (although pretty soon she'll just have the map as a souvenir), video camera in the other, sunglasses on her head, and backpack full of snacks, water, etc.
Heather and I on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! Their Big Thunder is very similar to the one in Florida, although it did feel a touch faster. Space Mountain also felt faster. Maybe it's because I don't have those tracks memorized, though. Heehee...
This is Heather on the (Not So) Fun Wheel in California Adventure. You can see my hand. And from my hand, gripping the walls for dear life, you can probably imagine my facial expression. I was pretty much curled up in the fetal position crying the whole entire ride. I'm not even lying, Heather, being the awesome friend that she is, filmed me. Worst. Ride. Ever!
Me, Whitney, and the Heathers meeting Duffy. I officially decided last year when I first met Duffy that I will someday own one, or at the very least, my children will have a stuffed Duffy. First, I'm a fan of stuffed animals. Second, Duffy's story is adorable and I LOVE to travel. Don't know the story? Look it up. :)
Heather H. and I in Minnie's house. Heather's going for Minnie's "diet" chocolate chip cookies. They're holographic. Good one, Minnie. Good one. They sure taste like air though...
This is my new favorite ride. The Storybook Canals Tour. You get to ride in a boat with a skipper and they tell you stories. Disney stories, of course.
The Pirates of the Caribbean 4 premiere is taking place this coming week. (Yes, they made another movie!) It costs like a thousand dollars to go on that day. Crazy! But they were doing a kind of "pre-premiere" trailer kind of showing while we were there. So we went. The pirates were hilarious!
At one point they were getting the crowd all excited as we were waiting to begin. One of the pirates yelled, "All the children, say 'Yo-ho!'" And they shouted, "Yo-ho!" Then he said, "All the women, say 'Yo-ho!'" We did. Then he shouted, "All the men, say 'Yo-ho!'" They shouted Yoho as well. Finally the pirate yelled, "Everyone else, say 'yoho!'" About a third of the crowd shouted. The pirates looked around confused. "So to all those who just yelled.... I'm confused... what are you?" Another pirate responded, "Probably French..." Buuuuurn!
At the end we got to meet Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica (she'd from the new movie, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly aren't coming back for the fourth one).
Toontown in Disneyland is way better than Florida's Toontown. I'm still not really a Toontown freak, but I'll admit it was fun to spend a while there, especially since Disney World's Toontown is about to disappear to make way for the new Fantasyland expansion.
This is my favorite picture of the four of us. This was in California Adventure. And it's a construction wall. But still, I like it!
I had also never had so many fastpasses at one time before. I mean, I get them, but usually in Disney World I can do the single riders line or I know when to go when there's no line anyway.
The first set of fastpasses is from our day at California Adventure. The second is from Disneyland. And we had way more than this, too. This just shows how many passes I had at one time.
And, of course, no post of Disney a Disney trip is accurate without the fireworks. I actually didn't take many pictures of the three awesome shows we saw (Wishes: Disneyland Style; Magic, Memories, and You picture show; and World of Color water show). All were amazing!
Such an awesome trip. I can't say which park(s) I prefer, the one's in Florida or California. But I will say it was a totally awesome week. Worth every penny I spent and every second of worrying.
Also, I went to Disneyland last week! Here are some more pics of that trip.
Easter Sunday. The day we left. Heather M., Me, Heather H., and Whitney. We left around noon-thirty (after church), and got to Anaheim around 11:30 (California time, so 12:30 Utah time which means it took us right about 12 hours to get there...)
The reason the trip took so long was because we hit traffic about ten miles outside of CA. Everything was perfect up til then. The weather had been beautiful and there was no traffic, even through Vegas! Then, BAM! Traffic jam in the middle of nowhere! Seriously. As far as we could see, in every direction, there was nothing. Except cars. Lots and lots of cars.
I started to get nervous about gas (despite my AAA card and awesome insurance-thanks parents!) so after a while of moving 20mph we finally found a gas station. I pulled off and it was fairly busy. I think the other cars had about the same idea as we did. We wanted to fill up because we didn't know how much longer this traffic would last and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. The ONLY thing at this exit were two gas stations across the street from each other.
I pulled into the Chevron and Heather M. got her card out to pay while other Heather and Whitney went to find a bathroom. They came back shortly saying that this gas station didn't have a bathroom and they were going across the street. In the meantime, Heather M.'s card stopped working after about $5 of gas. We pulled the car up to a different pump and it started working again. We filled up the car and then waited.
After a minute or two, we decided to drive across the street to where the others were so they wouldn't have to cross the busy street twice. We drove over there and waited a few more minutes. Nothing. Heather got out to look for them and came back a few minutes later. She went inside and saw there was no bathroom anywhere. Still couldn't find them.
So we called them. BOTH girls had left their cell phones in the car. This is when I got a little nervous. We drove back over to the last place we had parted, hoping they'd be there. Still nothing. So we parked as close to the gas pump as possible, and waited. And watched. And waited. Heather got out to look around again. There were some drunk teenagers (or at least they were acting drunk, but sometimes teens don't need alcohol to act drunk). Just as Heather and I were talking about how we were going to react when they got back (we had a great, long, loud lecture planned) and how we would react if they had, indeed, been kidnapped (we tried to avoid that topic), we finally saw their bright, smiling faces coming towards us from across the street. We, however, were not so happy to see them alive and in good condition. "ARE YOU SERIOUS! YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF US! DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONES AGAIN! NOT AT A CREEPY GAS STATION IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! AHHHHH!!!" Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what we sounded like. Anyway, the truth was I was extremely relieved and happy to see them fine. They said the bathroom was outside the gas station and around the corner. They had to wait in line AND they had to wait for someone to clean it so it took a while. Meh. Excuses excuses. I was still scared.
This is looking back down Main Street towards the train station. We were some of the first people to enter the park... we got there 50 minutes early to be a part of this crowd. Really, it was pretty empty. We picked a great time to come!
Itty bitty Sleeping Beauty's castle. I now know why I always had guests asking me where the walk-through in Cinderella's castle was. For the record, Cinderella's castle doesn't have a walk-through. There's a super ritzy restaurant up there and a Cinderella Castle Suite that rich and famous get to stay in! That's it.
If you look carefully, you can see they have a Partner's statue in front of this castle as well (the Partner's statue is of Walt and Mickey... they're partners)
This is me seeing the castle for the first time ever. I'm sooo happy Heather took this picture. I LOVE it! This is me, Heather and Whitney. Morning of the first day! I was so stinkin' excited!
I especially love this picture of Heather because it shows her personality perfectly. Map in one hand (although pretty soon she'll just have the map as a souvenir), video camera in the other, sunglasses on her head, and backpack full of snacks, water, etc.
Heather and I on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! Their Big Thunder is very similar to the one in Florida, although it did feel a touch faster. Space Mountain also felt faster. Maybe it's because I don't have those tracks memorized, though. Heehee...
This is Heather on the (Not So) Fun Wheel in California Adventure. You can see my hand. And from my hand, gripping the walls for dear life, you can probably imagine my facial expression. I was pretty much curled up in the fetal position crying the whole entire ride. I'm not even lying, Heather, being the awesome friend that she is, filmed me. Worst. Ride. Ever!
Me, Whitney, and the Heathers meeting Duffy. I officially decided last year when I first met Duffy that I will someday own one, or at the very least, my children will have a stuffed Duffy. First, I'm a fan of stuffed animals. Second, Duffy's story is adorable and I LOVE to travel. Don't know the story? Look it up. :)
Heather H. and I in Minnie's house. Heather's going for Minnie's "diet" chocolate chip cookies. They're holographic. Good one, Minnie. Good one. They sure taste like air though...
This is my new favorite ride. The Storybook Canals Tour. You get to ride in a boat with a skipper and they tell you stories. Disney stories, of course.
The Pirates of the Caribbean 4 premiere is taking place this coming week. (Yes, they made another movie!) It costs like a thousand dollars to go on that day. Crazy! But they were doing a kind of "pre-premiere" trailer kind of showing while we were there. So we went. The pirates were hilarious!
At one point they were getting the crowd all excited as we were waiting to begin. One of the pirates yelled, "All the children, say 'Yo-ho!'" And they shouted, "Yo-ho!" Then he said, "All the women, say 'Yo-ho!'" We did. Then he shouted, "All the men, say 'Yo-ho!'" They shouted Yoho as well. Finally the pirate yelled, "Everyone else, say 'yoho!'" About a third of the crowd shouted. The pirates looked around confused. "So to all those who just yelled.... I'm confused... what are you?" Another pirate responded, "Probably French..." Buuuuurn!
At the end we got to meet Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica (she'd from the new movie, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly aren't coming back for the fourth one).
Toontown in Disneyland is way better than Florida's Toontown. I'm still not really a Toontown freak, but I'll admit it was fun to spend a while there, especially since Disney World's Toontown is about to disappear to make way for the new Fantasyland expansion.
This is my favorite picture of the four of us. This was in California Adventure. And it's a construction wall. But still, I like it!
I had also never had so many fastpasses at one time before. I mean, I get them, but usually in Disney World I can do the single riders line or I know when to go when there's no line anyway.
The first set of fastpasses is from our day at California Adventure. The second is from Disneyland. And we had way more than this, too. This just shows how many passes I had at one time.
And, of course, no post of Disney a Disney trip is accurate without the fireworks. I actually didn't take many pictures of the three awesome shows we saw (Wishes: Disneyland Style; Magic, Memories, and You picture show; and World of Color water show). All were amazing!
Such an awesome trip. I can't say which park(s) I prefer, the one's in Florida or California. But I will say it was a totally awesome week. Worth every penny I spent and every second of worrying.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Numbers...
6 classes to get ahead in. 6 hours spent doing so on Saturday morning.
4 Disney fanatic friends.
$200 dollars (of my money, I'd say we did a dang good job).
1200 miles. 22 hours travel time. 5 stops for gas.
3 magical days in Disneyland.
6 princesses met.
6 hours of sleep each night.
5 times we rode California Screamin'.
2. The amount of travel hours we lost sitting in traffic Sunday night trying to get into California in the middle of nowhere. Apparently, they have agricultural inspections in that state. After we got in, though, I don't know why the traffic had to continue for another hour at 11 o'clock at night.
5 different beds/couches that I've slept on over the past week.
150 Disney songs sung at the top of our lungs.
80 degree perfect sunny weather.
1 viewing of World of Color. 2 Fireworks viewings. And 1.5 viewings of Magic, Memories and You. (the half is because it broke down the first time).
3 tries before we could actually get all the way through the line to ride Indiana Jones without it breaking down.
22 Cast Members that confused me by dressing and looking identical to cast members I worked with in Florida.
999. The amount of times I was completely confused at the similarities, but yet extreme differences between Disneyworld and Disneyland.
3. The amount of times I ended up back at the Gumbo shop in New Orleans Square walking in circles looking for Indiana Jones to get fastpasses for our group.
2 sunburned feet.
1 INCREDIBLE trip.
More to come later. For now I'm catching up on sleep in preparation for my four hour drive the rest of the way home tomorrow morning (yep, I'm still in Provo).
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Project Inspire: The Extended Version
The first day we got to camp, put our stuff in the rooms, ate some grilled cheese, and then got to work. Our first, and most horrible task was to move these logs. And tons of them. I can't even tell you how exhausted we all were after a while. Hours of moving giant log after giant log. Some were too heavy for me and my whole body went crumbling to the ground. Literally.
Despite the fact that we were thirty random kids thrown together for a week, I would say we acted as best friends after the first hour that day. Working together and achieving the impossible. I'm being honest when I say if I had realized before I left the things I would accomplish this past week, I never would have believed it.
This particular tree took all our strength to push over. It was one of many that was still barely attached, but laying on the ground and in the way. We worked together to pull it off of the ground, dodging our way through the prickley bushes that seemed to be everywhere. Brent got a prickley stuck in his shirt and when he went to wipe the sweat from his face accidentally scraped a line across his forehead. Let me remind you, it was like 30 degrees and we were sweating like pigs. I wanted so badly to take off my jacket but I knew if I did my arms would be even more scraped up than they got. Yes, I got scrapes even through my jacket.
But we did it. With little to no complaint we worked together and achieved what seemed to be impossible. I never thought I'd lift those giant trees. No one was angry. No one blamed others or got mad when someone sat for a second to take a rest. Everyone worked endlessly and even when they were exhausted, were completely willing to take the burden off of others. The following picture includes about half of the logs we moved. The first day. I'm not even kidding... (Including all that wood in the background... even the chopped up firewood if you can see that back there... we had a separate team chopping some of the wood into firewood)
The second day Trevor was handing out assignments. I, like everybody else, really wanted to go to the pool to paint. But, since everyone else wanted to, I figured I'd stay and see what everyone else wanted to do. I ended up being put with a group of three other girls to paint the pantry. First we moved everything out of the pantry and swept it.
This room was empty when we started. It's the room that everything that was in the pantry was put in while we painted. Not only did we move every single item you see in this room, but we also moved the furniture that this used to stand on, including taking a shelving unit off of the wall. It took all four of us to throw some of the giant metal shelving into the dumpster. Again, something I normally would have considered impossible.
This is the room before:
And after about five coats of paint on the wood. We added about two more after this as well because Trevor told us to. Two of the girls I worked with were super upset about this... funnily enough they were the two that didn't have to paint it (Farah and I were the ones that painted the wooden shelving... Chantell and Amber took care of the ceiling and other walls).
And this is after we moved almost everything back in. We washed each of those plastic trays by hand. We worked on this room every single day so it was kind of our main project of the week. I was just relieved not to be moving giant logs anymore (not that I didn't do any more of that at all), but I do wish I had gotten to spend more time outside.
This is where we stayed. The girls stayed in the upstairs of the boat house and the boys in the downstairs. I was on the top left bunk in this room. I had to climb up the window sill and sort of jump to get up there. Fortunately, the boys found mattresses for us and brought them up for us to sleep on. Unfortunately, there weren't enough so many of the guys went without. Farah was so kind and gave up her mattress the second day since she had brought a mattress pad.
I remember Wednesday morning waking up and the first words out of my mouth were, "Wow. Every single muscle in my body is sore...." and Farah's response was, "Yeah, imagine how the poor guys feel, they don't even get mattresses like us..." I felt terrible. But the guys wouldn't accept my mattress, even had I offered it, knowing I didn't have a mattress pad. We had enough trouble convincing them to go first at just one meal (we thought they deserved it since they let ladies first every single time and I knew they were starving). We still never got them to fully comply. They went ahead, got food, and then served that food to us.
Also, as I stated before, I think, there were no bathrooms... Well, there was one... it was just... yeah.
There was one indoor toilet available for us to use. I'm pretty sure most of the guys used the outdoor porta-potties as I hardly ever saw one inside. The toilet we used was located in a different building where we slept and actually inside the apartment of a guy who lived on property. We had to interrupt him in order to use it, but fortunately, he was extremely nice and happy to allow us to use it and even left the door unlocked during the day to let us in.
Everything this week wasn't hard, however. Probably the hardest part was not showering all week long, but no one else had showered either so it was much better. Plus, I've never gotten so much male attention in my entire life, so it was totally worth it. There were other great parts too. We got to visit two senior homes in Logan... at least I think it was Logan. We sang to them and made cheesy love notes. It was great.
We also played Ultimate Frisbee which was super fun, even though my team lost each time. I also went canoeing which turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. It was freezing outside, but Daniel and I grabbed a canoe. I felt safe with him since he had recited the Boy Scout pledge thing earlier in the week and I thought he had said he was an Eagle Scout. As we got into the canoe, however, I tried to clarify that he was in the back so he'd be the one steering (I think that's how it works at least...) and he informed me that he had never set foot in a canoe in his life. Apparently, he couldn't pass his swim test so they wouldn't let him canoe. Not an Eagle. Plus, it was by far the most wobbly canoe I've ever been in, not that I've been in very many. I have no pictures of this adventure because I left my camera safely on shore. We didn't tip, but we came ridiculously close several times. Despite his lack of experience, Daniel could get the canoe moving extremely fast and it was very fun and relaxing to be out on the water. We actually got very far into the lake when I asked if we could turn back. The amount of tipping we were doing was freaking me out and Dan didn't have a life jacket. Plus, the water was insanely freezing. We canoed for a while closer to shore and then stopped. As freaked out as I was, it was one of the highlights of my week.
Speaking of highlights, however, the food was definitely up there as well. Jenny was in charge of the food and did a fabulous job at it, too. She went to culinary school, so she was formally trained in feeding crowds of people. I'll be honest, on the first day when there was barely enough for one grilled cheese sandwich and a tiny cup of tomato soup for each person, I was worried about portion sizes and not having enough food. However, every other meal proved me wrong. We had plenty and even ended up with leftovers at most meals! Even the guys were totally stuffed. Everyone took turns helping out in the kitchen cooking the meals and serving them, and then cleaning up afterwards. This is one of the meals I helped with.
It really was one of the best weeks of my life. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I could.
Despite the fact that we were thirty random kids thrown together for a week, I would say we acted as best friends after the first hour that day. Working together and achieving the impossible. I'm being honest when I say if I had realized before I left the things I would accomplish this past week, I never would have believed it.
This particular tree took all our strength to push over. It was one of many that was still barely attached, but laying on the ground and in the way. We worked together to pull it off of the ground, dodging our way through the prickley bushes that seemed to be everywhere. Brent got a prickley stuck in his shirt and when he went to wipe the sweat from his face accidentally scraped a line across his forehead. Let me remind you, it was like 30 degrees and we were sweating like pigs. I wanted so badly to take off my jacket but I knew if I did my arms would be even more scraped up than they got. Yes, I got scrapes even through my jacket.
But we did it. With little to no complaint we worked together and achieved what seemed to be impossible. I never thought I'd lift those giant trees. No one was angry. No one blamed others or got mad when someone sat for a second to take a rest. Everyone worked endlessly and even when they were exhausted, were completely willing to take the burden off of others. The following picture includes about half of the logs we moved. The first day. I'm not even kidding... (Including all that wood in the background... even the chopped up firewood if you can see that back there... we had a separate team chopping some of the wood into firewood)
The second day Trevor was handing out assignments. I, like everybody else, really wanted to go to the pool to paint. But, since everyone else wanted to, I figured I'd stay and see what everyone else wanted to do. I ended up being put with a group of three other girls to paint the pantry. First we moved everything out of the pantry and swept it.
This room was empty when we started. It's the room that everything that was in the pantry was put in while we painted. Not only did we move every single item you see in this room, but we also moved the furniture that this used to stand on, including taking a shelving unit off of the wall. It took all four of us to throw some of the giant metal shelving into the dumpster. Again, something I normally would have considered impossible.
This is the room before:
And after about five coats of paint on the wood. We added about two more after this as well because Trevor told us to. Two of the girls I worked with were super upset about this... funnily enough they were the two that didn't have to paint it (Farah and I were the ones that painted the wooden shelving... Chantell and Amber took care of the ceiling and other walls).
And this is after we moved almost everything back in. We washed each of those plastic trays by hand. We worked on this room every single day so it was kind of our main project of the week. I was just relieved not to be moving giant logs anymore (not that I didn't do any more of that at all), but I do wish I had gotten to spend more time outside.
This is where we stayed. The girls stayed in the upstairs of the boat house and the boys in the downstairs. I was on the top left bunk in this room. I had to climb up the window sill and sort of jump to get up there. Fortunately, the boys found mattresses for us and brought them up for us to sleep on. Unfortunately, there weren't enough so many of the guys went without. Farah was so kind and gave up her mattress the second day since she had brought a mattress pad.
I remember Wednesday morning waking up and the first words out of my mouth were, "Wow. Every single muscle in my body is sore...." and Farah's response was, "Yeah, imagine how the poor guys feel, they don't even get mattresses like us..." I felt terrible. But the guys wouldn't accept my mattress, even had I offered it, knowing I didn't have a mattress pad. We had enough trouble convincing them to go first at just one meal (we thought they deserved it since they let ladies first every single time and I knew they were starving). We still never got them to fully comply. They went ahead, got food, and then served that food to us.
Also, as I stated before, I think, there were no bathrooms... Well, there was one... it was just... yeah.
There was one indoor toilet available for us to use. I'm pretty sure most of the guys used the outdoor porta-potties as I hardly ever saw one inside. The toilet we used was located in a different building where we slept and actually inside the apartment of a guy who lived on property. We had to interrupt him in order to use it, but fortunately, he was extremely nice and happy to allow us to use it and even left the door unlocked during the day to let us in.
Everything this week wasn't hard, however. Probably the hardest part was not showering all week long, but no one else had showered either so it was much better. Plus, I've never gotten so much male attention in my entire life, so it was totally worth it. There were other great parts too. We got to visit two senior homes in Logan... at least I think it was Logan. We sang to them and made cheesy love notes. It was great.
We also played Ultimate Frisbee which was super fun, even though my team lost each time. I also went canoeing which turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. It was freezing outside, but Daniel and I grabbed a canoe. I felt safe with him since he had recited the Boy Scout pledge thing earlier in the week and I thought he had said he was an Eagle Scout. As we got into the canoe, however, I tried to clarify that he was in the back so he'd be the one steering (I think that's how it works at least...) and he informed me that he had never set foot in a canoe in his life. Apparently, he couldn't pass his swim test so they wouldn't let him canoe. Not an Eagle. Plus, it was by far the most wobbly canoe I've ever been in, not that I've been in very many. I have no pictures of this adventure because I left my camera safely on shore. We didn't tip, but we came ridiculously close several times. Despite his lack of experience, Daniel could get the canoe moving extremely fast and it was very fun and relaxing to be out on the water. We actually got very far into the lake when I asked if we could turn back. The amount of tipping we were doing was freaking me out and Dan didn't have a life jacket. Plus, the water was insanely freezing. We canoed for a while closer to shore and then stopped. As freaked out as I was, it was one of the highlights of my week.
Speaking of highlights, however, the food was definitely up there as well. Jenny was in charge of the food and did a fabulous job at it, too. She went to culinary school, so she was formally trained in feeding crowds of people. I'll be honest, on the first day when there was barely enough for one grilled cheese sandwich and a tiny cup of tomato soup for each person, I was worried about portion sizes and not having enough food. However, every other meal proved me wrong. We had plenty and even ended up with leftovers at most meals! Even the guys were totally stuffed. Everyone took turns helping out in the kitchen cooking the meals and serving them, and then cleaning up afterwards. This is one of the meals I helped with.
It really was one of the best weeks of my life. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I could.
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