Blame it on the Brazilians and Bus Encounters

Right now it is summer in Brazil and the parks are flooded with Brazilian tour groups. They all wear neon color matching outfits with a leader of the group carrying around a flag. We also have Brazilians working in ODF that are leaving this week or the next...they are all very nice and good workers but they all like to party all the time. How they do it I don't know because I am always exhausted. The tour groups are notorious for causing problems especially on rides. Pretty much if something goes wrong you blame it on the Brazilians. So the other night there was a fire in our apartment complex (yes I know, never a dull moment here). It was nothing serious but for some reason required a plethora of firetrucks. It was quite loud and I am sure all 30 some buildings of Chatham Square were aware that something was going on. Now whether or not this is true a Brazilian girl was the cause of the fire. Blame it on the Brazilians right?!?! Story goes that she was trying to cook fish with baking soda and lemonade...believe what you want but there was a legitimate fire.

Now after a solid 3 weeks experience using our bus system I officially dislike it. Going to work is not usually the problem and it only takes about 30 minutes from pick-up to drop-off. But you must be at the bus stop early because it will leave before its scheduled time. Coming home is the WORST!!! The other day I clocked out at 5:45 and got home close to 7:15...far too much of my day wasted sitting on a bus. However time was not a problem on either side of the trip today the bus riders were the issue. I chose to sit in the front seat which is a sideways bench format. There was a boy in the seat next to me who was unusually close for bus riding etiquette (if there is such a thing). A girl sat on the other side of him and he scooted closer to me (giving me a front row seat to the Sonic the Hedgehog video game music he was blasting). Sharing my personal space on the bus is not something that I am okay with. If creepy close sitter wasn't bad enough this morning there was a farter. Its not like in the car where if someone farts you can laugh and blame them then roll down a window. On a bus there is diffusion but the smell of the bus is already bad enough there isn't that much space for the odor to diffuse to. It wasn't just one or two farts but the whole half hour to work I kept getting whiffs...eww...and so I placed the blame on the gentleman across the aisle from me who I am sure you can guess based on what this post is about...he was a??? yes you are correct. Brazilian!!!

I worked in an ice cream stand called Nacho today...I opened and closed by myself...and I open there tomorrow so I will reserve my opinion on Nacho until after tomorrow's work day. I am off to bed. Goodnight.

Australian Open Final and Pro Bowl tomorrow and I get to miss both :( dangit.

Bad Girls Club, Campfire Treats, and Target

So my friends Natalie and Jaimee like to watch this show called the Bad Girls Club. If you haven't seen it, this is the basic run down that I got from watching 3 minutes. This group of girls lives in the same house and the nation watches as they party and make poor life decisions. Nat and Jaimee decided that we should be the Bad Girls Club...it only works because the four of us (Natalie, Jaimee, Olivia, and myself) are the complete opposite of the real Bad Girls. It also serves the purpose of somewhat of an alliance at work (as seen on many "reality" tv shows). We do our fair share of gossiping about other employees when need be but the 4 of us get along great and have each others back against the potential reprimands and always occurring he-said, she-said from whichever boss is in charge that day.

The 4 of us went to Downtown Disney on Wednesday night for a little celebration dinner of passing our assessment. Earl of Sandwich (must be an east coast thing because everyone here knows about it) is a DELICIOUS sandwich, salad, wrap place. I opted for the tuna melt of course. It comes on a piece of bread similar to a subway sandwich and is rather simple but delicious. One is far more than enough for me but Chris could probably put 2 or 3 back before he was full. The best part is after my Disney discount this wonderful dinner is less the $6, making it might tough to beat. We meandered around DT Disney a little while and took a few pictures. We went into a toy store where you can make your own Mr. Potato Head and Light Saber. It was incredibly cool and I wish I were 8 again so wanting everything in that store would be appropriate for my age. We left in search for Coldstone. After 20 minutes of driving around looking and somehow ending up at SeaWorld we gave up the search and settled for now ice cream :( Great night all and all.

Yesterday was my day off and I rearranged my room. I can now use the internet of my bed (which I am currently doing) because the cable reaches my bed! One thing I miss about my Gonzaga apartment is the Wireless internet anywhere I wanted. I watched the 2nd and 3rd Pirates of the Carribean Movies (going on the ride the other day inspired me), and completed the night with the run down on my roommate's potential stalker. A short girl knocked on the door yesterday asking for Taryn, when I informed her that Taryn was not at home she told me that there was a "friend of Taryn's waiting at security and they would not let him in because he was not a registered guest. I called Taryn.
Me: Hey Taryn, there is some guy here to see you and he is waiting at security. He sent some girl up to our apartment to get you.
Taryn: Ah dammit, that must be Peter. I told him I just wanted to be friends, but I don't think he is getting it.
fast forward two hours.
[Taryn arrives home] in hand are two bags of groceries and a bouquet of flowers. Peter had waited at the security gate more than two hours with these things for Taryn. According to her, he finally got the picture and left mad.
Pretty much Taryn is one of those takes one to know one types and this is no surprise to Katie or I that she got her self in this odd situation.

I worked in Chip and Dale's Campfire Treats today. We sell hot dogs (gross), soft serve ice cream, and s'mores (nothing like from a real campfire). I ran cash register (pretty much if you do well at register, you get the best jobs...thus my goal is to do well at register). I got audited in the middle of the day and somehow was 4 cents short. We are not aloud to keep any tips so if people leave their change it just sits on top of the register. Well there were 4 pennies so I put them in my bank to become even. Well when I banked out at the end of the night. I was 4 cents over. Which is great but I was unhappy because had the audit really been correct I would have been completely even. None the less it still looks really good for me to end the day with no voids and only 4 cents over!

After my hour and a half journey home, half waiting for the bus, half riding the bus, Olivia and I went to Steaks and Shakes for dinner. It is another east coast thing. It is a cross between Sonic and Perkins. It is like a old school diner that sells burgers and delicious shakes!!! I got a Peanut Butter Cup Shake that could rival Dairy Queen's blizzard.

Then Olivia took me to TARGET!!! I don't think I have ever been so happy to go to Target. I got everything that I have been needing for the past few weeks including another blanket, insoles for my work boots, and groceries. If you remember EPCOT stands for every paycheck comes on Thursday so yesterday...well that paycheck no longer exists. Since I no longer have the convenience of having a car I stocked up and hopefully won't be needing to spend that much money anytime soon again.

I finally am on my own for work tomorrow in an ice cream stand called Nacho. It is scooped ice cream and everyone keeps warning me about sore arms from not scooping right...I'll show them. ;)


The Bad Girls Club in Action
From left to right :Olivia, Jaimee, Me, and Natalie

Assessment

So today was my assessment. We did another tour of the park and reviewed all the food safety and temperatures we needed to know with our trainer Justin. Then we met with one of our leaders--Demarys---and she asked all kinds of questions. Then we did another little tour with her and WE PASSED!!! I can take my Earning My Ears ribbon off after my last training on Friday. :) It is a miniature accomplishment but it will be nice not to be a newbie.

We got let out on ER (Early Release) by two hours :) which will likely be the first and only time that ever happens. So tonight in celebration Jaimee, Olivia, Natalie, and I are going to Downtown Disney to get dinner and ice cream :) YAY!!!

Great Day at Magic Kingdom

Erin, Katie, and I went to the Magic Kingdom today...we went on a bunch of rides including Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain RR, Space Mountain, and even had time for the Hall of Presidents.




In the Hall of Presidents---now featuring President Obama




My silly friends Erin and Katie.




Erin was the first to draw so I lost :(








This little girl wanted to be in our picture...isn't she cute?




Trying out our best Steamboat Willies.
And if you haven't noticed yet we dress in true Disney fashion and wore matching stripes. There was a guy in the parade that looked down at us and said "well I guess it is striped shirt day, sorry I didn't get the memo"






We always have been a little mischievous.

Costume

Here I am in my awesome costume!



It is currently pouring rain outside right now...pouring! I had no idea that it rained so much in Orlando. Another thing I have come to notice that I had no idea about...all of the guys are gay here...not stupid gay as many use the term...but like sexual orientation=gay. My mom suggested it is because a safe place for them to be...which it is. Disney is very diversity friendly. Yesterday some co-workers and I had an in depth conversation about how all the boys around our age are either REALLY weird or gay...so sorry to any ladies who came to Disney to find "the one"...he is not here.

I worked at Fun Fun (not so fun anymore) Funnel again yesterday...my training schedule is all thrown off because I didn't have a trainer on Saturday...turns out Joe wasn't really a no show...he had the day off and management failed to notify me or change me to be with another trainer. Joe was my trainer yesterday and he was awesome. He is a year younger than me, from Puerto Rico, and always wears his sunglasses. He has some sort of eye condition that he has to have surgery on but he wears aviator type glasses with dark lenses...so he looks like he is full of himself when he is really not.

I think the best part of having a psychology background is that when someone gets on my nerves I "diagnose" them as to why they are the way they are.

Case Study #1
Laura from Texas...18 years old. Only Child. Has only been through one semester of college.
Now I hate the stereotype of being an only child but did Laura ever fit into it. She is not "spoiled" but after listening to her go on and on she was the best defense against herself...she is definitely spoiled.
She has a boyfriend, Andrew, of 2 years and she alternates between calling him her fiance and boyfriend. Because they are more than just dating and they want to get married but she doesn't have a ring. She also talked about how she wanted to have kids in five years...HOLD UP GIRL...in five years she would be 23---I am 23---kids right now---no thank you. Call me when you are 23 and let me know if you really want kids then. Her parents hate Andrew (bad sign #1) her mom got in a verbal fight with Andrew's mother (bad sign #2) she doesn't like his parents (bad sign #3) yet she wants to marry into that family...hmmm...it is beyond me.
On to her talk about everything her. She is a psychology-biology double major with a minor in anthropology and a concentration in primatology(sp?)(study of primates)...remember she has finished 1 semester of college...now let's all think back to our freshman year, I was on the pre-med track (which yes lasted only a little longer than a semester) not that I am the prime A example but I dislike overachievers who find the need to rub it in.
She has been to 6 of the 7 continents and by some mishap in travel plans didn't make it to Antarctica. And if this isn't only child I don't know what is. Her parents are going to drive her car here in a few weeks because they feel bad that she has to take the bus everywhere.
This girl is a piece of work...and I learned all this information in one day of working with her. Shut it down Laura shut it down.

However she was a good worker and nice so even if I was incredibly annoyed at least it was entertaining.

I get to work the coffee stand with Marcelo today. I hear this is one of the best stands in the park to work at so I am pumped!!! And to top it off Marcelo is my favorite trainer :):):)

Tomorrow is my day off and we were planning on going to Typhoon Lagoon (water park) but it is only supposed to be 67 so I don't know if we will. Katie's parents are also coming tomorrow and on Wednesday they are going to take us to Target...I don't think I have ever been so excited to go to Target in my life. I feel the springs of my mattress in my back when I sleep so I am going to splurge and buy a mattress topper or memory foam...comfort here I come!

Hope all is well in MT, WA, and AZ. Love you all.

No Show Joe

I was scheduled to work from 9-5:30 today. I got up early because I had to go to Wardrobe before work to get a hat and to take my dirty costumes to get cleaned. Considering that we have to pay for every load of laundry I think I will be taking advantage of having Disney do my clothes for work! I also got a hat so I don't have to wear the stupid paper white ones anymore...now I can wear my safari hat!

So at 9 Joe---my trainer still wasn't there...flash forward one hour and he still wasn't there. I ended up getting my training for the day canceled and put in Funnel Cakes as a filler(whatever that means...is not what ended up happening). Funnel was fine until I came back from lunch.

XiYoung (Sigh-Young...I think) was my PIC (partner in crime) for the after. Her English wasn't very good but she seemed nice. I made all the Funnels while she did the register. Why they would choose the person who doesn't speak English to take people's orders is beyond me. So 4 o'clock rolls around and it is time to close. XiYoung is oblivious to the fact we are closing and still taking orders. I tell her to close and I finish making the funnels. I turn around and she is no where to be found AND there is a huge line. I have to apologize and tell the line we are closed. Well I did not think there could be that many grumpy people at Disney World. All they had to do was walk another ten yards to the next food stand. But instead they chose to yell at me...ugh.

Well XiYoung could not communicate to me how to clean anything that we were supposed to so I had to go back to base and get help. A four a clock close turned into 6:15. Long story short it was incredibly frustrating and I couldn't have been happier to arrive home and eat dinner.

Chris bought his plane tickets today and will be coming in February! So now we get to start planning what parks and attractions we want to go to!!!

Fun Fun Funnel

I opened and trained at the Funnel Cakes stand yesterday. A funnel cake is like a fried waffle or Indian Fry Bread (but Indian Fry Bread is way better). Gail was the trainer for Melissa and I (Melissa was in the initial group of the girls I work with and we get along great!) Gail was fine not as exciting or helpful as Marcelo but funnel was easy so no big. We also worked with a girl named Yamila (Juh-Me-La) or Mila for short...she was from Argentina and is leaving to go back in two weeks. :( she was great but the poor thing burnt her hand with the hot grease from the fryer.

In the afternoon we switched trainers to Linda (Gail had to go do GT (general teller)). Linda is a very large black woman who is hilarious!!! We were laughing the rest of the time and the time went so much faster once she came. She even had the grand idea of putting an ice cube in the middle of a funnel cake...big mistake...oil was flying everywhere...and if I wasn't already scared of fryers from the burn scar I have on my arm...that pretty much sealed the deal.

My friend Natalie gave us a ride home which was such a nice break from taking the bus. We stopped at Welcome Night and got free pizza and went home...Katie and I watched a movie and fall asleep pretty early. I don't really know what time it was but we had a huge thunder and lightning storm in the middle of the night...I don't know if I have seen rain come down that hard. It rivaled the thunder in sound. There was one crack of thunder that Katie couldn't believe it was thunder so she blamed it on them emptying our recycling (like it was a bunch of glass bottles crashing together).

I have the day off today...don't know what I will do yet.

Today was my first day off! And in honor I took it easy. I had a leisurely morning, laid by the pool, and organized the room. I even had time to call my Grandparents :) I met Katie at Epcot tonight. Fun fact about Epcot...it stands for Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday...isn't that a nifty trick. I had my first misfortune with a bus...it didn't come at all. Lucky for me the Epcot and Magic Kingdom buses come every twenty minutes not every forty like a lot of the others. I met Katie there because she had to work today at Kali River Rapids in the Asia part of Animal Kingdom. There is also a Birdland in Asia (trained bird show) Now I don't know if it was a bird from there or a wild one but Katie got pooped on by a bird today :( If you know Katie that would happen to her.

Our first stop at Epcot was "Test Track". It is a General Motors sponsored ride where you go through tests that a car would in a ride car. There is a heat test where it feels really hot, a cold test where it feels really cold, a part where you feel stopping without Anti-Lock Brakes and then with, and the finale is super fast around some turns (easily that best part of the ride). Katie had been waiting to go on this ride since her last visit to Disneyworld ten years ago...she didn't get to go then and she blames it on her mother...of course right.

We then went to Mission Space and elected for the less intense version of the ride. THANK GOD! It is supposed to simulate what it feels to go into space and Katie and I successfully landed on Mars! One of our roommates went on the more intense version and someone in her space ship puked into a bag...no thank you.

Our last ride was Soarin'. It simulates hang-gliding over California. You get to see San Francisco, Sand Diego, smell oranges at an orchard, and feels the wind in the mountains. I had to leave my flip flops at the beginning of the ride so they didn't fall off while we were airborne.

We had dinner at a quick service station. I was able to get salmon and mashed potatoes (my favorite meal ever) some cooked carrots, and a bottle of water all for less than 15 dollars. I would call that an accomplishment. I rounded off the meal with some delicious Key Lime Pie!!!

We watched the fireworks from Germany at the end of the night. I love fireworks and these were fabulous. I could only imagine what the fourth of July must be like here. We barely caught the bus to go home and ended up having to stand (this was the first time I have had to stand) and I stood next to a large guy whose butt kept coming into contact with my lower back as we hit every bump and went around every turn. Thankfully it was a short bus ride.


Here I am in front of the Epcot bubble/giant golf ball-whichever you prefer.



Here are some pictures from the Fireworks at the end of the night.

Earning my Ears

I get a nice red ribbon that attaches to my name tag that says "Earning My Ears". I wear it for a week or two until I pass my assessment, I still don't know what the assessment entails. Tomorrow is my first day off and I am so EXCITED!!! I might even lay by the pool.

Last night I went to Downtown Disney with Katie and Zoe, we shopped around at a humongous Disney store and had a delicious tuna melt at an Earl of Sandwich place. I was so tired from my long work day that our visit wasn't too long and I only had a little damage to my credit card. The best part of Downtown Disney is there is no price to enter, you can walk around just like a shopping mall. There are additional activities you can do for a price like Cirque Du Soleil, a hot air balloon ride, and DisneyQuest which I have yet to understand. There is also a huge Lego store with cool Lego animals including a sea serpent that is in the lake by the walkway.

Today was my first day of on the job training or OJT. Marcelo was my trainer or leader which ever you prefer and he was from Argentina but has lived in the U.S. for ten years. He was badass!!! He taught me a few Spanish phrases and advised me not to say things that I have previously thought acceptable such as "Estoy Caliente"...it means something like a women being horny.

I worked at Oasis Popcorn on Discovery Island with another CP (College Program) Micheal. I ran the register and he was in charge of getting the popcorn, soda, or ice cream bars. I was quite successful on the register with no voids, an even til, and over 600 dollars in sales in cash alone! In outdoor foods you are quite respectable if you do well on a register so I am off to a good start! Turning in my register was a madhouse. They are super strict about how you deal with money and there are what seems like a billion checkpoints before you finally turn it in and in my ninth hour of work I don't think I absorbed any of it.

Here are a few more pictures!!!




With a purple elephant outside of the Rainforest Cafe!





Here I am with Patch in Winnie the Pooh's store at Downtown Disney




On my space pod in Hollywood Studios




Outside of Star Tours a Star Wars simulator here is a Jedi and some volunteer youngins from the crowd. They were so cute!

Training with Richard

It was another early morning today, arriving at the bus stop to make the 7:00 AM bus. 4 of the girls that were in my DAKlimation were also in my training today so it was nice to know some people to chat with. Natalie, Olivia, Melissa, and Jaimee. We had a good time yesterday especially on the bus ride home so it was bound to be a good time again today. Yesterday on our bus home we had the pleasure of sharing the ride with Aaron. A clueless dude from Michigan. Olivia is also from Michigan and was quite offended when Aaron didn't have a clue where she was from, although once she realized he was missing a few marbles she relaxed.

All of the time here is kept in military time so a 24 hour clock and schedule. Aaron still hasn't figured it out...He didn't understand why the bus to Walmart didn't run past 1:45, well its because that was 1:45 AM as in right after midnight. We have been surviving off the bus schedule so to not know it is death, or makes you late to work. Aaron also has kept every paper he has ever received from Disney, but he doesn't carry a bag and all the papers are shoved into a folder. Basically he has papers exploding everywhere which can only add to his pathetic confusion. He also has random interjections and is rather annoying...but he is a really nice guy so I hold all my laughter in.

Back to the Bus. It is time to get off at our stop, Aaron doesn't even know where we are. He got off first and the hangers from his costumes caught onto the rubber that protects the bus doors from scraping one another. The whole rubber began to come off. It is probably about two inches thick and it fell right on Olivia's head after she reluctantly agreed to give Aaron a ride to his apartment. I could not contain my laughter anymore and burst into a chuckling fit and even cracked a tear I was laughing so hard. Beware if Aaron is near.


The five of us girls from yesterday along with another girl (Laurein prounouced Lori-in) and a guy (Micheal) joined us. After our 3 hours of computer training...ugh...our trainer, Richard, picked us up to have lunch. We walked over to Pride Rock and listened to him profess his love for American Idol. He continued to brag about all of his facebook friends and several other goofy topics. He was hilarious and a fantastic tour guide. We had to tour all of Animal Kingdom to see all of the different locations of the food stands. He stopped to chat to almost every person at the food stand which ended up making our tour much longer. How much longer you ask? Well let's just say I got paid overtime in my first week...

We got to watch the parade which was my favorite part of the day. There were many characters including Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Briar Bear, King Louie, and Timon (who gave me a kiss on the cheek). There were several floats, dancers, and performers on stilts. But the best part of the parade were these beautifully colored giant animals that humans controlled. It was kind of like a gigantic puppet which was controlled by sticks.

I was lucky and got a seat on the bus ride home. I got off a stop early and registered for my classes. They are considered seminars and will only be once a week for two-three hours. I signed up for people management and heritage. Katie is going to be in them too, we are hoping that by being in the same classes we will get similar days off. We will see if it works.

DAKlimation

This morning I hopped on the bus at 7 AM to ensure that I would make it to my training by 8:30 AM. I sure did make it in time only 50 minutes early...kinda of a pain but I used my time wisely and met some girls that are working in my same area which is (drum roll please) AFRICA!!! I am so excited. I get to work in the same area that the elephants live, only I won't seem them while I am working :( A lot of our training was learning about animals...it was sweet, there was even fake animal poop on our tables. I correctly identified the elephant poop :) We got to tour almost all of the Animal Kingdom and as a reward for "good behavior" was to go on the Safari ride!!! It is a simulation of a real African Safari full of African elephants and their friends.

Backstage or behind the scenes is where all of the cast members check in and get to their designated areas. Our cafeteria backstage is called Pride Rock and had surprisingly cheap food. I selected a hefty portion of mashed potatoes for a little more than a dollar. Even backstage is all decorated in theme...Pride Rock was beautiful inside, it had all kinds of different Disney animal stuff. While on our tour our leader had us pay special attention to the pathways and different buildings. The special attention and detail to every part of the park is really amazing and whether worth noting if you ever come visit.

After all of our in classroom training and tour we got to go to costuming! It is a huge building with racks and racks of all the costumes. This doesn't include characters just everyone else. I have the privilege of wearing a "peanut butter" colored shirt and matching pants. I will post a picture soon. Trying on the costumes was a real chore. The pants require trying on at least two sizes bigger and praying they fit if you squeeze. Well I got them to button and then turned to face the mirror. It was hideous. They poof out like a balloon right below the hips and Disney requires that you wear them right at your belly button. They are gross, however we can wear shorts if we want. I grabbed those just in case. I am praying that mine don't pop off if I bend over to get something. I will have the pleasure of trying out the outfit tomorrow.
The real training begins tomorrow bright and early at 8 AM.

Traditions, Hollywood Studios, and Food Basics

Yesterday morning we had "Traditions". It is a class about the history of Walt Disney starting the company and a lot of the significant moments since then. Everyone calls Mickey Mouse 'boss'. It is pretty cute. Most of our instructors are off the walls happy and there is never anything negative said. We got to go on a small tour of part of The Magic Kingdom as part of our class and use the underground tunnel system---which was started when Walt saw a person from Tomorrowland walking through Adventureland or some land and thought it looked funny so he had an underground tunnel system built. Mickey Mouse visited our class and gave us our name tags...kind of like a diploma at graduation.

In the afternoon Katie, Khadijah, Taryn, Zoe, and I set out for Hollywood Studios. We hit up a few rides, had our first taste of overpriced food, and went to the American Idol experience. It was pretty cool, anyone can audition in the morning. If you make an audition you get to be 1 of 3 contestants on a preliminary show. If you win your show you make it to the Finale. There is one Finale every day and if you win you get a golden ticket---which allows you to go to the front of the line at any American Idol tryout. Some of the singing was pretty good and the whole production is really cool. Well worth a spot of your list of things to do if you come visit me! After the AI experience we were craving ice cream so we were planning to head to the Magic Kingdom. We took a guest bus to the monorail which had just closed so we were denied :( it was a chore to find a Cast Member bus to take us home, we scored and made it just in time and actually got a seat (which is rare for evenings). A group of kids sang Disney songs the whole way home...which was nice the first 15 minutes but then it was a little excessive.

This morning I had the luxury of sleeping in a little bit. I went to the fitness center which is similar to what a hotel would have. A few of each machine and two small tvs that require craning your neck to view. So I just stared out into the parking lot. It was nice to finally work out and have time to make a nice breakfast.
I had Food and Beverage Basics at Disney U this afternoon which consisted of 6 tests on a computer...boring but not too bad.

We don't have bosses we have "leaders" everyone above you is a "leader". I feel like part of a cult...'if there is a problem with anything go to your leader'.

My roommate Taryn is hilarious. She has a lot of unnecessary interjections and is quite awkward...I do a lot of giggling under my breath. My favorite was when she asked me if when we got our fingerprints put in the system if they could tell whether or not you had smoked pot in the last 30 days!!! hahahaha...I don't think I did a very good job of hiding my "you're an idiot voice" but she was relieved when I answered NO.

I have my DAKlimation tomorrow. DAK= Disney Animal Kingdom. I get to find out what location I will be working in and get my costume!!! Hopefully it is alright, I have seem some pretty hideous old lady skirts in different pastel colors.

If anyone wants anything let me know. I get a really good discount the next couple of weeks!

A Bug's Life-Welcome Party

Tonight we had a welcome party for anyone who has arrived this month. There is a welcome party each Thursday in January!
There was free food, lots of dancing, and a few contests including a hula hoop contest and a contest to see who could put 200 close pins on their teammate the fastest. There were definitely some people breaking it down on the dance floor. We did the Cupid Shuffle and the Cha Cha Slide.
One of the highlights was getting to take pictures with the guests of honor: Mickey, Atta and Flik (who even gave me a kiss on the cheek).

Tomorrow we have our Traditions class and get to go on some rides! It will be our first day in the park and I think we get to go to Magic Kingdom and hang out in the park after our class is over! The only downfall: We have to be at the bus at 6:30 AM...blah. Hope all of you are doing well!




Me, Katie and Khadijah with Atta from A Bug's Life.



With Adventure Mickey.



With Flik from a Bug's Life.



The roommates on our way to A Bug's Life-Welcome Party.
From left to right: Taryn, Khadijah, Katie, Zoe, Me, and Erin.



This Little guy was stuck on the back of a garbage truck when we first pulled in to check in.

Check In and Casting

The Check In for our program was a well oiled machine. We were greeted and then began to sign our lives away in a day long process. We got to pick where we wanted to live and how many bedrooms. We chose a three bedroom apartment at Chatum Square...recommended to us by our friend Sam who did the program a few years ago. It seems to be the center of a lot of action and the bus stop in just down the stairs and across the parking lot...compared to some people who have to walk 10-15 minutes to the bus stop. We supposedly have a fitness center, however I have not found it yet. Across the street is a place called Mickey's retreat which only Disney employees get to use and they can bring their friends and families for free. It has two out door swimming pools, a lake, soccer fields, baseball field, outdoor picnic area, and I am sure more. I only drove through the parking lot.

After checking into our apartment and "moving in" Lisa took us to Publix (a local grocery store chain) where I learned that some things here are much more expensive (pasta) and some things are less expensive (gorgonzola cheese). We had to be at the bus stop at 12:30 PM for our bus trip to casting. Our "leader", I don't really know how to categorize him, met us and told us a few fun facts including: Disney has over 62,000 Cast Members (employees) and is 43,000 acres (I think that is right). He dropped us off at the Casting building where the only Alice in Wonderland door knob exists.

From here on it was signing your name, information overload, background checks, and fingerprinting. The highlight: we got to find out where we are working and what we are doing. I am working in the ANIMAL KINGDOM!!! So are three of my roommates including Katie. After the 3 hour long event we got back on the bus and were ready to take a nap, but when we arrived at our place our roommates were headed out for some CiCi's pizza (a first for me) and a run to Target (my favorite store). Needless to say it was impossible to resist.

Target was quite the adventure. Our roommate with the car had not emptied her trunk yet and she bought storage bins so they had to sit in the laps on the back seaters. The car was ridiculously full and had we got in a wreck the metal would of had no where to collapse into.


This morning we had a housing meeting...I would say at least an hour of it was pointless. Oh well, all part of the process right?

We have a welcome party tonight at 5 where Mickey himself is supposed to make an appearance.

Here is the initial run down on the roommates.

Zoe- 25 turning 26 in a few weeks. Originally from Phillie but goes to school in Miami. She will work at Magic Kingdom.

Taryn-24 from South Hampton, Mass. Working at Animal Kingdom.

Khadijah- 22 From Flint, Michigan. Merchandise at Animal Kingdom.

Erin- 22 from St. Loius. She has already been here a week and it has been really nice having her around to help us with our questions. She is a greeter at Magic Kingdom.

Katie-21 from Portland, OR. My friend from school and actual room roommate. It has been extremely nice to have her here. She will be working at a ride in the Animal Kingdom.

I apologize for any errors...the tiredness is really setting in.

1st Night in Orlando

I awoke with a jitter of excitement, well as excited as one can be at 5:30 AM. I bid the Ruckel household and parents farewell and Chris and I set out for the airport. After an Einstein bagel I said bye to Chris, I will spare you the details, as usual it was tough, but this time I had Orlando as my destination instead of the freezing cold of the northwest. My flight to Orlando was a half hour early and Katie’s plane was ten minutes late so I beat her there and waited around in the humid, Disney apparel flooded terminal. “When You Wish Upon A Star” was playing in between the flight announcements.

After an awkward encounter with a random airport baggage helper and one accidental emergency shutting down of the baggage carousel it was time to leave the airport. Scott picked us up from the airport and drove us around Orlando a little bit so he could help us get our bearings set. He said they have had a cold streak the last few days, cold streak being below freezing temperatures, which is the coldest it has been here in the last forty years! But supposedly that is over now (my fingers are crossed).

We went through part of Disneyworld and stopped at the Boardwalk (a boardwalk with shops, restaurants, and a few ferries on the water) and went to the ESPN Club for a quick bite to eat. I snooped around a little bit and saw some sweet memorabilia. Home run balls, Heisman trophy candidate helmets, and a few famous signatures on photos and jerseys (my favorite being Larry Bird, Tim Tebow, and Scottie Pippen). By the best highlight of the whole place the originals seats from the Boston Garden. SWEET!!! They were mounted on the wall. They had some original seats from other places but nothing seemed to really compare.

We got back in the car and drove home where we were greeted my Lisa, Ashley (13), Mike (12), and Miley (a combination of Mike and Ashley) the labradoodle doggy! We had dinner salad for me and porcupines for everyone else. Not real porcupines but meatballs covered in gravy and rice, a childhood favorite of Lisa’s. They looked good but I still don’t think I am quite ready to try meat again.After dinner Katie and I attempted to help Mike with his math homework. Let’s just say I tagged out pretty quickly. Far more complex than when I was in seventh grade. The night was capped off with a little of the American Idol premiere, a show I don’t usually watch, however this season there will be a guy from Billings on there so I have to show support for a fellow Montanan.

We have check in between 9 AM and Noon….YAY!!! We will finally know what our jobs are, where we are living, and who we are living with!

Zoo Pictures

Sitting in the Houston Airport waiting for my flight to Orlando!!! Here are some pictures from the zoo yesterday.

2 Days Until Departure

In a short 48 hours I will be on an airplane somewhere between Phoenix and Orlando.
Chris and I went to a film called The Human Experience yesterday at his church. It was really cool. It is about two brothers from New York who share three experiences. The first being living homeless on the streets of New York for a week during winter...burrrrr. They also travel to Peru to help at a children's home where many of the children have deformities and disabilities and their families cannot care for them. Lastly they travel to Ghana and speak with people who are dying of AIDS and a leper colony. I would highly recommend seeing it if you get a chance. They are now traveling promoting their film. If you have some free time you should google it.

Today we will lounge around and watch football. Chris' parents are headed to the Cardinals game soon. Tomorrow we are headed to the Zoo. Probably as early as I can get Chris out of bed so we can see the animals when they are first awake and eating breakfast. The entrance to the zoo has a bridge over a little river which features hundreds of turtles covering logs and swimming around. My favorite animal of course is the elephant and the Phoenix Zoo has 3!!! When we went in May we got some really cool pictures so hopefully we will tomorrow too!

Chris and I have been running everyday...my body hurts...its amazing how fast I can fall out of shape. I even have a blister on one of my heels. Running in the desert is a little different than Montana. Chris has given my a few warnings about desert animals so I keep an eye out...so far nothing unusual...but yesterday I saw a bunny! He was hopping along the (bunny) trail...hehe. Not that bunnies are unusual but after all these warnings of wildlife I finally saw something :)

Now I am off to watch what may turn into the Ravens routing the Patriots.

Half Way There

I made it to Phoenix yesterday, boyfriend in tow and believe or not I fit everything into 2 suitcases (with the help of my mom of course). I leave Phoenix early on the 12th for Orlando! But until then I will be enjoying the warm sun of the southwest. Chris and I went running this morning in shorts and t-shirts, a nice change from Missoula's 4 degrees yesterday when we left the house. Chris picked about 3 grocery bags of Oranges from the back yard and is currently working on hand made orange juice.

Tonight we are going to watch the Suns play the Miami Heat...aka I will be drooling over Dwayne Wade (shhh...don't tell Chris). We are getting ready to go to lunch at Pane Bianco (pawn-aye bee-onk-oh....that's my best attempt) It is a cute little sandwich shop with delicious food. It's sister Pizzera Bianco has been voted best pizza in America so you just let your taste buds imagine how good it is...I can hardly wait :)

I will update when I get to Orlando if not sooner so be on the lookout.