Recasting

Let me start off by saying that the casting and re-casting process can be daunting and confusing. If you ask the same question of five people you may get five different responses. A lot of it is a matter of opinion, and some people can be a little unclear. Here's my story.

I knew my internship would come to an end within the next two months. The rule is that you can go to casting once you're reached the six week mark to the end of your internship. So during that sixth week, I made an appointment and went to casting. I sat down with one of the recruiters and we went through some things. I had put on my pre-form that I was looking into Front Desk and Concierge, and was only looking for full-time. The meeting started off with my recruiter laughing at me and telling me I had no chance for Front Desk/Concierge, and little chance for full-time. So then he's looking at the different jobs they have open or will have open. I'm a little thrown off from the beginning because I was looking for a specific role, but I did not turn anything down outright. My recruiter asked me about several roles. These included Food and Beverage (quick service), dish-washer, and some other things. Later, he told me that I turned everything down. Mind you, I never turned anything down, he was taking my facial expressions as affirming or negating. Anyway, so my only options are part-time. And my best one that seems the most interesting was a part-time Slide Operator at Typhoon Lagoon. But, I would have to end my internship early, by three weeks I think. Not the best idea, but that's the one I tentatively accepted. Before we could move forward, my recruiter needed confirmation from my manager that I could leave my internship early.

The next day, after my recruiter did a more thorough search, he found another role. It was also part-time, but it paid a little more. It was a Seater role at ESPN Club. Honestly, I was more excited about the slide operator role. I don't know anything about sports, and I never really wanted to work in food and beverage. But I would only have to leave my location one week early. And it paid a little more. So I accepted that role and we moved ahead with the transfer.

Two days later I go back to casting to skill-code. Basically what that means is that you put your name on lists and if a position comes available and you're next on the list, they offer the position to you. I skill-coded for full-time attractions. Before the receptionist even handed me the paper to fill out she said "I have a full-time attractions role in Backlands." I was told that I would put my name on lists and wait up to and even more than six weeks. I was caught a little off guard when they offered me a position right there. So I jumped on it. Full-time is definitely better than part time. So I cancelled the Seater role and moved forward with the Attractions role.  For those of you who do not know, Backlands is an area in Disney's Hollywood Studios. I did not know what attraction at the time, only the area.

A few days later, I get an email about my training schedule for the Seater role. I talk to my casting recruiter to see if I need to contact the location to tell them I'm no longer accepting that role, or if he would. He said he would take care of it.

Fast forward to the second week before my internship ended. All of a sudden I'm getting emails, calls, and IMs from the Seater location and the Attractions location. The attraction role messages are all fine. Mostly, they were welcoming me to the area, talking about my training schedule, etc. But I should not have been getting any from the Seater role location. I contacted some pertinent people regarding this, including my recruiter. Nobody got back to me. One man said that they would move forward with the attractions role, but had to push back my training for the seater role. Another lady said that my internship end-date had changed and so they are moving my training forward. It was a big mess. Finally I IMed the one lady and said "look, my internship end date never changed, and I'm only supposed to have the Attractions role." I went into a little detail, and finally, she was able to straighten it all out.

So now, I only have one role. Confusing, messy process, but it all worked out in the end. And as I announced last entry, I am one of Andy's Toys working at Toy Story Midway Mania. And I love it! I have two more days of training, then assess the next day. If I pass, I'll be on my own!

Looking Up

Yet again, I find myself lacking in the depart of posting blogs. This time around, I even made lists of different blogs that I wanted to write about. However, since it is now several weeks (maybe even months) later, I am going to combine them all into one. And then try much much harder next time.

If memory serves me correctly, my last blog entry was not quite so happy. I was down about many different aspects of life. Well, I am here today to tell you that things are LOOKING UP!

The living situation. Things got a little worse. And really, really frustrating. But finally, my ex-roommates signed the addendum to the lease, taking me off as of May 31. I moved out on May 19. Spent a week with Nick. And then I signed a new lease with some friends from work. We moved in on May 24. It's a bit more expensive compared to what I was paying (we'll finances later). But, it's a much better environment for me. Jess, Joe, and I live in a three-bedroom apartment. We were lucky to have the first floor again. The apartments are relatively new and super nice. My only complaint (other than the price) is there seems to be lots of bugs that call my home their home. Silverfish and centipedes are most common. There was one instance of a cockroach, but Joe and Andrew (another work friend) took care of that for me.

The job situation. During my last point, I was stressing out about my future role with Disney. Mostly: I did not have one. As of the last you heard from me, I was going to accept a part-time Slide Operator role. Now, this whole casting situation is a totally different story, one I will tell you in it's own blog. But skipping to the end of that story, I received a Full-time Attractions role at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I started training yesterday at Toy Story Midway Mania. I am now considered a Toy. Or specifically, one of Andy's Toys. What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm going to be a toy!!! So far I love, love, love it! I love the people, and attractions are so much fun. Toy story is, if not the number one ride at Walt Disney World, close to the top!

The missing home situation. During my last post, I was also feeling super homesick. I could not say it at the time, but I had actually already planned a trip home for May 10-15. I couldn't say it at that time because it was a surprise for my sister's birthday and my mother's anniversary. My father and brother-in-law knew I was coming and that was it! I went home, surprised my mom at work, and then had a blast hanging out with her all weekend. She taught me how to play Xbox Kinect. I surprised my sister the next day at her new house. She was a bit speechless when I showed up. And the rest of the time I spent with family. It worked out great that there was a birthday party on my dad's side of the family, so I got to see a lot of the extended family as well.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, there are some things stressing me out a little. Mainly, my finances. I love this new role, but it came with a pay cut of over $3 per hour. Luckily I'm full time so I will get at least 32 hours a week. Chances are I will get more than 32. But that's still a lot of money I'm not receiving anymore. Add the higher rent/utilities, and that makes for a stressful situation. It's mostly the student loans I'm worried about. But I'm going to look into my options.

Other than that, as  you can tell, things are going a lot better for me. I look forward to the next 12 months in this apartment and at the new location. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for me!