When it comes to work, I've been much less burnt out than the last time I posted. On the contrary though, I've been kind of getting "burnt out" when it comes to Florida. I'm missing home. My family, my friends, places, things. I'm missing everything about Illinois. But I keep telling myself that I'm here now. I'm not saying I'll be here always, but I'm here now. And I want to see this through. I miss a lot of things at home. Parties, weddings, anniversaries. I have cousins that I've never met. I have family members who have had babies and I never saw them pregnant. But this is really a once in a life time opportunity. When else in my life am I going to get the chance to move down to Florida and work for Disney? I'm here now, and we're going to see what happens. It's an adventure, and it's better to have an adventure when I'm young, and then settle down. So, even though I miss everything and everyone, I'm going to stick this out and enjoy my adventure.
To become a trainer there are two main things one must do before he is able to train by himself. First and most importantly, he must shadow a current trainer for an entire training process. Second, he must attend a four hour class called Train the Trainer. My shadows were weeks ago. I got to shadow one of my favorite Toys. I learned a lot and we had a bunch of fun doing it. Our trainee was very smart and such a great guy. Fast forward to now, and he's doing really well at Toy Story. I hope he sticks around, because I can see him becoming a trainer when the time is right!
Train the Trainer is a simple class. The first part of it is electronic. The second part just reinforces the first. After the class you get your trainer pin, which is Jiminy Cricket. Then you wear it on your costume, as a way to signify that you're a trainer.
Last week, I had my first trainee by myself. It was a bit nerve-wracking. But it was fun. Again, I had a good trainee. She got a little overwhelmed every once in a while, but she was super smart and now is on her own and seemingly doing well! Everything went smoothly, and I'm getting my bearings as to what to do when, and for how long, etc. I've started my second trainee this week. However he only has Fri/Sat/Sun availability, so I saw him Sunday, but I won't see him again till tomorrow. Sunday did not go so well. Not my trainee's fault. My trainee is super smart. Circumstances just did not work out well, mainly that we had 5 new people start on the same day so we were continually bumping into the other training groups. Now tomorrow we will have to review quite a bit and then try to get in all the new stuff I want to cover as well.
A normal training schedule is four days of training and one day to assess. The first day is a closing shift. The second, third, and fourth days are opening shifts. Opening starts at 7 am (when we open at 9 am), so the training groups come in at 6:30 am so they have a half an hour to walk through what's going to happen. We are required to train to of our opening positions (out of seven). But here's the problem coming up. Star Wars Weekends start tomorrow. We open at 8 am for the events, so opening starts an hour earlier. Except none of the trainers were scheduled an hour earlier. So for those of us it effects, we had to get our schedules changed. I am now coming in at 5:30 am several mornings! It's gonna be a little rough, but we'll get through it! I just hope my trainees are okay with us changing their schedules, and with coming in an hour earlier. Plus side, it means we get to leave an hour earlier!
Otherwise, everything is going well! I just recently moved. My lease at my old place was ending, so I've now moved to a new place. I moved in with two friends from Toy Story and will be here for the next year! I like my old apartments better, mainly because they are just newer/nicer. But I love the location here better. It's closer to work and/or easier to get to different places.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Movin' on up
Surprise Surprise, it's been a while since I posted. Sorry again!
Yesterday, my Toy-baby was born. I have been working in the Toybox for nine months. Which also means I've been full time for nine months. Lately, I've been getting super burnt out at work. It seems all I do is work. To have any resemblance of a decent paycheck, I have to put in 50 to 60 hours a week. But the more hours I put in, the more burnt out I get. If I cut back my hours back down to 40, I'll have no spare cash. So I push on through. This past week, I tried my hardest not to get burnt out and to have fun while working. And honestly, going in with that mentality, it helped me. Most of the days I was at work, I was content. I mean, I'm still not as happy as I may have been when I first started there, but I definitely feel better.
But hopefully it'll all change. I found out two exciting things this past week. First, the Toybox is bringing back a backstage tour of Toy Story Midway Mania. At the end of February, the manager in charge of the tour put up a sign up list if we would like to be a tour guide. After anybody interested had put their names down, the manager team would discuss the possibilities and select a few to become tour guides. I found out this week that I was selected to be one of the tour guides! There's no monetary advantage to being a tour guide, but I'm doing it just to mix things up. And I think it will be loads of fun. It's just an extra hour in the morning.
But even more exciting than that, I found out that I would be a trainer! A few weeks ago, the trainer interest list went up. The managers discussed the possibilities and selected five people to give their support to become trainers. On Thursday, I had a meeting with the Training team manager to seal the deal. And found out then and there that I would be moving on and will become a trainer for sure. In the next two months, I will go through the training required to become a trainer, including some E-learning, a class, and trainer shadows. The goal is to have us ready to train by the next CP arrival which is in May.
This is the moment I've been waiting for since I started at Toy Story nine months ago. This was my first major goal, and my first stepping stone into the upper ranks of Disney. The next stepping stone will be to become a Relief Coordinator. This means having the proficiencies of a coordinator, but not being statused in that role. I'm also still keeping my eye on Office and Technical jobs that might catch my eye. But for now, I'm excited for the training experiences to come!
Yesterday, my Toy-baby was born. I have been working in the Toybox for nine months. Which also means I've been full time for nine months. Lately, I've been getting super burnt out at work. It seems all I do is work. To have any resemblance of a decent paycheck, I have to put in 50 to 60 hours a week. But the more hours I put in, the more burnt out I get. If I cut back my hours back down to 40, I'll have no spare cash. So I push on through. This past week, I tried my hardest not to get burnt out and to have fun while working. And honestly, going in with that mentality, it helped me. Most of the days I was at work, I was content. I mean, I'm still not as happy as I may have been when I first started there, but I definitely feel better.
But hopefully it'll all change. I found out two exciting things this past week. First, the Toybox is bringing back a backstage tour of Toy Story Midway Mania. At the end of February, the manager in charge of the tour put up a sign up list if we would like to be a tour guide. After anybody interested had put their names down, the manager team would discuss the possibilities and select a few to become tour guides. I found out this week that I was selected to be one of the tour guides! There's no monetary advantage to being a tour guide, but I'm doing it just to mix things up. And I think it will be loads of fun. It's just an extra hour in the morning.
But even more exciting than that, I found out that I would be a trainer! A few weeks ago, the trainer interest list went up. The managers discussed the possibilities and selected five people to give their support to become trainers. On Thursday, I had a meeting with the Training team manager to seal the deal. And found out then and there that I would be moving on and will become a trainer for sure. In the next two months, I will go through the training required to become a trainer, including some E-learning, a class, and trainer shadows. The goal is to have us ready to train by the next CP arrival which is in May.
This is the moment I've been waiting for since I started at Toy Story nine months ago. This was my first major goal, and my first stepping stone into the upper ranks of Disney. The next stepping stone will be to become a Relief Coordinator. This means having the proficiencies of a coordinator, but not being statused in that role. I'm also still keeping my eye on Office and Technical jobs that might catch my eye. But for now, I'm excited for the training experiences to come!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Holiday Festivities
I realized that I never really talked about the holidays, except for how many hours I worked. And that made me realize that there was one really big work-related thing I never talked about: Spectacle of Dancing Lights.
First, for those of you who don't know what it is, The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is over 5 million Christmas lights set up on the Streets of America (the forced perspective of San Francisco and New York) in Hollywood Studios. They turn on each night around 6pm and stay on till an hour after the park closes. Every 5 to 10 minutes, they "dance" to the music. It really is extraordinary.
Now, for a little background. Jennings Osborne loved Christmas, and loved his family even more. One year, his little daughter asked Jennings to decorate the house with Christmas lights. This he did. Each and every year, he would decorate the house with as many lights as he possibly could. And it would grow and grow each year. People started coming to see the lights until his neighbors got upset for all the traffic and noise. So Jennings, instead of toning it down, bought his neighbors' houses on either side of his house and began decorating their houses too. This attracted even more people. Eventually, the other neighbors got upset and took him to court. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court where it was ruled that Jennings would have to quite setting up his display. At this point, Disney took over. Ever since, the lights have been set up on the Streets of America. There is a giant globe that spins. There are two carousels with angels. There are two "small" Christmas trees and one large one. There are assorted scenes made out of rope light. There are over 100 angels, most of which are flying midair. And of course, since it's Disney, there are over 70 hidden Mickeys. If you ever get a chance to go to Walt Disney World in November or December, definitely check out these lights! It's entirely worth viewing!
The reason I bring this all up is because the Streets of America are in my area of the park. And of course, there need to be cast members working while the lights are on, to direct traffic and answer questions. So the attractions in my area are in charge of staffing the event each night. Which means, about three to four times a week, I would go to Toy Story in the morning, and then around 4:30, change my costume and head over to work Spectacle of Dancing Lights. They were long days, but it was super fun! Definitely one of the highlights of the season. And it actually made all the hours I worked a little more bearable as it was two different locations then, instead of just one.
A normal Spectacle shift looks something like this. 4:30-5, track talk (meeting with managers and coordinators to talk about the day), followed by setting up barricades and signs. Then we would have some free time to walk around the streets answering questions and talking to guests. At 5:45 we would have to be in positions and start redirecting traffic to help with traffic flow. This redirect would last about half the night, until it quieted down. Then we would enter a "free-flow" time where we would take the barricades down and were once again free to walk around and talk with the guests.
I have a short story that happened one day that's kinda cute, and totally nerdy. But first, a little more background. This fall, the New Fantasyland opened in the Magic Kingdom. Included in this area is a ride telling the tale of The Little Mermaid, a meet and greet area with Ariel, an immersive experience telling the tale of Beauty and the Beast. The last thing that New Fantasyland has that is open is a new restaurant called Be Our Guest. You can go in and eat lunch or dinner in the grand ballroom, or the west wing of the Beast's castle!
A little more background: at Spectacle of Dancing lights, when the lights are not "dancing," it snows! They have snow machines set up and it can actually look like a blizzard sometimes! At the Magic Kingdom, it also snows during their special Christmas events. Lastly, in the grand ballroom of Be Our Guest, it also snows outside the windows.
And now my story. While walking around one night for Spectacle of Dancing Lights before the lights were turned on, my friend Kristin and I ran into a family. A mother and her two young daughters. We were talking to them about the lights, the normal questions: what is it, when will it turn on. I don't remember if they asked, or if Kristin and I just brought it up, but we began talking about how it also snows on the Streets of America.
Here's how the rest of the conversation unfolded:
Mother: Oh it snows! Girls, where else did you see snow in Disney World?
Girls: Magic Kingdom!!!!
Mother: But where in Magic Kingdom?
Girls: in the castle!
Kristin and me: Oh, you mean Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Beast's castle?
Girls and Mother: Yes!
Kristin and me: So you visited the Beast's castle? Did you eat there?
Girls: Yes!
Me (to the girls): Did you try the grey stuff? I heard it's delicious!
Girls (quizzical looks)
Kristin (to me): They don't believe you, they should ask the dishes!
Everybody: (laughs)
Honestly, that was not planned at all. But Kristin and I are kinda nerdy like that and we play off each other quite well sometimes!
I just thought it was cute! Another example of how a little conversation can turn into a lot of magic for guests!
First, for those of you who don't know what it is, The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is over 5 million Christmas lights set up on the Streets of America (the forced perspective of San Francisco and New York) in Hollywood Studios. They turn on each night around 6pm and stay on till an hour after the park closes. Every 5 to 10 minutes, they "dance" to the music. It really is extraordinary.
Now, for a little background. Jennings Osborne loved Christmas, and loved his family even more. One year, his little daughter asked Jennings to decorate the house with Christmas lights. This he did. Each and every year, he would decorate the house with as many lights as he possibly could. And it would grow and grow each year. People started coming to see the lights until his neighbors got upset for all the traffic and noise. So Jennings, instead of toning it down, bought his neighbors' houses on either side of his house and began decorating their houses too. This attracted even more people. Eventually, the other neighbors got upset and took him to court. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court where it was ruled that Jennings would have to quite setting up his display. At this point, Disney took over. Ever since, the lights have been set up on the Streets of America. There is a giant globe that spins. There are two carousels with angels. There are two "small" Christmas trees and one large one. There are assorted scenes made out of rope light. There are over 100 angels, most of which are flying midair. And of course, since it's Disney, there are over 70 hidden Mickeys. If you ever get a chance to go to Walt Disney World in November or December, definitely check out these lights! It's entirely worth viewing!
The reason I bring this all up is because the Streets of America are in my area of the park. And of course, there need to be cast members working while the lights are on, to direct traffic and answer questions. So the attractions in my area are in charge of staffing the event each night. Which means, about three to four times a week, I would go to Toy Story in the morning, and then around 4:30, change my costume and head over to work Spectacle of Dancing Lights. They were long days, but it was super fun! Definitely one of the highlights of the season. And it actually made all the hours I worked a little more bearable as it was two different locations then, instead of just one.
A normal Spectacle shift looks something like this. 4:30-5, track talk (meeting with managers and coordinators to talk about the day), followed by setting up barricades and signs. Then we would have some free time to walk around the streets answering questions and talking to guests. At 5:45 we would have to be in positions and start redirecting traffic to help with traffic flow. This redirect would last about half the night, until it quieted down. Then we would enter a "free-flow" time where we would take the barricades down and were once again free to walk around and talk with the guests.
I have a short story that happened one day that's kinda cute, and totally nerdy. But first, a little more background. This fall, the New Fantasyland opened in the Magic Kingdom. Included in this area is a ride telling the tale of The Little Mermaid, a meet and greet area with Ariel, an immersive experience telling the tale of Beauty and the Beast. The last thing that New Fantasyland has that is open is a new restaurant called Be Our Guest. You can go in and eat lunch or dinner in the grand ballroom, or the west wing of the Beast's castle!
A little more background: at Spectacle of Dancing lights, when the lights are not "dancing," it snows! They have snow machines set up and it can actually look like a blizzard sometimes! At the Magic Kingdom, it also snows during their special Christmas events. Lastly, in the grand ballroom of Be Our Guest, it also snows outside the windows.
And now my story. While walking around one night for Spectacle of Dancing Lights before the lights were turned on, my friend Kristin and I ran into a family. A mother and her two young daughters. We were talking to them about the lights, the normal questions: what is it, when will it turn on. I don't remember if they asked, or if Kristin and I just brought it up, but we began talking about how it also snows on the Streets of America.
Here's how the rest of the conversation unfolded:
Mother: Oh it snows! Girls, where else did you see snow in Disney World?
Girls: Magic Kingdom!!!!
Mother: But where in Magic Kingdom?
Girls: in the castle!
Kristin and me: Oh, you mean Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Beast's castle?
Girls and Mother: Yes!
Kristin and me: So you visited the Beast's castle? Did you eat there?
Girls: Yes!
Me (to the girls): Did you try the grey stuff? I heard it's delicious!
Girls (quizzical looks)
Kristin (to me): They don't believe you, they should ask the dishes!
Everybody: (laughs)
Honestly, that was not planned at all. But Kristin and I are kinda nerdy like that and we play off each other quite well sometimes!
I just thought it was cute! Another example of how a little conversation can turn into a lot of magic for guests!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Happy Holidays
So, it's January 9th. The holidays are finally over. It's been a long couple of weeks. Leading up to the weeks before the holidays, we were all getting maybe 32-40 hours a week. Then the holidays started and hours went up. I was working 50-60 hours a week. I started working six days a week. Then the week of Christmas came. That week I worked all seven days, making about a 13 day stretch without a day off. I worked 80 hours that week. And then 70 hours the week after for New Year's. So you think then that the long weeks are over.
Wrong!
Right after New Year's, all of the college program kids finish their programs. The new college program kids don't start right away. So we are currently in what we call the CP-Gap. What this means is that all of the full- and part-time cast members are still working long hours. So I'm still working 50-70 hour weeks.
Don't get me wrong, I love having hours and good paychecks. But, I've not had a real break from work until right now. This is the first time I've had two days off in a row for several weeks. I'll be happy for the hours to get back to 40 in a week. I say that now, but as soon as they do, I'll want more hours again.
I received my first point on my record card. Actually, it was only half a point, for clocking in five minutes late. Normally, I start work around 8:15 or 8:30 in the morning. At this time, traffic is not bad at all since the park does not open until 9 usually. But as soon as 9 comes along, the parking plaza gets super backed up. I can usually make it to work in 20 minutes. This includes walk-time, from the moment I lock my front door to the moment I clock in at work. I usually leave 30 to 35 minutes before my shift just to give me some extra time. The other day, I strangely started at 9:45. Without thinking, I left my house at 9:15. Bad decision. The entrance to Hollywood Studios was super backed up. It took me 15 minutes alone to get from the turn-lane into the entrance to the parking spot. I did not park until 9:43, plus there is about 8 minutes of walking after that. I was so upset but oh well. It's my first notation. And it's only half a point.
I received another first the other day. It was my first Applause-o-gram. When a guest has a really great experience with a cast member, if they tell Guest Relations about it, guest relations will normally fill out an Applause-o-gram for that cast member. Here's my story:
I encountered a family around 8pm. They were a party of five: mom, dad, and three kids. The youngest, probably about 10 years old, suffered from some ailment. He was in a wheel chair and the parents explained that he is currently on chemo and medication. Because of this, they were not able to get an early start to their day. They arrived at Hollywood Studios at 1pm that day, about two hours after we had run out of fast passes. They did not have a Guest Assistance Card (which under the circumstances, they probably could have gotten). The boy really wanted to go on Toy Story. The standby wait time at 8pm was about 2 hours long. We explained that between 9pm and 10pm, the wait time would be considerably shorter. The parents responded that 2 hours was just too much to spend in line, and that they were unsure that coming back between 9pm and 10 pm would be a good option. The boy would only last about an hour longer before the meds started to kick in, the should really be leaving the park within an hour. With heavy faces, they turned and started to leave. I looked at my coordinator Jesse and stated that I feel horrible. Without hesitation, Jesse allowed me to grab the family and bring them through the fast pass line without fast passes. The family was so happy, but realized it was breaking the rules, so they only wanted to send in half of their party. I made sure the whole party was able to ride. I took them through the fast past line, got to know them a little bit while we waited. And told them that it might be an additional 20 minute wait or so. They were so very appreciative and humbled. As I walked out of the building, I almost started crying. Thirty minutes later, I was actually put in the positions where wheel chairs are loaded onto the ride. AS I got there, this family was just getting off the ride, and once again thanked me profusely. The little boy was so happy. And the parents couldn't thank me enough. Honestly, it was my pleasure. I'm happy that I got an Applause-o-gram for it. But, I would have done it regardless. The satisfaction I received from the action alone, was more than enough for me. This is why I work for Disney.
Wrong!
Right after New Year's, all of the college program kids finish their programs. The new college program kids don't start right away. So we are currently in what we call the CP-Gap. What this means is that all of the full- and part-time cast members are still working long hours. So I'm still working 50-70 hour weeks.
Don't get me wrong, I love having hours and good paychecks. But, I've not had a real break from work until right now. This is the first time I've had two days off in a row for several weeks. I'll be happy for the hours to get back to 40 in a week. I say that now, but as soon as they do, I'll want more hours again.
I received my first point on my record card. Actually, it was only half a point, for clocking in five minutes late. Normally, I start work around 8:15 or 8:30 in the morning. At this time, traffic is not bad at all since the park does not open until 9 usually. But as soon as 9 comes along, the parking plaza gets super backed up. I can usually make it to work in 20 minutes. This includes walk-time, from the moment I lock my front door to the moment I clock in at work. I usually leave 30 to 35 minutes before my shift just to give me some extra time. The other day, I strangely started at 9:45. Without thinking, I left my house at 9:15. Bad decision. The entrance to Hollywood Studios was super backed up. It took me 15 minutes alone to get from the turn-lane into the entrance to the parking spot. I did not park until 9:43, plus there is about 8 minutes of walking after that. I was so upset but oh well. It's my first notation. And it's only half a point.
I received another first the other day. It was my first Applause-o-gram. When a guest has a really great experience with a cast member, if they tell Guest Relations about it, guest relations will normally fill out an Applause-o-gram for that cast member. Here's my story:
I encountered a family around 8pm. They were a party of five: mom, dad, and three kids. The youngest, probably about 10 years old, suffered from some ailment. He was in a wheel chair and the parents explained that he is currently on chemo and medication. Because of this, they were not able to get an early start to their day. They arrived at Hollywood Studios at 1pm that day, about two hours after we had run out of fast passes. They did not have a Guest Assistance Card (which under the circumstances, they probably could have gotten). The boy really wanted to go on Toy Story. The standby wait time at 8pm was about 2 hours long. We explained that between 9pm and 10pm, the wait time would be considerably shorter. The parents responded that 2 hours was just too much to spend in line, and that they were unsure that coming back between 9pm and 10 pm would be a good option. The boy would only last about an hour longer before the meds started to kick in, the should really be leaving the park within an hour. With heavy faces, they turned and started to leave. I looked at my coordinator Jesse and stated that I feel horrible. Without hesitation, Jesse allowed me to grab the family and bring them through the fast pass line without fast passes. The family was so happy, but realized it was breaking the rules, so they only wanted to send in half of their party. I made sure the whole party was able to ride. I took them through the fast past line, got to know them a little bit while we waited. And told them that it might be an additional 20 minute wait or so. They were so very appreciative and humbled. As I walked out of the building, I almost started crying. Thirty minutes later, I was actually put in the positions where wheel chairs are loaded onto the ride. AS I got there, this family was just getting off the ride, and once again thanked me profusely. The little boy was so happy. And the parents couldn't thank me enough. Honestly, it was my pleasure. I'm happy that I got an Applause-o-gram for it. But, I would have done it regardless. The satisfaction I received from the action alone, was more than enough for me. This is why I work for Disney.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Bucket List re-visited
So, when I first started preparing to move to Florida, I had come up with a bucket list of things I wanted to do before I left. At that point, that meant I wanted to accomplish these things between August 10 (when I moved in) and January 6 (when my program ended). Of course, I then stayed here so I've had more time. But I wanted to re-visit that bucket list to see what I've accomplished and what I haven't. So, hear goes...
- Visit all four parks, two water parks, and Downtown Disney
- I was definitely able to accomplish this, no contest. I've been to all of these places more times than I can count.
- Go to all four parks in one day
- This actually took me a while to accomplish, but I can check it off my list. I did not get around to it until the end of my college program. It was a day right before I headed home for a visit at the very beginning of 2012. I had some errands to run in all four parks, so I decided to do them in one day. I've done all four parks a couple times since.
- See/Ride every attraction available.
- Well... I almost accomplished this one. I can still think of a few things that I have not done. Flights of Wonder at Animal Kingdom and Disney Jr. Live On Stage at Hollywood Studios are the two that come to mind. There may be more. I've done all the rides, it's the shows and other attractions that I have not done.
- Work at least once in all four parks.
- Bahaha, not even close. My college program was in Hollywood Studios. My professional internship was outside of the parks (although we did hold an event at Typhoon Lagoon). And my current job is back at Hollywood Studios. So... that's a no...
- Get autographs from as many characters as possible.
- I'm definitely still working on this. I don't have as many as I'd like. But I've met many many characters. Some are actually rare ones that you can only meet during special events. But I still have room for more.
- Try a Kitchen Sink from Beaches and Cream.
- Yes, and it was delicious. I've actually done it twice, and would love to do it again!
- Meet Push and Pipa
- I don't know if Pipa exists anymore, I don't hear much about her. But I've met Push on a few different occasions. The last one was the best.
- Story time: I was discussing with two of my friends while walking through Magic Kingdom, that I love push, and would love to run into him. All of a sudden, Push was right there about 30 paces away. So, the three of us ran up to him. We did not want to interrupt his current interaction so we waited patiently. When he was finished, he turned around to us and before he said hello or anything said "you guys wreak of cast members!" We all just burst out laughing and said yes. He then said that he has a "cast member song and dance" that we have to do. So he starts playing "it's a small world" and dancing and tells us to dance too. So, we do, but we stop early. As soon as we stop, he yells at us because we stopped and made us keep going. When we were done, he asked if we'd been to the Big Top (which had just opened that week). We told him yes. He then asked if we had bought anything, we said no. He responded "of course you didn't. You work here, you can't afford it!" It was absolutely hysterical!
- Eat a meal at every country in Epcot
- That's a big fat no! I don't have that kind of money. Food in Disney is not cheap. I've eated fast food in a few countries. But that's about it.
- Have a drink at every country in Epcot
- And again, alcohol is not cheap... so no, I have not.
- Partake in an activity called Drinking Around the World
- Again, I have not. But I did Eat Around the World at the Food and Wine festival this year!
- Attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween
- Yes, I did it last year and this year and loved it!
- Attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
- I did not do this during my college program. But this year, Nick bought me a ticket and we did go! It was fun, but I still prefer the Halloween party
- Perform in the Candlelight Processional. If not perform, then attend when Whoopi Goldberg and/or Neil Patrick Harris are narrating.
- Last year, I was not a cast member early enough to be in the choir, but I did wind up attending NPH's narration of Candlelight. Whoopi unfortunately did not narrate last year. This year, I was selected to be in the choir, my first performance (which just so happens to be with NPH) is tomorrow. My second performance is on Friday, with Whoopi!
- See a Cirque Du Soleil show at Downtown Disney.
- Still have not done this, still want to!
- Ride Space Mountain with the lights on
- I've not had the opportunity to do this. However, I have ridden it with the work lights on for the TTA, which means there was more light in Space Mountain. I've also ridden TTA when the work lights were on in Space Mountain, so I've at least seen it with the lights on.
- Swim in the gulf and the ocean
- Well, technically I have done this. But not in the way I had intended. I did definitely swim in the gulf. When I said swim in the ocean, I meant on a Florida beach. This I have not done yet. But I did go on a cruise in September and swam in the ocean in the Bahamas.
- Travel to Miami for a mini-vacation
- Not yet, but I'd still like to at some point.
- Visit Universal at least once, especially The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
- I have visited Islands of Adventure, but not Universal. However, Harry Potter is in Islands so I'm gonna say, yes, I have accomplished this!
- Visit Bush Gardens
- I have not done this yet...
- Visit Sea World
- Nor this one...
- Visit House of Blues
- I've walked by it, does that count? No....
- Have adventures with Nick and my other roommates!
- I definitely had some adventures with Nick and the other roommates, maybe not as many as I'd like, but at least some!
So, looking back and adding up: I've done about 10 out of the 22 things on my bucket list. So not so great as a whole. But the things I really wanted to do I did do. The ones I haven't done yet are the ones that weren't high on my priority list. So in conclusion, I'm going to say I've been relatively successful with my bucket list!
Friday, October 19, 2012
A New Page
I went home last week for seven days. I flew home Wednesday. Spent the day with my sister and brother-in-law. Thursday was a low-key day: dentist appointment, visit with grandma, dinner with some college friends. Friday I drove to Monmouth for the day, and then Peoria for the night. I saw a bunch of college friends and professors. And then, I reunited with my besties for dinner and drinks and sleeping. Saturday we drove back to Monmouth for homecoming festivities. Saturday night, I was back home for my cousin's wedding reception where I saw most of my dad's side of the family. Sunday, I had lunch with one of my best friends from high school. And that night, we invited my mom's side of the family and some friends. The rest of my time at home was pretty low-key.
Overall, it was a successful trip home. I had been missing home quite a bit. And I hadn't seen Autumn since Fall 2010. Autumn is my favorite time of year so I was going through some withdraws. The weather was perfect! It was a obviously colder than I was used to, but I loved it! It rained for a few days, but I even loved that! It was so wonderful to see everybody and to experience an Illinois Fall. And it had been over a year since I had made it down to Monmouth so that was spectacular that I was able to get down there as well. There were still several friends that I did not get to see, so forgive me for that!
Have you ever experienced the feeling that you know you miss something, but you don't really know how much until you have that thing with you again? That's how I was with home. I knew I missed it. I hate being so far away from the place, the people, the weather/seasons. But until I arrived home, I really had no idea how much I missed it. It really hit me when I was walking around Monmouth. I almost had a physical pain to how much I missed everything. And right then and there, I decided: I'm coming back home sooner rather than later. I was going to start looking into teaching positions, and possibly moving when my lease in FL was up in May.
Although, that idea would bring me great joy, I think it was a little premature. Don't get me wrong, I still very much miss home and would love love love to return sooner rather than later. But, towards the end of my week, the overwhelming feelings had faded, and I was ready to return to Florida. I've been back for less than a week, and the feelings of wanting to move home and leave my Disney career have faded even more. In fact, I feel like I've turned over a new page. In several areas of my life!
I've decided I need to work harder to promote myself to my managers, to start networking with them and other people outside my work-area. I'm also going to look harder for other jobs with Disney to try and move up in the company. I really do want to see where I can go here. And I don't want to give up so easily. Nobody said it would be easy. But I feel the tough times now will pay off later! I've also decided to try and be a little more positive about work. Not that I was a total Debbie Downer about it (although I can name a few people who will argue with me on that). But in all seriousness, I am going to try and not let things bother me so much. I want to be a role model for everybody, and I can't do that if I'm in a bad mood, or if people get the wrong vibe from me because I'm complaining.
I've also decided, after a run-in with a health survey, that I'm going to try and be at least a little more healthy. I'm going to try and change my diet a little to make sure I'm getting the necessary/recommended servings of everything. Additionally, I'm going to try and eat a few less sweets, and a few less processed foods. Also, I'm going to try and start working out. I know I've said this for years and years, but I'm (hopefully) serious about it this time. I think when it comes to working out is that I need to get up in the morning to do it. After work, I'm too lazy. But if I set my alarm earlier in the morning, I think I'll be more likely to follow through since I'll be up (for those of you who don't know me well enough, I never ever hit the snooze button so once I'm up, I'm up for the day).
I have also decided to make some other more minor or more personal changes that I feel will help out with my life decisions and future. These aren't significant for me to write about. But it basically boils down to letting all the negativity in my life go, and just remaining positive and being supportive for all my friends and family.
Now, I'm sure there are a bunch of you out there thinking "yeah right, he can't do all that, I know him too well!" And you may be right. But give me the benefit of the doubt! I'm seriously going to give it my all. I'm a work in progress, and I always will be. It won't be an instant change. But I'm going to try and try and try and hopefully in the long run, everything I plan to do will help me be a better man!
Overall, it was a successful trip home. I had been missing home quite a bit. And I hadn't seen Autumn since Fall 2010. Autumn is my favorite time of year so I was going through some withdraws. The weather was perfect! It was a obviously colder than I was used to, but I loved it! It rained for a few days, but I even loved that! It was so wonderful to see everybody and to experience an Illinois Fall. And it had been over a year since I had made it down to Monmouth so that was spectacular that I was able to get down there as well. There were still several friends that I did not get to see, so forgive me for that!
Have you ever experienced the feeling that you know you miss something, but you don't really know how much until you have that thing with you again? That's how I was with home. I knew I missed it. I hate being so far away from the place, the people, the weather/seasons. But until I arrived home, I really had no idea how much I missed it. It really hit me when I was walking around Monmouth. I almost had a physical pain to how much I missed everything. And right then and there, I decided: I'm coming back home sooner rather than later. I was going to start looking into teaching positions, and possibly moving when my lease in FL was up in May.
Although, that idea would bring me great joy, I think it was a little premature. Don't get me wrong, I still very much miss home and would love love love to return sooner rather than later. But, towards the end of my week, the overwhelming feelings had faded, and I was ready to return to Florida. I've been back for less than a week, and the feelings of wanting to move home and leave my Disney career have faded even more. In fact, I feel like I've turned over a new page. In several areas of my life!
I've decided I need to work harder to promote myself to my managers, to start networking with them and other people outside my work-area. I'm also going to look harder for other jobs with Disney to try and move up in the company. I really do want to see where I can go here. And I don't want to give up so easily. Nobody said it would be easy. But I feel the tough times now will pay off later! I've also decided to try and be a little more positive about work. Not that I was a total Debbie Downer about it (although I can name a few people who will argue with me on that). But in all seriousness, I am going to try and not let things bother me so much. I want to be a role model for everybody, and I can't do that if I'm in a bad mood, or if people get the wrong vibe from me because I'm complaining.
I've also decided, after a run-in with a health survey, that I'm going to try and be at least a little more healthy. I'm going to try and change my diet a little to make sure I'm getting the necessary/recommended servings of everything. Additionally, I'm going to try and eat a few less sweets, and a few less processed foods. Also, I'm going to try and start working out. I know I've said this for years and years, but I'm (hopefully) serious about it this time. I think when it comes to working out is that I need to get up in the morning to do it. After work, I'm too lazy. But if I set my alarm earlier in the morning, I think I'll be more likely to follow through since I'll be up (for those of you who don't know me well enough, I never ever hit the snooze button so once I'm up, I'm up for the day).
I have also decided to make some other more minor or more personal changes that I feel will help out with my life decisions and future. These aren't significant for me to write about. But it basically boils down to letting all the negativity in my life go, and just remaining positive and being supportive for all my friends and family.
Now, I'm sure there are a bunch of you out there thinking "yeah right, he can't do all that, I know him too well!" And you may be right. But give me the benefit of the doubt! I'm seriously going to give it my all. I'm a work in progress, and I always will be. It won't be an instant change. But I'm going to try and try and try and hopefully in the long run, everything I plan to do will help me be a better man!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
This and That
Once again, I find myself failing at updating the blog. I always, always think about it. But then I never do it. I'm just so lazy! As always, I promise to try to do better in the future. Unfortunately, it probably won't happen.
Anyway...Things are going well. Around August, they cut many people's hours. I went from working about 68 hours one week, to 34 the next. Then for several weeks, I was below 40 hours. Just recently, things are starting to pick up a little more. 52 hours this week! Woo!! If they kept be around 50 hours, I'd be happy. I would love more hours here and there, but 50 is a good pay check.
In the past few weeks, people have slowly been leaving Toy Story to go to different areas, mostly the New Fantasyland that is opening soon. For some of the people that are leaving, this is very sad. But on the other hand, there are several people whose time has come to move on. And it's making Toy Story a much happier place to work for many people.
To add to the people who are already leaving for Fantasyland, there many people who trained around the same time as me who have stated that once their six months have passed, they will put in to transfer out of the area because they do not like the area that much. I can't say I disagree with them totally, but I don't have any huge issues with the work area. And furthermore, if they all leave, things will look up for me. My seniority will raise. And I'll be higher on the list for trainer and hopefully coordinator later on.
Now let's talk about other things. Perhaps the cruise I went on! I've never been on a cruise, but my boyfriend loves cruises. So we found one that was a super good deal, and jumped on it. It worked out to be about $90 per night, for three nights. That included everything except alcohol. The room, the food, three Broadway style shows, etc. It was a Disney cruise (obviously!) on the Disney Dream. We boarded the ship in the early afternoon, and spent a few hours in port at Cape Canaveral. We left there around 5. The next morning, we were in Nassau for the day. The next day we arrived at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. Nick and I had a great time! I loved my first cruise, and can't wait to go back. Disney really does know what they are doing. I highly recommend to everybody to go on a Disney cruise if they have the chance.
And now, a week from today, I will be heading home for a short vacation. I look forward to it. Last time I was home (in May), I only saw a few people mainly because my trip was a surprise for my sister and mother. With that in mind, I did not want to make plans and let the secret out. So this time, my schedule is quite full. The first day is a day with my sister and brother-in-law. The second day I hope to take a day trip to Chicago. The third and fourth day I'll be in Monmouth and Peoria. Also on the fourth day, I will be going to my cousin's (Dad's side) wedding reception. On the fifth day, it starts to slow down a little. I'll get to see my Mom's side of the family. The sixth day, as of now, I have nothing planned. And then I fly home on the seventh. I very much look forward to it.
But most importantly, tomorrow is the anniversary of when Nick and I went on our first date. We don't have an exact date as of when we were officially together, so we kind of use October 4th as an unofficial, official date. It's been one year that Nick and I have been dating. It's really flown by. I'm so lucky to have him in my life. And I am so thankful that I've been able to share all of my experiences from the past year with such a wonderful man! I look forward to the next year with him, and the every year after that!
Anyway...Things are going well. Around August, they cut many people's hours. I went from working about 68 hours one week, to 34 the next. Then for several weeks, I was below 40 hours. Just recently, things are starting to pick up a little more. 52 hours this week! Woo!! If they kept be around 50 hours, I'd be happy. I would love more hours here and there, but 50 is a good pay check.
In the past few weeks, people have slowly been leaving Toy Story to go to different areas, mostly the New Fantasyland that is opening soon. For some of the people that are leaving, this is very sad. But on the other hand, there are several people whose time has come to move on. And it's making Toy Story a much happier place to work for many people.
To add to the people who are already leaving for Fantasyland, there many people who trained around the same time as me who have stated that once their six months have passed, they will put in to transfer out of the area because they do not like the area that much. I can't say I disagree with them totally, but I don't have any huge issues with the work area. And furthermore, if they all leave, things will look up for me. My seniority will raise. And I'll be higher on the list for trainer and hopefully coordinator later on.
Now let's talk about other things. Perhaps the cruise I went on! I've never been on a cruise, but my boyfriend loves cruises. So we found one that was a super good deal, and jumped on it. It worked out to be about $90 per night, for three nights. That included everything except alcohol. The room, the food, three Broadway style shows, etc. It was a Disney cruise (obviously!) on the Disney Dream. We boarded the ship in the early afternoon, and spent a few hours in port at Cape Canaveral. We left there around 5. The next morning, we were in Nassau for the day. The next day we arrived at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. Nick and I had a great time! I loved my first cruise, and can't wait to go back. Disney really does know what they are doing. I highly recommend to everybody to go on a Disney cruise if they have the chance.
And now, a week from today, I will be heading home for a short vacation. I look forward to it. Last time I was home (in May), I only saw a few people mainly because my trip was a surprise for my sister and mother. With that in mind, I did not want to make plans and let the secret out. So this time, my schedule is quite full. The first day is a day with my sister and brother-in-law. The second day I hope to take a day trip to Chicago. The third and fourth day I'll be in Monmouth and Peoria. Also on the fourth day, I will be going to my cousin's (Dad's side) wedding reception. On the fifth day, it starts to slow down a little. I'll get to see my Mom's side of the family. The sixth day, as of now, I have nothing planned. And then I fly home on the seventh. I very much look forward to it.
But most importantly, tomorrow is the anniversary of when Nick and I went on our first date. We don't have an exact date as of when we were officially together, so we kind of use October 4th as an unofficial, official date. It's been one year that Nick and I have been dating. It's really flown by. I'm so lucky to have him in my life. And I am so thankful that I've been able to share all of my experiences from the past year with such a wonderful man! I look forward to the next year with him, and the every year after that!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)