So Far...

Since my last entry a lot has happened. I've been getting settled back into the rhythm of working here and living at Vista Way. I had my second round of Traditions (I won a critter this time!) and I struggled to get a new Disney ID. Word of advice, do NOT bring your ID home at the end of your program unless you remember to bring it back again. Bad things...

   But so I've gotten settled into my apartment (with about three more Dollar Tree trips) and I've been being trained at Magic Kingdom. It's nice to be working back in the parks again. I miss Epcot, but I know Magic Kingdom is like the hub of Walt Disney World, there are so many guests there and theres always stuff to do.  I like being busy and constantly having things to do and people to talk to. We'll see how it goes. I finished my training on Wednesday so I'm going to start my first shift by myself on Saturday. I'll be more excited when I know more about the areas I'm working in.
     I've had today and yesterday off. It's been sheeting rain though, Hurricane Andrea is hovering over us pouring buckets down which makes for not so much fun. I spent yesterday mostly lying around in the couch in a sweater. But I did manage to go to Epcot for about an hour and see Jay (while getting soaked with rain). It was weird walking around Epcot, where I worked for five months, and feel like a stranger. All my managers have moved around (and if they hadn't I doubt they would remember me) and none of my friends are there. It's probably best then that I'm working at a whole new place; a clean slate with whole new possibilities.
     Hopefully today I'm going to do something fun. With the mixup with my ID I really haven't been able to do much yet. I'm glad I got  to go to Epcot and its been really cool working at Magic Kingdom and getting to see the New Fantasyland expansion (which I formerly hadn't seen until I was doing a trash run around it). I have a pretty cool job and I'm excited to get more settled into it and to make some new friends hopefully (because right now I miss my friends from my first program like crazy).
     Oh! And last night I booked my family's trip to come see me! They'll be coming down in August. I'm ecstatic to finally have a date to count down to. I'm hoping to be able to spend as much time as possible with them. Having them come down is kind of a bright spot on the horizon. It's so dumb to say that its hard being down here (it's hard to live and work in DISNEY WORLD???!!(yes, sometimes)) but it sometimes is. Especially being away from my family and the friends from my first program. Once I get more into my job it'll be easier. Until then ttfn!

First Day/Second Day because I fell asleep while writing about my first day...

   Yesterday was my first day of my second program and the whole (super long day) felt like deja vu. I am working Custodial at Magic Kingdom this time, a little different. I am still living in Vista Way, building 20 this time. I kept walking by buildings and being like "Lori lives there- oh wait.." It is so strange to be here without my crew, its like walking through a skeletal structure with no one around. But I moved in all my stuff successfully, I am living with five lovely ladies and they all seem very nice. I got all my groceries (quote unquote, since I only shop at the Dollar Tree) and my roommates got lost at Walmart for four hours. Lesson of the day: never go to Walmart. The new DORMs system worked pretty well for us, we got what we requested and got through check in ver quickly thanks to it.
     I took a nap for a bit (thankfully) because I got zero sleep thanks to my anxiety/ excitement. When I woke up I got some stuff from Walgreens with my roommate Kaitlyn. And then, when the girls finally returned from their Walmart dis-adventure we decided to go out to Falafel to go dancing.

 

It was fun. It was really nice to bond so quickly with them and I am eternally grateful that they are so fantastic because its making this transition (and missing my old roommates) an little easier. But actually Paige and Lauren will be down on Monday, so I wont have to miss them for too long!
      At Falafel I actually ran into Jay (he had told me he was going to be there, it wasn't actually like a really cool coincidence). I got to meet his friends and dance with them and then they invited me to IHOP after. It was fun. If I closed my eyes it was almost like last time. Not a bad first day if I do say so myself!
   Today I tidied up, finished perfecting the unpacking process, did another Dollar Tree run for all the things I forgot (it was a lot of things..like a LOT), and did inventory of our apartment.  Now I get to go the 3 o'clock housing meeting (alone, of course(my roommates all have earlier meetings)) and then I have tomorrow off. Not really sure what I'm gonna do with it, already did all the things that need doing and I can't get in the parks yet. But I mean spending a day doing whatever I want sounds pretty awesome...
Especially in Florida.

Up Where They Walk: Adventure Time!!

    My flight is in less than twelve hours. Anxious is not even close to describing how I feel right now. Thankfully I'm a realistic enough person to realize that tomorrows not going to be like last time, it's not going to be a fairy-tale or perfect either. Somethings will most definitely go wrong (ask my nightmares), but so is life. My life is an adventure that I am ready to renew. I'm definitely excited to go and to be there, it's just the getting there that's scary. I'm very lucky to actually know plenty of people that are down there or are going to be down there. I'm excited to get down there and start a new job (sort of), meet new friends, and enjoy the beauty of the opportunities I have been handed in life. I'm really lucky in the things I've gotten to do in life. I'm also lucky to have met some amazing people along the way. Well then, here's to another adventure!!!

A Whole New World: Getting out of School and Back to Disney World

    Only nineteen days. Crazy. I'm halfway through my final papers, the end is so close I can smell it. Not taste it yet. May 14th is the last day of classes. My last shift at PF Chang's is supposedly the 15th but I haven't had a shift there in weeks so who knows? Oh, and I didn't tell you guys last week, I found a roommate and she seems fantastic. That's pretty awesome, takes a weight off of my chest. Now I just get to do some mini-adventures before I leave and pack. I'm hopefully going to the beach next Tuesday with Sam and Maria from school (get a tan on my pale legs if you please) after our final day.  Then white water rafting and general happiness.
  I am definitely excited to get to go but I'm someone who severely stresses out of everything. So while I'm thrilled to go down there and see some old friends and exhubarate in the Disney-ness again, I am scared of what I'm leaving behind. Thus far I have been unsuccessful in my search for possible credits for the program, so I may just drop out of school. Kidding, kidding, I kid. Maybe.
   I got to see my friend Shawn this weekend. He is the one who also worked at WSC and was in my last day story, and is one of the best friends a gal could have. Besides Jesus, Audrey, Andrew, Anna, Todd, Julia, Renae, Jess, Chelsea, Stephanie, Lauren, Paige, Jillian, Stephanie, Philaire, oh gosh it's actually a really long list.
  But so Shawn came up to Boston for the weekend for his friends party and I got to see him for a little bit. It was fun, I think he actually may understand the Boston T system better then I do. I met him at his hotel and went all Aladdin on him: I showed him my world. We went in town to Park Street and walked around the Freedom Trail. Then we went up to Faneuil Hall and ate some supper. It was nice. And we walked around the city. I was glad to see him and it was fun. I think he liked the city even though he'd formerly promised me he wouldn't. I like Boston, but maybe thats because I live in suburbia. I want to move in town someday. That would be great. But yes, it was great to see him. I actually also got to see my friend Chelsea when she came to Boston back in November/ December, which was great. Maybe one of my last blog entries was wrong (the one in which I proclaimed I'd never get to see my friends again). I was actually looking into going to Ohio this summer before I got accepted into the DCP again, to see Andrew and Audrey. But hopefully now they'll be able to come visit me in Florida. And my roommate Stephanie is going to try and visit me this summer as well, which is grand and I'm very excited to see her again.
    Alright, well I'll leave you with the nausea and excitement building, ta-ta for now!

Still Waiting, Might As Well Tell You A Story...

    Not much new here, still waiting. I'm trying to get myself back into the habit of writing a blog entry once a week. I still have two and a half weeks left of school then I have some very large final papers due (two 10 pagers and 2 12-15 pagers) but once those are done I well be all set. I am also actually going on a pre-adventure adventure with my friend and fellow Hostess ala P.F. Chang's, Jess.  We are going to go up to Maine to go white water rafting. I have gone two times previously with my youth group and it was an absolutely mind blowing experience. I'm going to be doing that on the 17th-18th of May so I'm trying to decide if I should finish my papers before then because I don't want to waste my time if I'm just going to die before I get to hand them in. Joking. Kind of.
    So sadly not a whole lot of new things to share with you. I have to go get my license renewed before I leave (because I'll be turning 21 while I'm in Florida) and pack (which you know will be a disaster). I'm also in talks with some of the departments at school in hopes that I can get some sort of credit this time (I didn't last time so I've got three semesters and nine credits to go). 
   But I realized the other day that I never told you guys about my last day working at World Showcase. I feel like this blog also helps remind me of all the cool things I got to do (except the super secret ones that you'll never know). Therefore without further ado, and before I myself forget, I present my last day at Epcot:

    My last day at WSC I was assigned to Germany/Italy streets. A nice medium section, not too hard but definitely not boring (see:China/African Outpost). Although I will tell you I was hoping that on my last day I would finally get to do Morocco/ France streets. Never got to do Morocco/France, depressing.  I applied for an ER early in the day so I could leave at the same time as my friend Shawn (who was going to drive me to the airport the next morning, the beautiful soul that he is). He also ended up working Germany bussing and taking care of the eatery-style shops. My ER actually kicked in at 6:00 instead of 10:00 so I was sent home early. I don't think that any of the managers even knew it was my last day. But it was a great last day because I was cut before my trash run and I spent 90% of my day doing water Mickeys on every available surface (a little girl helped me fill one in so he looked more "Mickey-like") and trading pins with people, including this amazing couple that showed me all of their Haunted Mansion pins. Pin trading really helped me meet a lot of amazing people. There was one couple that was actually from Western Massachusetts and I got to talk with them about how their trip was going. I'll never forget some of the magical surprises that I got to pull off. I met a lot of kids from ESPN that last day too, because for some reason they wanted them to get to spend their last day at Epcot.
   When I received word over my radio of my super-extra early ER I panicked. But Shawn told me to get gone. One of the other women had actually volunteered earlier to help me with my trash run so she gladly took it over. And I walked my slow sad walk back out to the office. Just outside the office I was met by my trainer Carmelita who had two trainees for the upcoming program in tow. I was nearing blubberyness at this time so I couldn't tell her much except goodbye. With the two girls she was training though I felt some pull to impart some infinite wisdom or something to them. Not so much. But I knew that because they were coming and I was going they would be instrumental in my remaining friends lives. Needles to say (because I am a psychic) they were, and I actually got to re-meet the two girls when I went back down in July.  Heading into the office there was no one to accept my pan and broom (I will tell you some of the full timers were eyeing my pretty pan and broom those last few days) so I had to track down one of my managers and inform him, without squeaking out my tears, that I was leaving. He printed off some certificates for me, which I now have pinned to a bulletin board, and I said goodbye, leaving my pin trading lanyard with one of the other custodial women and my pan and broom dejected in a corner. I cleaned out my locker and headed back to my apartment where I immediately painted my fingernails black (Disney forbids black) and my roommate Jillian helped me dye some of my hair purple. Ah, rebellion.
    Then I went over to Jay's apartment ( Jay is seriously a god send and no that is not a play on the fact that his name is actually Jesus, I'm pretty lucky to have him and all of my Disney friends in my life) where I stayed the night and Shawn drove me to the airport in the morning.
   My family met me back at the Providence airport with a big welcome home banner and it felt like something out of a movie, especially because of the set up at T.F. Green where I was actually coming down an elevator which I almost got tackled to. Then I grabbed my luggage and headed home. My parents were kind of mad because I actually spent my first few days home cleaning out my room (if I didn't use it for five months I obviously really don't need it).
  When I got home I resigned myself back to school work and real life, picking up the job at P.F. Chang's. I never would have thought that I'd be in this position again, only a year after my nearly-tearly goodbye. But I am, and I am ready to rock.  

We Will Not Live In Fear

   I figured I should write this entry after the events of Monday. I'm really not sure how much this blog shows but I am from Norwood Massachusetts and go to UMass Boston. I will trust you with the secret that I spent Monday in bed trying not to throw up, with tears streaming onto my laptop.  I love Boston and it's people. Boston is historic and beautiful. It's been here a very long time. And: It's. Not. Going. Anywhere.
   I wasn't scared for myself on Monday, my tears were for the hundreds of people that were there when the explosions happened. But sadly, and luckily, the events of September 11th have primed our response time. I freaked out when I saw the news at the fire (as of yet linked) at the JFK Library . For those of you who don't know, UMass Boston is right next to the JFK on the same peninsula. I know some lovely and amazing people there and my heart burst for them.
    But if I know anything about Boston and Massachusetts in general, I know that we are strong. I always personified us as a group of bears. We're friendly and cuddly like Winnie the Pooh, until you make us mad.
    My love goes out to all those affected by this horrible event and I hope you are able to find some comfort in the love that Massachusetts and the rest of the world has for you. Stay strong.

DCP 2.0

   You'd think that me having done the program before would make this second time around super easy. Not so much. Although I will say everyone's pretty supportive about me doing it again.  I, on the other hand, am freaking out. First time around I had nearly four months to prepare; now I have just over a month. I'm hoping to work with UMass in an attempt to get credit this time (or at least take some online classes or something) in order to keep up because I am going to be a year behind now. Give or take a few spare credits for my former aspirations of Nurse-hood.  But this time around it's also a longer sent- I mean term. During the red hot Floridian summer. I'm really a fall girl myself.
    I've started some serious To-Do lists, planning pretty much every day from now until May 27th. That's my departure date. A little earlier than I'd expected. I have to renew my license before I leave because I turn 21 while I'm down there.  I need to finish school strong (which is looking like a scarier and scarier prospect every day). And I need to get there. But the flights booked, the date is set. Ready set go, right?
     I've started working on packing. I definitely overpacked last time, but I'm now going double the time so what is double packing? I'm actually coming home in September for my aunt's wedding so I can switch out some stuff then. But at least I know not to pack an absolute ton of business clothes.  I rarely wore them and they took up so much space in my suitcase. I need them for Traditions and for class (which I'm for some reason not eligible to sign up for during the summer. Hmmm..). I figure I'll just pack my P.F. Chang's blazer and pants and a few plain blouses that I can also wear on the off days. I also now know where to buy almost everything down there. I can also use the ship to store option to pick up my comforter and bedding at Walmart. Plus (because I really want to live at Vista Way again), I can grab soap and shampoo from Walgreens and The Dollar Tree right around the corner.
       The only real dilemma I'm facing now is whether or not to pick my roommate before I go down.  I absolutely loved my roommate Stephanie from my last program, we got along splendidly, and we had fun together even if we didn't get to see each other all the time. That being said, my roommates definitely helped me grow as a person and changed my perspective on living alone. It was tough at points but now looking back on it I love them all. I've joined a few groups on Facebook (which is how I met Steph last time) but without success. If you remember Steph and I were going to live at a one bedroom in Chatham but when we arrived the only options were the 4 bedroom in Patterson or the 3 bedroom at Vista. It actually worked at great and I would love to get another 3 bedroom at Vista. When I say that in the groups though, I think it scares people. Vista Way (aka "Vista Lay") has a pretty scary reputation as party central, which I know scared me away from the place too. But in reality it has the cheapest rent, it's close to my favorite place in the world (THE DOLLAR TREE. I'm rich at the Dollar Tree), and it's really not that bad. I personally thought it felt "homier" than the other complexes which appear to be bleached clean versions of hotels. If that floats your boat.  I'm considering possibly going down by myself and just requesting placement in a 3 bedroom at Vista. But I would at least like to know the person I'm going to share my bedroom with.  My ace in the hole though is my 21st birthday. I don't actually drink, but on my birthday I will be offered the ability to move into a new Non-wellness apartment, so if it doesn't work out then I will be able to move into a new place. And I might fanagle it to somehow live with one of my former roommates from last program. I don't know how I'll manage that, most likely by framing one of their roommates in some spectacular scandal. Kidding. I don't have the time for that. Possibly bribery...
   But yes, that is what I'm up to. I also shared this blog in the Custodial Fall/Fall Advantage 2013 group, so if any of you have any questions feel free to post them on here.  I'd love to offer help without sounding like a pain: *pompous accent* "Well on my program..."

Forgot about my awesome Water Mickeys.
Although they cannot compare to Andrew's!