Water Mickeys, Sore Throats, and Various Other Adventures

        I love Custodial. Let me start of by saying how much I enjoy the freedom of it, and that I really don't mid the gross stuff. It doesn't bother me. I like getting to talk to guests everyday and find out where they're from and what they're doing. I like being able to suggest to them that their daughter will love the new Little Mermaid ride and telling them to grab a FastPass. I spent almost twenty minutes the other day explaining to a family how to use the FastPass system. I even went with them to get their first one (for the Winnie the Pooh ride!). It was their first time at Disney World and they had never even heard of the FastPass before. It was great watching them realize that this meant they could get in almost twice the fun!
        I've mostly been working in Fantasyland. I've been able to see almost all of New Fantasyland, which I hadn't even seen before coming down for this program. Its definitely fantastic. I can't wait for my sister Makayla to come see it! She loves Ariel, and she'll actually be able to meet Ariel back in her Grotto this time around, fins and all. My family is planning to come down in the beginning of August.  And I actually need to head home the beginning of September for my aunt's wedding!!! I'm going to need a little time off... But hopefully since I work at Magic Kingdom people will want to pick those shifts up. I would actually love to pick up a shift back at WSC at Epcot before this program. Maybe I'll even grab some shifts from other parks while I'm down here. I'm going to have to make another bucket list for this program.
        I have been doing a ton of Water Mickeys and Minnies (you can see me doing a Mickey in some of my older pictures) lately.  There's not a ton of downtime at Magic Kingdom, but when my areas clean and the trash is clear, I love to break out the water. It's fun, it's a perfect way to get people talking to you, and people always seem to find it really impressive. It's also a good way to make people who are sitting out smile. I know I see a lot of people who have to sit outside waiting for the other half of their group to come off of a ride. I used a Water Mickey to begin a conversation with a lovely gentleman and his grandson from West Virginia. Its so cool how people will talk to you and ask you about your life. I love telling kids about the Disney College Program because if that girl in line for the Tower of Terror hadn't taken the time to tell 14 year old me about it, I doubt I would be doing it right now.
          But so I've had yesterday and today off and unfortunately they haven't been going so well. I'm fighting a hardcore cold, one that wouldn't dare to touch me back home in the sanctity of Massachusetts.  I'm also not faring so well with the insanely hot weather, I have been feeling icky and faint outside (which you know, stinks since my job is 98% outside). I'll deal, but for now it stinks because I've had to go home early from my off day festivities. I was supposed to head to Blizzard Beach with Keri and Diane today but when we got there I was so overwhelmed by the heat and my cold that I was considering just laying down on the pavement to die. Instead, my melodramatic self grabbed the bus back to my air conditioned apartment where I've been attempting at home cold remedies and typing away on creative writing prompts and this blog. I always get sick when I'm down here though, Florida really doesn't seem to like me as much as I like it.
        Oh, one more thing!! I got my first Fanatic card for this program the other night for my extensive Water Art and guest interaction as well as my assistance on a large Code-V.  Don't judge me..

The Bird Story

       I basically promised this on Facebook after publishing the status "I made a bird fall in love with me today, Snow White-style. Your argument is invalid." so here it is:
         My third day of work by myself I was working in Pinocchio's Village Haus bathrooms. It was nice, a little bit busy, but it kept me busy and I liked it. I was talking to a guest over by the baby change (she was really nice, we were talking about her cool Mad-Hatter (Tim Burton style) hat and her Cirque Du Soleil obsession0 ehen I noticed movement over her right shoulder. It was something small and brown hopping around on the floor. I didn't want to alarm her, as I was pretty sure it was a toad, so after a moment I excused myself and went over to it.
         It ended up being a very small, brown, possibly baby, bird. I tried to shoo it out and the girl I'd been talking to helped, but it came back in after a moment. It had flown out originally but it really seemed to just like hopping on the floor. The guest suggested that I just leave it be and that it would take care of itself. I figured she was right and my bathroom really needed all of my attention that I could spare. So after turning back to the baby change and wiping it down I tried to forget about the bird hopping around mere feet from my shoes. I changed my gloves and set of into the bathroom.
         I had barely gotten a few steps when my bird suddenly decided that it didn't like the floor anymore. It flew itself over to land on a woman's back. The woman was wearing a dress so I assumed the birds claws were ready to dig into her back. I immediately scooped up the bird and pried it gently from her back (I hope I apologized to her but I really don't remember exactly). The way I'd grabbed the bird I had had a towel in my gloved hands so it was cocooned in my hands. I rushed out of the bathroom with the bird asking any Cast Member if they knew of a tree nearby (not a whole lot of trees at the Magic Kingdom). A Custodial man pointed me towards some bushes, to which I hustled. These were not discreet bushes. Everyone saw some strange Custodial girl wearing bright blue gloves and carrying a BIRD scramble into the middle of Fantasyland.
         Satisfied that I had done my duty I opened my hands (which hadn't been very tightly clasped earlier anyway, I promise) and commanded that the birdy fly free. She wanted none of that. Instead she just sat on my hand staring at me for what must have been a good ten minutes. People came up several times, curious of course. It's definitely not something I do everyday. One girl took several pictures, if you see any of them online or anything I would love a copy, because after the first few initial moments of weird it was pretty cool. I asked several nearby children if they'd seen Snow White around because I could have sorely used her help. I mean I can clean but unfrtunately I can't communicate with animals.
        After a while I got kind of antsy (my legs were breaking kneeling into this bush) and I sort of scooted her gently onto the bush. She sat there, bored looking for a while. I got kind of worried after she hadn't moved but once she heard another bird (presumably male (or female, whatever floats your boat)) she perked right up and flew over. I guess she was just lazy. Or liked me, which is what I prefer to think.

      So there it is, the bird story. I've got plenty more tales to come, some not quite as magical and some not even happy, but hopefully I'll be better at recording them this time around.

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.