Sunday - February 3rd

Since I wanted a day off while Rocky was here, I switched a day with someone who works at the Hollywood Studios Learning Center. (Hollywood Studios used to be called Disney-MGM Studios). I went to work on Sunday - and it got off to a bad start. Disney is very strict about punctuality. Well - I went to the wrong entrance (I did not have authorization to use the area closest to the learning center.) SO.. I had to park on the opposite end of the "Studios" in the Television parking area. (that is what they call it -- not sure why....) Once I got through the Cast Services building, I was backstage. I called to verify directions, but I was told that I had to cross "on stage" through a secret passageway and then walk past guests, only to find a second secret passageway to go "backstage" again. (The Studios does not have the underground tunnels like the Kingdom does.) The directions were very confusing, so I decided to go the long way around all backstage, since I was late already.

Well, during my walk in 80+ degree heat, I realize that I am walking in the middle of a theme park attraction. A bus / tram sort of thing with about 80 guests and 4 cast members on board almost runs me over. It is apparently the Backlot Tour ride and I am standing in the middle of it, and lost. Before I know it - I think the bus (tram?) driver must have radio'ed my presence to ride coordinator - since someone rushes over to me and asks me if I am lost (like it wasn't obvious to begin with.) I am quickly escorted off on the right path before the next bus (tram?) comes along.

The Studios learning center is much larger than Port Orleans. The cast members are different too. ButI don't think it was any busier than Port. I worked with Ashley who was very nice and helpful. The best part of the day was when Joe met me for lunch! It was so great to see him again. (We were roommates for a short while at Florida State University.) He is a manager in Creative Costuming. He and his team make the more formal attire that you would see around the park in parades or special events. The dress outside his office is for a singing group called "Voices of Liberty." (I still don't know the parks well enough to know when or where I would see this group - but my guess would be Magic Kingdom, outside the Hall of Presidents.) Joe just got back from a recruiting trip at Parsons in New York City. He has great stories. I am so glad to see him happy. While he was showing me around the workroom, the bus (tram?) drove by the windows on the far side of the room, with another 80 - 100 guests looking in with curious eyes. The Backlot Tour is following me.

Closing at the Studios was a bit odd. Ashley left at 3:30, and I was there until 7:00. However, I can't say that I was alone. A lonely college program kid who was having a rough time kind of hung around. She also got lost and I told her my story from earlier that day. She thought we would walk back out together, so we could be "lost" together. (For as long as I can remember, I have had numerous experiences of people who cling to me for some reason. I am not talking about my friends who I know well - it is more like random people who hang around me for no apparent reason. Maybe they are just lonely and I fill some void in their life, but at times I feel like they are trying to suck some lifeforce out of me. In this case, I figure this was a homesick girl who had problems with her new job on the college program, and just found out that she missed the window to pick up her paycheck. It was not really a hassle for her to hang around - just a little odd. ) Since the theme park was closed, I felt comftable to walk through the park this time without the hassle of guests. It was weird to walk through the park in the dark of night and no lights - winding through secret passageways, hallways, and stairs. We started out by following couple of people, but I did have to ask for directions about halfway through. When we finally made it to the parking lot - we saw the last (?) college program bus pull away. So I ended up giving the lonely girl a ride back to the college program apartments. It was on my way home. Normally, I would not give rides to strangers, but I could easily take this girl out, if I had to. I had the urge to tell her not to trust others the way she did with me -- but she was from New York -- shouldn't she know this already? She was a little wimpy, so I wonder if she has any street cred.

In the end, I am not sure if I would work at the Studios again. Seeing Joe was GREAT - but everything else was a little different. I guess I just feel at home in my little learning center at Port Orleans.

Feb 2 - Anna's baby shower

Anna is adopting her great nephew in a month or so. Today was her Orlando baby shower. I really did not know anyone there, so I pretty much took the photos. The showere was at the Infusion Tea House. Most of the women there were former work colleages of Anna's or they had worked on charitable events.

January 31 - The president visits

Meg Crofton is the President of Walt Disney World. She came to visit my learning center today. Actually, she was touring the Port Orleans site, and part of her itinerary was to see the Learning Center. I was actually helping a Cast Member when she walked in with some ESOL language books and CD's. So - while I did not get a chance to do the presentation of the site, the activity I was doing really showed the benefits for the Cast Members.

She is actually coming back next week for Mardi Gras. Her "office" while on site will be the conference room next to the learning center. So, I am sure I will get a chance to see her again.

EDIT: I forgot to mention something interesting. I found out the Meg Crofton used to be in Human Resources. Apparently it was shocking that she moved into the President's position instead of someone from Operations. I think it is kind of cool.

Still waiting - January 28

I am waiting to hear more information from the company in Georgia. They said it may take a few weeks. In the meantime, several realtors have been contacting us -- anxious for us to sell our house and buy another. Rocky has had to handle those calls at home. Kind of glad that I am not there. Plus, I am not supposed to have cell phones at work. Rocky sent me this photo of Dalai today. He says that her head is so heavy that she has to rest it on the CD case. Poor Dalai.

Jan 26 - My first day in the parks

Finally, finally....I got to go to the parks using my Cast Member pass on January 26. Heidi, Anna, and Matt joined me. We met Steve and Latoria (other people in DLC training) too. Both Steve and Latoria have worked at "D" before, and they have great stories. They both were "friends" of characters. They knew a lot of the parks, and knew exactly where to go. Here are photos of the first time using my pass, and Heidi is my first guest pass.

We first went to Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. I think this may be one of my favorite rides! Matt took these photos - I think we are on this train.

We also went to see Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, and grab some lunch. We then went to The Studios to ride Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and Great Movie Ride. We had a fun day - and the best part was that it was free.

Animal Kingdom - Jan 20

After a week of training, they let Franco and myself run one of the learning centers by ourself. We were scheduled to be at Animal Kingdom. Arrangements were made for us to get through security -- but we did not have a key. We were told to call one area to bring us a key - and they never came. So the cafeteria cashier helped us to contact Access Control. We finally got in and got the day started.

As soon as I left for lunch, Franco got two tours (most likely college program folks) coming through the area. Then the manager showed up. I just sat in the adjoining cafeteria and watched the whole thing....until the manager asked to join me for lunch. The afternoon slowed down.

Each learning center is different. I really like the set up of the Animal Kingdom learning center. It has lots of windows, lots of people around, and you are right next to the parking lot. It wasn't until the afternoon, I noticed a parade in the nearby parking lot. I even saw a few characters! I saw Baloo (from Jungle Book) , Turk (from Tarzan) and an orangutan with a cooli hat (not sure if from Tarzan or Jungle Book.) These characters were walking from a bus to the parade vehicles. Just walking across the parking lot.

So some of you may think you work with a couple of characters. Well -- I actually get to see them in the parking lot!

I was almost too far away to get good pictures of the parade - since I missed the first part of it. The red truck in the photo is Franco's.

Misc. Photos

Here are some misc. photos that I have.

Heidi's cats:

One cat I like. One cat I don't. I won't tell you which one is which because then you might mention it to the offending cat at some point. Since I have to live here, I don't want to create a whole lot of tension.

Heidi lives near a pretty good hot dog joint. It is called Hot Dog Heaven. During the hurricanes a couple of years ago, the community was pretty devastated by the damage done to this little restaurant. However, they are up and running, and I was able to stop by and get some Chicago dogs one day. YUM!

Catch Up - VSN Jan 18 and Jan 19

I am trying to catch up since I am past due on posts. On January 18 and 19, Anna and I got together to join the Virtual Stamp Night on Splitcoast Stampers. This website hosted a stamping party, with challenges issued every hour. We tried to follow along on the computer, but on Saturday we fell behind. It was very fun to try out new techniques and try to quickly come up with card designs. Here are some pictures from our night. Here's Anna looking up the challenge on the computer.

Some of Anna's cards:

More can be found in Anna's gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=132010

Here are some of my cards:

My gallery is: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=112694

Need to catch up!

Yes, I need to catch up. I have some photos and updates for you. After work, I seem so tired. I think I am on Heidi's schedule. The drive home takes about an hour, so I get home around 6:30 or so, and Heidi gets home at 7:00. Then we eat dinner till about 8:00. After a little TV - I am ready for bed by 9:00 pm. (That is 8:00 pm Central Time.) Maybe Heidi has brainwashed me or something.... I want to go to the gym but I haven't had the chance to since I have been working. When I get home tonight - I will post the photos that I have and show you cards from Virtual Stamp Night!

Decisions, Decisions

I got a job offer from the company in Georgia. I am really struggling as to what to do. Rock seems to have mixed feelings about it too. I am still in training at "D" so I am not sure if I will like it here or not.

I did go to the company store the other day. I made my first employee purchase. I needed to get a better lanyard and ID holder than the free ones received in training. There were lanyards with images of Belle, Pluto, Tinkerbell, each Dwarf, and so on. Employees (cast members) seem to really relate with their favorite character. I picked the lanyard with the letter "D" - which I think it represents that I remain neutral and never pick a side.

The people in my training class received their location assignment yesterday. There was a "pin ceremony" to find out where in the learning centers we would be located. We had to hold out our hands and close our eyes. We each received a pin to represent the location. We had to guess where it was. Since I have not been a pin collector in the past - I couldn't tell anything or know the names of the locations. However, I could tell with my eyes closed that my pin had what seemed like a pole with a string attached. Mickey with a fishing pole? My guess was right - and my location will be at Port Orleans. This resort location is good for me since I will be working closely on HR projects - since it is not one of the heavy employee traffic locations. The pin ceremony was the ultimate in chessey-ness, but it was still a fun touch to the training experience. I will try to post pictures this weekend.

Traditions

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

- Walt Disney

Today I went to "D"'s orientation class. I also recieved my beautiful name badge and employee ID card. I tried to angle the badge a bit so you see the sparkles around the edge.

I also got my first employee cast pin - for Pin Trading. Even the backing has the mouse ear shape

Check In

Friday was check in day at "D." Basically, I had to show my ID, complete a few forms, and I was done within an hour or so. Saturday, I go to the orientation class - called "Traditions." Then my schedule this week will be Sunday through Thursday for training. The learning center is open seven days a week, and I am not sure if this training week will be an indication of my regular schedule. If so, having Fridays and Saturdays off is not too bad. Here are a couple pictures from today:

This is the tent where the check in process started. By the way - it was 80 degrees today. The check in was either outside or in non-air conditioned rooms.

This is where I will go for Orientation and one of the possible locations for me to work. The learning center has 13 locations, and the university is the largest.

Here is a picture from driving around today. It is not the best picture - since I was driving - watching traffic - and trying to hold the camera steady.

Just My Luck

This morning I got up early for a 7:00 am T'ai Chi class at the YMCA. I need to get back to waking up early before I start working. Yes, I was in class with the little old ladies again. I think someone made the comment to Rocky that going to Florida means hanging out with the retirees. The gym is close to the medical center, and it is in an older part of town. I don't mind. After the class, I drove around Baldwin Park (see photo). This is a nice neighborhood, and today the weather was beautiful out.

Yesterday, I watched a movie called "Just My Luck" with Lindsay Lohan. In the movie, Lindsay's character has a very charmed life. I would not say I am as fortunate as Lindsay's character - but I do tend to be in the right place at the right time, sometimes. Remember the penthouse upgrade for the free room in Biloxi? Well, today I got a free lunch. After Baldwin Park, I tried to drive around town a little more and I looked for some place to eat around 11:00. I was the first person to go into Anthony's Pizzeria off of Colonial. I hear the staff rustle around and raise a fuss in a language I assume to be Italian. I didn't think anything of it - until I noticed that someone locked me and the two other patrons inside. As more customers approached the door, I hear them explain that the restaurant was closed because their computer and register were not working. By the time I finished my slice of New York style pizza, I am told that I won't have to pay since they cannot ring up my order. The pizza was great (Anthony's was voted Orlando's best 4 times in a row)- and enjoying the meal for free was a pleasant surprise. To make sure karma was still in balance and all was still right in the world - I left a tip that I felt would cover the meal, in the event the registers were working soon.

Here are a couple of photos from Heidi's deck and side yard. On the deck, you can see Heidi's crazy stick tree. Therefore, the quote for today is:

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

On the side of the house is a fruit tree (I think the fruit is a grapefruit.) The way that it weighs down the little tree reminds me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

Interview in GA

A couple of you have asked about my interview in Georgia. I flew to Georgia on January 2nd. After I picked up the rental car, I had about 30 - 35 miles to drive to get to the hotel. I took I-285 which I was told - this is the the way the locals go. Traffic was not too bad, until I had to get onto I-75. I think 7 - 8 lanes of traffic is just a bit much for me, plus it was starting to get dark. Not a good combination. I did not get onto I-75, but I took the next exit. I explored some back roads (interpretation = got lost) and found the road the hotel was on. After getting settled, I ventured back out to grab something for dinner and pick up a few things at Walgreens. Thursday was the interview. I think it went pretty well. Rocky told me to remain calm during the interview - since I still had the job with D to come back to if I did not get this job. Overall, I think it was one of my better interviews. After the questions, the hiring manager offered to give me a tour of the production floor. I did not know that I would be walking probably 2 miles in heels. The tour was interesting. Along the production floor, security makes the rounds in a small truck. It was weird to have to look both ways before crossing an intersection when you are inside a building. The interview was over at 11:00 am and my flight was not until 6:05 pm. So, I got some tips from Debbie in staffing, and I drove around the area. It was one of the colder days - around 16 degrees when I woke up, and about 40 degrees during the day. It was an enjoyable experience, even if I don't get the job. I will keep you posted if I hear anything. However, I am not sure what I would do since I am supposed to start at D on Friday.

YMCA

Heidi is a member of the YMCA, so I thought I would join too. The one close to her house is the Peggy and Phillip B. Crosby Wellness Center. The gym is close to a medical facility and it focuses on rehabilitation of patients. The gym has all of the latest equipment, and a very friendly staff. Gloria at the front desk is a hoot! She had us laughing the whole time we were there. Saturday, Heidi and I met with a trainer who showed us around the FitLynxx system - which is pretty cool. Today (Monday) I joined the water aerobics class. I was the youngest in class - probably by at least 30 years.

First ATC Swap

On Saturday, I received the AOL ATC swap in the mail. This was the first time I tried to make an ATC (Artist Trading Card). They are like mini versions of a card. The ladies on the AOL Stampin' Up message board are always so creative. It was a challenge for me to think of a smaller design than a normal size card. Here are the results:

Here is my first ATC that I made. There is a little tag that opens - and I used Shimmering H20's for the butterfly. Lot's of first for me on this swap.

I can't get the layout quite right - but at least you are able to see the ATC's.