Busy Busy Busy

I last update 20 days ago....does not seem that long ago. I hate that time is flying by so fast. I have all these things I want to do and I'm afraid of running out of time. I'm not really wasting time either, I hardly sleep haha - I'm always off doing something.

The Pantry is like a little family. Peggy is my grandma, Rhonda is my mom, Bette is my aunt, Cindy is my cousin, Duron is my brother, Stephanie is my sister, etc. We all look out of each other and get along well. Bette even ordered me to go home and not find my roommates at Epcot because she was concerned I wasn't sleeping much. Oh the Pantry, I love you.

I've met some really cool people at work. I get excited when I meet a Marylander. Some guests aren't fun to talk to, they don't really wanna talk to me, so I'm not too chatty. One night there was a couple who were just a blast. Sure they may have been mildly intoxicated, but they still appreciated everything that I did for them that night. Whenever I can help someone or surprise them with an act of kindness, it makes me feel like I have done something with my day.

I almost yelled at one guest. He was being quite the jerk about the engraving I did on his bracelet. I was told not to touch the settings - just put in the name, hit the yellow diamond, then the green start button. Repeat if necessary. He was convinced it was crooked and ugh. I tried to keep my cool, and I think I handled it fairly well. He was just a jerk.

I met someone who is a campus rep for the college program. I really want to do that - I mean UMBC really lacks any form of knowledge about this program, and I really think its a fabulous experience. I also get to keep some perks =P

I really do love my job - 90% of the time I look forward to going. At the end of the day my back really hurts but it's worth it. I really enjoy what I do.

So what have I been up to the past 20 days besides working? Lots!

There was another welcome party - the House of Mouse Dance Party. I told some people I'd get some pizza for them, so I came prepared with foil and bags in my backpack. It, as always, was a blast. Not only did I get to dance - but Captain Hook and Smee came out and got down with us. Of course we got to meet Mickey and Minnie too! =)

The weather was finally getting out of its cold streak of course when I had to work, but Charlie and I still set out on an adventure to Disney's Hollywood Studios bright and early since I worked at 6pm. We headed to Sunset and got some Fastpasses for Rockin Roller Coaster and waited in line for Tower of Terror. That ride is just so amazing.

Everyone knows I'm big into characters, so of course we visited Chip n Dale. There was probably a group of 5 characters out but I knew time was limited so I chose them, and I'm satisfied with my choice. The character attendant ended up walking away, so we asked the family behind us to take our picture. Well the woman was fabulous for she captured everything. Dale ended up taking me away, taking my ring and proposing to me, of course after teasing everyone else. I gladly accepted hahaha it was definitely one of those magical Disney moments that I loooooooove.

We went back and used up our Fastpasses, enjoying the front car, which is really the best. On our way back to Muppet Vision we ran into a couple cops who pretty much made my day. One of them just blew his whistle, no words. The other had a huge bucket, flashlight and crazy shoes haha. We enjoyed seeing Sweetums and walking around the back parts of DHS. After lunch we set to find Janet and Cait - we found Janet! After talking to her for a bit, it was time for me to catch the bus to Port Orleans and then to Downtown Disney for my shift.

The next day Ashly and I met up with my co-worker, Stephanie, and some of her friends and hit up Disney Quest. There was so much to do there. It was a blast from the past since I did it before with my family back in 2001. Ashly and I kicked butt at the Astro Blaster, we were a darn good team! Elliott and Charlie were in the Downtown Disney Area so we met up with them for lunch and a ride to Wal Mart/home. I took the opportunity to get a group photo in front of the beautiful water of DTD on a beautiful day.

The next day was day 2 of my weekend, and a lot of us did have off, so we went to the Polynesian to soak up some sun since the weather was still being very kind to us. That resort is absolutely gorgeous! We did some shopping in their gift shop, 4 of us finding cute skirts/dresses which led to the idea of getting all dolled up and heading to Magic Kingdom. We did just that! Someone let us through the Fastpass line of Jungle Cruise....I think we should get dressed up more often haha. We played around in the Pirate store and then enjoyed some Dole Whip - my first time. It was absolutely amazing! We managed to squeeze in It's a Small World and Peter Pan's Flight before some made it to Space Mountain haha. I did not, but that's fine, I caught part of Wishes, which will seriously never get old to me. It is stunning.

I worked my first 8 1/2 hour shift on what actually was Valentines Day haha. It was surprisingly not bad at all - I was busy and left in a good mood. Maybe because Ashly informed me she was making a special dinner and dessert. I love my roomie, she is fantastic and loves to cook for people (that really is just bonus points). She made Chicken Alfredo and Cheesecake. Yum!

My next day off I decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings with the girls. I've heard so much buzz about it and decided to check it out. I spent more time getting ready then actually there haha. It's a karaoke place and was way too crowded. A few of us left early for some Taco Bell and headed back to the apartment to just chill. It was still a fun night.

Day 2 of my weekend again, I did not waste! Elliott, Charlie, Cassandra, Joel and I set off for Magic Kingdom. It started pouring rain when we arrived, but soon cleared up for a beautiful day. The park was empty so I got a beautiful view of the castle. We hit up Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain (yay Big Thunder!). We also got Dole Whip again haha that stuff is amazing. On our way over to Space Mountain I caught site of Baloo and Rafiki. I called out to stop but no one heard except Charlie. We got really excited for Baloo - he was dancing with us while we were in line. We had to go through Rafiki first though. The cahracter attendant kept calling out picture poses for us, it was a blast. We get to Baloo - so not fun. One random picture and we were sent on our way. Lame!

We found the rest of the group and headed over to the Studios since the main event of the day was Fantasmic! We had time for Muppet Vision and to grab a quick snack before we met with Janet and Alexa for the show. We had amazing seats thanks to Janets expertise of the area =) Fantasmic is honestly breathtaking. I can't wait to go again.

The next day was Ashly's birthday. I unfortunately had to work during her birthday dinner, BUT they all came to DTD for some ice cream at Ghiridelli. We all laughed and had a good time =)

My class starts on Wednesday and I'm REALLY excited. I think it's going to be really interesting. I'm not getting credit for any of this and I really don't care. This experience is incredible and it will look fabulous on my resume.

Boo Boo comes to visit in about a month!!! YAY!!

I DO Work!

I've received comments hinting that I don't work. I haven't written too much about work because well, it's not that interesting. But here it goes.

I work in a small store, we sell kitchen things. I love my cast mates - I feel like I have a few new moms and aunts among them haha. There ar a couple girls from Brazil, one from Taiwan, one from Peru and one from France. It's cool working with international kids but sometimes accents make it difficult. It's difficult with guests too. At least once a week I have a guest come up to me and go "oh Maria! Espanol?!" I have to tell them no and they look so upset and confused.

A big question I get, besides "where are the bathrooms", is about the waffle makers. Everyone wants a Mickey Waffle maker, and I have to break dozens of hearts and tell them they are discountinued.

I have noticed how outgoing I've become and how naturally bubbly I am at work. I'm only naturally bubbly when I'm excited or really happy about something. I do love my job, though I hate working outside on the cart. The cart doesn't allow me to wander or start discussions as much. I answer directional questions and say hello to those passing by but it's not the same. I spend my days just circling the pantry, helping anyone who needs it.

One day I talked to a girl about High School Musical for a good 20 minutes. Another day I helped a guest inside the pantry and out on the cart the same night (he was grateful and nice to talk to), and another day I helped someone pick out mugs. One night, I said hi to a kid who was being carried by her mother. She smiled back - her mother told me that her daughter hates strangers so I must be special. It gave me hopes that one day I will be good with kids haha.

I've been working for about 3 weeks now and I feel like I've learned a lot. I've learned a lot about customer service, how to handle stressful situations, how to work well on a team, how to deal with people etc. They are skills I can definitely take with me. I think it's a different set of skills you learn when working for Disney than any other company.

So that concludes my work portion for now :-) I will continue with my basic overview of what I've been doing.

Wednesday I went to Hollywood Studios in the afternoon with Charlie who I had met the previous week at the welcome CP block party. He's good friends with Elliott, who is good friends with Ashly, and thus I met him haha. When we arrived, a woman comes up to us and asks if we are going in, we said yes, and she hands us two Fastpasses for Toy Story Mania. This is the new ride that always has an hour wait. We thanked her a million times and gleefully entered the park.

We walked around and made our way to Rockin Roller Coaster which had quite the short wait. I noticed we could meet Prince Eric and Ariel so we went and checked that out. Prince Eric is never out! It was awkward though haha. We headed to the Pixar Studios section to get ready for Toy Story Mania. We had extra time and saw we could meet Buzz and Woody so we did just that! They were tons of fun, and Charlie almost started a fight between them haha.

We got done meeting the characters at the perfect time since it was now our Fastpass time! So we got in line and hopped on the ride. It was tons of fun - I think it's the same as the one in California. After our 4-D aracade adventure, we headed to Tower of Terror and then got some Mickey Ice Cream which we enjoyed on the side of Hollywood Blvd.

I hadn't seen Wishes yet, so we hopped on a bus and headed to the Magic Kingdom where we arrived just in time for the firework spectacle. I have to go back and see it again from a proper viewing spot, but it was still really enjoyable. After our adventures in the park, we were both a bit hungry so I decided to make pancakes for dinner. I failed - Ashly came to the rescue making pancakes and eggs! Yay Ashly!!!

The next day I went to Epcot with Janet. I hadn't been to Epcot since my arrival and it's her favorite park so it was perfect! On the way in we met my favorite pair - Chip-n-Dale. We got our Fastpasses for Soarin and then wandered around FutureWorld. We rode the Living Seas and checked out all the fishies, dolphins and manatees. We also rode Jounrey Into Imagination, which has Figment back! We spent a good amount of time in the store, and also Mouse Gear haha yay shopping! After using our Fastpasses at the peaceful Soarin, it started to rain. We hung out at Test Track for a bit, and then decided to venture into World Showcase anyway. We met Donald Duck in Mexico!

We wondered through the eleven countries, stopping in Japan to eat. I was pumped the shaved ice things were still there. SO good!! We finished walking around the world and decided to head back since Illuminations would not be fun in the rain. We turned in early that night since we both had work and had a long day of walking. I mean really - walking around the world is exhausting =P

I had day shifts the ENTIRE week! So my nights were open for fun. I was full of energy when I got back from work on Friday. I wanted to go to Illuminations since I missed out the previous night. None of my roomies were home, so I called up Charlie and we set off on our adventure. I say adventure because finding the way to onstage from where the bus lets off really is an adventure.

Saturday was dinner and a movie night in our apartment featuring Ashly's fabulous lasagne and Donnie Darko as the film. Sunday night was Wal Mart night - SO crowded. We ended up missing the bus by 15 seconds, but oh well. We had to wait an hour, but at least I wasn't alone. We got back late and I made a big pot of spaghetti to share - there was enough for my dinner today, yay!

I'm having a fabulous experience here, and I'm excited for my class to start. Mine doesn't start until the end of February, but my roomies start this week. I'm the only one I know doing one of the Professional Development Studies. Hm.

One more day of work, and then my weekend. I know one day is devoting to shopping since my huge discount ends soon. Who knows what other adventures could come up =)