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 =)