1) This past week I won free tickets from work to Cirque Du Soleil. It was SOOOO awesome! My roommate Amy and I went and sat front row. The coolest part of the entire show were these four AMAZINGLY talented, 5 year old looking Chinese girls who played with a large spool on a string. Now, I know that doesn't sound that impressive, but these girls were so well trained that they really did seem more like cute robots, than little children. If you ever get the opportunity to see it, do!
2) My training for the half marathon officially starts August 24, but by that time I have to be able to run 40 minutes. Therefore, I should actually be running now to prepare for that. Let's just say I'm very thankful I live on the 2nd floor, as that seems to be the only regular exercise I've been getting lately.
3) I got my hair cut today. It hadn't been cut since February, so it needed to be done. Getting my hair cut is one of my least favorite things ever. I always have minor panic attacks at the salon, because no matter where I get my hair cut, the trims I ask for always seem to end up with enough hair laying on the floor to make at least three Locks Of Love wigs! However, the lady who cut my hair today actually did a great job. It's layered, a few more bangs, and over all not too shabby!
4) My friend Kane (there's your shout out my friend) and I rented Kayaks today and paddled down this man made river by the Port Orleans Resort. It was really fun, and a good little arm workout!
5) This week I made resort reservations and bought all the tickets for my brother Chad's family vacation to Orlando next month. I am soooo excited that they are coming to visit me. I may possibly be more excited about their vacation than they are...
6) Last night I hosted a dinner party for a few of my roommates and friends. My mother would have been so proud of me, we had a properly set table, homemade chicken and noodles, and even said a blessing before we ate. As much as my parents' insistence on proper table manners used to iritate me, I am thankful for them as an adult. The one and only time I was ever spanked, resulted from me not obeying their dinner table rules. I was two years old and just learning to talk. I was done with dinner and hopped out of my booster seat to go play in the living room. My dad said, "Kelsey Ellen get back in here. You didn't ask to be excused." I ignored him. He yelled again, "Kelsey Ellen, back in your chair please." My mom coming to her little baby's defense said, "Kenny, leave her alone she's too little to ask to be excused." I yelled back, "I do know how to say may I be excused, I just don't wanna say it!" I was spanked. I'm just thankful my stubbornness and attitude issues are strictly a part of my past...
7) This week my friends and I continued our quest to eat around the world at Epcot. We chose to visit the American restaurant this week since one of the girls who is a part of our dinner group couldn't make it this week, and we didn't want her to miss out on a fun country. Needless to say the restaurant wasn't that impressive. It was basically like an expensive McDonalds. If you're looking for dinning in Epcot, skip America and head to Japan!
8) Two of my coworkers were in a benefit concert for Make A Wish Foundation this week, and several friends and I went to go see the show. The concert had a huge choir and orchestra that was made up of all cast members who were donating their time. It was a really cool show, and fun to know that all the money was going towards a great charity. Unfortunately, the only bad part about the show was that it lasted three hours! Now I love a good orchestra and choir as much as the next girl, but sometimes enough is enough. After two and half hours, I excused myself to go to the restroom, and never came back....
9) Sometimes in life I have moments where all the sudden I feel very grown up. Last night was one of them. I went out to a bar in downtown Orlando with a group of friends, and we ended up hanging out on the rooftop area of the bar. I just felt very adult like up there. I felt like I belonged in Sex and The City or something. I'm not even sure that Carrie Bradshaw ever even hung out on rooftop bar, but if she did, she probably would have felt like me. Errr something like that.
10) I'm a very laid back person. It takes a lot to really bother me. I'm not a competitive person, nor a jealous person. However, since I've worked for Disney I've developed a bit of a problem. When I'm at work and I see someone else wearing the same Disney name tag as me, my mind instinctively goes to "hmmm wonder what department that costume is for?" I think about it for a few seconds and then go on my merry way. However, theres a different category of people. I want to be these people. I'm filled with envy when I see these people. They are non costumed cast members. Now I'm sure they wake up every morning and put their right leg, then left leg into their very own dress pants without a single thought of how greatful they should be for getting to wear an outfit of their own choosing. I swear right now in front of God and my computer that if I am ever fortunate enough to get to wear my very own clothing to work every day, I will never ever take it for granted!
Till next time my friends....
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Disney's Newest Rapunzel Character....
....is not me! However, I did audition for the part, and the whole process was kind of fun. Basically, I got up way too early this morning and drove to Kissimmee where Walt Disney World holds its character auditions. There were tons of people in a gymnasium, probably around 250, who were all vying for the spot of Rapunzel. We were all measured and given a number when we first walked in. Then they called groups of 50 people into a studio room at a time. We stood in lines of ten and they played music and walked around and pointed and talked about us. If you're thinking, "Ugh this sounds kinda awkward." Then you, my friend, would be right. I was feeling all self conscious like maybe I should smile, no that's trying too hard, don't smile, now you probably look mad. Princesses never have big booties, I should clinch mine. Ohhh gladius maximus cramp! As you can tell, it was a very stressful process. After all of this judging they stoped the music, thanked us all for coming, told us to not be offended if we were not picked, and then called some girl named Brittany to please stay after. In all reality, the girl had HUGE eyes. Like they looked like a cartoon character. Hmmmmmm that may explain why she won. Anywho, I'm glad I auditioned. That's one to cross off the bucket list!
Last week my friend from college, Eric, came to visit me. It was really fun to see him and get to be some one's Orlando Tour Guide. We crammed a lot into one week. We visited all four parks, went to Cocoa Beach, and rented a speed boat (that actually wasn't very speedy). I still had to work while he was here though, but luckily he entertains himself easily. The first day I had to work, I was feeling really bad picturing him just watching TV in the hotel room, being bored out of his mind. So, on my break I tried calling him to make sure he had found his way back to the hotel. He didn't answer my multiple calls, then finally I get a text message from him that read, "Ride the tallest water slide at Blizzard Beach 3 times...CHECK." Only Eric...
Yesterday I took Eric to the airport. Who knew that flashing a little police badge would allow me to go through security and walk him all the way up to the gate? Anyways, after dropping him off at the airport I got a wee bit emotional. I really haven't been homesick at all since I've been here, but yesterday was my first little bout with it. This past weekend one of my best friends, Lindsey, had her bachelorette party, and I was just feeling kind of sad about missing out on that. The combination of Eric leaving, missing Lindsey's bachelorette party, and just being 20 hours from home for the past two months all led to a tiny little melt down. Thankfully, it was nothing a little Steak and Shake Chocolate Milkshake couldn't fix. I'm feeling much better about life today! :)
Last night I officially booked my flight home for Lindsey's wedding! Yay! I'll be getting in at 6:30 on September 1st, and will fly out September 5th. Friends and family, please plan accordingly!
Love you all!!!!
1440 minutes in each day. We all have the same amount of time to use as we like. -Anonymous
Last week my friend from college, Eric, came to visit me. It was really fun to see him and get to be some one's Orlando Tour Guide. We crammed a lot into one week. We visited all four parks, went to Cocoa Beach, and rented a speed boat (that actually wasn't very speedy). I still had to work while he was here though, but luckily he entertains himself easily. The first day I had to work, I was feeling really bad picturing him just watching TV in the hotel room, being bored out of his mind. So, on my break I tried calling him to make sure he had found his way back to the hotel. He didn't answer my multiple calls, then finally I get a text message from him that read, "Ride the tallest water slide at Blizzard Beach 3 times...CHECK." Only Eric...
Yesterday I took Eric to the airport. Who knew that flashing a little police badge would allow me to go through security and walk him all the way up to the gate? Anyways, after dropping him off at the airport I got a wee bit emotional. I really haven't been homesick at all since I've been here, but yesterday was my first little bout with it. This past weekend one of my best friends, Lindsey, had her bachelorette party, and I was just feeling kind of sad about missing out on that. The combination of Eric leaving, missing Lindsey's bachelorette party, and just being 20 hours from home for the past two months all led to a tiny little melt down. Thankfully, it was nothing a little Steak and Shake Chocolate Milkshake couldn't fix. I'm feeling much better about life today! :)
Last night I officially booked my flight home for Lindsey's wedding! Yay! I'll be getting in at 6:30 on September 1st, and will fly out September 5th. Friends and family, please plan accordingly!
Love you all!!!!
1440 minutes in each day. We all have the same amount of time to use as we like. -Anonymous
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Firsts
So since I've written last LOTS of exciting things have happened in my life. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but none the less, here's an overview of my week.
Last Thursday I worked my first night parade shift. The afternoons are generally slow in the Vacation Planner Department, so during the afternoons some of us are sent over to Magic Kingdom to help with parade audience control (PAC) during the 3:00 Parade. Since we are trained to work the parades we can also pick up extra hours, aka extra money, working the night parades. Working the evening parades for extra cash seemed like a good idea to me so, I signed up for my very first night parade shift. Here's the catch, no one told me that the guests turn into PHYSCOS after the sun goes down! I literally have never felt so hated by so many people as I did last Thursday night. Basically my job was to direct people to not stand in the very narrow walk way we have set up for guests during the parade. As I would yell very loudly, "Folks this is a walking zone only please keep moving," guests would proceed to set up camp in my walking zone, and then act completely offended when I would ask them directly to keep moving. "What do you mean my entire family can't sit down in the middle of the only walkway leading to the exit in Magic Kingdom?!" IDIOTS!
On Sunday I volunteered for the first time with Give Kids The World. This experience far exceeded any expectations I had! Give Kids The World Village is basically like a resort. Each family is given a house within the village for an entire week. There is a handicap playground, pool, water area, theater, a restaurant, and ice cream shop for the families who are staying at GKTW to use for free! The families also get to visit area attractions, such as Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios for free! On Sunday nights the staff and volunteers at GKTW create a life size Candy Land game for the kids to play. I helped with the concessions and made snow cones, cotton candy, and scooped pop corn for two hours. In order to qualify, a child must have a life threatening illness, so obviously a lot of the kids there looked very sickly. However, it really wasn't sad. The kids were just so excited to be on vacation and to be doing something other then sitting at a doctors office or hospital. Check the website out if you get a chance! www.gktw.org
On Monday night I ate Sushi for the first time, and it's safe to say I'm a fan! In Epcot there are 11 countries. A group of friends and I have decided that for the next 11 weeks we are going to eat at every country. Monday, we crossed Japan off the list, not too sure where next week will bring us.
Random Ramblings...
I got flipped off during afternoon parade this week.
Friendly's ice cream brownie Sundaes are amazing!
Which brings me to my next point, I broke my no sweets in July rule.
MISS YOU ALL!!!!!
Last Thursday I worked my first night parade shift. The afternoons are generally slow in the Vacation Planner Department, so during the afternoons some of us are sent over to Magic Kingdom to help with parade audience control (PAC) during the 3:00 Parade. Since we are trained to work the parades we can also pick up extra hours, aka extra money, working the night parades. Working the evening parades for extra cash seemed like a good idea to me so, I signed up for my very first night parade shift. Here's the catch, no one told me that the guests turn into PHYSCOS after the sun goes down! I literally have never felt so hated by so many people as I did last Thursday night. Basically my job was to direct people to not stand in the very narrow walk way we have set up for guests during the parade. As I would yell very loudly, "Folks this is a walking zone only please keep moving," guests would proceed to set up camp in my walking zone, and then act completely offended when I would ask them directly to keep moving. "What do you mean my entire family can't sit down in the middle of the only walkway leading to the exit in Magic Kingdom?!" IDIOTS!
On Sunday I volunteered for the first time with Give Kids The World. This experience far exceeded any expectations I had! Give Kids The World Village is basically like a resort. Each family is given a house within the village for an entire week. There is a handicap playground, pool, water area, theater, a restaurant, and ice cream shop for the families who are staying at GKTW to use for free! The families also get to visit area attractions, such as Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios for free! On Sunday nights the staff and volunteers at GKTW create a life size Candy Land game for the kids to play. I helped with the concessions and made snow cones, cotton candy, and scooped pop corn for two hours. In order to qualify, a child must have a life threatening illness, so obviously a lot of the kids there looked very sickly. However, it really wasn't sad. The kids were just so excited to be on vacation and to be doing something other then sitting at a doctors office or hospital. Check the website out if you get a chance! www.gktw.org
On Monday night I ate Sushi for the first time, and it's safe to say I'm a fan! In Epcot there are 11 countries. A group of friends and I have decided that for the next 11 weeks we are going to eat at every country. Monday, we crossed Japan off the list, not too sure where next week will bring us.
Random Ramblings...
I got flipped off during afternoon parade this week.
Friendly's ice cream brownie Sundaes are amazing!
Which brings me to my next point, I broke my no sweets in July rule.
MISS YOU ALL!!!!!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
No Hablar Espaniol
So to say I didn’t exactly take my high school Spanish classes seriously would be a huge understatement. Granted, the two Spanish teachers that I did have both had questionable mental states. Nonetheless, I wish I had used my time in these classes to actually learn from these individuals who, if nothing else, knew a great deal about the Spanish language. Many of the guests that come up to my window do not speak English, and I personally feel ignorant that after four years of Spanish classes, I can’t string out a sentence to save my life.
Yesterday, a Spanish speaking man was at my window, and I was trying to get him to write his daughters name on the back of a ticket. I tried saying it slowly, loudly; using hand gestures… nothing was working. The man just kept repeating, “ I no understand.” So finally, as a last resort I point at the back of the ticket and say, “Tu baby nombre!” Now to be honest, I’m really not completely sure of what that means. The guy starting laughing at me and said, “Si, si!” He then wrote his child’s name down, so problem solved. With all of that being said, I would really like to learn to speak Spanish. I know that I miss out on sales opportunities because I am not able to understand what my Spanish speaking guests are saying, and I don’t know the language well enough to explain it to them. At different points throughout the year Disney offers Spanish classes, so another of my College Program Goals is to sign up for a Spanish class. Deséeme suerte! That means, “wish me luck.” I only know that because I translated it on line…
Speaking of programs Disney offers, this Sunday I am volunteering for my first time since living in Florida. People who are enrolled in the WDW college program are invited each Sunday night to volunteer with the kids who are visiting us through the Make A Wish Foundation. This allows the kids parents to go out for a night, and leave their children with trusted individuals. I’m really not too sure on what this will entail, but I’m really excited about it! I actually had a family at my window yesterday whose nine year old has cancer, and has had to have his leg removed. The mother said Disney has been such a blessing to them this summer because it has been their family’s escape from dealing with the reality of cancer.
On a sad note, my niece Lana’s horse, Sweet Pea, passed away yesterday. She injured her leg so severely that she had to be put down. Another reminder that life is short, and death is a part of all of our lives. Each day you have is a gift, and not a guarantee. As sad as death is, it helps put life into perspective. Life is way too precious to waste it being angry, bored, judgmental, fill in your own blank her…..
Last, but not least I want to give a little shout out to my girl Elizabeth Gajewski!!! Happy 21st Birthday! Liz is an awesome friend, who is a ton of fun to be around! Liz is one of my favorite people in this whole entire world, and is a great listener when I just need someone to be a sounding board for my rambling thoughts! Love you girl!
Yesterday, a Spanish speaking man was at my window, and I was trying to get him to write his daughters name on the back of a ticket. I tried saying it slowly, loudly; using hand gestures… nothing was working. The man just kept repeating, “ I no understand.” So finally, as a last resort I point at the back of the ticket and say, “Tu baby nombre!” Now to be honest, I’m really not completely sure of what that means. The guy starting laughing at me and said, “Si, si!” He then wrote his child’s name down, so problem solved. With all of that being said, I would really like to learn to speak Spanish. I know that I miss out on sales opportunities because I am not able to understand what my Spanish speaking guests are saying, and I don’t know the language well enough to explain it to them. At different points throughout the year Disney offers Spanish classes, so another of my College Program Goals is to sign up for a Spanish class. Deséeme suerte! That means, “wish me luck.” I only know that because I translated it on line…
Speaking of programs Disney offers, this Sunday I am volunteering for my first time since living in Florida. People who are enrolled in the WDW college program are invited each Sunday night to volunteer with the kids who are visiting us through the Make A Wish Foundation. This allows the kids parents to go out for a night, and leave their children with trusted individuals. I’m really not too sure on what this will entail, but I’m really excited about it! I actually had a family at my window yesterday whose nine year old has cancer, and has had to have his leg removed. The mother said Disney has been such a blessing to them this summer because it has been their family’s escape from dealing with the reality of cancer.
On a sad note, my niece Lana’s horse, Sweet Pea, passed away yesterday. She injured her leg so severely that she had to be put down. Another reminder that life is short, and death is a part of all of our lives. Each day you have is a gift, and not a guarantee. As sad as death is, it helps put life into perspective. Life is way too precious to waste it being angry, bored, judgmental, fill in your own blank her…..
Last, but not least I want to give a little shout out to my girl Elizabeth Gajewski!!! Happy 21st Birthday! Liz is an awesome friend, who is a ton of fun to be around! Liz is one of my favorite people in this whole entire world, and is a great listener when I just need someone to be a sounding board for my rambling thoughts! Love you girl!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Days Are Long But The Years Are Short
Yesterday marked my one month anniversary of working for Disney. One month really flew by quickly! It really made me realize that if a month went by that quickly, the entire seven months that I have down here will probably go by that quickly as well. So in order to make the most of my time down here, my roommate Amy and I made our Disney Internship Bucket List. We came up with a list of about ten things we really want to do during the next six months. Some of them, like going to Mid Evil Times, Circus de Soleli, parasailing, will be really easy to achieve and are just kind of there for fun. However, the two items on the bucket list that I am most excited about are to go sky diving and to run the Walt Disney World Half Marathon which is in January! I’m totally stoked about the last two!
In other news, I’ve had a really great week. I’m feeling more confident about knowing how to do my job, except for the day I forgot to give two different sets of guests their tickets….oops. Being done with training has been so nice. I’m starting to feel like I actually have a social life again. I’ve met a lot of really cool people who I work with and have started hanging out with them.
And now for my random ramblings….
- On the 4th of July I offered to be the DD for my friends, but then forgot and drank too much to be driving. So, a friend offered to drive my car. When we got back to my apartment, he forgot to turn off my lights. The next morning I go outside to start my car to leave for work. The car doesn’t start. I go into panic mode. Thankfully the bus hadn’t left yet, so I made it to work on time. Since my dad was unfortunately unable to drive down to Florida to fix this problem for me, I had to take matters into my own hands. Amy and I went to the security office that night to see if they could jump my car for me. The security man basically handed me a battery charger and said, “Here ya go. Black to black. Red to red.” Now I’m all about feminism, woman power, independence BUT I seriously struggle to open the freaking hood, let alone figure out how to hook up battery cables. So Amy and walk back to my car, pop the hood, stare at each other, and proceed to hook the black cable…. to the black engine (or something like that). About this time our man hero comes along and of course knows exactly what to do. I thanked the kind man and told him I would bake him cookies in exchange for his help. This is truly everything I stand against. I yi yi
-For the whole month of July I’ve decided to not have any sweets at all. I’m one week in, and so far so good. But I have been craving chocolot chips like it’s my day job.
-My Uncle Jeff sent me Cds with all of his music from his computer. I’m way excited about all of my new music. There is tons of James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkle music, which I am a BIG fan of. And yes, I am aware that I am slowly turning into my mother…
-My computer has a virus. :(
-I seriously thought LaBron James was a football player. Not even kidding.
In other news, I’ve had a really great week. I’m feeling more confident about knowing how to do my job, except for the day I forgot to give two different sets of guests their tickets….oops. Being done with training has been so nice. I’m starting to feel like I actually have a social life again. I’ve met a lot of really cool people who I work with and have started hanging out with them.
And now for my random ramblings….
- On the 4th of July I offered to be the DD for my friends, but then forgot and drank too much to be driving. So, a friend offered to drive my car. When we got back to my apartment, he forgot to turn off my lights. The next morning I go outside to start my car to leave for work. The car doesn’t start. I go into panic mode. Thankfully the bus hadn’t left yet, so I made it to work on time. Since my dad was unfortunately unable to drive down to Florida to fix this problem for me, I had to take matters into my own hands. Amy and I went to the security office that night to see if they could jump my car for me. The security man basically handed me a battery charger and said, “Here ya go. Black to black. Red to red.” Now I’m all about feminism, woman power, independence BUT I seriously struggle to open the freaking hood, let alone figure out how to hook up battery cables. So Amy and walk back to my car, pop the hood, stare at each other, and proceed to hook the black cable…. to the black engine (or something like that). About this time our man hero comes along and of course knows exactly what to do. I thanked the kind man and told him I would bake him cookies in exchange for his help. This is truly everything I stand against. I yi yi
-For the whole month of July I’ve decided to not have any sweets at all. I’m one week in, and so far so good. But I have been craving chocolot chips like it’s my day job.
-My Uncle Jeff sent me Cds with all of his music from his computer. I’m way excited about all of my new music. There is tons of James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkle music, which I am a BIG fan of. And yes, I am aware that I am slowly turning into my mother…
-My computer has a virus. :(
-I seriously thought LaBron James was a football player. Not even kidding.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Assessments, Oceans, New shoes, Etc.
Good news!!!! I passed the assessment! Waahoo! I’m an official vacation planner. Thankfully, for the first 30 days I’m still on a probationary status. This means I’m not required to have my sales up to par with the rest of the vacation planners who have been doing this job since before Walt Disney was actually born! Ok, I don’t think that would be possible, but you get the picture.
After I had my assessment day I was rewarded with a day off (insert the sound of angels singing here). So on Tuesday I headed to New Smyrna Beach with two friends. The weather was perfect, and that beach is beautiful! It was an awesome day! I would definitely marry the ocean if that sorta thing were possible!
Wednesday I headed back to ol Magic Kingdom for my first day solo. It was not quite as scary as I had pictured it to be. Both of the vacation planners who were sitting next to me were very helpful and patient with all of my questions. In each vacation planner station there is a computer, printer, telephone, scanner, and lots of other objects that require them to be plugged in to work. A fellow vacation planner was experiencing some difficulties with her computer, so she reached down into the mess of all the wires underneath her desk to make sure her computer cord was plugged in. As she reached into the mess of tangled cords, one of the cords started slithering. Not a cord! I was thankfully not in that booth at that time, but a male cast member who was standing outside the booth came inside and grabbed the snake with his bare hands and released it into the wild. The joke among the vacation planners is, “As Woody would say, there’s a snake in my booth.” You can only work at Disney so long before corny jokes begin to pour out of your mouth! So if you need me, I’ll just be sitting in my vacation-planning chair Indian style, with my feel NOT dangling by the wire mess/snake area!
Yesterday I also had a day off. My roommates and I had plans to go to Epcot, but the pouring rain changed our plans a bit. So in the morning I met some friends for coffee at Starbucks. That makes me sound so sophisticated, don’t you think? Then during the afternoon my roommate Alex and I went to the Orlando Premium Outlets, which are conveniently located just 10 minutes from my apartment. This could be dangerous. For anyone who is interested I got a REALLY freaking cute pair of Sperry boat shoes. They are blue with anchors on them!
Today started a little bit more chaotic then I had planned. I will try to make this long story short…. I was scheduled three days off this week. My parents are really into this New Age, Kelsey becomes financially independent garbage (BOOOO), and so I need to make the moola. Last week I asked my manager if I could work today. He said yes and he wrote it down on a piece of paper and said he would enter it onto our online schedule. It never appeared. On Wednesday I spoke with him about the shift not appearing on my schedule. He said he would make a phone call about it. By the end of the day, it had still not appeared. I wrote him a note explaining the situation again, and said I was not sure if I do work what time I am supposed to do so. I left my phone number and asked that he please call me back. No call. Yesterday, I called the two managers whose numbers I do have to speak with them about this issue. I left messages, no calls back. So I think I’m supposed to work at 2:00 P.M. This morning the apartment phone rings (I’m positive this ring is louder than any fire alarm I’ve ever heard). It’s the Magic Kingdom scheduling department calling to notify me that I missed my 8:30 A.M. shift and that I will be receiving a point for this. I become very frustrated and explain what had happened to this guy on the other end that doesn’t know me from Marge Simpson. He looks at the schedule and tells me that the shift was posted on my schedule….at 8:00 A.M. this morning. Thanks! So I call the vacation planning office and finally get through to a manager who knows me. She was very nice and said she understood and since I’m new and this is the first time I’ve had an issue, she would let it go. She switched some things around and I am working at 2:00 P.M. today.
This is definitely just a slice of what it is like working for a large corporation. There are great benefits to working for a large corporation, but I definitly get the feeling early on that I am just a number. It’s a very different atmosphere than when I was interning at Catholic Charities. For example, if I didn’t feel well at work and wanted to leave early I would go into Carrie’s office and say, “Hey I really don’t feel good, is it ok if I leave early?” It was no problem and I left. At Disney, if I’m not feeling good, I log onto the Cast Deployment System, and request an early release. Then I have to wait an hour to see if the computer system grants my request. It’s just very different. Not good, not bad, just different!
In other news I prank called Allison at work last night, and enjoyed doing so very much! You can take the girl outta college, but you can’t take the college outta the girl. Errrr something like that!
Love you all!
After I had my assessment day I was rewarded with a day off (insert the sound of angels singing here). So on Tuesday I headed to New Smyrna Beach with two friends. The weather was perfect, and that beach is beautiful! It was an awesome day! I would definitely marry the ocean if that sorta thing were possible!
Wednesday I headed back to ol Magic Kingdom for my first day solo. It was not quite as scary as I had pictured it to be. Both of the vacation planners who were sitting next to me were very helpful and patient with all of my questions. In each vacation planner station there is a computer, printer, telephone, scanner, and lots of other objects that require them to be plugged in to work. A fellow vacation planner was experiencing some difficulties with her computer, so she reached down into the mess of all the wires underneath her desk to make sure her computer cord was plugged in. As she reached into the mess of tangled cords, one of the cords started slithering. Not a cord! I was thankfully not in that booth at that time, but a male cast member who was standing outside the booth came inside and grabbed the snake with his bare hands and released it into the wild. The joke among the vacation planners is, “As Woody would say, there’s a snake in my booth.” You can only work at Disney so long before corny jokes begin to pour out of your mouth! So if you need me, I’ll just be sitting in my vacation-planning chair Indian style, with my feel NOT dangling by the wire mess/snake area!
Yesterday I also had a day off. My roommates and I had plans to go to Epcot, but the pouring rain changed our plans a bit. So in the morning I met some friends for coffee at Starbucks. That makes me sound so sophisticated, don’t you think? Then during the afternoon my roommate Alex and I went to the Orlando Premium Outlets, which are conveniently located just 10 minutes from my apartment. This could be dangerous. For anyone who is interested I got a REALLY freaking cute pair of Sperry boat shoes. They are blue with anchors on them!
Today started a little bit more chaotic then I had planned. I will try to make this long story short…. I was scheduled three days off this week. My parents are really into this New Age, Kelsey becomes financially independent garbage (BOOOO), and so I need to make the moola. Last week I asked my manager if I could work today. He said yes and he wrote it down on a piece of paper and said he would enter it onto our online schedule. It never appeared. On Wednesday I spoke with him about the shift not appearing on my schedule. He said he would make a phone call about it. By the end of the day, it had still not appeared. I wrote him a note explaining the situation again, and said I was not sure if I do work what time I am supposed to do so. I left my phone number and asked that he please call me back. No call. Yesterday, I called the two managers whose numbers I do have to speak with them about this issue. I left messages, no calls back. So I think I’m supposed to work at 2:00 P.M. This morning the apartment phone rings (I’m positive this ring is louder than any fire alarm I’ve ever heard). It’s the Magic Kingdom scheduling department calling to notify me that I missed my 8:30 A.M. shift and that I will be receiving a point for this. I become very frustrated and explain what had happened to this guy on the other end that doesn’t know me from Marge Simpson. He looks at the schedule and tells me that the shift was posted on my schedule….at 8:00 A.M. this morning. Thanks! So I call the vacation planning office and finally get through to a manager who knows me. She was very nice and said she understood and since I’m new and this is the first time I’ve had an issue, she would let it go. She switched some things around and I am working at 2:00 P.M. today.
This is definitely just a slice of what it is like working for a large corporation. There are great benefits to working for a large corporation, but I definitly get the feeling early on that I am just a number. It’s a very different atmosphere than when I was interning at Catholic Charities. For example, if I didn’t feel well at work and wanted to leave early I would go into Carrie’s office and say, “Hey I really don’t feel good, is it ok if I leave early?” It was no problem and I left. At Disney, if I’m not feeling good, I log onto the Cast Deployment System, and request an early release. Then I have to wait an hour to see if the computer system grants my request. It’s just very different. Not good, not bad, just different!
In other news I prank called Allison at work last night, and enjoyed doing so very much! You can take the girl outta college, but you can’t take the college outta the girl. Errrr something like that!
Love you all!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Here's To A New Week
This week has been filled with more training! I’m finally starting to feel like I’m getting the hang of this vacation planning stuff. The first four days of training was called Core Training. This was all done in a classroom, and it was about learning all of the technical parts of the job. This week I have been in the booth with a trainer putting into real life Yesterday morning I was feeling slightly overwhelmed and frustrated that I wasn’t making better sales, and retaining all the information my trainer was telling me. At the height of my frustration a sweet looking elderly couple came up to my window and wanted to upgrade their tickets. I discreetly turned to my trainer and told her I needed help completing the steps for this particular transaction. As I turned around the old women very loudly yells to her husband. “Damn it Merle, we got a new person. If this isn’t gonna take forever, I don’t know what will!”
I obviously heard her say this. Usually I would just chuckle about something like this, but I actually got a few tears in my eyes and had to play it off like I was yawning. I know, suck it up right? This is something I know about myself and am working on, but I do not deal well with confrontations at all. For me, all emotions lead to crying in .5 seconds. Thanks Mom, for that wonderful trait you passed along to me! I definitely need to work on getting tough skin if I plan to move up at all in management. So the end to this story; the old grouches got their tickets (in a timely manner I must add), and I went to lunch after right they left!
So today I was dreading work a little, since I felt like I was doing a not so great job the day before. BUT thankfully today went much, much better! I sold the crap out of multi day tickets! Those add major points to my monthly rewards (earning certain number of points earns vacation planners prizes like free flights, gift cards, ipods, etc.). At the end of the day I took my assessment to see if I am knowledgeable enough to become a full fledge vacation planner. Tomorrow I find out the results, so keep your fingers crossed because this training business is for the birds!
And now for a few random thoughts.
-Everyone that I work with has been super nice and helpful.
-I love living in Florida. It super hot and humid, but besides that it's a very relaxed atmosphere. It's a much slower pace then up north for sure!
-My request to have labor day off was approved. So I'll be coming home for Lindsey's wedding. WAAAhooo
- This week I haven't been very disciplined about exercising, eating healthy, or sleeping eight hours. Whenever I slip up on any of these areas, it’s a downward spiral. I start feeling really tired from getting up at 5:30 every morning, so I drink soda and coffee to stay alert. I feel full from all the sugar and therefore don’t workout when I get home. Then I’m not really worn out at night, so I stay up late doing random crap, and miss out on all eight hours of sleep I need. This all leaves me feeling very BLAH. So I’m making a conscious effort this week to get back on the healthy train!
-I like eating whole avocados. They’re pretty flipping delicious.
I obviously heard her say this. Usually I would just chuckle about something like this, but I actually got a few tears in my eyes and had to play it off like I was yawning. I know, suck it up right? This is something I know about myself and am working on, but I do not deal well with confrontations at all. For me, all emotions lead to crying in .5 seconds. Thanks Mom, for that wonderful trait you passed along to me! I definitely need to work on getting tough skin if I plan to move up at all in management. So the end to this story; the old grouches got their tickets (in a timely manner I must add), and I went to lunch after right they left!
So today I was dreading work a little, since I felt like I was doing a not so great job the day before. BUT thankfully today went much, much better! I sold the crap out of multi day tickets! Those add major points to my monthly rewards (earning certain number of points earns vacation planners prizes like free flights, gift cards, ipods, etc.). At the end of the day I took my assessment to see if I am knowledgeable enough to become a full fledge vacation planner. Tomorrow I find out the results, so keep your fingers crossed because this training business is for the birds!
And now for a few random thoughts.
-Everyone that I work with has been super nice and helpful.
-I love living in Florida. It super hot and humid, but besides that it's a very relaxed atmosphere. It's a much slower pace then up north for sure!
-My request to have labor day off was approved. So I'll be coming home for Lindsey's wedding. WAAAhooo
- This week I haven't been very disciplined about exercising, eating healthy, or sleeping eight hours. Whenever I slip up on any of these areas, it’s a downward spiral. I start feeling really tired from getting up at 5:30 every morning, so I drink soda and coffee to stay alert. I feel full from all the sugar and therefore don’t workout when I get home. Then I’m not really worn out at night, so I stay up late doing random crap, and miss out on all eight hours of sleep I need. This all leaves me feeling very BLAH. So I’m making a conscious effort this week to get back on the healthy train!
-I like eating whole avocados. They’re pretty flipping delicious.
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