Polynesian photo blog

Aloha! Here are some photos from my one night stay...

Me on my bed in our hotel room
Me at the pool behind the waterfall. Remind me not to wear my bikini again until I lose 30lbs.

Me on the bridge between the Great Ceremonial House (lobby) and the volcano pool

Meagan and I at Kona Cafe after breakfast with a lush vew in the background

My enormous loaf of french toast coated in cinnamon sugar :D

Living in Luxury

For a brief moment in time, I was a guest at one of Disney's Deluxe hotels: the Polynesian. And while I did have a great time, most of that time was spent after waking up this morning and I could've easily had the same amount of fun without using a week's paycheck on one night's bed. Although truth be told, it was a very comfortable bed.

Meagan booked the room for Tuesday night at the Polynesian, one of the most expensive hotels Disney has to offer. It was neat staying there and it was nice having the 50% discount. But she worked during the day and I was unsure as to whether I was even going to stay the night because I knew I was running out of money and I need to have something left for when Mom and Corbin come to visit me on vacation. Not to mention dining, souvenirs, and the money I still owe to Mom and my bank account. Let's just say, I won't be coming home with as much as I came down here with, unfortunately. Despite getting paid all this time, this has been an expensive trip! But then, Disney always is.

Anyway, by the time I decided to pay Meagan a visit at the hotel and bussed over to the Polynesian, it was already 9pm. That's 6 hours after check-in. 6 Hours spent at my apartment that could've been spent enjoying my room, and getting the most out of the money I paid for it. It was already pitch dark so there wasn't much to do. But I met up with Meagan and she was hungry so we headed to the cafeteria for a late dinner. Then we went back to the room, got our bathing suits on and took a late night swim in the big volcano pool with a beach view. It had just stopped pouring so the pool was almost empty, it was pretty nice. But it was also pretty cold so we didn't stay for long.

We went back to the room and changed into our pajamas but a few minutes later we changed into dresses and went back down to the lobby. Meagan told me it was because she wanted to buy Halls for her cough and maybe that was partly true, but we also met up with a guy who I didn't know she'd invited. It was a guy from work named Reece who, on his last encounter with Meagan, had followed her to her apartment and done some inappropriate things. Why she invited him I don't know, but he seemed like a nice enough guy on the surface. He came back to our room and that's when things got interesting...

He didn't actually do anything but he wouldn't stop talking about sex and related topics, and he kept tickling us and making gestures that showed us he was only there for one thing. When it didn't happen he left, thankfully. Because if he hadn't, I would have.

After he was gone Meagan and I watched TV for a bit and talked, then went to sleep around 1am. We didn't get up until 10:30 the next morning. After I'd showered we went straight to Kona Cafe for breakfast because it stopped serving at 11. I ordered hot chocolate and Tonga Toast, which was kind of like french toast (except it was almost half a loaf of break thick) but it was stuffed with a layer of bananas and rolled in cinnamon sugar. It came with a strawberry compote topping and it was absolutely delicious. I ate it all. It also came with a side of fruit but it was all melon and a few grapes so I didn't eat much of it. By the end of breakfast we were both completely stuffed, but happy!

After breakfast we went to the pool and swam for a while, and took lots of pictures of course. We brought our luggage down with us so that we could stay after check out. They were doing kids games by the pooldeck, things like toy hunts in the pool, line dancing, and name that singer. The guy running the activities was really cute so I joined in. Meagan and I line danced with him and we lied in the shallow water and watched name that singer. It was really fun and we both got tanned from lying in the sun for so long!

In the afternoon the storm clouds started to roll in so we changed and went inside before we got rained on. We got the concierge at the Polynesian to hold our luggage and then we took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian and walked around there for a while, again taking lots of pictures, then we walked back to the Polynesian via the beach to pick up our luggage and go home.

We weren't in for long though! We changed and then headed back out, this time to Port Orleans Riverside to go to the pasta bar for dinner. I got alfredo pasta with veggies and ate the whole thing. Meagan got the same thing with chicken. Then we took a boat across the lake to Downtown Disney, where we stopped at Ghirardelli for ice cream. I was too full for a sundae but I got chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in a waffle cone. It was yummy! I might get a waffle cone again next time instead of a sundae and save myself 4 bucks.

We had to leave right after our ice cream because Meagan's friend was driving down from St. Augustine to take her to his house for the night. So we took the F bus home and guess who we saw on the way? The cute line dancing guy from the Polynesian! I swear the majority of Disney's employees are college program... Anyway we got to talk to him for a bit and then it was time to get off and go home. Since then all I've done is laundry and write this blog! Speaking of laundry, I have to go pick mine up. I'll post a photo blog when I get back so you can see what my Polynesian adventure was like.

The fun and the food never ends....

...Here at Play-n-Dine!

Ah, Play-n-Dine. My home away from home. My nest. My prison. I have been trapped there day after day for a month and a half now, and I'm pleading that the new schedule (which comes out today!) will add a little spice to my Playhouse Disney life. And by that I mean a step out of routine, AWAY from my Playhouse Disney life.

It's not that I mind Play-n-Dine. I never watch the shows but the location is easy and the day gets off early, leaving each evening free. Plus the kitchen often brings treats for us to enjoy backstage. In fact of all the places I've worked, if I had to choose one place to be stuck for half my program every single day, Play-n-Dine would probably make the list. It's just that I don't WANT to be stuck in one place every single day for half my program. I liked it when I moved around to different parks or at least different locations on a weekly (or daily) basis. While it can be nice getting to know the people I work with, 3 months is a very short time and I'd rather experience more locations and be less acquainted with my coworkers than the other way around. Still, I have had some good times at old Hollywood and Vine.

Anyway, that has been my life for the past few weeks. There's really not much else to tell. Over the past few days I've done a bit of shopping after work at Downtown Disney and the Premium Outlets, and I also went to Magic Kingdom one day with John and Steffie and we saw a few shows and rode a few rides. The standard. It never gets old though, never.

I was a little upset about a few things at work the past few days but I'm over it now. The first is that I'd signed up for a workshop on the 8th of July hoping against hope that I could give my Play-n-Dine shift away. It was a workshop I really wanted to go to and the alternative was the daily routine, filling my least favourite shoes--the largest of them all. But Playhouse shifts are hard to give away (that's why I've been force bid here for the past month and a half) and I received no interest whatsoever. At least Meagan got to go since she had the day off, so she could tell me about it. After hearing about it from her, it did sound really cool, but I'm glad I didn't call in to work just to go.

The second thing was that I'd hoped to be remeasured and put into a different height category. I'd heard it was really easy to do and only took a few minutes. So I was surprised when I got a negative response. They basically told me that remeasurements only happen every 6 months, so there was no point in remeasuring me and that I'd just have to wait and see what height range I get into next time if I ever come back. Oh well. With only 3 weeks to go, I wasn't expecting much of a change in my schedule anyway.

Speaking of three weeks to go, there are only 20 days left in July! Or at least, to me there are. The 31st doesn't count because the 30th is the final day of my program. This trip is rapidly coming to a close so I need to make the most of it while I'm here. That's all I can do. The time that has passed has passed much too quickly, but I have had a lot of fun and hundreds of memories have been made. Hopefully I will hold onto most of them forever, and I know that even once the details fade, the Disney spirit will remain in my heart as long as I live.

Ok, enough with the corny. I really didn't have anything to report but what I did have was spare time so I figured I'd give you guys something to chew on to keep you happy :) (I managed to beef it up pretty well considering!) So I guess I'll leave you with that for now and I'll go get myself some dessert. Then hopefully I will get to bed early tonight-- another early breakfast date tomorrow with June, Leo, Handy Manny and Jojo!

The White Glove Award

July 5th was my day off but July 6th was the housing inspection for our building, meaning a Price Management inspection team would be coming into our apartment to assess its cleanliness. Now there are three levels you can get: Pass, meaning it's clean enough to pass and you go on with your business. Fail, meaning they take pictures of your apartment that get sent to your boss and you have to pay to have maids come in and clean it for you. And then there's the prestigious White Glove Award for an apartment that exceeds expectations, for which you get a box of ferrero rochers (sp?).

Now I'm all for chocolate. But the real reason I wanted the award is because I'm a perfectionist and I love to see my efforts go awarded. So we got some cleaning supplies, we rented a vacuum, and we spent the day cleaning. I went all out. We took the top of the stove, we did an oven self-clean, I cleaned out the fridge and even moved the furniture to vacuum underneath. It was a full day's effort.

In the evening I went out for dinner. The plan was to go to Sweet Tomatoes, a vegetarian friendly pasta bar, with Meagan. But we invited John to come along and he already had plans to go to Whispering Canyon with Lorin and another friend Thomas. So we all ended up at Whispering Canyon at 7pm. I'm not going to put pictures up because I look disgustingly obese--and these pictures were taken BEFORE we ate! Ew I'm disgusting I need to go on a diet stat. Ok So Whispering Canyon. Now this is another Wilderness Lodge restaurant, so naturally it's all meat. But they bring complimentary cornbread and I managed to order a salad and an all-you-can-drink milkshake. Now THAT may have been a mistake. I drank an orange, a caramel, and part of a chocolate strawberry milkshake, and by the end I felt like puking. I don't know if it was too much lactose or just too much of a good thing or what. After an hour of sitting at home then another couple hours of heavy cleaning I felt better though.

I got up at 5:30 the next morning (this morning) so that I could clean up after myself before going to work, to make sure everything would be perfect for our inspection. After work I went straight to Vista and picked up my social security card, then to Walmart with John to pick up bread but mostly to kill time because I didn't want to go home until the inspection was definitely over.

After Walmart, though, I didn't have much choice. So I headed home and guess what I found? A huge box of Ferrero Rocher's and a note saying we'd won the White Glove Award! I was so proud of us! So now I've been enjoying rich creamy chocolates all night and making myself sick again. Ugh. But it was worth it.....right?

Happy America Day!

Ok so that last post kind of turned into a novel, so I decided to separate this week into a couple of posts. Let's talk about the fourth of July!

I did work on the fourth of July. In fact, I was up at 4am to get to work on time. The good news, though, was that I was off very early in the afternoon and got to go straight up to Magic Kingdom to play in the park. Of course, everyone else was working too so I was all alone for a while. I went to the Hall of Presidents to be a good little honourary American, even wearing my red white and blue plaid dress. I fit right in with the sea of starry and stripy American patriots around me. Well, the Hall of Presidents was spectacularly dull but it was educational and very impressive technology. It was also air conditioned and a great time killer.

I spent a lot of the day just walking around in the crowd, checking lines for various attractions and texting people to come join me. I went on a few rides and saw the 3:00 parade from the castle hub.

It kinda stopped being fun around 3:30, when I was stuck in a huge post parade crowd alone and it was hot and rainy and I'd been up nearly 12 hours already and everything had a mile long line. But then I got on the train in Frontierland and rested my feet and I felt a lot better. By the time I did one full loop on the train, Meagan had arrived, so we spent the evening together. We only got on a couple of rides because of the ridiculous wait times and we also stopped for dinner at Cosmic Rays. Around 8:30 we found ourselves a spot on Main Street to watch the 9pm 4th of July concert in the sky. Believe me, it wasn't easy. We probably should've staked out a spot sooner but hey, why come 2 hours early when you can come 20minutes early and get a better spot?

The fireworks were beautiful and very red, white, and blue. The finale was spectacular- it lit up the whole park. The camera doesn't do it justice:
After the fireworks we were all ready to go home. In fact, we got as far as the line for the monorail. Then we started wondering whether Dave was going to be in the Electric Light Parade that night. Well, we just had to check, as you can imagine. So we fought our way back into the park, bought ice cream on main street, and walked all the way back to Frontierland just to get a spot. It turns out Dave wasn't even in the parade but our other friend David was, so it wasn't a total loss. Plus it was fun.

By this time we really did have to leave since Meagan had to work in the morning. So we headed back to TTC by ferry (which took FORever, causing us to miss our first bus). The second bus never came so we ended up on the third bus. This seems to be a common theme when trying to get home from Magic Kingdom...

Anyway eventually we got home, and straight to bed we went! It was a work day for Meagan and a cleaning day for me lying ahead...

Canada Day...A week later...

I have been trying to publish this post for a week. That's how busy I've been! Seriously, on Canada day I started it and every day since then I've been trying to work on it but something always comes up. So tonight, a week after Canada day, while my roommates are at a house party and I'm home alone, I finally have the chance to talk about the first week of July.

Canada day was pretty exciting. It started off slow but in the early afternoon a bunch of us Canadians headed to Epcot to show our spirit in our home country...or at least, our home pavillion. A little bit of Canada right here in Orlando! It even poured with rain, just like Vancouver! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When we arrived at Epcot and the sun was still a-shining, we headed straight to Canada. We figured it was a long shot and that they'd laugh in our faces for trying but we decided to ask about openings at Le Cellier. I know, it's a Steakhouse. But I heard good things about the sides from my vegetarian roommate. Well, we checked in and the wait was only 25minutes! Now that only happens once in a blue moon and I certainly wasn't expecting it on Canada Day, so naturally we snatched it up.

I was a bit worried but needlessly so. The atmosphere was lovely, the service was great and the food was heavenly. Tip: If you ever go to Le Cellier, order the mushroom risotto. It feels like your tastebuds died and went to heaven. And PS, they will try to tell you that one side dish is not enough. Trust me, it is! I ordered two and I only got through about half of each. You also get endless bread sticks and drink refills.

So after lunch we went to see O Canada in circle vision. It was beautiful! I nearly cried! It's not really a moving film unless you're a Canadian who's been away from home for months, but Vancouver is featured, and there's some beautiful views and corny music. It's touching. So right around when that ended it began to pour. A lot. We watched circle vision again and did a quiz on Canada in Kidcot (which won us pins! Yay!) and it still showed no signs of stopping so we all went into the Canada store and bought ponchos! I know, it goes against everything I believe in. But, it's better than losing another phone to the Florida torrential rain.
That's us in our ponchos in the Canada store, with the CRP who sold us our $6 plastic bags. Also note the patriotic flag and temporary tattoos.

Oh, so by the way they brought Captain EO back to Epcot. For those of you who don't know, it's a 4D Michael Jackson music video, so naturally it is very strange but somewhat entertaining. Anyway, we went to see that. At least it's a change from Honey I Shrunk the Audience!

By then we'd pretty much gotten our fill of Epcot Canada pavillion (there's really not much to do there) so we went to Hollywood Studios and rode Rock-n-roller coaster and Tower of Terror, got desserts on Hollywood Blvd, and headed home for the night. After all, it was off to work the next morning...

All in all a very Canadian day, probably the most patriotic Canada Day I've ever had- and I didn't even spend it in Canada!

Harry Potter-iffic day

This is only my fifth post in June?!?! Wow I can see why you guys are getting restless for more posts... The truth is June has been even busier than May and my journal is almost as behind as my blog, so I guess there are some days that will exist only in my memory and never on paper...or computer... because the more I try to catch up, the more new stuff I begin to forget.

Let's talk about yesterday. I got to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! Other than being in 30 degree Florida weather and surrounded by muggle tourists, it was like I was actually there in Hogsmeade! Ok, maybe not. But it was really cool nonetheless.

I won't say too much because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. But butterbeer is really good, especially frozen. Chocolate frogs are expensive. And the new ride? Well I was so excited that I cried when it started. No joke. I can't wait to share it with fellow Potter fans...ahem, Arielle...
Me being an evil hatless Slytherin... I have photos of my being a not-so-evil hatful Slytherin, as well...
Me playing Quidditch! Ok, maybe not, but I am mounting a broom...
Me chillin' outside HOGWARTS!!!!! I know I have bad hair. I blame Popeye.

So that's all I will give away right now. Also I have to go to Downtown Disney soon, I'm going to see Toy Story 3 again! Love you all and I'll try to post again soon. <3

Ketchup

First of all, I'm sorry if my last blog came off a little harsh. I was only kidding, mom. I know you all want to hear about what happens down here and I do want to tell you, but just yesterday I missed work because I overslept from getting to bed too late the night before. That's how bad my sleep deprivation is getting on some days. So I'm on my way to Walmart to buy a new alarm clock that will hopefully get me out of bed on time, and I might stop at the Starbucks at the Premium Outlets to get a my way frappe...just saying...

I'm going to try to upload my pictures soon and give everyone a proper update. Until then, here's a photo from facebook of my birthday dinner! John surprised us with a buffet dinner at Fort Wilderness and embroidered birthday hats and buttons. So cute! I nearly cried. I also have a photo of how happy I was when I got my birthday package from home. So happy!!! I'll post it later.Also yesterday was halfway day. So although I'm happy for all that's happened and I'm happy to see all you folks again, I'm a little sad that there are less than 44 days left of my program, and that the fun is half over. But, on the other hand, the fun is half...full? I'm trying to say that there's still half of my trip left, so there's lots more fun to be had.

For now I'm off for a lovely day of shopping (not too bad since I don't need many groceries, mostly just soy milk, vegetables, and ice cream for tonight :D). I hope to talk to you all soon and I hope summer vacation is going well!

A very brief update...

I realize I haven't written a blog in quite some time. And I also realize I have promised--or rather, had certain people make one way promises about me--that I would update my blog on more than one occasion (by this I mean, mom has been bugging me to write every day). Well, I've meant to! Heck I've even gotten so far as to pull open this page. But when so much happens every day, it takes a very long time to even write about that day, let alone play catchup for a week's worth (or more) of eventful days.

Well, time is something I don't have a lot of down here. Especially this week, my birthday week, I simply have not had access to time and a computer at the same time for long enough to write a blog. And energy, well, that's something I never have access to these days.

Today is no exception. It's already past 10:30 and I'll be getting up for work in 7 hours. On top of that I haven't been getting nearly enough sleep lately, so really this is just a quick update to let you know that I'm still here, I'm doing fine, I'm having lots of fun and lots of work and lots of busy. I miss you all and I miss home more and more every day as the temperature climbs into the hundreds, farenheit. I haven't even had the time to write in my journal but don't worry, I've been keeping track of the events that happen on my phone because I can do that while I'm out. As soon as I get the time I'll sit down and write about those events, elaborating on the details.

For now, it's bed time. But not to worry, once I catch up on my sleep, I'll catch up on my blog. Until then, so long, farewell, {something german} and goodnight! <3

Rest, Relaxation, and Grocery Shopping

Hi everyone! Not much to report today, I'm just checking in and saying hi. Well I'm here I might as well talk about yesterday and today.

Today/last night I was up until 4am after a strange chain of events and then some internet and chat time, so I was figuring I would sleep the day away. Not so. around 10 my roommates were out in the living room talking quite loudly and woke me up. I didn't mind but I was pretty tired. I came out to join them and we talked for a while. Around 11 Megan and I headed over to get the H bus to Publix for some grocery shopping fun. Or rather some grocery shopping torture. I don't really mind the shopping part, it's the spending money, the hour bus ride home, the carting groceries around and the putting things away that I'm not too fond of.

Well, let a hungry, tired teenage girl loose in a grocery store and you know what you'll end up with. Junk food. I bought such items as non-dairy fudgsicles and ice cream sandwiches, cinnamon bun flavoured toaster strudels, chocolate covered raisins, two bite brownies, and white chocolate caramel flavoured instant cappuccino mix. Ooh, and vanilla coke zero. I was excited! I've felt like drinking coke more since I've been down here and they no longer sell vanilla or cherry coke in Canada. Well I wanted to buy coke zero but then I saw VANILLA coke zero and I had to buy it. So I did. Don't worry mom, I also bought dried and fresh fruit and vegetables, lunch size packs of hummus and fruit juice, and bread, so I'm not going to be living completely on junk food. Just mostly. Want to know how much I spent on groceries? Well I'm not going to say because it's embarrassing.

I bought so much that I could hardly carry it all. A taxi driver came up to me and asked me if I wanted a taxi home because I looked so ridiculous. How could I refuse? The bus ride home from Publix is over an hour. The taxi ride was less than 5 minutes. It cost me $6 but I got home before Megan, who got on the bus nearly an hour before I left. If only she'd known, then we could've split the cost and been home in minutes for only $3! Of course that would require her following me around Publix for an hour. Although that could've been good, because I wouldn't have bought as much. ANYway, you can tell I'm tired from all the rambling I'm doing.

So here's me after eating some baguette and hummus, blueberries, vanilla coke zero and a mini non-dairy banana split ice cream sandwich, while watching an episode of Star Wars: the Clone Wars. Also a bit embarrasing. But I wanted to see what it was all about because that's what this year's Star Wars Weekends seems to be focused on.
Yes, I took it on photobooth on my mac while sitting in the dining room drinking my pop, in case you were wondering.

So here's my plan for the rest of the day: go swimming, come back and take a nap or at least rest while watching tv or reading, then eat dinner (morningstar farms chick'n nuggets, rice--which I made during lunch, so prepared heehe-- and salad, with brownies or a fudgesicle for dessert), then go to Magic Kingdom for the Electric Light Parade Cast Preview. I would go even if I didn't have two friends in it, but I do, so it will be even better. I'm hoping that by eating dinner beforehand I won't be tempted to spend money in the parks. It's a nice thought but I don't know how well it will work out. It's just that it's only been 3 days of June and I've already spent nearly $200. Yikes. On the bright side, the groceries I bought will probably last me for weeks to come. That's good, right?

Ok so before I go and follow my genius day plan, I'll talk a little about yesterday and post some pictures (which I had to drag onto my desktop before loading. For some reason the last few imports into iphoto have not been showing up in the photo menu for blogger. Weird.)

So after horseback riding I went to Magic Kingdom with Meagan, Megan, and Amy. Meagan and I wore birthday buttons (it's less than a week until our birthdays, I think we're entitled). It was really fun. I felt special because almost every cast member I saw wished me a happy birthday. Some even said my name! For dinner I ordered a kid's meal (cheese pizza with grapes and fries, plus a diet coke, all for a bargain price! I love kid's meal deals) and I got a cookie for free! Yay for birthdays at Disney. Next week is going to be super happy fun time when it actually IS my birthday :)

So anyway, here's us on the carousel. I laughed because we'd spent the afternoon riding real horses, and here we were riding fake ones around in a circle. Good times. That's Megan in the back and Meagan in the front. :D
My first mickey bar ever! These things are world famous and I've never ever eaten one before yesterday. It was good. Well, except that I had to force it down because I eat slow and everyone else eats fast and they wanted to go on the carousel. After that we rode the teacups twice in a row. I thought I was going to puke the first time and I really should've sat the second one out. I was ok after a few minutes though, and we went on Pooh next so it was pretty tame.
We also went to Tomorrowland to ride TTA and Space Mountain. Of course the daily thunderstorm hit while we were in Fantasyland so the ground was soaking wet. It was good the storm came late, otherwise it would've interrupted our horseback riding session and might've dampened the experience. HAHAHAHA I'm so witty.

Ok so we left at park closing, which was 10pm, just as wishes was going on. This was taken while we were walking up to the monorail. That's the finale of wishes taking place right over the train station. It was so beautiful!

Well the 3pm thunderstorm has hit right on schedule today, so maybe swimming is not the best idea right now. I guess I'll head into my room for some TV and rest, and try to go swimming a little later. There's been a thunderstorm everyday for the past week or more, usually in the afternoon or early evening. Right now the trees outside my window are blowing so hard they look like they'll fall over. If the wind is strong enough to move trees like that, outside is not a good place to be right now. I feel bad for my roommate Christina, she just went out to play mini golf about an hour ago! That should be interesting in this weather. Although the storm is necessarily raging where she is, since they tend to be pretty concentrated.

Well that's all for now folks. I'm going to decide what show to watch online and cuddle up in my bed. Or maybe I'll just go to the couch, it's probably more comfortable. TTFN!

One Month-iversary in Florida

Ok so I was just about to go to bed when I remembered I promised Mom I'd write a new blog tonight. So, here it is.

I've been in Florida one month today, from May 2nd to June 2nd. That's pretty significant considering I'm only going to be here for 3 months! In fact I only have 59 days left including departure day, when I have to check out at 11am. Throughout May it felt like I was counting up the time I've been here, but now that I've hit June I find myself counting down the time I have left. I'm actually starting to worry that I won't be able to fit everything in! There's not much longer until I'll have spent more time here than time remaining: the halfway mark is in less than 2 weeks.

So let's talk about last month (that still sounds weird. I really can't believe it's June!). I've realized a few changes since I've been here. My hair's a bit longer (I'm getting it cut into an angled bob next week! Sooo excited!), I'm a bit more independent, I'm able to survive and thrive on fewer hours of sleep, my eating habits are horrendous, my spending habits are terrifying, and I think I've gained a little weight, mostly because of the latter two changes. I'll have to go to the gym to confirm this because I think they have a scale. I wouldn't know since I haven't set foot in there once, probably another contributing factor to that last item. My grocery list for tomorrow is a little scary, but my excuse is that I can't keep fresh food around because I never eat dinner at home, so it goes bad. Of course if I ate food at home once in awhile, that problem would go away. Yet usually my chances to go to the parks come in the evening, by which time I want dinner and dessert, so you see the predicament I'm in.

Since it's the dawn of a new month, I decided to look over my receipts for May and estimate how much money I've spent so far, sort of as an assessment to see where I stand. The amount of money I've spent is appalling, but at least it doesn't overshoot how much I've been paid by too much. I would say I'll try to conserve money in June, but it would be a lie. It's my birthday month and I've already got more than one probably expensive celebration planned. I'm also getting bored of my clothing and want to go to the outlet. And thirdly, I've hardly bought any souvenirs yet, so that will probably come out of June's paychecks too. Needless to say I won't be coming out of debt any time soon. But money troubles aren't what I'm here to talk about. I'm just throwing it in there because it fits in with my whole 'month-iversary' theme.

In the past month I've worked at all four Walt Disney World theme parks at least twice, and I'm starting to get the hang of it. New recruits are arriving and I'm beginning to feel like I'm not the newbie anymore. When I'd been here 2 weeks and 3 weeks, people treated me as new, but when I can say I've been here a month, it somehow makes me seem more seasoned. Now if I said I'd been here 4 weeks, it might be a different story. The word month vs. week has a different impact on the human perception I guess. I don't even know if I'm making sense right now because it's after 2am and I'm really tired. No, I'm not setting my alarm tomorrow! Heehee I'll probably sleep in till noon. Ugh.

I don't have the brainpower to think about the week and what I have and haven't said already. So let's talk about today!

Today I woke up and did laundry. Then at around 1:45 Dave came and picked us up (us being me, my roommates, Amy [a different Amy], and Meagan. We were a party of 2 Megans, 2 Amys, and the rest. It was fun.) to go horseback riding. We went to Wilderness Lodge for a 45 minute trail ride in the woods. It was amazing! My horse's name was Sylvester and he was a very good boy. He only tried to eat a few times and I had to pull back on his reins. He mostly just followed behind the horse in front and I hardly had to steer. Other than making my knees and legs sore, riding was a very peaceful experience. I haven't ridden in a long time and I'm so glad I did it. Especially since I got a 50% cast member discount! So worth it.Pictured is Sylvester and I. He's leaning down to eat the grass right here. It's the last ride of the day and he's hungry! I don't blame him. Ok, truthfully, we're all friends here--aren't I looking a little chubbier? Honest opinions please?

After riding we came home for a spot of lunch then went to Magic Kingdom. We of course had dinner there (you don't go to the parks and not eat. You just don't. It doesn't happen). I had a kids cheese pizza at Pinnochio's Village Haus. (Yes, it's supposed to be like that. I'm not so tired I can't spell, don't worry.) We stayed until closing at 10pm and got quite a lot done in that time. Meagan and I wore birthday buttons because it's our birthdays in 6/5 days respectively, so I'm going to wear mine all week. Almost all the cast members said Happy Birthday to me or her or both. It was fun. And my meal came with a free cookie because of my button! Bonus!

Tomorrow I have the day off and I don't have a whole lot planned so hopefully I can post more then. Hopefully I can also post more pictures since blogger is being annoying and forcing me to drag pictures onto the desktop before I can upload them. ANYway, have a good night everyone and I'll talk to you soon!

Last day of May

Guaranteed this will be my last post of the month. Why? Because there's only one hour of May left. That's right, it's 11pm and in just one hour it will be June 1st, the start of a new month. A new coloured pen for my journal, a new scent of body wash for my showers, and a new year of my life starting in just seven days! Yes, my 19th birthday is one week from today. Can you believe it? Unfortunately we couldn't get a group booked off for that day because we requested it too late, but Meagan and I have the 9th off anyway so we're planning a birthday celebration that day.

The last month has been long in some ways but short in others, incredible and unbelievable, memorable but at the same time, so much happened that I can't remember individual days without the help of my journal. Every day goes by so fast that the month has flown by, yet so much has happened in these four weeks that it feels like I've lived here forever. And I still have a hard time believing that I'm really here, doing what I'm doing.

Yet on the other hand, I'm already a third of the way done! I need to find some way to hold on to the present, despite how fast it slips away, because I know I'll be on the plane home crying by the time I realize two more months have gone by.

As for photos, a lot of my time has been spent with friends so one person takes photos and we're supposed to share them on facebook, so unfortunately I don't have many pictures. I'm also really tired and posting pictures takes a long time. I will post one though, for Corbin's benefit:Star Wars Weekends! Yay! Unfortunately most of the stage shows got cancelled that day because of 2 hours of solid pouring rain, so I saw nothing but one indoor show about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, an animated show.

I'm sorry folks but I'm very tired and I have to work long and hard (well maybe not hard, I'm a spare) tomorrow so I really can't write anymore tonight. You'll have to wait until June for more updates from me (hardy har har!). Happy Memorial Day to all and to all a good night!

Eating Around the World: Week 3

Ok, so my blog has become a bit of an eating-around-the-world blog. But I promise I'll post another one after this that will not be about food. Or at least, not entirely. :)

This week's meal came a little early because we happened to be in epcot today, and Meagan's family is coming on Thursday so this was probably our only chance this week to eat together.

As we walked back to future world after last week's Morrocan adventure, we saw a man eating a big ol' pile of nachos in Mexico. We decided this week's meal would be macho nachos with all the fixin's in Mexico. That is, until we found out they were loaded with beef (doesn't work for me, though we may have been able to get them without) and narsty nacho liquid cheese rather than melted cheese, so we passed up mexico and went to the next country over, Norway.

Unfortunately Norway has only an expensive princess sit-down restaurant and a bakery, neither of which appealed, so I suggested we go to La Boulangerie Patisserie in France because I'd heard good things. Of course, France is on the other side of the world. It was a hike, but we finally ended up in France. I got the cheese plate with baguette, an ice cappuccino and we both got strawberry tarts for dessert. (which is funny, because we'd already decided to go to Ghirardelli's for sundaes again, which we also did. Double dessert is double the fun!) Unfortunately I forgot to photograph my food until I was almost done, but just envision these cheese slices only bigger, plus one more hunk that looked like mozza, plus standard white baguette.
The beautiful strawberry tart I did get, though. It was pretty AND yummy.

The ice capp looks really gross in the picture so I'm not going to post it. Actually I was a bit disappointed by the flavour too, I remembered disney ice capps being really good, but maybe they are in other places.

After dinner we walked back through Canada and took a long route via Port Orleans to Downtown Disney. We did a lot of walking so there, I earned my Haight Ashberry thousand plus calorie sundae. It was really yum. Once again I ate the whole thing. I didn't think to photograph it this time but it was beautiful too. After dessert numero dos it was already after 9pm and I have to work at 7:30 tomorrow morning for 11 hours, so I decided it was time for me to leave. Now it's a pouring rain thunder storm out there, so I'm kind of glad I did! Also it's nice to be in a warm, comfy bed, that's for sure.

Eating Around the World: Week 2

This is going to be a quick post since I really need some sleep before work tomorrow, but I wanted to get it up here before tomorrow rolls around and I run out of time all over again. And eventually, I still have to talk about last week!

This morning was the trolley workshop at Animal Kingdom. I'll talk more about that later, as well as the fanfare that happened afterward...

Ok so today was week 2 of eat around the world at Epcot. I know it seems like all I talk about is food, but that's only because a) all I think about is food and b) to be fair, my last post was talking about a full week ago, I just published it late.

This week was Morocco. We went to Tangierine Cafe, the quick service Morocco restaurant in Epcot. I got the falafel wrap because although the vegetarian platter looked good, it was really big and it came with a huge pile of olives that I wouldn't eat. It would've been good to share but people down here like to get their own things, so whatever. The wrap was supposed to come with couscous and lentil salad. I asked to have hummus with my wrap, which it did not include, but she said I could add it. I was served two whopping containers of hummus and no sides. It turned out alright though, because I got through most of the hummus and I was very, very full by the end of dinner.

After dinner we hit up a few rides. We rode the Land boat ride before dinner, then took the boat from future world straight to Morocco. Then we walked through in the Mexico direction trying on hats and accessories and taking pictures in each pavilion. Unfortunately this was all on Meagan's camera, but hopefully she will make these pictures available on facebook soon. On the way back we rode the boat ride in Norway and the three caballeros boat ride in Mexico, then test track in future world. By then the park was closed and it was time to leave!

We still wanted dessert so we took a bus to Port Orleans resort then a downtown disney bus so we could get sundaes at Ghirardelli. I got a peanut butter hot fudge sundae: vanilla ice cream, melted peanut butter, hot fudge sauce, whipcream, and peanuts topped with a peanut butter Ghirardelli square. Yum. Never before have I eaten an eight dollar sundae, at least not to myself. Did I eat the entire thing? Yes, yes I did. Don't judge me.
After dessert it started POURING all of a sudden so we took refuge in World of Disney, but eventually we got tired and made a run for the busstop. Then we took the annoyingly long busride home, and here I sit, full but happy and also very sleepy, at midnight in the living room.

I have to work at 8:30 tomorrow which means getting up at (at least) 6:30, so I really need to be off to bed now. I promise I'll try to write a blog tomorrow after work (Note I said I promise I'll try, not I promise I will). Hope all is well back home! Love you all and miss you!

Eating Around the World: Week 1

I know, I know, it's been nearly a full week since my last post. But I'm going to start right where I left off: Thursday evening (May 20th).

Soon after I finished that blog I went out to Epcot with Meagan. We walked partway around the world showcase doing the Kim Possible adventure game! It was really fun. We got to be super sleuths and it was a good way to notice all the little details they put into each pavillion. You also get to see little easter eggs that can only be activated by the Kimmunicator. We stopped the villains in 2 of the 7 participating countries, France and Germany, but after that it was time for dinner. We were both feeling like a change from American food so we walked over to China (a surprisingly short journey from Germany, hahaha) to get some fastfood Chinese. It still tasted American but hey, it was a change!

So then we decided we would make a pact to eat around the world. Every country. Well, every participating country, which is 11 in total. Since we started last week, we have exactly enough time to eat at one country per week, and finish on our last week here. I've also decided to document this epic, so here's my first week of around-the-world dining:Above is my vegetable stir fry from Lotus Blossom Cafe. The vegetables were a little greasy from the oil in the sauce but overall, a good meal. About the quality you would get from any middle class chinese restaurant in Vancouver, which is pretty good for theme park food!

It's coming up on our second week of world dining, so we'll have to pick somewhere to go and get ourselves back to epcot. I think Meagan wants to go to France, but not the expensive restaurant, just the boulangerie for pastries. Sounds like an excellent idea to me!

Well since this is my around the world dining post, I'll leave writing about the weekend--or rather, your weekend, my 5 days straight of work--for another post.

Until then, zài jiàn, which according to wikianswers is goodbye in Chinese! (Hope I'm not offending anyone by having it totally wrong, heh...)

Picture blog

I just remembered I'm supposed to post some pictures. So, here we go.

My roommate convinced me to walk through the water fountain (see that one in the background?) at Epcot just as we were leaving. I was soaked. It was ridiculous. And by this time I had just finished getting completely dry off Kali River Rapids earlier that day. The air conditioned bus ride home was cold.

My friend Dale and his brother Chip and me!

Me and my friend Winnie the Pooh. Oh no wait, it's just Winnie the Pooh. Willy nilly silly old bear!

Me and my friend Tigger. I had to skip his buds Eeyore and Pooh to get to see him in time! He racks up some pretty crazy lines yes indeed-y.

My roommates Amy, Megan and me at Animal Kingdom. That goes in order from tallest to shortest :p

Still tired

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't written in a while but it's been crazy as always around here. I've been surviving on 6 hours or less of sleep so today I slept in until 11. It made today go by so fast- it's already after 4 and I haven't really done anything yet except set up my new phone and eat. Oh and speaking of my new phone, here's a picture:












It's cute and fun and best of all, it has unlimited texting! Yay!

I've been off work for the past few days. I tried to pick up a shift on Tuesday but no dice, so I just went to Animal Kingdom to visit my friends (yes, I practically live at Animal Kingdom). I also went to Magic Kingdom with Meagan and met a creepy guy who reminded me disturbingly of stalker boy... Finally we went to Beaches and Cream at the yacht and beach club resort and ended up with a group of 10. We got seated right around closing time, so luckily they seat until 11, not serve until 11! We ordered the kitchen sink. Just one, between ten of us, and we still had plenty to eat. It was an interesting concoction. I'm glad we got one between 10 and not 2. Maybe we'd get through 2 with 12 people, but not 10! After eating we went out onto the beach and played around on the sand for a while. But pretty soon we had to call it a night because Wednesday morning was the morning of the 6am social security trek.

I got up at 5:30, got on the bus at 6, and didn't leave the social security office until 9. I only had 4 hours of sleep so I was exhausted all day, but I still found the energy to go to Animal Kingdom (AGAIN) to visit Goofy and then Hollywood studios with my roommates. I rode tower of terror twice, once alone while I was waiting for my roommates in American Idol and once when they found me. Then we got coke slushies and went on the backlot tour and toy story mania, but that was pretty much it. We were all tired and Megan had a 5am shift the next day, plus Amy and I had to go to Walmart, so we left around 6.

Ah, Walmart. Or rather, UGH Walmart. I spent a very very very long time getting my phone and the sales associates weren't much use but I finally got the cute blue AT&T one, which I set up today. I also got an over-the-door towel rack, hair elastics, Silk, and envelopes for receipts. All this cost about $15 and took about 10 minutes. The rest of the time was spent in electronics.

On the busride home I met some newbies who just arrived yesterday and are here until January. It was weird giving them advice and being the experienced one, even though I've been here less than 3 weeks and I still feel pretty new myself. Still, it's a bit of a shock that I'm already nearly a quarter of the way through my program. I only just started and yet I haven't got a whole lot of time left!

As for today, it's been a bit of a lazy recuperation day. I'm planning to hit up epcot later but nobody else can/wants to go, except for Meagan who's busy right now. I might head over to Downtown Disney for a while until she's done doing laundry--I want to check out the dog store, the $10 or less store and the World of Disney. It's probably good that I'm resting today anyway because it's been pretty go-go-go since I got here and I'm getting pretty tired. In fact I've been eating and sleeping all day but I'm still tired! I've got 5 days in a row of work coming up so a bit of rest is probably a good thing.

Anyway I'm getting bored so if Meagan doesn't text me soon then I'm going to find something to do with myself for a while. That's all for now!

Loooong Haul

Wowee today was a long day. I worked from noon until 11:30 as a spare at MK, and I got pulled twice near the end of the night. Surprisingly I never felt like the time was dragging or that my out time would never come. I actually enjoyed the day--I was just getting very tired by the end of it (not to mention hungry!).

Guess what? I haven't spent any money on food in the past 2 days! I've eaten only food from home. That may not sound like anything special but for me, it's something to be proud of! I would really love to go back to AK and get another one of those chai things, though, that was delicious. It also cost me $5.25 so I don't think I'll be getting another one soon, unfortunately. I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of money on my birthday (in exactly 3 weeks!) so I'd better save up until then.

I requested a shift partnering my training buddy Meagan for tomorrow morning but I can't seem to get onto the site where I check my schedules, so I don't know if I got it. I guess I'll have to go in tomorrow morning to make sure one way or the other. That means I'll be up at 6am, and it's already after midnight around these parts. Besides which, I'm exhausted! I don't know how Mom works 12 hour days every day. One is enough to wear me out!

Goodnight and until tomorrow! PS I just uploaded my pictures to the computer this morning so I should have some photos for you soon. :)

Oh what a crazy day...

Today started out with a Florida based phone call to my cellphone that I missed by a second. I tried calling back and the number was apparently unassigned. I was terrified it was Disney calling me in for a shift that I definitely would've taken if I could've talked to them! I decided to wait it out and see if they would call me back so I checked my schedule online, and found out I hadn't been paid for yesterday because of a 'clocking violation' that never happened. So I called in to the Entertainment base hotline to get it fixed. The lady was really nice but she wanted to know my manager, which park I usually worked at, etc. I don't know! It's my first day! Aaah!

So while I was on the phone Jamie started messaging me on facebook to see if I wanted to go to Animal Kingdom with him. I didn't have anything planned for the day so half an hour later he picked me up and we went to the park. Unfortunately we couldn't find anyone else to go with but it was still fun. We saw all the shows and rode practically everything and I got this really delicious frozen chai frappe thing from the tea emporium. Only problem was I had to down it fast because we went to the Lion King show right after.

We were just finishing up at the end of the day when we saw John so we went backstage to meet him and wait for him to clock out. Turns out John was waiting for Dave to clock out, so we all waited and left together. We wanted to hang out so we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner and a movie. Bad idea! There were 2 hour waits at every restaurant except the ones that didn't have a single vegetarian item on the menu. As for the movie, well, it was Iron Man, Iron Man, or hm...Iron Man. So we decided to go off property to eat at a cheap family restaurant. Meagan had just gotten off work and wanted to come meet us though so we waited at Downtown Disney for her to come before leaving. The only one missing from our little entertainment get together was Meg :( !

Once Meagan arrived we drove to TGI Friday's, which was only a few minutes away. Surprise, surprise, no vegetarian food! Even the macaroni had bacon in it. I ordered a side salad and garlic bread sticks. I got a wedge of ice berg lettuce smothered in salty dressing, and the 'bread sticks' were salty donuts. Everyone else got shrimp, steak, chicken, etc. Luckily Meagan and I split a spinach dip appetizer (good but salty) and a vanilla bean cheesecake as well, so I definitely didn't go hungry. I could only eat one of my breadsticks, though. John also had one and the rest I brought home. After all the hmm-ing and haw-ing and waiting and driving and finally eating, it was after 10:30 by the time we left the restaurant. Now it's 11:15, the day is gone, and I have to rise and shine for another long work day tomorrow. In some ways it's good I'm only here for 3 months--I don't know how much more of this I can take! I'm off to shower and sleep. Night!

Heigh Ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go

Today was my first day of work outside of training. I was super nervous in the morning but I managed to pick up a shift and the day flew by after that. I even got to be in a parade at the end of the day, bringing up the rear! I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to be in a Disney parade, and there I was on my very first day! It was really exciting. As usual I can't say much about my day, only that it was long, but fun!

After work I went directly to Publix for some "quick" grocery shopping. I ended up spending $85 and 3 hours (although 2 of them were in transport) shopping. My complex, Chatham, is the last stop in the loop so to get home from Publix takes an hour, even though it is only a 10 minute drive. Publix is waaaay nicer than Walmart. They actually know what a vegetarian is! I stocked up on easy to eat, easy to cook veggie meats and fruit snacks, including a tub o' watermelon and a huge box of banana chips. Yum!

I also threw together the last of my Walmart produce into a gross pasta sauce that I had for dinner, and saved the rest. PS why do I suck at cooking lately? I think I depend on recipes to succeed. Also on ingredients, and I'm lacking both.

Tomorrow is a day off for me but today was a long day with an early start, so I'm already exhausted (it's midnight and I've been up since 6, with a lot happening in between!). I don't know if anyone else has tomorrow off so maybe it will be a rest day with no park visitings, which is kind of sad but I could use the rest. What with laundry and grocery shopping done though, I've made a big dent in my to-do list! Yay!

Busy Times

Sorry I haven't been writing much lately, but I think days off down here are even more packed than working days! I've really got to get to sleep but I'll sneak a quick blog in here while I wait for the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Yesterday was my day off after training. I planned to do chores. I didn't. I decided it would be more fun to go to Animal Kingdom and Epcot with my roommates, Megan and Amy, who also had the day off. It was, of course! We rode all the big rides at both parks and a couple smaller rides too. I bought a really cute t-shirt at the dinosaur ride and I'll probably put a picture up later when I have time. I also rode Everest for the first time. It was fun and really pretty but not super amazing to ride. I was hoping for more of a thrill.

Epcot was really fun, but we didn't stay long because it was closing so I still haven't seen the world pavilions. I did eat 2 ice cream treats in 3 hours though. Please don't judge me!

Today me and my entertainment friends, along with a couple of tag-alongs, went to Typhoon Lagoon. It was fun, although we didn't get on much because we spent most of the time waiting for people. I definitely want to go back to ride the rest of the slides, but even more I want to go to Blizzard Beach!

When I got home I made myself a gourmet dinner of burnt bagel with PB&J, and spent most of my evening doing my laundry. It cost me $4 for one load, but at least it's done now. I still have to do my grocery shopping an stock up on Morningstar Farms and Boca from Publix (Walmart doesn't sell anything vegetarian) and clean the house. So much to do, so little time! And who wants to do housework when there's Disney World a bus ride away?

Alright well I've widdled down my sleeping time to less than 7 hours for my 9 hour day tomorrow. So depressing! That means it's time for sleep. More tomorrow after my first day of non-training work!

That's Entertainment

Five more days have flown by and here I sit on the comfy chair in the living room, drinking hot chocolate and eating a cookie, and coming up fast on day 11 (May 12th). My training is complete, and to celebrate us all passing, all of us post-trainee entertainers went to Magic Kingdom to watch the fireworks. Of course we were a little early, so we watched a parade, met with the princesses, ate dinner, and rode Space Mountain before scoping out a perfect spot in front of the castle about 15 minutes before the show started. The fireworks were beautiful but it's sad to think that our group may not share another moment like that. I know I've only been with the group five days, but to be fair they were five long days and we were together constantly. We bonded fast and since I've only been here 10 days, 5 days is half my time here! So it makes sense that this group has become a family.

Alright well I'd love to write more but my roommate's already gone to sleep and I'm losing my focus, so I think it's time for me to follow suit. Tomorrow will be an errand day--I've got a long list of jobs that have been neglected over the past week and a half of adjusting and training, such as grocery shopping and laundry. Sigh. But it needs to be done and I might as well do it while I have spare time, because that doesn't seem to be easy to come by!

Okay one of my other roommates just got home and it's the first time I've seen her in days! We had a little chat and now it's an hour later so I really need to get to bed! I can hardly keep my eyes open. Until tomorrow!

Earning my Ears

First of all, Happy Mother's Day! I realize it is a day late but thank you to all those moms out there who are missing their babies this weekend as we enjoy ourselves and work hard down here in Florida, and I'm sorry I couldn't give a hug to my own mom on her special day.

Tomorrow is the fifth and final day of training. After tomorrow, I will be a Disney Entertainer! That is, if I pass. I'm going to miss all my training buds though--the furry ones, and the people too! Hopefully the last day of training won't be our last day together. We're planning on going to Typhoon Lagoon on Thursday (just the people friends, the furries are going to a party at Mickey's house), so I'm looking forward to that.

Wow the time is just evaporating. For example I'm lying in bed now and it's dark outside, but it feels like seconds ago I was sitting on the floor a few feet away when I first got home, four hours ago. The minutes, hours, and days fly by. In fact, day 9 of my program is coming to a close, marking another important checkpoint: 9/90 days means I've already completed 10% of my program. When I first started over a week ago, I was scared and homesick and though 3 months seemed like a long time. Now I'm beginning to wish I was an American citizen so I could take a full time job with Disney! 3 months just won't cut it, especially at the rate they're going. July 30th is going to hit me hard and I know I'll be heartbroken to leave. But better to think about the 90% that lies ahead than to worry that 10% has already gone by!

Anyway, enough dilly dally. It's past my bedtime as I had a late night last night and another early start tomorrow morning, so I need my sleep! I was exhausted at 8pm but I've managed to stick it out till 9:30, yet I can feel I'm losing my focus. Hopefully I'll have the energy to write more tomorrow because I'll know I won't be facing a 6am start!

Oh, just one more thing before I fall asleep. Here's a picture of two of my favouritest furry friends, Chip and Dale. I had fun playing with them that day:

Day off and Training

Wednesday was my first day of work at Traditions, as you all know. Well, I feel like another landmark was Thursday, my first day off, even though it was only 1 day later. It was probably the most fun I've had in a long time. I mean, come on, how often do you go to the Magic Kingdom twice in one day? And before you get all jealous, let me just say that I don't think that's going to be the norm for me around here, either. Let's just say my hours will be many and my time off will be few.

Ok, so Thursday I got up bright and early-- well, 8:30, which is pretty early considering how late I stayed up Wednesday-- to go to the park with Jen, an Animal Kingdom ride attendant who lives over at Patterson. We had to take the bus of course, which is a lengthy process in itself, but we did get a fair amount of time at the park. My only complaint? She didn't want to ride Splash Mountain! We did get a good lunch in though and lots of rides, so I went home happy.

I barely got home and had a snack though when my roommate Megan said she was going back to Magic Kingdom (she also spent the morning there) with her friend Rachel, who had spent the day training, and asked me to come along. Well, I wasn't about to pass that up! This time, we did get to ride Splash Mountain, among other things. We also got dinner at the end (my second park meal in one day-- I'm going to be so broke by August) and then went home an hour before closing to beat the final parade/fireworks rush. I got to bed at a decent hour, around 11pm, though not as early as I'd have liked. Still, I went to bed happy and I have no regrets!

It was another early start though, this time 6am in order to catch the 7am bus. That was a mistake-- I didn't want to be late for my first shift, so I took the early bus and got there an hour early. My alternative was to arrive only 15 minutes before my shift, but that's the bus all the other performers and attendants took, so I guess I was the only overly-eager beaver.

Training was really fun today, even though it was a long day. We got lessons from Tigger himself! Now I can't say much about the process (I wouldn't want to spoil the magic, now, would I?) but let's just say it was a laugh and a half. I also can't share photos or even take any behind the scenes, so expect a lot of photo-less, detail-less blogs from now on (phew, the pressure's off for me!). I can let you know, though, that I'm going to be best friends with Winnie the Pooh, Chip and Dale, and the mice from Cinderella for the next few days/weeks/months. I'm excited to go back again tomorrow and play with my new furry friends, and my people friends too!

Well having enjoyed my peanut broccoli pasta and almond chocolate bar (yes I'm still working on the one from Lunenberg!), I think I'm going to have an early night so I can be ready for tomorrow. See y'all real soon!

Traditions!

Wow, I just noticed! I've got followers! Yay! Now you guys just have to start leaving comments, because really, this blog's pretty lonely with just me here!

Today was a big day. I had my traditions class at Disney, aka my first day of paid work! It was pretty fun--they pumped us full of pixie dust with the history of Disney and all that's great about the company. It was actually really inspiring to hear Walt Disney talk in some of the older interviews. We also got to go in the park for the first time (albeit briefly) and we also got our Disney ID's, which allow us to go back to the parks for free! But I think the most exciting thing of all was getting our legendary Disney nametags. Mickey himself came to deliver them! I almost cried when I saw my name engraved on a Disney tag; somehow it seems to make this whole thing that more real.

I really wanted to go to the park with my new free entry pass, but today is not the best day because I wasn't home from traditions until 1pm and I've got a formal dance tonight starting at 8pm. I've got three months to go so it's not a big deal, and besides, I don't have to wait long because I'm going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow on my day off!

So instead of visiting the park on my break, I went swimming with my new friend Jen, who I'm also going to MK with tomorrow. She lives at Patterson Court, which is about a 5 minute walk from my building, Chatham Square. We stayed in the water for 2 hours talking! The exciting news? I got my first tan line! I don't even care about tanning while I'm here, I just forgot to wear sunscreen. But it feels a little like a landmark.

Alright, well although the formal does supply food, I don't know what they're supplying, so I think I'll grab a snack before I get all dressed up. Then it's off to the dance!

<--Us at traditions! From left to right: Me, Katy (from Halifax), Amy (my roommate from the Okanagan), and Megan (my roommate from Ontario)



<--My nametag! I can't wait to wear it again!

First Few Days

<--Me wearin' my pimpin' new Walmart sunglasses

















<--My bed area after some serious brightening up












Hi! Not much to report today, especially since I am once again exhausted and I have to be up at 5:30am in order to catch a bus at 6:50am for Traditions.

The past two days have been full of paperwork, meet & greet, and Walmart. Ah yes, and no lack of sunshine either! I went to Walmart both yesterday and today, and as you all know, no Walmart trip is short. Especially when you have to take a bus both ways, and the bus only comes every half hour! I also went swimming yesterday with one of my roommates, Amy. Oh, and a milestone! I cooked my first dinner tonight! (last night I had Subway from Walmart.) Toast, salad, and an orange. Yay me! But really, I don't know if it's the heat or what, but I haven't had enough appetite or energy to bother with cooking dinner. Our rooms are nice and cool and (over) air-conditioned, but the outdoor heat totally dazes me out.

Of course I miss everyone back home very much, but the good news is that I'm meeting lots of new people and lately I've been so busy that the time is flying by. I know it's only my third night here, but even so, I can't believe I've already had two full days here! I'm sure by July 30th I'll be wondering where the time went.

Ok, well now I've worn myself down to only 7 short hours of sleep, and I've got a formal dance coming up tomorrow. Oh didn't I tell you? There's a formal tomorrow night and apparently it's the only one happening while we're here, so everyone's going. I spent the afternoon at the Outlet mall with a group of girls buying dresses, jewellery, shoes, etc. It's from 8pm till midnight, and traditions starts at 8am (bus at 6:50) so I am def going to need a nap.

So anyway, the point is, I'm going to have to cut this short for tonight and hopefully fill you in more about how everything's going here at a later date.

Ta for now loves!

In Florida and adjusting

Hello again! I guess broke my blog-roll by not writing yesterday. I was sooo exhausted! Well, I still am really, so I think I'll keep this short.

My first day here, May 1st, after saying goodbye to mom and riding a plane for 4 hours, I landed at about 5:30pm. The plane taxied for 10 minutes and then I was stuck on the plane for probably another 10-20, waiting for all the babies and kids and parents to get off. There were so many kids! I rode the plane beside a newborn baby and his family. The baby was cute but it meant I couldn't really get up without causing tons of problems! I was sitting near the back, so I was the 2nd last one off the plane.

Luckily I didn't get lost in the airport, thanks to Mears instructions, and I found my way to the baggage claim. I didn't have to wait too long since I had already sat on the plane for so long and gone to the bathroom, but probably at least another 10 minutes. After I picked up my suitcase I went downstairs to the Mears desk, bought a ticket, and waited for a shuttle. I rode the shuttle to Vista Way and the guy driving loaded my suitcases out. I was the only one arriving at that specific time, so I got a bunch of paperwork and my roomkey alone. Right after I finished though, a big bus holding a bunch of British people arrived, so I had to wait for them to get their orientations before going to my apartment.

When I got to my apartment it was pretty late and nobody was home, I guess they were all out buying their groceries. I had a shower and set up my room and got a little homesick, but eventually my roommates arrived and I got to meet them (Christina, in my room, and Amy and Megan in the other room) before turning in. I was pretty upset last night, and tired, and hungry, but I'm feeling better today.

Today was not too interesting; I had to eat my roommates cereal because I didn't have a chance to go shopping last night. Then we walked over to The Commons where we had a long orientation about living at Disney. The room was super airconditioned and we were all really cold! It was even more of a shock, then, when we walked outside into the 30+ degree C weather.

After that Amy and I went to Walmart. It took about 45 minutes to catch the bus (they're supposed to come every 30) and another 40 to actually get to Walmart. At Walmart took about 2 hours, then we had to bus back, so suffice it to say that took most of our day up. Christina wasn't home when we got back and Megan went out right away (my stuff was so heavy, btw, that I barely made it back to our building and up the stairs from the bus!!) so Amy and I unpacked and went for a swim. Then we came back, had dinner, watched a show on her computer, and went to bed!

Sorry I don't have more details or pictures but it's really late, I'm tired, and my roommate's trying to sleep. More tomorrow! (hopefully!)

Last day in Canada

Phew! Two blogs in one day! I am on a blog-roll! Alright, down to business. Today was a really fun day. We got up at the usual time (early) and were still full from last night. Ugh, I hate it when that happens! But since we were the only ones staying at the Inn, we were polite and ate all our breakfast anyway. Not that it wasn't good--grilled cheese on Farmer's rye with fresh fruit, tomato, and orange juice--but we just didn't feel like eating! We left the hotel just after 9am thinking we'd never eat again (of course, we were wrong!)

This time, we took a much shorter route into Halifax from Sydney, and we still arrived far ahead of schedule. In fact, it took us less than five hours to arrive, even with a gas station break and a rest stop, and it felt even shorter than that. We arrived in Halifax and checked into the Waverly Inn (which just makes me think of Wizards of Waverly Place, hah I'm such a Disney geek). The Inn is incredible! Or should I say "Inn"-credible! Har har. The room has ceilings at least 12 feet high, which is about 2 1/2 Kayleighs stacked on top of one another. Anyway, they're ridiculously high. I could put my IKEA loftbed in here, stand up on my toes, and still not be able to reach the ceiling. You can probably tell I'm impressed by the ceiling.





<--Reeeaaaalllyyyy high ceilings!!











We also get really cool Harry Potter 4-posters to sleep in. No curtains, but thick wooden beds high off the floor (yes, I need a stepstool to get on them) covered in lush thick pillows. We've gone from rock hard foam in Lunenberg, to springy comfort in Annfield, to oh-my-god-this-bed-is-amazing comfort here in Halifax. Then I'm going to Florida to a single, old, hard mattress with el cheapo IKEA bedding. *Sigh*. All the furniture here is antique AND it matches (a step up from the Annfield!). I don't know what the breakfast is like here, but we get complimentary coffee and tea all day long, and lucky us, the hot drink making table is one step outside our door. Pretty sweet! Ok, so I love the hotel. I'm really quite sad that I'm only staying here for one night!

Moving on. So we arrived in Halifax this afternoon and checked in. Then I wrote the blog from earlier today because I'm a little blog-writin' machine! Ain't no stoppin' me! (Can you tell I'm tired?). Then Mom went out and got our laundry started at some little laundromat a few blocks away, and get this? The East Indian woman who runs it has a son who lives in Vancouver! What's with all these Vancouver connections we've had here? Wierd I tell you, wierd. Well we had a little while to kill while we waited for our laundry to be done so we went out and walked around Halifax. We hiked up Citadel Hill to the third fort of this trip. One week, three forts. Nova Scotia was one fort-ified province back in the day! (man I'm just full of these today aren't I?) So Citadel Hill was not too exciting, Louisbourg was way cooler. There were other people there though, including a couple tour groups led by guys in full on Scottish get-up. Now I don't have a picture unfortunately, but it was quite the sight to see. I guess it is May 1st now, so Nova Scotia is beginning to open to the general public...

Alright, so we saw the citadel. Next we walked down to the harbour, an area called "Historic Properties" (don't ask me what that means 'cause I don't know). There was a Cows Ice Cream Shop with a big cow in front of it (see picture below) and some supa'-tacky tourist shops. Ok, Mom said when we were on our way to the airport last week that I could buy a stuffed lobster in Nova Scotia since I forgot my stuffed animal, and I laughed, thinking she was joking. Not so. There were several different sizes and assortments of lobster stuffies, along with other lobster memorabilia (including a lot of rather gross assorted kitchenware detailing how to eat a lobster in all the gory details). Some of them were actually really cute!



<-- Me with one of the not-so-cute stuffed lobsters. Notice the tartan in the background-veerryy popular in Nova Scotia.









<-- Me kissin' a cow at Cows










After the browsing, we picked up the laundry and amazingly, we decided we were ready to eat again (which was probably not a good idea in hindsight. The food was delicious, but I'm back to being so full I could burst.) We went to the Wooden Monkey to eat. Partly because the name is amazing, but mostly because they have a lot of vegan dishes. We got a seitan pita sandwich served with "roasties" (fries, but roasted instead of fried), and a yummy roasted chickpea salad that tasted a lot like the Sesamum Salad from Foundation. We also enjoyed a chocolate tofu pie for dessert--their specialty. It was really yum, and the restaurant was pretty funky and cool inside. And there were monkeys everywhere! (Not live, obviously, unless you count homo sapiens. I more meant paintings and statues and such.) After dinner we walked back to our Inn where even now I am lying in my luscious bed writing this with (can you believe it?) fast, reliable internet!

I'm getting pretty sad and scared since today was my last day in Canada. Tomorrow I leave the country at 3pm and I'm not coming back for quite a while. I'm really going to miss everyone, and even though I know the time will fly once I get going, right now 3 months seems like a long time. On the one hand, it feels like May 2nd flew up on me and I haven't even had time to think about it, but in a way that's good. Having this last-minute trip that delivers me to Florida has allowed me to spend some time with Mom, get used to the time change, and just have fun not thinking about being away from home. It's not like I've never done this before (remember France?) and I know I'm getting the opportunity of a lifetime. I just need to get past the element of unknown and start living the dream!

Well, that's my last blog from Canada. I've got some paperwork to triple check before the big day! Talk to you all from the US of A!