| Shame on me! |
[Fri - 03/10/06 - 8:18pm] |
I thought I was doing so well, too. Looks like my updating skills are lacking. Don't be jealous, the personal journal hasn't gotten a real update as well. It's been nearly 3 weeks since I've updated last. Maybe more. I've been keeping busy with work as well as play and I am still having a great time.
Though, last week was somewhat tough due to a good friend of mine here getting sick. I also have been having some problems with my hands. But, I think I've got things all worked out and I am feeling a lot better. This past week had it's ups and downs. I made mention in the previous entry that a friend of mine was coming down to visit for a week. She actually just left this morning to go back home.
I actually had a week off of work, so I played hostess and entertainer. But now, I am actually ready to get back to work. The time off was great, don't get me wrong, but I felt unproductive in so many ways. I like keeping busy, and I think my request was granted, because I will be working 43 hours this week. I need the extra hours since I will be paying double rent.
So, the next two weeks will be busybusybusy with work and then two weekends from now...*Drumroll* MY FAMILY WILL BE HERE! Oh I can't wait! I miss them all so much. I think that my greatest sense of accomplishment about being here is the fact that it will able them to come to Florida for the first time ever. My sister is nearly 17 and has never been to Disney. My parents have never been as well. Also, they are bringing my 4 year old neice, Gabbea! I am so happy that she will be able to experience Disney as a child. I wasn't lucky enough to see Disney until I was a Sr. in high school. If anything, them visiting will make this entire internship worth every moment.
Time to wrap things up, but, I finally have some pictures!! I renewed my paid account at my regular journal and uploaded my pictures from the past couple of weeks. :D Enjoy and COMMENT!!!
http://pics.livejournal.com/torn_portfolio/
|
|
| A month!! Already!! |
[Fri - 02/17/06 - 1:25am] |
Okay, I think it's about time for an update, don't you guys think so? My last entry was nearly two weeks ago and a lot has happened since then. I've gotten to know my roomate a bit better and we've bonded a little. :) We had a fast food/movie night last week or so. Though, we did more chatting and laughing than we did watching the movie. Yet, in the last week she's been absent for the most part because some of her family was in town. Tonight was the first night that I came home to find her here and in bed already. I had put together a little goody bag of stuff for her on Valentine's Day. I set it on her bed Tuesday morning and she didn't get it until tonight. I came home from work and found a box of Dove chocolates on my pillow. :D So that was a nice little surprise.
Speaking of work, things are going okay. The job has it's ups and downs, but overall, it's decent. I am getting to know more of the people and I am becoming more comfortable with taking charge and getting the job done. And I've realized in the past two weeks, that I prefer nights over morning shifts, anytime! I'd rather sleep in and then go to work. As long as they give me my two days off a week, which they haven't been doing. They claim that they are still training people and once the training slows down, we will go back to getting two days a week off. They better hurry because I am getting a little burnt out.
Now, onto a more depressing subject...my parents want me to come home because the last couple of times that I have called them, I've been in a less than cheery mood. To be honest, at this point I feel like I haven't found my place as far as friends go. It seems that everyone here has found those few friends that they've bonded with, whether it be their roomates or fellow workers and they really don't have to worry about finding someone to do things with. It didn't help that I've been alone in this apartment for nearly a week, but I really feel alone here in Florida. My best friend left me after a week, and I know that she feels bad about leaving me here, but it still sucks. I am trying really hard to stay out of the pity pool, but I've tried to make friends. I've called people to hang out and they always are busy or it's something else. So, with that said, my mom has been on the end of several depressing phone calls. She says it's not worth it if I am miserable.
But, I'm not going to go home, as tempting as it sounds right now. One of the main reasons I wanted to do this is because I knew it would make it easier for my family to finally come to Disney. My parents nor my sister have ever been here and since I am working here, they can come without spending half the money they would have any other time. They'll be here the weekend of the 25th in March. I can't wait. :D
Also, I have something else to look forward to. In about 3 weeks, one of my close friends (we'll call her -C-) is coming to visit. She'll be here an entire week and I can't even begin to describe how excited I am. You see, we've known each other for nearly four years, but we've never met in real life. It's a bit nerve-wracking, but I think that things will go nicely. I don't think that I've ever met another person quite like -C-, and I mean that in the best way possible. She's a beautiful person, inside and out and she's amazingly talented at so many things. You should see her drawings. CRAZY good. :D She's quite the flutist, and though she is rather humble about her talents, I have no problem praising them. And, if anyone really knows me, they know how much I can't stand people with horrible grammar...despite my own occasional mistakes. ;) -C- is intellegent and types full sentences and uses punctuation! That's pretty rare to find these days. ;) Seriously though, I doubt I ever will meet another person like her, and I am happy leaving it that way, because no one can even begin to compare.
And on that positive note, I am going to go to bed, because I am tired. Duh.
|
|
| I live! |
[Sun - 02/5/06 - 8:22pm] |
I hadn't realized that it has been more than a week since I've updated. Time has gone quicker than I would have imagined it would. I've finished my training at the resort and I am working as a regular employee and working the craziest hours ever. I've also got a new roomate, but let me start from the begining and go from there.
Jenna left about a week or so ago and I came home from work the night she left, to a note on my door. It said that they would be changing my locks and whatnot to ensure my safety, since my roomate recently left. Then, the next day, I got a note saying that a new roomate could arrive at any day and that I should have my apartment up to the standards of cleanliness and whatnot. So, that made me pretty happy to know that I didn't have to pack all of my things up and move elsewhere. So, on Saturday afternoon, my new roomate arrived. I wasn't really sure what to think since I had to leave for work soon after.
But, despite opposite schedules, we've gotten to talk here and there and learn a bit more about one another. Her name is Sierra and she is from New York. She's been here for seven months already! She came down last Summer for the Fall Advantage program and then in January, she applied for an extension of her program. She'll be here up until a week before I leave. She loves coffee and tells me that she is 100% Italian. I like her though. I think that there is a mutual respect already there between the both of us. We both know the unspoken boundries of being roomates and we get along just fine. I guess it helps that we hardly see one another.
So that's that. Moving onto the job. I really don't know how to put it, other than, it's okay. It isn't completely horrible, but it's no where near my dream job. I don't really think I care for working with food anymore. Being at McAlister's wasn't as much a job, as it was a fun place to be. I loved and knew all of my coworkers and they made it a great place to be. But at the resort food court, I am still getting to know people. Plus, it doesn't help when the majority of the staff speaks spanish primarily. I hardly know what they are saying.
Last week I was off Sunday and Monday. As far as I can tell, those two days will be my normal days off each week, with the exception of holiday and seasonal times. This week though, I was scheduled for six days and only Wednesday off. I was a little confused, but they claimed that it was because of training schedules. They are still in the process of getting the new employees trained, so there are extra shifts to fill.
You would think that working 6 days in a week would involve some overtime, right? Nope. I work 6 days this week and only manage 37 hours. Mom says that I should pick up extra shifts, but honestly, even after 6 hours of being on my feet and being surrounded by food...I feel sick to my stomach and just want to go home, shower, and sleep. This morning I worked the breakfast shift (6am-12:30) and I felt so sick by the time my shift was over. The smell of eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage is sickening to me now. Yeck. I should have known not to buy breakfast stuff yesterday at Walmart. I have a feeling that I won't be eating it any time soon. And tomorrow I get to do the same thing. (5:45-1:30)
Despite my slight displeasure in the job, I am still enjoying being here. I am making the most of it.
Anyway, I am probably going to call it an early night tonight. Well, not early, because I have to watch Grey's Anatomy before crashing. :D
|
|
| Day...er...I'm not counting anymore. |
[Thu - 01/26/06 - 2:56pm] |
I've missed a couple days as far as updating, but I've been rather busy. I started work and I had my first official day of training on Tuesday night. I'll be training until about mid-next week. Each night I train in a different area of the food court so that I will be able to work wherever they may put me. Tuesday night I trained in the Bakery. It was a slow night and they ended up closing early. I still got out of there around 12:30 though. Then I had Wednesday off and yesterday I worked in the Ethnic section of the food court. It's a smaller area and I found it to be pretty simple.
Tonight, I work 5:30 - 2:00 in the Pizza shop. It's definately one of the busier areas of the food court, so I know the possibility of closing early is slim to none. LoL It's not the best job, but it could be worse. I went in expecting it to be more like a McAlister's environment and it's not.
Despite that, I am having a good time here. Maybe it's the environment, I'm not sure, but I am really happy here. I am making friends and making plans to go to the parks. My family is hopefully going to be visiting towards the end of March. I can't wait to be able to get them into the parks for free. They've never been before and I've been trying to convince them to go for the longest time. No better time than now, eh?
Though, not everything is positive at the time being. My roomate, and best friend, is leaving to go home. This internship isn't for everyone and I respect that. I just hope they put me with a decent roomate in her place. And they better not make me pack up my things and leave, cause then I will be upset because I am already settled in here! I don't want to move again. lol
Anyway, I've got to begin to get ready. I've got to head in a little early so I can swap out my apron. (I managed to get green cheesecake on mine last night. Heh)
More to come!
|
|
| Animal Kingdom! |
[Sat - 01/21/06 - 8:42pm] |
Alright ladies and er...wait...are there any gentlemen on this friends list of mine? Oh well, that's beside the point, isn't it? I finished the last of my introduction classes today and I collected my uniform. It's very plain, to my surprise. But, I've seen much worse since I've been here, so I should consider myself lucky when it comes to the uniform. I also recieved my schedule for the remainder of the week.
Tomorrow: OFF (YAY!)
Monday: 4:00pm-12:30am
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: 2:30pm-11:00pm
Thursday: 5:30pm-2:00am
Friday: 5:00pm-1:30am
Saturday: 5:30pm-2:00am
That's right folks, I've been stuck with the late night shift. Honestly though, I can't complain. The other girl who went with us found out that she's going to be working the early...EARLY morning shift. She's got to be at the resort for 5:45am. I'd much rather work until 2am, and get to sleep later that day. I'm going to be getting two days a week off, which is great. So overall I am pleased. :D
So, we finished up around 1:30 and I got back to the apartment around 2. So Jenna (the roomate) and I decided to head to Animal Kingdom because they were allowing the cast members to ride the new attraction that isn't even officially opening until later this year. But when we got there, we found out that the wait for the ride was about 95 minutes long. That's cast only.
By the way, random fact: Did you know that Walt Disney World in Orlando has around 55,000 employees?
So, I guess all of the cast members decided to check out the ride this weekend. So, Jenna and I decided to skip the ride this time and check out the other things. We rode some rafting ride which was fun, despite the water. Heh. Then we went on the Safari(sp?) and saw a bunch of animals which was really, really cool. I loved it. The tree of life is awesome as well. :D
OH! And on our way out we actually ran into a parade and we saw Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Mickey and Minnie. We squealed like little girls. LOL It was great. And the gift shops? Amazing. Ohmygosh I want it all. And until the end of this month, I've got a 40% discount. I should buy some stuff while I can. :)
That's enough for now, I am going to lounge and enjoy my evening, knowing that I've got the day off tomorrow. :)
|
|
| Day 5 has come and gone... |
[Fri - 01/20/06 - 8:53pm] |
I've made it five days away from home, away from my family, away from my job, and away from school. To be quite honest, I think I am doing pretty good for myself. I haven't been too homesick and the apartment is staying clean, and we've got food to eat.
I've been keeping busy with classes and going to Disney University daily. I had my basic food training yesterday and today I had what they call "Merchantainment" which is obviously a combination of merchandise and entertainment. I learned the basics of a cash register. Nothing I haven't learned already. :)
Tomorrow I have to go to the resort from 8:30-11:30 and get my costume for work. I assume that I've got another week or so of on the job training. Then it's to the public, I go!
I actually made a friend yesterday. We were waiting for the bus together and I found out that we work at the same place. So, we might switch driving back and forth if we share some of the same hours. The buses can be a pain sometimes. So, that will be nice.
Anyway, time for me to get around and get my things together for tomorrow. We're heading over to Animal Kingdom after I get home and they've got a new attraction called "Expedition Everest" and it's not scheduled to open until later in the Spring. But, this weekend they are letting cast members to ride it. :D
Later guys!
|
|
| Traditions |
[Wed - 01/18/06 - 6:57pm] |
So today was the infamous "Traditions" day. It's a five hour class where they go over the history of Disney and the typical procedures that the college interns experience. It was long. *laughs* But, informative and rewarding. I got the handy-dandy name tag! I took pictures, but I've still got to find a way to upload them. I think I will bug Jenna tomorrow to let me use her laptop.
Anywho, I got my disney ID today!! *dances* I can officially enter any Disney park for free for the remainder of my time here! I wanted to go today after traditions since it finished up around 1, but I chose to come home to take a nap instead. I've got until May to experience the parks. I don't want to burn myself out too quickly.
:D
More to come later!
|
|
| Time for a real update!! |
[Tue - 01/17/06 - 8:16am] |
Okay, *cracks knuckles* it is that time, since I've got about 3 1/2 hours to spare until I go to the Social Security office (I will explain further down).
Friday night was fun, of course. I had the little party at my house and my friends and family came over for food and cake. Fun was had. I laughed, I cried, it was generally a good time. Saturday morning came sooner than I would have liked, though. I knew that it was going to be a tough day and I wasn't disappointed. Mom cried, my sister cried, and my dad stayed generally calm. My neice didn't understand what was going on, so she got confused and upset and didn't want to hug me goodbye. That was heartbreaking. I hated it. They had to tell her that I was going to Disney World and that she was going to come and visit me there. That perked her up a bit and she finally gave me a hug.
So, we (a friend and I) left Saturday afternoon and headed towards Mobile, AL. My grandparents live there, so the plan was to stay the night Saturday and leave early Sunday morning for Orlando. I got to visit with my grandparents, which was nice because we only see them a couple times a year, and then Sunday morning we left around 4:45 in the morning. I can't remember the last time I woke up so early. It was insane. :D
Anywho, we made it to Orlando around 2pm which was AWESOME timing on our part. We found the hotel and then went driving around to try to find the other places that we knew we'd have to go to. Ex: The airport, and Vista Way Apartments for check in. We got lost twice...which was not fun. Confusion, being lost, and a tired Courtney are not a good combination. But, we made it and I finally got to meet my best friend of 6 years, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=88.8) jadedrose01 down at the hotel. Great times!
So, Monday morning was check in. We left for Vista Way around 7:45-8:00 and they were already checking people in. We were under the impression that check-in didn't start until 9 o'clock. So we got another early start. At the end, we were able to get a one-bedroom apartment together in Chatham Squares. It's a super small apartment, but it's enough for the both of us, so that's all that matters. (Pictures of the apartment will be soon.)
I am mostly settled in and unpacked for the most part. I am trying to make things comfortable around here. :D
Moving onto this morning, we went to a little meeting so I could find out where I'd be working. I am working at...*drumroll*
Pop Century Resort in the Food Court!!! Woohoo!!!! YAY!!!! I am really excited about this. I think it will be a decent position and I won't be so worn out on the parks because I won't be working at them. I am really excited. Jenna got an awesome position in costuming over at Epcot. She's super excited, and who can blame her? It's an awesome position!!
So now, we're back at the apartment with a couple hours free for myself. I've got to go back to Vista Way and catch a bus to the Social Security place because I forgot my Social Security card...like an idiot. Heh.
More later! Miss you guys!
|
|
| *waves* |
[Mon - 01/16/06 - 6:11pm] |
|
Hey guys! I made it here safely! The roomate and I are settling into the apartment and whatnot. Pictures and complete update to come as soon as I get my laptop set up. I forgot to get virus protection, so unless you guys know a website with free protection...the complete update will have to wait!
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
|
|
|
|
