Flying Solo and other stories

To start off my Friday, I went to the main office to pick up a package from home! When I opened it up, I was super excited to find my family had sent me "County Fair in a Box!" They sent me cotton candy and popcorn from my home fair, which I was really bummed about missing as it is usually the highlight of my summer! I was just so excited that they found a way to send the fair to me! : D


On Friday at work, it was my first day post "Earning My Ears"! I was kind of freaked out to be on my own, but over all it was a really good day! I had to be there at 11:00am and I could clock in at 10:45am, so I took the 9:51am bus. Why did I leave so early for work you ask? Well, it's because of the buses, I HATE waiting on them! (I miss my car so much!) So because I am at the mercy of the buses, I have a 35 minute drive to work, and it could be longer if the bus is late or waits around at the apartments or wardrobe building. Then when the bus finally drops me off in the cast parking lot, I have a 5 - 10 minute walk to work. And I made it to work with 20 minutes of down time before I had to clock in! Because you know, if you are early you are on time, if you are on time you are late.

After I clocked in, I tried to find my name on the board, but IT WASN'T THERE! I asked a manager and he looked, too. Then he saw my name (spelled totally funky which is why I missed it)! My position for the day was "Filler", basically after the guest has placed their order, they bring their receipts to the counter and we match their meal to the tickets on the trays that come from the kitchen. I would also get the guests drinks and desserts.

I loved this job, I had a BLAST! When we were less busy or waiting for the food from the kitchen we were able to interact with the guests! We got to ask them about their vacation, were they enjoying Animal Kingdom, was this their first time visiting Disney, have they gone on the Mt. Everest ride or been on the safari yet, have they seen the other parks yet or the firework shows at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Then, my favorite part, the Disney buttons! There are buttons for EVERYTHING...birthdays, just engaged, just married, first visit, family reunion, volunteering, and then an "I'm celebrating ___________" and the guests fill in the blank. (My trainer told me about a woman who was wearing an "I'm celebrating my divorce" button! HAHAHA. I don't know what I'd say if I saw one of those while I was working!) I loved seeing guests wearing the buttons because I was able to make their day a little more special by making a big deal about it! I met this little boy who was wearing an "It's my Birthday" button and when I commented on it you could see the joy spread across his face, HE was important. Someone was talking to HIM like a grown-up and LISTENING! I met a couple that just got married and a group of people at Disney for their family reunion! And what I love the most is that it's not only the kids who get excited when we mention their Disney buttons, it's the adults, too! I don't know what it was, but once they started talking, they wanted to tell us EVERYTHING about their trip and their experiences in the parks! I loved it; I had such an easy time striking up conversations with complete strangers.

And before you get the impression that all I did at work was talk to the guests, let me settle your fears, I really did work. There were only 4 of us filling orders, so when the lunch rush finally came, we were really booking it to get those trays out fast while at the same time making each guest feel special and noticed (harder than it sounds)! Also during the lunch rush, I learned to pour a good cut of beer from the tap! Hahaha, a skill I never would have imagined I would need to learn! But, by the end of my program, I will be a master! ;) I just thought I'd throw that out there, that I can now pour beer! (Funny picture if you really know me!)

When we closed at 5:00pm, I was on prep duty for the next day. My job was to tram bacon. In other words, I had to put bacon on a tray and fill the storage cooler. So, let me break this down for you: there were 10 pieces of bacon on a sheet of wax paper, there were 4 pieces of wax paper per tray and there were about 40 trays of bacon in the cooler when it was filled. So in an hour, I prepared 1600 pieces of bacon! If I never come in contact with bacon again it will be too soon! Hahaha. The sad thing is, as soon as I go back to work on Sunday, bacon and I will meet again. On the bright side, at least I wasn't preparing the turkey legs! (That looked like a really gross job!)
In other news, most of the people I work with, their native language is Spanish. Therefore, when I am at work I will answer to Mariah OR Maria. I can't tell you how many times they have looked at my name tag and had to remind themselves to pronounce it in English! But I love hearing them all talk in Spanish, most of the time it's too fast for me to follow, but every now and then I will understand something and it makes my day!

When I got home from work, I was so tired. I had no idea how exhausted I was until I had a minute to sit down. So my roommate, Kari, and I decided to call it an lazy night, and we watched Disney Channel's Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. It was super cheesy, but some of the songs were really awesome! I love Disney Channel, don't hate me! It's why I work at Disney! And then all night, my parents sent me text messages letting me know the score of my hometown's high school football game where my little sisters are on the dance line. At the end of the game, we won!! I can't believe that the season I'm not home to watch, they are off to a 2 - 0 start!!! Go team!!! So that was my Friday!

I had today off (much needed!). I started off my day with a 4.3 mile bike ride in the gym, a quick walk around the complex and 70 + sit-ups. It was the best way to start off my day, I had so much energy and I was so awake! I've made it my goal to workout as much as possible while I am here. And so, I'm going to wake up early tomorrow (even though I don't have to be at work until 12:15pm) so I can get another workout in! Then my roommate, Mary, and I went shopping at the Florida mall. I bought 3 new shirts and new pair of shorts because all the new clothes I bought to wear down here are too big! I love that feeling, it's such a rush! I feel like I'm becoming a totally different person here, not only personally wise (I feel so comfortable just striking up conversations with people now), but physically, too. Hopefully, I can keep this feeling going throughout my whole program; I know that with this mind set it's going to be the best time of my life!

So, here's hoping that this is the beginning of a really good week! Filled with more learning opportunities and chances to make Magical Moments for the guests! I really do work at the "HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH" and I couldn't be more thrilled! Good night everyone, and until my next post, I hope that you find some magic in your own lives, too!! Just remember, "Dreams really do come true!"