So lonely...

Today I had a day off. Except I didn't have anyone to hang out with so I was kind of a loner.
I didn't want to wallow in my alone-ness so I went out. I went themparking, ate out, went to a movie and even had dinner....alone. Yes. It was kind of sad.
I feel like such a sad loser right now. :( Wish I had more people to hang out with. ...and I wish I could meet some cute country gentleman or some gorgeous Irish accented guy. Where are all the nice alc free guys around here?? I feel like none of them know I exist and I also feel like there are hardly places to meet such people anyway. :/ Oh well. I know I don't need guys but I sometimes want to feel admired or like I am noticed. Hmm. Anyway......

There was this lady who I rode Everest next to today. I thought that would be the last time I saw her but then freaky co-incidences meant that we ended up bumping into each other another 2 times! It was sooooo odd! She had such a pretty family. :)

When I was at Downtown Disney today I watched a performer. He was an aussie. ...and he reminded me from the guy in Cyote Ugly. He was humorous and he liked to pick me out of the audience as part of his show. haha. :)

Gah. What is up with my weird schedule and these morning shifts. Yes, I am glad I am being trained in Heart of House and stock but do I really have to start at 6 or 7 in the morning?! It's crazyness I tell you! :(

One good thing though is that I have some fun dinner reservations (which hopefully I won't have to go to by myself becuase then I really would be SAD) coming up and then West Side Story as well. :)

Also, on the 2nd some people will hopefully recieve some fun presents from me. I hope they get there and I hope the people like them. I am excited for their reactions. Giving presents is always fun. ^_^

I see all of your photos, my NZ friends. I miss you. I want to hang out with ya'll when I get back!!!

xx

AK shift

Oh my goodness. I worked at Animal Kingdom today and it was awesome. I can't believe I was paid to play with string things, bubbles and watch the parade! :P hehe. Yup. Def wanna pick up more shifts there again.

Will update more later.
Have to get up at 4am for work tomorrow. I work Heart of House, yay for learning new things!

xx

The anticipation..

So, even though there are a lot of bad things about the merch location I am at, there are some good things. Namely, I can pick up merch shifts in the parks easier. :P I know I am new to the whole merchandise thing but I saw an Animal Kingdom shift that was avaliable and so I was like - I want it!! Those things go fast so I was excited to get it. :)

The problem then was....I had never worked there before and had no idea how to navigate my way around! To make life less stressful I went today to go check out the costume (which is, as expected, very scary - see example below)


I found some nice people too, who helped me figure out where to go and what costume to get. Omg I hate the costuming sizes. Its impossible to know what size you are, you have to try everything on because its all different!!

I found out some really interesting things and I was glad that many cast members were friendly and helpful. :)

Now, you might find it weird how I gave up a day off to work, but to me it's an experience(and I looove Animal Kingdom!), plus it puts me into overtime too, so it's helpful. :)
That, and my days off are so weird lately anyway it hardly bothers me. Like, this week I did 9 days straight and then it goes "day of work", day off, "day of work", day off. Argh.... so crazy and all over the place!


On another note. I reeeally hope that I have a nice manager today who can help me. I tried to give my shift away on the 3rd because I reeeeeally want to see West Side Story (omg the price is unbelievable :D ). The person my friend gave me was denied by the labour people (who like to deny people a lot. A lot.) She is trained on merch but since she isn't in the system for our area they don't like it. Hopefully I can get it approved by a manger. That or I can find someone else to take it!!!

Hmm. So I am thinking of catching an early bus to return some costumes. Then I can go and eat and read before my shift at 5.45pm. It's always good to not be rushed. :)

Tomorrow is a day off, yay! I have lots of inventory things to do, but I think somewhere in there I have to fit in a Steak n Shake or an iHop.... yeah.. :P

Have a magical day! (which, by the way I don't say out loud because the guests don't really like hearing it after hearing it all day at the parks. XD )

xx

Soooo bored

Hey ya'll,

I haven't posted in a while. So I shall quickly try to fill it in.

I had 4 days of merch training (which didn't seem like much but to be honest I find it hard to learn things when I am not doing it myself. When I did my Disney Uni day of Merchantainment training (yay I can pick up shifts with that restriction, woop!) I was pretty much bored out of my mind. I already knew how to do pretty much everything. It was therefore a short day since I hardly had any e-learning to do. So whilst some people had 3 hours, I was done in 10mins. hahahaha.

I took the opportunity to go grab a bus (I was lucky with transport, I hardly had to wait!) back to Vista. Then, I quickly got changed and ran out to the bus which was still there (yay!). The rest of the afternoon I spent at the Magic Kingdom. :D It was awesome. ...and then my roomie came and joined me which made it even better!

The on job training wasn't bad, but our shop was soooo dead. It proved to me why I really didn't want to work there!
I know they are trying to get me out of there though. So I am going to try and be patient and see if anything good happens...
After 4 days of training I had earned my ears (so much faster than Food and Bev!). I actually got a certificate and some mickey ears. :P

My schedule is insaaaaane!!! I get days off all over the place. So one week (like this week, I work 9 days in a row) and then others I work 3 and then I will have day off-work-day off situations which are kind of stupid!

The past few training shifts have been pretty booooring. The morning shifts require me to wake up so early and I am so not a fan! To get to a 6.15am shift for example I have to get the 5am shuttle bus which you have to book the day prior!

Yesterday I had a double cos I picked up a shift in the food court (before tey blocked me access. :( ). It was long but it was fun to jump between the two.

My merch shift was slow but then we had this random rush at the end. People and breakables. Honestly. Why do you feel the need to purchase such items 5mins before close?
Then I had this crazy drama with this guy who tried to get pizza when we were already closed. I was telling hime we were closed. But he was persistant. I told him he had till 11.30 to order a pizza from his room. It was 11.20, so that was his only option. He wasn't at his room though and didn't have a phone. SoI was like. Ok. Fine. I kow this isn't part of my job and I'm not in Food and Bev anymore but I guess I can try to help. So I ran back and forward trying to figure out how to get it to work. I kept forgetting information. :/ But eventually I got the order in for him. I know he was grateful and I was glad I could help but it meant I was behind on chores for merch. So I was rushing round trying to do them. When I thught I was finished I reaised I forgot to do the cash wrap (bags) for the registers. I was like...you know what.. The morning people can go get them. I was making a guest happy and didn't have time.

Have to go to work soon.
But first I will tell you I got a fright (my roomie got more of one though) when a
squirrel came into our apartment!! haha. It was very fast and wouldn't even be enticed by my food.

I am finding merch to be hard on the schedule front. There are hardly any people at my merch place for one thing, and there are like noooo merch shifts on EHH like there were for Food ad Bev! :(

Ok. Have to go.
ttyl

xx

Merch, day 1

Okay so I am looking forward to my thursday paycheck. Yup. It is niiiice. Sometimes it is worth putting in the extra time to get the rewards.

But anyway.

I have enjoyed my last few food and bev shifts.
One in particular was wonderful because I created the most magical moment ever. It was so wonderful. I think it made me just as happy as it made the guest. Pretty much nothing could have happened the rest of the day to make me feel unhappy!
Basically I had a small stroke of brilliance and implemented it. I got hugs and the guest even wanted to take a picture with me. :) I love guests like that. Ones that actually appreciate effort.


Today though, I had my first merch training day. I was so bored to tears. Thank goodness I had Duffy the bear to play with and keep me company.
I honestly don't think I will be happy there at all. It's so empty and tiny... There were prety much z-e-r-o guests. Ergh. Awful.
I already knew pretty much everything they were talking about too, since for example the Basics are drilled into my brain.

Luckily though, there is a ray of hope.

My food managers talked to my new merch ones and now that my new merch ones know I really am not a fan of working there, they are trying to deploy/transfer me. :)
I reeeeeeally hope that happens!

Tomorrow I have Disney Uni. Will have to bring out the formal wear again!

So tired lately. Haven't been sleeping well since the Brazillians like to have the AC on like 80-85F. I keep turning it down cos it makes me hot and bothered and unable to sleep. But no surprise people keep putting it back up again. -.- Seriously, why do they think the apartment should feel like a tropical island???

OK
Off to bed

xx

Shopping day off!

Had an awesome day off yesterday.

My fairy godmother roomie made me up all pretty and made my hair curly using my GHD.


When we were ready our ride (hugs!) took us to Florida Mall. We went to get my 'repaired' camera. I was excited. (later found out they hadn't even fixed the problem and I have to go back!!! boo. )


...It was pay day so possibly that was a bad thing? haha. But we def had a good time, that's for sure. :P Especially since there were sales everywhere. I got things I never would have thought I'd get. Simply because they were so darn cheap.

Anyway so that was fun and I got the work shoes for merch I needed. We went to all our fav places and had a great time. :) As this pic shows I bought a fair amount of stuff. XD



Once we had shopped ourselves silly we headed back to Vista. My roomie ditched my workmate and I to go hang out with another friend, and we went to grab free food and drink from the welcome event. hehe.

Then we went to Fantasia mini golf, which was fun. Very pretty course. Fun thing to do at night. Especially when we could hear Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios in the background. Want to see that again...




I won the game.
;)

Then, since I only had the one day off I decided to kill two birds in one stone and get some grocery shopping out of the way. It felt good to be all stocked up on groceries again. Yeah I was getting a bit sad in that department. Even to the point of having chocolate and other such foods with bad nutritional values, for meals...

When I got home I watched DVDs and then went to sleep with the wonderful plan of a lovely long sleep in the next morning. A sleep in to make up for the 2 big long days ahead of me. 2x double shifts one after the other. Icky.

Ok off ork!
Yay for 2 posts in one day :P


xx

Cruise Day 6

Today was a sea day.

A day for sleeping in. Yup. It's lovely to lay there and feel the gentle hum of the boat drive through the seas.
Well, it would have been if there wasn't an amazing opportinity avaliable that we couldn't pass up.

Ys, the previous night we had been invited to a character breakfast, Those things you have to ook 3months in advance on land and then you stillave to pay for it. Not us. :P
The food was very yummy (finally go my poached eggs! yussss), but then the characters made it fun. Not to mention ou serversone again went above our expectations. They made everyone hats/tiaras/ears/something else from napkins! It was funny looking arund to see all the dif designs. This one guy who was stitch was very impressive looking. :P










Apparantly mine was a princess crown..

Anyway, we had already seen Tangled but it was on again. So we decided to see it once more. Who doesn't like free movie showings, anyway??

After that we were still tired since we missed out sleep in. So we considered it a good time for a nap.

After the rejuvenation we headed off to see Disney Dreams, which was a show. It was very pretty and the stage effects were pretty impressive. :) Here are some pics to give you an idea...






Dinner was great as usual, and tonights towel animal was a crab! :)


Next day: Disney's private island, Castaway Cay :)
xx

To Ducktorate or no...?

Aloha :)

So tomorrow is my day off. Quite looking forward to it. Today I am going to try and go to costuming to get some of the merch costumes. I hope it looks okay on me.

I have this urge to go to Magic Kingdom on my next day off (not tomorrow). I feel as if I haven't been there in a while and that I should go to take advantage of that perk.

I went to the pavillion at Vista today to get some DVDs and I noticed that they were signing up people for classes. I know I have my Mousters, but I did always want to get a Ducktorate too.
I am wondering if I should do a course to get one? The thing is whether I want to spend one of my days off getting up early and attanding class, and then having to do homework/a small exam? I guess it could be good to get me back into the whole uni mode.
I just wonder because when my parents come/I want to go on adventures etc than I may not be able to? Or I may have to miss a class which would affect my final grade?

So, any opinions?
This is the one that I thought looked interesting (after reading some of the Creativity and Innovation book and hearing about the class from others I am not sure I really want to do that any more...).

Experimental Learning
THE DISNEY EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING COURSE OBJECTIVES
•
Recognize the importance of adult education and a commitment to life-long learning
•
Build transferable skills and knowledge related to adult learning styles
•
Integrate experiential learning, academic learnings, and work-related experiences to their Experiential Learning assignments
•
Explore the historical foundations of adult learning (Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Fritz Perls, Jean Piaget)
•
Explore the learning theories of John Dewey, Malcolm Knowles, David Kolb, Kurt Lewin, Edward L. Thorndike, Peter Senge, and Thomas Stewart
•
Identify and participate in self-directed learning activities at the Disney Learning Centers
•
Participate in at least one Career Insight activity designed to promote understanding of a variety of career paths and various lines of business
•
Explore the value of diversity on a personal and a professional level
•
Learn the benefit and value of community service on a corporate as well as a personal level
•
Engage in specific Guest experiences to identify the value of and relationship between education and entertainment

--

1. Introduction to Experiential Learning
(3 hours)
•
Define experiential learning
•
Establish course expectations and objectives
•
Introduce experiential learning opportunities
•
Review the Experiential Learning Student Notebook
Familiarize yourself with the assignment descriptions.

2. Experiential Learning Theories I
(3 hours)
•
Explore the historical foundations of learning theory through the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget
•
Explore techniques used to assist adults in learning
•
Relate learning theory models to field experiences
Continue experiential learning activities outside of class

3. Individuality in Learning and Introduction to Learning Styles
(3 hours)
•
Share recent experiential learnings from field experiences
•
Introduce David Kolb and the Experiential Learning Model
•
Explore Kolb’s learning styles
•
Complete the Adapting Learning Styles Assessment
Continue experiential learning activities outside of class

4. More on Learning Styles (3 hours)
•
Share recent experiential learnings from field experiences
•
Administer the Personal Learning Insights Profile
•
Explore the personal approach to learning
•
Apply Personal Learning Insights to a corporate setting
Continue experiential learning activities outside of class

5. Experiential Learning Theories II
(3 hours)
•
Explore the historical foundations of experiential learning theory through the works of Carl Jung, Erik Erikson, Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, and Abraham Maslow and their impact on adult learning theory
•
Explore techniques used to assist adults in learning
Continue experiential learning activities outside of class

6. Learning in an Organization
(3 hours)
•
Explore adult learning theories of Edward Thorndike and Malcolm Knowles
•
Introduce the work of Peter Senge and the concept of a learning organization
•
Explore the impact of learning styles on adapting to a corporate culture
•
Explore the value of Corporate community involvement
•
Continue experiential learning activities outside of class
•
Read the Corporate Volunteerism article & prepare to provide in-class written responses to questions related to the Corporate Volunteerism article

7. Corporate Applications of Diversity
(3 hours)
•
Discuss the value of experiential learning to diversity
•
Identify the importance of diversity as it applies to life-long learning
•
Explore corporate applications of diversity
•
Discover the business case for diversity
Continue experiential learning activities outside of class

8. Learning in an Organization II
(3 hours)
•
Define intellectual capital and its importance in a corporate culture
•
Apply experiential learning to field experiences
•
Prepare for final exam
Continue experiential learning activities outside of class

9. Conclusion and Final Exam
(3 hours)
•
Assess course learnings through a Final Exam
•
Identify the value of a commitment to life-long learning
•
Summarize and discuss learning activities from the term
Prepare for Final Exam

---

By the way I managed to sort out the NZ uni thing. I should be all set for when I go back. Now I just have to figure out everything else.... Like where in the world will I live..? Job? :/


Work has been kind of interesting lately since we have a new item on the menu that I have been involved in developing.
I am scared about the change over to merch next week. :(


A guy from work was trying to give away his morning shift yesterday. They are pretty rare so I decided to tak it. My pay check will be good, but I really don't like how I'm doing 2 doubles 2 days straight. It's kind of crazy. Oh well....maybe it's my lat chance to get some descent paychecks since my pay goes down when I am in merch. :(

Okay, off to work now!

xx

Cruise Day 5

This morning we arrived in Cozumel, Mexico! :)

This to me was the most excitng sounding port! I loved how when we got off the boat the culture surrounded you. There was spanish everywhere. There were all these interesting sights to take in. I was most fascinated! Even the arctitecture intrigued me.






I loved all the little stalls selling things. Spanish/Mexican crafts fascinate me. Much like how I love native American Indian artwork.
The only thing was thatI really didn't like how pushy the people were. It was obvious they really wanted your buisness but they made me feel uncomfortable.

We were on a tour of the island, but I was worried when walking to the bus because it wasn't clean or safe looking at all. It was almost scary!

The tour guide was nice and he helped me feel more at ease. Looking out the window whilst driving I was glad to be in the safety of the bus. Things looked quite run down. But there was a different character there that was interesting to me.


Eventually we got to the sacred San Gervasio ruins. They aren't as well known as the Chichen Itza ruins on the Yucatán Peninsula, but I found out that they are still pretty interesting. Apparantly these ruins used to me like the Meca of the Spanish world. The fertility god was there and it was like atrip everyone was meant to make in their lifetime.



I got annoyed by the tourists who didn't respect the site. Its hard to preserve something when people don't read signs and climb all over things they shouldn't. That's disrespectful and this one set of parents didn't even bother to tel their kid off for doing that!

Good thing we had guide that spoke great English because everything was in Spanish....







This isn't a well, but they think it held water or something...


I liked the red handprints on one of the temple type places. :) It's aslso amazing how long these sites have managed to exist.


The island had a lot more vegetation that I would have thought. There were huge wide open spaces of just trees.

I saw an aligator in the wild! Oh my goodness!


We got to stop at a beach. It was so pretty! I loved the rock formations and the way the waves crash upon the beach. :) There were stalls on the beach selling crafts. There were hammocks and chairs to lie on.







The sand was pretty coarse but it was still wonderful to be on a nice beach.

Then we went to our next stop which had some shops to look at, an old church and some pretty random sights. For example, a horse, some preformers and then a guy carrying an Iguana!
There was also a cool statue...



Then we returned to the dock area. I love all the random stuff in these ports.


They even had performers for us back at the ship. Yay. :)



I loved this bar. Look at the awesome stuff there:





I didn't feel like drinking alc even though I could have. So we ended up in Starbucks. I tried this triple choc cake thing. It was definately interesting. Not like any cake I had ever had before. It was very dense for one thing. Oh and we had a field day and spent up! haha.


Joking, it's in pesos.. :P

When we got back to the ship we wnt pin trading! I got to talk to all the top people like the captain! He had been to NZ!! :O


Then we had an awesome dinner where the menus had moving pictures. <3


As usual the food was amazing. :)






They put on an amazing show for us. The walls lit up and there was music and a screen that changed constantly. After, Mickey came and visited! It was very nice of him ;)




Then the show 'Villans Tonight' was pretty good. I loved the shows. :)

Later, we enjoyed an Adult Caberet. The guy did tricks. His most impressive was this...


...and then there was the towel animal for the day.. :)


That's a wrap for day 5!
xx