OK. This post is dedicated to my super awesome friend in NZ, Richard. :) (SO glad you and all my other Chch friends weren't affected by the earthquake!!!)
I haven't blogged in a while because of a few reasons, but I guess I have to write a giant post catching ya'll up as punishment. Right? okay.
Not promising any logical order though. :P
I have been having some problems that have made me want to tear my hair out at times.
They come under the titles of:
1. flower and garden training
2. health
3. taxes
4. moving
I shall go into them in some depth soon but just to let you know I have some positivetitles too:
1. magic/knicks
2. other possible opportunities dependingon my schedule (eg. WICKED)
3. free food
4. tim mcgraw?!
5. friends and family
Lets begin with the bad and end with the good, shall we?
1. My first day of Flower and Gardne training reminded me very much of Food and Wine. It was shorter though, which was nice. I still saw people falling asleep, however (which makes sense because we were made to sit and listen to people talk and point to a screen for hours on end in a place with terrible lighting).
I didn't mind this day despite its slightly boring nature, since I got to learn about the festival (I love being one fo the first 'in the know'). I almost died of heat stroke when we had to walk around Epcot (because it was -totally- new to me..) in an awful amount of heat! I was freaking out about getting burnt the whole way and was running from one shaded spot to the next. :P
Anyway that was the first day, but the 2nd day was worse! At least I learnt something the first day. This second day was downright pointless! It was the exact same day I had for Food and Wine. I was like, it's 4 hours of my life I feel are being wasted.
Sure, you could look at it as getting free money, but then I could have been sleeping as opposed to having to be at Epcot at 8.30am! Why should I have to do the same day of training twice? Isn't that bad for the company and me? I mean they are paying me for no reason, and I don't even feel I am getting anything from it...? Very strange.
2. This one is a long story. Basically I was at work like usual (stocking, which I loved) when I suddenly got an itchy arm. I was like, gah. Stupid bugs. Why do they have to like drinking my blood so much??
Later, I noticed I had these spots all ove my arms. Uh..bed bugs or something? What the heck?
Then I noticed I had 2 on my back, 1 on my tummy and 3 on my legs. I was kind of baffled as to what they were. Al lI knew is they were crazy itchy! They weren't bug bites, by the way.
I decided after my Epcot training that I couldn't take it anymore and I was too self conscience of these horrible spots all over me. So I went to thehealth center. There, I had to wait about an hour to be seen. When I finally got seenthe lady stayed as far from me as she could and treate dme like I was contagious. :S She had no idea what was wrong after asking a bunch of questions. So another lady was called in. She didn't know either.
So guess what? They said, "you canno work until you see a doctor." Great. So I was being forced to see a doctor and had no job until I did so. -.- Good thing I had a friend with a car or this could have been far worse than it was.
I went to a doctor that same day, because I wanted to get it ove with and be able to work again! The doctor told me what I already knew - that is was "probably an allergy". Well, to what?! That, he didn't know. So great. I was forced to pay $150 to see a doctor (which, by the way is the cheapest you can get a doctor for here apparantly- how outrageous!) for him to tell me what I already knew. Not fun. He gave me soem cream and some steroids (not body builder type stuff, ok?) and sent me on my way with a note saying I was okay to go to work.
I was thinking. Uh, so if I am allergic to something and don't know what, how is that meant to help? I could get a reaction from it again and then not be able to fix it unless I go to the doctor to get more steroids?! This is crazy!
I went to the health services to show the "I am ok to work" form. The lady told me to go sit dwn. I am like, huh? But here is my form! The doctor says I am okay!!!
Turned out I had to wait to be seen by a nurse just to make sure. Really? You mean I had to waste another few hours of my life doing that? How ridiculous.
I decided to come back the next day cos I was so mad and tired of it all.
Luckily I got it all sorted then, and fnally to finish it off I had to go tell work about it. What a process though. My goodness. Especially if I had had no car. It would have been downright impossible and I owuld have had to miss work for some days till I could get to a doctor probably!
Anyway my spots are disappearing slowly and aren't itchy anymore so hurrah. :)
3. Taxes. My goodness. If I hadn't had enough with the health stuff, this just made me want to scream at someone. I went to go do my taxes. I had to run to my bus and was almost late, so bad start. I had the wrong form with me, so second bad thing (lucky I could re-print it!). Thirdly, I went to DU and no-one was there to help me, I had to ask everyone until someone was helpful! Fourth: the lady tells me I OWE money to the govt instead of getting a return. What the HECK?! I was like "are you sure? Everyone else I know is not in this situation!" ...adn she made up all these reasons why. I was totally baffled and quite aggrivated.
Let's just say this is a work in progress but I am trying to figure out if what shedd was wrong and if I actually DO get money back. That would totally suck and make no sense otherwsie. :/
4. Today was the day I was forced to move apartments. This is becuase everyone else in my apartment is leaving. I had 2.5 days given to me to move out of my current apartment. :( Not so nice. I really didn't want to have to move again. Especially since I would be the new person and the new person always got the worst deal (broken everything, least amount of space etc).
The apartment they gave me was ina terrible location. I was not happy just from that. ...and then it got worse.
I shall break it down.
--> it smelt gross
--> stains on the carpet
--> TINY
--> gross bathroom
--> would have to share said bathroom with 3 other girls
--> zero space (cupboards etc full)
--> super run down. cracks and chips everywhere
--> not welcoming
--> notes on fridge. They were complaining about people leaving food etc out and cockroaches and people eating other peoples food etc.
It looked like an awful nightmare. I did NOT want to move in there AT all. Sounded like drama I didn not want a part of. That was for sure.
Basically I marched straight back down the the office and refused to move in there. I implied that they needed to find me another apartment because there was noooo way I was living in that place.
Luckily, the lady managed to find a new place. I asked for a smaller place and I managed to snag a 4 person one. Yaaaay. Less people = less drama, more space and a bathroom shared only by one other. I was far more hopeful.
Not to mention this one was in a pretty good location.
Of course, whn I turn 21 in April I can ask to move again since I can be put in a non-wellness apartment. We shall see how well I get on with the people in my new apartment. So far they seem nice enough. My roomie is from Hawaii and says "aloha". haha. Thought that was quite amusing.
It's so horrible having to move all my stuff though. I have SO much stuff. It's crazy how much I have accumulated!
More on this story as it progresses, but a reminder to all:
MY ADDRESS HAS CHANGED BECAUSE OF THIS MOVE. If you need my new address please let me know. The new people moving into this apartment will not forward on my mail. :(
Onto good things now.
1. I am going to the Magic vs the Knicks basketball game on the 1st. Excited for that. I can't say I'm a sports fan, but I thought it may be my only chance. ...and with the price I got it's all good!!
2.
Am waiting for next weeks schedule to come out. Must.see.Wicked. ...and there's a scavenger hunt around Epcot that looks fun. :)
3. Got free food tonight on a case of good timing. ...and Kimmie likes free food. Yupyup.
4. I heard on the radio that TIM MCGRAW and other amazing country singers are coming to ORLANDO in May. Want to go sooooo badly. Tickets go on sale March 4 and I wish I knew how much it would cost! I bet its too expensive to consider. :(
5. It has been awesome to have seen friends and family lately. :) Thanks for stopping by! Looking forward to more in the future. ^_^
Anyway.
It is late.
Hope you enjoyed all that Richard.
It's 2.20am, so forgive the crazy writing/typos etc.
xx
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The big apple: NYC
Howdy!
I just got back from NYC today - and will be spending the next few days with Dad, showing him around my world here.
NYC was exactly how I imagined, oddly enough. Except for one thing: the people. You know how everyone says that NYers are't very nice? Well, I disprved that one, because -everyone- I talked to was lovely! In fact, they were super helpful and I was very glad. :)
When I arrived it was early in the morning (and I had enjoyed only 4 or so hours of sleep. So wasn't exactly feeling on top of the world). I was a little freaked out that when I looked out the window I saw now everywhere! Thank goodness I had brought warm clothing with me (which was part of an ingenious plan that cost me nothing :P). When we landed I was ecited by the big apple welcome on the runway. The Sex and the City tune came into my head. lol! Uh, yeeeeeeah...I was in NYC!!! :D
When I got off the plane I felt this rush of excitement and nervous energy. I was in this huge city by myself. ...and I had to get to the Javits Convention Center. From an airport that wasn't even a main one and therefore had less transport options!
However, once I figured out how to get out of the airport and get to public transport I asked how to get to the Q33. Luckily I was pointed the right way. It was sitting there so I felt like I had good luck for catching it before it left!
Good luck ended quick though since all the quarters I got before I left (I knew I would probably need them for ublic transport) had weirdly gone missing. So...I had a problem. The only way off paying (which is crazy) since I didn't have one of their transport cards was to pay $2.25. In quarters. Gah. Not cool.
Good thing a man kindly let me use his, and I just paid in back in cash. :) Yay for nice people!
When I sat down a guy behind me started talking to me. I was knd of weary since he was a stranger and I was scared he would take advantage of the fact it was now obvious I did not live here. :/ On the contrary though, he was super lovely and helpful. He told me about the city and mae sure I got off at the right place. He even helped me to get my subcard. :)
Unfortunately, hew left after that and I had the subway to brave. ...and boy was I lost and confused. The one I was trying to find I couldn't find. The whole system confused me and I was freakig out a little.
So, I asked a lady waiting for her subway train. She was so nice and made sre I got onthe right one. Weird thing was that I think she got sidetracked trying to help me that she put me on th right one which she said was the same as hers, but then it was the wrong one for her! :/
It was a long trip and when i got to Manhattan I was happy to get up and walk around. That station was so much less dodgy. Queens kind of scared me. Glad I wasn't walking around there. Glad I wasn't in the Bronx, either.
I went into a shopping center to use a restroom and then I asked a police person (who are abrupt but helpful) where to get where I was going, and they helped me out. :)
The sights and sounds of NYC were as I imagined. It was big, bustling (though not as many people as I imagined in my mind), dity and had lots of yellow taxis. :P
Eventually after quite a walk, I got to the Javits Convention Center and was super proud of myself. Yay me. :) ...and it cost $4.25. How awesome is that? Do you know how much it would have cost by cab/taxi!?! lol!
That afternoon I hung out with the others until the end of the show and then Dad and I went on an adventure. It was called the - getting lost trying to get to our hotel in New Jersey (Yes, that's right, I've been there now too - yay!)-. We caught several forms of transport before we finally got there. It took us about 3 hours. XD lol.
I was told I needed to try pizza and hot daogs in NY. ...so I was on a mission to do that.The first was accomplished on this first night. Man, fresh made -tossed in the air whilst we watched - pizza is amazing! :) Not to mention it was $1.50 for a giant slice?! I like!!!
Times Square was fun to visit. It's like on t.v. :) Yay for being in such a well known place!
OMG.... and they have giant everything. Including GIANT DISNEY STORE. Omg. XD
The people advertising this stupid comedy show where like ants. Everywhere. You wanted to attack one of them after a while, but we just ended up trying to come up with awesome responses. :P
The next day was Valentines Day so I kept Dad company and we went sight seeing. :)
We woke up to a beautiful day! It wa freeeeezing but the view was gorgeous.
The plan was to go to the statue of liberty from NJ side.
Too bad that didn't work. :S We ending up getting up early, hopping on a light train only so that we could walk around in the cold in the middle of nowhere. Yeah. We were awesome.
Not to mention there was ice everywhere so we were trying not to fall over. BUT - neither of us did. So there! woo! Go us. One achievement.
When we found out how bad our plan was holey we switched plans, obviously. Instead we caught a ferry across to NYC. From there we walked to ground zero and ate at this little place with huge watery hot chocolates (ew) and average food. Ground zero (where twin towers were) wasn't very impressive, but it was interesting to stand in history and see the new rebuilding plans.
Next we went to Wall St. Yay! I love seeing al lthese places I have heard about.
Weirdly enough it actually wasn't very exciting. There wasn't much there and the Stock Exchange building was gated off so you couldn't go near it.
If you know about economics and the whole bear/bull market thing, you'd find it funny how there was a guy selling bears on Wall St. ...yeah...
I went into Tiffany and Co. All I can say is: "OooOooh. Spaaaarkly!" :D
So by this time the ferry to Staten Island was going, so we headed to the Statue of Liberty (yay!). It was so exciting to see this statue that so many people know!
The security beforehand sucked and took ages, but the statue was awesome. ...oh and the shop on board as awesome too (got a NY hot dog! ..and a crown like on Princess Diaries!).
Then we headed for the Empire State building. Nice big building. :) Pretty spectacular view. ....very windy!!!!!!!!
I have no idea what was happening in Times Square but there was this weird V Day Ken barbie thing and it was kind of creepy! These guys were in plasic cases and you could take pics with them? odd...
I got flowers. :D Yay!
That night after we went back to the Conventonfor a bit we went back to NJ (across the river by the way) for dinner. Too bad we discovered that there was hardly anything to eat in that area....
We ended up finding something nice which we did in takeaway inthe end though. :)
The next day I helkped with the convention and then dad and I made a bee-line for the Rockerfeller center (which wasn't that impressive, but I looooved the ice-skating and the night view over the city) and central park. I didn't get to see Central Park except at a fair distance. But that's ok cos I can't say it has a good reputation at nightime. Obviously I will have to plan a visit to go back though at some point. :)
We went out to dinner at this nice place with our friends. It wa lovely and the waiter cracked me up. Don't they say the funniest most repetitve and fake sounding things sometimes???? ...dessert was amaaaaazing.
Before getting on the subway we stopped past Madison Square Garden. It's amazing how many things have gone on there. History! :D
Today I got up early and caught my flight (we relocated to a hotel near the airport, by the way) at 7.55am. As you can see I am chilling out some before I meet up with Dad again to vacation at CBR! Yay!
---
A Moral of the Story for NYC. There are plenty of nice people in NYC, so forget that stereotype! ---> though in saying that you still have to be careful and avoid the scary people.
---
The next few weeks should be interesting.
I have the opportunity to see a US basketball (Magic vx Kiniks - both well known!) game and go see Wicked soon. I really want to go but have to wait and see if i have those days off. :( So this sunday I am booking hopefully!!
I am doing Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot!!!! Yay!!!! Food and Wine and now Flower and Garden. So happy. :)
I also picked up soem random stroller parking shifts (who knows? lol) at MK too. :)
In a month or so I will start to sort out my plane tickets back to NZ/seeing if I can change my end date a little so life is a little less hectic when get back. It's goign to be shock to the system when its back to the drawing board and it's all over. :(
But until then, lots of fun stuff ahead!
I will post pics later from NYC later. :)
xx
I just got back from NYC today - and will be spending the next few days with Dad, showing him around my world here.
NYC was exactly how I imagined, oddly enough. Except for one thing: the people. You know how everyone says that NYers are't very nice? Well, I disprved that one, because -everyone- I talked to was lovely! In fact, they were super helpful and I was very glad. :)
When I arrived it was early in the morning (and I had enjoyed only 4 or so hours of sleep. So wasn't exactly feeling on top of the world). I was a little freaked out that when I looked out the window I saw now everywhere! Thank goodness I had brought warm clothing with me (which was part of an ingenious plan that cost me nothing :P). When we landed I was ecited by the big apple welcome on the runway. The Sex and the City tune came into my head. lol! Uh, yeeeeeeah...I was in NYC!!! :D
When I got off the plane I felt this rush of excitement and nervous energy. I was in this huge city by myself. ...and I had to get to the Javits Convention Center. From an airport that wasn't even a main one and therefore had less transport options!
However, once I figured out how to get out of the airport and get to public transport I asked how to get to the Q33. Luckily I was pointed the right way. It was sitting there so I felt like I had good luck for catching it before it left!
Good luck ended quick though since all the quarters I got before I left (I knew I would probably need them for ublic transport) had weirdly gone missing. So...I had a problem. The only way off paying (which is crazy) since I didn't have one of their transport cards was to pay $2.25. In quarters. Gah. Not cool.
Good thing a man kindly let me use his, and I just paid in back in cash. :) Yay for nice people!
When I sat down a guy behind me started talking to me. I was knd of weary since he was a stranger and I was scared he would take advantage of the fact it was now obvious I did not live here. :/ On the contrary though, he was super lovely and helpful. He told me about the city and mae sure I got off at the right place. He even helped me to get my subcard. :)
Unfortunately, hew left after that and I had the subway to brave. ...and boy was I lost and confused. The one I was trying to find I couldn't find. The whole system confused me and I was freakig out a little.
So, I asked a lady waiting for her subway train. She was so nice and made sre I got onthe right one. Weird thing was that I think she got sidetracked trying to help me that she put me on th right one which she said was the same as hers, but then it was the wrong one for her! :/
It was a long trip and when i got to Manhattan I was happy to get up and walk around. That station was so much less dodgy. Queens kind of scared me. Glad I wasn't walking around there. Glad I wasn't in the Bronx, either.
I went into a shopping center to use a restroom and then I asked a police person (who are abrupt but helpful) where to get where I was going, and they helped me out. :)
The sights and sounds of NYC were as I imagined. It was big, bustling (though not as many people as I imagined in my mind), dity and had lots of yellow taxis. :P
Eventually after quite a walk, I got to the Javits Convention Center and was super proud of myself. Yay me. :) ...and it cost $4.25. How awesome is that? Do you know how much it would have cost by cab/taxi!?! lol!
That afternoon I hung out with the others until the end of the show and then Dad and I went on an adventure. It was called the - getting lost trying to get to our hotel in New Jersey (Yes, that's right, I've been there now too - yay!)-. We caught several forms of transport before we finally got there. It took us about 3 hours. XD lol.
I was told I needed to try pizza and hot daogs in NY. ...so I was on a mission to do that.The first was accomplished on this first night. Man, fresh made -tossed in the air whilst we watched - pizza is amazing! :) Not to mention it was $1.50 for a giant slice?! I like!!!
Times Square was fun to visit. It's like on t.v. :) Yay for being in such a well known place!
OMG.... and they have giant everything. Including GIANT DISNEY STORE. Omg. XD
The people advertising this stupid comedy show where like ants. Everywhere. You wanted to attack one of them after a while, but we just ended up trying to come up with awesome responses. :P
The next day was Valentines Day so I kept Dad company and we went sight seeing. :)
We woke up to a beautiful day! It wa freeeeezing but the view was gorgeous.
The plan was to go to the statue of liberty from NJ side.
Too bad that didn't work. :S We ending up getting up early, hopping on a light train only so that we could walk around in the cold in the middle of nowhere. Yeah. We were awesome.
Not to mention there was ice everywhere so we were trying not to fall over. BUT - neither of us did. So there! woo! Go us. One achievement.
When we found out how bad our plan was holey we switched plans, obviously. Instead we caught a ferry across to NYC. From there we walked to ground zero and ate at this little place with huge watery hot chocolates (ew) and average food. Ground zero (where twin towers were) wasn't very impressive, but it was interesting to stand in history and see the new rebuilding plans.
Next we went to Wall St. Yay! I love seeing al lthese places I have heard about.
Weirdly enough it actually wasn't very exciting. There wasn't much there and the Stock Exchange building was gated off so you couldn't go near it.
If you know about economics and the whole bear/bull market thing, you'd find it funny how there was a guy selling bears on Wall St. ...yeah...
I went into Tiffany and Co. All I can say is: "OooOooh. Spaaaarkly!" :D
So by this time the ferry to Staten Island was going, so we headed to the Statue of Liberty (yay!). It was so exciting to see this statue that so many people know!
The security beforehand sucked and took ages, but the statue was awesome. ...oh and the shop on board as awesome too (got a NY hot dog! ..and a crown like on Princess Diaries!).
Then we headed for the Empire State building. Nice big building. :) Pretty spectacular view. ....very windy!!!!!!!!
I have no idea what was happening in Times Square but there was this weird V Day Ken barbie thing and it was kind of creepy! These guys were in plasic cases and you could take pics with them? odd...
I got flowers. :D Yay!
That night after we went back to the Conventonfor a bit we went back to NJ (across the river by the way) for dinner. Too bad we discovered that there was hardly anything to eat in that area....
We ended up finding something nice which we did in takeaway inthe end though. :)
The next day I helkped with the convention and then dad and I made a bee-line for the Rockerfeller center (which wasn't that impressive, but I looooved the ice-skating and the night view over the city) and central park. I didn't get to see Central Park except at a fair distance. But that's ok cos I can't say it has a good reputation at nightime. Obviously I will have to plan a visit to go back though at some point. :)
We went out to dinner at this nice place with our friends. It wa lovely and the waiter cracked me up. Don't they say the funniest most repetitve and fake sounding things sometimes???? ...dessert was amaaaaazing.
Before getting on the subway we stopped past Madison Square Garden. It's amazing how many things have gone on there. History! :D
Today I got up early and caught my flight (we relocated to a hotel near the airport, by the way) at 7.55am. As you can see I am chilling out some before I meet up with Dad again to vacation at CBR! Yay!
---
A Moral of the Story for NYC. There are plenty of nice people in NYC, so forget that stereotype! ---> though in saying that you still have to be careful and avoid the scary people.
---
The next few weeks should be interesting.
I have the opportunity to see a US basketball (Magic vx Kiniks - both well known!) game and go see Wicked soon. I really want to go but have to wait and see if i have those days off. :( So this sunday I am booking hopefully!!
I am doing Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot!!!! Yay!!!! Food and Wine and now Flower and Garden. So happy. :)
I also picked up soem random stroller parking shifts (who knows? lol) at MK too. :)
In a month or so I will start to sort out my plane tickets back to NZ/seeing if I can change my end date a little so life is a little less hectic when get back. It's goign to be shock to the system when its back to the drawing board and it's all over. :(
But until then, lots of fun stuff ahead!
I will post pics later from NYC later. :)
xx
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Cindy's Royal Table Brekkie
The other morning I went with my newfound friends (yay :) ) to MK in the hope that we might be able to get into Cindy's Table for brekkie. Unfortunately one of the girls forgot to turn their alarm on, so we got there later than we had hoped. However, since it was bad weather and it isn't peak season, I think that tilted things to our advantage.
After talking to the lady in the front entrance of the castle she reluctantly managed to get us in after a small wait. It was so exciting!
I was a little unimpresed by the cast who worked there though becuase they all seemed super grumpy. :/
INside the castle it was pretty but small. We were in a line to get our picture taken with Cinderella, and then after that you had a choice. The elevator or the staircae. Now, in this instance, why woud you choose the elevator unles you neded to? The spiral staircase was so pretty...
So we climbed the stairs and eventually got to the restrooms which amused me (Lord and Ladies). It wasn't too much longer until we got to the dining section. The room was pretty small and circular. It was kind of dark and exclusive looking (no wonder you should book and dinner is always sold out!). We got taken to our seats and I think we got really good ones. :) We were in the centre of the room!
We were given pastries and orange juice and then a select menu of 3 items.
We all picked the 2nd option because the other two (cooked brekkie or yoghurt/cereal) were pretty normal and you could get them elsewhere. Option 2 was this creamcream french toast with strawberries. And it was gooood.
We also go fruit on the table which was nice. :)
The princesses all came around and greeted us (though Jasmine wasn't there...). I got photos with them all.
They had some show features, you got a wand and there were some awesome as carriage confetti pieces scattered around (I asked for more :P )...but to be honest on reflection I think that they could have done much more to make it more special. We all felt like for what you pay you don't get too much. Especially since the princesses don't talk to you for long (unless you are a cute little princess girl then you get a little longer) and it felt like they were trying to rush us. I felt like we were on a converoybelt and they wanted to get as many people through to eat as they could.
So to summarise:
food: 9/10
service: 5/10
experience: 7/10
value for $: 5/10
I think the Cindy's Table dinner is mean tto be better though (so yay for the booking in April with my Aussie friend!).
The rest of the day I packed for NYC and then hung out with my Aussie friend. :) We went for a walk to Downtown Disney from the post office. We had a movie night and ate dinner together. It was nice. :)
Today I tried to fiure out how to get where I need to go in NYC. I'm a little anxious about it. But I am up for the challenge. Ya'll know how I like challeges. SO long as I don't get lost or something I should be good.
I get some people saying that NYC is scary and dodgy and others saying its fine (especially in the daytime). So who knows, I guess I will find out. ....plus I figure if I get lost I can get one of the taxis that are everywhere. Right? XD
It's a test of my geo skills? And all other skills.... hahaha
Tomorrow I am going to gt some last min things, work till 11.45pm and thennnn my friend is picking me up. I am staying with them until they drive me to the airport so I am there for my 7.55am flight. :) Yaaay.
So later ya'll!
MAy not get on here until after NYC and my Dad's visit (so that's until the 19th). We are staying at my work (weird..) and I am showing him around the USA. :)
xx
After talking to the lady in the front entrance of the castle she reluctantly managed to get us in after a small wait. It was so exciting!
I was a little unimpresed by the cast who worked there though becuase they all seemed super grumpy. :/
INside the castle it was pretty but small. We were in a line to get our picture taken with Cinderella, and then after that you had a choice. The elevator or the staircae. Now, in this instance, why woud you choose the elevator unles you neded to? The spiral staircase was so pretty...
So we climbed the stairs and eventually got to the restrooms which amused me (Lord and Ladies). It wasn't too much longer until we got to the dining section. The room was pretty small and circular. It was kind of dark and exclusive looking (no wonder you should book and dinner is always sold out!). We got taken to our seats and I think we got really good ones. :) We were in the centre of the room!
We were given pastries and orange juice and then a select menu of 3 items.
We all picked the 2nd option because the other two (cooked brekkie or yoghurt/cereal) were pretty normal and you could get them elsewhere. Option 2 was this creamcream french toast with strawberries. And it was gooood.
We also go fruit on the table which was nice. :)
The princesses all came around and greeted us (though Jasmine wasn't there...). I got photos with them all.
They had some show features, you got a wand and there were some awesome as carriage confetti pieces scattered around (I asked for more :P )...but to be honest on reflection I think that they could have done much more to make it more special. We all felt like for what you pay you don't get too much. Especially since the princesses don't talk to you for long (unless you are a cute little princess girl then you get a little longer) and it felt like they were trying to rush us. I felt like we were on a converoybelt and they wanted to get as many people through to eat as they could.
So to summarise:
food: 9/10
service: 5/10
experience: 7/10
value for $: 5/10
I think the Cindy's Table dinner is mean tto be better though (so yay for the booking in April with my Aussie friend!).
The rest of the day I packed for NYC and then hung out with my Aussie friend. :) We went for a walk to Downtown Disney from the post office. We had a movie night and ate dinner together. It was nice. :)
Today I tried to fiure out how to get where I need to go in NYC. I'm a little anxious about it. But I am up for the challenge. Ya'll know how I like challeges. SO long as I don't get lost or something I should be good.
I get some people saying that NYC is scary and dodgy and others saying its fine (especially in the daytime). So who knows, I guess I will find out. ....plus I figure if I get lost I can get one of the taxis that are everywhere. Right? XD
It's a test of my geo skills? And all other skills.... hahaha
Tomorrow I am going to gt some last min things, work till 11.45pm and thennnn my friend is picking me up. I am staying with them until they drive me to the airport so I am there for my 7.55am flight. :) Yaaay.
So later ya'll!
MAy not get on here until after NYC and my Dad's visit (so that's until the 19th). We are staying at my work (weird..) and I am showing him around the USA. :)
xx
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Awesome news
Ok. Today was long but it was totally amazing. Super glad I picked up the shift I did today. Why?
1. The managers were awesome and made me reeeeally want to be deployed
2. I met another aussie. She thought she was awesome (and she pretty much is - but don't tell her I said that ;) )
3. I got to play with bubbles and make little kids happy!
4. I got to practice some spanish
5. I got to work in a PRINCESS shop. Looooooove. <3
6. I was outside most of the time and the weather was nice
7. I traded pins SO much. :)
8. I got to interact a lot with the guests. They told me stories and we had a great time! I even kind of came out of my shell and tried to make things even more magical for them. :) I love seeing their smiles and the parents' relief and happiness. I love to help and I love to make them happy!
9. I met a blog follower (more on that later...)
Of course there were some bad things too. Like when I first arrived I thought the shift was going to be awful because the girl I first went to for help was....unhelpful! She acted like she couldn't care less about anything!
However, the minute I was given a task other than "dust and clean" from the CDS, I enjoyed it. I just love getting paid to play and sing and dance around with little kids. I mean sure I have to do transactions in between but, really? I wouldn't mind doing it more often, that's for sure! The shift definately went faster than my CBR one this morning (I did a double today).
Onto an awesome thing. Point number 8. (see, told you I would get back to it. :P )
This evening when I was finished my shift an hanging out with my new Aussie aquaintance (man it's good to be able to discuss frustrations that other people don't understand!) a lovely gil came up to me and asked if I was Kimmie from this blog. Of course I said yes and what do ya know? It's my first and apparantly number one fan! Awesome to have met you!
That's the 2nd reader of my blog I have met in the past few weeks! How crazy is that???
Which reminds me. If you have read this blog and you see me here, feel free to say hi! I woud love to meet you! :)
So anyway, my amazing follower fan (though I hate to use that word since it probably makes me sound up myself), I am sad that you leave soon! Hopefully tomorrows plans will work out(we are trying to go to Cinderella's Castle for breakfast if we can get in).
Onto a random note (because I love to digress. My brain works in crazy ways):
Picking up shifts - it is hard to pick them up in merch - : Although I was scared at first since I didn't know where to go, how to get to costuming etc, it's not that bad and can actually turn out to be a fun experience. Here are my tips:
1. Do not pick up a shift the day prior to that shift unless:
a. you work in a similar place and know your way around
b. you know costuming will be open and you have time to get your costume (and try it on for sizing which can be a challenge)
c. you follow the rules (eg. 8 hours between shifts from one day to another), because otherwise you can get poits and reprimands
2. Do not try and pick up any shift unless:
a. you feel confident in your ability to work in different places (like you have been through your area training and feel like you could survive by yourself)
b. you are able to deal with change - every location does things differently
c. you are willing to learn
d. you can deal with being clueless (until you get the hang of things - trust me, you are going to be clueless at some point. Whether it is not knowing where the stockroom is to being unsure where to direct the guest to a certain attraction or area (like smoking area or the restrooms))
e. you are fine with that fact that you will proabably be dressed crazy (and that Disney sizings are just crazy). Got to love Disney costume designs.
3. Get to the shift early. Find the managers/co-ordinators. Talk to them. Get connections. Try to make a good impression. example --> today I saw the manager of the Once Upon A Time shop I worked in last week. She recognised me which was awesome. :)
4. Make sure you have enough time so that they can put you into their computer system.
5. Ask questions. Make friends. ...the only way I found out how to get certain places was by asking people. Don't be afraid to ask. I was a little nervous to begin with since I didn't think people would appreciate me randomly coming up to them and bothering them, but turns out pretty much everyone is willing to help. I love friendly Disney folk. :)
~~
Tomorrow's my day off (WOOP!). I have some inventory to do, but since I got invited out (oh my goodness I wish that would happen more often!!), I totally want to make the most of that!
Re: my roomate sitch. I have been trying to get along with them all more (I know I have been busy and kind of ignoring them lately (which I guess comes from the fact that I've been through so many roomates that it's not a big deal for me anymore. I know they are going to leave anyway so I figure what is the point, really?)). My roomie is living it up here with her Norwegian friends which is fine but it means I don't see her much and our relationshi has kind of disintegrated a little. It's okay. Hopefully we can get back on track now that we've revealed to each other our thoughts...? I miss my fairy godmother roomie. :( <3
NYC next week! :D
Anyway, it's late
I'm so happy that my blog has had some use other than being for my own personal record. All you readers out there: I love you!!! [in a non-romantic way, of course..]
Goodnight!
xx
1. The managers were awesome and made me reeeeally want to be deployed
2. I met another aussie. She thought she was awesome (and she pretty much is - but don't tell her I said that ;) )
3. I got to play with bubbles and make little kids happy!
4. I got to practice some spanish
5. I got to work in a PRINCESS shop. Looooooove. <3
6. I was outside most of the time and the weather was nice
7. I traded pins SO much. :)
8. I got to interact a lot with the guests. They told me stories and we had a great time! I even kind of came out of my shell and tried to make things even more magical for them. :) I love seeing their smiles and the parents' relief and happiness. I love to help and I love to make them happy!
9. I met a blog follower (more on that later...)
Of course there were some bad things too. Like when I first arrived I thought the shift was going to be awful because the girl I first went to for help was....unhelpful! She acted like she couldn't care less about anything!
However, the minute I was given a task other than "dust and clean" from the CDS, I enjoyed it. I just love getting paid to play and sing and dance around with little kids. I mean sure I have to do transactions in between but, really? I wouldn't mind doing it more often, that's for sure! The shift definately went faster than my CBR one this morning (I did a double today).
Onto an awesome thing. Point number 8. (see, told you I would get back to it. :P )
This evening when I was finished my shift an hanging out with my new Aussie aquaintance (man it's good to be able to discuss frustrations that other people don't understand!) a lovely gil came up to me and asked if I was Kimmie from this blog. Of course I said yes and what do ya know? It's my first and apparantly number one fan! Awesome to have met you!
That's the 2nd reader of my blog I have met in the past few weeks! How crazy is that???
Which reminds me. If you have read this blog and you see me here, feel free to say hi! I woud love to meet you! :)
So anyway, my amazing follower fan (though I hate to use that word since it probably makes me sound up myself), I am sad that you leave soon! Hopefully tomorrows plans will work out(we are trying to go to Cinderella's Castle for breakfast if we can get in).
Onto a random note (because I love to digress. My brain works in crazy ways):
Picking up shifts - it is hard to pick them up in merch - : Although I was scared at first since I didn't know where to go, how to get to costuming etc, it's not that bad and can actually turn out to be a fun experience. Here are my tips:
1. Do not pick up a shift the day prior to that shift unless:
a. you work in a similar place and know your way around
b. you know costuming will be open and you have time to get your costume (and try it on for sizing which can be a challenge)
c. you follow the rules (eg. 8 hours between shifts from one day to another), because otherwise you can get poits and reprimands
2. Do not try and pick up any shift unless:
a. you feel confident in your ability to work in different places (like you have been through your area training and feel like you could survive by yourself)
b. you are able to deal with change - every location does things differently
c. you are willing to learn
d. you can deal with being clueless (until you get the hang of things - trust me, you are going to be clueless at some point. Whether it is not knowing where the stockroom is to being unsure where to direct the guest to a certain attraction or area (like smoking area or the restrooms))
e. you are fine with that fact that you will proabably be dressed crazy (and that Disney sizings are just crazy). Got to love Disney costume designs.
3. Get to the shift early. Find the managers/co-ordinators. Talk to them. Get connections. Try to make a good impression. example --> today I saw the manager of the Once Upon A Time shop I worked in last week. She recognised me which was awesome. :)
4. Make sure you have enough time so that they can put you into their computer system.
5. Ask questions. Make friends. ...the only way I found out how to get certain places was by asking people. Don't be afraid to ask. I was a little nervous to begin with since I didn't think people would appreciate me randomly coming up to them and bothering them, but turns out pretty much everyone is willing to help. I love friendly Disney folk. :)
~~
Tomorrow's my day off (WOOP!). I have some inventory to do, but since I got invited out (oh my goodness I wish that would happen more often!!), I totally want to make the most of that!
Re: my roomate sitch. I have been trying to get along with them all more (I know I have been busy and kind of ignoring them lately (which I guess comes from the fact that I've been through so many roomates that it's not a big deal for me anymore. I know they are going to leave anyway so I figure what is the point, really?)). My roomie is living it up here with her Norwegian friends which is fine but it means I don't see her much and our relationshi has kind of disintegrated a little. It's okay. Hopefully we can get back on track now that we've revealed to each other our thoughts...? I miss my fairy godmother roomie. :( <3
NYC next week! :D
Anyway, it's late
I'm so happy that my blog has had some use other than being for my own personal record. All you readers out there: I love you!!! [in a non-romantic way, of course..]
Goodnight!
xx
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Being the Disney Basics example of the day
Well hello there :)
So I have some random things to report on!
Today for example I slept most of the day, but managed to find some energy to go to Animal Kingdom costuming to get my costume for tomorrow's shift (yay for working at AK agian! :D ).
At work I created a magical momen for a little girl who had lost her mickey toy (I managed to find another one). I looked all over and tried asing as many people for help as I could and finally the lifeguard girl helped. So I was the 'basics example of the day', which is awesome. :) It basically means I portrayed the 4 Disney Basics (please don't ask me what they are -come work here and you will never ever forget them. :P )
I am goign to NYC.
Yes.
In a spontaneous act of uh..sponteneity? I decided that having a few spare days before Dad cme to visit without getting paid seemed crazy. Especially since I may not be able to snag some EHH shifts(they are rare and yo bascally have to stalk the EHH).
I made some crazy mistakes when I was booking though and wanted to give up (omg: note to self - not only do you triple check before pressing the 'book' button, but make sue you aren't a zombie person who is half asleep. It's when you make veRy bad mistakes).. ...but eventually, like many things here, I prevailed and so I am going to be in NYC from the 13th to the 16th. Then Ihave some days with my Dad here in Florida. Yay for a mini holiday. :D
Hopefully I will have time to do lots of the things I really would love to experience in NYC!
OK and one thing: don't people on phone lines who don't understand what you are saying drive you NUTS!?! Especially at like 3am!!!!!! ergh.
So I now live with Brazillians. They don't go to bed very early. In fact I don't think they sleep much at all!
Can't say it helps with my ability to sleep...
Ok. I am tired. Soooo tired.
Going to try and sleep...
Night ya'll
xx
So I have some random things to report on!
Today for example I slept most of the day, but managed to find some energy to go to Animal Kingdom costuming to get my costume for tomorrow's shift (yay for working at AK agian! :D ).
At work I created a magical momen for a little girl who had lost her mickey toy (I managed to find another one). I looked all over and tried asing as many people for help as I could and finally the lifeguard girl helped. So I was the 'basics example of the day', which is awesome. :) It basically means I portrayed the 4 Disney Basics (please don't ask me what they are -come work here and you will never ever forget them. :P )
I am goign to NYC.
Yes.
In a spontaneous act of uh..sponteneity? I decided that having a few spare days before Dad cme to visit without getting paid seemed crazy. Especially since I may not be able to snag some EHH shifts(they are rare and yo bascally have to stalk the EHH).
I made some crazy mistakes when I was booking though and wanted to give up (omg: note to self - not only do you triple check before pressing the 'book' button, but make sue you aren't a zombie person who is half asleep. It's when you make veRy bad mistakes).. ...but eventually, like many things here, I prevailed and so I am going to be in NYC from the 13th to the 16th. Then Ihave some days with my Dad here in Florida. Yay for a mini holiday. :D
Hopefully I will have time to do lots of the things I really would love to experience in NYC!
OK and one thing: don't people on phone lines who don't understand what you are saying drive you NUTS!?! Especially at like 3am!!!!!! ergh.
So I now live with Brazillians. They don't go to bed very early. In fact I don't think they sleep much at all!
Can't say it helps with my ability to sleep...
Ok. I am tired. Soooo tired.
Going to try and sleep...
Night ya'll
xx
Friday, February 4, 2011
West Side Story
Last night I went to see West Side Story. It was interesting. I think they need more food avaliable to buy, but I tried a granita. Translation: cherry slushy. Ergh. Wish they had told me it was cherry flavoured. I swear everything in the USA is either peanut butter or cherry flavoured. Neither I like. :/
The musical was half in Spanish which was different. Very predictable though luckily. Quite romeo and juliet like.
But I still had to I had to try and interpret it.
Some of it I understood (yay Spanish at uni - wish I had continued with it sometimes, since it's so relevant/prevalent here) but some scenes when way over my head! I any case, I enjoyed being able to experience something new and soak in some culture. :)
Other musicals coming are Wicked and Shrek. Very keen to see those! Esp Wicked since I have heard it is very good.
In any cse it was lovely to catch up with my aussie friend again. :)
I picked up 2 shifts at Hollywood Studios and one at Animal Kindgom.
The Animal Kingdom one is at the place I worked before (this time I know exacty what to do!)
The Hollywood ones I actually get to wear some cute costumes.
One (that I am doing tomorrow) is at a High End section so I get to wear this suit type thing. It's cute.
The other is an an animator's theme. So the shirt has character drawings (looks cool close up) on it and the pants are navy blue.
Here are examples of what I have to wear:
Am a little anxious about it but I managed to get some help with where I go tomorrow. After that shift I will have worked in all of the 4 parks! :D :D :D
I am hoping soon that I find out if I get to be a part of the Flower and Garden festival. I reeeeally want to (though they better not delete pre-approved time off like they did with Food and Wine!) work there if I can. I love different experiences and I think that it would be good to be a part of another festival. I had never even heard of this one, but from the pictures on their website it looked very pretty!
Please.Deploy.Me.
That, or make me a stocker faaar more often.
Yes, stocking is far more fun and keeps my mind busy!!
Dad visits soon. Should be fun to show him around the place. I like being a tour guide. Esp since I have all this info. Got to love being knowledgable. My managers seem to like it too. I fire off all these facts for them and they seem surprised. haha.
My roomie is never hoe these days. :( I feel almost insilted. But there are worse things she does that insults me these days. :/ I swear I am watching her crash and burn. Ever feel like you are warning a lost cause? Sigh.
Okay. Off to work.
Ciao y gracias!
:)
xx
The musical was half in Spanish which was different. Very predictable though luckily. Quite romeo and juliet like.
But I still had to I had to try and interpret it.
Some of it I understood (yay Spanish at uni - wish I had continued with it sometimes, since it's so relevant/prevalent here) but some scenes when way over my head! I any case, I enjoyed being able to experience something new and soak in some culture. :)
Other musicals coming are Wicked and Shrek. Very keen to see those! Esp Wicked since I have heard it is very good.
In any cse it was lovely to catch up with my aussie friend again. :)
I picked up 2 shifts at Hollywood Studios and one at Animal Kindgom.
The Animal Kingdom one is at the place I worked before (this time I know exacty what to do!)
The Hollywood ones I actually get to wear some cute costumes.
One (that I am doing tomorrow) is at a High End section so I get to wear this suit type thing. It's cute.
The other is an an animator's theme. So the shirt has character drawings (looks cool close up) on it and the pants are navy blue.
Here are examples of what I have to wear:
Am a little anxious about it but I managed to get some help with where I go tomorrow. After that shift I will have worked in all of the 4 parks! :D :D :D
I am hoping soon that I find out if I get to be a part of the Flower and Garden festival. I reeeeally want to (though they better not delete pre-approved time off like they did with Food and Wine!) work there if I can. I love different experiences and I think that it would be good to be a part of another festival. I had never even heard of this one, but from the pictures on their website it looked very pretty!
Please.Deploy.Me.
That, or make me a stocker faaar more often.
Yes, stocking is far more fun and keeps my mind busy!!
Dad visits soon. Should be fun to show him around the place. I like being a tour guide. Esp since I have all this info. Got to love being knowledgable. My managers seem to like it too. I fire off all these facts for them and they seem surprised. haha.
My roomie is never hoe these days. :( I feel almost insilted. But there are worse things she does that insults me these days. :/ I swear I am watching her crash and burn. Ever feel like you are warning a lost cause? Sigh.
Okay. Off to work.
Ciao y gracias!
:)
xx
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Coral Reef is beautiful...
Hey ya'll!
The past few nights I treated myself by going out to Disney table service locations for dinner.
Firstly I wnt to Boma, which is at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I actally thought it was another place I had envisioned in my head when I last visited, but anyway I couldn't really do much about it.
I didn't realise it was a buffet. It was okay but I would have preferred the place I was thinking of - which I found out was called Sanaa. The food quality was average in my opinion. But it was still fun. I enjoyed being able to wander around the resort after. The place is so pretty and peaceful.
Tonight I ate at Coral Reef, which is in Epcot. All I can say is -wow-. That place is amazing. It's so cozy and exclusive and the food is GOOD (I could tell from the moment they placed the amazing sourdough bread down as nibbles.) and we had such a beautiful view. :) I loved watching the fish etc while I ate and waited for my food.
Onto other things though.
Work has bee okay. I like that I now am trained on stock because it keeps me busy and I feel more useful. Plus the time goes muuuuch faster.
Today I was breaker as well as stocker since we were short staffed. I got talking to this couple who had been on the mainden voyage of the Disney Dream and oh my goodness I was so jealous! :P Really want to go on that ship!!
If we can make it work I am excited about the prospect of maybe going to Tennasse in March with my Utah friend. :) Southern boys.. uh, I mean - music. ;) hehe.
I am going to West Side Story tomorrow. :D :D :D Should be good. Plus I get the day off to relax which is awesome. :) I mean, it means I have less hours this week since I had to give up a shift, but to make up for that I picked up 2 shifts next week. One is at Animal KIngdom (same place as last time so I should be a pro now!) and the other at Hollywood Studios. I am a little more anxious abotu that one. However. It will man that I complete one of my goals - to have worked in all 4 parks!! :)
Random thing - I was somewhat warmed inside when I bumped into a reader of this blog today. He was an Aussie and now is on this programme here. So yay! Thank you all for reading and I am glad to help and be of some kind of service. ;)
Right.
Off to bed now.
Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.
xx
The past few nights I treated myself by going out to Disney table service locations for dinner.
Firstly I wnt to Boma, which is at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I actally thought it was another place I had envisioned in my head when I last visited, but anyway I couldn't really do much about it.
I didn't realise it was a buffet. It was okay but I would have preferred the place I was thinking of - which I found out was called Sanaa. The food quality was average in my opinion. But it was still fun. I enjoyed being able to wander around the resort after. The place is so pretty and peaceful.
Tonight I ate at Coral Reef, which is in Epcot. All I can say is -wow-. That place is amazing. It's so cozy and exclusive and the food is GOOD (I could tell from the moment they placed the amazing sourdough bread down as nibbles.) and we had such a beautiful view. :) I loved watching the fish etc while I ate and waited for my food.
Onto other things though.
Work has bee okay. I like that I now am trained on stock because it keeps me busy and I feel more useful. Plus the time goes muuuuch faster.
Today I was breaker as well as stocker since we were short staffed. I got talking to this couple who had been on the mainden voyage of the Disney Dream and oh my goodness I was so jealous! :P Really want to go on that ship!!
If we can make it work I am excited about the prospect of maybe going to Tennasse in March with my Utah friend. :) Southern boys.. uh, I mean - music. ;) hehe.
I am going to West Side Story tomorrow. :D :D :D Should be good. Plus I get the day off to relax which is awesome. :) I mean, it means I have less hours this week since I had to give up a shift, but to make up for that I picked up 2 shifts next week. One is at Animal KIngdom (same place as last time so I should be a pro now!) and the other at Hollywood Studios. I am a little more anxious abotu that one. However. It will man that I complete one of my goals - to have worked in all 4 parks!! :)
Random thing - I was somewhat warmed inside when I bumped into a reader of this blog today. He was an Aussie and now is on this programme here. So yay! Thank you all for reading and I am glad to help and be of some kind of service. ;)
Right.
Off to bed now.
Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust.
xx
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