Happy Day!

Today was awesome, as far as meeting characters go. The pictures speak for themselves. Oh yeah, and Steve? Can you do anything about the redness of the Incredibles picture? :)

Just wait... tomorrow I plan on getting Woody and Buzz Lightyear, and maybe even some playhouse Disney characters... :)

My New Love!!!

Ok, I have officially found my new coping mechanism. It's called Mickey's Retreat, and it's AMAZING. It's for Disney World cast members and their families. It is definitely the most beautiful place I've seen in Florida. There's a beach with a moderately sized, gorgeous lake, two spacious, clean swimming pools, a playground, and tons of awesome sports equipment.  It's gorgeous, relaxing, and the best part? I can rent a canoe for $2. Jealous, anyone?

Some Recent Pics and STDs

Yeah, so I don't really have anything to write about. Basically I go to work, come home, sleep, wake up, and go to work again. Oh yeah, and on my two days off I go to Walmart and the parks. Basically I'm in one giant Disney prison... :) Oh yeah, except for my little trip to Celebration ER. My blood test came back negative- no STD's so far. If you don't know what happened yet, I got stuck with a mystery insulin needle at work. I had to get my blood drawn, but, of course, the Cast Health Services clinic was closed. So I was driven by my male manager (awkward) to the emergency room, where I had spent the next five hours waiting, talking to an "exposure hotline" about how I should avoid sexual activity and donating blood for six months, waiting some more, and getting jabbed mercilessly for 20 minutes by two incompetent nurses whose phlebotomy skills were SERIOUSLY lacking, waiting yet again, and finally getting to go home at the beautiful hour of 3 AM. Fun day! Since that wonderful experience, I have gotten three shots, and will get at least two more. I have gotten tested for HIV and Hepatitis B, both of which came back negative. But I have to get three more tests within the next six months, and they all have to be negative before I can donate blood again. It also means that I can't get married to anyone until... August. Darn it. Anyway, that's all the exciting stuff that's going on! Here are some of my latest Disney pictures.

Ooh pretty! The castle changes colors at night- green, blue, purple, orange, and pink. It's pretty.

This is one of the murals inside of Cinderella's castle. They're so pretty! You can't see very well in this pic, but they're made out of teeny tiles. 

This is how the characters dress in Animal Kingdom. It's totally my favorite park!

Today, I...

-Got to take the sacrament for the first time since I've been here.

-Got to work only to find out that I was surplus.

-Pan and broomed all over the park for two hours.

-Met a little boy who didn't like the Magic Kingdom. (what?!)

-Got asked 3 times where the nearest smoking area was.

-Was sent home from work six hours and fifteen minutes early.

-Saw Cinderella and Jasmine walking around backstage in their old-fashioned princess underwear.

-And, saw Goofy's head- no body, just the head... :(

Oh yeah, Toon Town!

Donald's

Mickey's

Minnie's

Minnie's Gazebo

I really liked this picture because it's a mouse pioneer family! So cute! It made me think of mommy.

Costumes and Characters...

Today I went to the Magic Kingdom for the first time!!! Most of my pictures are from the parade, and the rest are from Toon Town! More will come I'm sure, but this is what I've got for now. Tiff, I want you to know that through the whole parade all I could think about was how much I wished that your girls could have seen it. They would have LOVED it. But before you see those pictures, I'm sure you all are wondering what I look like in my glamorous costume...

Ta Da!!! Aren't I so cute!!!! Blah- Now let's get to the good stuff!!!

Here's Grumpy moping at the piano...

Bernard and Miss Bianca- I love the Rescuers!!!

I think this is the mean fox from Pinnochio, but I haven't seen that show since I was REALLY little...

And here's the annoying little puppet himself!!!

Awww! Eeyore is cute!

I didn't get a great shot of Aladdin, but he wasn't the greatest Aladdin anyway.

Yes! The Villians' float... this was by far my favorite!

Ursela has a BIG head in real life!

There's my Beast!!!

And of course, Mickey was the grand finale!

One Day Down...

I just finished my first day of real, solo, work. It's scary! Today I had bathrooms, so I bounced back and forth between two bathrooms all day long... for eight hours. It's gonna take some getting used to. The first thing I did when my shift started was get lost. I finally found everything I needed, and went to work. I think I know a little more about what I'm doing. I should be more confident at work from now on- that is until I do streets by myself for the first time... But experience is definitely what's going to get me started. I still am pretty homesick, and miss you all TONS, but hopefully I get used to this soon. :)

The Adventures of a Custodian-in-Training

Today was my first ever day of on the job training- woot woot. It really wasn't too bad, besides the fact that I had to wake up at 2:30 in the morning and got stuck with a crazy lady from Oklahoma as my trainer. We started our journey with a quest- to find a vacuum cleaner. After journeying through all of Future World, we finally found one in Spaceship Earth (that's the sphere at Epcot if you don't know). After our long, arduous search was over, we vacuumed the Character Spot and emptied the garbage. What was our next big adventure, you ask? Sitting. In the break room- for an HOUR AND A HALF. Don't ask me why, because I simply don't know. She was talking about semi-important stuff for about twenty minutes though. But hey, it is okay, because I got a little nap in on the job! Oy. Now, if you're waiting for a climax... it's not coming. Our trainer occupied the rest of the day with walking around the park. Don't get me wrong, it was fun and interesting, but I still have no idea what I'm supposed to do with myself after training is over. Yeah, she showed us all the areas that need to be cleaned, but she neglected to show us how. It's going to be pretty interesting for a while! Oh yeah, she also decided to give us Science lessons all day. For example, today I learned about the various types of clown fish, what sea horses look like when they mate, that Florida is like a crumbling sponge underneath and someday the entire state (she used the word 'continent') is going to fall into the sea, and that the little river thing in Future World is a natural spring, and if you step into it to collect all the money out of it, the quicksand will suck you in until there is a bottom. However, according to her, there probably is no bottom. Now you know!!! That really was the extent of my eight hour work shift. It was so fun. Woohoo. I hear from other people that training always sucks, though, and that I'll have more fun when I am on my own. Hopefully it's true! Right now I am completely lost. By the way, I miss you all SO MUCH!!! Anytime I see something cool, I am always wishing that you guys were there to see it with me. Today I actually got more homesick than I think I ever have. But don't worry, I'll get over it and have fun, I promise! I'm sure it will all be worth it come Thursday, when I can finally see the Magic Kingdom! I really do love and miss you all!!!

My First Few Days at Disney!!!!

No, I haven't been to the parks yet. :( But, I'm going soon, dang it!!! So far, there's not much to the story of my life in Florida, but it has definitely been a scary adventure so far!!! Sunday morning, our plane had a gas problem. We were scheduled to leave at 12:50 am, but didn't board until 1:00, and three trucks and a frozen gas line later, we finally took off at 2:00. Did you guys know that travelers are super grumpy in the morning? Anyway, 3 hours later I landed in Atlanta, and had to run across the airport to catch my connecting flight.  I got there just before they finished boarding, then I flew to Florida!!! I have to admit that the first day I was pretty discouraged and scared- I knew no one, was in a strange state 2400 miles from home, got a HUGE, boring apartment (which, of course, we can't decorate. It almost feels like a prison), and quite frankly, I had no idea what I was thinking when I came here. But, don't worry, I'm warming up to everything ok.




 On Tuesday, we had routine check in stuff, where I found out that I'll be working in Epcot at Future World! This is when I started getting a little more excited. That was about all that happened on Tuesday. Wednesday we had a big long class called Traditions, where we learned all about the history of Disney, what's going on now and what's to come in the company, then we talked about safety and courtesy and "keeping the show alive." We also learned some Disney-ese, the cast member language. We have a special point- never with your index finger!!!, ambulance= alpha unit, puke= protein spill (haha I think that one's funny!), etc., etc. This is also the day that I received my name tag and id card (which gets me into the parks for free and gets me discounts like all over Orlando) , and a cute little eeyore, which I won for  being team leader (woot woot). 

Today (Thurs.) was TERRIBLE!!! I went to my custodial core class, where I spent 4 hours listening to a poor, little man from Haiti read slides at 2 words per hour (he didn't know english very well) and babble forever about pans and brooms. After that we went 2 hours at a computer watching lessons about disabled people, chemicals, and blood pathogens (I got 100% on the test, by the way, so you should be proud Dad). It was all SOOOOOOOO boring, and I'm having a kind of hard time feeling the Disney magic. But, tomorrow I get a tour of Epcot, so I know that I'll start feeling more enthusiastic soon!!! I'm not sure yet when I will be able to go to the parks, but worst case, I have Thursday and Friday of next week off. Also, I know you've all been worried that I have to go in at 5 am this weekend, but no worries. It's only for two days... just two. After that I work from 1:30-10 pm (as far as I know). But yeah, I'll update again soon and hopefully will get more pictures! I love you all!

Another Tag

A year in review tag!! Really easy, just try and remember what you did all year long. Happy New Year!

January:

Who kissed you on New Years?

    nobody! Maybe my mom on the cheek, but I can't remember.

New Years Resolution?

go to Disney World... :)

Does it snow where you live?

yepsiree bob!

Do you like hot chocolate?

oh yes! perhaps even more than guacamole!

February:

Who was your valentine?

blech

Did you do anything romantic?

double blech

Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not?

can't say that I do!

What did you receive for Valentines day?

sugar cookies from my mamma

March:

Are you Irish?

not a bit.

Do you like cornbread, beef, or cabbage?

Yes!

What did you do for St. Patrick's day?

not much. I dressed up green

Are you happy that winter is almost over?

YES! Driving on slick Idaho roads is not my favorite. Especially around Bonneville High School.

April:

Do you like rain?

With all my heart.

Did you play an April Fool's joke on anyone this year?

I'm not really into pranks, so no.

Did you get tons of candy for Easter?

no, just jellybeans

Do you celebrate 4/20?

hmmm... I don't think I'm gonna answer that one... jk, no I don't

Do you love April?

ummm, it's ok I guess.

May:

What is your favorite flower?

I love all flowers, and CANNOT choose one. I just love them all!

Finish the phrase, "April showers..."

...are rare in Idaho lately! :)

Do you celebrate May 16?

Is there something special about that day?

Is May anything special to you?

It is in 2008! That's when I finally graduated! :)

June:

What year did you graduate from high school?

2008!

Did you do anything fun this month?

I went to Lagoon with the fam, and during my birthday week, I had my senior trip in UT, which was mucho fun!

Do you have a favorite baseball team?

yeah, no.

July

What did you do the 4th of July?

That's the day I got home from my senior trip, then the fireworks.

Did you go to the fireworks?

why, yes!

Did you blast the A/C all day?

no. we don't have one.

What was your favorite summer memory '08?

seeing Tiff and her family, and driving through the Thanksgiving Point gardens on a golf cart with my crazy sister Taralyn, while watching Dad's true identity come out as Segway Man!!!

Did you have a sunburn?

Yes, in July. A really bad one thanks to Seven Peaks!

Did you go to the pool a lot?

Not as much as I would have liked.

September:

Are you attending school/college?

yep, my first ever semester at BYU-Idaho

Do you like fall better than summer?

YES! A million times YES!

What happened this month?

Just school, and a few birthdays

October:

What were you for halloween?

Elphaba, aka the wicked witch of the west!

What is your favorite candy?

Reese's peanut butter cup

What was your favorite part about this month?

Planting tulips in the backyard, and going to the hilariously lame YSA Halloween dance.

November:

What house did you go to for Thanksgiving?

Home, but we ate dinner at some expensive buffet place.

What are you thankful for?

My mom and sisters, modern-day healthcare, and a roommate who I could connect with.

Do you like stuffing?

Most of the time!

Anything special in this month?

Hmmm, thanksgiving break! Not really, though.

December:

Do you celebrate Christmas? 

Of course!!!

Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe?

Does family count?

Get anything special last year?

I don't remember.

What do you want this year?

Whatever I'm given! :)

What do you love most about December?

The music, and Christmas, and family time.