So here I am waiting for class to start again. I have about 30 minutes to kill, so here we go. First of all, I want to add a disclaimer about this post. Extremely unfortunately, I have noticed that my eyesight has gotten considerably worse in the past few days. I'm seriously hoping that that just means that the contacts I have in need to be thrown away, because I don't think I'll be able to stand not being able to read what's on the computer screen 14 inches away. For realsies, what I'm writing looks soo blurry to me right now :( UGH! So frustrating! But anyways, if there are any typos or whatever in this post, I apologize, but that is why...
Hmm...what to talk about...
So I went to a haunted house last Saturday night. We went up to Salt Lake to the "Nightmare on 13th" which apparently is an award-winning production (like, in the top ten in the nation or something). Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I don't do well with scary stuff. So why did I go? Good question. I'll get back to you on that when I figure out why haha.
I've gone to 3 different haunted houses in my life. The first was when I was in high school. I had no idea what to expect, so, naturally I had my eyes closed the whole time. It was safer that way. I think we were in there for a good twenty minutes, but the only part I really remember is thinking at one point that it was safe for me to open my eyes since no one was moving around or anything, and I opened my eyes to see a creepy clown about an inch away from my nose. Good gravy, that wasn't funny...
The next haunted experience I've been to is the infamous Haunted Forest in American Fork, Utah. The first time I went was freshman year, with a pretty good sized group of people. I was soo scared! I was almost crying as I got out of the car. I made sure the whole time that I was completely surrounded by my friends. The few times I found myself at the back of the group, I made sure I went completely hoarse, yelling at people to get behind me (poor Joel...haha). This experience was probably the most unforgettable out of all of the haunted experiences because my bestest friend, Nadine Morris was with me, and we had some pretty near-death experiences and trying moments as friends that night. Like when our group had formed a train at one point (I would NOT let go of the person in front of me and I made sure someone was holding my waist from behind at ALL times- most of the time this was Nadine's calling). We were "scuttling" through the forest at a very slow pace when the chainsaw guy jumped out at us (well, I'm assuming he did; I don't know if I saw him since my eyes were shut tight). I heard Nadine scream and I felt the hood of my coat pop off as me and the "train engine" ran forwards. I started absolutely yelling at Nadine that she'd better not have dropped the hood of my coat because if it was still back there, she was gonna get it 'cause I sure as heck wasn't!!! I didn't hear a reply and I almost went crazy and opened my eyes to look for her. I soon heard running footsteps though, and she soon reunited with us. She attached the hood back to my coat as she explained that when she got detached from us, she freaked out and ran into a tree.
We spent the rest of the night, just us girls, cuddling up in blankets and watching Princess Diaries with the lights on, and eating frozen yogurt (Nadine had to do it one-handed, since the other hand was busy holding an ice pack to her bruised-from-the-tree cheek).
Phew. That was a scary night.
So why, WHY did I agree to go to not one, but TWO haunted houses this season??? I've gone completely mental- there is no other explanation.
So this first one: "Nightmare on 13th" up in Salt Lake. I went on a triple date with a guy I hardly knew. Driving up was fine, even though I was nervous. My date was a nice guy. I'm just glad he was tall- I was planning on hiding behind him as soon as we got out of the car.
So we got there. The place was crazy. I don't want to ruin anything if any readers want to go themselves, but I flat out screamed multiple times. If I wasn't screaming I was whimpering. Either way my hands were white the whole time from a consistently tight grip around my date's stomach. Yes, yes, that's why boys like it when girls get scared easily, but what else was I going to do??? I had to hang on to something!
I didn't think I'd really cried, but my date was convinced I had. They were moist, but I don't think tears actually came out of my face... oh well. The worst part was at the very beginning actually, waiting inside the building to start. We stood in kind of a theater decorated like a boiler room (of course). Talking about it scares me, so lets just say something smacked against a glass door and I screamed very loud and entertained the entire room. Elgh. I HATE haunted houses!
The second place I went was the Haunted Forest in American Fork. I couldn't believe I was allowing myself to go again. What was worse was our group was almost entirely made of girls!!! There was one boy, but what good was that gonna do us? Thank goodness Amanda Lloyd was there. I hugged her so tightly from behind and kept my head down almost the whole time. I'm gonna be honest though- this wasn't nearly as scary as I remember it being. Even though we were one of the only people there (it was a thursday night). And afterwards all the actors came out and laughed at us, saying "Oh man, you should have seen your face when I did such-and-such and blah blah blah..." It was kind of weird and embarrassing to realize the people doing the scaring are just... people.
Anyways, my review on haunted houses in general after a fairly good amount of experience: I still hate them. Boys who want girls to hug you or hold your hand or seek you for protection: ... okay maybe haunted places are the way to go. I was going to say watch a movie, which works, but some movies scare me just as bad, if not, worse. So... I'll get back to you when I think of something that works better than scaring girls into your greedy little hands. Of course if you wanted to just woo them the old fashioned way and just be patient until they hug you because they WANT to, that would work too.
Oh, dang, I didn't mean for this to turn into a rant against boys. Sorry 'bout that. I love boys. I really do. I just strongly disliked getting scared :)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Inevitable Just Happened
So I was just going to class and I alllmost sat down at a desk and got super confused because I didn't recognize anyone in my classroom. After a quick scan of everyone's textbooks I definitely understood this was not my class. So after leaving and deciding to just sit at the JKB computer lab, I remembered my class doesn't start for another hour. Yes, that just happened...dang it. Oh well haha.
So in my New Testament class we are supposed to do a three week project that's due in about 2 weeks. Don't worry, I started a week ago, so I'll be good :) But we're supposed to pick a scripture from one of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) to really apply to our life and then do a one page write-up about our experience. I figure I have time now, and I'm bored, so I'm just gonna type my write-up here I think. Anyways, for the past week I chose Matthew 11:29 which says,
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
Okay, to be honest, I'm not sure I applied it how it probably was intended to mean, but I think that it's somewhat normal for the same scripture to mean different things at different times.
Basically, the scripture jumped out at me when I saw the "ye shall find rest unto your souls" part. Goodness knows I am kind of emotionally unstable right now. So what i wanted to work on this week was that if I was feeling down or my mind was just stuck thinking about this certain thing, that I would kind of mentally slap myself and do something that Christ would have me do instead (which I think can be an accurate interpretation of "taking His yoke upon me.")
So throughout the week I've been trying to distract myself by either reading the scriptures, writing about fun events in this blog (ahem World of Color post), spending time with my sister, and going to all of the Stake/Regional Conference and the CES Fireside that all happened, very conveniently, this weekend.
Ok, and can I just say, I love going to conferences and stuff "prepared" (basically, wanting to hear an answer to a specific problem or question in a/the talk/s) because without fail, I always get some kind of comfort or some kind of answer I've been looking for.
Anyways, that's pretty much all I have time for, so I'm gonna go to MY class now haha.
So in my New Testament class we are supposed to do a three week project that's due in about 2 weeks. Don't worry, I started a week ago, so I'll be good :) But we're supposed to pick a scripture from one of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) to really apply to our life and then do a one page write-up about our experience. I figure I have time now, and I'm bored, so I'm just gonna type my write-up here I think. Anyways, for the past week I chose Matthew 11:29 which says,
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
Okay, to be honest, I'm not sure I applied it how it probably was intended to mean, but I think that it's somewhat normal for the same scripture to mean different things at different times.
Basically, the scripture jumped out at me when I saw the "ye shall find rest unto your souls" part. Goodness knows I am kind of emotionally unstable right now. So what i wanted to work on this week was that if I was feeling down or my mind was just stuck thinking about this certain thing, that I would kind of mentally slap myself and do something that Christ would have me do instead (which I think can be an accurate interpretation of "taking His yoke upon me.")
So throughout the week I've been trying to distract myself by either reading the scriptures, writing about fun events in this blog (ahem World of Color post), spending time with my sister, and going to all of the Stake/Regional Conference and the CES Fireside that all happened, very conveniently, this weekend.
Ok, and can I just say, I love going to conferences and stuff "prepared" (basically, wanting to hear an answer to a specific problem or question in a/the talk/s) because without fail, I always get some kind of comfort or some kind of answer I've been looking for.
Anyways, that's pretty much all I have time for, so I'm gonna go to MY class now haha.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Back to School
Woowwww it's weird to be back in Provo. Back for another year of homework and deadlines and working at the Cougareat and meeting people and whatever else comes with college...
So it's Saturday, and I just ended my second week of third year of college. The past 3 weeks have been pretty good as far as school itself goes- I like my classes and I am acting like the responsible student I've never been, so so far I've been really proud of myself haha. I'm taking 13 credits this semester, which seems to be just the right workload for me, and they split up into 5 classes:
I'm taking New Testament, Physical Science (yes, it's taken me this long to sign up for the class, but surprisingly not everyone is a freshman in there, thank goodness!), Basic Organ Skills (yes, I'm sure that's gonna follow me into most every church calling for the rest of my life, but I like it), World Music Cultures, and Intro to Interior Design. Unfortunately, none of those classes count towards my major (which I decided to switch only a couple weeks ago) but it's a good workload and I think I'll only have like, one GE class to take after this semester. About time, I know, but like I said, I've only now become a more responsible student haha.
So the social scene at BYU suits me fine too, I guess. I have to say, the first day of school was almost culture shock. All the guys were shirts with sleeves (haha I never thought that would be unusual until I went to Florida) and had short hair cuts and clean faces (thank goodness! I'm definitely not a fan of facial hair). The girls were all MODEST and I didn't feel like I stood out as much as I did in Florida. And I was harshly reminded of the fact that BYU is listed in the top 10 colleges in the country with the most attractive women. So I was walking through campus and I was walking past people when I saw this girl and thought, ''wow. That girl is reaally pretty!'' I kept walking and not 20 seconds later, I past a girl on my other side and thought, ''wow! That girl is really pretty too!''
Then it happened again. And again. And again. All within a matter of minutes. By the time I saw the 20th super gorgeous girl, I had to refrain from glaring and going around punching them all in the face. There are soo many pretty girls at BYU! Ugh, it made me mad. So I had to remind myself that that's just the way things are. I got used to it the past two years; I can get used to it again, I guess.
I seriously love BYU though. I went to Fall Fest (the biggest school party of the semester) last night, and it just reminded me of the real truth that I love love loove byu dances. I went to bed last night with my mind all clouded with stuff I didn't really want to think about, and I looked down at my hand and saw a ''Y'' stamped on my hand (when you get in the dance they stamp your hand so they know they've checked your id). I smiled and realized how nice it was to have a ''Y'' on my hand instead of a big, black ''X'' on both hands (which is what I'd get at a club, since I'm still only 19).
Well, I think that pretty much is all I was gonna say for this post haha. Life's been better, but I can't in good conscience complain about anything. So until next time, have a Magical day!
So it's Saturday, and I just ended my second week of third year of college. The past 3 weeks have been pretty good as far as school itself goes- I like my classes and I am acting like the responsible student I've never been, so so far I've been really proud of myself haha. I'm taking 13 credits this semester, which seems to be just the right workload for me, and they split up into 5 classes:
I'm taking New Testament, Physical Science (yes, it's taken me this long to sign up for the class, but surprisingly not everyone is a freshman in there, thank goodness!), Basic Organ Skills (yes, I'm sure that's gonna follow me into most every church calling for the rest of my life, but I like it), World Music Cultures, and Intro to Interior Design. Unfortunately, none of those classes count towards my major (which I decided to switch only a couple weeks ago) but it's a good workload and I think I'll only have like, one GE class to take after this semester. About time, I know, but like I said, I've only now become a more responsible student haha.
So the social scene at BYU suits me fine too, I guess. I have to say, the first day of school was almost culture shock. All the guys were shirts with sleeves (haha I never thought that would be unusual until I went to Florida) and had short hair cuts and clean faces (thank goodness! I'm definitely not a fan of facial hair). The girls were all MODEST and I didn't feel like I stood out as much as I did in Florida. And I was harshly reminded of the fact that BYU is listed in the top 10 colleges in the country with the most attractive women. So I was walking through campus and I was walking past people when I saw this girl and thought, ''wow. That girl is reaally pretty!'' I kept walking and not 20 seconds later, I past a girl on my other side and thought, ''wow! That girl is really pretty too!''
Then it happened again. And again. And again. All within a matter of minutes. By the time I saw the 20th super gorgeous girl, I had to refrain from glaring and going around punching them all in the face. There are soo many pretty girls at BYU! Ugh, it made me mad. So I had to remind myself that that's just the way things are. I got used to it the past two years; I can get used to it again, I guess.
I seriously love BYU though. I went to Fall Fest (the biggest school party of the semester) last night, and it just reminded me of the real truth that I love love loove byu dances. I went to bed last night with my mind all clouded with stuff I didn't really want to think about, and I looked down at my hand and saw a ''Y'' stamped on my hand (when you get in the dance they stamp your hand so they know they've checked your id). I smiled and realized how nice it was to have a ''Y'' on my hand instead of a big, black ''X'' on both hands (which is what I'd get at a club, since I'm still only 19).
Well, I think that pretty much is all I was gonna say for this post haha. Life's been better, but I can't in good conscience complain about anything. So until next time, have a Magical day!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Orlando to Anaheim
All right, there's no way I could write a blog and NOT write about one of the most exciting things that happened this summer. So far the exciting things have been:
#1: Working at Disney
#2: Doing 4 murals in the Utilidor of Magic Kingdom
I'm writing now to explain numbers 3 and 4. So on Friday, August 13, 2010, I flew across the country back to good ol' LAX. (ps I love saying that I legitimately hop off the plane at LAX to go HOME!)
My dad picked me up and we talked as we drove down the infamously busy freeways of southern cali. We got around to talking about my Disney ID and my nametag and everything and asked if I could still go to Disneyland while using my Main Gate Pass (the pass that lets me, the cast member, and my personal guests go into a Disney park for free). He brought up a good point...I hadn't thought about that, since my Dinsey ID technically expired that day. But if it expired that day... I might still get to go...
So in order to satisfy curiousity, we stopped by the one, the only Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. My dad dropped me off at the familiar drop off point, and I walked onto Disney property. It was WEIRD! But in SUCH a good way. I felt like I was really home then. I had gotten used to Walt Disney World's big, automotive-transportation-only resort and it felt SO nice to be able to WALK to the parks from the street. I instantly transported from the outside world to "a land of fantasy" without having to take a bus or a monorail. Wow, it felt good.
Okay, enough with the sap.
So I walked up to a ticket-taker cast member in front of Disney's California Adventure (the line was shorter there than at Disneyland) and quickly asked him if my Main Gate Pass was still good that day for me and three people. He said it WAS!!! OHHHH MY GOOODNESS!!!!!
I walked back to the car SO excited!!!!
At dinner that night, around 4pm, I told Samantha, Cameron, and Nichole that I was taking them somewhere right after dinner. They asked if we were going to Downtown Disney (all of the family's season passes were expired since April so "of course" Disneyland itself was out of the question!). I told them I wasn't giving any hints. But Cameron kept pursuing for information.
"Brittany, does it have aaannything to do with Disney?"
I put on a disgusted face. "Cameron. I just came back from working at Walt Disney World for four months! Don't you think I'm a little Disney-ed out by now??"
Cameron smirked, "NO!!!"
...haha my family knows me very well :)
So a few hours later, my siblings were not surprised to find themselves in the Disneyland Resort. We. Had. A. Blast.
Even trying to squish 4 people into one Doom Buggy at Haunted Mansion was fun! I absolutely loved being home! To think that I could go to both WDW's Magic Kingdom AND Disneyland in less than 24 hours was pretty much the most incredible thing I could ever do EVER. :D I loved it!
The main event, however, the highlight of the evening and one of the most incredible moments of the summer happened at 11:15 pm, at Disney's California Adventure. Why??? Because "World of Color," Disney's newest light, water, fire, laser, and pyrotechnics spectacular was a nightly event at DCA and after about TWO YEARS of waiting, I could now finally see it!!!!! WOW I was excited!!!!!!!!
And I was not disappointed! I almost cried, I was soooo happy, for realsies! I took a ton of pictures, but I'm only gonna include my favorite one, which was actually taken after the show ended, but the fountains were still on for about 5 minutes. I'm kind of proud of this picture haha, I pretty much love having a real camera instead of having to use my phone's.
LOVED. THIS. SHOW.
Anyways, that's pretty much all I wanted to write for this post.
Did I ever mention that I love Disney?
#1: Working at Disney
#2: Doing 4 murals in the Utilidor of Magic Kingdom
I'm writing now to explain numbers 3 and 4. So on Friday, August 13, 2010, I flew across the country back to good ol' LAX. (ps I love saying that I legitimately hop off the plane at LAX to go HOME!)
My dad picked me up and we talked as we drove down the infamously busy freeways of southern cali. We got around to talking about my Disney ID and my nametag and everything and asked if I could still go to Disneyland while using my Main Gate Pass (the pass that lets me, the cast member, and my personal guests go into a Disney park for free). He brought up a good point...I hadn't thought about that, since my Dinsey ID technically expired that day. But if it expired that day... I might still get to go...
So in order to satisfy curiousity, we stopped by the one, the only Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. My dad dropped me off at the familiar drop off point, and I walked onto Disney property. It was WEIRD! But in SUCH a good way. I felt like I was really home then. I had gotten used to Walt Disney World's big, automotive-transportation-only resort and it felt SO nice to be able to WALK to the parks from the street. I instantly transported from the outside world to "a land of fantasy" without having to take a bus or a monorail. Wow, it felt good.
Okay, enough with the sap.
So I walked up to a ticket-taker cast member in front of Disney's California Adventure (the line was shorter there than at Disneyland) and quickly asked him if my Main Gate Pass was still good that day for me and three people. He said it WAS!!! OHHHH MY GOOODNESS!!!!!
I walked back to the car SO excited!!!!
At dinner that night, around 4pm, I told Samantha, Cameron, and Nichole that I was taking them somewhere right after dinner. They asked if we were going to Downtown Disney (all of the family's season passes were expired since April so "of course" Disneyland itself was out of the question!). I told them I wasn't giving any hints. But Cameron kept pursuing for information.
"Brittany, does it have aaannything to do with Disney?"
I put on a disgusted face. "Cameron. I just came back from working at Walt Disney World for four months! Don't you think I'm a little Disney-ed out by now??"
Cameron smirked, "NO!!!"
...haha my family knows me very well :)
So a few hours later, my siblings were not surprised to find themselves in the Disneyland Resort. We. Had. A. Blast.
Even trying to squish 4 people into one Doom Buggy at Haunted Mansion was fun! I absolutely loved being home! To think that I could go to both WDW's Magic Kingdom AND Disneyland in less than 24 hours was pretty much the most incredible thing I could ever do EVER. :D I loved it!
The main event, however, the highlight of the evening and one of the most incredible moments of the summer happened at 11:15 pm, at Disney's California Adventure. Why??? Because "World of Color," Disney's newest light, water, fire, laser, and pyrotechnics spectacular was a nightly event at DCA and after about TWO YEARS of waiting, I could now finally see it!!!!! WOW I was excited!!!!!!!!
And I was not disappointed! I almost cried, I was soooo happy, for realsies! I took a ton of pictures, but I'm only gonna include my favorite one, which was actually taken after the show ended, but the fountains were still on for about 5 minutes. I'm kind of proud of this picture haha, I pretty much love having a real camera instead of having to use my phone's.
LOVED. THIS. SHOW.
Anyways, that's pretty much all I wanted to write for this post.
Did I ever mention that I love Disney?
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Now It's Time to Say Goodbye....
Ok, actually I left Florida a long time ago. Well...not a loooong time ago, but I'm definitely not in Florida now haha.
It's WEIRD to be gone. The last night in Florida was SO incredibly sad. It was a good time to leave though, since the seasonal promotion "Free Dine" started only a couple days after my end of program date, August 13th. An explanation of why I didn't want to really experience Free Dine can fill up a whole new post, so I won't get into it.
Looking back at my program now, if i were to say what the best part of my summer was, I definitely would have to say painting the murals in the stairwell leading from Crystal Palace down to the Utilidor would be it. I can now legitimately say that I have been immortalized at Disney. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! It still is SO cool to think that I did that!!! Not that the murals were my best work, but I only had 2 days, really, to get it done, and good or not, I left my mark at a Disney Park, which is pretty much the biggest secular dream I've ever had!!! I almost cried when I was done, I was so happy :)
It was so sad to say goodbye to everybody. Everybody I worked with was so awesome, and I will miss them a lot. It's especially hard to say goodbye when it definitely could be the last time you ever see them. Ever. Wow, it's weird to think about...
Walt Disney World will always have a special place in my heart now haha. At first I was scared that I was just gonna compare WDW and Disneyland the whole time and wish the whole time that I was in Anaheim doing the college program, but I am glad to say that I "played a part" at WDW in Florida, and I know Walt Disney World a WHOLE lot better now than I did in April, and that I can direct guests to the nearest bathroom or smoking section in Magic Kingdom :) It's not Disneyland, but it's the place "Where Dreams Come True," and I'm gonna miss it.
And you know what? I'm not even gonna bother trying to get rid of my now habitual "Disney Point," because I know I'll be back again, making magic, real soon :)
It's WEIRD to be gone. The last night in Florida was SO incredibly sad. It was a good time to leave though, since the seasonal promotion "Free Dine" started only a couple days after my end of program date, August 13th. An explanation of why I didn't want to really experience Free Dine can fill up a whole new post, so I won't get into it.
Looking back at my program now, if i were to say what the best part of my summer was, I definitely would have to say painting the murals in the stairwell leading from Crystal Palace down to the Utilidor would be it. I can now legitimately say that I have been immortalized at Disney. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! It still is SO cool to think that I did that!!! Not that the murals were my best work, but I only had 2 days, really, to get it done, and good or not, I left my mark at a Disney Park, which is pretty much the biggest secular dream I've ever had!!! I almost cried when I was done, I was so happy :)
It was so sad to say goodbye to everybody. Everybody I worked with was so awesome, and I will miss them a lot. It's especially hard to say goodbye when it definitely could be the last time you ever see them. Ever. Wow, it's weird to think about...
Walt Disney World will always have a special place in my heart now haha. At first I was scared that I was just gonna compare WDW and Disneyland the whole time and wish the whole time that I was in Anaheim doing the college program, but I am glad to say that I "played a part" at WDW in Florida, and I know Walt Disney World a WHOLE lot better now than I did in April, and that I can direct guests to the nearest bathroom or smoking section in Magic Kingdom :) It's not Disneyland, but it's the place "Where Dreams Come True," and I'm gonna miss it.
And you know what? I'm not even gonna bother trying to get rid of my now habitual "Disney Point," because I know I'll be back again, making magic, real soon :)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I love Sundays! :D
So today was/is a very exciting day for me! Why? Because it's the first Sunday that I don't have to work!!!
Now before you go setting your facebook status to "the apocalypse is here: brittany kyle doesn't like her disney job anymore!" let me explain why I am excited about this.
I love Sundays. That's the day I don't do homework on purpose, I go to church, and I can have just a day free of all worldly things. No movies, no tv, no radio. Just spiritual re-energizing.
I knew that when I signed up for the Disney College Program, it was very possible and probable that I would have to work most Sundays. Fortunately, our Young Singles Adult ward (the Buena Vista Ward) meets twice on Sunday so that if you work through one of the sacrament meetings, most likely you can make to the other one. I know a lot of CP's who usually have to leave for work right after sacrament, but I have been very fortunate to be able to go to all 3 hours before having to catch the bus to Westclock. :)
The Buena Vista Ward is definitely one of the most unique wards I've ever attended. Because people's schedules change from week to week, and since we are all busy all the time, socializing and making new friends is pretty much near impossible. To be honest, I don't really make an effort to make close friends, since my program is so short, and it would only make leaving in August that much harder. I suppose that's how everyone else feels too, because socializing stays pretty much within apartments; roommates stick together. The local single adult Floridians have their own group and socialize and mingle together, but besides them, it's a fairly quiet ward.
I've grown to really appreciate a lot from this odd ward, though. Not only do I really treasure the time I have on Sundays to just sit in church and feel uplifted, but looking around, I really have become so proud of my own generation. The Buena Vista Ward used to meet in a ballroom at a local hotel because there was no meetinghouse. When I arrived in April, though, they had just finished building their first meetinghouse, conveniently less than a mile away from Westclock. I was even there when they dedicated the building! The building itself is the standard stake center look and floorplan, with a large chapel. And yet every Sunday we always have to open the overflow to fit everyone inside. That amazes me. A large majority of the ward keeps to themselves and their roommates, not going outside of their group of friends to make new ones. We don't go to church to socialize, because that definitely doesn't happen. But the number of inactive members in our ward have got to be close to nothing. People don't go to church because of friends- they go because they want to take the sacrament and they know that's where they are supposed to be. It would be so easy to say, "I work at 12, so I'd have to leave after sacrament anyway." But they still come, even with no social encouragement. Most everyone in that ward is there just because they want to be spiritually filled, and I think that's so encouraging. More amazing still is the fact that we have two sets of missionaries assigned to our ward, and I don't think there's ever been a Sunday where I have not seen at least one investigator with them. It's amazing.
I definitely am excited to go back to Provo though, where I don't have to work on Sundays. Goodness, having a whole Sunday almost seems to good to be true! Along with everything else I have gotten out of the Disney College Program, one of the very most important things I've learned is how to never take Sundays themselves, the sacrament, sunday school, and even Relief Society, for granted.
Now before you go setting your facebook status to "the apocalypse is here: brittany kyle doesn't like her disney job anymore!" let me explain why I am excited about this.
I love Sundays. That's the day I don't do homework on purpose, I go to church, and I can have just a day free of all worldly things. No movies, no tv, no radio. Just spiritual re-energizing.
I knew that when I signed up for the Disney College Program, it was very possible and probable that I would have to work most Sundays. Fortunately, our Young Singles Adult ward (the Buena Vista Ward) meets twice on Sunday so that if you work through one of the sacrament meetings, most likely you can make to the other one. I know a lot of CP's who usually have to leave for work right after sacrament, but I have been very fortunate to be able to go to all 3 hours before having to catch the bus to Westclock. :)
The Buena Vista Ward is definitely one of the most unique wards I've ever attended. Because people's schedules change from week to week, and since we are all busy all the time, socializing and making new friends is pretty much near impossible. To be honest, I don't really make an effort to make close friends, since my program is so short, and it would only make leaving in August that much harder. I suppose that's how everyone else feels too, because socializing stays pretty much within apartments; roommates stick together. The local single adult Floridians have their own group and socialize and mingle together, but besides them, it's a fairly quiet ward.
I've grown to really appreciate a lot from this odd ward, though. Not only do I really treasure the time I have on Sundays to just sit in church and feel uplifted, but looking around, I really have become so proud of my own generation. The Buena Vista Ward used to meet in a ballroom at a local hotel because there was no meetinghouse. When I arrived in April, though, they had just finished building their first meetinghouse, conveniently less than a mile away from Westclock. I was even there when they dedicated the building! The building itself is the standard stake center look and floorplan, with a large chapel. And yet every Sunday we always have to open the overflow to fit everyone inside. That amazes me. A large majority of the ward keeps to themselves and their roommates, not going outside of their group of friends to make new ones. We don't go to church to socialize, because that definitely doesn't happen. But the number of inactive members in our ward have got to be close to nothing. People don't go to church because of friends- they go because they want to take the sacrament and they know that's where they are supposed to be. It would be so easy to say, "I work at 12, so I'd have to leave after sacrament anyway." But they still come, even with no social encouragement. Most everyone in that ward is there just because they want to be spiritually filled, and I think that's so encouraging. More amazing still is the fact that we have two sets of missionaries assigned to our ward, and I don't think there's ever been a Sunday where I have not seen at least one investigator with them. It's amazing.
I definitely am excited to go back to Provo though, where I don't have to work on Sundays. Goodness, having a whole Sunday almost seems to good to be true! Along with everything else I have gotten out of the Disney College Program, one of the very most important things I've learned is how to never take Sundays themselves, the sacrament, sunday school, and even Relief Society, for granted.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
July already???
It's July 1st!!! Yay! I love July!
I know I was going to write a post on Half-Way Done Day, but alas... um, yeah, I don't remember what my excuse was. It was too long ago. But at least I'm writing one now!
I've only got 6 weeks and 1 1/2 days left! How crazy is that! If that doesn't sound short, get this: I only have 2 weeks (from Sunday to Sunday) where I will have no visitors from home! That's gonna make time go by way fast! Tomorrow my Aunt and Uncle are flying over from California to come visit for the weekend, so I'm excited to see them! Then there's a regular week, then the next weekend my parents are coming to visit! After they leave, I'll have about two weeks left of my program! How crazy is that!?!
So anyways, I'm not going to write just about how crazy fast time seems to be going. I suppose since I didn't write a Half-Way Done Day post I could write my feelings about the Disney College Program thus far.
Basically, I love the Disney College Program. Like, really and truly. I know that there are a lot of CP's (College Programmers) who completely and whole-heartedly disagree, but I think they're ridiculous. Here's the thing about CP's who complain about the program: they don't seem to understand that they are in control of their own happiness.
A lot of people do this program with expectations. I don't understand where they get them, because we are told everything to expect in the presentation we went to to sign up for the program in the first place. But a lot of people come to Disney thinking it's just a paid vacation. It's true that you get to go to the parks for free when you're a Cast Member, but first and foremost, the Disney College Program is a job. You're hired by the company, you are given a schedule, and you are expected to work at the company's standards. When you live on Disney property, you are expected to follow the rules. That shouldn't be that hard to swallow. You sign a contract, and it's assumed by the company that you actually read it for pity sakes.
So people shouldn't complain when they get paid $7.25 an hour, even if that's not what regular cast members get paid, because we were told in the contract that that is what we should expect. People shouldn't complain that they hate their job and that they wanted to be doing attractions instead of food and beverage, because you were offered food and beverage and you accepted it before you came. So don't complain! You can't change what you're doing, so make the best of it instead of making yourself miserable!
The most common trend for people to do on the Disney College Program is to self-terminate and leave early. I understand if people leave for an unforeseen family trajedy or something like that, but if people are just homesick or just want to be done? Please. This is a job! You signed a contract! Just because everyone else chooses to have on their resume that they quit Disney (a big mistake- they'll regret that the next time they have a job interview) doesn't mean that it's the cool thing to do and that there won't be any consequences for it. Goodness. This isn't a vacation- it's a job. Don't blame your homesickness and your pansy-ness on Disney because they told you everything to expect before you accepted the position.
The only other thing I don't like is how some CM's treat the guests. This isn't just College Programmers though. And it's actually one of my biggest pet peeves when CM's treat the guests like they're stupid or something. I know sometimes they word questions like the infamous "When's the 3 o'clock parade?" but please, if they only wanted to know the time, they wouldn't have asked. Plus, it's annoying for people to talk about guests, and that question in particular, offstage. EVERYONE has a guest who has asked that question to them. We KNOW what they mean. And I don't know, when people care more about their own comfort rather than a guest's while they're working bothers me too. Like this one time I was on door duty after the restaurant closed. Tons of people were waiting outside for the fireworks to start. They kept getting delayed because of the bad rain and lightning storm going on. And there was this family, I think they were from India, and they were right outside. One of their party came up to me and asked if they could pull chairs outside so an older woman in their party didn't have to sit on the wet porch floor. Since we couldn't let them do that, I let a couple people from their party sit inside to wait. A Cast Member came up to me about 20 minutes later (the fireworks still hadn't started) and frustratingly rolled their eyes and said that we couldn't even come from off-stage to sit at the tables to roll the rest of the silverware (a closing chore) because they were the last guests in the restaurant and everyone had to wait for them to be gone and she was upset because we couldn't tell them to leave. I don't know, just the way she said it made me mad.
Goodness, they were from outside the United States, and this was there first time to Walt Disney World! Do you know how expensive WDW is?? They probably paid an arm, a leg, and a goat to get there whole family here! The least we could do is let their older family members sit in chairs instead of on the wet ground outside! And the CM was complaining that they have to stand up in the back of the restaurant to roll silverware?? Please, we are being paid to be here. C'mon now.
Anyways, that's the end of my ranting. I think the Disney College Program is a terrifically amazing experience, because besides the fact that it's a guaranteed full-time job (a huge plus in this economy) and that there is a world of networking possibilities available to you (everybody knows somebody who knows somebody, for sure), it is super fun! I mean, on days off, you can go to Walt Disney World for. free. How cooool is that?!?
And I have the greatest job in the world! I get to make people happy in so many ways: by escorting them inside because it's time for them to eat, or just by letting them come into the air conditioning, informing them of the FOUR characters they are going to meet (Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore), by acknowledging whatever they are celebrating during their trip (they have a button for every occasion), by surprising them by "magically" knowing their name (personalized Mickey Mouse ears come in quite handy for this- people tend to forget that their name is on it), or just by calling every little girl a princess. Sure my face literally does really hurt at the end of a long shift from smiling, but it's worth it.
We were told in Traditions (the first training course CM's take) that the mission of the company and our number one job as Cast Members is explained in the following statement:
"We create happiness by providing the finest of entertainment to people of all ages everywhere."
I create happiness. And I'm being paid to? Sounds like a dream come true to me :)
I know I was going to write a post on Half-Way Done Day, but alas... um, yeah, I don't remember what my excuse was. It was too long ago. But at least I'm writing one now!
I've only got 6 weeks and 1 1/2 days left! How crazy is that! If that doesn't sound short, get this: I only have 2 weeks (from Sunday to Sunday) where I will have no visitors from home! That's gonna make time go by way fast! Tomorrow my Aunt and Uncle are flying over from California to come visit for the weekend, so I'm excited to see them! Then there's a regular week, then the next weekend my parents are coming to visit! After they leave, I'll have about two weeks left of my program! How crazy is that!?!
So anyways, I'm not going to write just about how crazy fast time seems to be going. I suppose since I didn't write a Half-Way Done Day post I could write my feelings about the Disney College Program thus far.
Basically, I love the Disney College Program. Like, really and truly. I know that there are a lot of CP's (College Programmers) who completely and whole-heartedly disagree, but I think they're ridiculous. Here's the thing about CP's who complain about the program: they don't seem to understand that they are in control of their own happiness.
A lot of people do this program with expectations. I don't understand where they get them, because we are told everything to expect in the presentation we went to to sign up for the program in the first place. But a lot of people come to Disney thinking it's just a paid vacation. It's true that you get to go to the parks for free when you're a Cast Member, but first and foremost, the Disney College Program is a job. You're hired by the company, you are given a schedule, and you are expected to work at the company's standards. When you live on Disney property, you are expected to follow the rules. That shouldn't be that hard to swallow. You sign a contract, and it's assumed by the company that you actually read it for pity sakes.
So people shouldn't complain when they get paid $7.25 an hour, even if that's not what regular cast members get paid, because we were told in the contract that that is what we should expect. People shouldn't complain that they hate their job and that they wanted to be doing attractions instead of food and beverage, because you were offered food and beverage and you accepted it before you came. So don't complain! You can't change what you're doing, so make the best of it instead of making yourself miserable!
The most common trend for people to do on the Disney College Program is to self-terminate and leave early. I understand if people leave for an unforeseen family trajedy or something like that, but if people are just homesick or just want to be done? Please. This is a job! You signed a contract! Just because everyone else chooses to have on their resume that they quit Disney (a big mistake- they'll regret that the next time they have a job interview) doesn't mean that it's the cool thing to do and that there won't be any consequences for it. Goodness. This isn't a vacation- it's a job. Don't blame your homesickness and your pansy-ness on Disney because they told you everything to expect before you accepted the position.
The only other thing I don't like is how some CM's treat the guests. This isn't just College Programmers though. And it's actually one of my biggest pet peeves when CM's treat the guests like they're stupid or something. I know sometimes they word questions like the infamous "When's the 3 o'clock parade?" but please, if they only wanted to know the time, they wouldn't have asked. Plus, it's annoying for people to talk about guests, and that question in particular, offstage. EVERYONE has a guest who has asked that question to them. We KNOW what they mean. And I don't know, when people care more about their own comfort rather than a guest's while they're working bothers me too. Like this one time I was on door duty after the restaurant closed. Tons of people were waiting outside for the fireworks to start. They kept getting delayed because of the bad rain and lightning storm going on. And there was this family, I think they were from India, and they were right outside. One of their party came up to me and asked if they could pull chairs outside so an older woman in their party didn't have to sit on the wet porch floor. Since we couldn't let them do that, I let a couple people from their party sit inside to wait. A Cast Member came up to me about 20 minutes later (the fireworks still hadn't started) and frustratingly rolled their eyes and said that we couldn't even come from off-stage to sit at the tables to roll the rest of the silverware (a closing chore) because they were the last guests in the restaurant and everyone had to wait for them to be gone and she was upset because we couldn't tell them to leave. I don't know, just the way she said it made me mad.
Goodness, they were from outside the United States, and this was there first time to Walt Disney World! Do you know how expensive WDW is?? They probably paid an arm, a leg, and a goat to get there whole family here! The least we could do is let their older family members sit in chairs instead of on the wet ground outside! And the CM was complaining that they have to stand up in the back of the restaurant to roll silverware?? Please, we are being paid to be here. C'mon now.
Anyways, that's the end of my ranting. I think the Disney College Program is a terrifically amazing experience, because besides the fact that it's a guaranteed full-time job (a huge plus in this economy) and that there is a world of networking possibilities available to you (everybody knows somebody who knows somebody, for sure), it is super fun! I mean, on days off, you can go to Walt Disney World for. free. How cooool is that?!?
And I have the greatest job in the world! I get to make people happy in so many ways: by escorting them inside because it's time for them to eat, or just by letting them come into the air conditioning, informing them of the FOUR characters they are going to meet (Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore), by acknowledging whatever they are celebrating during their trip (they have a button for every occasion), by surprising them by "magically" knowing their name (personalized Mickey Mouse ears come in quite handy for this- people tend to forget that their name is on it), or just by calling every little girl a princess. Sure my face literally does really hurt at the end of a long shift from smiling, but it's worth it.
We were told in Traditions (the first training course CM's take) that the mission of the company and our number one job as Cast Members is explained in the following statement:
"We create happiness by providing the finest of entertainment to people of all ages everywhere."
I create happiness. And I'm being paid to? Sounds like a dream come true to me :)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
i hate this part
No, this is not gonna be an emo post. It's just the song that i'm listening to right now :)
The Pussycat Dolls used to be my favorite group, and that's saying something, because I never claim to have a favorite music artist. However, since they haven't come up with anything new lately, I'm back to not having a favorite group.
Interesting thing though: lately I've been having this Evanescence thing where that's all I want to listen to on the bus to work. Just the song "Bring Me to Life" though. I guess I'm one of those people who likes a song and then has to listen to it over and over again for about ten days. The last time I heard that song (before the recent obsession) was back in February when I was doing it on Rock Band at a birthday party. It's a good song though. It reminds me of the EMP (Experience Music Project) in Seattle. That's where I watched the music video to that song for the first time. I miss that building. A lot of awesome possum things happened there, fo sho.
If you couldn't guess, there's really no point to this post. I'm just bored and feel like I need to type. I was going to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios today and get a picture with Jedi Mickey, since this is the last Star Wars Weekend! But, alas, I woke up too late to go and get the bus back in time to ride the other bus to Magic Kingdom (I work at 5pm today).
Wow, this is a nice computer I'm typing on right now. It's one of my roommates' MacBook Pro. Gosh. Someday I will get a Mac. Goodness knows I need a laptop.
Doo doo doo doo...hmm what should I write about today? I suppose most people use blogs to vent, but I can't really vent or rant on anything if i wanted to, because even though I'm pretty sure no one I know reads my blog, you never know who might come across it...
So I've got 62 1/2 more days left of my Disney College Program! Just a week and a day and I'm halfway done! Crazy huh??? I STILL feel like I just got here, that this is some kind of summer camp and all my roomies are bunk mates and we're all expected to have Crushes of the Week. I know of one girl who chooses a pretend "boyfriend" every day she works and so every time she sees him she gets little butterflies in her stomach. Haha! I guess if that's what you got to do to stay excited and happy during your shift, it's what you gotta do!
I can't say I've had anything of a similar experience. Most, if not, all of my roommates have already had one or two crushes, and even relationships this summer from people they've met at work! I don't understand it. Maybe it's because I'm naturally just really picky, but I have never seen anyone who would even be slightly desirable. Just the fact that they work at Disney puts me off a little. And the guys who seem "normal" are also the guys who want me to get drunk and go party at bars with them every week, which is not exactly at all my type. It's nice of them to invite me, I suppose, but no thank you.
I think I'm gonna save my College Program thoughts for the post I'm gonna write on Half Way Done Day, which is June 20th.
Okay, though, can I just say I have in my apartment about 5 countdown calendars, most of them right by my bed. No joke. I think it's just because every day I get to cross off 5 days, so it makes it seem like more time has passed than what really has. Not that I want to be done with this program that badly, because I LOVE being here! It's gonna be bittersweet when I leave for sure. It'll be less sad knowing that I'm going to be going to the better Disney park in Anaheim right after I get home.
I just miss people though! These people are nice but I feel like I can't make life-long friends here since I'm never gonna see them again after August, so why should I bother opening up to them if by the time we are super close, it's time to leave? That whole aspect makes it really hard when I'm sad or confused, because there's no one I can vent to, which makes me overthink and over-analyze reeeaaallly stupid stuff and there's no one to tell me I'm being stupid. Goodness knows I can over-analyze things to a ridiculous degree. At least I have a phone and can call people. I'm definitely blessed with a sister and friends who are really blunt and will tell me when I'm being dumb.
...Let's see, what else is there to talk about before I gotta go? I can't end on that note, because that's not happy...Umm...
So, I love my job!!! Oh, and I found out yesterday from my roommate who works at Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom that JOEY FATONE from N*Sync was at Animal Kingdom yesterday!!! I LOVE that Disney World attracts all the celebrities!!! I reeeally hope he decides to go to The Crystal Palace while he's here!!!!! :D :D :D
Anyways, I'll end on that note I think. Until next time!!! :D
The Pussycat Dolls used to be my favorite group, and that's saying something, because I never claim to have a favorite music artist. However, since they haven't come up with anything new lately, I'm back to not having a favorite group.
Interesting thing though: lately I've been having this Evanescence thing where that's all I want to listen to on the bus to work. Just the song "Bring Me to Life" though. I guess I'm one of those people who likes a song and then has to listen to it over and over again for about ten days. The last time I heard that song (before the recent obsession) was back in February when I was doing it on Rock Band at a birthday party. It's a good song though. It reminds me of the EMP (Experience Music Project) in Seattle. That's where I watched the music video to that song for the first time. I miss that building. A lot of awesome possum things happened there, fo sho.
If you couldn't guess, there's really no point to this post. I'm just bored and feel like I need to type. I was going to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios today and get a picture with Jedi Mickey, since this is the last Star Wars Weekend! But, alas, I woke up too late to go and get the bus back in time to ride the other bus to Magic Kingdom (I work at 5pm today).
Wow, this is a nice computer I'm typing on right now. It's one of my roommates' MacBook Pro. Gosh. Someday I will get a Mac. Goodness knows I need a laptop.
Doo doo doo doo...hmm what should I write about today? I suppose most people use blogs to vent, but I can't really vent or rant on anything if i wanted to, because even though I'm pretty sure no one I know reads my blog, you never know who might come across it...
So I've got 62 1/2 more days left of my Disney College Program! Just a week and a day and I'm halfway done! Crazy huh??? I STILL feel like I just got here, that this is some kind of summer camp and all my roomies are bunk mates and we're all expected to have Crushes of the Week. I know of one girl who chooses a pretend "boyfriend" every day she works and so every time she sees him she gets little butterflies in her stomach. Haha! I guess if that's what you got to do to stay excited and happy during your shift, it's what you gotta do!
I can't say I've had anything of a similar experience. Most, if not, all of my roommates have already had one or two crushes, and even relationships this summer from people they've met at work! I don't understand it. Maybe it's because I'm naturally just really picky, but I have never seen anyone who would even be slightly desirable. Just the fact that they work at Disney puts me off a little. And the guys who seem "normal" are also the guys who want me to get drunk and go party at bars with them every week, which is not exactly at all my type. It's nice of them to invite me, I suppose, but no thank you.
I think I'm gonna save my College Program thoughts for the post I'm gonna write on Half Way Done Day, which is June 20th.
Okay, though, can I just say I have in my apartment about 5 countdown calendars, most of them right by my bed. No joke. I think it's just because every day I get to cross off 5 days, so it makes it seem like more time has passed than what really has. Not that I want to be done with this program that badly, because I LOVE being here! It's gonna be bittersweet when I leave for sure. It'll be less sad knowing that I'm going to be going to the better Disney park in Anaheim right after I get home.
I just miss people though! These people are nice but I feel like I can't make life-long friends here since I'm never gonna see them again after August, so why should I bother opening up to them if by the time we are super close, it's time to leave? That whole aspect makes it really hard when I'm sad or confused, because there's no one I can vent to, which makes me overthink and over-analyze reeeaaallly stupid stuff and there's no one to tell me I'm being stupid. Goodness knows I can over-analyze things to a ridiculous degree. At least I have a phone and can call people. I'm definitely blessed with a sister and friends who are really blunt and will tell me when I'm being dumb.
...Let's see, what else is there to talk about before I gotta go? I can't end on that note, because that's not happy...Umm...
So, I love my job!!! Oh, and I found out yesterday from my roommate who works at Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom that JOEY FATONE from N*Sync was at Animal Kingdom yesterday!!! I LOVE that Disney World attracts all the celebrities!!! I reeeally hope he decides to go to The Crystal Palace while he's here!!!!! :D :D :D
Anyways, I'll end on that note I think. Until next time!!! :D
Friday, June 11, 2010
Star Wars Weekend = awwwwesome!!!!
Good gravy, where do I start with this? I'll start at the beginning:
A long time ago..
In a galaxy (or state) far far away (from the west coast)...
DAAAHHH , da da daaa, da da da da da da da da da da da *star wars theme*
I kinda wish I could put music on just this post. I probably can, but I don't care that much. Just as long as it's stuck in your head now.
Anyways, so I woke up early in the morning to get to Disney's Hollywood Studios about a half hour before it opened. I was going by myself, and I was a little sad about that at first, because I was planning on dressing up hard core for it. It turned out okay though. I just didn't dress up as crazy as I was going to. I wore a white shirt, skinny jeans, and my $9 flip flops from WalMart and a long, brown button up sweater type thing. I figured it could kind of pass as a modernized jedi robe. My hair was up in a bun except for a single, very long padowan braid coming down behind my left ear. Too bad I found out early in the day that a "real" padowan braid is on the right side. WHY that cast member felt the need to tell me it was on the wrong side, I don't know, but I wish she hadn't because I felt self-conscious about it the rest of the day. Oh well...
I got to the park and wanted to get a pass to see one of the 3 celebrities that were there that day (Billy Dee Williams-"Lando Calrissian", Ray Park-"Darth Maul", and the director of the Clone Wars movie). Unfortunately, I got there too late. Some people had stayed overnight to get there passes! It was crazy! So I told myself that it was okay that I wasn't gonna meet anyone, and that I could still see them in the motorcade parade thing they were gonna have.
I spent most of the day in line to see the characters. I saw Luke, Leia, Amidala, Vader, Maul, Wicket the Ewok, Jango Fett, Minnie as Leia, Goofy as Vader, Donald as a stormtrooper, and Jedi Mickey and his sidekick, R2MK (a red, R2D2 type droid wearing mickey ears). Oh, and I also met the Red Ranger from Power Rangers, but that was really random and it didn't really fit into the rest of my day, thematically, to be honest. I went on Star Tours twice that day. And I saw this cool celebrity talk show type thing where the host of the Star Wars Weekends, the guy who played Jango Fett in the movies, interviewed Ray Park and Billy Dee Williams! That was really cool!!! I was star struck, for sure!!! Oh, and of course, I saw the motorcade. I tell ya, some people are really geeky. There was a huge group that paraded in super legit looking costumes from Star Wars who were not Disney cast members, but an actual club/group who, I'm guessing, are part of some Star Wars club. It's called "Darth Vader's 401st Legion" or something. Yeah, that was a little bizarre...oh well. It added to the event :)
It was a SUPER fun day, to be sure, though! At 7pm, there was a show called "Hyperspace Hoopla" where there was basically a dance-off between all the characters, and that was suuper fun! My favorite part I think was near the end when Darth Vader and Queen Amidala were dancing together to a combination of "Break Your Heart" and "Womanizer." Haha!!! Awesome!! It made me kind of really wish there was a part in the Star Wars movies where Amidala and Vader are alive at the same time :)
All in all, it was a very good day :) I am officially an even greater fan of Star Wars than I was before June 4th. I definitely feel a little bit geekier anyway...
A long time ago..
In a galaxy (or state) far far away (from the west coast)...
DAAAHHH , da da daaa, da da da da da da da da da da da *star wars theme*
I kinda wish I could put music on just this post. I probably can, but I don't care that much. Just as long as it's stuck in your head now.
Anyways, so I woke up early in the morning to get to Disney's Hollywood Studios about a half hour before it opened. I was going by myself, and I was a little sad about that at first, because I was planning on dressing up hard core for it. It turned out okay though. I just didn't dress up as crazy as I was going to. I wore a white shirt, skinny jeans, and my $9 flip flops from WalMart and a long, brown button up sweater type thing. I figured it could kind of pass as a modernized jedi robe. My hair was up in a bun except for a single, very long padowan braid coming down behind my left ear. Too bad I found out early in the day that a "real" padowan braid is on the right side. WHY that cast member felt the need to tell me it was on the wrong side, I don't know, but I wish she hadn't because I felt self-conscious about it the rest of the day. Oh well...
I got to the park and wanted to get a pass to see one of the 3 celebrities that were there that day (Billy Dee Williams-"Lando Calrissian", Ray Park-"Darth Maul", and the director of the Clone Wars movie). Unfortunately, I got there too late. Some people had stayed overnight to get there passes! It was crazy! So I told myself that it was okay that I wasn't gonna meet anyone, and that I could still see them in the motorcade parade thing they were gonna have.
I spent most of the day in line to see the characters. I saw Luke, Leia, Amidala, Vader, Maul, Wicket the Ewok, Jango Fett, Minnie as Leia, Goofy as Vader, Donald as a stormtrooper, and Jedi Mickey and his sidekick, R2MK (a red, R2D2 type droid wearing mickey ears). Oh, and I also met the Red Ranger from Power Rangers, but that was really random and it didn't really fit into the rest of my day, thematically, to be honest. I went on Star Tours twice that day. And I saw this cool celebrity talk show type thing where the host of the Star Wars Weekends, the guy who played Jango Fett in the movies, interviewed Ray Park and Billy Dee Williams! That was really cool!!! I was star struck, for sure!!! Oh, and of course, I saw the motorcade. I tell ya, some people are really geeky. There was a huge group that paraded in super legit looking costumes from Star Wars who were not Disney cast members, but an actual club/group who, I'm guessing, are part of some Star Wars club. It's called "Darth Vader's 401st Legion" or something. Yeah, that was a little bizarre...oh well. It added to the event :)
It was a SUPER fun day, to be sure, though! At 7pm, there was a show called "Hyperspace Hoopla" where there was basically a dance-off between all the characters, and that was suuper fun! My favorite part I think was near the end when Darth Vader and Queen Amidala were dancing together to a combination of "Break Your Heart" and "Womanizer." Haha!!! Awesome!! It made me kind of really wish there was a part in the Star Wars movies where Amidala and Vader are alive at the same time :)
All in all, it was a very good day :) I am officially an even greater fan of Star Wars than I was before June 4th. I definitely feel a little bit geekier anyway...
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Disney Nerd Encounters
So I work at Walt Disney World. LOVE IT! As you can imagine, it takes a certain type of person to work here. It's true, a large majority of male cast members are gay, which to me, is not at all surprising (most fit the stereotype of happy, caring, and understanding and accepting of everyone, which...um, duh. Disney cast member). Many of the people who work in Entertainment (i can't say a majority, because I've really only seen/been around cast members from Magic Kingdom), seem to be pretty...okay, I'm not gonna be mean, truly. They're just...well, let's just say they act somewhat similar to high school diva "actresses."
Then there are all the people who just need a job. They're the ones that claim to love Disney oh-so-very much but know as much about it as the average person. They're average people...they're okay I guess.
And then there are the completely over the top Disney historian/geek/nerd/whatever you wanna call them. I knew they existed before I came here, but I've never actually met them. It's very weird, and definitely something I'm still having a hard time getting used to. All the ones I've met happened to be boys, I'm not sure why that is but there ya go.
The first one I met was during training at the very beginning of my program. WOW, he was annoying! As our quaint little group walked down Main Street and our tour guide asked questions, he answered every single one with this smug look on his face like he owned Magic Kingdom. It was sick. And then he took it upon himself to walk right next to me (or try to) during the rest of the tour and tried to impress me with his knowledge. Ew. He was a history major. I'm not saying that comes with a stereotype, but if history majors had a stereotype, he was it. Of course, I wasn't mean or rude or anything, but wow, I've never met someone who knew about Disney that much in such a make-me-mad kind of way. Goodness, if you are yelling the safety spiel to your peers in the stretching room of the Haunted Mansion (which he did before the cast member could: "Please drag your bodies away from the walls and into the dead center of the room please!" ), you have gone way too far. No one wants to hear that much geekness and that much sass at the same time. Me and my roommate spent much of our time hiding from him for the rest of the tour haha.
Second boy geek I've met was less annoying, but just as much uncomfortable. This guy seemed normal enough until he drove me home from West Clock (aka Magic Kingdom cast parking lot/bus stop). During our conversation, he told me about his love for the Disney Parks and how it came about and what he wants to do within the company and his career goal at the parks, etc. Well, you can only say "wow, me too" so many times before you sound like a broken record or something. But, for realsies, he sounded exaaactly like me. It was weird. No, it was not attractive (his smoking in the car didn't help the lack of attractiveness either). It was just weird. I kinda felt stupid because I didn't know how to contribute to the conversation. It wasn't like we had similar stories and I could share them because I could relate. Our stories were EXACTLY the same! Gosh, it was the most bizarre thing! But I didn't want to sound too excited or put any unecessary excitement in my voice as I talked to him because I didn't want him to think I was interested in continuing our knowing each other (he was very much hitting on me from the very beginning, and I was terribly uninterested). However, interestingly enough, he cooled off a ton once he found out I was from BYU. He likes a good alcoholic beverage every once in awhile, apparently, and he knew from past roommates what "those BYU kids" are like. Wow, that was a weird night.
Those were the two first main encounters I've had this summer with Disney geeks. The last one is kind of exciting because it's the VERY first time I've met someone who tried to challenge my Disney bank of knowledge and NOT annoy me tremeeendously or annoy me or just weird me out or make me want to punch them in the face. This would be my roomie's new boy toy. It's also very curious because he can pull off the Disney geek thing in a masculine way, and I don't think I've seen that done before. It's possible, people!!! To him, I say, good on ya, mate! Now, my opinion of the last guy may be tainted by the fact that although he challenged me, I totally beat him at the Disney quiz-off we had all day yesterday. But still...
I've had a lot of people tell me that I'm gonna meet my future husband out here in Florida. That I'm gonna marry a total Disney fanatic like me and he's gonna get me an engagement ring shaped like Mickey and have Disney children named Huey, Dewey, Louie, April, May, and June. Ew. No. That is not what I want at all. I don't know if I'd be able to stomach dating a Disney geek, let alone marry one. My opinion is that if there is someone out there that I can love more than Disney, then that's a huge achievement. That's true love, right there.
So yeah, my opinion on Disney nerds: they're out there, they exist, but I am very content on keeping my distance from them.
p.s. April, May, and June are Daisy Duck's nieces, just fyi :)
Then there are all the people who just need a job. They're the ones that claim to love Disney oh-so-very much but know as much about it as the average person. They're average people...they're okay I guess.
And then there are the completely over the top Disney historian/geek/nerd/whatever you wanna call them. I knew they existed before I came here, but I've never actually met them. It's very weird, and definitely something I'm still having a hard time getting used to. All the ones I've met happened to be boys, I'm not sure why that is but there ya go.
The first one I met was during training at the very beginning of my program. WOW, he was annoying! As our quaint little group walked down Main Street and our tour guide asked questions, he answered every single one with this smug look on his face like he owned Magic Kingdom. It was sick. And then he took it upon himself to walk right next to me (or try to) during the rest of the tour and tried to impress me with his knowledge. Ew. He was a history major. I'm not saying that comes with a stereotype, but if history majors had a stereotype, he was it. Of course, I wasn't mean or rude or anything, but wow, I've never met someone who knew about Disney that much in such a make-me-mad kind of way. Goodness, if you are yelling the safety spiel to your peers in the stretching room of the Haunted Mansion (which he did before the cast member could: "Please drag your bodies away from the walls and into the dead center of the room please!" ), you have gone way too far. No one wants to hear that much geekness and that much sass at the same time. Me and my roommate spent much of our time hiding from him for the rest of the tour haha.
Second boy geek I've met was less annoying, but just as much uncomfortable. This guy seemed normal enough until he drove me home from West Clock (aka Magic Kingdom cast parking lot/bus stop). During our conversation, he told me about his love for the Disney Parks and how it came about and what he wants to do within the company and his career goal at the parks, etc. Well, you can only say "wow, me too" so many times before you sound like a broken record or something. But, for realsies, he sounded exaaactly like me. It was weird. No, it was not attractive (his smoking in the car didn't help the lack of attractiveness either). It was just weird. I kinda felt stupid because I didn't know how to contribute to the conversation. It wasn't like we had similar stories and I could share them because I could relate. Our stories were EXACTLY the same! Gosh, it was the most bizarre thing! But I didn't want to sound too excited or put any unecessary excitement in my voice as I talked to him because I didn't want him to think I was interested in continuing our knowing each other (he was very much hitting on me from the very beginning, and I was terribly uninterested). However, interestingly enough, he cooled off a ton once he found out I was from BYU. He likes a good alcoholic beverage every once in awhile, apparently, and he knew from past roommates what "those BYU kids" are like. Wow, that was a weird night.
Those were the two first main encounters I've had this summer with Disney geeks. The last one is kind of exciting because it's the VERY first time I've met someone who tried to challenge my Disney bank of knowledge and NOT annoy me tremeeendously or annoy me or just weird me out or make me want to punch them in the face. This would be my roomie's new boy toy. It's also very curious because he can pull off the Disney geek thing in a masculine way, and I don't think I've seen that done before. It's possible, people!!! To him, I say, good on ya, mate! Now, my opinion of the last guy may be tainted by the fact that although he challenged me, I totally beat him at the Disney quiz-off we had all day yesterday. But still...
I've had a lot of people tell me that I'm gonna meet my future husband out here in Florida. That I'm gonna marry a total Disney fanatic like me and he's gonna get me an engagement ring shaped like Mickey and have Disney children named Huey, Dewey, Louie, April, May, and June. Ew. No. That is not what I want at all. I don't know if I'd be able to stomach dating a Disney geek, let alone marry one. My opinion is that if there is someone out there that I can love more than Disney, then that's a huge achievement. That's true love, right there.
So yeah, my opinion on Disney nerds: they're out there, they exist, but I am very content on keeping my distance from them.
p.s. April, May, and June are Daisy Duck's nieces, just fyi :)
Friday, June 4, 2010
I LOVE being a cast member!!!! part one
So, basically, I work at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
I'm a CAST MEMBER! And I kind of got all tingly just from typing that out, because I'm pretty sure if I knew what I would be doing now about a year ago, I would be screaming out of excitement every day. This is seriously a dream come true for me. It's nice to have a JOB where I smile pretty much the entire shift.
So today I fully benefited from the perks of being a cast member. First of all, I woke up at 1:40 pm this afternoon (don't ask me how that happened, since I specifically remember looking at the clock and actually starting to do things at 9am). My roommate, Ashley, told me she was leaving in 20 minutes with roommate Jocelyn to go to Animal Kingdom. Of course, I wanted to go too, so I got ready to go and went! That's one of the best perks about being a cast member.
A typical conversation:
Actor 1: "Hey, you wanna go to a park?"
Actor 2: "Sure, why not?!"
Actor 1: "Ok! Let's go!"
That's it! We get in free, and it's no big deal! I LOVE that!
So we went to Animal Kingdom and got there as soon as a HUGE rain/wind storm hit. We were absolutely soaked! I had never been so wet from rain before in my life!! It was one of those moments you wished you had a boy with you so you could... well let's just say the rain was very movie-esque.
Anyways, we got to get out of the storm when we saw the soul-stirring show, The Festival of the Lion King! Can I say two things? First, I think every man should learn how to do a fire dance. Holy Hannah Montana. Second, I wish I could sing like a black woman. There is just something about a black woman's voice that is just warming to the soul and makes you want to go change the world. For realsies.
After that we went and watched It's Tough to Be a Bug. I screamed when the scary bug part came and I closed my eyes and definitely covered my face with both of my hands and whimpered until my roommate assured me that the spider part was over. We also went on Dinosaur where I screamed my face off the whole time. Goodness! I don't think I will ever get used to that ride!!! Sooo scary!!!
After watching Finding Nemo: The Musical and riding Expedition: Everest a couple times, the park was officially closed. But here's the exciting part! The cast members were having a special cast members only go at Kali River Rapids! We went on it once with a group of people from the Singles Ward and I got drenched. Like, we're talking, to the point where you couldn't tell by looking at me from a distance that I was wet at all (except my hair) because there wasn't a bit of dry clothing to compare the color of the wet part to. I. was. wet. WOW, I've never been so wet from a ride. But the good part of it was that at the end of the ride, and on our way out of the park, a lot of higher-up manager-type cast members gave all us cast members ice cream bars!!! I got a chocolate covered, Mickey shaped ice cream bar :D It was muuuuy bieeeennnnn :D
Other big perk of the day, and one of the BIG things I was looking forward to all summer: exclusive cast preview night #1!!!
So the big summer promotion: WDW's "Summer Nightastic!" is starting on June 6th! aka, this Sunday. Starting that night, a ton of new things will be happening in each of the parks. The BIG thing they've been talking about for ages is that the famous Main Street Electrical Parade has come back!!! It finally reached Florida after traveling across the United States from Disneyland in California and there was a cast members-only preview to watch it tonight!!!
We had to be seated by officials because, get this, they were filming that night with tons of cameras for marketing! Like, they are working on tv ads and stuff and i know for a fact i was in some of the footage! EXCITING! I doubt I'll be in the final commercial, since the footage of me was by a small electric caterpillar, but you never know I guess... I just felt like a movie star for a second, with all the camera lights and things!
Anyways, that's one of the many reasons I absolutely LOVE being a cast member :D
I'm a CAST MEMBER! And I kind of got all tingly just from typing that out, because I'm pretty sure if I knew what I would be doing now about a year ago, I would be screaming out of excitement every day. This is seriously a dream come true for me. It's nice to have a JOB where I smile pretty much the entire shift.
So today I fully benefited from the perks of being a cast member. First of all, I woke up at 1:40 pm this afternoon (don't ask me how that happened, since I specifically remember looking at the clock and actually starting to do things at 9am). My roommate, Ashley, told me she was leaving in 20 minutes with roommate Jocelyn to go to Animal Kingdom. Of course, I wanted to go too, so I got ready to go and went! That's one of the best perks about being a cast member.
A typical conversation:
Actor 1: "Hey, you wanna go to a park?"
Actor 2: "Sure, why not?!"
Actor 1: "Ok! Let's go!"
That's it! We get in free, and it's no big deal! I LOVE that!
So we went to Animal Kingdom and got there as soon as a HUGE rain/wind storm hit. We were absolutely soaked! I had never been so wet from rain before in my life!! It was one of those moments you wished you had a boy with you so you could... well let's just say the rain was very movie-esque.
Anyways, we got to get out of the storm when we saw the soul-stirring show, The Festival of the Lion King! Can I say two things? First, I think every man should learn how to do a fire dance. Holy Hannah Montana. Second, I wish I could sing like a black woman. There is just something about a black woman's voice that is just warming to the soul and makes you want to go change the world. For realsies.
After that we went and watched It's Tough to Be a Bug. I screamed when the scary bug part came and I closed my eyes and definitely covered my face with both of my hands and whimpered until my roommate assured me that the spider part was over. We also went on Dinosaur where I screamed my face off the whole time. Goodness! I don't think I will ever get used to that ride!!! Sooo scary!!!
After watching Finding Nemo: The Musical and riding Expedition: Everest a couple times, the park was officially closed. But here's the exciting part! The cast members were having a special cast members only go at Kali River Rapids! We went on it once with a group of people from the Singles Ward and I got drenched. Like, we're talking, to the point where you couldn't tell by looking at me from a distance that I was wet at all (except my hair) because there wasn't a bit of dry clothing to compare the color of the wet part to. I. was. wet. WOW, I've never been so wet from a ride. But the good part of it was that at the end of the ride, and on our way out of the park, a lot of higher-up manager-type cast members gave all us cast members ice cream bars!!! I got a chocolate covered, Mickey shaped ice cream bar :D It was muuuuy bieeeennnnn :D
Other big perk of the day, and one of the BIG things I was looking forward to all summer: exclusive cast preview night #1!!!
So the big summer promotion: WDW's "Summer Nightastic!" is starting on June 6th! aka, this Sunday. Starting that night, a ton of new things will be happening in each of the parks. The BIG thing they've been talking about for ages is that the famous Main Street Electrical Parade has come back!!! It finally reached Florida after traveling across the United States from Disneyland in California and there was a cast members-only preview to watch it tonight!!!
We had to be seated by officials because, get this, they were filming that night with tons of cameras for marketing! Like, they are working on tv ads and stuff and i know for a fact i was in some of the footage! EXCITING! I doubt I'll be in the final commercial, since the footage of me was by a small electric caterpillar, but you never know I guess... I just felt like a movie star for a second, with all the camera lights and things!
Anyways, that's one of the many reasons I absolutely LOVE being a cast member :D
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Haha, it's ANOTHER new blog...
I think I've started like 4 blogs now since I got a blogger account back in 2008 but there's practically nothing on all of them. I think I've decided that the reason is because I'd name the blog after a specific way I was thinking or feeling at the time, and when I go back to it, I don't feel the same way about it. Or something like that.
Well, anyways, to be honest, I've always thought the purpose of blogs to be completely stupid. When I first learned about them, my thought process was: WHY would you want to write journal-type things and have people read them?? Only drama queens. And WHY would you want to read other people's journal-type things? Only stalkers would know.
Ok,I'm not that stereotypical, I've grown a respect for blogs and bloggers alike since then. I still would not consider myself a blogger, but I like the idea of having something I can vent on and it's not gonna show up on a news feed (like facebook or myspace notes...gosh, those myspace emo poems written by classmates back in high school annoyed me so bad...)
Anyways, I wanted to title the blog something that (hopefully) would never change about me. Past blogs have been titled "Future Imagineer" and things pertaining to working for Disney, etc. Don't get me wrong, I would love to work for Disney, but I've been trying to convince myself that I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna do that, I have higher priorities, and there are other careers I could have that would be fun and would be a lot more practical to study in school.
The title actually came from something that hit me last year. I have always been a pretty chill person. I very rarely freak out because of stress or a dramatic situation. I think that, for the most part, people who feel sorry for themselves and think that their life is so dramatic and everything bad happens to them and they cry all the time usually just stress out about every day stuff that doesnt need to be stressed out about.
Actually, thinking back now, I'm not sure why this hit me last year. Maybe I was having a bad day or something. Sometimes I keep things in too much and I overthink them which gets me a little depressed. That's probably what it was. Well, anyways, it was a Sunday and my super amazing and outrageously beautiful friend Victoria was giving a Sunday School lesson and it was on one of my absolute favorite scripture stories. It was when God talks to Moses in the burning bush and then Satan after and Moses totally rips him apart by saying, "Who are YOU? I am a son of GOD."
Victoria challenged us to wake up every morning and before going out the door, to say out loud "I am a child of God, and I am STRONGER than Satan." Since then, that's kind of been my motto. I am a firm believer that it doesn't matter what is going on in your life. YOU choose what kind of day you're going to have. Personally, I enjoy good days. So I can have as many as I want. Because I want to.
So before I write any more posts on this blog, I'm gonna see the title and it's gonna remind me that I'm gonna have an AWESOME day today!!! I am a daughter of God and I am SO much stronger than Satan, and I'm gonna have a crazy good day today because I said so!
Well, anyways, to be honest, I've always thought the purpose of blogs to be completely stupid. When I first learned about them, my thought process was: WHY would you want to write journal-type things and have people read them?? Only drama queens. And WHY would you want to read other people's journal-type things? Only stalkers would know.
Ok,I'm not that stereotypical, I've grown a respect for blogs and bloggers alike since then. I still would not consider myself a blogger, but I like the idea of having something I can vent on and it's not gonna show up on a news feed (like facebook or myspace notes...gosh, those myspace emo poems written by classmates back in high school annoyed me so bad...)
Anyways, I wanted to title the blog something that (hopefully) would never change about me. Past blogs have been titled "Future Imagineer" and things pertaining to working for Disney, etc. Don't get me wrong, I would love to work for Disney, but I've been trying to convince myself that I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna do that, I have higher priorities, and there are other careers I could have that would be fun and would be a lot more practical to study in school.
The title actually came from something that hit me last year. I have always been a pretty chill person. I very rarely freak out because of stress or a dramatic situation. I think that, for the most part, people who feel sorry for themselves and think that their life is so dramatic and everything bad happens to them and they cry all the time usually just stress out about every day stuff that doesnt need to be stressed out about.
Actually, thinking back now, I'm not sure why this hit me last year. Maybe I was having a bad day or something. Sometimes I keep things in too much and I overthink them which gets me a little depressed. That's probably what it was. Well, anyways, it was a Sunday and my super amazing and outrageously beautiful friend Victoria was giving a Sunday School lesson and it was on one of my absolute favorite scripture stories. It was when God talks to Moses in the burning bush and then Satan after and Moses totally rips him apart by saying, "Who are YOU? I am a son of GOD."
Victoria challenged us to wake up every morning and before going out the door, to say out loud "I am a child of God, and I am STRONGER than Satan." Since then, that's kind of been my motto. I am a firm believer that it doesn't matter what is going on in your life. YOU choose what kind of day you're going to have. Personally, I enjoy good days. So I can have as many as I want. Because I want to.
So before I write any more posts on this blog, I'm gonna see the title and it's gonna remind me that I'm gonna have an AWESOME day today!!! I am a daughter of God and I am SO much stronger than Satan, and I'm gonna have a crazy good day today because I said so!
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