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 :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)