Wandering Aimlessly

Yeah, so yesterday, one of my managers came up to me as sort of a fly-by on his way upstairs and said "Kate, I need to talk to you when I get back." Eeek! I was training a new girl on register. All day. I absolutely love it that they're having me train people. I got an extra 50 cents an hour for it, too! So back to the manager. I was all nervous, because when a manager says they need to talk to you, usually it's not good, right? I thought maybe I wasn't training Ladanna correctly, or something. He pulled me aside and told me that he wants me to help out with a study they're doing. He actually said to me "Somehow you've been tagged as one of the few people who has a brain in this operation." How funny is that? I don't know what I do differently than anyone else, but somehow I come across as intelligent. <.g> Anyway, the head of foods at MGM wants us to change our filling (currently stations: drink person, salad person, pizza plater, and runner) to one person per register who would fill an entire order. So today and tomorrow, I'm going to be part of the study team. Doris will be on register, I'll be timing with a stop watch how long it takes for someone to get from the register to having their food, Renzo will be filling orders, and Shelley will be timing how long it takes from the point the receipt prints to the guest having their food. It will only be a few hours of the day, but it will be a nice break from whatever else they have me doing, I'm sure.

I am really not going to want to leave here, again. I finally started actually hanging out with work people. I can't believe I only have a month left! Last night, Jessica, Diana, Brandi and I went to Steak and Shake and then to see Lilo and Stitch, straight from work. Apparently we looked pretty funny, all dressed alike in our Pizza Planet costumes, because everyone kept giving us really odd looks. Lol. At one point I asked "do we really look that weird??" Steak and Shake proved a poor choice, as it took 40 minutes to get a freaking waiter, and then another 20 minutes to get our food, which we had to eat faster than anything to make it to the movie in time. Lilo and Stitch was adorable! I loved it. I want to see it again. Lol. But all in all, it was great fun just hanging out with the girls. I invited them with to our weekly bowling night tonight.

Speaking of bowling, I put up a sign-up at work to see if anyone would be interested in a Pizza Planet bowling night. I think that would be great fun, and everyone I asked about it seemed to agree. Hopefully that will come together.

I'm excited about Red Hot & Boom. That's XL 106.7's 3rd of July concert thingy. O-Town is the headliner, which is very exciting. I can't wait to see them. Lol. And Doc (one of the morning show guys) and Mr. Joe Fatone, Sr. are having a dance-off to benefit CFTC. Also very exciting! Should be good for a chuckle, anyway. <.g> I'm so glad I have the 3rd off, even though I have to work until 9 on the fourth. =/ Fireworks at MGM are at 9, so I will probably not be able to make it. <.sigh> Ah well. Maybe I'll go to MK or PI on the 5th and hope they're still having fireworks.

Posted by kate at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's sunny! It's sunny!!! I hope it stays sunny. I am so sick of rain and cloudiness and all that weather I'm used to in Chicago, but not in Florida.

Monday. Carolyn, Gina, Scott and I went to the Contemporary to play in the arcade a bit (and we met Big Bertha, Carolyn's favorite arcade game). We then watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the rooftop of the hotel. What an excellent view. Thanks, C, for showing us! Then we went to Magic Kingdom (and got to ride in the front of the monorail!) to see Spectromagic. Mike was in it, but we didn't know what exactly he'd be doing, so we didn't really knwo what to look for. After the parade, we went back to the Contemporary to meet Mike and Meghan. Then we went to the Ale House, which was kind of poopy, but whatever.

Tuesday. Went to work at OSC. I met Karen, another intern to whom I'd been introduced, but had never talked with. She was super nice, and we made plans to hang out either Friday or next Wednesday at Red Hot and Boom (more about that later). I made a pamphlet for the Young Einstein youth program. That was fun. I like doing stuff like that. I can't wait until all these things I'm creating come back from Graphics and I get to see the final project. How exciting! After work, I went to visit Gina, since she lives between downtown Orlando and Vista Way. We started decorating her apartment with posters, but then decided we needed nails and a hammer and tape, so we took a trip to Home Depot, Target, Dollar Tree (I got *NSYNC lip gloss!), and Old Navy, then to dinner at Fridays. Then she came back home with me, and helped Tonya, Carolyn and I get ready for the Roxy. T, C and I found the club, and it's nice! I liked it a lot. It's kind of along the same lines as White Star, only a bit less techno-y and a bit smaller. I like the layout (and size) of White Star better, because there are places to sit and whatnot, but I liked the music at Roxy better. =)

Wednesday. Met Meghan and her family, and Mike, at Magic Kingdom. We did the Mountains (Splash, Big Thunder, and Space), ate at Pecos Bill's (they have really yummy chicken wraps), and watched the 3:00 Parade. Which they started at 2:50, because the clouds rolling in didn't look so tame. The parade was excellent. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's a Snow Globe parade, and Mike knew a bunch of people in it, which was fun. They didn't do showstops because of the rain, which was a bit of a bummer, but only means I'll have to go see it again. <.g> We left MK after the parade and headed to Epcot. I hadn't been to Epcot yet this trip, so it was long-awaited. Mike had to work, the rest of Meg's fam took the monorail, and Meg and I drove. By the time we got onto the highway, it was pouring.

Needless to say, we got absolutely drenched. Shoe-squishing, goosebump-inducing drenched. Even with umbrellas/ponchos. We did Universe of Energy and tried to dry off, did a bit of shopping at Mouse Gear, did Journey Into Your Imagination (Figment's back!), and then headed to Nine Dragons in China to eat. We had quite tasty food, and finished just in time to see the last 3/4 of Tapestry of Dreams. It used to be Tapestry of Nations, and they changed it a bit. I miss the old Tapestry, but I still love that parade. LOVE the music. We walked around the countries a bit, and then I had an awful headache, so I left. On my way out I sat at the fountain that "dances" in time with the music for a while. I think that might be my favorite thing at Epcot. Lol. It's such a cool fountain!

So that was that. Back to work for another exciting week.

Posted by kate at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I got one of the best compliments the other day! I was working with Dee, who is an older woman I really haven't talked to. She speaks mostly Spanish, so even when I am working with her, our communication usually consists of work-related things. Well, I was plating pizzas and she came up to me and said "I like you. You're always happy. You never have a bad day." Of course I have bad days, but I really try hard not to take them out on people who don't deserve it. Or even on people who do... like I'd rather things be peaceful than to tell the high schoolers I work with to piss off. Lol. So I guess I'm nice about it. I don't really understand people who stomp around and snap at everyone just because they're annoyed at someone or something. A girl the other day at work went off on one of the kids we work with in front of guests because someone else wasn't doing their job, and I just felt so bad for the kid she yelled at. It wasn't his fault. Anyway. It was just really nice for Dee to say that, because it is something I try to do.

In other work-related news, my manager Stephen had me training Harold, one of the high schoolers I really do like, on register yesterday. That is also a huge compliment, I think. I mean, they've had me show people how to do condiment bar or how to clean the drink machine or whatever, but actually sitting with someone and training them on something like register for four hours is a bigger deal to me. I'm a little nervous, because our general teller, Rocco, is forever complaining about how this trainer or that trainer did a crappy job. Now if Harold doesn't know how to do something on register, or if he does something wrong, that's my fault. Eeek. But I do really like training. And that means my managers trust me enough and think I'm good enough on register after only four weeks (and a total of about six or seven times on register) to have me teach someone else how to do it. And the other girl on register last night has been here since January. I thought it was an interesting decision on their part, but it made my day. So thanks, Stephen!

What else has been going on? On Saturday, Joaquin made dinner for us. He's just so cute. Chicken parmisan. It was YUMMY. Then we watched... what movie were we watching? Oh, Saving Silverman, then A Very Brady Sequel or whatever it's called, and then "Six Feet Under," which I LOVE. I wish I got HBO. I was falling asleep on the chair, though, and they (Carolyn, Gina, Amy and Joaquin) thought it would be funny to put whipped cream on me. Thank goodness I woke up as Joaquin was going to the kitchen. You guys are EVIL!

Last night we had a little gathering at our apartment. Carolyn invited a girl who is new to the program over, and Jessica and her roommate Caroline came over, and Scott was over with Andrea. We all piled into my room to watch the Celebrity concert Jessica has on tape. It was so much fun! Heehee. I really do love that concert. And I hadn't seen it since, well... since I saw it. Aarti, I missed ya! lol.

Meg's here with her family this week. And Jen checks into Vista (or Chattham) today for her advanced internship. I can't wait to see them. Maybe now that Jen's here, Jeremy will come visit. Did I write about when he called? He called us long-distance from Nebraska and talked to Carolyn and me for an hour. He's so adorable. I hadn't really hung out with him on our first program, so it was surprising that he called, but I'm glad he did. He keeps in touch with Jen a lot, I think, so it would be mucho fun if he came to visit. Come visit, Jeremy!

Okay, I've blabbered enough for one morning. Off to work.

Posted by kate at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is sad. I blogged on Wednesday. Now it's Saturday, and I can't remember what happened between bloggings! Ha ha. Let's see. Wednesday, Heather, Andrea, Scott and I went to dinner at Logan's. I had never been to a Logan's before. You eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor! It was fun. We had a good meal for once. And our waiter was from Illinois, and got a kick out of the fact I couldn't figure out how he knew I was from Illinois (I was wearing a t-shirt, but I had totally forgotten until about halfway through our conversation, which gave him a good (extended) chuckle).

Thursday. I feel like I did something on Thursday. Gosh! I watched some of Summer Music Mania (and I must say, I melt for glasses. I really, really do. I was a big puddle of goo). OH! Duh. Amy, Andrea, Scott, Carolyn, Tonya and I went to Margaritaville to see Amy's band, Blue Stone Circle. When I say "Amy's," I mean the band she was a total groupie of last program. They are SO CUTE. Carolyn warned me I'd fall in love by the end of the night, and I did. They sounded better than the original bands on a lot of songs. AND they're goofy. Carolyn had requested Tiny Bubbles by Don Ho, half as a joke (they're a rock band), and for the last song, they brought out the "request napkin" and announced they'd had a request, and they PLAYED it! We were laughing so hard. Poor Carolyn... ha ha. But Amy had been trying to get C and I out to dance, and that did it. They switched halfway through to Rage Against the Machine, but it was adorable that they did any of the song at all.

Last night was Bowling and Karaoke Night again. Heather and Andrea came along. I'm so glad they did! So did some of Carolyn's friends from work, so we had a larger crowd than usual. It's fun to have lots of people. Nothing will ever be like our Animal Kingdom ODF Bowling Nights from my last program, but I'm ever-so-glad we still have our little version of it. Caroyln and I sang Wide Open Spaces this time. It's completely embarrassing how awful I am at karaoke. I can usually sing decently, but when you get me up there, nada. Lol. (perhaps that's because I went from being in five different choirs/groups plus vocal lessons to not singing at all for four years...) But it's too much fun to pass up. And what are friends for if you can't completely humiliate yourself in front of them?

So. Have to go to work in about a half hour. Ugh. Jessica's not there today (she's one of my Partners in Crime), and it's a weekend, so I'm going to be working with all the high schoolers. Sometimes I feel like I'm babysitting rather than working. Was I ever that irritating when I was in high school? I didn't have time for a job around all the theater stuff at school, but if I had had a job, I seriously doubt I would have acted like these kids do. I was about ready to pull my hair out yesterday as one guy spent about thirty minutes trying to decide which metal surface (counter, warmer, coffee machine, etc) scraping the pizza spatula on was the most grating. But idiots aside, I like the people I work with and I usually end up having a pretty good time there.

Posted by kate at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We really are being washed away. I know it rains everyday in Florida in the summer, but this is more than the 4:00 afternoon showers we were getting the first few weeks I was here. This is torrential downpours that soak you to the skin, that are accompanied by mucho thunder and lightening, and that last most of the day.

I went to Cocoa Beach this morning with Gina and her mom. We drove through one of our little downpours, but it was dry and relatively sunny at the beach. We got to play in the water for about an hour before the rain caught up with us, then followed us all the way home and is currently trying to replenish our previously shrinking pond/lake in one afternoon.

Yesterday I worked at the Science Center again. It was a very pleasant day, I must say. I worked on putting together a brochure. I finished that one and sent it to Graphics to be made up, and brought the information home to do one for the youth program. Yay! This is experience I can definitely use. After that, I met up with Bill and Sandy, Michelle and Andrew (who are 12 and 10, respectively). We ate at Planet Hollywood (where I get a 30% discount! Bonus!), then went to DisneyQuest. That was a good time. Good time. Michelle and I made two rollercoasters on Cyber Space Mountain. The first one was only rated a 3 and was kind of borning. We were like "that's it?" So we went back and made another, which was a 5 (out of 5), and which every piece of the track took us either upside down or sideways. That was fun. Lol. We were going to make a song in the Music Maker thingy, but the line was too long, and we kept trying to get into a "class" that teaches you how to draw the characters, but we kept getting there just a minute too late. We got to do most everything we wanted to, though, before they closed. And that's the last time I'll see Michelle and Andrew before they go home. Sadness! I'm so glad I got to see them as much as I did. I miss living next door to them!

Tonight I'm maybe going to dinner with Heather, or Joaquin is maybe making dinner for us, or I'm maybe going to the Ale House with Diana from work, or I'm maybe going to see a movie with Gina. I can do two of the above. Ale House and movie would be later, so I can do one of the other, and obviously I can only have dinner once. Heehee. But those are the plans, and then back to work tomorrow. Woohoo!

Posted by kate at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had so much fun today. On Thursday, I had a message that my ex-next door neighbors (who moved away a good seven or eight years ago) were in town and wanted to meet up. So today, the plans were for them to meet me at my restaurant at 4:30 when I got off work. It rained ALL day, on and off, so the park was really uncrowded. I was working from 10:30-4:30 (short shift!), but at 2, my manager came over and asked if I wanted to leave. Ha ha. So I did.

I went home, found Jessica (who had the day off), and went to Property Control (where you can buy damaged or discontinued merchandise for 75% off). I bought a travel coffee mug which had a bit of paint chipped off the bottom, and shot glasses for myself, Carolyn and Heather with our names on them. I felt bad because I couldn't find Andrea or Amy's names to make it a roommates thing. =( Sorry, girls! I tried. But anyway, after PC, I went back to MGM.

I got there at 4:20, and it started POURING. I'm talking BUCKETS of water. Right as I got there. So I waited and waited, played some arcade games (the woman who runs it gave me a handful of tokens, which was fun) and Bill and Sandy (the neighbors) arrived around 5, having gotten stuck in the downpour. We tried to go to the Prime Time Diner, but ended up at Backlot Express for burgers, then played at MGM. Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster went over well. So did Millionaire: Play It. After the park closed, we went to Downtown Disney for ice cream and shopping. I bought a visor, which I had been looking for unsuccessfully at Property Control. Anyway. Overall it was an excellent day. I missed going to Margaritaville with everyone, but I haven't seen Bill and Sandy and the kids in almost four years. I used to babysit for Michelle and Andrew back before they were in school, and now they're 10 and 12. Ahh! So that was a ton of fun. Yay! <.g>

Posted by kate at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Somehow things got posted twice last time... trying to see if I fixed it. You may now return to your regularly scheduled blog. Thank you.

Posted by kate at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I talked to my mom the other day. I hadn't talked to her almost since I started working. She asked me how I was, I told her I love Florida. She got all quiet-like and said "I'll come visit you when you live there." I love my mom. I don't know if I'll want to live here. Perhaps. But I'm certainly not deciding that now. Heehee. I'll come home again, Mom, I promise!! I've still got one more semester of school left. I have to go home.

But really. Some things I love about this place:

• The asthmatic squirrel who wheezes as he bounds across the lawn
  
• The funny white birds with the long pink legs and long pink beaks that stand by my stairs when I'm leaving for work
  
• The tiny lizards that dart across the sidewalk when I walk to the clubhouse in the mornings
  
• The fact that we have a turtle in the lake/pond behind our building, and sometimes he suns himself on the "beach" beside it
  
• The rumor I hear that the turtle laid eggs
  
• The frogs that jump at the walls thinking they might get somewhere
  
• All the things there are to do at night: PI, bowling, karaoke, mini golf, Comedy Warehouse, City Walk (never been, but will go), the clubs downtown (also never been, but will go), the Ale House (thanks, C!), the Boardwalk, Wal-Mart at 2 am...
  
• Of course, the Parks
  
• Beaches! Oceans! Blue skies!
  
• The fact you can wrestle a gator at Gatorland, which I will never do but find amusing anyway
  
• The fact that there is a Gatorland, and a Gatorland Motel with a huge gator out front
  
• The rather, um, bright colors of buildings
  
• PALM TREES
  
• All of my friends who are down here

On Tuesday, we went to Jellyrolls. That was so much fun! It's a dueling-piano bar, and everyone sings along. It's like karaoke without the embarrassment. ALL of my roommates went, even Minhee. But she didn't see us, and would never hang out with us. The other five of us, however, had a great time. I'll definitely be going back, and I'll know to put in my request when I first get there.

Last night, Carolyn took Gina, Andrea and me to the Water Park Cast Member Party at Typhoon Lagoon. We got there too late for the free food, but we played in the wave pool for ages. I hadn't been to a water park or even a pool in longer than I can remember, so that was a ton of fun. And it was dark, which somehow made it even more exciting. Lol.

Yesterday I worked at Backlot Express instead of Pizza Planet. The costumes are WAY cuter, but I missed my PP buds. I just like having people I can talk to about more than where the extra tuna subs are kept while I work. But I will miss the costume. White shirts with diagonal black-and-white striped (like those clappy thingies they use in movies) bars around the sleeves, black pants, a red apron and a Grandpa hat. Ha ha. We looked like movie people, which was the point, I guess. Back to the tapered black jeans and the red polos with aliens all over them today. <.g>

Posted by kate at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm seriously bored. All she had me do was write up some ads for the paper. She gave me the press kit, told me to learn about the new exhibit, figure out what kind of volunteers to look for, and write up some ads to get them. Did that. About two hours ago, I finished. Then I ate my lunch. Then I read some blogs. Then I checked my email. I've gone looking for her twice, told the woman at the front desk to have her come find me if she ever returns to her office. It's frustrating. I left five messages with her over the last two weeks and only received one response. The last one I left was just "Since I haven't heard from you, I'm just letting you know that I'll be in on Tuesday at 9. If that's a problem, please get back to me." Didn't hear from her, so I came in. She wasn't here until about 9:20. She then gave me one thing to do, didn't really tell me how to do it (and this is an internship because I don't KNOW how to do this stuff... I'm here to LEARN it), and then disappeared for three and a half hours! I know she's busy, but jeez. Don't hire an intern if you don't have two seconds to check in with her. I have half a mind to clock out and go home, but she said she wanted me to get started on some recruiting this afternoon, which probably means heading over to some of the colleges in the area and putting up signs, or something. I have no idea. I wish she'd come find me! I have so many other things I could be doing with my one day off from Disney. Like shopping for a Fathers Day present. Or sleeping. <.sigh> Help me?

Ack. The phone keeps ringing and I don't know if it's her trying to call me, or someone calling for the Youth Volunteer Director, whose office I am using.

Posted by kate at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've started my no-days-off schedule. It's only noon and I can tell it's going to be a killer. Thank god for not working until 11 or so most days at Pizza Planet. I still haven't caught up on sleep.

Yesterday I had my third perfect bank (out of four days on register). Given, I only was on bank an hour and only did about $1,000 (as opposed to the other days where I was around $6-$7,000), but it was still pretty cool to see that 0.00 at the bottom of my bank-out sheet. When I got my manager to sign it, she gave me a Guest Fanatic card! Those things are cool as heck. You're supposed to put them in a drop box and can win things like cruises and free hotel stays and whatnot, but I haven't decided if I want to keep it for my scrapbook or go ahead and turn it in. Hmmm.

Some lady tried to screw me over yesterday, though. She ordered two pizzas and two hot teas (I think), and then about a half hour later, came back (in front of a whole line of guests, mind you) and tried to tell me I hadn't given her change for her $20. She told me she'd just ordered two teas, and now she was $16 short. I don't remember ever doing an order for JUST two teas, but she kept insisting. She told me she gave her ticket to the people at the counter, but in reality, the counter people give the guests BOTH tickets back when they fill the order. So I told her I'd get my manager to count my drawer, and she told me she was getting her daughter to back her up, and she never came back. So with that even bank, I know she was trying to scam me. Ha!

Last night, Carolyn, Tonya and I went to Comedy Warehouse on Pleasure Island. I had only been there once before. What fun! Thanks, girls! We then went to the Jazz Club, but just missed the guy performing. Since they no longer serve food (!!!), we left for Taco Bell.

Today I started at the Orlando Science Center. She's got me making up ads for volunteers for their new exhibit. Anyone live in Orlando and want to help out with City of Wonders? It's exciting, I promise. <.g> I wish I could find my supervisor to check these things, though...

Posted by kate at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before I get to how I've become acquainted with practically ALL of Orlando, let me get in what's been up the last few days. Let's see. I'm forgetting already, which is not so good. Makes me sad. =( I want to remember EVERYTHING this time. <.g> Hmmm. So I can't remember Wednesday. Must not have been exciting. I worked. Yippee. Thursday I was on register, which always makes me happy. Andrea AND Heather (two of my roommates) each came and visited me. I love them. Then Gina, Tonya, and Tonya's friend Theresa met Jessica and I at our restaurant. Theresa had never been to MGM, so we rode Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster with her (both of which she loved), and tried to see Fantasmic, but it was standing room only and we decided that we're here for months and can see it another time. Then we went to the Ale House, ran into Carolyn, and had a grand old time. Oh, and were told by at least eight people that Joey had been there the night before. <.shrug> We ended up leaving there at two, going home and drinking and talking until god knows when, and getting little sleep (which will become important in a moment).

Friday. Worked again. Register again. They love me. Ha ha. Gina came over again, and she, Carolyn and I went bowling with Joaquin, Marcus, Scott, and Jeremy. I think it's our new Friday thing. Then we did karaoke again. We sang Love Shack. The place was considerably more crowded this time, so that's the only song we got in, but the karaoke guy brought lots of microphones just for us. Last week he'd only had one, so we had to share. So that was exciting. After bowling, we went to Steak 'n Shake, and got home about 2:30. I stayed up talking to Andrea until 3, then at 3:20, the phone rang and got me up again. Wrong number. Bastard.

Now the Day of Being Lost. Got up at 4:45. That's where the no sleep comes in. Left at 5:30 and headed to TD Waterhouse to wait in line. Got there without a hitch. We (Carolyn, Tonya, Jessica and I) were about tenth or so, arriving at 6. Met some people (some nice, some a bit less so), used the facilities at the Marriott about twelve times (okay, not really, but after two diet Cokes from McDonald's, we did make the trek over there enough for the staff to recognize us... heehee). At nine they did the lottery. Those things suck. We ended up about halfway back, and then most of the end of the line had had people spread throughout, so they all moved up to join their parties. How unfair is that? Grr. Oh well.

Found out about the 21+ party at the Groove, and learned that we couldn't get those tickets at TD, so after the lottery, Tonya and Carolyn went to find a ticketmaster. The plan was for Carolyn to drop Tonya off there and go to work, and after Jess and I got our tickets, we'd go pick her up. So we got our tickets. C and I are behind the basket row A, (which is 5th row). Not terrible. Jessica's center court, but row P. I feel bad she's sitting alone. She was RIGHT behind me in line, but between me and her, they sold out of the $75 two-day tickets.

Okay, so left there. Tried to follow directions to the ticketmaster. Went the wrong way once and ended up in south Orlando in this little very-Florida-y neighborhood (pink houses and such). Decided that was the Wrong Direction and turned around. Found Hwy 50 finally, went right. (Our directions: there will be a Burger King on your left, then a McDonald's on your right, then a bank and a strip mall on your left. There's a store called Infinity which has a ticketmaster.) Didn't see the Burger King OR the McDonald's, so pulled into Target to ask directions. They said "There's a ticketmaster inside Infinite Mushroom right over there." So Infinity, Infinite Mushroom... pretty close. And yes, there was a bank. So we went in, asked if they'd seen T and C. Nope. Okay. By this time it's after 11. Tickets had gone on sale at 10, and T had been there since 9:30. The woman told us there was a ticketmaster in Disk Jockey down on West Colonial (same road as Hwy 50), so we turned around and went that way. Saw the Burger King and McDonald's, and pulled into EVERY strip mall that followed a bank. Finally went to an Exxon to ask for directions, and he told us it was about five miles away (we'd already driven a good three miles down the road, and the guy at TD said it was close!). By now, Carolyn should have been at work, and I was getting panicked that T had been in some little store for almost two hours. I didn't know C's work phone, so I called the Disney Reservation Line (only number I could remember), waited on hold for 10 minutes, and finally talked to someone who gave me the Disney Switchboard number. Called there, asked to be connected to Blizzard Beach, it was busy. Call back in 10 min. AHH! So I tried again, got through. No one knew where C was, so I left a message. Started driving again. Continued going into every strip mall imaginable. Finally she called, about noon. She had T with her. Turns out, we were SUPPOSED to go right on 50, but they'd told us left, so T and C had gotten horribly lost as well. They'd never found Infinite Mushroom. They'd found the Disk Jockey, however, and gotten us tickets, and then Carolyn had been a half hour late to work. Oops.

So we went home in torrential downpours. I went to the store, did my laundry, did NOT get a nap. Then went to see Gina's new apartment with Tonya. Left at 5:30 for what SHOULD have been a 15-20 minute ride. Missed the Beeline Expressway, ended up BACK in downtown Orlando. T was driving this time. We got on the Turnpike by mistake, had to backtrack, finally found the Beeline. Arrived at Gina's at 7:30. Saw her apartment, tried to follow Gina to Jeremy's. She's hell to follow. We lost her turning out of her apartment complex. I kept seeing glimpses of her about a half-mile up, and SOMEHOW we caught up to her at a light. We had NO idea where Jeremy lived, so it's a miracle we found her. Got to J's, and then followed HIM to Joaquin's. He was much easier to follow. Joaquin cooked us all dinner, which was SO cute.

Then David called, and wanted us all to come over to watch the Tyson fight. We did. My old manager Kevin was there. I didn't ever think Kevin liked me much, and NEVER thought he'd remember me. He jumped over the back of the couch screaming "KATE!!", gave me a huge hug, and was like "Why haven't you visited me at Tusker House (where he manages now) yet?" I mean, guys are a lot nicer in Florida, I think, but it was fun that he cared. I was about to die of exhaustion by this point. It was midnight, but David wanted to go to the Ale House again. So we went. I love them. All of them. I got to know David's roommate Lance (Larry <.g>) a bit better, cuz the boy NEVER talks. But at 1:00, I couldn't stand anymore. I'm kinda sad that I left, because Carolyn stayed until two and said they had SO much fun, but I was starting to see double. Lol.

So I got home, talked to Heather for a bit, and fell into bed about 1:30. Got to sleep until 9:00, and I am happy and refreshed. I have to work today, and then Gina's having us over for dinner. Yay! And whew. That was a lot of typing. <.g>

Posted by kate at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's been two days, so it's time to blog. Aren't you thrilled? <.g> Let's see. Sunday I went back to Animal Kingdom. I took Jessica (a girl from work who had never been) and Laura, Jessica's roommate. We saw the Lion King Show, which is just excellent. But in line, a woman passed out and threw up, and seeing someone throw up is one of my absolutely least favorite things in the entire world. Yick. The show made up for it, though. There are so many attractive males dancing around as animals. Hoo boy. We rode a few rides, met up with Gina, and then went to see Tarzan Rocks. My OTHER favorite show! I hadn't seen it yet this time, so I was quite excited for it. Billy was the main singer, and I love him. They got two new backup girls, and a different Tarzan, but I must say I was not disappointed with the Tarzan. Heh. Gina and I then rode Kali River Rapids, which Chris and Charles work, so we saw Chris, got absolutely soaked (which felt wonderful because it's been hovering somewhere around 100 degrees lately), and met the two guys who would become our stalkers for the rest of the day. I swear they were following us everywhere, and they even found me on my way to the parking lot and tried fishing for a ride. Sorry, boys.

Yesterday was actually a pretty good day at work. Jess, Devan and I had to do a "get acquainted with the park" scavanger hunt. It took two hours, we got to walk around the park in regular clothes, so I was happy. Then they put me on register, which I was thankful for. I didn't have to wear my hat and I got to see guests all day. AND to make things even better, I had an even bank! I did $5,000 and was not a penny off. Lol. I'm sure that won't happen too often, but I'm glad it happened on my first day on register by myself. Maybe they'll put me there more often if they think I'm good at it. <.g>

Okay, so CFTC. There's the issue of will I be able to get the days off. Eeep. I've been getting weekends off lately, but I'm sure that can't last. So I have to request to either work an opening shift or have those days off completely. What do I write to make it convincing so that Kathy will be sure to let me off? Then, do I camp out, or just go at 10 when the tickets go on sale? Tonya thinks they will be selling out quickly, I wasn't thinking it would be that bad until she told me that. What do you all think? Do I need to get there at the crack of dawn and wait in line, or can I just show up that morning? And do I get two days or one? Ahhhhh!!

Okay, time for work. <.sigh> I hope it's another good day. And Karey, I'm still waiting for that detailed account of last week's concert!

Posted by kate at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow am I tired. Yesterday I worked, and it was actually my best day. I was a filler at the counter the whole time, and mostly female college students were working, so we had a lot of fun. The restaurant was dead, so we were all singing and dancing behind the counter. It was entertaining to us, even if it wasn't to anyone else. Heehee. Then I got home, and Gina was here, so Gina, Carolyn, Amy and I met Joaquin, Marcus and Jeremy at our (meaning the one we went to EVERY Tuesday on my last program) bowling alley. We bowled two games, I sucked royally, and then we karaoked! I had never done that before, so that was a LOT of fun. Carolyn and I sang Bye Bye Bye (extremely badly), and then C, Tonya and I did Goodbye Earl (slightly less badly, I think <.g>). It was a hoot and a half.

Today, Heather, Gina and I went to MGM to play. Good times were had by all. We road Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror twice, and then did Star Tours and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire: Play It before Heather had to leave, and then Gina and I proceeded to ride Tower six more times. In a row. I think the last time was once too many. Lol. We tried to make a different face for the picture each time, and got pretty goofy by the end. I hope we gave someone a chuckle. And then the Old Navy Outlet had tank tops for $4! Score!!

Posted by kate at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)