a post! awesome

Well, it's been almost a month since the conclusion of my college program. I was super worried, as all my followers would know (all six of them) about finding a new job to replace mine at the Contemporary. I had 2 job interviews but no call backs with those and I applied to many many other hotels as well but nothing. I managed to talk to a manager @ the Contemporary to be statused as ''seasonal'' for the time being. The stressful part about being seasonal is that there is no guarantee for any hours. This was extremely scary to me, thinking about how I could possibly only work one or two days a week. Lucky for me it's been going really well, I've been putting in MORE hours as seasonal than I was as an intern which is good. My managers seem to understand that me and Chris, though we are only seasonal, are willing to do whatever it takes to remain active with the company and know we are willing to work any amount of hours we are offered. Last week I put in 57 hours and Chris put in 54 so we made out pretty well. For right now, I am probably going to remain at the Contemporary until I figure out what I want to do. I think I'd like to stay on as a full timer for now, at least until I finish school and then I can decide. Lucky for me, I have time to make any more life-altering decisions.

Other than that, not a whole lot is going on. Me and Chris are doing well...what else would you expect, we're awesome. Things are a little crazy on the home front back in good ol' Michigan but I won't get into that. I'm missing everyone back home and thinking about popping in for a visit next month if I can manage it.

Well that's all the updating I have for now...I'll write again momentarily.

Well, it's all over.

From the title you can pretty much guess what this entry is about. Yesterday at 11AM I officially finished my Disney College Program for the spring 2009. How sad :( My last day of work (as a CP) was on Wednesday. Knowing that I am staying in Florida and staying with Disney (for the time being anyway) made my last day way less sad than it would have been if i was leaving to go back home, but what was most sad was a couple of my friends leaving to go back home to their own ..countries. They will be greatly missed.

Anyway, I got switched over to being a seasonal employee which means I have to work at least 2 days a month to stay on board. Thats easy. While I'm in the process of finding a new full time job I can get scheduled and pick up shifts which isn't the best because there's no guarantee of any hours, but it's better than not having ANY money. Next week I picked up two shifts that were approved and I picked up a third shift but it hasn't appeared on my schedule online yet so once that is on there i'll have a total of 25 hours. Not alot considering I am used to the usual 40 hour work week but for picking up all these shifts it's not really bad.

Anyway, before I close up this blog I'd like to give my final thoughts on the Disney College Program, since that is what this blog is all about.

Going in to this experience I expected a lot of things. I expected that I would come to Disney and have the most unforgettable experience. I expected to make tons of friends from all over the world and absolutely love everything about my job and I also expected that in five months I'd come back home and go back to living my life the way it was before...because I'll admit my life was pretty darn good. I had an amazing family and the greatest friends ever and I truly loved everything about my job and school. Well my experience differed a little from what I was expecting. I wound up not really making that many friends; sure I enjoyed my co-workers and we had a couple get togethers at my place but they aren't my best friends forever. I had expected to have great room mates but I wound up having some of the shittiest room mates ever. I fell in love. I met the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I've started my life with him already. I moved to Florida with no looking back at my life in Michigan. I came down here for an internship, to learn a little about myself and about life and came down only to go back to say ''Well, that was fun, but it's time to get back to what I was in the middle of doing before''. Instead my whole life changed completely.

For those who are thinking about doing the Disney College Program, i'd say it's a wonderful opportunity to learn. You learn about yourself and about the world. I know I sure did. I learned that women are harder to live with than men. I learned that no matter how much you try to go out of your way for someone it's never enough. I learned that the less money someone spends on a vacation the more they expect out of you. I learned if you want to go camping don't come to Disney World. About myself, I learned that I can do things on my own. I am self sufficient. I am responsible (well, not in all aspects but I do try). And with that, as a hospitality student and worker in the industry, I have become stronger and more knowledgable. I can now deal with the most difficult of guests, try to assist with ridiculous commands (yes, commands) and not take things personally when I'm being shouted at for absurd things.

Well, that about wraps up this entry. I will probably continue to use this blog even though I created it strictly for the college program only; quite obviously I wrote about a lot more than just that and I enjoy writing entries every now and then. So do expect me to continue writing. Thanks for reading..have a magical day.

time to update....

Alright so in 9 days my college program will be over. I CANT BELIEVE IT. I am FREAKING THE FUCK OUT RIGHT NOW! Why? Because I don't even have a job yet.

Today I had a job interview with the Hilton/Waldorf Astoria. VERY exciting. The Waldorf Astoria will be the first other than the one that is in New York, so how cool is that? I had an interview for front desk, I somehow managed to wing that one out of nowhere. My original interview was for Laundry Supervisor and Houseperson but they felt I was more qualified for front desk so I interviewed with like THREE people. I am not sure how to feel about it to be honest. I want to say that it went really well, because I thought it did. The interview itself was awesome, I think I did good with that part. They seemed to be impressed with my Disney experience as well as my accomplishments at the Marriott. However the last guy who i talked to from the Hilton part told me that for the front desk they are mostly hiring people who have experience with Hilton, bringing them in as supervisors and then later hiring more people to work. He said they'll be in touch with me, which doesn't ever mean something good. ugh. Even if I was hired, they won't be starting the training process until September which means I would be out of a job for like a month anyway. Stressful, is it not?

The only thing keeping me SANE right now is the fact that I have a job interview TOMORROW for Embassy Suites-Lake buena vista. The position is front desk and the hotel looks pretty decent. It's actually a PART of Hilton which is interesting..i was not aware until i saw it on the website today. So we'll see how the interview goes. I'm feeling confident. I was really nervous about today's interview because the hotel isn't open yet so they had interviews for thousands of people going on. very very intimidating i must say. this one sounds like a one on one thing so I'm a little bit more at ease! I am really really REALLY hoping she tells me tomorrow whether or not i will be hired. I'd love for her to say that I'm hired and that I can start next Thursday lol. That would be perfect. I'd be SO relieved. I can't remember exactly but i'm surely hoping that this position was full time. i need the money so bad. i'm so strapped right now, i can't afford ANTYHING. I feel like i work quite a few hours but i'm barely scraping by making rent and my car payments and insurance plus other living expenses such as gas and groceries. i guess thats life for ya. i really wish marriott would have called me though. i applied at like seven of them. I guess tomorrow will be a huge deciding factor if I want to go ahead and contact a few of those hotels about setting up a job interview. just hoping things go well tomorrow so i cant stop worrying about it!!!!!!!

anyway thats all i wanted to say for right now, I'll update this later with my news on my job interview(s) and also to give my final thoughts on my experience with the Disney College Program.

2 updates in one month, wow!

So I felt like updating. Shoot me.

A lot has been going on lately but nothing surprising at all. Friday me and Chris moved into our new apartment. We technically didn't live here til Saturday but we began to move things in on Friday night, which I'm really glad about because during the day on Saturday it was SO hot, I can't even imagine trying to move everything up three flights of stairs in that heat. It took us a couple days to get everything unpacked and get our furniture built and so on but at this point things are starting to look up. The apartment is about as good as its gonna get for the time being. We're just waiting on our new bedding and thats it, though eventually we want to paint and decorate more because the walls feel so bare.

Anyway, other than that, not much is new. I LOVE living here with Chris. It's my first time living with a guy other than my dad so it's a little like...I don't really know what to expect. But things are going so well, our relationship is even better than before and things are just great. it's so nice having someone that I love to come home to at night after a long day of work, and I love having someone to take care of.

So next week....another week at the lovely fort wilderness campground. NOT looking forward to it at all!!!! I'm SO upset that I'm still there. I really really want to go back to the Contemporary. My program is almost over, i only have four weeks left and i'm not going to be able to see my friends there much longer. Next week we're ALL deployed so even if i WAS there I wouldn't be able to see anyone I know. I've picked up a few shifts in the last few weeks that I haven't been working there and everyone is new and I don't know anyone!!! It's sooo weird, people don't even know who i am! i hate it!! i really miss the way things used to be before we hired like 40 new people for the front desk and before we were all being deployed all over the place.

sigh. the courtyard still hasn't called me about a job. kind of upset about this, I really wish I knew if they'd call me for an interview or not so I can apply at other places. but i really want THAT job because its full time and a set schedule and that is so rare and ideal for someone in my situation. i don't see why they wouldn't give me an interview, I have adaquet experience and I work for DISNEY! helloooo. so we'll see. if they don't call this week I'm going to send out a million resumes to all the hotels in the area because in four weeks I am jobless. fuck!

alrighty well i'm out for now, thanks for reading and I'll write later!

Seven more days til Freedom

So what's been going on for the last month or so since I have written? Well, not a whole lot to be honest. I can't believe how fast time is flying, it's crazy. Things aren't really going anywhere with me right now but at the same time, everything is changing.

So it's the first week of July. Last month me and Chris leased an apartment in Orlando at this place called Camden at World Gateway. It's a VERY nice apartment and with our Disney discount we got it for pretty cheap compared to what the normal rates are for that particular model. I really love it. It is in a nice location, gated community, has vaulted ceilings, burber carpeting, tons of storage space, a screened in balcony facing the woods and a like-new kitchen with black appliances. it's like a dream. It has felt like a lifetime that we had to wait to move in, but we are finally moving in there in seven days. I can't even believe it's almost here. I haven't started packing yet but I plan to do that sometime...I'll probably start on Sunday. I was going to yesterday before work, but I got lazy, and I was going to today after work, but I got home later than expected. So it's going to have to wait. Most of it is last minute stuff, anyway. The important stuff is taken care of, such as the utlities and internet and cable and everything. I owe that all to Chris, he did everything and I feel bad but I know that he is more than willing to step it up and be the man in this relationship and I also trust him more than I trust myself to do it. If I were living alone, it wouldn't be an issue but i'd just rather him deal with that than me. We also purchased all of our furniture and have spent the last six weeks arguing over bedding that we hate. It took three times to find an apartment we love though, go figure.

Work is work. I've spent almost every single day since I last wrote in my blog NOT working at the Contemporary. It's terrible. They started deployment with some of the other interns who started around the same time as me...they deploy everyone according to seniority. We'd all started approximately five months prior to. Two of my co-workers were sent off to the Grand Floridian, Chris was sent over to Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground (and i laughed hysterically for awhile after that), and I was sent over to Wilderness Lodge (which I was excited for). Turns out we all hated it and wanted nothing more than to go back home to the Contemporary. Wilderness Lodge wasn't BAD, the guests were mostly nice and overall just not a bad experience but it wasn't the same as being with my friends and people I know so well. The costume is ugly too, not very comfortable and I looked like a freakin Native American Puritian. Disgusting. Week was half over, new schedule was coming out and I looked forward to seeing Contemporary back on my schedule. Not so much. we all got ANOTHER week of deployment...everyone's location remained the same except mine, I was sent over to Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground with Chris. I was kind of excited, to be honest. I heard that it was really laid back there, nothing like the Contemporary where the guests are rude & stuck up and rich as hell. So I was excited for the relaxing atmostphere, filled to the tee with guests from all over the country looking to unwind and relax in the beauty that central Florida has to offer. I mean, really, the rich and obnoxious don't go to Disney World to camp, they go to the upper class resorts and spend a ton of money on a freakin' hotel room.

Anyway, long story short I've been deployed at Fort Wilderness for going on four weeks and I'm SICK of it. I HATE HATE HATE it there. The staff members are okay, I've come to like a lot of people that I work with, but what I really hate is the guests that I encounter. I think they are actually worse than my Contemporary folk. Most of the campers that come bring either a tent or some sort of RV or whatever (heck if i know the first thing about camping) and they come to Fort Wilderness a couple times a year, if not more, and mostly all of them have a VERY specific site that they MUST HAVE. MUST MUST MUST HAVE. And if they don't have it, or anything else on their stupid list, they throw a HISSY FIT.

Today, has been a terrible day. I went to work expecting to not have the greatest day, but I wasn't expecting to have the worst day of work since I got to Disney. Its the fourth of july weekend, so we all knew what was in store...a very busy day filled with very impatient people. well you would have thought it was Halloween Eve instead of Fourth of July Eve the way people were acting.
One couple in particular that had their kids with them. The Conrad family. Their kids had to of been humiliated the way their parents were talking to me, and later to a co-worker of mine. I don't recall which state they were from but the way they acted I'm sure they were from New Jersey. Things started out fine. I noticed in their reservation it stated that the guest had requested the site 418. I looked in the system but there was absolutely NOTHING available in that area, every single 400-site was occupied or there was a due in and I couldn't change it. It's always noted in a reservation if a guest had requested something and it usually always says ''not guaranteed'', like this particular reservation. So I got the keys and map for the guest and explained where their site was, which was 520. ''Wait, wait, wait a second!'' starts the wife, ''We have site 418!''. I told her that I saw the request in the computer but unfortunately requests are not guaranteed, we try to accomodate the requests best we can but it can be very difficult, especially on a holiday weekend when it's very busy. She didn't let up and claimed she called over and over again to confirm her site would be 418. Back and forth we went until she was practically in my face.
Even though I know there's no possible way they could have this, I ask very politely ''Do you have a printed confirmation that states this information?" The husband pulls out his confimration number. I said ''No, I do not need a reservation number, i have your reservation up here. What I want to know is, do you have printed confirmation stating that you are staying in 418?" The woman tells me to pull up her DECEMBER reservation and to look at it, supposedly it says that she is to be assigned 418 when she comes in on July 3rd. RIGHT. I wasn't going to bother looking at that because what would that DO?! haha!! I explained to them t hat we don't pre-assign the sites that far in advance, only the day of and sometimes the day before. what does the woman yell at me? "YES THEY DO!" as if she works here or something. So I said ''No, they don't.'' haha. She was getting really ticked off at me and she made it a point to say my name out loud as if to remember to tell a manager later that i was rude to her. Like I care. She was terrible. Both of them were *yelling* that this was unacceptable so I asked what other loops they'd be interested in. everything they named off to me was fully occupied. They either wanted the 400 loop or the 100 loop, which is not even in their category at all. I literally had to list off every room we had in both of those loops, and tell them the status of each and every site. I wish that I could describe in words the rudeness of these people. Telling me that what i was doing was unacceptable; that I fail at doing my job; that I don't make *it* happen for them EVER; why should we even bother asking what they want if we arent going to give it to them, etc etc. All I did was try to calmly explain how things work at the campground, and why they couldn't just TAKE a spot that was already occupied. The woman, with that whole black-girl attitude was yelling ''If I drive around this campground in the 400 loop, I KNOW i'm going to find empty sites, and here you are telling me theres NOTHING available, I KNOW I'm going to find sites that aren't taken''...it was like talking to myself trying to explain that just because theres nothing AT the site doesn't mean there isnt someone OCCUPYING it. As a last resort, I called the back office operations support team to MAKE SURE that there was nothing in either of the areas they wanted to be at. I was told no, nothing, and told these guests SORRY, tough luck. Just as these guests are peaking at their very worst a co-worker of mine is coming out to break me so I can go on my much deserved break. I told him the situation and basically told him there was nothing we could do, but the guests were yelling at me at the same time and they weren't going to leave without getting what they wanted. They actually said ''We pay all this money, we DESERVE THE BEST! WE DESERVE WHAT WE WANT!" what-ever. as if we're making them pay any more than the other guests are paying. they also told my coworker that they think the other guests are paying us more money so we'll give them the sites they want. haha. I couldn't take their ridiculous hassles anymore and left my coworker to finish dealing with them, and even he said they were ridiculous beyond belief.


I know that story is a little boring, but when it happened, it was terrible. I felt like i was treated with such disrespect, and all for doing my job. if it were that one guest, not a big deal, but that was my EVERY guest today. it gets old after guest #5. i just don't understand how its so hard for the guests to treat us at the front desk like we are people instead of robots. we're doing what we're trained to do, not only to benefit them but to benefit the entire resort as a whole. it's ridiculous that these people are too thick headed to see that, but I wish I was able to tell them all off because it really makes me mad. Its not like this is a first, I have days like this all the time, i'm constantly being bitched at or put down or insulted due to things that are beyond my control. I just don't understand the world today....people are so greety and materialistic. I'm so over Disney. I hate working for a company where people have such high standards and expect that we're going to kiss their ass constantly. it's so annoying. I miss the courtyard days like today. i miss working at a hotel that i love where the guests are friendly and treat us with respect and actually care about us as people. i can't wait to get back to a hotel like that again, where people see us as real people, not machines or slaves.

Speaking of which I applied for a job working at the courtyard by marriott in lake buena vista. it's front desk, full time, set schedule. i turned in my resume and filled out an online application so i'm hoping to hear back in a couple of days, if not i'll call them and see what i can do because i would LOVE to have this job. the location is good because it's right by my apartment and its for a company that i love. So..wish me luck with that.

Anyway i'm going to bring this to a close now, and i'll update more after we move into our apartment and after i find out more about the job situation! have a good one

It's my dad's birthday!

Oh happy day! It's May 28th, 2009 and my dad is now 57 years of age as of now. I can't believe how fast the days are FLYING by.

Anyway. Things are going well here in Florida. The last month has just been me working my tail end off and it's just ridiculous because I never get to see Chris due to our extremely opposite work schedules. It seems to be the permanent fix; I work mornings and he works evenings. We got to spend some time together last week, we flew to Detroit to visit my friends and family back home. He was nervous as one would be, meeting a ton of new people, especially my parents. My mom LOVED him. She absolutely adored him. I knew she'd like him so it's no big surprise to me. It was such a relief on both ends though, especially mine because everything just went so well the whole weekend. He seemed comfortable around my family and they seemed to feel the same way around him. All in all, it was awesome in that respect. It was also awesome to see my friends again, who I missed soo bad. It was really hard to think about leaving them behind, knowing there are some people I could never see again or not see for a very, very long time. What makes it so hard is that in Florida I don't really have any real friends yet...I did but a lot of them have already gone back home or we drifted away. I have my co-workers and they are great but it's not the same as having a big group of people that you can hang out with for hours and hours and just live the best nights of your life over again. Even when I do make friends here it won't be the same...we can't reminisce about the ''good ol days'' like I can with my friends at home. I know I have to get over it ...thats life...it happens...but overall it was wonderful being at home, being at a place I know so well and love. Such a change from being here, where everything is still so new and unfamiliar and the only things I can think of when I'm here is about work.

The best part about us going up there was retrieving my car and also a ton of items that I left at home when I moved here. We made excellent time getting back to Orlando from Detroit, I was very pleased with myself! and we didn't get lost AT ALL!! So now that i have my car here, my life is much easier I think. I can come and go as I please, I can run errands and not worry about how its going to take an hour and a half to get four items from Walgreens. I've been able to do the things i need to do.

Speaking of which, me and Chris have spoken more seriously about living together after we finish the college program. Even more recently, we've decided that we are going to go ahead and move in together, and even more recently than that we've decided that we aren't going to wait until August 14th to do it. We started looking the last couple of weeks online at apartments and we visited a couple different ones this week but it seems like everything is so far from work, or in a shitty neighborhood, or too expensive, etc. However we found one that we like and today after work i went up there to take a tour of the apartment and it was amazing! i liked it alot! so I think it's the one that we are going to go for. we just need to do a few things in order to lease it and thats it. we also recently started looking at furniture...ahh, so many expenses!!!! it's making me super nervous knowing that in the next six weeks i'm going to have to worry about my car payment, rent & utilities, groceries, gas money, furniture, etc etc....i only make 7.65 an hour!!!! i'm sure one day, when I'm making a good living, I'll look back on these days and wish I had it so easy again but really, BRING ME THE MONEY NAO! One day at a time I suppose. Anyway, I can't wait to live with Chris...I can't even imagine how great its going to be coming home late and night and curling up in bed with him...I'm so in love with this guy, more than I've ever been with anyone else and there's nothing I want more than to spend every night in his arms. We barely get to see each other often due to work schedules but at least those eight hours every night together would be the best eight hours of my every day.

Well other than that nothing is really new here...same ol same ol!!! i wish something would happen...it's soo dull here. ugh. ohh well it's been raining alot...other than that...thats it!!! Have a fabulous day and thanks for reading.

We're nowhere, and it's now

Well, today is the first of May. An exciting time of year back home because that means warm weather, spring time, flowers, birds, people start uncovering their pools, we see days where it reaches 77 degrees and you'd think people of Michigan have never seen a hot day before because people start turning on their sprinklers and running through them like they are five again. I love, love, love a Michigan May. This year, however, I will not be celebratiing my Cinco De Mayo in the Great Lakes State, I am in Florida, as I have been...and don't get me wrong, I love the hot weather. I love when it's steaming hot outside and I walk into an ice cold air conditioned building; the second the air hits my face I feel like this is where I belong. Love it. But I do miss the way the earth looks when spring emerges after a long, dreadful, cold, icy, bleak winter. it's like everything becomes alive..it reminds me of the scene in Plesantville when the world is slowly becoming full of color..you see the first flower turn red and it's the same way when winter finally makes it's escape for the season and spring comes and the flowers pop out overnight and the trees suddenly are born again with fresh leaves. It's absolutely stunning and I almost feel sorry for those who have lived down south for their whole lives and never experienced such beauty.


I officially extended my employment with Disney until August. For now that is all I know. I know that if I absolutely needed to, there is a possibility of staying until January but I don't want to. I will be still working at the Contemporary Resort which is good, i was slightly worried that i would be moved elsewhere. More importantly Chris (the boyfriend) was able to extend his employment as well. There were some major battles with his extension, but everything worked out in the end like I knew it would which only makes me more sure that we were meant to be together. sounds cheesy, I know, i know.

well basically that's all i have to say. my life is unfortunately not that exciting. haha. well, it's not boring either, but just no new updates for you. hopefully after michigan i'll have something to write about ...ta!