Escape from the Disney Bubble!
Once again it's been a bit of a busy week over in Florida, so no time for some good updates! I'm sure you're all dying for some reading material now Harry Potter has been and gone (HOW good?! And I managed to read it by yesterday afternoon, despite evil work getting in the way of usual one-day marathon, so I was quite pleased. Was expecting it to take a week or so to find some time to finish it off, which would be so wrong and there's no way you can avoid spoilers for that long!)... So here you go:
Tuesday: Evil 3:30- 2 shift at work. Even worse- they put me in Bird (men's) doing stock. Men's is the most boring place to work in the entire shop, because you get very few Brazilian tour groups/ kids in there so it stays tidy. Plus it's menswear, so there's nothing interesting to look at. Even better, I was working with someone who was definitely not Disney Happy! At one point I was folding, and had the t-shirts folded the same way as they were on the display- I hadn't completely finished yet and was talking to some guests, when she came up behind, picked up the t-shirts, dumped them in the folding box and was like 'That's NOT how you fold. I'm going to have to teach you how to fold' and then walked off again, to which the guests were just like 'errrrm, nice!'. They then asked her a question, which she gave a really blunt, rude reply to, and later heard her go 'right, I'll teach you how to fold', to which one half of the couple said, quite loudly, said "She's so MEAN! She scares me!" To which we shared a half smile, and the woman looked less than impressed. She continued to be a bitch for most of the rest of the evening, but then right at the end we were in the lift and she was like 'you did a good job today'... so at least she KNEW she was being a cow. But still... Anyway, luckily I got pulled to princess for the end of the evening as they kept pulling people from stock for register which left Zone 3 a tip, so a) I got to escape The Bitch, and b) I had something to do as princess was like a bombsite! Felt quite bad though as I left the guy I was working with (and thus laughing about The Bitch with, as there's not a lot else you could do!) alone with Her, but what can you do... Oh well, at least people like that are few and far between at the shop...
Anyway, finished at 2, got a taxi back with Amy J because we could not be arsed to wait until 2:40 for a bus, and flopped into bed.
Wednesday: 1-7 shift. Was on stock in GHS- woman's clothing- which I just loved (or not...). Was absolutely knackered today, it being my 9th day of working in a row, and kept feeling my knees bucking under me! So I was quite glad when people said they were coming home from MGM early because if they hadn't I know I'd've gone and over-exerted myself to extremes because I'm an idiot! Then the plan changed and Amy J, Charlotte C, Kate and myself decided to check out Downtown Orlando. Ended up in a slightly dodgy but fun bar- Makos (I think)- where the barstaff wore very little and people did shots off one another on the stage, and poured shots down people's throats/ encouraged them to drink off bars. A little bit like Coyote Ugly then really! So yeah, was good to get out of Disneyness for a while and just have a proper girly night out with muchos banter.
Thursday: BEACH! Set off for Cocoa Beach with Amy J, Charlottes C and I, and Stuart (from work. Sir-name McClean, by the way, Mike) at about 11ish, stopping off at Denny's on the way for some munch. Was a bit of a mission to find the beach we were supposed to be on as Jordan- in another car- seemed to be up and down the road like a yoyo. Eventually we just decided we wanted to get onto the beach, so parked and set up pitch, to which he told us he wasn't that far away and was in the direction of Denny's. So of course we walked down that way for a couple of miles (!) couldn't see them, gave up, and got a phonecall saying they were going to a bar (it was raining, but sod it, it's a beach... with a sea... we were going in!) so they'd meet us later...
The bar was where we parked the car, dammit :P
Still, muchos fun was had jumping in and out of the waves and just being kiddish again in the sea. And again, nothing to do with Disney. I think after eight days of work I just needed to get out of the Bubble, and a trip to the beach was the perfect solution really.
Oh, and did I mention they gave me the overnight shift off because of the stupid 15-day-week thing? Which gave me two (yes, TWO!) whole days off! Super excitement!
Anyway, after the beach I went home, showered, did the general shake all the sand off thing then went to see Harry Potter with Charlotte I, which I was actually pleasantly suprised by- fairly true to the book, and quite well done as well. Fell asleep at one point due to my somewhat disturbed night after Downtown Orlando (I blame red bull...), but still! Went home after and collapsed into bed!
Which brings me to Friday which meant... SHOPPING! At Florida Mall! Went with Amy D (flatmate) and her friend, Louise, and it turns out Amy and I are shopping soulmates- we have really similar taste in clothes, which meant we were attracted to all of the same shops, and we also both do the whole spending-ages-in-changing-rooms thing! Spent a fair amount of money ($200 or so, but that's including taxi and food), but when you convert that back to pounds and look at home much I bought (four tops, a really, really cute dress/top, Benefit makeup (it's the same in dollars as it is in pounds, and thus equates to the same price as Maybelline back home. How could I not?!?!) and a pair of jeans, I think that's actually rather impressive. But yes, was an excellent day. Got home, and then went to see Harry Potter again, as Charlotte T was meant to come on Thursday with other Charlotte and I, but because we were later back from the beach than we expected, she wouldn't have been able to make it because of the overnight shift, so I said I'd come again with her today as I didn't know if she had anyone else to go with. Maebh and Amy J also ended up coming along, but still the film is rather good, and I saw the bit I'd missed before, so all good!
Went to Wal*Mart afterwards, as Amy still had the car (God I wish we had a car here all the time... so convenient!), did my weekly shop then went home and slept!
Saturday... HP day! Got up early and went to wait in Downtown Disney for Virgin to open with many other people. Got my copy and it was straight back home on the bus to get started! Read for most of the day until worktime, where I continued to read in breaks because I'm cool. Work was 4:30-11:30 on registers, which wasn't too bad, except they felt the need to put me as line guide for GHN for two hours, when there were no lines to guide, so I spent my time telling people that yes, you can buy ponchos at all the tills. I mean reigsters. Nobody seems to understand tills, dammit, and it's the one word I haven't gotten myself saying automatically yet. That and I still say [x] past the hour, which people eventually get but not without some thought. Ghey. Still, went reasonably quickly so ho hum.
Sunday: Read some HP, went to Cici's for lunch with Heather and Charlotte T, which is a pizza/pasta/salad/dessert buffet (really nice food as well- prefer it to pizza hut's buffet anyway) for, like $6 (plus CM discount, woop!). Came home, finished off HP by the pool, then went to work for a lovely 6:30-12:30 shift which was OK, but seemed to drag a little. Had a mile long line of a Brazilian tour group though- it actually took me about an hour to get through them all, which makes time go quicker, but it also makes you exhausted as they don't understand English, chop and change their minds about what they want at the register, don't understand that you have to be the cardholder to use a credit card (I'm going by the book, ta!), that there's a line, that it's not particularly practical for six people to take up a fairly small counter at once, that it's really not helpful to sit in the middle of a walkway, and even less so to leave you food/drink/unwanted products all over the floor, etc, etc. Anyone who's worked in a customer service position in Disney will understand :P Basically, I'm slightly prejudiced against Brazilian tour groups now! Disney must practically live off them, though, they buy so much! Anyway, got out at 12:30 and because it's a Sunday, so all the lucky free people get to go to House of Blues, there was a bus waiting when I got out so it was to home and then bed.
Monday: Said I'd go with Charlotte T to cash cheques at Disney Uni (really needed to do that, I had $330-odd sitting around in cheques). Such a weird/cool banking system- the cashier talks to you through a tv screen rather than just through a plain old piece of glass. And my stupidty has reared it's ugly head- he asked me to put a thumbprint on each of my cheques to verify my identity. Thinking it was just a special piece of paper, I pressed my thumb down on each of them and was about to send them when Charlotte pointed out the inkpad beside me... Classic Blonde Moment! Still I got my money, and promptly spent it on a College Programme hoody in Company D (yeah, I know I'm not technically on the college programme, but the international programme merchandise was crap and the hoody is so soft and fluffy. I'm wearing it now seeing as our apartment for some reason was on the coldest AC setting which is coooold. And yesterday for some reason it was on the highest- someone in this flat has weird body temperature!
So, work 7-2 tonight, which could be worse (could be better), and again tomorrow. Going to Epcot tomorrow for a few hours which should be cool. Not sure about the rest of the week, apart from that Thursday= social security (ie 4-6 hours on a bus... can't wait!... but we're leaving at around 8, so hopefully will be back at a reasonable hour ready for me to utilise my own day off that week!). Off to the pool in a bit, so until next time I shall leave you with... More photos!
Hanging out at Vista Way pool- Laura's last night
Rainforest Café
Charlotte and Heather waiting for food!
Maebh and Rachel
Volcano!! (We had two of these between five of us)
Charlotte and Volcano love
The remains!
Disney dreams come true parade at Magic Kingdom!
Before going out on the town
Taxi photos!
Beach!
Hmmm...
Need to steal Charlotte's camera to get more photos, my supplies are depleted!
Anyway, that's how for now...
Tuesday: Evil 3:30- 2 shift at work. Even worse- they put me in Bird (men's) doing stock. Men's is the most boring place to work in the entire shop, because you get very few Brazilian tour groups/ kids in there so it stays tidy. Plus it's menswear, so there's nothing interesting to look at. Even better, I was working with someone who was definitely not Disney Happy! At one point I was folding, and had the t-shirts folded the same way as they were on the display- I hadn't completely finished yet and was talking to some guests, when she came up behind, picked up the t-shirts, dumped them in the folding box and was like 'That's NOT how you fold. I'm going to have to teach you how to fold' and then walked off again, to which the guests were just like 'errrrm, nice!'. They then asked her a question, which she gave a really blunt, rude reply to, and later heard her go 'right, I'll teach you how to fold', to which one half of the couple said, quite loudly, said "She's so MEAN! She scares me!" To which we shared a half smile, and the woman looked less than impressed. She continued to be a bitch for most of the rest of the evening, but then right at the end we were in the lift and she was like 'you did a good job today'... so at least she KNEW she was being a cow. But still... Anyway, luckily I got pulled to princess for the end of the evening as they kept pulling people from stock for register which left Zone 3 a tip, so a) I got to escape The Bitch, and b) I had something to do as princess was like a bombsite! Felt quite bad though as I left the guy I was working with (and thus laughing about The Bitch with, as there's not a lot else you could do!) alone with Her, but what can you do... Oh well, at least people like that are few and far between at the shop...
Anyway, finished at 2, got a taxi back with Amy J because we could not be arsed to wait until 2:40 for a bus, and flopped into bed.
Wednesday: 1-7 shift. Was on stock in GHS- woman's clothing- which I just loved (or not...). Was absolutely knackered today, it being my 9th day of working in a row, and kept feeling my knees bucking under me! So I was quite glad when people said they were coming home from MGM early because if they hadn't I know I'd've gone and over-exerted myself to extremes because I'm an idiot! Then the plan changed and Amy J, Charlotte C, Kate and myself decided to check out Downtown Orlando. Ended up in a slightly dodgy but fun bar- Makos (I think)- where the barstaff wore very little and people did shots off one another on the stage, and poured shots down people's throats/ encouraged them to drink off bars. A little bit like Coyote Ugly then really! So yeah, was good to get out of Disneyness for a while and just have a proper girly night out with muchos banter.
Thursday: BEACH! Set off for Cocoa Beach with Amy J, Charlottes C and I, and Stuart (from work. Sir-name McClean, by the way, Mike) at about 11ish, stopping off at Denny's on the way for some munch. Was a bit of a mission to find the beach we were supposed to be on as Jordan- in another car- seemed to be up and down the road like a yoyo. Eventually we just decided we wanted to get onto the beach, so parked and set up pitch, to which he told us he wasn't that far away and was in the direction of Denny's. So of course we walked down that way for a couple of miles (!) couldn't see them, gave up, and got a phonecall saying they were going to a bar (it was raining, but sod it, it's a beach... with a sea... we were going in!) so they'd meet us later...
The bar was where we parked the car, dammit :P
Still, muchos fun was had jumping in and out of the waves and just being kiddish again in the sea. And again, nothing to do with Disney. I think after eight days of work I just needed to get out of the Bubble, and a trip to the beach was the perfect solution really.
Oh, and did I mention they gave me the overnight shift off because of the stupid 15-day-week thing? Which gave me two (yes, TWO!) whole days off! Super excitement!
Anyway, after the beach I went home, showered, did the general shake all the sand off thing then went to see Harry Potter with Charlotte I, which I was actually pleasantly suprised by- fairly true to the book, and quite well done as well. Fell asleep at one point due to my somewhat disturbed night after Downtown Orlando (I blame red bull...), but still! Went home after and collapsed into bed!
Which brings me to Friday which meant... SHOPPING! At Florida Mall! Went with Amy D (flatmate) and her friend, Louise, and it turns out Amy and I are shopping soulmates- we have really similar taste in clothes, which meant we were attracted to all of the same shops, and we also both do the whole spending-ages-in-changing-rooms thing! Spent a fair amount of money ($200 or so, but that's including taxi and food), but when you convert that back to pounds and look at home much I bought (four tops, a really, really cute dress/top, Benefit makeup (it's the same in dollars as it is in pounds, and thus equates to the same price as Maybelline back home. How could I not?!?!) and a pair of jeans, I think that's actually rather impressive. But yes, was an excellent day. Got home, and then went to see Harry Potter again, as Charlotte T was meant to come on Thursday with other Charlotte and I, but because we were later back from the beach than we expected, she wouldn't have been able to make it because of the overnight shift, so I said I'd come again with her today as I didn't know if she had anyone else to go with. Maebh and Amy J also ended up coming along, but still the film is rather good, and I saw the bit I'd missed before, so all good!
Went to Wal*Mart afterwards, as Amy still had the car (God I wish we had a car here all the time... so convenient!), did my weekly shop then went home and slept!
Saturday... HP day! Got up early and went to wait in Downtown Disney for Virgin to open with many other people. Got my copy and it was straight back home on the bus to get started! Read for most of the day until worktime, where I continued to read in breaks because I'm cool. Work was 4:30-11:30 on registers, which wasn't too bad, except they felt the need to put me as line guide for GHN for two hours, when there were no lines to guide, so I spent my time telling people that yes, you can buy ponchos at all the tills. I mean reigsters. Nobody seems to understand tills, dammit, and it's the one word I haven't gotten myself saying automatically yet. That and I still say [x] past the hour, which people eventually get but not without some thought. Ghey. Still, went reasonably quickly so ho hum.
Sunday: Read some HP, went to Cici's for lunch with Heather and Charlotte T, which is a pizza/pasta/salad/dessert buffet (really nice food as well- prefer it to pizza hut's buffet anyway) for, like $6 (plus CM discount, woop!). Came home, finished off HP by the pool, then went to work for a lovely 6:30-12:30 shift which was OK, but seemed to drag a little. Had a mile long line of a Brazilian tour group though- it actually took me about an hour to get through them all, which makes time go quicker, but it also makes you exhausted as they don't understand English, chop and change their minds about what they want at the register, don't understand that you have to be the cardholder to use a credit card (I'm going by the book, ta!), that there's a line, that it's not particularly practical for six people to take up a fairly small counter at once, that it's really not helpful to sit in the middle of a walkway, and even less so to leave you food/drink/unwanted products all over the floor, etc, etc. Anyone who's worked in a customer service position in Disney will understand :P Basically, I'm slightly prejudiced against Brazilian tour groups now! Disney must practically live off them, though, they buy so much! Anyway, got out at 12:30 and because it's a Sunday, so all the lucky free people get to go to House of Blues, there was a bus waiting when I got out so it was to home and then bed.
Monday: Said I'd go with Charlotte T to cash cheques at Disney Uni (really needed to do that, I had $330-odd sitting around in cheques). Such a weird/cool banking system- the cashier talks to you through a tv screen rather than just through a plain old piece of glass. And my stupidty has reared it's ugly head- he asked me to put a thumbprint on each of my cheques to verify my identity. Thinking it was just a special piece of paper, I pressed my thumb down on each of them and was about to send them when Charlotte pointed out the inkpad beside me... Classic Blonde Moment! Still I got my money, and promptly spent it on a College Programme hoody in Company D (yeah, I know I'm not technically on the college programme, but the international programme merchandise was crap and the hoody is so soft and fluffy. I'm wearing it now seeing as our apartment for some reason was on the coldest AC setting which is coooold. And yesterday for some reason it was on the highest- someone in this flat has weird body temperature!
So, work 7-2 tonight, which could be worse (could be better), and again tomorrow. Going to Epcot tomorrow for a few hours which should be cool. Not sure about the rest of the week, apart from that Thursday= social security (ie 4-6 hours on a bus... can't wait!... but we're leaving at around 8, so hopefully will be back at a reasonable hour ready for me to utilise my own day off that week!). Off to the pool in a bit, so until next time I shall leave you with... More photos!
Hanging out at Vista Way pool- Laura's last night
Rainforest Café
Charlotte and Heather waiting for food!
Maebh and Rachel
Volcano!! (We had two of these between five of us)
Charlotte and Volcano love
The remains!
Disney dreams come true parade at Magic Kingdom!
Before going out on the town
Taxi photos!
Beach!
Hmmm...
Need to steal Charlotte's camera to get more photos, my supplies are depleted!
Anyway, that's how for now...