Previously posted elsewhere, but just now making it to LJ because I've been on dialup (or worse)
CP Update One
Alive and sorta kinda well in Sandusky, Ohio. Internet is practically non-existent. The much-hyped wifi in the housing units is almost impossible to connect to, so I'm using dial-up. Yes, it still exists!
Here's a quick rundown of the highlights of the trip, the bad stuff about being here, and the good things here.
The Trip
The drive up here was long and arduous, especially after the rain delay, but we (Erin, the car, and myself) all made it through just fine. Along the way, we took a little break to wander along the Mississippi in Memphis, drive past Graceland (who knew it was in the ghetto??), eat at White Castle, and drool over 'Vettes in the lobby of the Corvette Museum ($16 for the two of us to actually get into the exhibit area was more than we wanted to pay at the time, but we're going back when we get the chance). There were also many interesting and amusing road signs, billboards, tourist traps, and town names along the way.
The Bad
The first day at CP was hellish. The check-in process never goes smoothly, but in this case I also temporarily lost my ID (which is like gold here - it's your ticket into the park both on and off duty, your pass to get into the housing units, and your time card) which necessitated even more running in circles than we already had to do. Secondly, we found out that the housing unit we were wanting to get into doesn't open for at least another week and that our second choice for housing was full. We ended up in the Commons dorms. With a roommate. Three women in a room that I estimate to be about 12X15, with one dresser, a built in desk, a twin and two bunked twins, and two lockers. The lockers are about 5 1/2 ft tall and 3 ft wide and are supposed to serve as both closet and safe. And there are only two of them for three room occupants. WTH? Not the best idea there. Erin and I are actually looking forward to moving back into the scary, rundown dorms with no lockers or closet space. Then we come to the roommate herself. She's 20, and she apparently has never lived with anyone else in her life. I say this because she is completely inconsiderate. I work mornings, Erin works nights; we need sleep at different times. The roommate completely disregards our need for sleep by making as much noise as humanly possibly - talking on the phone, shifting stuff around endlessly, bringing loudmouthed guys into the room, watching crap on BET, or blasting rap. I keep telling myself there is only one week left to put up with this. Only a week. Maybe I can make it through that without turning homicidal. But those who know me well KNOW I don't do well without sleep. I can function okay, but I turn into uberbitch. Not good when you're working in a high customer contact position. Also, three people so far (including the roommate) have made the assumption that I am Erin's mother. I'm only five years older than her for mercy's sake!!!! Erin swears I don't look 50, and I swear she doesn't look 14, so I have no idea what that's about. People used to assume that she was my girlfriend. I can't quite decide which is worse. AAAND I've already got a (very very minor) sunburn.
The Good
The weather has been awesome. We had a couple of warm days (the locals thought it was hot at 85 with a cool breeze - ha!), but it's cooled off now. I think it got up to 75 today, but when I headed out to work around 9 this morning it was only about 55. Everyone else was all bundled up in their jackets, but I thought it felt awesome. Yesterday, I spent a few hours on the boardwalk and the beach, alternating between reading a great book and looking out on Lake Erie. Erie may be a lake, but it looks like an ocean - you can't see shoreline in any direction (unless you turn your back to the ocean or look down between your own feet, that is). It's interesting to me to look out over all that water and think 'somewhere on the other side of that is Canada'. Maybe I'll get to see what's on the other side. That'd be cool. Also, I will soon be doing a photo safari of the park, the beach, and the hotel (and other stuff, I'm sure). And as soon as the weather is warm enough, I'll be hanging out in Soak City (CP's water park). And once Erin and I get moved into Gold, we'll be a few minutes walk from: our jobs, the beach, the park, the employee cafeteria (cheap, and with healthier than poptarts, Easy Mac, and ramen), a sushi restaurant (for when we have $$ again), and Starbucks coffee. : ) Most of my supervisors and coworkers seem to be pretty awesome (only one possible exception so far). And the employee rec center is kind of cool, as long as you're not actually expecting to use the wifi connection (good music, food and drink available, pingpong and pool tables).
For those who don't know, getting to ride rollercoasters for free is not a perk of this job as far as I'm concerned. I don't ride 'em. I don't ride most rides, actually. Soak City is a big plus though, and there are a few shows I wanna catch in the park, too. But being able to actually wander right under coasters and other rides is hellacool, and I can't wait to take lots of pictures : )
I think that's about it for now.
CP Update Two
So it's been two weeks now since we got to Cedar Point. Erin and I both really like our jobs for the most part, but I'm not getting nearly enough hours. Last week I worked 16 hours, and I'll be surprised if I make 25 hours this week. Erin, on the other hand, is working a set 48 hours a week. Feast or famine around here.
Neither Erin nor I have really made it into the park yet (her to ride, me to take pictures and video). Maybe soon.
On Saturday, we moved from the Commons dorm complex (which one guy I met swears was modelled after Auschwitz) into the Gold dorms. Even though Gold are way older with less amenities (like insulation!), Erin and I are both much happier now. We don't have the noise issues we had at Commons, we don't have to worry about another roommate, we have access to Wifi (sometimes), and we're way closer to work.
Besides not having enough hours at work (and missing everyone back home), my only real complaints right now are 1) having to live off of non-refrigerated foods like Ramen and peanut butter (with no jelly), which is a little difficult sometimes and 2) the weather is ridiculous right now - the high today is supposed to be 61! In June! The poor lifeguards at Soak City are getting less hours than I am because no one's crazy enough to go to a waterpark in the cold. It might make it back up into the 70s by the weekend, but I'm not holding my breath (or putting away my sweatshirts).
I guess that's it for now. We don't have anything really exciting to report, since we haven't really done anything. Maybe soon.
Alive and sorta kinda well in Sandusky, Ohio. Internet is practically non-existent. The much-hyped wifi in the housing units is almost impossible to connect to, so I'm using dial-up. Yes, it still exists!
Here's a quick rundown of the highlights of the trip, the bad stuff about being here, and the good things here.
The Trip
The drive up here was long and arduous, especially after the rain delay, but we (Erin, the car, and myself) all made it through just fine. Along the way, we took a little break to wander along the Mississippi in Memphis, drive past Graceland (who knew it was in the ghetto??), eat at White Castle, and drool over 'Vettes in the lobby of the Corvette Museum ($16 for the two of us to actually get into the exhibit area was more than we wanted to pay at the time, but we're going back when we get the chance). There were also many interesting and amusing road signs, billboards, tourist traps, and town names along the way.
The Bad
The first day at CP was hellish. The check-in process never goes smoothly, but in this case I also temporarily lost my ID (which is like gold here - it's your ticket into the park both on and off duty, your pass to get into the housing units, and your time card) which necessitated even more running in circles than we already had to do. Secondly, we found out that the housing unit we were wanting to get into doesn't open for at least another week and that our second choice for housing was full. We ended up in the Commons dorms. With a roommate. Three women in a room that I estimate to be about 12X15, with one dresser, a built in desk, a twin and two bunked twins, and two lockers. The lockers are about 5 1/2 ft tall and 3 ft wide and are supposed to serve as both closet and safe. And there are only two of them for three room occupants. WTH? Not the best idea there. Erin and I are actually looking forward to moving back into the scary, rundown dorms with no lockers or closet space. Then we come to the roommate herself. She's 20, and she apparently has never lived with anyone else in her life. I say this because she is completely inconsiderate. I work mornings, Erin works nights; we need sleep at different times. The roommate completely disregards our need for sleep by making as much noise as humanly possibly - talking on the phone, shifting stuff around endlessly, bringing loudmouthed guys into the room, watching crap on BET, or blasting rap. I keep telling myself there is only one week left to put up with this. Only a week. Maybe I can make it through that without turning homicidal. But those who know me well KNOW I don't do well without sleep. I can function okay, but I turn into uberbitch. Not good when you're working in a high customer contact position. Also, three people so far (including the roommate) have made the assumption that I am Erin's mother. I'm only five years older than her for mercy's sake!!!! Erin swears I don't look 50, and I swear she doesn't look 14, so I have no idea what that's about. People used to assume that she was my girlfriend. I can't quite decide which is worse. AAAND I've already got a (very very minor) sunburn.
The Good
The weather has been awesome. We had a couple of warm days (the locals thought it was hot at 85 with a cool breeze - ha!), but it's cooled off now. I think it got up to 75 today, but when I headed out to work around 9 this morning it was only about 55. Everyone else was all bundled up in their jackets, but I thought it felt awesome. Yesterday, I spent a few hours on the boardwalk and the beach, alternating between reading a great book and looking out on Lake Erie. Erie may be a lake, but it looks like an ocean - you can't see shoreline in any direction (unless you turn your back to the ocean or look down between your own feet, that is). It's interesting to me to look out over all that water and think 'somewhere on the other side of that is Canada'. Maybe I'll get to see what's on the other side. That'd be cool. Also, I will soon be doing a photo safari of the park, the beach, and the hotel (and other stuff, I'm sure). And as soon as the weather is warm enough, I'll be hanging out in Soak City (CP's water park). And once Erin and I get moved into Gold, we'll be a few minutes walk from: our jobs, the beach, the park, the employee cafeteria (cheap, and with healthier than poptarts, Easy Mac, and ramen), a sushi restaurant (for when we have $$ again), and Starbucks coffee. : ) Most of my supervisors and coworkers seem to be pretty awesome (only one possible exception so far). And the employee rec center is kind of cool, as long as you're not actually expecting to use the wifi connection (good music, food and drink available, pingpong and pool tables).
For those who don't know, getting to ride rollercoasters for free is not a perk of this job as far as I'm concerned. I don't ride 'em. I don't ride most rides, actually. Soak City is a big plus though, and there are a few shows I wanna catch in the park, too. But being able to actually wander right under coasters and other rides is hellacool, and I can't wait to take lots of pictures : )
I think that's about it for now.
CP Update Two
So it's been two weeks now since we got to Cedar Point. Erin and I both really like our jobs for the most part, but I'm not getting nearly enough hours. Last week I worked 16 hours, and I'll be surprised if I make 25 hours this week. Erin, on the other hand, is working a set 48 hours a week. Feast or famine around here.
Neither Erin nor I have really made it into the park yet (her to ride, me to take pictures and video). Maybe soon.
On Saturday, we moved from the Commons dorm complex (which one guy I met swears was modelled after Auschwitz) into the Gold dorms. Even though Gold are way older with less amenities (like insulation!), Erin and I are both much happier now. We don't have the noise issues we had at Commons, we don't have to worry about another roommate, we have access to Wifi (sometimes), and we're way closer to work.
Besides not having enough hours at work (and missing everyone back home), my only real complaints right now are 1) having to live off of non-refrigerated foods like Ramen and peanut butter (with no jelly), which is a little difficult sometimes and 2) the weather is ridiculous right now - the high today is supposed to be 61! In June! The poor lifeguards at Soak City are getting less hours than I am because no one's crazy enough to go to a waterpark in the cold. It might make it back up into the 70s by the weekend, but I'm not holding my breath (or putting away my sweatshirts).
I guess that's it for now. We don't have anything really exciting to report, since we haven't really done anything. Maybe soon.