FREEDOM!! AKA Off Probation

Sideways, I know. But here's the certificate proving I'm off probation

So much has happened since I last wrote. Or so it seems. Good news: I'M OFF PROBATION!! I was getting a bit worried since it seemed like everyone else was getting their certificates before me. Oh well, I finally have it, which means I can now cross-train :) I have already put in 2 cross-training requests, and plan on putting in a third soon. I want to explore different restaurants and try different positions.

My parents came down near the end of April. It was really fun hanging out with them in the park for 2 days. While it was still an exhausting 2 days, I think we were able to do more than we would have if I hadn't visited the parks so much. Because I've been here for 4 months, I have a much better idea of what rides will be busy when. At least, much better than I would have before. I doubt we would have been able to do so much otherwise. Not only did we get to go on all the rides we wanted to (with the exception of the Matterhorn, which is still closed for refurbishments), but we watched World of Color, Fantasmic AND the firework show. We would've been able to watch The Magic, The Memories, and You, but we decided that we just wanted to go home. It was such a great weekend. Next visit will be from my grandparents and sister next week. Now if only I can get more people to visit....

This last Wednesday, I got 2 new roommates. I had five roommates at the beginning of the program. A week before the new roommates, 2 of them went back to China. I definitely miss them. My two new roommates are pretty cool though. Both of them have done the program before. I'm sure the summer will be awesome.

Speaking of summer. The weather is still warming up here. I'm so glad I work inside where the temperature doesn't seem to change. It's hard taking my breaks outside some days, because I step outside and am both blinded, and covered in sweat from the heat. Nights are still on the cool side, although there's been a few more nights that are just right. I must be getting used to some of this heat though, since Thursday I decided it was just a degree or two too hot. It was just right to sit around doing nothing, but a bit too warm to do a lot of activity. It was high 70s. Used to be that I would only say that for high 60s, low 70s. Maybe there is hope. Especially if I can find easier access to a beach.. Only one is accessible by bus, and that's a 2 hour ride one way.

I'm still hoping to stay after the program. I've been struggling with finding housing, but I have a few leads. Now I just need to find a time to do something. Every time that I've scheduled the time to work on finding an apartment, something seems to come up. I had hoped to play D&D this Wednesday, but if I haven't been able to do anything about the apartment situation after, I may have to postpone that, since apartment is definitely more important than D&D (or so people keep telling me).

For those of you who read my facebook status', you've probably noticed the post about me boycotting my birthday. That is currently up in the air. The Disneyland Resort is currently in the middle of something called grad nights. These are 2-3 nights a week, from May to June, where high school seniors can come into the park and stay until 3 in the morning. Select restaurants are open during these nights. My restaurant was scheduled to be open for 1 or 2 a week. However, the first week of grad nights, there were only 8 guests the entire night. As a result, grad nights were cancelled for this week. Assuming that stays the same next week, I won't be boycotting my birthday. Rumor is that they'll cancel the remaining grad nights, but I JUST got scheduled for another one... If they're not cancelled, I work 6:30 PM on the 24th, until 1 AM on the 25th. Then I go back in at 10:45. This means that, unless I figure out the free taxi thing, I have to walk home (don't worry, I'll have someone to walk with) 2 miles. Then I have to be at the bus stop by 9:30 at the latest. So much for sleep.

I guess that's about it for this week. I'm going to post 2 videos today. Thanks to a certain someone sending me the video the other day (you know who you are *cough* Peter *cough*), I've had this song stuck in my head for a while. The first video is from the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" the second is a cover by Amy Lee from the album "Nightmare Revisited", which I like even better.

Back from break

Picture of me while spending the day at Newport Beach with Peter

Things have definitely been extremely busy around here.

In honor of leap year, Disney decided to create "One More Disney Day". During non-break week days, the park is open from 10 AM to 8 PM. On February 29th, the park was open from 6 AM until 6 AM the next day. Well, they definitely didn't expect the attendance that they received. By around 9 or 10, they had to close the main entrance because they had already reached capacity. I worked 5:30 PM until 2 AM. Because the buses were done running by that point  I decided to stay in the park until closing. While I was exhausted afterward, it was still enjoyable (and very, very busy). Since I was off on the 1st, I decided to take a nap after getting home. Long story short, it took me about a week to finally remember what day it was and recover mentally. A week after that was the start of spring break season.

While it's still the middle of the spring break season, I'd say that spring break is pretty crazy. I have yet to have a proper weekend. First week of spring breaks (the same week that WSU was on spring break), I had a 6 day week, all days having at least 6 hours. Second week, last week, was another 6 day week, with all shifts at least 8 1/2 hours, half probably close to 12 hours. This week so far is just 5 8 1/2 hour days, but I had today off, and then I'm not off again until Thursday. So far, next week will be a proper weekend. One nice thing about this week and next is that I don't have to deal with class on top of everything.

Work is still going well. I've decided that everywhere has drama: high school, college, work, friends, family. I've definitely been trying to stay out of it, and so far succeeding, for better or worse. I still say that my favorite spot is in the back of house. I haven't had much chance to practice making pizzas, but I have made many friends over there.

I have one month left before probation is over. As soon as probation is over, I'm putting in requests to cross-train. I just found out a few days ago that banquet is a cross-training option. While it wouldn't help me in the short-term with becoming a chef, it'll give me waitressing experience. If I can put in multiple cross-training applications, I'll do both that and food prep.

Lets see..... what else is new? Oh, weather! Can someone please send me some snow? It's too warm down here. Today was 77 degrees and very, very sunny. It's only the beginning of April! It's too early for this type of weather. I want my rain and snow back :( I think the weather's the only thing I haven't been able to get used to down here. I've gotten used to the constant sound of sirens (doesn't mean that I like it, just that I'm used to it). I've gotten used to the extremely tall buildings. I've also mostly gotten used to the business. I just can't get used to the weather. When the sun's out, it's too warm. When the sun isn't out, it's chilly. I can't find a happy medium. Maybe summer will cure that. Hopefully.

Since moving down here, I've been doing a lot of cooking. The more cooking I do, the more I love it. I just wish that I had more space in the kitchen, and a better stocked kitchen. I've also picked up so many cookbooks already, and I've made at least one thing from each of the recipes. No, I'm not obsessed :P

I can't really think of much else to add, other than another music video. This one is one of my favorite songs from Pocahontas. Hopefully my next post will be a lot sooner than my last. We'll see how busy this next month is.

New Adventures Happening all the Time

Peter and I at the Blue Bayou on Thursday

Today was a very exciting day at work. Actually, this entire week has been very different. Last Wednesday was the first time that it's rained on my day off. It wasn't too bad, except that I was soaked after only 5 minutes of being outside. I've missed the Washington rain, so it was a nice change.

Thursday was my last day off. Peter and I went to the Blue Bayou for dinner. After that, we went to laser tag put on by the college program. I didn't realize laser tag could be so much fun. Last time I played, the lasers could hit their target through all of the walls and when the lasers hit, it felt like I was getting shocked. This time, the lasers could bounce off mirrors, but they couldn't go through walls. When hit, the vest vibrated slightly, just to let you know you were hit. It was infinitely better this time. They even played star wars music while we were going through the maze finding people :)

The rest of the week has been very, very long. Because it was a three day weekend (four for some schools), the park was VERY crowded. Friday was my busiest shift in the back of house, Saturday was my busiest in the front. Both days, the crowds never stopped. Guess I now have a vague idea of what spring break will be like. Today was very slow in comparison. I know I haven't learned everything yet, but I feel like I've mastered most everything. I know how to put a burger together, I know how to wrap a burger, I know how to put the specialty items together, and I know how to add fries. I also know how to close and restock. Today I also learned how to heat up pastrami.

When I started work today, it was at the beginning of lunch rush. After that ended though, the people mysteriously disappeared. We went from busy to practically empty. Despite how slow it was, it was still fairly exciting at work. During one of the periods where there wasn't anything going on, I started talking to my trainer. Turns out there's a slight loop-hole to the having to wait to cross-train. In order to apply to cross-train, I have to finish my probation period, which is 4 months long. After that, I have to wait for a position to open up. However, it turns out that I can start practicing some food prep during slow periods, with the permission of the leads. I MADE PIZZAS TONIGHT!!! After talking to the lead, the person who was making pizzas went on break, and we ran out of pizza. The lead came up to me and told me "it was my moment to shine." I got to spend half an hour near the pizza machine :)

I had my second day of class this morning. We learned about the importance of Networking, along with proper etiquette to doing so. We also received our first assignment. Any guesses as to what it's about? I'll give you three guesses, the first two don't count. Give up? Networking! I need to interview someone that works for a department in Disney that I'd be interested in. I'm both excited and nervous.

Guess that's about it for this week. Hopefully, now that I know I can do a little bit of food prep, things will be even more exciting at work.

The song and video that I decided to add this week is "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan. For some reason, I've had this song stuck in my head all day. Enjoy!

~Amber

So Many Changes!

One of the many roses found in Disney's California Adventures

Happy Valentine's Day! I can't believe that I've been here for over a month. It feels like only a week or two. I also feel like I know almost everything about my job. Other than where things are located, I've restocked just about everything by now, and I can usually keep up with the rushes. I've even had many of the newer people asking me how to do this, or where to locate that (and some of the older people for the locating part). Tonight, I was talking to a few girls who are also in the program, but locals. Apparently they both thought that there was no way I was in the college program, because I was too knowledgeable at my job. Can I cross-train now, please? :) I know, I know. I have to wait until after probation. Maybe by then I'll know absolutely everything! Haha, yeah right.

So the parks definitely seem to be getting busier, although that could be a result of the three day weekend that just passed... THAT was fun. There was never a non-busy moment. Accomplishment of the week? I figured out why I'm always so much more tired after working in the back of house, compared to the front of house. When it's not busy in the front, there's only so many counters that can be wiped and restocking that can be done before there's nothing left to do. In the back, there's always something to do. Restock this, restock that, clean this, close that. While everyone else stands around talking, I'm always taking care of those other things. The other day, I spent two hours adding fries to orders, two hours sweeping, emptying trash cans, and restocking. Yep, back of house is busy.

Last post, I mentioned that I didn't get a chance to see the fireworks because they were cancelled. I was finally able to see the fireworks on Saturday. They were absolutely amazing!

Things have definitely changed a lot since I've come down here. Seems like all my habits are changing as well. I've always been a night person. I prefer staying up late and waking up late. I definitely don't stay up as late anymore, and I can usually wake up by 8:30 easily. The first two or three weeks here, I kept waking up by 7:30! Next to change? Food preferences. Who would've thought. I used to dislike salads. I've gotten to the point where I don't mind iceberg lettuce, either plain, or with soy sauce (weird, I know, but so am I). I randomly decided to pick up some chef salads at Vons (Safeway) the other day. Not only did I love them, they had salad dressing. Apparently, after years of hating it, I now like ranch. My activities have changed as well. Whatever time I wasn't spending on a specific activity with friends, homework, work, or chores, I was usually playing video games. Especially when Skyrim came out. Since coming down here, I haven't even put 24 hours into video games. I wouldn't say I've become more outgoing, but I'm hanging out with other people a lot more than I used to. When I'm not busy or hanging out with other people, I've been trying to find other activities.

Besides work and spending time with friends, I've also spent the last week looking into culinary school options. I've decided that at this point I'm going to stay here and continue working at Disneyland after the program ends. Because I lose all seniority I may have through the program when it ends, I'm going to try and move to table service restaurants immediately, or as close to immediately as possible. I had been looking into going to Le Cordon Bleu in LA. However, I started talking to the lead chef (can't remember his specific position, but he's basically the manager of everyone) today at work. I mentioned my interest in culinary school, and he gave me his recommendations. As long as I plan on staying with Disney, all I need is a certificate, which is the equivalent of an associates degree. With that, I'd have the education requirement taken care of to get into even the top restaurants, which is my goal. My next step is to look into those schools.

I started my Disney class this morning. I still can't really tell you what exactly the class is about, but so far, it's a lot of fun. Some weeks we'll have lecture classes, other weeks we have hands on activities. There's one week that we'll be spending the class time at the local food bank. It definitely sounds like an exciting class.

Since I've started working here, I seem to get a lot more Disney songs stuck in my head. I think that -along with one "random" picture - I'll also post a music video, at least occasionally. In light of today's holiday, I think I'll put up "A Whole New World" from "Aladdin." Seems very fitting

~Amber

No Fireworks For Me

Twice in a row.... Went to the park last night and tonight, both with the sole purpose of watching the fireworks. Both nights, the fireworks were cancelled. Ah well, still lots of fun in the parks to be had.

Yesterday was my first in a series of 7+ hour long shifts. I was scheduled to work 8 hours yesterday (excluding lunch break), but only worked 6 1/2. Tonight was the same, I got off 40 minutes early from my 8 hour shift. Both nights meant that I could get a good spot to watch the fireworks....unless they were cancelled.

Tonight was really busy in the parks, but even just mostly walking around can be just as much fun as constantly going on rides. Just remember: bring a jacket, it's a bit chilly when the sun goes down :) I also figured out that the food portions are large enough that even a Chinese cafe dinner can be shared fairly easily. And don't forget about those cookies..... Have I mentioned how much I love oatmeal raisin cookies? Even half of one of those cookies was too much... Definitely didn't want to go on anything more intense than Pirates of the Caribbean for at least half an hour.

Not much too different with the rest of the week: work, clean, make food, watch movies, play about an hour of video games (total, all week), hang out with friends, go to the park on occasion.

This next week, I have 5 7 - 8 hour long shifts. The following week is all 8 hour shifts. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's already spring break. Plenty of time before that happens. First we have to get through February.

Still can't believe it's already February. I'm just 3 days shy of being here for a full month. It feels like a lot less time than that. I start classes in just over a week. That sounds exciting. Before that can happen though, I need to fix a slight problem with my schedule. Seems they decided to schedule me to start work at the exact time that I'm supposed to end classes.

Well, tomorrow starts another exciting week. Hopefully I'll have some exciting things to post, and some new pictures from my camera.

~Amber

I'm back!

Storm Troopers out recruiting

I know, I know. It's been too long since I've updated. I've been really busy. As stressful as everything's been, I've still been running on an emotional high since starting. I've been having so much fun, and in my opinion, have only had a few days of work :)

Since training, I've mostly been working in the front of the restaurant, which is fine with me. Today was the first time that I worked back of house. There's a lot more guest interaction, and I don't have to worry about burning my fingers on the onions! For the last two weeks, I've been working closing shifts. This week and next week, I'm finally working middle of the day shifts. It's definitely different. The shifts are busier overall and I don't have to worry about not getting my full time. On Tuesday, my shift was changed from a closing to an opening shift. When I came in, someone wanted to talk to me to see how everything was going since training. She knew that I plan on either going to culinary school or stay on with Disney after the program ends. She also told me that she would write my name down, and when a position in table service (the sit-down restaurants) opened up after the program, she would let me know. Yay!!! Now I just need to finish.

When I was watching the window last Friday at work, someone from Miami Ink came up to my window. I had no idea at the time who it was. Of course, I still have no idea, I hadn't heard of Miami Ink before then. The only hint I had that it was someone important was that people kept asking to get their picture taken with him. He was very nice.

Besides work, I've been really busy hanging out with friends and going to the park. California Adventures has this area that's open Friday - Sunday nights called ElecTRONica. This area is a cross between a show and a dance. I finally got to check it out on Sunday. It was definitely amazing. The opening show was really cool as well. I have to say that it's really nice being able to go into the park when I'm not working. I can ignore the park when it's busy, and find the times that lines are only 10 minutes long.

I went on the Haunted Mansion the day after it reopened (reopened this last Tuesday). That was the first time that I've been on that ride when it wasn't decorated for Christmas. It's a really fun ride. I think I've been on it about four times now. Hmmm...... maybe I need to visit the park a little less... nah.

So for the first time in 4 years, I seem to finally be struggling with allergies again. The entire time I was in Pullman, I only had to deal with allergies when I had worked in the basement of the library for too long.

Classes start in 2 weeks for me, some people start next week. Fortunately, it looks like I won't have any books that I need to buy. Woot! Less money to spend! :) I have no idea what to expect in the way of homework and assignments, but I'm pretty sure that I'll have less time to spend in the parks. I just figured out today that I can take the bus to the beach. I'm definitely going to have to take advantage of that in a few weeks, or whenever I have a chance to go with someone on a day off.

Spring break starts soon. Or at least that's what it seems like. I had to fill out a form for my availability. I have to remain fully available for at least weeks.

Well, I can't think of anything else to write to sum up the last several weeks. Just go to work, tidy up, hang out with friends, go to the park... fairly routine, but lots of fun. I'll try not to let so much time go by again.

~Amber

It's off to work we go.

Day 9

Back of the house uniform. It's a chef's "coat" with pinstripe black pants

Well, apparently it's been a while since I've posted something on here (and apparently 2 days is a while (and apparently I like using the word apparently today)).

I finish training on Saturday, and met one of the managers of the restaurant. The manager I met will be the one that I check in with every 30 days for one-on-one meetings. I found out on Saturday that after I'm off probation, I can cross-train. The probation period is 4 months. 4 months of not really being able to change my schedule. If I mess up during this period, I could risk my job. Not saying that there's no risk of losing my job after the probation period, but the risk is a bit lower. Cross-training means that I can either do the same jobs I'm doing currently in another restaurant, or I can do something else, such as cashier or a quick-order chef. At this point, I'm thinking I'll cross-train as a quick-order chef. We'll see when the time gets closer.

I'm also thinking that I'm going to continue on working for Disney after I finish this internship. From the sounds of it, it's very common for college program students to stay on with Disney after the 7 months of the program are over. Of course, it's only been one week. There's still plenty of time to change my mind. If I stay though, I'm going to try to get into table service restaurants. Even if I'm just a waitress, it would be more beneficial in the long run if I eventually go to culinary school like I want to.

Yesterday was my first official day of work. Yesterday and all this week, I work 3-9:30, excluding Wednesday and Thursday - which I have off. Work was a lot of fun, although chaotic at times. For the last hour, I ended up being the only one working 3 different stations. Everyone else was working on cleaning and closing. Putting a newbie in charge of all the customers? Oh boy. Fortunately, I was able to get some help when I needed it, and I didn't have any annoyed customers :) I also figured out that all of the people working in the front with me at the end of the night were fluent in Spanish. Unless they were talking to me or a customer, they were speaking Spanish. Boy, do I wish I could remember my Spanish :( Not sure if that would help though, I've always struggled with hearing what they're saying, even in my classes in high school.

It rained yesterday. It was amusing to see the various reactions of people. One of my coworkers was panicking because she's never driven in the rain before. I'm glad I was working inside for the worst of the rain. One of my friends was busing tables in Pacific Warf though, and was soaked by the end of the night. It's cloudy right now, but not raining. We'll see if that keeps up. Except when waiting for an hour for the bus, I've enjoyed the cooler weather the rain has brought.

The only thing I've come to hate so far is the buses. Just like in Pullman, they're always late. When I start work, the buses run every 15 minutes. When I get off work, they're once an hour, maybe even less. All I know is that I got off work at 9:40, and was waiting for the bus until 11:20.  A nice cup of hot tea was very nice after that.

The rest of the week will be basically the same as last night. Wednesday and Thursday I have off. Wednesday, I'm planning on going to a networking workshop that the college program is putting on as well as grocery bingo (free groceries? definitely!). Thursday, I'll probably go to the park.

Lets see what I decide to take a picture of and post for my next post :)

~Amber

Which is better?

Day 6

Front of Restaurant costume. Costume I wear when I'm easily visible

Today was another early morning oddly enough. I seem to have forgotten how to sleep in. Woke up at 7:50, even though I had an alarm set for 10. Watch, the one day I want to wake up that early, I won't be able to. Definitely setting an alarm for a lot earlier tomorrow, I have to be at work by 10:30.

This morning was much like yesterday morning, except I didn't work on cleaning the apartment. I left for work around 11:50, even though I didn't start at 2. The gal that started training with me wanted to ride the bus, and we needed to pick up chef uniforms, so we wanted to make sure we had enough time. I also was riding the bus with one of my friends, who had to be at work by 1:30.

Work was a lot of fun. I can't decide which I like more: front or back. In the front, we serve the customers, in the back, we're putting the orders together. The restaurant I work at (Village Haus) is a quick service restaurant. There are several chefs working that prepare each individual menu item. When in the back, I work on the line that puts the cooked foods together into menu items. I don't know which I like best. They both have their pros and cons.

Other than new stuff during work, today wasn't extremely exciting, therefore nothing much to write about. I'm still having a lot of fun here in California. So far things are going really good with the roommates. They're all enjoying their jobs as well. The weather has been really warm today. It seems to be getting slightly warmer, although I heard that it's supposed to start raining next week.

Tomorrow I work from 10:30 until 7 PM. After I get off work, I think I'm going to spend some time in the parks, go on more rides by myself, bug some friends that are working.

~Amber

Unexpected Fun

Day 5

It's a Small World ride, decked out in Christmas decorations

Yesterday was exhausting. I came home and all but fell asleep instantly. Considering my shifts are at night, I may have to change when I write these blogs. We'll see how it goes tonight.

Yesterday, I had intended to sleep in. Apparently sleeping in now means waking up at 7:30. Oh well, I got a lot done. Cleaned more of my stuff, swept the entire apartment. When all but the bedrooms are wood floor, that's a lot of sweeping. I even managed to go to the store to help a friend buy shoes for work. After that, took the bus to work and spent an hour talking to people before starting.

Work was a lot of fun! I admit that I was really worried that, because of high expectations, it would be a work setting that was all work, no nonsense - if you delay a split second on accident, you're in trouble - type of work setting. It was nothing like that. The first thing we did when we walked into the restaurant itself was meet all the managers. Even at that point, they were joking with each other, with the two people training us, and anyone else that walked by. The entire evening, everyone was joking with each other and clearly having a lot of fun.

I also learned a lot last night. The first 2 hours of work was a bit of a tour. The rest of the time was hands on experience learning how to do all of the up front jobs. I definitely struggle the most right now with the window service portion. When the restaurant closed at 8, it was all cleaning. The hardest part of cleaning is remembering all the steps involved.

I will admit though, when work was over, I was very glad to get home. I was exhausted by that point. I think if I had to work another half hour, I would've fallen asleep on my feet. I almost fell asleep at the bus stop after. My feet also hurt really bad. I was told it would take about 2-3 weeks to break in the shoes. Hopefully I can get used to them before. After all, they're only slightly less comfortable than marching shoes. I think the exhaustion was mostly due to all the overwhelming things. Lets see how much I can remember today...

Today I learn how to do the back kitchen work. Not sure if that involves cooking or prep. Guess I'll find out. Either way, I learn tonight and have two weeks to forget what I've learned before I may put that training to work. Guess I'm taking notes tonight.

Last night I finally gained access to the last of the webpages I'm supposed to have access to for work. However, I can't figure out anything. None of the links seem to be working. I did find a link for blockout dates through the end of April. Blockout dates are the dates that I cannot access the park. Right now, those dates are March 30- April 15th for Disneyland. There are no block-out dates for California Adventures. I'm guessing that these dates are because of spring break times.

So tonight I work from 2 PM until 10:30 PM. The extra hour is because the park is open until 9 PM tonight instead of 8 PM. Whenever I finally decide to put my front of the restaurant uniform on, I'll take a picture of it. I'll post this picture in the next update. One last thing to add before I stop writing. HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!!! I've always found Friday the 13th to be good luck days for me. I think they should make it a holiday.

~Amber

Every Day Is A New Adventure

Day 4

Today was a lot of fun, even if it was long. During training yesterday, it was highly suggested that we arrive an hour early for today's training, since it would be at a different location, different parking. The guys I got a ride from decided to leave at 6:30 because of this. Turns out we got to the park before 7 as a result. Plenty of time to hang out, go into the shop, buy a coffee. Parts of training today were fun, other parts were boring. The boring parts were because they were repetitive: I've taken the food handler class twice now.

At the end of training ( 5 hours long), we got our schedules for the next couple of days, and the two weeks after. I FINALLY GET TO SLEEP IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow I train from 2 PM - 9:30. I also get my uniform tomorrow :) I have 3 more days of training (counting tomorrow - Thursday) and then it's straight to regular work shifts. Exciting.

After training ended, I went back to the apartment. After cleaning the apartment and my stuff, I decided to head off to the parks by myself. I expected to meet up with some of my friends there, but no one showed up (I figured out after closing that the guy I got a ride from this morning was there, just never saw my text, ah well). Maybe just as well. I figured out that I could go on some of the rides I wanted to much faster as a single rider than I would've otherwise. I went on California Screamin twice, the Hollywood Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Indiana Jones. Considering I was only there for 3 1/2 hours, and they all had long lines, I'd say that was pretty impressive. I also got to ride the Disneyland Railroad around the park once.

I did get really annoyed while waiting for the Indiana Jones ride at some teenagers. They wouldn't stop playing games on their iphones, and occasionally held up the line because they weren't paying attention. Guess it's only fair that one of them didn't notice the stairs and fell, too bad he didn't learn. I also found it very rude that they kept pulling, pushing, and hanging on to every prop within arm's reach. Sadly, not everyone was taught the same respect I was :(

After the park, I was going to accompany another friend to the store so that she could get shoes for her uniform (and I could get sunscreen). We abandoned that plan after discovering that the bus wouldn't stop by for another 40 minutes (and that it would be another hour and 10 minutes after that before the next and final bus) and instead found someplace cheap to eat and hang out at.

All in all, today was a very fun day, and I'm excited to start a different type of training tomorrow. I really wish I could talk more about training, but I don't want to risk talking about something that is company information not to be shared. At least I'm pretty certain that food safety isn't a company secret ;)

Because of my schedule, I probably won't visit the park again until Wednesday. I know I'll post at least something tomorrow. I'm not sure if there will be much to post after that. I'll probably start cutting back my posts to a couple times a week at most, unless people would prefer shorter daily posts. Leave a comment - here or on facebook - let me know what you would prefer! I want to know what readers (if there are any ;) ) would like.

~Amber

Week 1 Schedule (01/12/2012 - 01/14/2012):

Thursday: 2-9:30 PM

Friday: 2 - 10:30 PM

Saturday: 10:30 - 7 PM

So Very Exciting, So Very Tired

Day 3

It's 10:50 and I'm super exhausted. Had an 8 hour work day today. Started at 8, with a check-in at 7:30 and ended at 4 (actually, 3:30 to be technical, we got out early). Got a ride in with my roommates this morning. It was definitely really nice not having to wake up earlier to take the bus.

 Unfortunately, I'm not supposed to really talk about the specifics of what we learned in class. I can say that I learned how to carry on the Disney traditions, and more about staying in character. We also got a tour of both the backstage and onstage portions of Disneyland. Definitely different going into the park as a worker. I also learned a lot more about the park.

After we finished with training for the day, I went to the park. Even if it was for a short 3 1/2 hours, it was still an exciting adventure. Most of the lines for rides were only 5 or 10 minutes long! Went on Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, and several rides in Tomorrowland. After coming back from the park, one of the guys' rooms had a spaghetti dinner party for everyone to come in, grab food and meet other people. My only response: yum!

Not really much else to add about today. Tomorrow I start specific training for my job. I have training at 8 AM! Which means check-in is at 7:30. I found a ride again, and they leave at 6:30. It's definitely time to go to bed. Tomorrow I gain access to a whole new website that's supposed to give me a lot more information. I should get information on all my benefits tomorrow. I also think I get my schedule tomorrow as well. After training, California Adventures!

~Amber

All I Can Say is..... Wow

Day 2

I thought yesterday was crazy and busy. Today was ridiculous. Fortunately, I didn't have "class" (or training) until 10. I introduced my roommates to the buses here. Fun adventure. We had to walk about two blocks to get to the bus and then another couple of blocks to get to the meeting place. Class was supposed to end at 1:30, but we were out by noon. Thankfully. My feet hurt, I was hungry, and it was too hot. I still haven't fully gotten used to California heat. Fortunately, it felt nice when I finally had on shorts, t-shirt and sandals.

The class, or training wasn't too bad. We learned the importance of networking, and even had hands on experience with networking. We also took pictures for ID badges that we'll receive tomorrow. I'm so excited to get my ID badge. I already know what I'm going to do when I get my badge, after training :)

After training, I had lunch and went shopping. Before arriving, they said to bring $200-$300 to cover food for the first couple weeks before we start getting paychecks. Apparently they expect everyone to drive in - and it seems to be the case. I've talked to one person who drove 4 days to get here. On a Facebook group of California participants, I read about another person who's 3 days in to her drive here. Apparently the $200-$300 for food assumes you have everything else you need. Good thing we're currently sharing all the food in the apartment. Of food I personally chose for myself, I have a loaf of bread, lunch meat, 2 cans of chili and pasta. NOT going to last for 2 weeks. Guess I'm going to be eating light for the next couple weeks... Of course, on that note, dinner tonight was free, tomorrow night is a spaghetti party at another participants room, Thursday dinner is free again. That'll make it easier. The sandwich for lunch tomorrow is the only dent I've made in my meager food supplies.

This afternoon, we had a welcome party. Free pizza, prizes, dancing. Met a lot of awesome people. I even won a price for dancing (even though I can't dance): An apple slicer. After the party, I went shopping again for more things that I needed, and then came back home to continue unpacking (very slow process when I'm so physically tired). This room was very busy tonight as well. One of my roommates was making dinner and it seemed like people kept getting drawn to our room by the smells. Met even more people that way. Actually, that's how we got invited to the spaghetti party. I'm already loving this place :)

Tomorrow is a very early day. Training starts at 8 AM. We have to  check-in by 7:30. Because of the time and how much my feet hurt (and the amount of walking we'll be doing during training) I'm NOT taking the bus tomorrow. Actually, none of my roommates are going to take the bus. We're all going to carpool together. Don't have to wake up as early, yay!! Training is 8 hours long, ending at 4. Because we get our IDs tomorrow, I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of the participants are going to Disneyland tomorrow. It'll only be 4 hours, but that's better than nothing. Besides, we'll be here until August. There's plenty of time to experience the park, both after work and on our days off.

During training, we also got a little more information about dress codes for work and specific training information for our areas of work. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out much more information for my line of work (food and beverage) from what they gave me. Each location has a slightly different attire. From the looks of it, the time of training also varies. Most of all the other food and beverage people that I've found and talked to have training at 11 AM on Wednesday. Mine is at 8. Good news is that I'll be done sooner. Bad news is that I have to wake up so early. I don't even have a choice of car pool at all. At least, not yet. Haven't met anyone else in food and beverage with training at 8.

Oh! I never mentioned anything about the awesomeness of my apartment yesterday! The living room/dining room area is huge! The bedroom I'm in seems a bit small for 3 people, but so far it's working. I hope it remains that way. Surprisingly, none of the rooms have lights on the ceiling. Instead, there's one lamp in my bedroom, one in the other bedroom, and one in the living room. Fortunately, there's full floor to ceiling windows covering most of the outer wall in the living room, and bedroom. That goes for both outer walls in the bedroom. Yep, that's right. The bedroom I'm in is a corner-room, and it's pretty awesome. I woke up at 6:30 this morning for some odd reason, and saw the most beautiful sunrise ever! It might even have compared to Pullman sunrises had I ever been awake early enough to experience them. I decided I was going to wake up just so I could take a picture and watch the sunrise, but as soon as I thought that, I was out again, and waking up to my alarm an hour later. Of course, then I couldn't get back to sleep if I wanted, the sun was fully up, and shining into the rooms (which is probably why there isn't any ceiling lights, the sun provides PLENTY of light). I can definitely live with more of that. No way are we closing our blinds :)

It's definitely past my bedtime now. I will definitely try and write again tomorrow. Hope everyone in Washington, Idaho, or wherever you are reading from is doing good!

~Amber

A Whole New World

Day 1

Today was a very busy, very long day. I apologize in advance if parts of this post have grammatical errors or typos: I'm surprisingly exhausted. It feels like 2 in the morning right now, even though it's only 10:30.

Woke up at 7:30 to get to a place that's about 20 minutes away at most with good traffic. Arrived an hour early for registration. Walked around for a bit, trying to find breakfast. I had seen a bakery around yesterday, so I wanted to try there. Of course, all the restaurants around would be closed on Sundays. Finally found a Starbucks though.

Registration started at 9. It took about 2 hours to get through all of the lines. SO. MUCH. PAPERWORK!! The room I'll be staying in is surprisingly big. I'm sure it won't feel that way soon. After all, there's 5 people in a two bedroom apartment. After some last minute clothes shopping and meeting some of the roommates, there was a short introductory meeting. Then I went shopping with a couple of my roommates for things for the apartment. Not sure how long we were out, but 6:30 felt like midnight to all of us. Guess all the nerves and excitement wore us out.

I'm not completely unpacked, but I've taken care of most of my things. Made my bed. Figured out the sheets don't fit. I know I bought twin-sized bedding, but apparently the sheets were mislabeled, they're actually full. Guess I'm going to use that tonight and hope they don't fall off. If not, then hopefully Target will accept sheets that were used once..... guess I'll find that one out. I'll probably end up living with the wrong sized sheets. I had to do that once before anyway.

I would love to write more, but I am exhausted, and this post has already taken me half an hour. Tomorrow is another busy day. I have training starting at 10. On top of that, I have to wake up early enough to figure out the bus schedule.

~Amber

California Adventures: Day 2

1 Day!!!!

Last day of simply exploring. Today we woke up to lots of fog and cooler weather (68 degrees). It finally started clearing up by early afternoon. This morning after breakfast, we went exploring by car. Drove over to look at the area I'll be staying at. Got a little lost trying to find it. The directions we were using weren't very good. After finding the apartment, we went looking for the church that was half a mile away and a grocery store that I could easily access. The church was easy enough to find, the grocery store? After ending up a mile or two closer to Knott's Berry Farm (although I didn't realize we were even remotely close), we decided just to go home and use the internet. Turns out, that's also half a mile from where I'll be living. Everything's so close! Assuming I can get used to the large amount of traffic and noise, I don't think I would mind living in a place like that. It's close enough to everything that I don't really need to use a car that often. We'll see what I say in a few months.

This afternoon was filled with more exploring - this time by foot. I think we spent at least 3 hours walking around Downtown Disney and the surrounding neighborhood. By the time we came back, we were tired. My toe now has a blister on it. But that could be because I was walking around in brand new shoes..... It was definitely nap time when we got back.

Unfortunately, by the time we got back from church and dinner, we had missed the firework show from Disneyland. I watched it while we were driving back though.

Now I'm exhausted. I stayed up too late considering the amount of activity today and how early I need to get up tomorrow morning. Check-in begins at 9, so why I'm wanting to get up at 7:30, to drive 2 miles, I don't know. I guess there's this thing called breakfast I anticipate wanting to eat tomorrow morning. If not, maybe I can create some more blisters! Either way, tomorrow's early, and busy, and exciting, and probably even long. Tomorrow, the fun really begins. Or starts to begin at least, it's a slow start.

~Amber

Picture from adventuring today

California Adventures: Day 1

2 Days

Finally in California (as of 6 1/2 hours ago). I must say, things are definitely different here. I never thought I'd be able to wear shorts in the beginning of January for one! At least, not until I had a lot more money.

Today has definitely been a long day. Woke up at 6 and went to the airport. My dad and I were on two different flights, so I had an extra 3 hours to hang out in the airport after he left. Of course, I also didn't have to wait in another airport like he did.

Nearly all of break, Washington has been cloudy and/or rainy. California is the opposite. Not a cloud in site. Or at least, none in comparison to Washington. I still have a hard time believing it was nearly 80 degrees today. The breeze was the only thing that made the weather bearable. Not sure what I'll do if there is no breeze. Guess I'll get by somehow, or pass out trying. Step 1: buy a water bottle. Step 2: fill it up 8 times a day? Oh, wait... might be a bit excessive. At least I wouldn't need to eat too much, my food costs would be cheaper :)

This afternoon was basically spent getting acquainted with the surrounding area. We went to an outdoor mall-like area just after unpacking to look for food. The mall was really cool! Too bad all the restaurants there were so pricey. After dinner, we went looking for a place to buy shoes and other things that I would need immediately on Sunday, excluding groceries.

I knew the place we were staying was fairly close to Disneyland. I didn't realize that we would be able to see it from the nearly non-existent balcony. I can see the Tower of Terror, Matterhorn, Space Mountain, and even some obnoxiously bright display boards for a Disney store, or something like that. At 8:45, the fireworks in the park went off. It was definitely a sight to see from here. The sound-delay was very interesting. We would see some fireworks go off and then ask "are those silent fireworks? *pause* oh, there's the noise." Lets see how long it takes before I get annoyed with the fireworks. Apparently they aren't nightly, so who knows.

Also when we checked in, we were given a visitors guide. In the guide, among other things, it has the daily schedule for both California Adventures and Disneyland for the entire month of January. One thing I don't think I've mentioned here before is that my work schedule changes weekly. Now I understand why. The hours vary so much. There's some days that Disneyland opens at 8 AM, other days that they open at 10 AM, and then anywhere in between. Some days that they close at 8 PM and other days they close at midnight (and again, anywhere in between). There's some days that California Adventure opens at 10 AM, other days they open at 11 AM, and any.... wait, guess that's it (no half hour opening times for either park). Then it closes anywhere from 8 PM to 10 PM. So California Adventures opens either at the same time as - or after - Disneyland, and closes either before - or at the same time as - Disneyland.

Still no clue where I'll be working, or my schedule. Of course, I won't find out until Monday or Tuesday. All I know is that I now have sheets to sleep on and shoes to wear, so I'm set. Time to explore California before check-in.

More "exciting" news tomorrow? We'll see :)

~Amber

10, 9, 8, 7, 6.......

6 days

Well, vacation's almost over and the time is almost here. Less than a week before Disney! I feel like I'm just jumping around from one extreme to another right now. Hopefully things will settle down somewhat soon. Maybe? Maybe? Please? Nope. Oh well. Might as well recap break so far. Next time I post, I'll probably be too busy and overwhelmed with Disney to think about anything else other than Disney.

As I mentioned in the last post, Christmas is an extremely busy time in my family. Christmas eve we went to my grandma's house in Centralia and spent the day with my dad's side of the family. It was definitely a lot of fun. After that, we had Christmas Eve Mass. My mom played her harp (beautifully I might add). My sister played her flute, which also sounded amazing. My dad and I sang in the choir. After that, rinse, lather and repeat. Christmas morning, we went back to church. This time, my mom played the piano instead of harp. After church, we went up to Seattle for Christmas with my mom's side. Again, that was really fun.

After coming back home again Christmas night, it was time to pack for the family vacation with the new suitcase that I got for Christmas. We went to one of the Washington beaches for a week. It was a really nice place. Although I enjoyed the time at the beach, the location probably wouldn't have made much of a difference. It was very rainy all week. After being outside for five minutes, we would be completely soaked through. Most of the time was spent in the resort, with one day being a day trip into Astoria. We came back from the beach on Saturday, just in time for church again. Right after church, we went to some family friend's for dinner and New Year's eve party. I will definitely say that a 15 person, multi-generational game of Apples-to-Apples is very different and lots of fun.

New Year's Day, I was invited to join most of the same group of people to go out shooting, something I had never done, but have wanted to try for the last couple of years (sorry mom). It was a lot of fun. After that was going out to dinner to celebrate my sister's birthday. After dinner, I had to finish finish packing for California. Not fun. Somehow, it was easier packing for college than for California. I couldn't fit everything into a suitcase like I had hoped. I now have an overstuffed sports bag to pack, an over-stuffed suitcase to carry on, and an overstuffed laptop bag. I also have a couple of piles of stuff that I hope my dad can fit in some of his bags. Maybe I have too many books and shirts... I left at 6 this morning to head up to Seattle. After hanging out with Gaston, Andrew and Gilbert, I made my way over to my grandparent's house. Now I spend the rest of the week with my grandparents. Friday, I get to spend my entire morning in an airport. Good thing I have a lot of puzzles to do! Oddly enough, my dad and I are not taking the same flight down to California. If I remember right, he leaves 4 hours before me (or is it 2, with an extra 2 hours for getting through security?). Guess that means he'll just have to wait for me in California :)

Unless something extremely exciting happens this week that I'm not expecting, this will most likely be my last post in Washington. My next post will be from California, and will probably be all about airports, airplanes, and traveling in general. I can honestly say that I'm equally excited AND nervous. The only thing NOT changing is that I'm still currently the same old me. Lets see if I remain that way ;)

~Amber