Adventures in Babysitting

Phew. It's been a long week so far and it's not even done yet!! I am already on my full time work schedule which is great because I am getting that money honey, even though we can't figure out the payment schedule. Becuase they must see my awesomeness only three days in, I got a raise! I am now climbing the ladder from making $7.25 an hour to $7.31. These past three days I have worked at the Community Hall at Disney's Boardwalk resort. It's basically a hall where we hae games, PS3, and crafts for guests to enjoy. Odd thing about it is parents have to be in there with the children if they are under 12 which makes us very slow unless it rains, which it has been doing on and off the past two afternoons. It's a pretty fun job; I get to play ping-pong and watch countless Disney movies a day. I take my playtime very seriously though adn got a little too excited when I won Chutes and Ladders against a few younger kids. On our name tags we have our universities which is great way to start conversations with guests. I met someone from AC who went to GMU and has family in Hillsborough. It is a very small world down here, after all. Today I get to be trained on out door activities at Y&B club. At 3 pm we have a pool dance party, 7:30 a camp fire, and 9 pm a pool side movie. Starting next week, HIDE YOUR KIDS, HIDE YOUR WIFE (and Mr. Higgins hide your truck) because Sarah is starting her BOAT HANDLING AND SAFETY CLASSES! That's right, I get to learn how to take the kid's out on their Pirate Cruises. Arghhhh! I am also getting paid to take dance classes! They were described as "the white person wedding line dances" which I know, but I am unsure of how to do the Miley Cyrus Hoe-Down Throw Down but the instructions are in the song and since I am so great with coordination I will get this dance down first try.

I have some sad news from here at Disney. These aren't secrets, but it was news to me so I'll pass it along. It comes with great sadness that Toon Town in Fantasyland is no longer. You can see Mickey in his house off Main street still but the other houses are divided up and will not come back together. They are also expanding fantasyland greatly, adding in the Beast's castle with a restaurant in it, a new Ariel ride, a 7 dwarf's rollercoaster, and a dueling tent Dumbo ride. They aren't get rid of the iconic Dumbo ride, rather moving it into a two ring tent and having two rides go at once. They are, however, getting rid of my favorite ride- Snow White's Scary Adventures!!! I am unsure what will replace it, but the whole new expansion will be done in phases, with the final phase being done in 2013. Even while not at Mason I am seeing things being built in phases, waiting for bigger and better things to come.

The other night we went as roommates to the fireworks at Epcot. We didn't ride anything except the Viking ride in Norway which was cute, as cute as mechanical vikings can be at least. Speaking of which, a kid here goes by "Viking" on his name tag because Disney will put whatever you want your first name to be as long as it is not clearly a last name. We are all for individuality here. We walked around the different food options and decided one day we will splurge and eat in a country for dinner. We get a small discount, but it really only covers tax and gratuity at some places. While in Morocco (sigh) we saw Jasmine and Aladdin. This one little girl gave her a huge hug and told her how pretty she was (she was gorgeous if you were wondering and looked like a life size Barbie version of Jasmine). It's fun watching the kids be so excited to hug the characters and makes you warm and fuzzy inside and sort of like a creeper for watching.

Living on my own and actually having a kitchen is pretty cool. I am slowly getting out of the mindset that the only thing I can cook is instant mac and noodles. Shopping at the Wal-Mart is an experience and now I know why this state has high obesity problems. Groceries are very expensive and if you want healthier foods or produce it is even more expensive. I miss Shop Rite already. I also think that the peopleatwalmart.com got their inspiration for the website by shopping at our Wal-Mart; who needs to spend $80 on a park ticket when there is free entertainment down the road?!

Well, off the shower and head to work. I work 2:50-11:30 but need to get there early to hand in my dirty uniform and get a new one. How cool is that? You give them your uniform ( you can have up to 5) and they give you a new one. They say it's for your convenience but after watching kids attempt to do laundry for four years, I think it's for their own sake.

Feel free to post any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions.

Sarah