Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest, Put My Patience to the Test

Clever huh? Yeah well thats what happened the past three days working at Sandcastle Club, our babysitting hang out for kids. I have never been a huge fan of babysitting so I knew I wouldn't love this place but I figured with endless video games, board games, and crafts, I would be entertained as much as the kids. False statement. First off, let me apologize to Mrs. Higgins (and my mom for that matter) for following her around as she would do laundry or whatever at home and I would just talk her ear off as she just said "Uh huh" the whole time. I now know how annoying that must have been, and I appreciate you for still to this day allowing me to come in your home. Mom, you were stuck with me from the beginning.

The first day was ok, we ask the parents for a cell number and we had a few from Jersey. I would ask where from and they were all surprised when I knew they were from Jersey not realizing I can tell by the area code. I had a girl from Jersey who was hilarious and ket me entertained. She also beat me 6 times at tic tac toe and I taught her and her cousin how to play Life. These weren't ordinary kids though; the girl's father is an exec at Nickelodeon NYC office and the cousin is the son of the guy who played Richard on Lost and the Mayor in The Dark Knight. He is now in London shooting the new Batman movie. Pretty cool. The second day was more of a drag, and I have decided I will never have boys because it seems they are annoying at all ages. Today was my last day in there and I was not having it. We had 25 kids, mostly boys, and they were all wild. I ended up charging two different families more for the services but it was a fixable mistake I just felt bad. I need remedial time counting class I guess. I'm scheduled to leave at 12:15 am but we still had two boys left. Their father didn't come for the boys until 12:40 and he was drunk. Most people are when they pick up their kids, you can smell the $10 mixed drinks seeping from them.

Two things that are always consistent here are the weather patterns and the traffic. Everyday it says it will rain and it normally does, especially when I'm driving into work. Speaking of driving, the traffic isn't terrible, especially the route I take. Now the signs leading into the property are very cool but it is a 55 mph speed limit for a reason- so you don't stop and take pictures. However, I always end up behind a mini van or two who slow down to take one. I grew up riding in a minivan but I am making a promise to myself to never own one because of the vehicular trauma experienced down here. Sundays are the worst, especially around 3-6 pm; People head into the resorts to start their vacation packages so the roads are crowded with cars who don't know where they are going.

I don't really like how the schedules work because I feel that I waste my whole day. I either work 12:30- 9 or 3:00-11:30 when I'm outside which cuts the day oddly. I'm also not a huge fan of working at a big company; I have gotten so used to the big fish in a small pond between Prep and Mason that it's hard to be on the lowest prong. Sure that's what you have to do to earn your way up but I have so many managers and people above me I haven't even met them all yet and most likely never will. I also find them to do things the long way here and I am all for efficiency. They also waste a ton of paper because of the unnecessary steps they do and it takes more time to complete a task. The best way to manage is to find who your allies are. The people I have found to be most helpful are are the random people in the cafeteria during break watching the Anthony Trial (we always discuss our opinions) and the maintenance guys playing dominoes. The randoms in the cafeteria just want to talk to someone and are quick to help you out for the most part. One nice guy even gave me his holiday parking pass for next week. The maintenance guys are good to know because they know the whole resort so if you're ever lost or need to go somewhere they can help you out. Trust me I know, they had to help me my first few days.

Today before work Claudia, my roommate, and I hung out by the pool. I have two pools in my complex; one is the rowdy pool (I live right next to it) and the other is the quiet pool. I normally go to the second one because it's well, quiet. However we went to the big one today and we weren't disappointed by the kids there. The guys are just ridiculous; always showing off and smoking cigarettes in the pool then flicking them on the pool deck while the girls are two steps away from a "wardrobe malfunction" and read the latest gossip mag. These poor kids will have a hard time transitioning once this program ends and they have to go back to school, if they even do. Many people who are still in school either quit to become full time here or transfer to UCF.

...."It's three am I must be lonely"

Don't rush for the phone or the call the Sylvia Plath hotline, it just is three am and Lauren isn't here tonight to keep me company and I'm listening to my Summer hits of the 90s on Pandora. Look it up.

O and since my training period is done, I have successfully EARNED MY EARS

Thanks all for reading my long drawn out thoughts.