Arriving in Orlando!

Hello, blogland!  I'm writing to you now from the living room of my new apartment in Orlando!  I'll leave those details for the next post, though.  I have so much to write about check-in that I will do a separate post about it (including finally telling you my work location!)

Due to my last post sounding so sad and whiney, I hoped to update again before I left with a much more excited "I can't believe the time is here!" bit.  But that never happened.  There was just so much to do!

Friday was a day full of errands, including getting my hair cut and a stop at the bank.  Not terribly exciting.  It was the last night that my family spent together so we went out to dinner after some shopping.  The weirdest part of leaving my family is that I won't see my sister for so long.  My parents can come visit me now and then if they want to, but with Laura's school schedule I don't think I'll see her again until December.  For me, being the older sister comes with this strange idea that the younger one can be frozen in time.

Anyway, Saturday was another busy packing day.  I got up at 6am just to get myself prepared for the next few early mornings and got straight to work.  I can't even tell you how many loads of laundry I did throughout the packing process.  That was the step that took the longest actually, just waiting for stuff to come out of the dryer so I could pack it.  I used Space Bags for all the big stuff like towels, sheets, pillows, and my comforter.  This was a big help when it came to maximizing space in my car, but I can tell you that most of these things were terribly wrinkled when I opened the bags.  Silly infomercials.  I wanted to completely finish packing in the afternoon, which kinda sorta happened.  The last thing left to pack was my books, but other than that I was pretty set.

So I went over to Rob's house for the night after packing was finished because he won't be able to come visit me while I'm here.  We had a dinner date a couple of nights before so I was expecting Saturday to be very low-key.  At about 5pm I was really exhausted because I didn't get much sleep the night before.  So Rob told me to lay down for a nap and then he'd wake me up in half an hour so we could eat dinner.

Flash forward to about 5:30.  I woke up to someone jabbing me in the shoulder, and when I opened my eyes I saw Rob sitting a few feet away.  So who was jabbing at me?  I turned my head and saw my best friend!  It was pretty great since she lives a few hours away so we don't see each other often (our St. Augustine trip had to be cancelled :-( ).  We started chatting and a few minutes later one of my former roommates walked in!  More chatting ensued, and then one of my friends from high school walked in with his fiancee!  They've been together for a couple of years but I haven't actually met her because they live in Atlanta.  Anyway, long story short: Surprise going-away party!  I was very excited AND totally surprised, which never happens.  We had a great evening with pizza, cookie cake, and Shaun of the Dead, and Rob was so awesomely sweet to put it together for me!  And all who drove miles to see me are awesome too. :-D

Unfortunately we couldn't visit as long as I wanted to because I needed to be up super-early!  Everyone was gone by 1:15am so Rob and I (or maybe just me.  Rob doesn't sleep well lately) snoozed until 5am, when I rubbed my eyes and prepared to leave.  I left at 6am and headed home first.

At the last minute, my parents decided they wanted to go with me to Orlando to check in.  So Dad drove in a car behind me and Mom rode with me.  In retrospect it's probably good that someone else was with me who I could talk to, because I was feeling very sleepy for some of the drive.  We got to Orlando around 2:30pm, but hit terrible traffic on I-4 and were stuck for an hour.  It was a slow drive but we finally made it to our exit. More traffic, and then we got to the hotel!  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree which is basically across the street from Vista Way, where I needed to be for check-in.  If you are still looking for a place to stay before check-in, I recommend this hotel!  The rooms were very spacious and comfortable.  I think I would have been lonely in there by myself, haha.  Two of my now-roommates were staying there too, so I met up with one of them to go to Downtown Disney.  Some of the D-Fam got together and we sat around Earl of Sandwich chatting for awhile.  Then Molly and I went back to the hotel and I pretty much crashed into my bed.

Monday morning I walked down with Molly and Elyse (another one of my roommates) to Vista Way at 7am. We got in line and waited for about twenty minutes.  There was already a line and it grew while we waited.  They started letting us in about 7:30, but my memory just could be fuzzy and it might have been closer to 7:45.  But you'll have to wait for the next installment, because this post is long enough!  Soon to come: Check-In Day for the CP!

Last days before the CP.

I totally meant to write more during these last couple of weeks as preparations went into "hardcore mode."  Oops!  It's Thursday night (actually it will probably be the early hours of Friday morning by the time I post this), and I leave for Orlando bright and early Sunday morning.

First I want to mention the packing process!  I'm still working on it, to be honest.  For as long as I can remember, I've been a last-minute packer.  Actually I wouldn't even know what to do with myself if I were already completely finished.  While packing stuff from home and listing items to buy once I'm settled in Orlando, I decided to publish the finished list on my blog later.  It will probably be up after I arrive so watch out for that!

Wow.  I had a lot more to write when I started this post, but now sleepiness is taking over quickly.

Over the past few days I got much more emotional and nervous.  I'm definitely excited, don't get me wrong.  It just hit me a lot harder that I'll be separated from people, places, and things I love for much longer than ever before.  Even while I was away at UGA, I was able to visit family, friends, and Rob easily.  Basically it feels like "leaving for college" x 10 right now.  And I'm unfortunately prone to stress and anxiety, so I've been trying to keep my mind on the happier stuff I can look forward to.  I've also been reading a lot, enjoying the spa gift certificate I got for graduation, and baking up a storm!

Well I need to get to sleep.  Busy days ahead for me!  If I'm not able to post anything again before I check in on Monday, wish me luck please!

Less than a month to go!

The countdown to check-in day is under 30 days now.

ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod


I love making lists, so here's a quick checklist of things I still need to do before leaving for the CP:
 - Finish filling out all of the paperwork
 - Get a Disney Look-appropriate pair of glasses just in case (my pink frames definitely won't work, and the black ones might be a bit too bold on me)
 - Final pow-wows with the three girls I'm hoping to share an apartment with so we can plan
 - Clean out my car completely
 - Make lists of what to bring and start packing
 - Organize my room, including ordering/assembling my new bookcase and putting away everything that isn't coming with me

Lots of preparations still need to be made!  Speaking of packing, I've been toying with what entertainment items (books, DVDs, etc.) I'll bring to Orlando.  I definitely don't want to bring my entire DVD collection because it would take up too much room.  So I think I'll narrow it down to ten or so that I simply know I want to have available during the CP.  So many things can be watched online these days that I don't really feel I'll need more than that by myself.  I'll have to do the same with my books.  Now the difficult task of narrowing down which ones I can't be without looms ahead of me.  Maybe two or three of my favorites, and then seven or eight thick books that I haven't read yet?  And then there are knitting supplies too, but that will be simpler.  All of my tools are kept in a box together so it's just a matter of figuring out which yarns to bring. Aside from those three categories, I have not thought of any other entertainment/miscellaneous items I could pack other than my photo album and a lamp.  It will be interesting to see what sneaks into my car as I'm packing.

A recent development is that my family is making plans to come visit me while I'm in Florida.  My parents want to visit for one weekend in September so they went ahead and made reservations at All-Star Sports.  Hopefully I'll be able to request a day off while they are there!  And because they can't bear the thought of not seeing me at Christmastime they decided to plan a WDW trip that week and bring my younger sister.  I warned them that there's basically no chance I'll be able to make requests during the week of Christmas but I can try to see them between shifts as much as possible.  It's not like they'll be short on things to do in WDW. :-)

I'm taking my plane trip this weekend.  Send me good travel vibes, please!  And take care!

Summertime.

Sorry I haven't updated lately.  There isn't a lot of CP-related stuff going on at the moment.  But I am enjoying my summer, as I hope you are!  Just for kicks, I thought I'd revisit my list of ten things I wanted/needed to do before the CP.  Some of the tasks are accomplished, some not.  But with a month left before I leave there's a bit of time to kill.

1. Complete my senior thesis. - This went very well!
2. Graduate. - Done!  My diploma even arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago.  I'll get it framed eventually.
3. Knit my birthday/graduation blanket. - Definitely didn't start this at all.  I discovered the joy of knitting instant gratification projects (hats, mitts, etc.) so this project is postponed.
4. Go to St. Augustine with my best friend. - We leave Monday!  She and I both need a vacation and I'm very excited.
5. Read as much as I possibly can. - Well this really can't be crossed off, can it?  I didn't read as much as I wanted to, but I did get a lot more leisure reading done than usual.
6. Move out of my apartment and find a place to store my stuff. - A work in progress.  There are some pieces of furniture that still need to be moved out, and my roommates and I need to clean out our kitchen soon.
7. Up my Netflix use. - Again, not really something that can be crossed off completely because of its vague nature.  But I definitely received/sent DVDs more frequently and used Watch Instantly a lot.
8. Work on my running. - I admit that I didn't do this.  But I did manage to make it to the gym several times this summer so at least I got exercise.
9. Get my own health insurance plan. - Finally, something that can be crossed off! :-)
10. Pack for the CP. - I have yet to start this one.  Most of my stuff is packed up in boxes while I move but it needs to be filtered through while I figure out what I'm actually bringing with me next month.

I guess looking at it this way, my summer to-do efforts look like a bit of a failure.  But that's the consequence of choosing vague goals!  And there were other things I did that aren't on this list I wrote several months ago.

The next couple of weeks before I leave will be very busy, as well.  Robin and I leave on Monday and get back the following Friday.  Then the next morning I'm getting on a plane for a weekend trip to surprise someone.  I hate flying so I'm bringing a book or two and hoping that the flights go by quickly.  I would bring some knitting, but getting needles on the plane is so dependent on the whim of the particular guard checking carry-on luggage that I won't bother.  When I get back from that trip, there will be less than three weeks left before check-in so it will be time to start seriously packing!

That's it for me today.  Take care of yourself, dear reader!

Eight Weeks Left!

In just eight weeks the August CPs will start checking in, which means that I'll be moving in to the apartments!  Today the last group of Fall Advantage people checked in, so I hope that they all enjoy their first few days of training.  Good luck everyone!  So many D-Fam folks are already there, and I can't wait to meet them.

It looks like I have some new roommates!  A couple of months ago, I found someone on the Facebook groups and we chatted about sharing a room but it doesn't look like it will work out.  So for the moment, there are 3 of us and we are looking for a fourth!

Now that I am less than two months away from arriving in Orlando, I suddenly feel a rush of nerves.  I'm excited of course!  But when we were three or more months away from checking in, it felt far enough not to get nervous or stressed.  When I realized that now it is less than two months until my program starts, suddenly I thought, "Where did all that time go?  And there's so little time left!"  It got me thinking about how much I still have left to do and all of the people/things/places that I'm going to miss while in Orlando.  I suppose that what I'm experiencing could be considered "pre-homesickness."  I'm a pretty emotional person so I expect to have a hard time with these last few weeks.

What about you, fellow Fall CPs?  Are you feeling at all nervous or anxious, or is it just excitement?

Defending Your CP Decision

If you are a past/present/future College Program participant, it's pretty likely that you've run into at least one negative friend, family member, school advisor, or complete stranger.  You know the type.  "You're doing the College Program?  You know you'll just be cheap labor, right?"  Or "I can't imagine anything worse than working for Disney.  All those annoying kids and angry tourists!"  Although it doesn't apply to me as a graduate, I've also heard "You're postponing graduation to operate roller coasters for a semester?"  There are numerous possibilities for the negative questions or statements undoubtedly coming your way at least once.  And it can be enough to get you defensively riled up sometimes.

Since I went public with my decision to do the CP, I've had many of these conversations already and I expect to have many more.  It's simply unavoidable.  But this post was inspired by a conversation online that I had the other day.  I was in a favorite online community and the subject of Disneyland/Disney World came up.  What followed was a division of members on whether Disney was a favorite aspect of childhood memories and experiences or an evil corporation determined to weasel money away from innocents.  It's pretty common whenever Disney becomes a topic there, so I wasn't surprised.  A fellow community member stated that she (or he, I don't know) was just hired at Disneyland to work in Attractions and was really excited.  I jumped in and responded with "Good luck! I start working at WDW in a few weeks!"  Then someone else responded to me, and here was the turn the conversation took.

Her: "Awesome!  I'm a Cast Member, do you know where you'll be working?"
Me: "Nope, not yet.  I'm in Attractions, though!"
Her: "If you want, I can check the Hub for you to find out your assignment.  I'd be happy to!"
Me: "Well thanks!  But I don't start until August so I am not in the system yet."
Her: "Oh Lord...  You aren't an unfortunate CP, are you?"
Me: "Yes, I am!"

And there was never a reply.  This amused me because it jumps to a whole new level of harsh outside perspectives.  Now other Cast Members are expressing their CP negativity to me.  At least I'm taking her at her word that she is indeed a CM.

There are so many ways to defend your decision to do the CP, depending on the specifics of the conversation.  If they tell you that you'll be wasting a semester or that Disney is just using you, you can point out the education and networking opportunities which are always a valuable aspect and ideal of any internship (although often people my age end up running for coffee and making copies in the name of "interning").  And regardless of your experience, you will be able to put a big name like Disney on your resume when you finish the program.  This is a point that the program uses for advertisement and I think it's a valid one.  In my own experience I've worked for both an international well-known retail company and a local small business that no one has ever heard of.  Which do you think stands out more on my resume?  Even during my CP interview, the interviewer expressed greater interest in my experience with that company because she was familiar with the corporation and the skills I would possess in order to be considered for a job there as well as the skills I would gain during my employment.  I think the same applies for the Disney company in terms of familiarity.  In my opinion any experience is good experience but the big name doesn't hurt.  As college or post-college jobs go, you could be doing much worse and not getting the same education/networking opportunities.  (For the record, I'm not saying that the CP is a fast-track to anything else because experiences vary.  A lot of it depends on how the participant chooses to utilize these opportunities!)

But this is just one example of how we will undoubtedly need to back up our choice to do the CP.  What about you, readers?  Any interesting stories about people expressing these sentiments to you about the CP?  How do you respond?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And by the way, I've jumped on the TUMBLR bandwagon.  If you have one, feel free to follow and/or let me know!