Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The One about my Favorite Hobby

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When you do something BIG, like move, usually it is newsworthy. However, part of the definition of newsworthy is something that is a rare occurrence. So, with that in mind, it should not be news at all that I am moving, again. No joke, I really am moving, but before you go thinking I am too crazy, it's just a move across town!

I lasted 4 LONG MONTHS in Kissimmee, a suburb of Orlando I guess you could call it, the ghetto of Orlando is more like it though. I grew tired of the commute to work really fast. I probably spent about $100 a month in tolls, easily, since there are 2 tolls to and from work. Toll roads are called Tolls because they take a toll on your bank account. It's highway robbery!

Anyhow, the decision to move was not an easy one as my current roommates are as awesome as they get and I felt like moving them would be ditching them, which I did not want to do at all. But with my need-to-buy-a-car deadline approaching fast, I needed to make some changes that would save me money and thus make buying a car more affordable. So by moving closer to work, cutting out the toll roads and my commute by 75%, I will be saving enough to make a huge dent in a monthly car payment.

To top it off, I will be living with my former roommates Becca and Sheena and 2 new roommates Mel and Amber and for that, I am very excited! But wait! It gets better! For the first time in my entire life, I will have a WALK-IN CLOSET!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I am so excited! I looked at it today and screamed like a little girl on Christmas who got a Barbie playhouse. Built in shelves, so much storage...it's amazing what a walk-in closet can do to improve a girl's mood.

Anyways, I've been moving my stuff over all week and will start living there for real April 1st. It's a great apartment complex pretty much 5 miles from work. Life is going to be so much easier being closer, or at least I'm hoping so! With the 40 minutes a day I'm going to save on drive-time, I might actually get my butt to the gym on a semi-regular basis. Let's hope! Anyhow, time to pack up a few more things and get to bed.

Bonus Features:
1) My computer was freaking out on me again, randomly shutting off for unknown reasons (kind of like my car, lol funny but not really, anyhow...) so I wiped it clean and reinstalled the Operating System (yikes!) and am currently working on restoring music, photos and other documents. Pray it works. It's such a headache!

2) I just checked, my music is SAVED!!!! That's just about the best news all day right there. The bad news is that my play counts on iTunes were erased so now I will have to recreate my top 25 most played which was 2 years in the making of some of my all time faves. The good news is my Top 25 most played will no longer make me cringe because of that one summer I listened to a little too much Miley Cyrus. =)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The One about Epcot (and other various changes!)

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Today I got 2 pieces of job-related news to wrap my mind around..... Shift bids were this week (that's where everyone in my department re-picks what park they work at and what their days off will be). Being low on the totem pole I don't really get to pick, I'm moreso just told what's left for me to have. Having only ever worked at Magic Kingdom, I clearly hoped that Magic Kingdom is where I would be placed. However, since that is what I wanted I should have known that is not what I would get, because that's just how my life goes you know? lol If you couldn't guess from the title of the blog I got placed at Epcot.



Epcot's Pros:
Closer Parking (at Magic you have to park like on the moon and then take a bus)
Nicer guests (the mood is more relaxed than at Magic and guests are willing to talk more)
Shade (stand under the big ball, avoid the sun, it's that simple)
Wind (their is a wind tunnel created by the big ball, which will come in very handy on a hot summer day)
No interuptions (At magic kingdom, you have 4 parades, numerous marching bands, a flag retreat and goodness knows what else that make talking to guests impossible, Epcot as no such interruptions)

Epcot's Cons:
NO FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know if you realize this but my job is made 100% better by my co-workers and for the most part, they all work at Magic Kingdom! No Jason, No Ariel, No Jordan, No Tracey, No Andrew, No Sarah, No Angela, the list goes on and on. I will miss you, my friends, come visit me. With my luck, the Epcot ball will come loose and roll me over and squash me like the Disney-slave ant that I am. If that happens, please feel free to play Hanson at my funeral.

Also, another con, the cafeteria is like a million miles away. But that could be a con hidden as a pro because it will motivate me to bring my own beverage to lunch and not buy anything, hence it will save me money. (I always bring my own meal, I just usually buy a beverage because fountain pop IS the best! Aren't you glad you know that completely useless fact about me now!?)

I also cannot explain directions at Epcot if my life depended on it. I am usually really good at getting a visual map in my head of any place I go after walking around it 1 time, but not Epcot. Where is soarin you ask? Head that direction and find the next cast member so they can tell you. That will be my answer. lol The closest smoking section? Heck if I know. I can tell you the location of every single smoking section in the Magic Kingdom, the menus of almost every restaurant (quick service and sit down), the food served at every cart in the Magic Kingdom, the location of every bathroom with detailed directions on how to get there no matter where we are currently standing and pretty much anything else you want to know. Basically, I rock the face off of Magic Kingdom and pride myself on knowing it inside and out. Epcot is a mystery to me. I like to tell myself that I need to figure out Epcot like I have figured out Magic Kingdom so that when I am President of Walt Disney World I know all the parks well haha and then I woke up from my dream...

Today I also found out that I did not get the Research Coordinator position that I applied/interviewed for. I interviewed last week and it went really well, I was pleased with how I did and really went into it with the attitude that interviews are always good practice and I had no expectation of actually getting the position. So I was not surprised to hear that I did not get it. I did, however, get relief coordinator! Essentially, whenever one of the coordinators has a day off or calls in sick, the pull a relief coordinator to fill in! So that is exciting and will bring on some new challenges that I can tackle!

So a lot of changes at work and in life but more about the life changes LATER. I am off to bed, gotta get up early tomorrow and open Epcot, go figure!! Until next time...

Bonus Features:
1) Only my Minnesota friends will get this most likely...today I met one of the co-founders of Cub foods! How insanely random, huh? I just saw this old man walking with a Mall of America hat on so I started chatting with him, turns out he started the biggest Grocery store chain in all of Minnesota!
2) Who watches American Idol? This season kinda blows, not going to lie, but I am all about Casey and Lee. Those 2 are probably the only 2 that I would buy a CD of, maybe Crystal. It's just a world of different from last season when I loved the whole top 10 practically.

Friday, March 5, 2010

The One Where Everything Went Wrong

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The title is no exaggeration, everything that could possibly go wrong lately has gone wrong. Let me explain.

If you've followed along, you know that car trouble to me is regular occurrence. So when the car I've been driving (my mom's white convertible) started breaking down AGAIN, I thought to myself, "I really need my own car ASAP!" So I started car shopping. Before you know it I'm at a dealership signing papers for a 2005 Toyota Corolla. I had looked at this car forever online and in a whirlwind of activity at the dealership, it became mine...kinda...see after I drove off and the reality set in, I realized that the car didn't have everything it was advertised as having. No keyless entry, no power seats or power windows and no MP3 hook-up. Shocked at my discovery, I (along with my friend Sam, but it was mostly Sam who did the talking cuz I am a baby) brought it to the attention of the dealership that they falsely advertised their car, to which they responded "Too bad so sad" (I am paraphrasing).

Their rude behavior and deception was too much! On top of it all they were unable to deliver a low APR as promised. So I did what every 24-year-old who is in over their head would do. I called my parents. For days it was a back and forth phone-call marathon between my mom, me and the dealer. The dealer would call and bug me relentlessly at work, my mom would call them to get some answers and I would just cry, all the time, but mostly at the most inconvenient times like at morning work meetings (awesome). The situation was out of control, my mom threatened to get a lawyer and they pretty much laughed in her face. Finally, having reached the end of her rope, she handed the phone to my step-dad. Now, if you have ever met my step-dad or been unlucky enough to make him mad, then you know, this is just not something you do. The dealership had the nerve to imply he was a bad parent by not being there with me when I was there buying a car so it was his fault or something. Insanity!! That, rightfully so, made him really mad, so my step dad said, "You take back the car, give her all of her money back with no fees or I will see you on Monday with my attorney!" And he meant every word and I think the dealership knew it because before you know it they agreed to take back the car and give me all my money back! Hooray!

So after that headache was over it was time for the next one. Since the whole reason I bought a car was due to the fact that the convertible thought it was fun to shut off randomly while in use, I brought her into a Mitsubishi dealer for the diagnosis. $740 later, she runs great (for the time being) and it bought me a little bit more time to shop for cars until my mother takes the car back to Minnesota for another summer.

With the car fiasco behind me, I felt like it was only UP from here but I was wrong, Oh so wrong. I had about 4 days in between the end of car-gate (like watergate but not...lol) and my trip to the ER (say what!?!?) Yes the ER And in that 4 day time span, my computer decided to up and get a virus because my life was getting a tad too easy and that's just not OK I guess but let's get back to the ER story.

The pain started on the Wednesday of my work week (not an actual wednesday, just MY wednesday aka the 3rd day in my work week). It basically felt like cramps but times 100. Seriously. I worked through it but when it came to my Friday night, I was in so much pain. My friends Jon and Shanelle were in town from Nashville (yay!!!)  and Jon was planning on purposing to Shanelle during fireworks at the Magic Kingdom (triple yay!!!) , so despite my pain, I couldn't miss seeing that! It was magical and amazing and she said YES, obviously, but I headed out ASAP!

When I got home I tried to just relax and sleep it off or something, but I was in so much pain it was impossible. I was literally laying in bed just crying because it hurt so much (mostly in my lower back but not my back per-se but the organs located in that general location were clearly not happy for some reason). Fearing I had a kidney infection or that my appendix was going to rupture or something else awful, I went to the Emergency Room. After about 3 hours, a doctor finally saw me for about 5 minutes. He diagnosed me with a bladder infection and told me to come back if I throw-up (kidney infection sign) or if pain on my right side worsens (appendix gone awry sign). Well in the next few days I did throw up and I did feel pain on my right side and I tried to get into a doctor without going to the ER again and I had an appointment and wouldn't you know it? The doctor canceled on me. So I waited it out for another day because I had no other choice and now we are caught up to the present. I am writing this from my sick bed. I attempted to blog earlier on but my nausea was so bad I got dizzy looking at the letters fly across the screen as I typed lol. I had to call into work because I couldn't stand for 5 minutes without getting dizzy and I figured that me fainting while doing a survey isn't so magical so I'm best staying at home. The antibiotics and pain killers seem to be doing their job but I fear that some of the things I've been experiencing (nausea, dizziness, fatigue, etc) is actually because of the meds! So I am waiting until I am back at 100% before I get back to work and the earliest the doc could squeeze me in was Wednesday (like 4 days away!!) So pray that my appendix doesn't explode before then I guess... (really bad joke, I'm sorry, I don't think it will).

lol But to be honest, the severity of my car situation and my health situation, really put life in perspective. What may seem like the end of the world is actually a very manageable problem usually.

If you know me at all, you know I always try to look at the bright side of every situation. With an avalanche of "bad" thrown on me, it has been hard to keep my sunny outlook on life but the amount of friends and family I have had help me through each situation has shown me beyond a shadow of a doubt how many great people I have who care about me. When I didn't have a car for over a week due to car-gate, I didn't miss a day of work due to the help of friends and co-workers who either brought me to work or switched with me so I could ride into work with a roommate who was also working at the Magic Kingdom. My mom, dad, stepmom and step-dad were all there for me the best they could be from Minnesota My roommate Will brought me to and from work AND waited in the ER with me. My roommates Emily and Jessi both let me borrow their cars in a pinch. My co-worker Tracey let me sleep at her place, bought me dinner and brought me to work the next morning. My friends Jon and Shanelle drove me home when the meds I was on made it very dangerous for me drive. And my friend Michelle pretty much did everything under the sun from driving me places, picking me up, sharing her mom with me, letting me stay over, not getting mad that I threw up on the side of her car....lol...gross, I know, and that's just the beginning. I am so lucky to have so many people care about me and I can only hope that I can be there for you guys as much as you've been there for me. So while I still don't have my own car yet and my computer is in the process of backing up files as I type and my body can't decide if it's healthy or sick still, I know everything will eventually work out just fine. And to ALL my friends and family, I love you, thanks for being there.

Bonus Features:

1) On the way to return the car a really funny thing happened. It was raining and the paper temporary license plate the dealer put on the car was falling off because it was completely soaking wet. I knew this already because Michelle, who was following behind me, called to tell me so. But just as I was at the light to turn into the dealer's lot, a nice man in the car next to me on the right started waving at me, he looked all concerned and yelled "Your tag is falling off!!" but, since I didn't have power windows and couldn't reach the window to roll it down, I just waved back and tried to mouth "I know!" but I was smiling because the whole situation was so ironic that I think he thought I didn't hear him right! But I did, and I laughed.

2) This is probably the worst news of all my bad news: My FAVORITE BAND in ALL OF FLORIDA - MARK & JAMES - SPLIT UP! I probably got sick because the news of this was so distressing. I loved going to see them play like whenever possible and not gonna lie, pretty much thought James was the coolest guy ever. Alas, no more. I seriously listen to them (along with the Fray and some Jon McL) every night before bed. I am sad that the last time I saw them play, James was tipsy being socially awkward and I am sad to think about never hearing "Just Because" ever again.