Princesses everywhere!

Yesterday was the princess half marathon! So many people were in their tutus, and came to the Polynesian afterwards for breakfast. Me and Courtney did $1,600 in sales from 6:30am-12pm. Not too shabby! The run went right by the hotel, so a lot of people who were waiting to see their loved one came in for coffee or came after seeing them to warm up because the race started at 4am.
The other day, I conquered The Kitchen Sink at Beaches N' Cream with Samantha, Andrew, and Nicole. Checked another thing off my Disney bucket list :) It was so good!!
Last Sunday, me and my roommates went to House of Blues, and it was definitely a college program night! There were so many of us, but it was so fun with free entry and free drinks until midnight. I definitely like it more than Buffalo Wild Wings, probably because it's more open with higher ceilings and two levels.

Last Tuesday, I had the day off and was able to go to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom with my family. I took my Aunt Steph and Uncle Brian and their two kids Ben and Will. Disney gave me a Blue Main Gate pass with 6 sets of 3 complimentary tickets to take whomever I choose. Disney is so awesome. So we went to Animal Kingdom first and got to ride everything very quickly because it wasn't crowded yet. Then we headed over to Magic Kingdom and it was PACKED. We got Will's silhouette picture done in Liberty Square before his first haircut. I got a delicious waffle with nutella and fruit on it. Then we headed over to get will's hair cut. He was so good!

Then we went to Casey's for hot dogs. I got the barbeque slaw dog which was amazing, and then we headed back over to the barbershop on Main st. to get Ben and Brian's hair cut. Afterwards, we rode a few rides and got ice cream (mickey bar for me) and then Brian took the boys back to Grandma and Grandpa's because it was getting late. So me and Stephanie went to Epcot to explore. We went to France and had an apple tart and some sparkling wine, then went on Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, checked Mexico out and ordered a turkey leg. Brian called and said he wanted to meet up, so we told him to meet us at Magic Kingdom for the fireworks.

We met up after the fireworks and went to the Haunted Mansion...and we squeezed all 3 of us into one buggy. That is a feat in itself. Next, we went on the Teacups. I have never had a better time on a ride. I was not ready for the sheer spinnitude that went down. My hair was straight out for the whole ride, and I haven't laughed so hard in my life as I did then. Brian's face was hilarious, and everything was a blur except for Stephanie and Brian. We watched the electrical parade, went on Pirates of The Caribbean and then lastly, Jungle Cruise, because I had to be to work at 8am and it was already Midnight. It was well worth it though.

My mom comes on Wednesday and Jess comes March 9th! So excited :)

Overworked and Under-appreciated

Today is Valentine's day, it should be a happy day, right? I worked 8am-10pm, and that was only because I asked to be let go so I could get to sleep so I can be back to work tomorrow at 7am. And I was at work until 11pm last night.
So I'm tired, and I think that's why it hit me so hard that no one sent me a text to say Happy Valentine's day except for my Aunt Sally, and I realize I didn't either, but I literally don't have the time. And the last week or so, whenever we get a phone call from the front desk saying there's a package, I hope it's for me, but it's been a giant card for one roommate, Godiva and dove chocolates for another roommate, and then tonight, when I walk in, I am hit with the vision of 2 dozen big beautiful red roses. That aren't for me, obviously. I don't even like roses. But it just hit me that I am alone, and there's no one to even give me a second thought on a special day, even if it is a hallmark holiday. And I'm not saying I am not spoiled on every other occasion by my family----I am. But it's just today for some reason that made me feel sad that no one wanted to make me feel special, when I was making 850 (literally, we did 850 covers today) people feel special.
It is pathetic, but the highlight of my day was getting a tinker bell valentine from a 7 year old girl that I don't even know. I almost cried. I am going to stop feeling sorry for myself now and go to sleep so I don't look like a train wreck tomorrow and start feeling happy for my roommates that did get acknowledged :)

Work, work, work

I have been suuuuper busy since my last post. The day after my last post, we took more e-classes all day and then went to the Polynesian's personal costume department to get our *ahem* attractive outfits. I felt like I was on a catwalk at the salvation army to be honest. A bunch of clothes I didn't want to have and I got 5 of each...pleated tan pants, a multi colored leaf vest, and poofy shoulder white shirt. Oh, and a belt to help hold up the pants that already go more than half way up my torso.

Monday started the real training. I was in the kitchen shadowing the cooks. I was there for the breakfast and lunch shifts. I got to try so many different foods! I tried a special seaweed, ribs, macadamia nut pancakes, red velvet pancakes, the asian salad and peanut vinaigrette, and even got the Big Kahuna breakfast for my meal during my break. Tuesday, I learned the podium. That is where I will be once I'm done training. I learned how to check people in if they have a reservation, and to put new guests into the computer who want to dine at Kona Cafe. I also learned all the table numbers and seated people at the tables for their meals. At lunch time, the dessert bar has all of the desserts on display. We show the guests this before seating them. I love lunch time because they make waffle cones and the air smells like it all day :)

Tuesday night, Vista Way, one of the apartment complexes for college program cast members had a welcome party complete with free pizza, pop, and a DJ. Also, Buzz, Woody, Bullseye, and Jessie were there to take pictures with.

Wednesday, I followed a server, Laura, and Gustavo, a runner. The runners run out the meals and the servers take care of everything else. Thursday and Friday I had to be to work at 5:15am to learn the coffee bar with a great woman named Pon from Thailand. I love getting free coffee at my work, and at the coffee bar, I went a bit overboard! Getting up so early made me do it. I had an iced mocha, 2 shots of expresso, and 2 coffees.

On Friday night, me and my roommates went to Epcot and rode some rides and watched Illuminations, the firework show they have every night at 9pm. Me and my roommate Sarah grabbed a mango margarita in Mexico, and took pictures in the telephone booth in the United Kingdom. We also grabbed some dessert in France. I ordered a chocolate croissant in French :)

Saturday, me, Nicole, and Sarah headed to Blizzard Beach because we can get in for free right now! It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed hanging out in the lazy river and wave pool for many hours.

On Sunday, I went to my Grandma and Grandpa's to hang out for a bit because my Grandma went up north to fly back down with Stephanie, Ben, and Will on Monday. We watched Swamp People for 4 hours and I relished not moving for so many hours straight. I even took a nap! Then I went to my friend John's apartment in Downtown Orlando for his superbowl party. After halftime, I went to Patterson Court which is the apartment complex right across from mine because my roommates Samantha, Sarah and Nicole were at their friend Andrew's place. He was also having a Superbowl party. We played a little beer pong, ate some wings, and then Nicole and Andrew's roommate Patrick had a cinnamon eating contest. This was for Patrick's blog. All in all, a very eventful day even though it was relaxing.

Monday, I started back up at work, this time as an assigner. I have a tablet, which is basically a mobile computer with a little stylus pen. We assign seats for the guests who come in. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, because I have to make sure all of the servers are getting the same amount of guests in their sections and not getting skipped, even though sometimes their tables aren't clean or they don't have the right table for the amount of guests who've arrived. I did it again today and will have my last day learning it tomorrow. I am getting more comfortable with it but it is still difficult.

Tonight, me, Samantha, and Nicole made a bucket list for our time at Disney...it's 2 pages!