I AM SLACKING ON THE BLOGGING.

 My goal was to update the blog about once a week and now it's 15 days later! What the heck.
I feel like so much has gone on but then again I have been so crazy busy that I have forgotten about everything. Oh well, I shall share all that is on my mind! First of all, I found a fellow Texan. For all my Sooners out there, yes he is Longhorn but he is still from the Lone Star State and I love love love that! We met, shared a Howdy ya'll and are now friends.
So the last time I blogged was around my mom's and Abraham Lincoln's birthday... Man, he was a great president. I sent my little baby cousin, Presely a Minnie Mouse bib for valentines day and a fun care package to my family with a bunch of Mickey gear. My sister is obsessed with cheetah print so I sent her a black beach towel with brown Mickey Mouse heads all over it. I found it at Animal Kingdom. Cool! One of my good friends here in Orlando celebrated her birthday on the Valentines Day! Me, Kendra (birthday girl), Christy and Danielle went out to dinner and walked around Downtown Disney. She is a super duper and I quite enjoy our friendship!

I have class here at Disney every Tuesday and my last class was spent at the Magic Kingdom! Not only did I get to take a picture with some awesome Sooners, but my assignments for the day were based off of the Magic Kingdom, its history, questionnaires about the park and specific locations within and puzzles that would lead us to more information about the park! HOW COOL IS THAT!? Granted I still have 12 hours through OU I am not getting to walk around the Magic Kingdom for, but I am still one happy gal. One of our scavenger hunt items was to get a picture with a princess. Does anyone know who this is? 

Work is getting so much better! It was never bad, it is just much more fun now that I have friends at work and can be my goofy, weird self. Not only does that make the time go by faster, but it makes for a great 10 hour day! I am really enjoying absorbing as much information as I can, while learning and growing in the working world. Did that sound dumb? Probably! 

Ahh I am SO beyond excited to share the next topic which can be summed up in about 3 words; surprises, family and Sooners! This past weekend, February 16-19, I was able to get off of work (my Managers are the absolute best) and attend The University of Oklahoma's High School Leadership Conference. I found out about 3 weeks prior that I was going to be able to make it and fulfill my position as MC on the Executive committee! I told my parents (that I was going to be traveling to another state), Ganga, the chair of the conference and my friend Vicki who was picking me up from the airport! Everyone else I wanted to surprise! Especially my sweet little sister, Erin! The leadership conference is specifically for high school juniors which made my sister a prime candidate to attend! She and her friend that is a boy both went and I know had the time of their lives! 
Right when I got there Vicki and I went to Crackle Barrel (it was sweet potato Thursday and if you know me, you KNOW I will not miss out on that!) and then went right to campus to find my greatest friend Kelsey and surprise her! I went to her classroom and it was so so so wonderful! I had just gotten off the phone with her moments before, so she was clueless. We had to take a picture immediately and Kelsey was adamant about tweeting this! I was so worried that my sister was going to see it that I made Kelsey go and block Erin from Twitter haha! Anyways, that whole day was a breath of fresh air. Seeing and hugging all of my great friends, catching up and planning last minute details for the conference felt like I had been in Norman all semester! 

Friday was the day I had been waiting on for what seemed like forever! I talked to my sister in the car (on her way to Norman) telling her about my day off in Orlando and gave her some last minute details about what to expect at the Conference. My parents text me right when they got there and I had butterflies in my stomach because I was so excited to freak her out! Most everyone on exec knew what was going on (because I told them) and I was thrilled for it to all play out! There was a spirit line that everyone made as the campers came in the room, so Vicki went and brought in Erin and I waited at the end of the line to pop out! 

There were tears, there was screaming, there was so much hugging and laughing. The moment was priceless! I was so beyond happy to be able to not only see her for a quick two days but to watch her get so much out of this conference as a high school junior! The campers were split into small groups for the weekend were they went to workshops, heard an inspirational speaker, did strength building activities and really were able to learn more about themselves throughout the short 40 hours they were in Norman. I will attach the link to the wrap-up video! If you have time, or care to get a little glimpse of the weekend, go watch it! 

http://vimeo.com/37162268

I also got to spend some time with the family in between times I wasn't needed at the conference. I can't even describe how great it was to be back! Plus! I got to fly. I LOVE AIRPLANES and I LOVE FLYING! Top five favorite things. 

That little adventure is probably the highlight of this blog. I could probably write about four more paragraphs on the weekend alone. But, I won't. The last I will say is, I am so proud to be a Sooner and even more proud to be a part of such a great Exec! 

So after I left the chilly Oklahoma, I got back to Orlando (where I was greeted with fireworks in the sky coming from the Magic Kingdom), I worked for a day, had a day off, worked for a day and then went back to the beach with some friends and one new friend from work! 

Again, I have a really rough life. 

I do though have two papers, a project and some discussions to work on, on top of a 41 hour work week coming up! I am doing everything I can right now to keep from getting sick. So many people around my apartment complex and at work are getting sick and I just won't have it! I am loading up on my vitamin c chewables and the netty pot. 

A couple more things before I bid you farewell:

1. Winnie is a very very sweet bear. 

2. If you ever go to the Magic Kingdom, PLEASE purchase a Nutella waffle with fruit... YUM.

3. I gave up chocolate for lent. It has been four days and I am dying. 

4. I bought a bunch of Nilla wafers and animal crackers to satisfy my sweet tooth craving. These purchases absolutely defeat the purpose of giving up chocolate to begin with. 

5. I am on my feet all all all day long and my generous and very kind grandmother sent me every type of foot massaging, scrub and relaxer you could every imagine! What a great listener she is! I am so thankful, Mimi! 

6. I was just moseying around Epcot the other day when all the sudden I see Michael Buble! Yes, you read right. He and his wife were both at Epcot and ate at my restaurant. Paul McCartney was at the Animal Kingdom the other day and Nicki Minaj is here tonight for All Star Weekend along with many other celebrities! The town is popppiiinnnn!

Alrighty folks, that is about all I have right now. Currently am reading a couple books I might comment on soon. I am leaving everyone with a quote I am quite enjoying this week:

Hola! Como estas!

HELLLLLOOOO HUMANS!!!! 

How has it already been 8 days since my last post? Time is just flying. I promised myself I would stay up to date with each post, informing everyone of what is going on... but I have been a little busy. I apologize! To begin, if you ever get the chance to visit Magic Kingdom, PLEASE go to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor- not only is the mini production super cute but I was literally dying laughing. I am a dork and find those things funny but I assure you, you would too! Hollywood Studios put on a Pixar parade the other day and that was so so so so much fun to watch! All of our favorite characters from movies like Toy Story, Up, Monsters Inc., Ratatouille and more were just dancing down the street! 

I am going to make a list of each of the things I want to tell everyone about, starting with the LANGUAGE BARRIER! 

This is probably up there in the top 5 struggles of my program thus far. I have taken spanish in high school and now college so I understand some and can speak very little. But in no way can I understand Portuguese, Hindi, French, Sign Language, Russian, etc. much less try to say "yes" or "no" in any of them. I try to find the nearest person who might be able to communicate with them and then continue on with my work! Here is an example of what my spanish conversations have been like thus far. 

Person: ¿Hablas español? (Do you speak spanish?)

Me: Ehhh maso-menos (Ehh, so so)

The person then talks as fast as they absolutely can. When I said back to them that I could sort of speak spanish, I meant from chapters 1-7 in my Spanish 1 book and in a very slow manner. But how would they know unless I could say that in español? 

Me: Lo siento. (I'm sorry)

Here are some of the phrases I can say: 

-Número uno no tiene carne (Number one has no meat) 

-¿Es buena la comida? (Is the food good?)

-Adios! (Bye) 

-Quiere una hamburguesa y papas fritas? (you want a hamburger and fries?) 

-¡Tener un día mágico! (Have a magical day) 

- Ir a la derecha, Ir a la izquierda (Go to the right, go to the left)

Sometimes I will greet people at the door and say Hello! How are you guys? If I see that the guests are kind of confused I then try, Hola! Como estas!? The guests are still looking at me with a blank face so then I just wave and smile. Ha!   

Second thing I want to talk about is how some people are (at any time) ok with getting in your face and being very grabby with whatever they might want. This blog is strictly for all positive 

statements and memories though, so I won't even go there!  

Third- yesterday I was able to help a man that clearly had Parkinson's disease. My grandmother had this disease for 14 years before passing away and I feel like in most cases I am able to point it out. He was the sweetest man and I wanted to do anything I could to assist him. I was holding his tray, taking him to the line, asking about his vacation, and really doing anything I could. Interacting with him was deja vu for me. It made me send some kisses up into heaven for my sweet grandma!

Fourth- Two days ago my friends Christy, Jess and I went to Hollywood studios. We had some free time in between fast passes and decided to go to the Indiana Jones Spectacular show. We sat in the front row thinking that would be the best seat when suddenly we were called on to be extras in the show! We got on stage, said where we were from, signed a waiver and then were directed back stage to get our costumes on. We played as townspeople shopping in Cairo when all the sudden Indiana Jones is attacked my ninjas! We then watched the fight seen, cheered for him after he defeated the bad guys and went on to the next scene. It was a lot of fun! I have never been an extra before. Afterwards we got a picture with Indiana Jones' stunt double and might I say- look at that smile! He was very GOOD LOOKIN!    

 Fifth- Everyone got paid yesterday- Wooh! So for celebration we all decided to go out to eat at Fulton's Crab House! Me being me, I was only partially excited about this restaurant decision. We get there and they say the wait is going to be an hour and 15 minutes- strike 1. Then, our buzzer goes off in just 25 (take back the strike 1). Our waiter immediately brings us out two loafs of bread (major points for Fulton's) and then lets me order off the kids menu (even more points!!) I went out on a HUGE limb and ordered the fish of the day, Mahi-Mahi. Who am I and what have I done with my plain grilled chicken with no seasoning self?!?! And let me tell ya, it was SO YUMMY! 

I enjoyed every last bite of it! Plus the green beans were very tasty. I was a very happy girl! 

  My friends got crab legs, lobster bisque and some crab dip. I wasn't as thrilled after trying each of those but I was content with the fact that I tried everything!

I have only been in orlando for about 3 weeks but can already feel myself changing. I think I have talked about this already but just like with the rollercoasters fear, I am trying new foods, new approaches and definitely having an open mind about each and everything I do! I have now been on Rockin Rollercoaster 3 times and it is easy! Not hard, not scary, not deathly, just fun! Between upside down rides and Mahi-Mahi, I am a changed girl!

Sixth-  My classes have finally begun! I started my class Tuesday morning which means that the 12 hours I am enrolled in through OU have also begun. I am in a class here at Disney called Interactive Learning Program. All I can say is we only have 4 more times in the classroom and the rest are spent at Disney Parks- cool! I am so excited to learn more about the Disney corporation, why it is so successful, what makes it work so well and so much more! I have already learned so many things about the company that I never would have known before! Plus, did you know that Disney's Animal Kingdom is opening an Avatar add-on to their park? Did you also know that JK Rowling went to Disney first before going to Universal to open up a Harry Potter theme park? Cra cra crazz crazzyy! 

Lastly- Tomorrow I only have to work 6 hours! Today was 13 hours so tomorrow will be a breeze! I am very much looking forward to some down time after my short shift. 

That is it for now! I hope everyone has a lovely holiday (Abraham Lincoln's birthday shared by my Momma!) and I will catch up with you soon! 

I will now leave you with some valuable Disney lessons!

 xoxoxoxox, B

Time flies! I finished my last blog post, had my first day of work and then before I know it I am sitting here again about to tell all you lovely people about my first week working for Disney!
A few key points of the last couple of days.
1. Wow, comfortable shoes are a must when working for Disney.
2. Smile smile smile smile smile smile SMILE!
3. Be attentive to absolutely everyone you come into contact with.
4. Sleep whenever possible.
5. Take advantage of the time you have off to get things done.
6. Have an open mind and positive attitude with anything that comes your way.
I began my first day of work Sunday afternoon and my first shift was from 1:30 to 10:30. Basically, the company is real big on taking the College Program students (CP's) and throwing them right into the shark tank (or in this case Dolphin tank because everyone at Disney is absolutely wonderful in ever way- they don't bite!) I started my first day with a trainer and could basically be doing any and every job someone in restaurant might have. This includes but is not limited to: bussing, stocking, managing the beverages, condiments, register, greeter, floater, oven, fryer, kitchen, upstairs, toppings, stocking the kitchen, dishes etc. You name it, this CP could be doing it. Disney has a unique way of fitting CP's into their corporation. I like that at any moment you could be asked to be responsible for something else that might be out of your comfort zone. You are trained in all areas, challenged in all areas and certainly knowledgeable of all areas of your work zone.
"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality."
Throughout all of the Disney movies, TV shows, characters, games, parks etc., children develop this notion of the magical place called Disney World and believe it to be something out of a story book. When they get here for their vacation, it is the job of each and every cast member; ticket booths to custodial, waitress to attraction leader, to uphold Disney's place on each child's pedestal. Just like Walt said, it is the people that make the dream a reality. So for me, it doesn't matter where I start, what job I might be assigned to or what kind of costume I have to wear. What matters to me is making each guests time at the happiest place on earth a reality. 
Speaking of costumes, here is mine! 

Monday and Tuesday- more days of work! I couldn't believe my manager when he said to me, "Brittany, you will be at the oven today." This is where I found out I would be completing the burgers, cleaning the area where everything is made, taking the temperature of all the meat etc. This was a fast paced, challenging job and one which I hope I was okay at. I had my break and for the rest of the day I was a greeter for all of the guests entering the restaurant. I really liked that because I was able to interact will a lot of people as well as talk to guests about their experience at Epcot! I start work again tomorrow and am excited to see what they have in store for me! I know that I am scheduled to work in a different location at Epcot in the next few days. I could be working in an Ice Cream parlor, store, outdoor vendor, who knows! It is an interesting feeling knowing you are going to work having no clue what you will be doing! Surprise! You will be juggling mickey ears for 5 hours while eating hot dogs... to entertain the children of course. Wow, what an experience that would be. 

Wednesday was my first day off (along with a bunch of my roommates) and we went to the beach! Goodness gracious I can't even say how lovely this day was. Not only is the beach my most favorite place but it was a GORGEOUS day! We played volleyball, layed out, fully swam in the ocean and went on a walk. To end the day I was attacked by birds! I was eating a snack (PB crackers) and let me tell ya, a lot of people wanted my snack as well! If you look to your right, you will see all of the birds chasing me as I am running away. That was funny.

After a full day at the beach, we ended our day with a trip to Hollywood studios! Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller coaster were two challenges I had to accomplish and I SURE DID. What a fun roller coaster that Aerosmith put on! 0-60 in 3 seconds and no time to to change your mind. I think I am getting to the point where roller coasters aren't fears of mine. I am saying this right now because I already rode them BUT... I might be coming around. I am living in an absolute FARIY TALE where the world is at my finger tips. What choice do I have but to get a taste of everything? Overcome fears? Accept challenges? No choice, the answer is GO FOR IT.

Today we were paid! I received my first paycheck from Disney. What a good feeling knowing all of your hard work is rewarded! My rewards are rent and groceries! Growing up I guess :)

My roommates and I went to Animal Kingdom today and rode Expedition Everest as well as Kilimanjaro Safari. One of my roommates, Kelly, is the tour guide for the 20 minute Safari ride through Africa and can I say, I am so jealous! We saw so so many pretty animals and I swear i was about 11 inches away from touching a giraffe. I highly suggest that attraction at DAK. 

Now it is time to go back to work. I exchanged shoes I got originally for my costume for other ones (that are just as cute) but so much more comfortable. Hopefully this will make the long day a little better! But I am thankful for the hours and the many things I am learning as an adult in the working world! Wow they really force you to grow up here! Along with my 45+ hours, I start school next week! I am taking a class here at Disney and 12 hours through OU.  I will be a full time employee and a full- time student! Ready, set, focus! I have a lot on my plate but am continually driven by my determination for a successful and blessed future. 

Lastly: I was walking out of work the other day, looked up to the sky and saw this! How glorious! 

To everyone that read this entire post (and to those of you who just skipped down to the bottom), have a wonderful day! Find something each day that makes you smile and keep it in mind as your face each obstacle. This week my sister held that role. That little red-head makes all of my days just by a simple voicemail. Can't wait to spend time with you during your break, seeeesy!

xoxoxoxox, B