An Update from Orlando!

When I first arrived!

Guys, I love Orlando.  Things are great!  I am sitting on my couch in my apartment while wearing only shorts and a t-shirt (it's February).  Today is my first real day off in about a week.  I've been on the go training every day and passing out from near-exhaustion every night just to start over again.  Although I have been very busy, I still make time for fun.  My roommates and I try to go to the parks as much as possible.  If we are too tired, we stay home and relax instead.

Highlights of my Disney Adventures thus far:

• My birthday!  My birthday happened to fall upon my first day of work.  However, my first day at Disney wasn't an average day of work: I got to visit the Magic Kingdom and saw Mickey Mouse!  Afterwards, I wrangled some of my roommates for a day of fun at the Magic Kingdom!  I wore my pink Minnie Mouse ears and pink Toms to the park and also received a "Happy Birthday" pin!  Later, all of my roommates and our neighbors went to dinner at Rainforest Cafe and explored Downtown Disney.  Guys, go to Goofy's Confectionery on your birthday!  You get free stuff!  I got a free chocolate-covered marshmallow coated with M&Ms!  I also got a ton of Mickey stickers for my birthday!  Disney birthdays are AMAZING!
• Going to the parks.  So far, I have been to three out of the four parks down here with my roommates (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT). I think Hollywood Studios is my favorite park so far; it has most of my favorite rides (Star Tours, Tower of Terror...) and I love the 1920s Hollywood theme.  When I went, my roommate and I got to "act" in the Studio Back-lot Tour!  We also had the pleasure of meeting Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc.  The other night I went to Epcot with a different roommate and went on most of the rides.  Then, we got dinner in France and watched the fireworks from our table!  Tres magnifique!
• Finding out where I worked.  On the first day, I had to go through a maze of lines to register for housing, file my new-hire paper work, and other various things.  This day was very chaotic (I wasn't sure if I was going to make it on time!  I got to registration 5 minutes before it closed!) and I was super nervous and excited to finally be in Orlando.  When I went through Casting (The Disney way of saying "Employment Office"), I was finally told where I was working.  I got placed into the Yacht and Beach Club resorts!!!  

My name tag!

What my desk at Traditions looked like! I got the Donald for being a team leader!

Perk: Going to the park whenever I want, and the shuttle being empty!

My roommates and I at Magic Kingdom.  It was a spontaneous trip!

I am loving my experience so far.  However, I do miss my family and friends a lot.  I can't wait for everyone to start visiting me!

Breakfast at Tiffany's broke me

This is a blog post I wrote in early November when things were getting to hard for me to handle and I was getting out of touch with reality:

Confession: I cried during the last five minutes of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - actually, I bawled during the last five minutes. I honestly don't know what came over me. I think I expected them to part ways and they would continue being miserable with their lives. I didn't expect them to be happy. I wanted them to be happy. I think my current lack of faith in love is what broke me. Have you ever stopped believing in something because no one else believes in it?

I think of my life in metaphors a lot and that my life is full of symbolism and other literary bullshit. I find life parallels in literature and instantly think my life will mirror the book. I think my life is foreshadowed by books and movies.  I have been getting out of touch with reality lately.  Does anyone else feel this way?

Goals and Aspirations for 2012!

Source: weheartit.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Last year, I had three major goals: Become healthier, become more productive in the morning, and figure out my life after college.  Out of those three goals, I feel like I have accomplished the first and the last goal quite well.  I have changed my eating habits and have lost my RA weight and have maintained a healthy weight. I fit into clothes better.  I feel better about myself.  Life after college is covered until August 10th.  I have a job at Disneyworld (in case you didn't know).  But after that?  I have no idea what to do after that!  As for the morning productivity goal, I have embraced the fact that I am not a morning person and that I am most productive at night.  For 2012, I have set new goals.

1. Get my finances straight.  While I was in college, I thought to myself "I don't need to worry about this right now!  I'll worry about it when I am done with college and have a Big Girl job!"  Well, I am done with college and have a job.  Guys, college made me straight up poor.  I have $10 to my name right now.  This year, I plan on paying down some of the debt I accumulated over the past 5 and a half years and find new ways to be thrifty.  I am going to embrace my inner Recessionista (Depressionista???) and get my finances under control!
2. Write more for fun.  My writing has been on a hiatus for a long time.  Last semester was difficult for me to keep up with my thoughts and do my classwork.  I have a lot that I want to write about, but just did not have the time to write about it (or felt guilty about writing when I knew I had other things to accomplish).  I aim to write in this blog at least three times a week.  I will continue to do TILTs and I would like to do a weekly Disney update once I arrive in Florida.  I will revive Art Mondays to continue practicing the knowledge I've obtained during college. Maybe I will do book reviews Which brings me to goal #3.
3. Read for fun!  I enjoy reading.  I am fairly bookish, so this goal won't be too difficult now that I don't have text books to read anymore.  Currently, I am reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.  Next on my list is A Thing of Beauty by Steve Martin (Yes, that Steve Martin).
4. Figure out what to do after my internship with Disney ends.  I know that I want to move back to California, but I don't know what to do after that.  Graduate school?  Continue working for Disney?  Attend Culinary School?  Utilize my degree in Art History by becoming a "Genius Waitress"?  Truth be told, I do not know what I want to be when I grow up.  I just want to be happy, but that occupation does not pay the bills.

Source: turbogirl.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Miscellaneous Aspirtations:

• Continue surrounding myself with wonderful, positive people.  
• Continue staying positive and happy.  
• Become Ariel at Disneyworld.  Or Mary Poppins.  I'm not picky! (Maybe not realistic, but I can still dream!)
• Make a lot of new friends at Disneyworld!  
• Go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Save up enough money to afford a Nook Color
• Experience as many new experiences as possible!  I want to do everything!
• Learn to appreciate Classical Music (sounds familiar?)
• Learn and understand Philosophy

Things I Love Thursday: A Year in Review

Hello Blog!  Its been a long time!  I haven't written anything since November. Since I am officially done with college, I have a surplus of time to write again!  So, I would like to do a special edition of TILT:  Things I Love 2011!

Source: fromupnorth.com via Ashley on Pinterest

First off, I would like to state that 2011 was probably the most challenging, difficult year of my life.  I experienced a lot of bittersweet endings: I broke up with my long time boyfriend, I ended my two year job with Residence Life, and I ended my college career.  Along with the endings, I experienced new beginnings: I formed a lot of new friendships, I moved off campus and got my first apartment with my friend Kyla, I tried to live my last semester as a college student to the fullest, I started dating again, and I was offered a job with my favorite company in the whole world (Disney!).  Without further ado, I present my lengthy (but abridged) TIL2011 list!

Month by Month Highlights:

• January - Visited University of Northern Iowa for a ResLife conference and met a lot of cool people; my friend Nick visited me and I gave him the Springfield experience! Became obsessed with DanceCentral.  Vowed to never eat dining hall food ever again.
• February - Snowpocalypse occured!  I got snowed in with my favorite residents/friends and we watched a TON of movies!  I turned 23!  My BFFs came out to see me despite Snowpocalpyse!  I think it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had!  I dyed my hair black!  I tried to do p90x again (which ended by March). I discovered Pinterest and spiraled into a crippling addiction to the website ("I can stop whenever I want!" I shouted during all of my desk shifts).
• March - My family moved houses!  The song "Friday" became a phenomenon and everyone's lives were never the same ever again.
• April - This was a month of SHENANIGANS with my friends in Kentwood.  The semester was getting close to ending, but it wasn't close enough! 

My life from April - DecemberSource: Uploaded by user via Kyla on Pinterest

• May - Last month as an RA EVER!  I said goodbye to the place I called my home for the past two years, and got sad about not seeing some of my favorite people everyday.  Succeeded in not eating Dining Hall food.
• June&July - Worked 60 hours a week between my CA job and Summer Internship at the History Museum.  Color-stripped my hair. Started dating again.  Learned how to change a flat tire.  Ate a lot of Pineapple Whip.  Enjoyed Summer and started making time lines for Graduate School.  Moved into my first apartment!  Took the GRE, cried, and got drunk by 1pm.  Dyed my hair red again.
• August - Started my final semester of college!  Made a vow to live the semester to the fullest!  Didn't have a job for the first time in two years. Began a baking frenzy and continued to bake something once a week until the last week of the semester.  Miraculously did not gain any weight from the surplus of baked goods.
• September - Caffeine addiction reached a new peak.  Applied to Graduate School.  Decided to stay in St. Louis after I graduated.  Shenanigans as always.  Started making my epic Halloween Costume. The Honey Badger became my spirit animal.  Got hired on to Toys R Us and started making Cash Money again!
• October - My favorite month of the year!  Went out every weekend!  Busted out all of my fall accessories (My closet is scarf tour de force!).  Got into Graduate School.  Decided to postpone graduate school.  Had one of the best Halloweens ever (Top 3, for sure!)
• November - Started looking for post-grad jobs.  Contemplated going to Culinary School.  Applied for the Disney College Program and got in within two days of my phone interview(!)
• December - Motivation was at an all time low, but I managed to finish and pass all of my classes!  I ate a lot of pizza rolls and drank a lot of energy drinks and coffee.  I graduated college FINALLY!  I went on vacation for the first time in years and got to visit my family and friends in California!

So, those are the good things that happened in 2011.  Now, its time to tackle 2012 before the world ends!