Reflections.

Time really is flying. I will never understand how sometimes, it feels like time goes by so slowly and other times a year feels like one day. One of the nice things about time is that it gives us the opportunity to learn and grow. In some cases, the growing is noticeable. A baby grows his first teeth, a bird grows feathers, and a bear grows thick fur to keep him warm in the cold winter months. In other cases, the growth is more internal. That's the kind of growing I have done over the last few months. I have learned so much by being here. Some things are difficult for me to put into words, but I will do my best.

I have said this several times throughout my program, but human interaction is so important. It may not be as important to everyone else, but for me, it is one of the most important things in life. There have been so many days while I have been here that I have just sat in my apartment and done nothing. Because I live in a one bedroom, I am home alone a lot. I don't have much opportunity for making friends at work because I am in a different location every day with different people, and once we leave for the day, we never see each other again. The people I see the most frequently are full-time, so they are in the same place every day. More commonly than not, cast members that are not on the college program do not want to be friends with college program kids. We are only "temporary," so there's no reason to waste their time getting to know us when another wave of temporary cast members will be around in a couple months. I think this is so sad. Not even for myself, but for the people that don't take the time to get to know other people from all over the world. I am so fascinated by all of the different cultures that make Disney such a diverse company to work for, that I really enjoy talking to my fellow cast members, even if I never see them again. I may work with someone for an entire day, spend the whole time talking with them, and not even get their name. If I see them again, we look at each other and say, "I think we have worked together before..." That's enough for me. If just one person remembers working with me at some point, I have done my job right. I don't mind that I see different people every day, as long as I see people. The days that I stay in my apartment all day are nice, but they are usually the most sad. Sometimes I need these days. I need to be able to sleep until noon and then lay around all day doing nothing. I need time to recuperate after working several long days in a row. But if I have two days in a row where I do this, by 3 PM on the second day, I'm ready to burst. I feel like if I don't talk to someone soon I might go crazy. That being said, on the days where I get a little bit of interaction, I feel a thousand times better. When I came back to Orlando after being home for a week, I was not doing very well. I just went through the motions each day and did as little as possible to make the time pass. This is very out of character for me, but it is the truth. I really missed my family and friends from back home and I wasn't excited to be back here where I had only a few friends. On my second or third day back, I talked to my roommate, Sarah. Just normal chit-chatting. Nothing too exciting. But the fact that she took time out of her day to talk to me made such a difference in my attitude. I felt so much better after that. We only talked for about ten minutes, but from then on, I was a lot happier. I started getting excited for work and not just going through the motions. I went out of my way to be happy instead of out of my way to be sad. I still missed my family, but I just thought about all the things I had to be excited for instead.

Most of what I have learned is about people. In my line of work, I spend 90% of my time people watching. I do not plan on having children any time soon. However, I have become very fond of children since I have started working here. Kids have such fresh minds. And they are very much a reflection of their parents. In most cases. Not every case. There's that expression, "The apple doesn't fall from from the tree." Well sometimes I sit there thinking, "I'm pretty sure it was a grapefruit that fell off that apple tree." Sometimes I really don't understand how the parents and kids can possibly be related. Then there are the times that I look at the parents and think, "Yes. I know exactly why your kid is acting that way. Thank you for the confirmation." The sweetest, most loving kids are always the ones that are torn away too quickly by their parents saying, "Come on, honey. It's the next family's turn." Of course it would happen that way. The best kids have to leave too soon because their parents are actually considerate of the fact that the people in line behind them waited just as long as them. They understand that it is more fair of them to take their turn and move on instead of lingering. But those are the kids that I enjoy having around. The ones that want to hug and play instead of push and tug.

It is important not to judge people too quickly. Everyone deserves a fair opportunity to earn an opinion. In almost any situation, two people should be able to find some kind of common ground. It may take some digging, but eventually they should find something. Taking the time to dig is important. It gives you a chance to learn something. Even if that lesson is just about accepting people for who they are. Not everyone is going to be just like you. That is what makes everyone unique.

Being physically active can make a huge difference in a person's day and life. Since I work at Disney, I walk a lot. Plus, my wardrobe for work is fairly weighted. So I am in decent shape as it is. Recently, I have started going jogging in the evenings after work. It is so nice to be able to run without being too sore to move the next day. At Animal Kingdom, there are bicycles backstage for the cast members to use because the parking lot is so far away. The best part of my day is riding the bike back to the parking lot at the end of my day. I feel so good about myself when I come back to my apartment to take a shower, knowing that I worked hard.

I do not do well with early mornings. This is not new. I've always known this. The days that I have to be up before the sun are so difficult. I just move so slowly in the morning. It is a real challenge for me. I have to be at work at 4:15 AM on Sunday. Nobody would take this shift or trade anything with me. (Shocking, I know) I have learned, the hard way, that I have to set multiple alarms when I have to work early in the morning or I will not wake up. I will sleep straight through my alarm and wake up hours later thinking, "Whoops! Guess I'm not working today." I will have to wake up at 3:00 in the morning on Sunday. I am not overly sure how well this is going to work. I might have to have some night time medicine at 6:00 PM tonight, so I can sleep before work. 

I am so excited that the next chapter of my college program has begun. I am not sad that the last semester ended. I do miss the people that have gone home. I wish they were still here, but I know it is time for all of us to move on. Everything happens for a reason. I am already starting to make some new friends. Now I just need to get a new memory card for my camera! The last one is full, but I don't want to delete the pictures!

I know there are so many more things I have learned in the last five months, but I can't think of anything else right now. I'm off again tomorrow. If the sun is shining, I might go hang out by the pool for a while since I have yet to do that at all. There is only one more week until Michael gets here. I am so excited, I might explode. Words can not express how much I am looking forward to having him here. I feel so complete when we are together. That might sound childish, but I don't care. I have always been very mature and I work at Disney. I'm allowed to say something remotely childish every now and then. 

I would like to also add that today is my mom's birthday! I'm pretty sure she's 29 or something. This is getting awkward because we are both in our 20's now. Not sure how I feel about that. Regardless, I hope her day is magical. And I hope she knows I love her very much. I could not have asked for a more loving person to be my mother. She has always done everything she could for me and goes above and beyond for everyone she cares about. I can't wait to see her on Wednesday. I'm so excited for her to come visit. She might even get to see me working!

Everyone have a magical weekend!

The start of something new

Hello everyone! Everything is finally starting to slow down. The parks are less crowded, I'm not getting stuck in traffic everywhere I go, and work is getting easier. All of the Fall College Program people have gone home. Only the International CP's and people who extended their program are still here. Yesterday, some of the Spring CP's arrived. It's kind of exciting that new people are getting here, especially since all of my friends left last week.

I had to say goodbye to Sarah on Thursday. That was not fun. She has become one of my closest friends and I knew I would miss her a lot. I'm very lucky that she and I ended up living together. I couldn't have picked a better person to share an apartment with. We both cried a lot when she left, but I know we will see each other again! Plus, we make sure to talk every day, so that is nice. After she left, I stayed up pretty late packing and then spent all of Friday packing also. I learned that I have a lot of stuff. Sarah my roommate and Sara Robbins both left me a ton of food, so there was all of that, I have quite a bit of movies and clothes and shoes, and I also really like Disney Merchandise. While I was packing, I found myself really hoping my new roommate and I would get along.




Saturday morning, I got up early to start moving my things into my new apartment. I briefly met my new roommate, but we were both really busy running up and down the stairs, so we didn't talk much. She had to go to work in the afternoon, so I didn't get to talk to her that day. I finished unpacking everything so I wouldn't have to worry about anything on Sunday, and also so that my things would be out of my new roommate's way. Side note: She's taller than I'm used to. Yesterday, my roommate and I finally talked a little. She seems nice. I met her boyfriend too. They left last night and she said she wouldn't be back until late today. That being said, I have had the apartment to myself all last night and today, which was nice, but boring. I was off today and I really wanted to go do something, but had nothing to do and nobody to go do something with. I thought about going to see Les Miserables alone, but figured watching a depressing movie by myself wasn't the best idea. So I settled for a Pretty Little Liars marathon leading up to the season premiere!

I have a couple more days off before my mom gets here, but for the most part, I will be working which will help the time go by faster! Only 8 more days until Mom gets here and 11 days until Michael gets here! Yay! I am so excited. Time is going by so quickly. I can't wait to have Mom here to visit. I think she even might be able to come see me at work! And then after that, Michael will be here for good! Yay! Everyone cross your fingers for me that I will start to make friends. It would be nice to not spend my days off alone!

A couple random stories before I get back to my Pretty Little Liars marathon: Sunday, I was friends with Mickey in Town Square Theater. Mickey met a blind guest while he was there. This guest was with his whole family. With him, was a seeing-eye dog. The man walked up and held out his hand for a hand shake. Mickey shook his hand and when he did, the man said, "Hi Mickey, this is Peyton. And you may pet him." I thought that was so cool. Mickey would have spent more time with him, but he had a whole family with him, and Peyton was between them, so he divided his attention among everyone. Mickey was very honored to have met that family. The attendant told me later that he heard the man in line say, "You know what? I think I'm going to let Mickey pet my dog. I think he is important enough for that." Yesterday, I got to be friends with Vanellope finally! Vanellope is the little girl from the movie Wreck-It Ralph. She is sassy and hilarious and most people don't know her name, but I don't care! We had so much fun together. One lady walked up to her and said, "Vanellope, I think you should be considered a Disney Princess." Vanellope loved that! I had so much fun yesterday and I hope I can spend more time with Vanellope!

Alright everyone! I don't really have anything else to say, so I'm going to get back to wasting away in front of the TV! Have a wonderful night!

Minnie Mouse rang in the new year with class...

Everyone is leaving me. It is very sad. My best friend, Sara Robbins, left yesterday. Tomorrow, I work all day. Friday, Sarah and Hayden leave. Saturday I move into my new apartment. My new apartment is going to be in the same building, just one floor up, so it's not like I am going through a drastic relocation. I do have to pack up all of my things though because I only have three hours to empty my current apartment and I will be doing this completely alone. I still don't know who I am living with. I am trying not to be too worried about this. The fact is, Michael will be here soon and I can always escape with him if I need to, and since I will have someone here to hang out with all the time, I probably won't be home much anyway. But still, it would be nice to have a roommate I get along with. I was more than lucky this time around. Sarah has been the best possible roommate. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for anyone better. We have gotten along great and are able to talk and hang out any time without forcing anything. I have made a great friend in her and I am so grateful. I am sad to see her go. She is leaving a ton of things here for me because she is flying back home. She even packed up all the food for me so I wouldn't have to worry about it. She also packed up a couple boxes of toiletries for me. Such a sweet girl. Obviously she couldn't take all of this stuff back home, but she didn't have to give it to me, so I thought it was really nice that she packed it all up for me. Sara Robbins and her roommate also gave me quite a bit of food as well. Good news guys, I'm not going to starve next semester! Sarah is even leaving me her coffee maker and all the coffee, just in case I randomly start drinking coffee! I hope I get this lucky again. I didn't realize it at the time, but yesterday was the last time I will get to hang out with her while she is here.

Yesterday, Sarah and I went to Epcot because that is her favorite park. Hayden met us there after a little while and then Sarah went to Magic Kingdom to see some friends and Hayden and I headed over to Hollywood Studios to watch Fantasmic one last time. On the way, we made an impromptu stop at Art of Animation Resort because he had never seen it. We walked around there for a little while and then went to Studios. We were hungry when we got there, so we went to the Sci-fi Dine In Theater. You are supposed to have reservations to eat there, but we decided to give it a shot. They ended up having space available, so we decided to stay. This restaurant is so cool. I had never been inside before, so I didn't know what to expect. Basically, you are at a drive-in theater and clips from old Sci-fi movies play on the screen while you eat your food at your table which is actually a car. It was too dark in there for me to get any good pictures, but you can take my word for it. It's really cool. I would like to add that almost every single cast member I have spoken to in the last two days has either asked me if I am friends with Snow White or friends with a princess. It isn't important, but it's a nice confidence booster. Each time I told them no, they were shocked and told me to keep trying. I won't lie, it made me happy. One lady even told me to stuff things in my shoes so I would be taller. While this wouldn't help me, it was still funny. I have almost accepted the fact that I will never have a face role, but it's still nice when people tell me I should.

Today, while I was driving home, I realized how quickly time has gone by since I arrived here. If I had not extended my program, today would have been the last day of my program and then I would have either played in the parks tomorrow and blown almost all my money on things I don't need, or I would have begun the drive home. There are still so many things I want to do while I am here. I haven't even been to every attraction, or every resort, or the beach! I've lived in Florida for 5 months and I haven't gone to the beach! How sad. Michael and I will definitely be making a trip while we are here. I seriously can't wait for him to be here. I feel like I will get to experience everything over again through him and I am so excited. I have definitely gained a new appreciation recently for the opportunity I have been given. So many people want to work at Disney. I do. So many people wish they could be friends with the characters. I am. And so many people wish they could have their boyfriend or girlfriend here with them. I will. I know this next 4 months is going to be so wonderful. I am very excited for the day he gets here. There are only 17 days left! And only 2 weeks until my mom gets here! I'm excited to see her again!

I haven't told any stories recently about my character friends, so I will share this one. I was hanging out with my friend Minnie Mouse on Sunday night at Pete's Silly Sideshow. This is in Storybook Circus, which is part of Fantasyland. I have posted a picture of Minnie before from this location. She has a tiara and pink feathers on her ears and she is wearing a pink, sparkly dress that is really fluffy. She looks adorable. I love hanging out with Minnie here. So anyway, Sunday was December 30. Magic Kingdom showed the New Years fireworks Sunday and Monday night in order to get some guests to go to the other parks on New Years Eve because it is always packed on that night. My last set began at 11:55 PM. The fireworks began at 11:50. When we got onset, the Captain looked at all of the characters, attendants, and photographers and said, "Hurry! Go outside to watch the fireworks!" So everyone, including Daisy, Goofy, Donald, and Minnie make their way out the doors. Unfortunately for Minnie, she didn't noticed that before you walk out the door, there is a single step up. So she tripped. and face-planted. Right in the doorway. In front of all the attendants, photographers, managers, and even her other friends from earlier that night. Thankfully, there were no guests around. Minnie sure rang in the new year with class... Everyone's initial reaction was to just laugh, but then they realized Minnie might be hurt, so they ran over to make sure she was okay. She was fine, so one of her favorite attendants offered her his arm and they walked outside together to watch the fireworks. The show was amazing. There were perimeter fireworks, which means the fireworks are all around you, instead of just behind the castle. It was incredible. I have never seen so many fireworks in my life. After the show ended, we all went back inside and we were done for the night. Minnie was fine. No bumps or bruises. I, however, am still very sore. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I have been spending a lot of time with Mickey and Donald, but also the fact that I completely wiped out in a way I'm not used to. I definitely need to be more careful next time. Hopefully my back and shoulder will heal soon. I feel like I did back when I was friends with Pooh everyday and that is not good at all. I'm sure all will be fine though! I sent in a request to scheduling for me to be able to spend more time with Minnie. Hopefully they listen!

Well, there's my story for you! I'm going to go finish my laundry and then probably get some pizza with Hayden! Tomorrow I'm hanging out with Mickey all day and then I have to say goodbye to Sarah. Wish me luck!

Part 1 is almost over!

I have almost survived Christmas! The parks have been insane this week. Magic Kingdom has reached capacity every day since Monday. Rides that normally have a 20 or 30 minute wait have had 2 hour wait times. Every area of the park has people standing shoulder to shoulder and each quick service restaurant has a team of cast members specifically assigned with the task of seating guests. I have never seen the parks this busy. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but there are a ton of people. I am never coming here as a guest during this time of year. Ever. I don't know why anyone thinks it's a good idea. I understand not wanting your kids to miss school, but my goodness. This is madness. It took me over an hour to get to work yesterday and it normally takes 20 minutes. Hopefully by the end of next week, everything will clear out. Unfortunately, when that happens, all of the Fall CP's are leaving. Everyone leaves next week. If I hadn't extended, I would be coming back home next Friday. It's crazy to think about. I'm so glad things have played out the way they have. I'm not ready to leave this place. I still have so many adventures to take on. I'm very lucky to have been given the opportunity to stay. I know I am truly blessed. And even better, I will have Michael here with me. That's the best part. I feel so much more complete when he is around. Only 3 more weeks! And in 2 and a half weeks, my mom will be here to visit again! Yay! I got Michael's hotel booked last night and he booked his flight also! Everything is falling into place. I'm sad that everyone leaves next week, but I am so excited for what is to come.

I worked every day this week except Christmas. It is difficult to recall anything that happened because it has been such a long week. I can say that next week's pay check will be AWESOME. Yay! On Christmas day, Sarah and I opened the gifts our families had sent us. Sarah had also gotten me Mary Poppins because I had never seen it. I must say, it is one of the best movies ever made. I really liked it. I have already watched it twice this week. Also, Mom sent me the new Tinkerbell movie, Secret of the Wings. I watched it last night and loved it. It is a very cute movie. On Christmas night, the DiFranco family took me with them on a Fireworks Cruise. At around 9:00, we got on a boat at the Wilderness Lodge and then the captain took us all around Bay Lake and then we watched the fireworks at Magic Kingdom from on the water. It was very cool to see. It was also really nice to be around people who weren't pushing or pulling on me. I am very grateful that they invited me to go with them. They seemed to enjoy the stories I had to tell and I really liked spending time with them. This makes me even more excited for Michael to be here. I miss having the kind of human interaction I used to have. Since it has been so difficult for me to make friends here (and make everyone's schedules work), I don't really get as much human interaction as I would like, and that's something I feel like I need. I have been a lot better lately though! And I know this next part of my program will be even better. I'm so glad to be staying here. I am very lucky.

Now I am headed to work again. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Orlando is a mad house.

There are so many people here. It is ridiculous. And it happened overnight. The last few days here have been fine. The parks haven't been too crowded, there hasn't been much holiday traffic, and nobody has tried to carry away Minnie Mouse. Then yesterday happened. There was a one hour wait to park at the outlet mall. It is absolutely crazy. So I'm hiding in my apartment until further notice. (Really just until tomorrow morning when I have to go to work.) I have been spending a lot of time watching movies and coloring. Michael bought a new TV the other day online and had it shipped to me so he wouldn't have to pay to ship it twice, so I have been really enjoying it for the last couple of days. He thinks it will go with him to his apartment when he gets here, but he is mistaken. I will gladly share it with him at my new apartment! It's really funny how big a 32 inch TV seems when you have had a smaller one for months. Especially in our tiny living room. I like it!

I decided to do something crazy yesterday. I went and got my hair cut. I cut it all off. I really like it. It was a little shocking at first, but now I think it looks good. Unfortunately it doesn't look the same in pictures, but eventually there will be a good picture! I want the back and sides to grow out a little too. The stylist cut it a little shorter than I was wanting.

I'm excited to have Christmas off. I received three Christmas cards in the mail today, along with some presents from Mom to unwrap on Christmas morning. Sarah and I are both off that day and then have separate plans that night. In the morning, we are going to watch the Disney Parks Christmas Parade on ABC. Other than that, I don't know what I will do. Hopefully it will be a nice day. It's just a bummer that I don't have any family here to celebrate with.








The next two days will be spent with Mickey in Town Square Theater. I really hope it won't be too insane. It probably will though. I don't know how I'm going to get to work on time. I have to be there right when the park opens both days. WISH ME LUCK! I'm probably going to bed soon. I'm pretty sleepy and my 11 hour day tomorrow won't be fun if I am falling asleep! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! Goodnight!

P.S. Exactly 4 weeks until Michael arrives!

A day off with Sarah!

Today, Sarah and I were both off from work. We decided today would be a good day for a park hopping adventure. After being home for a week, I finally realize how cool it is that when I have nothing to do, I can just go hang out at Disney World for free. Well, not really free because I always spend too much money when I'm there, but free admission at least.

 

Sarah and I went to Magic Kingdom first. We were on a mission, not to ride rides or anything, but to find particular items. While I was home in Texas, my parents gave me various figurines of Disney characters. Each figurine represented a character I have been friends with over the last 4 months. The only friends that had not been found were Mickey, Marie, and Piglet. I have been looking on Ebay since I got back to Florida, but haven't found anything I really liked. There was a particular Mickey I knew I had seen at Magic Kingdom, so Sarah and I were determined to find it today. 
We were also in search of the infamous Peter Pan hat for Sarah. This hat is only made available at the Disney Parks for short periods of time for reasons we do not know or understand. Sarah saw a girl wearing one yesterday so we knew that was on our list of things to find. We also wanted to go retrieve our Cast Member Christmas gifts from Disney and the New Fantasyland Cast Exclusive Pin for Magic Kingdom cast members only. We had a long list of things to find.

First stop: Christmas gift and New Fantasyland pin! The Christmas gift this year is a Bambi ornament. I will probably never include it in my Christmas decorations. I plan to keep it with Disney Memorabilia instead! After we got those out of the way, Sarah had to go talk to one of her managers about something, so I headed into the park to see if I could find this awesome Peter Pan hat. There was one left. Jackpot! I bought the last one before Sarah returned and gave it to her. She was so excited. She has been wanting it for basically forever. Merry Christmas, Sarah! After that, we ate lunch at Columbia Harbor House, which is one of my favorite places to eat at Disney.

After lunch, we went to Main Street, USA to look for the Mickey I wanted. Unfortunately, the store didn't have it, but they did have a really pretty Marie figurine! So I got that instead! We walked around the park a little while longer, did some pin trading, and then headed off to Epcot! Sarah really wanted an Epcot shirt because she loves Epcot and is only working here for a few more weeks. I say "a few," but I really mean like two and a half. Boo to that.

So anyway, we went on the search for an Epcot shirt, but first stopped in The Art Of Disney. It's pretty much our favorite store! While we were in there, I found the Mickey figurine I was looking for! It is made by Jim Shore and is Mickey as Steamboat Willie. I was so excited! It was the last one left. I had to buy the display. Luckily, it was in perfect condition, so that's good! I was really happy I found it. I have seen it at Hallmark before, but Hallmark doesn't give me a 40% discount for the holidays like Disney does.




After that, Sarah and I went to get her an Epcot shirt. Then, there was no line at Character Spot, so we went to meet Mickey, Pluto, and Minnie! We love the characters! After a little more pin trading, we were ready to head over to Hollywood Studios.

 

 

Our initial goal for today was to eventually end up at Studios so we could watch the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. 5 million lights are hung on the buildings of Streets of America and the lights dance to the Christmas music playing. It also snows. I had never seen this before, and Sarah hadn't seen it this year, so we really wanted to go. When we got to Studios, it was only 4:30 in the afternoon, so it wasn't dark enough for the lights yet. We walked around and traded pins some more, got fast passes for Tower of Terror, met Vanellope and Wreck It Ralph, and rode the Tower of Terror while we waited for the sun to go down. Side note: Vanellope and Ralph are adorable. I am so excited to be friends with Vanellope. If you haven't seen the movie Wreck-It Ralph, stop what you're doing right now and go see it. If it's too late to go to the movies, go Saturday morning while the tickets are cheap. It is a great movie and Vanellope is so funny! After all of these adventures, Sarah and I went to eat at Pizza Planet. It has some of the best pizza in all of Disney. AND, you get a small caesar salad! I don't know about you, but I think caesar salad makes pepperoni pizza taste better!

 Finally, after all of that, we got to go see the lights! It was so beautiful. It was crazy to see that many lights. It felt like being back on Times Square. I'm really glad we got to see it. After the lights, we decided to go home. It was getting a little chilly and we weren't really dressed for it. When we got back to our apartment, we sat at the computer desk and watched videos of Peter Pan at Disneyland because we are weird. That's the funny thing about life though. People don't always realize it, but everyone is weird. You just have to find people who are weird in the same ways as you. Then they won't notice that you're weird, and if they do, they won't care or they'll like you better for it.

I'm glad I got to spend the day with Sarah. The last few days have not gone very well for me. My birthday was Sunday. It was alright. Mostly just another day working. But it felt extra lonely. I don't think anyone ever expects just how lonely the happiest place on earth can feel at the most wonderful time of year. But it really is. If you take any time to just pause, or sit at home watching a movie, it is very lonely. Even if you're in the middle of a park, surrounded by thousands of people, if you aren't with that one person you want to be with, it is a very lonely experience. I'm trying to get passed this though. Today was a much better day than the last few have been. Even yesterday was a huge improvement. I talked to my dad on the phone yesterday. That always makes me feel a lot better. And I talk to my mom quite a bit. I talk to Michael every chance I get. I really miss him. But I know he will be here very soon! (34 more days!) And we are going to have the most wonderful time together! Walking through the parks today, I was already planning in my head all kinds of things we have to do. I can't wait to be able to go see him while he is working. And to have him come see me! That will be so fun!

I'm really nervous about not having Christmas with my family. It wasn't too bad being away for Thanksgiving. I had Thanksgiving like 5 times, and got to eat good food with nice people, so I feel like that's a fair trade. But Christmas is my only day off next week, so I'm wondering how that will go. Fingers crossed. If anyone wants to send a little extra love my way, I wouldn't complain. And I will return the favor.

Side note: I get a kick out of sending people postcards signed by the characters. If anyone wants one, just tell me.

I figured out my apartment situation. I am staying in a one bedroom in Patterson, which is what I wanted. They are keeping me in the same building, which is nice, and moving me up one floor. They are pairing me with another girl who is under 21 who has extended her program. I'm crossing my fingers that she is normal because I have no idea who she is and they wouldn't tell me her name. AWESOME. Oh well! Everyone cross your fingers for me! I hope everyone is doing well! I am being reunited with Donald tomorrow. I'm really hoping it goes well! And on that note, ladies and gentlemen, Goodnight!

My visit home.

Wow. It has been almost a month since I last updated my blog. That is so disappointing. To anyone who reads my blog, I'm so sorry I left you hanging. I'd say I'm a bit over due for an update. I'm gong to try to recall anything that has happened since then...

I got to spend some more time with Minnie Mouse.

I am now approved in Vanellope. She's the little girl in Wreck It Ralph. She's hilarious. I really hope she and I can hang out soon.

I saw Neil Patrick Harris.

I saw Phillip Phillips.

I saw Nick Cannon.

I went to the Disney Parks Christmas Parade filming.

I saw Breaking Dawn Part 2.

I went to the Disney College Program Winter Formal.

I colored my hair back to red.

I went home!

I am so glad I was able to go back home for a week. Right after I told my family I was coming home, I changed my flight information so I would still be able to surprise everyone. I walked in the house and my dad looked a little confused, but very happy. After hanging out with him for a little while, he called mom and asked her to meet him for lunch. Instead of him, she met me. Then she and I went back to her work and decorated the Christmas tree. I love the people she works with, so it was a lot of fun to be able to see everyone. I was able to visit almost everyone I wanted to see while I was home. It was really nice to see everyone I hadn't seen since August, and to see Michael and my family again. And my dog! I went to eat at Pluckers, the restaurant Michael works at, and meet all of his work friends and managers. I ate at Razzoo's, the restaurant I worked at before leaving for Florida. I sure have missed their food. It was super yummy. It was nice to see the people I used to work with. I have missed them. I went to the NorthStar Holiday Tea. The NorthStars is the drill team I was a part of in high school. I also went back to my high school to talk with the office staff. I love those ladies. They are so nice and are a big part of why I enjoyed high school.

Side note: I only took 3 pictures the entire time I was home. I FAILED.

By Wednesday morning, I was really wishing I could just stay home. I love Disney and I love my job here, but I do really miss my home and my family. Now that I'm back in Orlando, I'm fine, but I'm definitely counting down the days until Michael checks in. (There are 39.) I'm sad because everyone I know here is leaving in three weeks and I will be alone for a couple weeks before Michael gets here. I'm hoping those two weeks go by pretty quickly. I'm just so excited for him to be here. I do have things along the way to look forward to though! Sunday is my 20th birthday. It doesn't really matter too much because I'm working, but it is happening, so I guess that's cool! Sarah and I are going to try to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party next Tuesday. A couple families from back home are visiting next week and the week after. I'm hoping I can spend time with them while they are here. Christmas is in a couple weeks. The New Year begins soon after. Then I move into my new apartment, wherever that may be. Everyone I know goes home. Mom and her friend Heather come to visit. And Michael gets here! Lots to look forward to! I have to go to the Programs Office on Saturday to fill out some paperwork about my next semester here. I'm going to beg them to let me live alone. I'm not sure how well it will go, but it's worth a shot, right? I haven't been able to find a roommate, and I really wouldn't mind living alone, so I'm going to give it a try.

Sarah and I went to the Disney College Program Graduation Service Celebration today! We got Mickey ears and a fancy certificate. Tonight I made myself dinner. This is a huge deal if you know anything about me. I made chicken, stuffing, and white rice with cream of chicken soup. It was super yummy. I was very proud of myself. Now I am going to head to bed. I have to actually get up and go to work tomorrow. I hope everyone is doing very well and having a lovely holiday season!