Let's play catch-up, shall we? This will be cross-posted into my family blog, Mickey Mouse Means...
I've literally been so busy that I haven't had time enough alone to even pick my nose. Wacky is an understatement, zany too. Anything synonymous with 'crazy' doesn't even cut it! This is whiplash in the most epic of proportions and the only acceptable response to all of it is 'whoa, what?' Needless to say, I've been whoa-what-ing a lot.
This entry is going to be epic, I think, and not epic in the sense that it's going to be awesome-- epic in the sense that it's going to be large and in charge! So let's get to it! I'm hoping that once I manage to hit a sort of level ground, I'll be able to update accordingly. Until then, here's a block post on what I've gone through!
Park Orientation
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2010
I'm stoked. Incredibly stoked. So stoked it's a little ridiculous. So I'm working outdoor foods at Hollywood Studios, formerly MGM. This is pretty much a dream come true for me. When I stepped onstage (as they say here at Disney), I felt a rush of wonder at how right everything felt. It was incredibly cold and cloudy and a pretty ugly day, but the park stood apart from that. 30s-40s inspired, playing swing and big band, stepping into the days when Disney was at large-- it was perfect. Not only that, but it was a geek's (i.e. me) paradise. Star Wars, the Animation Courtyard, Pixar Place, Power Rangers, even Alien is on the Great Movie Ride. It's like, hallo, I'm home!
I had a really great time wandering around my latest stomping ground. Towards the end of the tour, we all got our schedules and our costumes (once my camera works, I'll post a couple of pictures)-- I'm super happy with mine. It's pretty cute! Also, they played Prince while we were in Costuming. It's a sign!
It's all about the show and history and storytelling-- everything that's right up my alley. Disney treats their guests like they're the next big star in the Hollywood that never was, ready to be plucked off right there on the corner of Hollywood and Sunset. There is something so admirable about how they teach you how to conduct yourself around others and how you should treat the guests. What happens here is magic, all cheese unintentional. You have to go above and beyond with guests-- serving people, that's what I wanted to do and that's what I'm here for. I can't wait.
Icon Nut
Monday, Feb. 15, 2010
Training day, just like the movie. A nightmare? Not quite, but almost! I did see Darth Maul skulking around backstage, which was a total plus, but his scowling was so on-point that I didn't want to bother asking him how the force was. I couldn't tell if the cast-member under all that paint was going out of his way to be threatening or if he was just having a bad day. Maybe I'd be sour too if I got beat up 8 times a day by kids with plastic lightsabers.
The first half of the day they stuck me behind a computer to work on some training modules. They're all right, if not a bit outdated and plenty boring. Clocked hours in front of a screen working on those things? Probably eight to twelve, just on training; at least I'm getting paid? I was so nervous about working. I've never had an official job before, and despite my experience in volunteer work and club activity, I was still very jittery. Luckily, I my trainer Ronnie (a fellow Puerto Rican!) was really, really nice. I was also working with Kyle, a guy I met at my orientation. Had it not been for those two -- Ronnie being incredibly understanding over my nervousness and Kyle for his theatrical and over-the-top ways -- I would not have made it through the day.
After the exciting round of modules, Ronnie picked Kyle and I up to go change stations at Icon Nut, a stand right outside of the Animation Courtyard, for work. Totally awesome right? Until I find out we're the only stand that serves Bavarian nuts. Yeah. One stand out of like, a billion on site. And the nut machine? One bag takes about 25 minutes to make and only makes 8 single cones of nuts. We serve like, a hundred people every half hour. Okay, so that's an exaggeration (or is it?), but all of those customers want nuts! I could make a terrible pun right now, but I'll refrain. I think you guys get where I'm going.
It wasn't as tough as I'd thought it would be. I was bumbling moron at first, but when you get kids swinging by that can barely reach the counter, but look happy, or see a little girl with a giant pink bow on her head, dressed in a princess jacket and holding the hand of her father, who is, in turn, wearing a Peter Pan shirt and toting around his girl's flagrantly pink, princess tote, you can't help but grow fond of these customers, even if they're in and out in a hurry. Sure, some of them drop by, grab what they want and get gone, but there are those that really stand out. The ones that are at Disney for the first time, the ones that make you, the cast member, laugh when they tell you they're celebrating a day off. People come to Disney to be happy and it's infectious.
Oh man, but towards the end of our shift, it did get a little hectic. Those Bavarian nuts? I can tell you right now, I never want to see them again! People stood around waiting for them and one group of kids - some high schoolers from New York on a marching band trip - started haranguing us for the nuts. I mean, I guess if I had come back on 4 different occasions and my nuts weren't made, I'd harangue me too (what?), still-- I definitely had to grin and bear it With Disney having the status it does on customer care, we decided to make this last group of kids some nuts free of charge... even when we were supposed to be closing up and heading home.
So yeah, I ended up working overtime my first day of work. Good stuff!!
To be honest, it wasn't that bad. I can hoot and holler about how it was a complete nightmare, and I sure do!, I can't say it wasn't... nice. Except taking inventory. That was a monstrosity, especially when you just want to curl up and hope to God your feet haven't exploded (mine were in dire need of a magical moment). When I got home, I only had time enough to eat something and then go to bed-- had to get up early and do it all over, after all!
Hours worked: 9-10, give or ta... give. Give a lot.
Pretzel Kitchen
Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010
Welcome to hell.
When I walked into work today, I thought the Pretzel Kitchen was a stand that sold pretzels, like Icon Nut sold nuts. Holy crap, was I wrong. The Pretzel kitchen is exactly that... the kitchen. And pretzels. It was hot, it was cramped, and it was the most under appreciated and overworked thing I've seen yet. I would take making nuts for crazy fifteen-year-olds over making pretzels and churros for four hours straight. It wasn't hard, but the constant beeping of ODF stand call-ins asking for 32 more pretzels and 40 more churros JUST as the delivery guy came back from sending them their first order was, in short, insane. I hated it, I hated the heat, I hated the fact that everyone was stressed out and there was nothing we could do but hurl more pans of pretzels into the oven while hoping to God that no one would call in again. Why did they have two people doing a kitchen-sized job? I have no idea. I just hopehopeHOPE I don't get stuck in there again or, at least, I'm not by myself and it's not as busy as it was today. You have to throw perfectionism to the wind when you're tossing churros onto trays. Caring about how much salt is on a pretzel or how much cinnamon is on a churro is, apparently, for tools. You just have to be efficient, quick, and unrelenting. Boy, is that tough! Especially since I'm the type of person who once stood in front of a poster board for 45 minutes, trying to line up two pieces of paper!!
I broke three churro sticks, I also ate one-- I guess I know why they're in high demand; they're delicious. Still, if I have to see another one - or a pretzel, for that matter - in the next month, I'm going to stick it up my nose and run screaming from the park.
Around 1 P.M. we (my trainer Stephanie and I) moved to Herbie's... something or the other. It was a little stand just outside of the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. Let me just say, working with customers is sooo much nicer than working backstage in a hellacious kitchen. After your initial uncertainty, you fall into a routine as you serve up guests, and before you know it, it's time to clock out. Boy, was I excited to see the clock tick from 3:29 to 3:30, just as the door to the stand opened and the heavens sang as my replacement came in. Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I was free at last! And totally one Coke icee and corn-dog richer for it (have you ever carried a corn-dog in your pocket? it's an experience that everyone should... well, experience!).
Don't let yourself feel vulnerable. You have no time for it when you're practically throwing corn-dogs and nachos at people. Save the Bambi-eyes for later. A customer is not going to remember if you were miserable or not, they won't care, but they will remember if you got their order wrong.
We're automated robots, hello, what can I get for ya! That tough skin my mom told me I'd have when I got back... well, I will just say that I can feel that baby skin of mine callousing over already.
I've literally been so busy that I haven't had time enough alone to even pick my nose. Wacky is an understatement, zany too. Anything synonymous with 'crazy' doesn't even cut it! This is whiplash in the most epic of proportions and the only acceptable response to all of it is 'whoa, what?' Needless to say, I've been whoa-what-ing a lot.
This entry is going to be epic, I think, and not epic in the sense that it's going to be awesome-- epic in the sense that it's going to be large and in charge! So let's get to it! I'm hoping that once I manage to hit a sort of level ground, I'll be able to update accordingly. Until then, here's a block post on what I've gone through!
Park Orientation
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2010
I'm stoked. Incredibly stoked. So stoked it's a little ridiculous. So I'm working outdoor foods at Hollywood Studios, formerly MGM. This is pretty much a dream come true for me. When I stepped onstage (as they say here at Disney), I felt a rush of wonder at how right everything felt. It was incredibly cold and cloudy and a pretty ugly day, but the park stood apart from that. 30s-40s inspired, playing swing and big band, stepping into the days when Disney was at large-- it was perfect. Not only that, but it was a geek's (i.e. me) paradise. Star Wars, the Animation Courtyard, Pixar Place, Power Rangers, even Alien is on the Great Movie Ride. It's like, hallo, I'm home!
I had a really great time wandering around my latest stomping ground. Towards the end of the tour, we all got our schedules and our costumes (once my camera works, I'll post a couple of pictures)-- I'm super happy with mine. It's pretty cute! Also, they played Prince while we were in Costuming. It's a sign!
It's all about the show and history and storytelling-- everything that's right up my alley. Disney treats their guests like they're the next big star in the Hollywood that never was, ready to be plucked off right there on the corner of Hollywood and Sunset. There is something so admirable about how they teach you how to conduct yourself around others and how you should treat the guests. What happens here is magic, all cheese unintentional. You have to go above and beyond with guests-- serving people, that's what I wanted to do and that's what I'm here for. I can't wait.
Icon Nut
Monday, Feb. 15, 2010
Training day, just like the movie. A nightmare? Not quite, but almost! I did see Darth Maul skulking around backstage, which was a total plus, but his scowling was so on-point that I didn't want to bother asking him how the force was. I couldn't tell if the cast-member under all that paint was going out of his way to be threatening or if he was just having a bad day. Maybe I'd be sour too if I got beat up 8 times a day by kids with plastic lightsabers.
The first half of the day they stuck me behind a computer to work on some training modules. They're all right, if not a bit outdated and plenty boring. Clocked hours in front of a screen working on those things? Probably eight to twelve, just on training; at least I'm getting paid? I was so nervous about working. I've never had an official job before, and despite my experience in volunteer work and club activity, I was still very jittery. Luckily, I my trainer Ronnie (a fellow Puerto Rican!) was really, really nice. I was also working with Kyle, a guy I met at my orientation. Had it not been for those two -- Ronnie being incredibly understanding over my nervousness and Kyle for his theatrical and over-the-top ways -- I would not have made it through the day.
After the exciting round of modules, Ronnie picked Kyle and I up to go change stations at Icon Nut, a stand right outside of the Animation Courtyard, for work. Totally awesome right? Until I find out we're the only stand that serves Bavarian nuts. Yeah. One stand out of like, a billion on site. And the nut machine? One bag takes about 25 minutes to make and only makes 8 single cones of nuts. We serve like, a hundred people every half hour. Okay, so that's an exaggeration (or is it?), but all of those customers want nuts! I could make a terrible pun right now, but I'll refrain. I think you guys get where I'm going.
It wasn't as tough as I'd thought it would be. I was bumbling moron at first, but when you get kids swinging by that can barely reach the counter, but look happy, or see a little girl with a giant pink bow on her head, dressed in a princess jacket and holding the hand of her father, who is, in turn, wearing a Peter Pan shirt and toting around his girl's flagrantly pink, princess tote, you can't help but grow fond of these customers, even if they're in and out in a hurry. Sure, some of them drop by, grab what they want and get gone, but there are those that really stand out. The ones that are at Disney for the first time, the ones that make you, the cast member, laugh when they tell you they're celebrating a day off. People come to Disney to be happy and it's infectious.
Oh man, but towards the end of our shift, it did get a little hectic. Those Bavarian nuts? I can tell you right now, I never want to see them again! People stood around waiting for them and one group of kids - some high schoolers from New York on a marching band trip - started haranguing us for the nuts. I mean, I guess if I had come back on 4 different occasions and my nuts weren't made, I'd harangue me too (what?), still-- I definitely had to grin and bear it With Disney having the status it does on customer care, we decided to make this last group of kids some nuts free of charge... even when we were supposed to be closing up and heading home.
So yeah, I ended up working overtime my first day of work. Good stuff!!
To be honest, it wasn't that bad. I can hoot and holler about how it was a complete nightmare, and I sure do!, I can't say it wasn't... nice. Except taking inventory. That was a monstrosity, especially when you just want to curl up and hope to God your feet haven't exploded (mine were in dire need of a magical moment). When I got home, I only had time enough to eat something and then go to bed-- had to get up early and do it all over, after all!
Hours worked: 9-10, give or ta... give. Give a lot.
Pretzel Kitchen
Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010
Welcome to hell.
When I walked into work today, I thought the Pretzel Kitchen was a stand that sold pretzels, like Icon Nut sold nuts. Holy crap, was I wrong. The Pretzel kitchen is exactly that... the kitchen. And pretzels. It was hot, it was cramped, and it was the most under appreciated and overworked thing I've seen yet. I would take making nuts for crazy fifteen-year-olds over making pretzels and churros for four hours straight. It wasn't hard, but the constant beeping of ODF stand call-ins asking for 32 more pretzels and 40 more churros JUST as the delivery guy came back from sending them their first order was, in short, insane. I hated it, I hated the heat, I hated the fact that everyone was stressed out and there was nothing we could do but hurl more pans of pretzels into the oven while hoping to God that no one would call in again. Why did they have two people doing a kitchen-sized job? I have no idea. I just hopehopeHOPE I don't get stuck in there again or, at least, I'm not by myself and it's not as busy as it was today. You have to throw perfectionism to the wind when you're tossing churros onto trays. Caring about how much salt is on a pretzel or how much cinnamon is on a churro is, apparently, for tools. You just have to be efficient, quick, and unrelenting. Boy, is that tough! Especially since I'm the type of person who once stood in front of a poster board for 45 minutes, trying to line up two pieces of paper!!
I broke three churro sticks, I also ate one-- I guess I know why they're in high demand; they're delicious. Still, if I have to see another one - or a pretzel, for that matter - in the next month, I'm going to stick it up my nose and run screaming from the park.
Around 1 P.M. we (my trainer Stephanie and I) moved to Herbie's... something or the other. It was a little stand just outside of the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. Let me just say, working with customers is sooo much nicer than working backstage in a hellacious kitchen. After your initial uncertainty, you fall into a routine as you serve up guests, and before you know it, it's time to clock out. Boy, was I excited to see the clock tick from 3:29 to 3:30, just as the door to the stand opened and the heavens sang as my replacement came in. Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I was free at last! And totally one Coke icee and corn-dog richer for it (have you ever carried a corn-dog in your pocket? it's an experience that everyone should... well, experience!).
Don't let yourself feel vulnerable. You have no time for it when you're practically throwing corn-dogs and nachos at people. Save the Bambi-eyes for later. A customer is not going to remember if you were miserable or not, they won't care, but they will remember if you got their order wrong.
We're automated robots, hello, what can I get for ya! That tough skin my mom told me I'd have when I got back... well, I will just say that I can feel that baby skin of mine callousing over already.
Hours worked: about 8 hours
