Guess what? It's raining.

It's been raining solidly for fourteen days now. Twenty six more and we've got ourselves a bible story! Luckily, it's beginning to look like it's coming to an end. I feel really sorry for the people out on holiday at the moment as all it's done is thunderstorm and try and drown them. Still, the bad weather has led to me being offered a few ADO's which I have no problem with taking. Not that I can do much, as the rain makes you want to stay indoors.

There's not really much going on to report except my manager, Nick, really upset me the other day. We were all in preshift going over the stuff we needed to know for the day and Nick asked "who's on lower deck?" As I was assigned 707, I put my hand up and he said "well, that's not good. You freak out doing discounts! How will you handle it if it rains?!?" I was devastated but I laughed along with everyone else. After the meeting, I went into the office to talk to Nick. He wasn't there but Dave Taylor was and asked me what was wrong. To my horror, I broke down in tears! I've always thought I was a good server. I try my hardest and to have Nick put me down and encourage others to laugh at me, really hurt. For the record, I don't "freak out" doing discounts! Discounts are done by management and sometimes they take their sweet time getting to the kitchen to sort it out on the tills. Sometimes they take ages and it keeps my guests waiting so maybe I'm a little terse when they finally get their butts in gear. I took Nick's little comment as "oh, Tori's a bad server" and it hurts to work your arse off at something only to find out people think you're rubbish at it. Dave must have filled Nick in on my feelings because he called out to me next time he saw me. I carried on past but he called me back. I told him to hurry up as I had guests I could be serving badly. He apologised and said he never meant it that way but the damage has been done. Nick thinks I'm a bad server.

The following day, Nick was on duty again and I needed a discount. Still hurting from his comment, I called him over. He asked how things were going and I answered, "well, I'm probably still being terrible but who cares? I'm out of here in eight weeks!" He then told me "you need to get over that! You're an amazing server. I didn't mean it that way." Well, tough. Damage has been done. Now I know his opinion, why should I bother? It's really disheartening to think you're doing well when others think the opposite.

Aside from that, there's really nothing new. Well, nothing I can put on a public blog as I don't think it's official yet. Maybe next time I can mention that.

Today I was off so David and I went over to Hollywood Studios for the Star Wars weekend. They had celebrities from the films and everyone dressed as characters. As I only like the first three (or rather, the last as they're number 4, 5 and 6), I didn't know any of the celebrities except Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca. Still, it was fun to see all the characters and things.

Right, that is really all I have for now. We're nearly into June so things will start getting faster as work will pick up, some of my friends are finishing their contracts, it's Kevin's birthday and then graduation....before we know it, we'll be in July....

Rain, rain, go away....

Well, I've got ten weeks left to go now before I head on home. I'm looking forward to it but at the same time, I'm gonna miss quite alot of stuff from out here. One big thing is the weather. The sun rarely shines in the UK and when it does, the entire nation strips off and you see bald, aging fat guys with pale white bellies parading around the seafront wearing kiss me quick hats! Hardly a reason to wish good weather on the UK!

Anyway, I think Florida knows I'm gonna miss the weather and it's preparing me for back home already. It has been raining solidly for the last three days. I don't mean the odd shower or a light rain either. Since about 11am this morning, it has been raining and it has not stopped once. Sure, it's got light and then heavy but it has never actually stopped. Five inches of rain have fallen in the last twelve hours. It feels like Hurricane Fay all over again! Apparantly, this weather is due to stick around for at least a week. If you look at the map on the left, you'll see the huge rain cover that's heading for us. The tornado on the right is just to freak out my mum! Hee hee! Still, I called by costuming today and got a full length raincoat so it won't cause too much of a problem.

On my last day off, Rene, Iselin and I went to Seaworld. The new rollercoaster, Manta, has just opened and Rene and Iselin (being mental for rollercoasters) were insistant that we ride it. One of the most unusual features of this rollercoaster is you ride it horizontally. The whole attraction is ridden with you on your belly facing forward, like a hangglider or...erm....Superman. Rene made us ride first at the back because the "G's are more extreme". I've no idea what that means but I can tell you it's horrible. On one of the loops, I could barely catch my breath and developed an instant headache. In the ride photo, my eyes are screwed shut and I'm wincing in pain while my mouth is being shaped by whatever the heck "g's" are! Once we got off, Rene and Iselin instantly rejoined the line, this time to ride at the very front. To be fair, the front is alot better. ALOT better. You feel like your flying and I had a few Peter Pan flying fantasties come to life. I still hated the loop though.

After a day in the park, we decided to do the "Dine with Shamu" experience. For those who don't know, Shamu is the killer whale from Seaworld. The Dine with Shamu experience means you eat at a buffet right on the edge of the whale tank. Shamu swims close enough that you could touch him (though the staff watch you like hawks to make sure you don't). The trainers do a short interaction and Rene was able to take some fantastic pictures with my little camera.

I've been sorting stuff out for home recently. I finish work on 22nd July and I have to leave The Commons by the 24th and my flight isn't until the 28th so I've booked a hotel on International Drive so I can spend my last few days relaxing and chilling out. Disney take thier ID back on the day you finish work so I won't have access to the parks but I still have a year long pass for Seaworld, Aquatica, Universal and Islands of Adventure, not to mention all the various attractions I-Drive has to offer. The biggest draw for me was free Internet access so I can still keep in touch with home and check my flight deets and things. I want to spend a day just going in all the giftshops on I-Ride because my family and I always spend a day doing that when we visit Florida. I don't care if it's scuzzy, I like it!

I still need some presents for home. I've got my sisters' (I got her something amazing! I'm so excited to give it to her! However, she reads this so I can't tell you what it is). I know what I'm getting my brother, I've got half of my mum's and a little something for my bratty little sister (though she's been such a little shit recently, I don't think she deserves it!) I still need mylittle niece's, my manager and my best friend's gifts. I've set aside a "present fund" and it'll be so good to blow the lot on my family and friends.

One other thing I've sorted out with home is a start date for my old job. My old manager has invited me back into my last job and I am really excited about it! I loved that job and I was sorry to leave it. I start back on the 3rd August. My mum is already freaking because that "only gives you three days". Hmmm, maths never has been my mum's best subject. I get home on 29th July, I start work FIVE days later on the 3rd (July has 31 days in it). Yeah, I need to move house but no biggie. It's not in my nature to stand still and relx for long, besides I'll have my mini holiday for that.

Work has been pretty busy recently and my job has not been made any easier because of Brian! I can practically hear you thinking, "who is Brian?"

Brian is normally my friend. We normally get on brilliantly but for some reason he was in a weird mood today. He was in my section alot, freaking out my guests, jumping on the tables and stealing food. Twice he ran in front of me almost causing me to drop a tray as I tried to avoid him. In case you haven't twigged on this yet, Brian is the UK squirrel. He's a little grey squirrel that has been hanging out in the UK for so long, we've named him. I personally love the little guy, he's friendly and cute and normally respects my authority when I tell him to take his french fries and leave. I'm not sure if it was the weather today or what but Brian was NOT giving me respect today. At one point, he was eating a chip on the floor. I went over to shoo him off and he held the chip (french fry) up and it looked like he was giving me the one figered salute! That squirrel is lucky he hasn't been stuffed and mounted the cheek he gave me today!

Well, better go. I'm an AM again tomorrow. Still, at least tomorrow is "my Friday" as we say here. Not that I'll be up to much on my days off. Not unless the rain stops. Oh, quick update. it's taken me 45 minutes to write this (I was watching TV too) and the rain still hasn't stopped.

Guests that make you cry, chefs that don't lie and shoes to go buy!

Well, here we are in May. Time seems to be snowballing now. Everytime I notice the date, it shocks me. I've never known time to go so fast before.

I've had a couple of really amazing shifts recently. The first one was the ultimate tearjerker. I was serving my section as normal and there was a cute little girl on my table called Chloe. She was amazing. She was ultra polite and kept calling me "Miss Tori". As it was near firework time, I went to Emma who was on magic moment and did something I've never done before. I asked for one of my tables to be chosen.

I guess before I go further, I should explain Magical Moment. This happens each night in the Rose and Crown. The podium staff select a child and give them the Mickey wand and that child "starts" the fireworks by pointing the wand at the right time. Due to our familiarity with Illuminations, we can make a pretty convincing show of the child directing them. The podium staff always get to choose and if they pick your table, you're lucky. Asking for your table to be included is frowned upon as it increases your tips and money is not a good reason for doing Magical Moment. I wasn't after extra tips, I just had a seriously cute little girl who I felt deserved to be made a fuss of. Luckily, Emma was understanding, she knows I've never asked for my guests to be chosen before.

Anyway, the end of this story means Chloe started the fireworks. Emma and her trainee, Alex, took the whole family down to lower deck and apparantly the mother and grandmother were in tears watching Chloe excitedly starting the fireworks. At the end of the firework show, Chloe's father came and found me. I was cleaning my section but he stopped me and with tears in his eyes told me he'd had the most magical night of his life. He's been in Iraq for the last year and has been away from his family. Seeing Chloe so happy made his night and he was so grateful for what we'd done for her. He was crying by the end of it and so was I. It was such a small thing for me to have done but it made the night for his family. I hugged him as he thanked me and had to go away into the kitchen for a few minutes until I was under control again .

A few days later during pre-shift (the meeting before the start of the shift), our manager Alisha read out a positive guest letter. It was about me. It said I was "friendly, genuine and quite entertaining. She made the evening even more enjoyable for us". I got a copy of the letter and a special pin (badge). It's always nice to be recognised.

Things at the Rose and Crown and finally beginning to settle after the loss of Rachid and Chef Christian. Our new chef, Nick is a definate improvement. He has been asking the opinion of the staff as to what to include on the menu which is something Chef Christian (AKA The Demi-God) never did. Plus, Chef Nick will cheerfully hear us out if we say something is disgusting and he'll ask how it can be improved. Chef Christian would just yell at you.

Our new manager, Christina is not such an improvement. First of all, we barely see her but when she does come into the UK, she pisses everyone off. There is something called "Disney Look" which is a standard of cleanliness and uniformity that we have to adhere to. No tattoos, no beards (damn, and mine was so long!), girls hair tied back, even acceptable and unacceptable sideburns!!! Christina seems to be obsessed with Disney Look and I am now being told that the shoes I have been using for work for the past ten months are now unacceptable. Well, actually, they're not too sure. All I've been told so far is they "might be unacceptable". That was a week ago and we've heard nothing back yet. I do not want to buy a new pair of work shoes for the sake of two months. Especially when there's nothing wrong with the ones I have!

On my day off this week, I spent some time by the pool here at the Commons. I met a couple of UK guys who turned out to be the newbies. As they don't have their Disney ID's yet, I offered to get them into MK for the evening so I could show them around. It ended up being a really fun night. One of the guys (Dave) was a DV (Disney Virgin). Showing MK to a DV was amazing, it was like seeing it for the first time all over again. Dave seemed to like it too. We stayed to see Wishes as well and it was just a fun night.

The following day, I returned to the pool. I was in the water the whole time but a few hours after getting out, I was in severe pain. Somehow (God only knows how!), I've burnt my knees and my shoulders. It's really painful and I feel sorry for Vikki as all she's heard recently is "Ow! Ow! Ow!" everytime I've turned over in bed or stood up or, you know, breathed! Still, it'll heal soon.

Well, that's all I've got to report for now. I'll update again soon.