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....

My Birthday

It's been a odd couple of weeks since I last blogged. First of all, everyone (and I mean everyone) has been ill recently! There's a really nasty 'flu bug floating around and everyone seems to be out with it. Plus we've got a couple of cast members out with gallstones and wisdom tooth ache so The Rose and Crown isn't very healthy at the moment.

On April 6th, I felt really ill as soon as I got up. However, I never call in unless I'm actually sick (which makes me a complete idiot as everyone else does it so why not take advantage?). I went into work but I ached all over and I felt really hot. Half way through my shift, I went to Jamie and asked to be cut because I really didn't feel well. She said it was a bit inconvienient so I struggled on with service. When Jamie tried to seat me an 8 top, I just gave up trying to keep the illness at bay. I had to sit down in the kitchen (where I threw up in the trash can - ewww!) and I literally couldn't get back up again. I felt like I was going to pass out and kept gasping in air. Of course, that did nothing good and I ended up really light headed. The long and the short of it is, Alisha called the medical team who checked me over and sent me home. I then had to call in for the next two days to try and get my feet back under me. I spent the time sleeping and resting and I never even left my apartment but I finally got over whatever it was I caught.

Work has been weird recently. It's Easter at the moment and all our guests seem to be British. I have nothing against the Brits, in fact, I am one but the worst part is they don't tip. In England, even servers are included with the minumum wage but out here, servers are expected to get tips so our basic wage reflects that. When you work your butt off for a table, you find it really hard when you cash it out to find that they haven't tipped you anything. It's really hard not to take it personally. I always tip when I'm in the States but that's because I understand it. Oh well, it's the start of the summer season now she I'll hopefully get the Yanks back. They tip. They tip well!

On Tuesday, it was my birthday. I turned (inaudible) so I lied and told everyone 22. Most of my friends know I'm really four years older than that but we all went along with it anyway. I'd arranged a day at MK and we all agreed to meet up at mine at 10am (early, according to David!) At 10am, the skies opened and threw down one of the most violent thunderstorms I've ever seen. I stood out on the balcony and watched it. That is, until the wind started pushing the rain sideways. Then I came in. Luckily, it stopped at around 10.30am and soon Vikki and I were joined by Kevin, David, Rene and Iselin. Rene and David apologised as they'd ordered something for me that hadn't arrived so David said he'd sent me the rain and Rene claimed credit for the thunder and lightening. Kevin got me a bottle of Baileys and Vikki got me a bottle of Creme de Menthe so I can mix up a Green Goblin, my favourite cocktail (Baileys, Creme de Menthe and milk, sometimes with Kahlua).

We headed into the park and started off in Adventureland where we did the Jungle Cruise in the rain. Really not fun. Then we did the Tiki Room and Pirates as both were indoors. Fortunately, the weather kept most of the crowds away though the line for Peter Pan's Flight was STILL nearly an hour (we didn't go). We spent the whole day playing on the attractions. We tried to see Peter Pan but the weather must have made it difficult t fly over from Neverland.

In the afternoon, we were joined by Laura (Mitzy) and Stephie. Mitzy pulled me into a little shop in Fantasyland and the cast member noticed my birthday badge. She got me to ring a bell and when I did, lights flashed round the room like Tinkerbell had flown in. She then appeared behind the till before flying off again. It was really sweet. Then the cast member got me to close my eyes and I was "pixie dusted" (covered in glitter). She told me not to think any happy thoughts or I'd end up flying but I did and I never flew. Oh well.

We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table, right inside the castle. It was really good. You start off having your photo taken with Cinderella and then you go upstairs into the banquet hall. The decor was amazing and the stained glass windows looked up and down mainstreet and fantasyland. We were visited by the mice from Cinderella as well as the fairy godmother. Kevin (bless him) had arranged a cake as a surprise so I got a huge chocolate cake with candles to blow out! One of the most amusing parts of the night was when we were all given fairy wands or swords, depending if we were guys or girls. I was opposite Rene and I picked up my wand, he picked up his sword and without a word we traded them. I'd much rather be a knight than a princess and Rene is a fairy anyway! Hee hee!

All in all, it was a really nice day out. The weather could have been better but it didn't matter too much. At the end of the evening, I caught the end of Spectromagic and got to see my Peter Pan at last!

Anyway, gotta go. We have inspection on the 20th and there's a stupid new rule about nothing on the walls so I've got to take it all down. Boo!

Talk to you all soon.

Scary changes at The Rose and Crown

Things have been changing rather radically at The Rose and Crown due to cutbacks and the economy. About a week ago, the servers were told during the AM shift that we had to stick around for the pre-shift meeting before the PM shift. We were all really nervous. The only time the managers get us all together is to yell at us for some reason. We couldn't think of any reason why we'd be in trouble but this is Disney and I long ago came to the conclusion that Disney hate their employees and wants them dead. However, I wasn't expecting the news we got.

First, let me explain the hierarchy at work. We have our area manager, Rachid who overlooks the entire UK pavillion. Then there's Christian, the head chef. Christian is in charge of the kitchen (and the world in his opinion). Anything Christian says goes. If he yells at you keep your head down and agree with whatever he says. He can make your life hell if you upset him and he will. Next come the managers, Alicia, Jamie, Dan and Nick.

Anyway, we were told on Thursday that Dan would not be coming back to work due to the economy. It's horrible. He went on his days off and then got told he'd lost his job. He wasn't even able to come and say goodbye! I really hope he'll get a decent redundancy package as the economy is so bad, he's going to need it. Everyone's looking for work at the moment. Dan was a decent bloke and he didn't deserve to lose his job. Everyone was really shocked and it was difficult to concentrate on the shift. However, we were told that this was the only change they were doing.

The following day, I get into work and guess what? There's ANOTHER full team meeting. We all got together and learnt that Rachid (our area manager) was being reassigned to Ohana (the restaurant in the Polynesian Resort) and Chef Christian (the Demi-God) was being sent to Mama Melrose in Hollywood Studios. The UK is now merged with Canada and we have the same area manager (a woman called Christina) and the same Head Chef (Chef Nick). It was alot to deal with at once. Especially as we'd never met either of the two leaders and all we had were rather frightening rumours!

That was a week ago and we've had Chef Nick in every day. Obviously, I don't know him well but so far I'm really impressed. Firstly, he treats everyone with respect in his kitchen. He doesn't have a God complex and will actually listen to you and treat you like a human being, unlike Christian. Another thing he's done that impressed me was he asked the servers what we would like to see on the menu. He realises that we are all British and the stuff we eat at home is what he needs to see on his menu. This is a change for us all as I once told Christian that we don't eat Blood sausage in the UK and he tore me apart in front of the entire pre shift meeting. Chef Nick has got some terrific ideas and while I don't agree with them all, I'm willing to give them a go because the man knows what he's doing AND he treats us with respect. So far, Chef Nick is a huge improvement to the Rose and Crown.

Losing Rachid has been a bit of a blow though. I always found Rachid to be a little vacant (the guy once told me I wear too much make-up despite the fact I never wear any!) but it felt like he was on "our side" for alot of things. He's going to be missed. I've met his replacement, Christina, once and she seems nice but I haven't spoken to her enough times to form a proper opinion yet. I hope she's a good manager.

All these changes have set the staff on edge at work. Morale is down and the full timers are all concerned for their jobs. I feel like they resent us a little because they know we're immune to the economic breakdown. We're sponsered by the government to be here and cannot be fired just because of the economy (we can still be termed for just about everything else though). Work is full of uncertainty right now.

As if to usher in this new time of change, we've had alot of thunderstorms recently. I absolutely LOVE thunderstorms! We had one at 6am the other morning and I crawled out of bed, sat on the balcony and watched it! It reminded me of home which is weird because we're not really prone to lots of thunderstorms. Rain, yes, we have lots of that but we don't tend to have anything as energetic as thunderstorms very often. Still, whatever the reason, I loved watching it. Now we seem to be having storms every couple of days. In fact, as I write this, I can hear the beginnings of another one! Brilliant! If it comes any closer, I may have to abandon you in order to watch it.

What else has happened recently? Oh yes! We had our eight month anniversary on Sunday. We've been out here for eight whole months now. Nicola got our arrival group together and we all enjoyed breakfast before work. Nic had put alot of effort into it. We had strawberries and melon and grapes and toast and cereal and bagels and jam....she'd even decorated! It was great for everyone to get together (except Pippa who overslept). Most of us haven't been in the same room outside of work since our three month anniversary! Only four months left now and that will fly by!

I'm trying to squeeze alot into my last few months so I was up early this morning to do the backstage Tower Of Terror Tour. These are backstage tours offered by the Programs office. They do two a month and each time I try to get on them but they are always fully booked. This time I went along on the off chance that someone wouldn't show up. I am really glad I did! It thundered this morning while we waited for the bus so alot of people didn't come which meant I was able to go along! Yes! Louisa had told me the times and I was so grateful to her!

The tour was really interesting! We got to go round the lobby and our guide told us things that alot of people don't know about the attraction. We got to see all the furniture and were told stories about where it came from and how it was selcted to be in the attraction. Over on one side of the lobby is an abandoned game of Mahjong. This is an actual game, stopped in the middle and the tiles glued down so anyone familiar with the game can see it's a real game. This is out of sight of most of the guests! That's how seriously Disney takes it's theming! A few of the tiles are missing though. Stolen over the years by cast members and guests.

Behind the front desk are cubbies containing keys to the different rooms of the hotel. In one is a photograph of an old man. He was a guest who loved the Tower of Terror. He used to ride it every time he came to Florida and when he passed away, his family came back one last time, ducked under the rope keeping guests out and threw the photo in one of the cubbies. It was found by cast members but they kept it there in memory. The guests never see it or even know about it so it doesn't hurt anyone. It was such a sweet story though.

Once we'd looked around the lobby, we were taken behind the scenes and shown the backstage areas. We saw the huge lifts that guests ride in and were taught how they work and move around. We saw the camera room that watches the whole attraction all the time and can stop the ride instantly if a guest does something stupid like jump out. We saw the cast areas (which look exactly like every other cast area I've seen!) and then we got to ride the attraction with the lights on! That was bizarre as we got to see everything that most guests don't see. I can't tell you much about that, I've probably said too much already but it was really cool!

I cannot wait for the next tour. I'm hoping it will be The Haunted Mansion (my favourite attraction in the Magic Kingdom). You get to go into the ballroom where the dancing ghosts are and see how it's done. I definately won't be able to put that in my blog but I'll be able to say a little bit about the whole experience.

After the tour, Louisa and I got together with Kevin, Stephie and David and we went to Best of British for some real food. Then we had a quick look round the Florida mall. Now I'm back at The Commons feeling a little disappointed because the storm never developed into anything. However, it may still come back. Talk to you next time!

Huge Update!

Arrrgggghhhhhhh! No! No! No!

I just wrote out a huge long update and then this stupid virus appeared and it's all gone! Now I'm going to have to write it all out again! Stupid virus!!!

Anyway, here we go again....

I've abandoned you guys for a whole month now but due to numerous requests (Stephen) and death threats (Peter!), I though I was due for an update. So, my last blog was from the middle of February. Work continued to be slow for the rest of the month which meant the staff had alot more time on their hands. Being a mischievious lot, it's made way for quite a few pranks and server jokes.

One favourite is when a server comes into the kitchen and tells another server, "table 307 (or whatever your table is) has asked for three waters (or more bread)." You take out what they've asked for only to learn they never ordered it in the first place. You end up looking like a complete idiot. However, the one time you ignore someone who tells you your table needs something is the one time they'll be telling the truth!

Another fun one was one I played on my roommate (sorry Vikki). I told her guests that it was her birthday and they had to be nice to her. You should have seen her face when her tables sung her Happy Birthday!!!! She looked so confused! I was laughing so hard I could barely stand!

Another thing servers seem to enjoy doing is hiding little green army men all round the restaurant. They're only four centimetres tall (about one and a hlaf inches, mum) so they blend in really well. Management really don't like it but we all enjoy sitting in the pre-shift meetings silently pointing them out to each other. When one is found by the managers, it's removed, we get told off and there's a new one hidden in the restaurant by the end of the day!

Another good thing about the restaurent being slow has been the free time we've all enjoyed. A group of us went out for Nia's birthday a couple of weeks ago and Stephie, David, Kev and I went along to the Sleuths Mystery Dinner Show last month. It was so much fun. It's a murder mystery and you have to solve the murder. I really got into it, writing notes all over the napkins. We came up with a brilliant theorey. Unfortunately, we were brilliantly wrong but our table decided we liked our theorey better than the real one anyway.

On my day off last week, I was able to fufil an ambition of mine and I went hang gliding. I've always wanted to do that but something has always stopped me. Either the instructor was ill or the wind was too strong or it was raining.... This time, however, nothing went wrong and the glider was towed up to mile high with no problem. The instructor cut the cord and we were flying! It was like being Peter Pan! We cloud surfed (bumpy) and did a couple of corkscrew turns and steep dives but the best part was when we were just gliding. We went through the clouds and I saw the shadow of the glider on the cloud, surrounded by a rainbow circle. It was brilliant as not many people get to see that. I even got to pilot the glider on the way back down. I loved it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

We've had a few throw outs recently. I've explained throw outs before but just in case you weren't paying attention, I'll explain again. Throw outs happen at the end of people's year program. All the crap they've accumulated over the year, posters, ornaments, soft toys, CD players, TV's, foot spas, Christmas trees....they get everyone together and give it all away. Everyone gets in the one apartment, the item is held up and whoever yells "shotgun" first gets it. A few items are reserved for personal friends and it's always sweet to see those being given out. It's always something like "I'm throwing out this wine glass to Hayley because she was there that day we got so hammered we left our underwear in the bushes..." or "this teddy is for Sophie because she let me cry on her shoulder when I was homesick". Getting a personal throwout makes you feel really good. I got three from Amy's throwout, all soft toy cats because "Tori's missing her cat so much, she's trying to kidnap the strays".

Talking of the strays, there's a really cute little cat here I call Tails and it's true, I have been trying to kidnap him. For a stray, he's very tame and I've taken to leaving food out for him. If housing found out I'd be so beyond terminated! I nearly got busted the other day when we had inspection. They saw a tin of catfood out on the counter and asked about it. Thinking really quickly, I told them it was from a throwout as everyone knows I love cats. They did it as a fun thing and I said if they wanted to check, they'd see it was years out of date. Luckily they didn't call my bluff so I got away with it this time. Ooooppps!

Colin and Sam's throwout was actually quite sad. There was a personal throwout to me ("this huge crate of books is for Tori because everyone knows she's the bookworm") but the worst part was knowing Sam and Colin are leaving. Before, it was just people I worked with but never really got the chance to know very well. Now it's actual friends that are going. People I will miss. Plus, it's a big reminder that my time out here is going fast. There's always a speech at the end of a throwout and they always say "your year will go really fast". I've always thought they were lying but it's so true. Time is passing by so fast, I want to stop the world, just for a minute and really appreciate where I am and what I'm doing. It's been nearly 8 months! I go back to England in another 4! That's crazy!

In a way it's good as I do miss things about home. I miss my mum and my brother and my little niece, Isobel and my sister (who luckily isn't very computer savvy so will never find out that I said that). I miss rain. Stupid, I know but when I'm feeling low, I love watching the rain fall. It rarely falls out here.

I miss cheese and pickle sandwiches, my workmates, Canterbury, people actually knowing what a banger is (no, it isn't a firework you dumbarse guest, it's a sausage!), my cat....so in a way, it's good that my time is going by. However, I know when I get back, that's it for me. No more travelling. Just working to pay the rent. I expect most of my money will go on bills so life will not be fun when I get back to the UK. Therefore, the idea that time is flying by so quickly scares me.

Okay, you are now up to date with life over here. It's weird. A few paragraphs sums up my activities for the past month. However, I don't end up telling you the little things like trips to Walmart or ending up staying up really late talking or evenings spent at Downtown Disney. You only ever get to hear the big stuff.

Just a couple of the "small things" that happened that I'll tell you about before I abandon you. I had a table the other night consisting of a middle age couple (early 50's). I was chatting to them for ages and I was really enjoying myself. They're Florida residents so they've promised to come back and eat but by the end of their meal, they were telling me all about their son, Greg and how he'd love me. They told me "he loves brown hair and brown eyes" and then asked how tall I was! They finished by saying "Greg will make an excellent husband and father" so I guess I'm getting married soon! I didn't pay much mind to it as servers are seen as fair game out here. I've been given a couple of phone numbers (including one from a woman!) and I've got a business card from a minister if I want to get married out here.

Another one is my roommate, Vikki went to California for a few days and she posted a postcard as soon as she arrived to see if it would beat her home. It didn't quite manage that but we just went down to our postbox and it's there, all the way from California!

See, sometimes the little things are worth a mention!

Catch up

Hi Guys,

Well, they weren't kidding when they said that February would be a quiet month. Work has been really dead. Still, it's given the staff a well needed rest and we've all been using the time to go out to places we've been meaning to see since we got out here. I have a list of things I want to do that I haven't got round to yet.

One of the major ones was Medieval Times. I've been once before wtih my family but that was quite a few years ago. So, a couple of days ago, I got together with David and Stephie and we all went to Medieval Times. It was brilliant! It's a dinner and show and you eat the food (with your hands) while cheering on your knight. We were supporting the red and yellow knight which I was disappointed with because I like green. However, neither our knight or green won so it didn't matter. The blue knight was cute though! It was great to sit there cheering on your knight while you were served by "serving wenches" and watched over by the King. I was in my element. Everytime the server came over, I had to smile because I can remember my little brother, Peter at Medieval Times clicking his fingers are yelling "wench! Wench!" with great delight (he wasn't being rude, they ask you to do that!)

David, Stephie and I paid a little extra to upgrade to the "Royal Package". It gave us front row seats, a program, a DVD, a banner to wave and a free photo. The photos were hysterical! They take your picture and put it on the body of either a lady of the realm or a knight. All the guys were knights, all the women were ladies which upset me as I wanted to be a knight. Knights had so much more fun.

In the gift shop outside, they had all sorts of knight memorabilia. They had swords and shields and statues and all sorts. We found some knight tunics so somewhere there's a picture of me, Stephie, David, Kevin and Danny (who joined us later) wearing the knight tabbards in the shop. I really wanted one! There's something romantic about knights. Imagine going round the country fighting for justice and honour and truth and courage. Sounds good to me. Only thing was, they were expected to fight for God. Hmmm, an athiest knight? Weeelllll....

I managed to get a week off work recently as I had a friend visit from England. We spent the time visiting the parks but nothing special. I've done the parks so many times now that I'm a little bored with them. That's why I'm trying to get the money to go to Cancun next month. I really want to see Mexico.

A few days ago, it was Rene's birthday so we snuck into his apartment one morning and surprised him with a cake. We also threw him into the pool fully clothed! That was fun. We also went to Japan for his birthday meal. The food was cooked right in front of us by the chefs which was cool!

Well, that's all for now. I'll write again soon!

Happy New Year!

Well, it's now 2009! How weird does that look?

It's been a good few days but I am soooo glad it's all over. Work has been really busy and full on but things should start settling down a little bit now.

I had been dreading doing the PM shift for New Years Eve. For the last month, all the managers have been saying "it'll be really busy, you'll be weeded, it'll be tough" and basically freaking everyone out. Luckily, Matt decided he wanted to work the PM as everyone said the money was really good so I traded. I was an AM instead.

The AM shift was really busy and I felt so glad I'd traded. It turns out I made the right decision too, as I made more on my AM than Matt did doing the PM. After work, Kevin, Vikki, David and I got changed and exited the park. We were told that we had to leave and come in as guests. I thought it would be wayyy too busy but we got back in with no problem. Only trouble was it was 5pm so we had 7 hours to kill. The park was really busy so we didn't bother with any rides. We just mooched around. At 7pm, we went back to the UK pavillion and did a countdown to 7pm (which is midnight back home). Everyone that was at work came out into the street and we all hugged and wished each other Happy New Year. The Americans around us all thought we were nuts!

Later on, we decided to head over to Norway to see Rene. We got halfway round world showcase when we ran into a huge crowd of people. They were stationary and we couldn't move forward. We stood in the huge crowd for about 10 minutes then tried to back out of it. At that point there were people behind us as well. We couldn't move at all. I looked left...people, I looked right, more people...I'm a little claustrophobic in crowds but I closed my eyes and tried to imagine there was no one else there. Kevin tried to lead me out but as soon as he put his hands on my shoulders I shrieked, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" We couldn't move anyway. In the end, I couldn't handle it, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I lunged for the railing and somehow (I don't remember this part) got over it. Then I sat on the grass trying to get enough oxygen. It was awful. I sat there for twenty minutes or so, then security came and helped me backstage. Once I was out of the crowds, I was fine. I still can't believe I got over that railing. Kevin is over six foot and he had difficulty! Guess adrenaline did most of it!

At around 11pm, we were back in the UK pavillion. As a joke, Kevin asked if there was any availability in the restaurant. There was! Colin said if we didn't mind the cold, he'd take us on his section. It had been empty all night because it was cold outside. We were fine to sit in the cold so we had a table right on the waterfront for the New Years Eve fireworks. It was brilliant! I had a Baileys hot chocolate and we all shared lots of different types of food. It was a brilliant way to ring in the new year!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Well, Christmas is now over and we're already preparing for the New Year. It's been a rather strange Christmas but I've had fun anyway. I could not have got through it without the group though (David, Rene, Kevin, Vikki and Sam). The friends you make out here end up becoming your adopted family and you rely on them alot.

For the last month of work, our managers have been warning us "it's going to be really busy, be prepared, you'll be weeded, it's uncontrollable...." I'm not sure if they were trying to scare us or if they really thought we'd be busier than we have been. Don't get me wrong, we're really busy but we're not out of control. We're handling it really well. I only hope New Year will be as good.

I had a pretty good schedule over Christmas. On Christmas Eve I was a PM and then an AM on Christmas Day. The Christmas Eve PM was fine. Everyone was really excited and all my guests were a pleasure to talk to. At 7pm, all the UK's got really excited because it was Christmas Day back home (due to the time difference). The guests were in the spirit of things and celebrated with us which made it a pretty fun night.

After work, we all went round to Kev and Rene's apartment. David brought his mattress round while I carried his toy Wall-e that he felt had to join us for Christmas. It was amusing to see David carrying his mattress as he looked like a mattress with legs! Once we all arrived, we sat in a circle and opened our Christmas tree presents. I got the DVD Scrooged which I was pleased with. We all showed each other our presents and then it was suggested we open another one. After all, it was actually Christmas Day at this point. We agreed to open one more; our secret santa presents from work. I recieved a small book called "101 things to do with a thumb tip". I use thumb tips in my magic and I was touched that someone knew me well enough to pick out the perfect present. Kevin got UK chocolate which he was over the moon about (you can tell by the photo). Poor David didn't have a secret santa gift. I guess whoever chose him hadn't got round to buying one. The boys wanted to open "just one more present" but Vikki and I were firm and sent everyone to bed (oh yeah, girls rule!)

I was up extra extra early the following morning. I'd set my alarm for 6am but it had been knocked in my bag without me realising so I actually got up at 5am. I showered and dressed before noticing the time! Annoying! Anyway, I went online to Skype my mum but she wasn't available. I waited online until 6.30am and then decided it was time to get everyone up. Hee hee! I poked Dave a few times and jumped up and down on Rene for a while. I avoided Kevin as he is NOT a morning person! Vikki and Sam had spent the night round Sam's apartment so I called them and they came over. Then we sat on the floor and Vikki handed out the presents (she was nearest the tree).

Considering none of us have our families out here, the stack of presents for the six of us was quite impressive. Soon we all had a pile in front of us and we got stuck in. The photos show how much fun we all had! Kevin loved his Tigger soft toy and me, Vikki and David had a go of David's new foosball table. I got a really cool book on dinosaurs (yes, I'm a geek!) from Sam but the sweetest present was from Rene. He painted me a huge Peter Pan! I loved it! He'd worked on it so hard and the fact he'd put so much effort into it made it really special in my eyes. He was up until 5am Christmas morning working on it so he only had one and a half hours sleep! Bless him!

Kevin, Rene and I had work after that so we headed off to catch the bus. I expected the guests to be in great moods, after all, it WAS Christmas Day. However, everyone seemed really miserable and moody. Most of them were in the complaining mood. I was lucky, my tables were really nice but one guest told managers "the servers are too happy" and another complained "Christmas is everywhere!" We started the shift on a high. Everyone gathered at podium and sang "we wish you a merry Christmas" but the guests pulled us down. By the end of the lunch shift, two servers were in tears and security had to escort one group of guests from the park for causing a scene! I was determined not to let it affect me though and on the way home, I wished every single person I passed a Merry Christmas (much to Kevin's amusement). I got a few smiles but mostly people grunted at me. Still, I tried so it didn't bother me.

When we got home, David had started cooking. Kev and I set the table and opened our presents from home. I'd asked my family NOT to send me anything because anything they send out, I have to bring back at the end of my year here. However, my mum and my best friend are disobedient and I love them for it. I got a cool fox calendar and a dolphin necklace from my mum while my best friend, Lou gave me a new diary (purple! Yes!) and a rather puzzling thing called cat soap. Apparantly, you get it wet and it grows fur. I laughed out loud when I saw it. I'll have to be careful, if I leave it in the boys bathroom, it will be hard to tell apart from all the other stuff growing fur in there!

We settled down to dinner at around eight. It was brilliant! We had turkey and cranberry sauce, stuffing (made by me, Vikki and Sam so I'm surprised it was edible!), roast potatoes and mashed potatoes, broccoli and sweetcorn.....it was great! We also had Baileys to drink and Christmas crackers to pull! I loved every second of it. After dinner, we continued to drink the Baileys which had the unfortunate side effect of me not really remembering much after that. We played Monopoly and....something about a cat....I fell over a few times....erm.....I woke up this morning in my own bed, fully clothed with a few extra bruises and no idea how I got home. I later found out Rene took me home and put me to bed. He even set my alarm clock for me. So, all in all, a very fun Christmas! I love my friends and I'm glad I had them to celebrate with!

Christmas traditions, shopping, crackers and smelly newspaper!

Well, it's nearly Christmas. We've only got a few more days. It's going to be my first Christmas away from home. I've worked abroad alot but normally the season would end well before Christmas. This time I'll be gone for Christmas and New Year (and my nieces 3rd birthday and my birthday and easter....) It's really hard to be away from family this time of year but I'm coping. Mainly because I have a terrific group of friends out here.

It feels really strange to see Christmas decorations on palm trees. I'm used to cold weather this time of year and walking around in a T-Shirt just feels strange. Still, it's interesting to see how the Americans celebrate Christmas. For one thing, they call it "the holidays" rather than Christmas. They include Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year as the whole celebration. Everywhere you go people wish you "Happy Holidays". I always answer with "Merry Christmas!"

At work we're not allowed to wish guests a "Happy Christmas" because "Disney is a non discrimatory organisation". Apparantly it might be offensive to people who don't celebrate Christmas. Rubbish! I'm British and we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and that's our tradition so I will continue to give that as my holiday greeting until I get in trouble for it. If someone wished me a "Happy Hannakah" it wouldn't bother me even though I'm not Jewish so our guests will just have to get used to it.

I've got some good plans for Christmas anyway. I'm working an AM shift but I should be done by about 4pm. I'm getting together with Kevin, Sam, Vikki, David and Rene round at Kev and Rene's apartment. We're having a Christmas Eve sleepover and we're all going to be together to open the presents in the morning. Then I'm off to work (as is Kevin and Rene) and Dave, Vikki and Sam are making Christmas dinner. Then when we get back, we're decorating a Gingerbread house and having dinner all together. Poor Rene is working late but we won't leave him out.

We all got together this morning to go and get the Christmas food. Kevin hired a car and we went down to Kissimee to The British Store. Oh my goodness! You have never seen any group of people so excited to see Heinz Baked Beans! Us Brits were rushing round the store picking up things and screaming "oh my God, look, they have Penguins!!!!" (Chocolate coated cookies for the Americans reading this!) We were in raptures over the Aunt Bessies yorkshire puddings and when we found Lilt we were near tears. All those brands I take for granted at home....I never thought I'd be so excited to see a bottle of TCP! The sales assistant must have thought we were barking! However, she got into the spirit of things and brought out some English newspapers that were out of date. She was going to throw them away but said we could have them for free. Of course, we jumped at the chance and Vikki sniffed the paper and said "it smells like home!" Of course, that meant all of us had to smell the newspaper. Picture the scene, five people in a shop in Florida sniffing an out of date newspaper while our random Norweigan friend, Rene looks on in horror, convinced we've all gone nuts! It was the funniest thing ever and we were all laughing our heads off! Most importantly, the British store sold Christmas Crackers! I never knew they were a European thing, I thought it was universal but you can't get them in America. I was so happy to find them! At the end of our visit, the sales assistant (a lovely, elderly lady) whom we had been chatting with came round the counter and said "I know you're all away from your families so I'm going to give you all a hug". We all got a huge hug from her and Vikki was near tears when she pulled away. It was so sweet.

As this will be a rather strange Christmas for all six of us, we're trying to incorparate everyone's traditions into one. You would think that would be simple as five of us are British and one is Norweigan but it seems even in Europe people celebrate things a little differently. Rene is used to opening all his presents on Christmas Eve and he never has turkey for Christmas dinner. He has Christmas ham or Christmas sausage. I always have roast potatoes but Kevin has mashed potatoes. David always has Brussel Sprouts even though he doesn't eat them and most of the others want them because they're traditional (though no one really likes them). Vikki opens all her presents in the morning but Kevin spaces his out throughout the day. It's hard to mix it all together but I think we've hit a compromise. Christmas dinner will be turkey and stuffing with roast AND mashed potatoes. We'll also have sausages and sausage rolls. I think we're doing the presents half and half (half in the morning, half in the evening). For dessert, Rene is making a traditional Norweigan dessert called Riskrem (pronounced Rice-cream). Apparantly it's delicious but it's a bit worrying when Rene told us it's "creamy, sweet, smooth, light, fluffy and a little chewy" and is made from "rice and some other stuff." Still, we'll give it a go.

So, that's my Christmas all planned and it's going to be weird but also alot of fun. I never realised how much tradition there is in Christmas, I just thought everyone celebrated the same way. However, I've learnt that it doesn't matter how you celebrate or even IF you celebrate as long as you can surround yourself with friends or family and have an open mind to other peoples customs. So, I happily wish everyone "A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!" (or God Jul for the Norweigans). Have a fantastic Christmas, whatever you're doing and wherever you are!!!!

Big apologies!!!

Okay, okay, okay! I'm really sorry I haven't written my blog recently. Things here have been really busy and to be honest, I didn't think anyone was bothering to read it. However, that myth has been laid to rest. I've had lots of e-mails along the lines of "what's happened to the blog?" so I guess I'll carry on with it.

Okay so the last entry was over a month ago on the 21st October. Luckily I keep a diary so I should be able to do an update quite easily. Back then I was still really new to service and finding my feet. Over the following weeks most of my arrival group also entered into service. I helped to coach Lauren P on her menu learning and now all of us minus Lauren N (Newt) are servers. Newt decided she doesn't want to do service and sometimes I think she was the wisest one of us all! Service can be really stressful.

HSM3 came out at the end of October and I went along with a huge group of people to see it at one minute after midnight. Yep, I'm that sad. Sadder yet was the fact that the cinema was packed with adults desperate to see the film. It was crazy. The film itself was actually pretty good. Better than the second, anyway!

Towards the end of October the servers working the PM shift were rather amazed to spot our first celebrity diner! Noel Edmonds dined at The Rose and Crown. For people who don't know (ie. Americans), Noel Edmonds is the presenter of "Are you Smarter Than a 10 year old" and "Deal Or No Deal". He's not a major celebrity but we were all quite excited. When celebrities come to the restaurant, we're not allowed to behave any differently towards them than anyone else. I think we did a fairly good job, no one bothered him but I noticed an increase in the amount of servers that just had to use the till nearest his table or take plates to the kitchen the long way round so they passed his table. He seemed a nice enough bloke though personally I think he wanted to be recognised. If he didn't, he wouldn't have eaten at the UK pavillion. Any other pavillion wouldn't have had a clue who he was!

Halloween ended really suddenly. One night it was all orange and black everywhere and the following day it had vanished! Instead we started to prepare for Thanksgiving. For people who don't know (ie. British), Thanksgiving is an American holiday that celebrates the pilgrams sitting down with the Indians and getting through their first winter with thier help. Of course, the pilgrams then turned round and said "by the way, we're taking ALL the land" but that tends to be glossed over during the celebrations. Park attendance began to pick up in the run up to the holiday.

On November 4th, history was made here in the US when Barack Obama became the first black president. I have no idea what he's doing now or what plans he's putting forth as I've been too busy to catch the news but it's still quite cool to be here for an historic occasion.

On November 5th, it was Bonfire Night. Once again, let me explain for the Americans. Guy Fawkes was a man who entered parliament a long time ago in order to blow it up. The only man ever to enter our government with honest intentions! He didn't succeed and every year we celebrate that fact by burning a "guy" on the bonfire and setting off fireworks in the evening. To my surprise, Disney did a "Bonfire Day" celebration for the UK pavillion. We had hotdogs and burgers and alot of people wishing us "Happy Guy Fawkes Day" which felt weird as it's not that sort of holiday. Still, it was really nice that they tried.

November brought about the birth of our group. It consists of Kevin, Rene, David, Sam, Vikki and myself. Once a week we all get together and go for a meal at a different resort. At first it was just a coincidence but now we do it once a week without fail. We hang out at different times as well. I've never been a part of such a close group of friends before, it's really good. It's like being in a Friends episode. Practically every evening for the last week you could find us all hanging out playing board games or Kevin's Nintendo wii or watching a movie or something.

In the middle of November, Kevin, Rene and I drove down to Key West for the weekend. It was a seven hour drive but so worth it. Key West is really scenic. The water is an indescribable blue and they have a bridge called the Seven Mile Bridge. You drive across it and there's water both sides. It was brilliant. We had a meal on the marina and looked round Mallory Square. We stayed overnight and headed back the following day so we really didn't get to do that much. Next time we'll plan to stay longer. On the way home, we stopped at Miami and played around on the beach. The sea was warm, like bath water which was strange.

At the end of November, "our group" went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. It was a really cold night but they give you free hot chocolate and cookies. The parade was amazing but the best part was the castle. It's all lit up like it's made of glass and it's really incredible. The old castle will look really dull when the lights come off. We're hoping to go to the party again before it finishes.

Thanksgiving came and went. I was a bit crazy, wishing everyone a "Happy Thanksgiving" just because I've never been able to before. We had a special turkey dinner in the restaurant and it was really busy. In the evening, our group went out for Thanksgiving dinner. I had turkey and it was a fun night.

That brings us up to date. The Candlelight Processional has begun at EPCOT now. Guests pay for a meal and ticket to see the show which is the nativity read by a "celebrity". I use the term lightly as I've never even heard of the celebrities they have. It means the restaurant is REALLY busy. It's almost crazy! I'm finding it difficult but the thing that's keeping me going is knowing that after the end of this month, things will calm down. We're already on the 8th and Candlelight ends on the 6th of January so I only have a month to get through. Service will be a doddle after this next month though.

Okay, I'm due at work so I'd better go. I'll try to update a little more often. Bye for now!