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....

Slow times

It's typical. During the really busy period when I was working so much I didn't have time to report on what I was up to. Now its so quiet, I have plenty of time to blog but nothing much to tell you. Ironic, huh? Still, I've got a few things to write about.

Work is really quiet at the moment. It's actually quite nice after the craziness of Christmas and New Year. Managers are giving out alot of ADO's and ER's (Authorised Days Off and Early Releases). The only draw back is money is getting a bit tight. Still, I'm enjoying the free time. I was ER'ed today so I used the time to visit the bank and Walmart and run a few errands. Not terribly exciting but still stuff that needed to be done.

On my days off, I've been taking full advantage of the parks being so quiet. On Saturday I met up with a few friends (Rene, Iselin and Vader - all Norweigans), and we went over to Hollywood Studios. Hollywood is my favourite park and we had a great time doing all the rides. We really loved Toy Story Mania! We did boys V girls and naturally, the girls won! Hee hee!

We also went on the Tower of Terror (one of my favourites!). Unfortunately, I've been on it so many times, I'm getting rather blase about it. To make it a little different, we did special poses for the in ride photo! If you were there that day, you'd have noticed a photo with a couple kissing Rene and Iselin) and a girl reading Star Wars. It's actually really funny, all you can see are my eyes over the top of the book! It was funny!

In the afternoon, we ate at the 50's Prime Time Diner. It was brilliant! Our server (Memory) was awesome. She told me off for giving my greens to Rene and she made me stand in the corner with my head against the wall! I was laughing so hard I could barely stand. Memory picked on Rene even more. She called him Poky and kept telling him off for putting his elbows on the table. To stop him she drew a line of tomato ketchup! Rene still managed to put his elbows on the table so Memory made him stand up and sing "I'm a Little Teapot", complete with actions! It was so funny!

A few days ago, I got a bit of a blast from the past when an old friend turned up. I worked with Lil Steve on the ship and he was in Florida so we caught up. We ate at The Rose and Crown and visited EPCOT and MK. It was great!

Well, now you're up to date. I'll write again soon.

Return 2 Zero, Pleasure Island and Downtown Disney!

Again, it's been a few days since I last blogged. Time really is flying at the moment. I'm still counting down to my service days! Only 11 days to go! My friend, Gareth, has already started as a food runner and he made $148 in a day! It's not just the money that interests me for service. I'm really looking forward to getting to know my guests and making them happy, especially the children. As you guys know, I'm into my magic and I am really looking forward to showing some of my tricks to families.

I've had the last couple of days off (yay!) I spent yesterday running errands. I did all my laundry, visited Publix, the post office and the bank and just really sorted things out. In the evening, I got together with Kevin, Vikki and Sam and we went to Pleasure Island again. It closes really soon so we decided to go for one last time. Hmmm, I can see why it's closing. The place was completely empty! We started off in the Adventurer's Club. Ummm...how to describe it? It was the most random club I've ever been in! It has loads of themed rooms and a show takes place in them. We went in the main room and a maid tap danced while calling for audience participation. We slid down in our seats and avoided eye contact. It was like watching someone elses drug induced dreams. VERY odd. We quickly moved on to 8Trax which is a 70's club. I loved it! It was my kind of music and I danced along to a jazzed up version of the Copacabana! However, the others got bored so we moved on to Mannequins. The rotating dance floor kept me occupied for a while but we soon moved back to 8Trax before heading home.

Today was amazing! I went to Hollywood Studios and went straight on Tower of Terror and the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Then I made a bee line for the Beauty and the Beast show. Even though this show is amazing and well worth seeing, it's not the reason I go. I love the preshow group "Four for a Dollar" (also called "Return 2 Zero"). They're an accapella group (which means they sing with no instruments) and I think they are amazing! The first time I saw them, I was really impressed. I listened to them and I thought I could hear drums. Then I looked at Doug and realised HE was producing the sound! I was amazed and I've been a fan ever since. Today I really wanted their new CD but everywhere I tried was sold out. I found out the boys finish at Hollywood Studios on Saturday. I was quite upset as I love those guys! Still, it explained why I couldn't find their CD. I asked Mike, one of the cast members and he told me that they were sold out all over the park. I was really disappointed. I told him I was a huge fan and he asked me to meet him at the theatre at 5.30pm. I came back at that time and found out that Mike had arranged for me to meet the guys! Honestly, I was so excited, you'd think I was meeting Take That or Boyzone or any other boyband. Personally, I think these guys are better as they have talent rather than pretty boy looks. I got a hug from all four (Doug, Marshall, Andrew and Sammy). They were really great and I loved meeting them. Even better, backstage we got chatting about music taste and I mentionned I was a Carpenter's fan. They asked if I knew "Only Yesterday" which I did and then I got to sing it with them doing back up! It was only backstage but it was amazing. Doug complimented my singing voice! Those guys will be VERY sadly missed. Mike was amazing arranging that for me and I made sure I called by Guest Services on the way out to commend him.

This evening I went to Downtown Disney for ice cream with David. We sat overlooking the water when we saw a guy swing his leg over the railing, climb down and squat under the bridge. We watched him because we were curious. He just sat there with his mobile phone so we went to the nearest Cast Member and let them know. The reaction seemed to be a little out of proportion because they came running over calling for security! When David and I got on the bus, it looked like they were stopping people going into Pleasure Island. Hmmm....

It's been an amazing day but I'm off to bed now! G'night!

Relaxing and Chillin' before work!

The last couple of days have been quite busy. We've done alot of computer training. We all had to pass the RVP (Responsible Vendor Program) before we could start. It's just about the age restrictions on alcohol and things like that. I scored 95% so I passed with no problems. Everyone did except for one guy who misunderstood all the questions. He re-did it and passed.

We were told that moving up to server is a priviledge that we have to earn. You can earn quite alot of money from tips in a service position so I've made my mind up to learn the menu as fast as I can so I can move up. It's not easy. You have to learn the name of the item, the prices, the allergy information and the ingredients. Then you have a test about menu knowledge and you have to do a menu spiel to three managers and a chef. Luckily, I thrive on study. I love learning things and actually regret the fact that homework stops when you leave school. I would love to help my little sister with her homework but she never asks. I wish she would. Oh well.

It's my day off today. I started with a swim this morning and then a group of us went over to Hollywood Studios (the new name for MGM). We managed to catch the new High School Musical show and had a bit of a dance. It was great! Rhys and Lauren P. had a proper groove. Little did they know I recorded it (hee hee!)

Tonight is our "Throw In" though we're not allowed to call it that. It's a meet and greet. We get to meet all the other UK cast members which sounds great. However, there's normally some kind of initiation. In the past, they would throw poop, sick and pee over the new arrivals. Luckily Disney found out and clamped down on it. I can't believe anyone would think that was fun! It's disgusting. Still, while it won't be pee, something is going to happen. The really annoying thing (for you guys) is I can't tell you what happens! I'm pretty sure we end up sworn to secrecy. I only hope it's nothing too bad.

I'm spending the rest of today catching up on washing and sorting out of paperwork. I'll also give it another shot at menu learning. So far I know three of the appetizers and I'm confortable being questionned on them. However, there's seven appetizers! Then all the entrees, mains, desserts, kids menu and cocktails. I'd better get cracking. Wish me luck!