The hurricane that never was

Hi everyone,

Well, yesterday was a pretty eventful day. We've been on tropical storm watch here in Florida with the advancement of Tropical Storm Fay. All day yesterday, people have been saying, "she'll be here by 8am" then it was "she'll be here by 10am" and so it continued at 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm but all we got was alot of rain. Alot of people were almost excited to experience a tropical storm and I suppose we should all be grateful that she never really put in an appearance but it had been built up so much we were at least expecting something. We were told to pull our beds out from the windows in case the wind shattered them in the night and everyone had to pick stuff up off the floor in case of flooding. However, aside from light drizzle, we had nothing from Fay. One newspaper called her "a damp squib" which I agree with. Still, a few papers are signing off with the cheerful "we'll consider Fay a practise for the next one". That's nice to hear, huh?

Yesterday was the throw out for a few people in our pavillion. Throw outs are great fun for everyone involved (unlike Throw In's that seem to be fun for everyone except the people being thrown in). It's when people get to the end of their year here and call everyone together to get rid of any stuff that they can't take home with them. The people going home hold each item up so people can see it and the first person to yell "shotgun" gets the item. There was all sorts of stuff being thrown out last night; fancy dress costumes, pillows, bedding, ornaments, hats, TV's, DVD players, CD players, books, posters...basically all the crap you accumulate in a year. I managed to get a DVD player for our apartment as well as a small plastic set of drawers, some books, a Tinkerbell ornament and an Ariel costume. The good thing is that at the end of my year, I'll throw all this stuff back out to people coming in! It's almost like recycling, in a way. It's a great idea.

I've been out here for three whole weeks now and I'm no longer considered a "newbie" because yesterday we had a whole bunch of "newbies" arrive. No one has met them yet and we don't expect to see them for the first few days because they'll be training. I'm looking forward to meeting them though. I feel a bit sorry for them as the weather is awful. I'm looking out of the window right now and it's drizzling. If it wasn't for the fact I can see palm trees, I'd think I was home in England. When they get time off to go to the parks this week, it'll be in the rain. Still, they'll be out here a year so they'll get their share of sun.

I've got one more day left in the Chippie and then I have two whole days off! I'm planning on visiting the Florida Mall tomorrow as that's indoors under cover. As to Friday, I haven't yet decided. If the weathers okay, I might head for Seaworld but I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, until next time....

Training, flattery and hurricane season

I've gotta be quick, I'm out the door in a few minutes and I'm not even in costume yet!

Anyway, I've completed all my podium training now and I've sat the test at the end. It wasn't difficult as your trainer is right next to you with the answers if you're unsure. I had my two days off and I went to MK (Magic Kingdom) and EPCOT. I swear, I was even more tired after my days off than I am when I'm working! It was fun though.

I now have six days of training in the Chippie. That's the fish and chipshop here at EPCOT. You have to wear the "dead jellyfish" hat which I hate with a passion but the time really flies by. I'll be learning the till today which would be great if I could talk. Unfortunately, I seem to have picked up a sore throat and blocked nose from somewhere. Still, it will pass.

A bit of advice for any Brits coming over. Don't think that because it LOOK'S like Lemsip, it does the same thing. I took something similar to Lemsip and it made me really drowsy. Luckily I was off to bed anyway but I could have taken it before work accidentally!

I had a scary moment yesterday. Marcel, one of the managers, asked to see me. I was so afriad I'd done something wrong. You can get terminated ("termed") for stuff so easily over here. I actually thought, "what if I didn't smile at a guest or something? Or what if I didn't close the ice bucket all the way?" Luckily, it wasn't for any of those reasons. Marcel has asked if I want to train as assignor which is basically the supervisor of the restuarant. I was flattered but I can't help wondering why he's chosen me. I've only been here for a couple of weeks. Marcel went on the ask if I was also interested in being a GT (General Teller). That is the person in charge of all the money taken by the UK pavillion in a day. It's a huge responsibility and I'm once again wondering why he chose me. Still, I said I'd give it a go and he's going to arrange training for me. He really shifted himself because I checked my shifts this morning and BANG! I have three days of assignor training coming up!

One last thing to tell you. Hurricane Fay is on her way out here! At the moment it's just a Tropical Storm and everyone's keeping an eye on it. It should hit land on Tuesday or Wednesday but it's no biggie. Disney is one of the safest places to be during a hurricane. In fact, the local people head for shelter at the themeparks. It looks like the Florida keys will get the brunt of it. We might possibly get some bad weather but nothing more unusual than the storms we get practically every afternoon. I'll keep you updated on it though.

Right, I've gotta run. I need to catch the bus. Till next time then!

PS. Please keep the comments coming! I like knowing people are reading this!