...And Another Month!

Alrighty.

So last I updated, I told everybody how I was tres malade and was interested in working for The Mouse.

In the past month I have been working on an art project that my teacher didn't give me an extension for. I thought I would take one anyway. I also planned a "cheap" trip to Orlando with my Dad. It would've been inexpensive had it not been for the zillion taxis we had to take. Oh and the hotel switch.

The first hotel we booked SPECIFICALLY because the website said it had public transportation. TWO different kinds, to be exact.

What a bunch of BS.

We went to check in and could hardly understand a word of what the concierges were saying. Way to make things SUPER confusing....
Then they said "You want a Disney ticket?"
Dad: "No, no. We're only here for a short time. Unless, you want one Emma?"
Me: "Yea, why not? A free ticket? Maybe we could go to EPCOT and you could go on Soarin'?"

I actually didn't say anything about EPCOT but that's what I was thinking. So after offering me a ticket for ANY park, the non-english speaking guy doesn't give me one.

Um???????

So we find we have NO internet, NO transportation, besides a guaranteed $20+ taxi ride, and the floors shake when someone runs down the hall.

Oh yea, and you had to hold down the lever on the toilet for like a minute until it flushed.

Nevertheless, my dad and I try to make the most of the situation and stay optimistic. We head to Downtown Disney (did I mention the website also said that the hotel was only 2 miles away from WDW? Another lie.) where we figure out where the "Casting Center" is. We found it and talked to the security guard driving around because the building was closed.

I hoped that the security guard wouldn't notice the bar in my ear, and I held my hands together in front to look professional and to hide my tattoo while my dad explained that I had an interview the next day.

I absolutely loved the fact that the door handles into the Casting Center were the talking ones from Alice in Wonderland. I don't think I would have been surprised of they actually talked.

So then we went back to Downtown Disney, just a block away, and had dinner at Portebello's(sp?) which was an amazing Italian restaurant. My dad had this wonderful thought that since it was Father's Day AND my birthday, we should eat wherever we want, not worry about price. He has some pretty great ideas sometimes.

The food was great, the service was great, the atmosphere was great, AND we got to color on our table cloth with crayons! Wicked fun stuff. Ohhh and the dessert...mmmmm.

Next time I'm down, I am eating there again!



Next on our list is to explore for a little bit, then go back "home."

I need to get ready for the next day because my interview is at NINE AM. I'm not exactly a morning person. I decide to re-iron my nice collar shirt, and iron my long, professional brown shorts and shirt to wear underneath.

I've ironed a few times in my life, so I'm not horrible at it. I DO know what I am doing. So I tested the iron on a towel to make sure it wasn't going to stain my clothes. Nothing. Awesome, good to go. I get my pants/shorts done with no fuss. I move on to my undershirt, a cute tanktop with hearts all over it that my mom suggested I absolutely NOT wear. Well, things went well for the first half of the shirt, then it started to turn brown. THANK god I have my Tide-to-Go!

So I'm super pissed about the iron but still have my OUTSIDE shirt to do, which is, of course, white. I get most of the stain of my hearts shirt and then try to blow dry it so it doesn't get that nice wrinkle effect.

I get through most of my white shirt with no problem, BUT get BROWN on the FRONT!!!
I'm about ready to freak out. Right, Tide-to-Go. Always a good thing to have. I use most of it on the shirt, create some nice waves of texture and realize I would have to flatten that out. No way am I going to use the iron. So hair dryer to the rescue. I hang everything up and hope no one notices how much of a spaz I am. But my outfit was all brown hues anyway, sooo, what a great color to have!

I jump in my bed, which squeaks like a banshee (ewww) and sniff under the quilt to make sure the sheets actually might be clean. Smell like bleach to me! Sleep comes and I remember I had weird dreams, when we get up the next day I learn that apparently my dad had weird dreams too. Must be the room...

I have to hustle, I have an interview and want to be extra prepared and ON TIME, something that I'm not so good at on my own. Before I shower, I notice BUGS crawling around the sink.

Yummy.

So I tell my dad. He acts like its no big deal, but while I took a shower, he not only got breakfast from Dunks (which there was like RIGHT across the street, I didn't even know they had DD in Florida!), but he also got a room at the hotel next door. Which we have to move into....now.

That got me anxious, because I'm already hurrying, and now I have to pack and then unpack and continue getting ready. I have to carry a gillion things and try not to wrinkle my outfit which I carried across my arm while holding two drinks.

Making a long story short, Quality Suites Inn was a thousand times better. I told my (lawyer) dad that he should try to get his money back. Which he did (try) but the company has to do that, not the actual hotel. I guess they sounded surprised that we were checking out a day early.

Whatever, free internet next door. And breakfast. And two TVs, plus free drinks at happy hour.
It all just seemed.... less shady.

*****************************************************

My interview went smoothly. I have no experience whatsoever. But I got a "skill code" which I'm told means I'm a STRONG candidate. I think I got a job. I like the way my friend puts it: "so technically you got the job. They just don't have an opening for you right now."

I was offered a job. Working Main Street Magic Kingdom, with two weeks in which I had to pack, leave home, find a place to live, be bombarded by people when I don't know what I'm doing...

She noticed I was hesitant. I told her I was up for anything, I'm willing to try, but she told me if it doesn't work out, they have to start over and turnover costs Disney money... Not like they have a lot or anything....

But there weren't many openings because they just hired a bunch of people in May for the 4th of July season, AND because of my "tattoo..." (that's how she said it, "your tattoo..." like it was a trashy unwanted thing. Well, at Disney it IS unwanted, I wasn't going to tell her about it, but she asked, and my attempt to cover it with makeup failed miserably. I told her I could get the patches, but "Disney doesn't allow those.") I have even limited possibilities because my costume needs to be long sleeved.

So my jobs opportunities are working merchandising at Fantasyland in MK, or World of Disney in DTD. Both are fine with me. I just can't wait to start something new and work at Disney. I get paid next to nothing, but it's not like I have a family to support.

She also said I could work foods, but she didn't really want me there. I've read that Disney discriminates pretty hard, and they want "pretty" people out front, interacting with guests, while less attractive people work behind the scenes. Since I, thankfully, fall under the former category, I get to mingle. And pin trade!

I'm really apprehensive because they said if they get an opening, they will call me, but I've interviewed for other jobs with no call back. On the other hand, they ARE always hiring, and I think I did pretty well in the interview.

I am such Disney material, I know it, people in Orlando know it, I am bound to get a job. My favorite part of the interview was when she was explaining all aspects of merchandising and trying to make it all sound horrible, but it sounded just fantastic to me. She talked about stocking merchandise, labeling prices, security tags, occasional sweeping...
...she even told me that I might have to be all alone at my own kiosk. "Is that alright with you? being all alone?"

My answer seemed to be spectacular based on her response.

"Yeah, that's fine, but I won't be alone. I'll be surrounded by the guests!"

She kind of sounded pleased when she said, "Yes! Thank you." It was as if I said something I was supposed to say, but something different and refreshing. After she said that, I felt much better about how I was doing.

I truly hope to get a call soon because I really can't wait to go back down to gorgeous sunny Florida, get all the benefits of free park admission, ride the rides, possibly get a motorcycle (I really don't want my nice New England car there, but I HAVE to have reliable transportation. A motorcycle would be easier to maneuver through traffic and much easier to park.)

But what I'm most excited about is getting discounts on merchandise and getting more Mr. Potato Head pieces to add to my new collection that I started last week!

A Brighter Future, Literally

Wow. It's been a month? Time sure flies when you're busy. Let's see... I had tons of homework/finals/projects to prepare for, was sick for 3 weeks, 1 of which I spent in and out of the hospital trying to figure out what was wrong with me. They ultimately decided, "let's just say you have the flu and hope you get better soon. If you don't, you'll get a cat scan.

That first week I stayed home from school which sucked because it was the second to last week. So even though I still felt terrible the second week, I HAD to make it to school, it was the last week AND I was leaving early to go to DISNEY!!!!

I think I stopped being sick 2 or 3 days into my vacation. Before I left, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I thought I might move somewhere ANYWHERE in the continental US and get a job doing something fun. Now I know EXACTLY what I want to do for the next year. PLUS, if I get a full time job in merchandising, I can get affordable health insurance.

I'm moving to Orlando, baby!

That's not for certain, of course. I don't actually HAVE a job at Disney, yet, but I'm doing muchos research to figure out the best way to go about starting the process.

So even if I AM pasty white and have to wear spf abagizillion every day, I think it would be so much fun to live in Florida and work for Mickey giving guests the "Disney experience" that I got while I was there. I must admit, it really was the PEOPLE who made the greatest difference down there. I am just so excited to get away from this place and do something new. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.

My house is being taken over by TICKS!

Gross.

I don't think I can stress how disgusting a matter this is. I love in the boonies, with fields and woods aplenty. I'm used to ticks and have often taken them off my dogs, but in just one weekend, I have been the discoverer of 4 out of the 5 ticks we have found.

The thing that puts me off guard is that they are just crawling around. Usually they are just fat ugly creatures attached to the dogs or cat, but the other day, the first tick of the season was on...

ME!

Just crawling around my thumb. I was laying in bed just watching TV. I looked at my hand and thought there was a tiny spider and I was about to freak out when I saw the tear drop shaped belly. Interesting though, I have been doing muchos research on these foul things and have come to learn that they are related to the spider family.

I didn't flip out when I found out it was a tick because I didn't want to fling it somewhere unknown in my bed, so I just grabbed a tissue and squashed it. It wouldn't die though because it was a flat belly, remember, it never attached to me.

So I went to tell my rents I found a tick, even though it was the middle of the night. I thought they might be somewhat concerned seeing how ticks can carry Lyme disease and other repulsive infectious bacteria. Nope... more fascinated by sleep.

That's okay though because it wasn't a huge deal, we've just never had them crawling around before and I wanted to warn them that it was now officially tick season. Which until this weekend I thought only occurred in the summer/fall. But I get mixed up pretty easily with time and seasons and when certain events happen.

MUCH freakier the next day (today - Wednesday [I'm still up so I consider this Wednesday night even though it's technically Thursday].

I wake up to get ready for school and my mom tells me that my DAD had a tick. What? A tick? On my dad? We've never had ticks before. Ever. Not on us, not on the impenetrable perfect human flesh that surrounds our very being. Gross.

Apparently it was on his thigh and was dead yet still attached. I've never even heard of that. And still after my hours of research, I have not heard a similar story.

THEN, I'm petting my doogle and find a bump. Yay! Another one! First thing in the morning, no WAY I'm dealing with it. I want to eat my breakfast without vomiting, thank you very much. My mommy takes care of it and all is well. My dad is out at a meeting so it seems that he's alright and his leg can be checked out later.

Later that morning, after showering, beautifying myself and all that jazz, I again go see miss Frankie, the wonderfully cute but not so smart dog with the under bite. I see something shimmying around on her thigh and look closer. It was like the thing I had on my hand the other night!

"Wait here Frankie, don't move an inch."

Of course she moves in the less than 5-second time span it took for me to run to the bathroom and get a tissue. She had her head on her leg, but luckily, she didn't lose the little sucker. It just went to her cheek. Flushed it down and warned the cleaning lady that I found another tick, so she would be on the lookout.

Here's the fun part of the story: I come home from school and thank the lord my dad is home. He shows me the bite which I then inspected for a bullseye. It wasn't at all what I expected. There was like this black crater surrounded by red. The red could have been a ring, or maybe inflammation. I have never seen anything black like that, though. So I am immediately freaked out, tell him to go to the doctor. He tells me he's going to go chainsawing, so I GOOGLE tick bites to compare the marks to see if he will get weak and pass out in a short amount of time.

The information we found led him to call the doctor's office. Nobody was there. Why would nobody be at the doctor's? That is THE stupidest thing I have heard of in a looong time.
It's just like, hey I'm having a seizure, but I'll wait until tomorrow when you return. Oh, I guess I'm not that allergic to bee stings... maybe the venom won't flow until you return tomorrow. This severe food poisoning? I should be able to hold out until tomorrow...

Anyway, my dad hasn't gone to the doctor and I am super paranoid that he is going to have paralysis or something severe. The closest resemblance I found on the internet is:


Minus the little red bump at the top. But, uh, the name of this kind of worries me: African Tick Bite Fever.

I don't know if that's what my dad has, necessarily, but I'm thinking the worst so I can't be surprised if it turns out to be something REALLY bad. And this picture = pretty much what is on my daddy's leg. Although, I would like another look, especially after all the pictures and different bullseyes I've seen since I first saw it.

The story doesn't stop there, oh no, that would be too convenient for this house. My cat, of course had one HUGE tick that I found right before I was planning on going to bed. I of course never ended up falling asleep because I had to take care of the situation and had the curiosity to do more searching on GOOGLE. I got to try a different removal technique. I didn't know that they let go on their own, but that website helped with this advice:

"To remove a tick from your skin, the proper way is as follows:
First, using tweezers, grasp the tick as close to its head as possible. Gently lift the tick away from your skin until your skin puckers.Hold the tick in this position until the tick lets go. This may take a few seconds to one minute."

There are products that help one to remove a tick without squashing it. If you do squash the tick's belly, it will release its contents back into the bitten animal which puts the pet (or person) at higher risk of infection. Another thing I learned, although I never tried any of these methods, is that contrary to popular belief, one should NEVER use alcohol, nail polish, nail polish remover,a lit match, a just blown out match, etc. with a tick. What happens is the tick senses something is trying to attack it and as a result, it regurgitates back into the animal. Again, putting the animal at higher risk...

This website, although having many bad suggestions, has insightful ones also. I did not know that you can tell you got the whole tick when you see something that looks like a "long white tube" coming from its head. When I pulled the tick from my cat, I looked for that, and sure enough, I got it out correctly.

I love learning new things via the internet, but also love hearing real testimonials of what is actually good advice or a bad product. So the last little tidbit I am going to add is that this final website was consistently the most knowledgeable one and although I had the misfortune to find it AFTER my last tick removal of the day, it is still an interesting read and I now know that flushing ticks does not kill them.

I can't wait to see where this great tick adventure will take me tomorrow.

Oh, wait. Yes I can.