Just a LITTLE further!

I am SO close to being done with work! I close today and tomorrow and then I am DONE!!! NO MORE QUICK-SERVICE FOR ME! Gosh, I am getting so excited. I am getting even more excited for January 1st because that is going to be my last day in Walt Disney World and I'm going to do all my favorite things- I'll start out meeting Mickey and Minnie in the Magic Kingdom in the morning and I'll end my day in Hollywood Studios with Fantasmic! Yay! I just need to get through today and tomorrow (I'm not too worried about New Years Eve- I'm just gonna pack that day). 

My Christmas in Walt Disney World

This year was a different Christmas for my entire family because none of us were physically able to be with each other. My little brother Tyler is on his mission, my brother Mike and sister-in-law Michelle spent Christmas with her family, my sister Jenn had her first Christmas with just her and her two cute little kids, and I am here in Florida. I was expecting to work on Christmas, just like every other person who is on the college program down here was, but I was curious to know what the parks were going to look like on Christmas, so I managed to get one of my full-time friends from work to switch shifts with me so that I worked on Monday instead of Christmas. I worked Christmas Eve, but it was sooo slow at work. We had little spurts, but not much. So Christmas morning dawned and I didn't actually get out of bed til 10:15!! That is the latest I have EVER slept in on Christmas! It felt so weird! But then again, Christmas Day really didn't feel like Christmas because I didn't get to open any presents in the morning, I didn't get to hang out with my family, and there was no snow on the ground! In fact, yesterday got up to like 80 degrees here in Florida! I was talking to my parents on my phone after I got to Hollywood Studios and they said there was a ton of snow outside. I mentioned that I might actually get a tan and my mom was like "shut up." haha it was funny. But yeah, I really didn't have any set plans for my day. I wanted to watch the Block Party Bash and get some pictures with characters at the Magic of Disney Animation, but that was basically it. So I just wandered around the shops on Hollywood Boulevard and looked at all the stuff. I got some pictures of what the park looked like with all the people and I went on a couple rides (which I'll go into more detail about in another post). The best part of my day was my 12 minute phone call with my little brother Tyler on his mission. It was just me and him and it was sooo wonderful. I had the biggest grin on my face while I was talking to him. I miss him so much! I can't believe he only has like five months left! Anyway, I tried to get pictures with some of the characters, but they didn't come out after all, so I was sad. But I watched Fantasmic at the end of the night and it was wonderful. So that was basically my Christmas! I'll go into more detail later, but I have to work soon and I need to get ready and eat before I catch the bus. 

College Program graduation!

I have my official graduation mouse ears and certificate from the Disney College Program now, but there's just one problem with the graduation party today- it was POURING! The graduation picnic the last two days has been gorgeous weather, so people have been able to spread out and play wherever and eat and just have a good time. Well today, Mother Nature decided to pull out the showers so that we were all cramming inside. AND get this- because it was raining so much, the characters (Goofy, Donald, and Mickey and Minnie in their graduation gowns) had to leave because it was so wet! So I didn't even get to get a picture with Mickey and Minnie in their graduation gowns!!! Ugh! I almost cried when I found that out. I think I might go to one of the parks tomorrow, though, and get a picture with them. I can't decide if I want one with them together or individual. Oh well. I'll figure it out. grr.. stupid rain....

A non-Disney-related post!

Ok, this is more of a journal entry, but I suppose that's what blogs are anyway. Anywho, I am feeling bored these days for some reason. I still love Disney, but everything I have been doing this last week has been feeling a little monotonous. Well, actually no. Last week was not monotonous because I was deployed at the Caribbean Beach resort and I made a few more friends and I worked in different areas. But the last three days I've been off, I've been really bored because I haven't had a whole lot that I could do. I went to Hollywood Studios today to visit one of my friends at work and I ended up watching Sorcerer Mickey, Frozone, and the characters from the new Disney-Pixar film "Bolt" (Bolt, the dog; Mittens, the cat; and Rhino, the hamster) interact with each other and the guests. That is one of my favorite things to do at the parks (particularly Hollywood Studios) is watch the characters' interactions with each other and the guests. But its just part of what I do anymore. I still get excited seeing them, but they don't seem like the 'celebrities' I thought of them being anymore. 

I don't know what else I can do between now and when I leave to go home in a month. I went and saw Twilight the movie last night and that is actually what made me realize that I seem to have been living in a Disney bubble the last three months. All the movie posters I was looking at around the theater were of movies I'd never heard of because I haven't been watching really ANY TV lately. In fact, if I wasn't working in Disney World down here, I probably wouldn't even know about the movie "Bolt."

I liked watching Twilight, but it made me want to read more and go back and read the books again. Reading takes me to other worlds when my world is a little boring and the same every day. Since I went to my character audition and didn't make the cut, I've been focusing more on becoming prepared to be an elementary school teacher. Oh, and side tangent about the character audition, I'm ok with not getting to be a character right now. I can finish school and get my bachelor's and then if I want to come back and try again, I can.

I'm such a nerd that I even have been looking at the State Standards for Idaho that I got for my Early Field Experience class and I'm analyzing all the subject areas and thinking "how can I teach something that will cover this standard?" ...yeah, I'm a nerd, I'll admit it. But there aren't a whole lot of other things that I can do because I only have one book down here (Breaking Dawn) that isn't Disney-related and I might start reading that again. I'm just trying to find things that are going to enrich my mind and make me smarter because I feel that since I'm not really moving forward a whole lot by reading hard-copy books, I feel like I am getting dumber. I've started downloading the devotionals for BYU-Idaho so far this school year and I'm going to start listening to them so I can get my mind thinking and expanding my knowledge more. I don't want to just waste my mornings before work this week by sleeping and getting on my computer. I want to DO something! So maybe I'll go over to the fitness center by our building and work out for a little while. 

Disney World pictures with Mom and Dad

I took my parents to see Lights, Motors, Action! because I knew my dad would love watching how they film car chases in movies. I was right- it was one of his favorite parts of Hollywood Studios!








I'm pretty sure Caspian knows my face by heart now, but he stayed in character anyway. He called me a princess and then when he saw my parents, he asked who they were. I told him they were my mom and dad and he said "oh, so they are the king and queen?" Yeah, he made my heart melt.







I wasn't even planning on getting a picture with Bolt and Mittens because I didn't know they were "real" characters yet, but when we walked out of the Magic of Disney Animation theater place, they were getting pictures with people. So I figured I might as well take my opportunity and get pictures with them before the movie comes out cause I know once they become "known", their line is going to become very popular.




My parents had never been to Walt Disney World before, so I had to get them "First Visit" buttons.














My dad does a really good impression of Goofy, so my mom wanted a picture of him wearing that hat. I couldn't decide between the cute mouse ears with a princess veil or a princess hat. As you can see, I chose the ears. :)

First Day in Disney World with Mom and Dad!

Well today was a busy one. We 'slept in,' which meant we got up at around 7:30am. I say slept in because for the last four or five nights, I got 5 or less hours of sleep each night because I had to be up early the next morning to catch my bus to work. Anyway, we got up, got ready, and then went over to Shoney's for breakfast. Once we ate, we headed over to Hollywood Studios and I did my best to give my parents the best first day in the parks as possible. We went over to Guest Relations and got them "First Visit" pins so they could be recognized as newcomers to the park by Cast Members, therefore giving them a good visit. I won't go into complete detail right now just because I need to go to bed soon, but we had an excellent day. I had a full agenda for them today and we've got another full agenda tomorrow in the Magic Kingdom. I am so excited. If I have more time tomorrow once we get back, I'll go into more detail about our days so far. Oh, but one really cool thing happened to me today. There's a new Disney movie coming out called "Bolt" that Disney has been advertising up the wazoo (at least in the parks). Anyway, my parents and I came out of the Magic of Disney Animation attraction and were trying to decide what characters to meet when I saw the two main animal characters from the movie "Bolt". The dog named Bolt and his cat friend named Mittens were there, so I decided that I had to take advantage of my opportunity to meet new Disney celebrities, even though their new movie won't be out til November 21. So yeah, I'll write more tomorrow.

Yay for family and friends visiting!

I am really tired from working so much this week, but if I can make it through my next two days of work, it will totally be worth it. Yesterday, I was able to go have dinner and play in the pool with my best friend from home, Erin Pitcher. She was out here for a few days for a convention for her job and so we decided that we wanted to meet up and just hang out for a few hours. Oh my gosh, it was sooo good to see her again! Since Erin and her husband Matt got married a couple years ago, I haven't been able to see her that much. When we were talking last night, we were trying to remember the last time we saw each other and we agreed that it was at her older sister, Amber's, baby shower last December. So it's been a while. Erin and Matt live in Iowa right now because Matt is going to med school in Des Moines. What are the odds that Erin and I would be in Florida at the same time and be able to hang out together? It was the most random coincidence! The best part about the night was that we didn't have to feel guilty about what we got for dinner because Erin's company that she works for (Wells Fargo) paid for her hotel room and for her food. Another great thing is that instead of having to take a bus to see each other, Erin just took advantage of the fact that Wells Fargo was paying for all her accommodations and she got a rental car to use while she was here. So she came and got me at my apartment and we went to her hotel and ate at a restaurant near there and then went back to her hotel and hung out in the pool and hot tub. Erin and I haven't been able to hang out just by ourselves since I don't even remember. It was soo good to just be able to talk and catch up with each other on how things are going. I realized though that after she left, we should have gotten a picture together to have proof that we did get to see each other for a few hours yesterday. Oh well. The fact that my blog is now all cute and organized is because she showed me how to do it.
Another fun thing I am really REALLY looking forward to is that my parents are flying down here from Utah on Tuesday and so I'm going to get to spend Tuesday afternoon through Saturday afternoon with them playing in the parks and doing whatever we want to do!! I was fortunate enough to get Wednesday through Friday off and then I'm working Tuesday morning and Saturday night. They won't be getting here til around 5 on Tuesday, so I'm going to work til four and then come back to my apartment and get all my stuff ready to go spend the week with them at their hotel. I have a Main Entrance pass, as well as another pass from my Holiday discount that we are going to use while they are here. We'll have to figure out all the details of what parks we'll be going to and everything once they get here, but I am SO incredibly excited to see them.

And here are the pictures for the last blog.

Self explanatory. Oh wait, I didn't say what I did after I saw Mickey and Minnie! hahaha I went and saw the princesses- Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora. They were so sweet. I actually have met Cinderella before because I have met a friend of hers. That's why I have a picture of me and Cinderella up. Anyway, that's basically it.

November in Florida so far

Today is November 5th. I'm trying to remember all the stuff I've done between now and back at the beginning of October when I posted last. I obviously have met a whole bunch of characters since then. I think I'll just record the most recent characters that I've met because today was fabulous. I was on my way to go see Mickey and Minnie when I passed the character spot where Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters were. So figured- what the heck, I need pictures with all the characters! Anyway, when it was my turn, I told Drizella and Anastasia that Cinderella had nothing on them and that they should have been the princesses. Anastasia complained that Cinderella put a mouse in her teacup and Drizella said that she took her necklace. I didn't have anything to add, so I just listened to Lady Tremain (the mom) tell her daughters that they would be royalty and Anastasia would not be a pirate wench (don't ask, I have no idea where that came from).
So after I met them, I went over and met the mice- the cutest little couple ever! When we got in the room where they were, they were getting pictures with a group of kids with disabilities and I just had to get a picture of them interacting with them. When they were getting a group picture with Mickey, Minnie, the kids, and the adults, Mickey and Minnie decided to arrange everyone for the photo. When they were almost done, they knew something was missing, but they didn't know what. So the two of them stood in front of everyone and posed! lol! After that, the two of them got on the ground in front of the group and gave each other a kiss, and that's the picture I got.
Once it was my turn, I went up and got a hug and a kiss from Mickey, as well as one from Minnie. I then turned to Minnie and asked where I could get a guy like Mickey because I'd been looking everywhere. She seemed to say "I don't know, I guess you're just going to have to keep looking." Then she spotted my Mickey bag and so I let her take it. She started to strut around with it and I was like "Minnie, you do realize that I'm going to have to get that back, right?" So then, while Minnie was distracted with the bag, Mickey pointed to his nose to get a kiss from me. After doing that, Minnie led me over to the Exit sign and pointed at it. I assured her that I just wanted one little kiss and then Mickey was hers forever. She had me go back over and stand by Mickey to give him a kiss, and then have me give her a kiss, and then I got a kiss on the cheek from Mickey. We got a few more pictures and then I started to leave. When I started walking away, I looked back at the two of them and Mickey had taken Minnie's hands in his and was kissing her. I thought it was adorable- it proved that Mickey was gentleman enough to let Minnie know that she was still his and he was hers. As I left, I got a wave from Minnie, so I figure we're ok now. I never intended to get to kiss Mickey, I just wanted Minnie to let me know where I could find a guy like him! So yeah, that was my fun story with the Mice! I have a new respect for Mickey and Minnie now. :)

General Conference and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

Yes, I have taken more pictures between meeting Ariel and Mickey and Minnie and now, but I don't feel like putting them up. Besides, I want to show you my pictures from the temple and the NSSH party. Saturday and Sunday, I asked off for conference, so since I already had Saturday off, I decided to buy a ticket to go to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party with my roommate Celeste. It was SOO fun. My day was pretty packed. I didn't get up until about 11, so my day was basically taken up by conference and playing. I loved watching conference so much. Between sessions, we went across the street to the Orlando temple and got pictures in front of it. Since we're in Florida, conference started at 12 and 4, so we didn't get done watching it til 6. I had enough time to get home, eat, change, and go get on the bus to go to the Magic Kingdom. It was so funny riding on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom because Celeste and I and the two girls we rode with on the bus had SO much energy. We hadn't even had even candy and we were going nuts! So yeah, here's some pictures!

More Disney World

Wow, I've been so busy with work and playing lately. When I haven't been working, I go to the parks and play play PLAY! As you can see, I have watched Jack Sparrow in action teaching a pirate tutorial and I've met Ariel and Mickey and Minnie too. Jack doesn't have a meet and greet with the guests, which makes me sad, but I wanted to make sure I got some really good pics of him to show how good he is. This group shot is of some of my friends from the ward after watching Wishes in the Magic Kingdom. Its been so fun!

Disney Characters!

So I met Brer Bear, Pocahontas, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Koda, Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty today! Here they are!

I'm having an epiphany

I have been so busy the last few days, but I've been in the process of having an epiphany during that time. My first week of work was just not all that enjoyable for me, and so I was considering trying to get transferred somewhere with character dining so I could be surrounded by the characters all the time. Well, a couple days ago, I'd made some phone calls to try to get someone to help me find a job elsewhere, but I wasn't able to talk to anyone immediately that could help me. I was talking with one of my fellow new co-cast members (coworker) and I asked her if she ever wished she could work somewhere where there were characters and Disney stuff and she said she didn't. I asked her why and she told me that she would get sick of it if she did. I'd never thought about it that much until she said that. I love Disney, but there have been some things that I have OD'd on a little bit and now I can't stand those things (High School Musical, if anyone's wondering). I have always loved Disney and the characters, but I thought about it and I think that if I worked somewhere with characters, it would be cool at first, but then it would lose its magic after a couple weeks and then I'd lose part of the Disney magic because I'd be seeing those characters all the time. So I have decided that I can tolerate my job for the next four months. I hate working with fast food, but the lessons I'm learning from the Disney experience so far are priceless. Even within the first few days after I'd gotten here, I learned SO much.
So yeah, that's my epiphany. I wanted to put more pictures on here, but I guess I'll have to put them in a slideshow or something cause I have hundreds of them already and there isn't a lot of room to put them on the blogs themselves. But yeah, I have some pictures of the Beauty and the Beast show I went to the other day, which I loved, as well as when I met Sorceror Mickey at the Magic of Animation attraction. Man, that totally made my night to meet Mickey in person. And then of course, I've got a picture of my costume for work that I just love so much- NOT! The first day I had to work, the hat I'd picked up was too small for my head, so it stuck up over my head the whole day and I decided that I couldn't have a hat like that anymore (I hadn't tried the hat on when I got it- I just grabbed it and checked it out at the wardrobe counter). Now I have a hat that does fit me, so I'm ok with that part now. I'll explain more about my job later- possibly tomorrow after I get home from work. My other pictures are of me with the Prince Caspians I've met so far. The two of me with him and my friends and just by myself are with the one I didn't like very much. He just seemed a little too into himself, which isn't how Prince Caspian is (for me) in the movie at all. The one of me and Caspian on the bottom is the one I liked. He was a perfect gentleman and called me a beautiful princess in a Spanish accent that made me and friend melt. Before we took the picture of him and me, he asked me if it was alright it he held my hand. I had the biggest grin on my face and was like 'I would love for you to hold my hand!' I know the guy I am standing with that is holding my hand is not as cute as the guy in the movie, but he completely nailed Caspian's character for me and that made it a really magical moment for me. I felt like I was literally talking to someone from Narnia when I was talking to him. Anyway, I will write more soon, but I have to work at 6:45am tomorrow and I am catching the 5:30 bus, so I am going to bed now.

Playing in Hollywood Studios

Ok, so I should let you guys know that I will not continue to be doing blogs as frequently as I have been doing them because I start working on Wednesday morning. But anyway, let me tell you about my day.
I went to Property Control and Cast Connection today (Disney merchandise stores for Cast Members) and decided that I need to limit the amount of money I can spend when I go to those stores. The same thing goes for the stores in Hollywood Studios, but I'll talk about that when I get to it. Anyway, I got back to my apartment and saw that the two packages that my mom sent to me last week finally got here today. So I let her know I got them while I was unpacking them. Then my friend Jessilyn from the singles ward here and I went to check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge where I'm going to be working. Dude, that place is SO nice! You feel like you are in a completely different place when you are in the lodge! And the pool area is amazing too. We kind of just wandered around the hotel, mainly because we were trying to find our way around, but it was fun exploring too. We went down to the first floor where The Mara, the place where I'm going to be working, is located. I think I am going to like working there. It's quick-service food and beverage, so its not really a sit-down-and-people-take-your-order place. Its more like you come to the counter and look at the selection that is available to you and then eat where you want, whether it is inside or outside by the pool. It is a very nice place and I am looking forward to seeing what I'm going to do while working there. While Jessilyn and I were wandering around, we looked out one of the windows and saw some kind of animal with horns (it looked kind of like a bull or a buffalo- it was hard to see from where we were) and then we saw the back of a gazelle. It was just kind of cool to be able to feel like you were living in a safari in Africa while staying in the DAKL (Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge). Anywho, after we were satisfied with how the place looked, we left and went to Hollywood Studios. We were planning on going on both Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror, but the wait for Rockin Rollercoaster was 70 minutes long, so we went on the Tower of Terror. Good golly, that ride scared me so badly, but it was really fun. It was quite exhilarating to be dropped from the top of the Tower and then bounce back up again to just go back down and feel your stomach go into your throat. It was fun though. So yeah, after that, we were thinking about going to Rockin Rollercoaster cause the wait went down to 60 minutes, but we looked at the map again to possibly find something else that we could do. Well, there's a new Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ride, so we went and checked it out. We were originally not going to meet Prince Caspian when we were standing in the line (you have the choice of just going on the ride, or meeting Prince Caspian and then going into the attraction) but the more we thought about it, we decided that we did want to meet him. Jessilyn and I are so glad we did! We were planning on things that we were going to say, but when the guy let us in to go see Caspian and he started talking to us, we forgot everything we were going to say. Prince Caspian acknowledged us by calling us "Two beautiful princesses" using that adorable Spanish accent he uses in the movie. The guy didn't look exactly like Prince Caspian, but he was quite charming with us. First, he asked us what land we came from and then he asked us if we "flew in by Griffin or use the war drobe?" Jessilyn said she flew in but I said I used the war drobe. We were planning on getting a picture of both of us with him, but I think were both so flustered that we totally spaced it and we just got individual shots with him. When I took my turn to get a picture with him, he noticed my POTC locket and asked if I was a pirate instead of a princess, but I told him I was both. He asked me if he could hold my hand and I think I told him "I would love for you to hold my hand!" hahaha I am such a dork! So yeah, we got our pictures and then waited in line for the attraction to start. You basically just get a feel for the movie by going into a room with a broken great stone table and then you see the basics of the movie. Its actually a pretty cool attraction. After we left the Narnia attraction, we decided we wanted to try to make it back in time for FHE, so we started heading toward the bus stop. Well, it was thundering and 'misting'- it wasn't raining, there was just a mist in the air. At least, it was up til the point when we were almost to the entrance of Hollywood Studios. Within about 20-30 seconds, a huge downpour happened that lasted for a very long time. The rain was coming down in buckets and people were getting soaked right and left because ten minutes earlier, it had been sunny and hot and no one was thinking of rain. Well, we were trying to decide where to go to find our bus stop while standing under the cover from the rain. Jessilyn had a poncho, but I didn't. I suggested we just go out to the place the guy told us to go to, even though I had nothing to cover myself with. I told Jessilyn that I didn't care if I got wet, so we ventured out into the rain. Yeah, I was soaked head to toe, clothes and everything, within 10 seconds after going into the rain. The rain was creating little rivers and huge puddles on the ground, so while we were running, I almost lost my flip-flop because it was just floating in the water down the little stream. I just decided that it'd be easier to take my flip-flops off and run in the rain barefoot through the puddles. It was pretty fun, but I was concerned about my stuff getting wet in my bag. We finally did get to the place that the guy told us would be the stop for cast members, but we found out that it was the bus for the All Star Sports hotel. The bus had pulled up and we were debating on whether to get on it or not when a gigantic lightning bolt struck somewhere really REALLY close. I think it might have been somewhere in Animal Kingdom because my roommate that works there told me that she actually heard the lightning bolt where she was. I think maybe a milisecond had passed before there was a cracking KABOOM that I swear could have made me deaf if it had been even the smallest bit louder. Anyway, that all happened within one second and so I looked at the bus and I was like "Let's get on that bus! I don't care where its going!" So we got on it and got dropped off at the All Star Sports hotel. We were thinking about taking another bus back to the Magic Kingdom, but the only buses that were coming were just dropping people off, so we couldn't take them. We were kind of worried about catching a Cast Member bus and were going to call to see if one could come get us when one just randomly drove up like it had been an answer to a prayer. So we got on the bus and headed home. It would have been a lot more pleasant of a ride if it wasn't air-conditioned. I was totally soaked, so when you combine water with cold air, it causes a person to get a little cold. But anyway, we met a nice young married couple from Logan on the way back to Chatham who were also LDS, so we became instant friends. And there, my friends, was my night. Well, unless you count me watching Monsters Inc with Jessilyn afterwards. But yeah, that was my day! Very eventful, I know. Hopefully I will be able to have just as much fun tomorrow and the rest of the week as I did today, just without any kind of hurricane-like weather. That I can do without. I did learn a very valuable lesson though: when in doubt, BRING AN UMBRELLA WITH YOU. Even if the weather is 100 degrees outside and its really nice, don't underestimate Florida weather. It can turn on you faster than you can say "Kaboom!" Believe me, I experienced it first hand today. Alright, that's all I've got for now. I'll continue with more when I get more.

Pirates of the Caribbean

CAUTION- SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE PIRATES MOVIES!

Ok, I know I said I was going to bed, but I've been thinking about Pirates of the Caribbean a lot since I got here. My cousin asked me which one of the Pirates movies was my favorite and I had to think for a minute to decide. I really liked all of them. I don't think I really enjoyed one more than the other- there were just things in each one that I liked for different reasons. The first one was a classic and it was the one that inspired me to learn about Johnny Depp and to basically change my attitude about my life. That is why I am so passionate about these movies. They aren't just movies to me. They are a reminder to me and a part of why I am the happy and giggly person you all know today. The second one was the one I most anticipated. I didn't really pay attention to the advertising of the first one, but it took about 3 years after the first one came out to make the second one. I was SO incredibly excited for Pirates 2. I went to the midnight showing and I watched it about four times in the theaters before it came out on DVD and then I went and bought it the morning it was released both when the 2nd and 3rd one came out (I didn't have to worry about the 1st one- my dad bought that one for me himself). And just a little side note about when I got the first movie- I had my dad for Journalism my senior year and he knew how much I absolutely loved Pirates, so like I said, he bought the 1st DVD for me on the morning it came out before he came to school. But relating to my Journalism class, he surprised me by telling us that we were ahead of our deadline and so he allowed us to take a free day and watch the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD he gave me!!! Obviously we couldn't watch the entire thing, but still! Could I have a cooler dad?! I've been eternally grateful of him ever since. Anywho, back to Pirates 2. I know there are a lot of plot holes in the movie and that its a bit random, but I was anticipating the movie so much that I really didn't find all that much wrong with the movie. I had the BIGGEST grin on my face when Jack made his entrance into the 2nd film because I'd been waiting for 3 years to see my favorite pirate and the man who inspired my positive change of attitude. Once again, it was a symbol of my happiness and how it came to be what it is. Now, I didn't anticipate the 3rd one as much because they'd filmed some of it when they'd been working on Pirates 2 and there was only 11 months between the release dates of 2 and 3, so I didn't get as worked up about 3 as I did about 2. I was very satisfied with the ending of 3, though. The story went full circle. Barbossa got the Black Pearl back and went on sailing the seas without being undead. Will and Elizabeth got married and even had a child, and Jack went back to sailing the seas by himself on his little dingy. Now, I know there was the whole twist in the story with Will getting stabbed and then having his heart put in the chest, causing him to become the captain of the Flying Dutchman, but I really liked that ending. He officially became a pirate, and a captain nonetheless! I know many people didn't like the 2nd and 3rd Pirates movies, but I did. It was more than just the storylines of the movies and the characters in them. Every time I watched the next movie, I had a rebirth of my attitude adjustment and I was satisfied and even filled with pure joy after watching them. Granted, I was a little shocked about the ending of Pirates 2. I refuse to believe that Jack actually died at the end of the movie when he entered the Kracken, even though he said himself in the 3rd one that he'd died. Jack had simply been temporarily detained in the Kracken. That's my story and I'm stickin to it! But anyway, my point is that many people just look at the Pirates movies as a fun and adventure-filled story about pirates. I look at them as movies with characters/actors that sparked my interest enough to learn about their past and the movies the actors did and then, after learning that you don't have to follow what everyone else does or even care what anyone else thinks about you, change the way I'd been living my life so that I was no longer miserable. Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow, and most of all, Johnny Depp changed my life for the better and that is why they are some of my favorite movies. I really don't want to go into detail about why I was so miserable before seeing Pirates right now, but if anyone is ever really that curious about what exactly happened to me before and after seeing Pirates, feel free to ask me.

Heather goes to Disney World!

Hi everyone! Sorry it's taken forever to get this blog written, but uh, yeah, its been an interesting week. The day I checked in to my apartment (well, my temporary apartment) was a day from Hell, so I wasn't able to focus on a lot of stuff but what I needed to get done that day. On the second day, I got my 'role' as a Cast Member in Disney World- I'm working at a restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge in the Animal Kingdom. I don't start my training until Sunday, so I've been playing the past couple of days. On Wednesday after my Traditions class, I went to the Magic Kingdom for the first time and I rode the newly vamped Pirates of the Caribbean ride with my favorite pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow! It pretty much made my night to see him on that ride. Of course, it would have been better to see him in person, but I've got four months to get my chance to see him in character walking around the parks. As you can see, I found a pair of Mickey ears that fit me perfectly. They say "Pirate Princess" on the pink sash and they have a small earring hanging from the left ear. On the back of the hat, I had my name embroidered there, so my hat has been personalized too! It's been really fun checking out all the fun stuff in the parks. After riding POTC, my roomies and I went on the Haunted Mansion ride (it was ok) and Space Mountain (it ROCKED!). Today I played some more in the Magic Kingdom with my cousin Dayna and her husband Nate. Dayna and I went on POTC again, partly because she is as crazy about Pirates as me and I couldn't think of a better person to go on that ride again with than her. Then we met up with Nate and rode Splash Mountain and then the Buzz Lightyear ride. Tomorrow, I'm planning on going to Fantasmic with her in the evening at Hollywood Studios. I am so excited! In the morning, I'm going to a little shopping in Downtown Disney with my roommate Diane and then we'll probably make a Walmart run eventually. Anywho, now its off to bed!

The end in sight and a new adventure!

I have two weeks left of the summer semester here at BYU-Idaho and then I'll get to go home for about a month. I'm going to work as much as I possibly can at Days Market while I'm home so I can earn enough money to keep me floating for when I go down to work in Florida at Walt Disney World from August 18 until January 2. I won't get my first paycheck from WDW until about one or two weeks later, so I need to go down to Florida with about 3 or 400 dollars to get me by until I get a paycheck. I am so extremely excited for working in Disney World. At first, I was excited but terrified at the idea of being clear across the country for five months and not be with my family during Thanksgiving or Christmas, but as I'm getting closer to the end of the semester, I'm realizing that I only have about a month until I get to go down there and I'm getting really excited. It is going to be kind of hard on me to not get to see my family during those months that I'm in Florida because my sister-in-law Michelle is pregnant and she will be having her baby at the end of January. So I'll be leaving before she really gets much of a tummy and then I'll come back and she'll look like she's ready to pop. But the idea that I'm going to be in Disney World during Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years is getting me pretty excited.