La La La La

I am absolutely horrible at updating my blog. It's always in the back of my mind, but somehow it never seems to happen. Life here is Disney is, as Dain would say, 'just dandy.' I've been spending quite some time at Town Square Theater lately, and I'm growing more fond of it each day. I have become quite tainted against Animal Kingdom and Dinosaur after some unnecessary-for-blogging events unfolded. I've been to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party twice, with a third happening tomorrow. Today I got to me in the water scene at Hollywood Studios and pretty much had a bunch of other amazing things happen.

This past weekend Dain came into town to visit me. I couldn't get 2 of 3 days off work, so that was rather sad, but we tried to make the best of it. It's truly not the same being down here without him, and as much fun as I'm having I really do miss him constantly. I cannot thank my parents enough for buying him a ticket to visit me, it really was so amazing just to be able to see him. He also booked his trip to come visit me over Thanksgiving, and I cannot wait! Also, I had been waiting to reveal to him in person that I was no longer planning on going to grad school straight after SAS and instead am going to move to Michigan for a year until he graduates. So that went over quite well and I'm so very excited for our futures together.

I finally got to meet the prettiest kitty I know - miss Marie - when we got to spend the day at the France Pavillion at Epcot. I've always wanted to meet her and have some time playing with her, so it was really cool to finally get to do so.

I've grown really close with my roomates and I consider myself to have made a couple really strong, lasting friendships, for which I am quite thankful for. And despite temporary eviction, separation and price management woes, i'm glad to be living with them and consider them my closest friends down here.

Oh, and I am very much addicted to Hershey's drops. Nom Nom Nom.

SAS classes!

I was able (with some help) to get all of the courses that I wanted! This was especially stressful as a poorly designed system combined with even poorer internet speeds led to a constant refresh in 4 different windows trying to get in. It was vital that I got into a certain class as it was literally the only one I have left for graduation. Needless to say, I was starting to have a serious case of the shivers, but thankfully it all worked out and I got in! My schedule will look like this:

A Days:
1045 - 12 History of Modern China
1420 - 1535 Social Movement Media

B Days:
8 - 915 Sociology of Marriage and Family
920 - 1035 Global Studies

On the MV classes do not run on the typical M/W/F or T/TH schedule. Instead, classes are held every single day (including weekends and holidays) that we are at sea and not at all (minus required FDP's - or field trips for classes) while in port. So, classes run A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B and so on, simply alternating each day. While my ideal schedule is to have 4 classes back-to-back every other day, like I've been doing all through college, this wasn't possible this time around and I'll have to learn to actually have school everyday. I know, poor me, having to go to class on a ship sailing around the world every day (i'm currently accepting any "i'm sorry" cards and gifts).

I had more to say, but alas, time is never on my side.
Bon Voyage! T-minus 99 days!

im backkk!

Magic and Fantasy?

Ever have the strange thought that "reality" isn't actually reality?

I guess I do this all a lot. I always think "what if this is all a dream?" "what if I am imagining all of this" and I'm always questioning what is real and what isn't around me. But to get to the magic part, I've started re-reading harry potter for the 4892482934th time, and of course keep thinking how cool it would be to be real. But how do we know it isn't real? I mean, JK Rowling could just be a wizard trying to make some muggle money after she lost it all in the Gringots Battle for the Lestrange Vault. Okay, so it probably isn't true, but isn't a funny thought to think?

Style

Okay, so this is completely unrelated to Disney, Semester at Sea or the Roadtrip, but it's something worth discussing I think.

In studying history, I've always learned about various cultures and countries styles during different periods of time - contemporary, baroque, medieval, Tudor, venetian, and so on. I've begun to notice the current "style" more and more so lately, but I can't help but question what it will go down in history as. We use a lot of browns, and are buildings all seem to look they were modeled after Nordstrom. There are new constructions and re-constructions all over, and in the end it all seems to look the same. It's an elegant sort of look, with lots of shades of brown and similar colors. For some, okay for most, this probably seems rather stupid. But the simple idea of a generational identity through architecture is so intriguing for me. What will our building-style go down in history as? What did it evolve from? And where will it go?

Another Disney Lesson

Being with Disney has really taught me an inexplicable amount about humans and human nature. Things like the way we look at life, the way we speak, and the way we treat others. These are things that I have really taken with me, and things that affect me on a daily level. There are two major things that have really been plaging me in the past few weeks, things I somehow will try to explain:

1) Before Disney, I myself was guilty of the occasional "me and _____insert persons name here_______. Now, it aggrivates me to high heaven. I find myself cringing, yet EVERYONE seems to do it. Why is that? Why do we always put ourselves first? Isn't it polite to put another person first? Doesn't "Fred and I" sound so much better than "Me and Fred?" For some this may not seem like something big, but for me, it's everything. I learned this from Disney because of the way Cast Members are encouraged to treat not only our guests, but each other. Putting yourself second isn't only grammatically correct, but a simple and easy gesture that makes a world of difference.

2) I always knew there were "bad customers" and "good customers" but lately I've begun to notice that almost everyone would fall into my definition of "bad." You don't have to be demanding ridculousness to be mean. You can smile all you want, but if you begin an order to a waitor saying "I need" instead of "Can I have" I will look down upon you. Don't we all perk up when someone is extra polite and constatly thanking us for our service? Why can't we treat others that way? I'm not saying to leave a 40% tip at a resturant (but don't leave 5% either), but a little bit of happiness goes a long way.

I've noticed in the past few months that people who I know are nice people say and do both of these things. People that would never pose a complaint if something didn't go right, and people that would jump in front of a bullet for someone else. But yet when they order a ticket at the movies, they still someone say "Two for ____" instead of "Can I have two tickets for ___...thank you"

Disney forces friendliness. I always thought I was a "good customer" before, but now I know I am a great one. Working with other people is a part of everyone's life. If we all had the same Disney enthusiam, wouldn't the world be a much better place?

Thank you Disney for another great lesson.

2 weeks.

I'm leaving for Florida in 2 weeks. It's kind of crazy. I still haven't finished organizing everything I brought back from the road trip (or had a decent nights sleep since May), but in the midst i'm also trying to pack again. I'm enjoying being home, and seeing my family and friends, but I also feel stressed to the max trying to pack for Florida, finish my SAS scholarship essays, make all necessary appointments to get my crohn's and other various prescriptions re-filled, and start looking at grad schools. Plus, Dain is working on a bunch of projects for my parents (they paid for his half of the roadtrip in exchange for work when we got back), with the first being putting up a new celing in the bathroom, along with a bunch of small stuff all over the house. This not only makes getting around the house rather difficult but its hard because I really want to get involved and learn how do things, but I don't always feel I have the time to do that. I'm also trying to go to the gym since I didn't have a chance to on the road all summer and lord knows my job in Florida is physically demanding. I've been pretty good about going every other day, but I also don't feel thats enough and if I didn't have all this to do I'd be able to go 5 or 6 times a week instead of 3ish. On top of all that I am trying to see all of my family and friends at least once since I haven't seen them since around April and won't until at least January, but more likely Juneish. I want to write a blog about the rest of my roadtrip adventures, and fill in my actual physical journal I haven't written in in far too long, but hopefully with time that will come. For now, I'm too busy being a mix of stressed and excited.