Thursday, Dec 15th: Our final seminar, which was about Veterinary Care, was today. However, first we had to take our presenter group picture in front of The Tree of Life. Then we listened to two speakers and got a tour of the vet hospital, which was pretty neat. Afterward, since it was technically my day off, I changed my clothes and headed to the refuge one final time. I took care of all the squirrels, taught David how to do the lemurs, and taught Annie how to do Spencer's cage. At the end of the day, Kelly offered to take photos of me with the lemurs and Spence. I said goodbye to everyone and headed home with tears in my eyes. I learned so much while I was there, and I'm going to miss everyone I worked with and all the animals I grew to love.Also, BTN posted this video on their facebook page. Elvis gives you a tour of the refuge and all the cute animals I worked with. It's amazing. Check it out!!
Friday, Dec 16th: I decided to go to DAK today even though I had off. I wanted to take care of all the unfinished business I had as a guest. First, I met Flik, and then Russell and Dug from "Up!". I walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek, watched the Flights of Wonder bird show (YAY), rode Dinosaur, watching the Finding Nemo show (and fell asleep), saw the parade, and walked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. I did a bunch of Christmas shopping, and then headed to the entrance to wait for Sonia to get out of work. We then went to Epcot and met up with Hulbie. Because I had barely eaten all day, and I wasn't really feeling the Christmas spirit, I was in a crappy mood. As a result, the night wasn't as fun as we had planned.
Saturday, Dec 17th: Sonia and I had a roomie night, and went to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater at Hollywood Studios for dinner. It took FOREVER just to get into the park because the holiday crowds were piling into Disney. When we got to the restaurant, we barely had to wait. The atmosphere was soo cool! We sat in a huge, dimly lit room that had stars twinkling and a big projector screen where they showed clips of old black and white movies. Our tables were even in convertibles! My turkey wrap and fries were delicious, and my souvenir cup with the light-up Buzz Lightyear toy were pretty sweet, too. We hung around the park for a little while to work on some more shopping, and then we went home after a fun night.
Monday, Dec 19th: During lunch, I listened to that fateful voice mail saying that I wasn't accepted to the keeper traineeship. Well, that was my last chance to continue working for Disney. I REALLY wanted that. It would've given me the opportunity to possible get a full-time job there, or at least pretty much solidify a keeper job somewhere else. Now it's back to square one. Oh well. I was really upset at the time, but this just means there's something better out there for me.
When I got home, I finished my Christmas cards. It took sooo long because, on each one, I drew my friend or family members favorite Disney character. I thought it would make them more personal, and I loved the way they turned out. After the Steeler game, which was delayed because of two power outages, I went to Wal-Mart to buy mailing supplies, even though it was midnight haha.
Tuesday, Dec 20th: Because of our different holiday work shifts, I didn't have to go in until 9:45. So beforehand, I drove to Wal-Mart (again) to get a smaller box for my family's presents. Then I put them all in the mail! Work was pretty uneventful, besides for the billions of guests nagging us with annoying questions. At the end of the day, I found out that there was an hourly keeper job with the TOL/Oasis team now available! I applied a few days later, but they never even emailed me back. Great. Thanks for the consideration.
Wednesday, Dec 21st: The gentle giant of country music, Trace Adkins, was the narrator at Candlelight Processional tonight!!! Sara and I went right after work, and although the line wasn't nearly as long as it was for NPH, we weren't sure that we'd get into the 6:45 show. Luckily, an usher said there were two seats behind a tree, and we gladly volunteered to take them! They weren't kidding, we were literally behind a tree. Fortunately, we were able to move over and see a little better. Trace did such a good job--his voice is so soothing and deep. I would love for him to sing me a lullaby every night so I can fall asleep!
Thursday, Dec 22nd: Since this was one of my last free days, I chose to spend it at Magic Kingdom. Because all the crazy guests were at other parks (they were probably planning on spending the weekend at MK), the lines for everything were really short. Well, expect for Rapunzel's line. I waited for an hour and a half to see her, but it was worth it. When I got to her little garden area, there was a table with coloring pages, and little kids were having fun while their parents waited in line. Even though I was probably the only one there without a child, it made me so happy to see all the families together. Later on, I went on a bunch of rides, and tried to meet as many characters as possible.
Friday, Dec 23rd: I had to work overtime instead of having the day off--gross! Afterward, I went to see Susan Lucchi at Candlelight. Yes, her hair really IS as big as it looks on tv. Since I still had yet to go on Mission: Space, I went on that afterward. Now I remember why I wasn't a fan of it--I think I left my stomach on the ride.
Saturday, Dec 24th: Work kind of sucked today because I was scheduled with the late shift from 9:45-7:15. Because Sonia worked the normal time, I had to wake up on my own. Unfortunately, I forgot to set my alarm, and I just barely made it to DAK on time. During our extended holiday hours, we keep 3 of the 6 KDC's open late so kids can get their stamps. That also means that we have to give them stamps for the stations that are closed and we end up doing 50 million pledges because of it. I closed the Dinoland KDC by myself, and during the first half hour, I had 79 people! It was insane! Luckily, it slowed down after that, but it was kind of lonely and dark.
Sunday, Dec 25th: Merry Christmas!!! It was sad to open my presents by myself that morning. My first Christmas away from family. At least being at work kind of kept my mind off of that. We even had a yummy potluck lunch to celebrate!
Nick and I closed CS, so we were done at 6:00. When we got back to the CCC (Conservation Command Center...it's where we have all our meetings), Nick, Kristin, and I ate all the leftover cookies and veggies while we commiserated about working on Christmas. I guess the day wasn't so bad though. At least families wished us happy holidays and were really nice.
Tuesday, Dec 27th: Today, I finally saw (sort of) a CELEBRITY! I swear, every other presenter has seen someone famous at Disney, but I had yet to do so. I've missed people like Stan Lee, James Cameron, Neil Patrick Harris, Joey Fatone, Boyz II Men, Buddy Valastro (Cake Boss), and Kobe Bryant. So when I was at the Asia KDC with Karen and Katrina, Katrina asked me if I watched Big Brother. I said yes, and then she tried to think of the names of two people that had been on the show. She described them to me, and we finally determined it was the infamous Brandon and Rachel. Then Katrina said that they had just walked by in their marriage Mickey ears!!! However, by that time, they were clear down the path. I'm pretty sure I squealed REALLY loudly, and then without saying anything, I bolted after them. I could see the bride and groom ears in the distance, but they were too far away. Damn! Oh well, at least I saw the backs of their heads.
Wednesday, Dec 28th: My lovely friend whom I've known since I was about 5, Hannah, was in Florida visiting her boyfriend's family, and she came to see me tonight!! We decided to meet up at Giordano's, an Italian restaurant. Because of bumper-to-bumper traffic, it took me a half an hour to drive three miles! One reason I won't miss Orlando. Anyway, Hannah, Lee, his sister, and I shared a Chicago-style pizza. It was the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life!! After a great dinner, we went to Downtown Disney to shop. I think I've been in The World of Disney so many times that I could tell you the location of any plush Simba toy, princess dress, or tacky ornament without thinking. As we were walking through the store, we stopped at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (a salon where little girls can get princess makeovers). The woman working there said a little rhyme about making our wishes come true, and then sprinkled fairy dust on our heads. Who says I can't act like a little kid every once in a while? The only bad thing was that it took several days to wash the glitter out of my hair. Sadly, fairy dust isn't "Disney Look".Alright, I have ONE more post to go! I'll be talking about New Years, my last few days of work, and my long trip home to Pittsburgh. In the meantime, here's a quote from one of my favorite Christmas movies, Elf!
"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup."--Elf
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