A Very Merry Christmas With Mickey

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

Ohana Means Family. Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind Or Forgotten.

Hey y'all! (I'm determined to try and say this more in normal conversation) I have a few more blog posts to chronicle my internship, so here it goes. Better late than never, right?

Thursday, Nov 17th: Somehow, at BTN, I got stuck doing most of the work. Megan and I were the only regular interns, and we had two new girls. So I started by showing Natalie how to clean all of the reptiles' cages, which included 13 turtles and tortoises, plus Spike, our Iguana. We split the work, but it still took forever! After that, I cleaned all the flight cages (Vulture, Great Horned Owl, 2 Barred Owls, and Bald Eagle) and fed the birds. After I finished, Debbie asked if I could handle the other birds. So I cleaned/fed our Red-Tailed Hawk and 4 Screech Owls, too. Miraculously, after I finished all my work, I still left on time!

I headed home and took a quick shower, and then picked up Sonia from work. Tonight was the Pens/Lightning game in Tampa!!! We got to the arena pretty early, so we waited for my Aviary friend Jenise to get there. I was so excited to see a friend from home!! Our seats were actually pretty amazing--we were really close to the glass! Thank you, Stubhub, for the awesome tickets! Unfortunately, there was a douche bag Bolts fan behind us who, whenever we had a shot that didn't go in, would yell "NOPE!" His other two common phrases were "Booyah!!" (who says that??) and "Run it!!" He was incredibly annoying, so I decided to return the favor. I started using his phrases whenever something good happened for the Pens. It must have worked because he left after the 2nd period haha. That's right, don't mess with me! It was a good game, but we lost 4-1. Kennedy scored our only goal. Oh well, it was still fun! When we got home, I bought a ticket for the JOSH TURNER concert at House of Blues!!

Friday, Nov 18th: Today I had to go to the Orlando Courthouse to handle my whole speeding ticket situation. It was kind of nerve-wracking because I had to go through a security check like they have at airports. When it was finally my turn, I paid $10 and showed my license so I could dismiss that initial fee for not having it when I got pulled over. Then I paid off the speeding ticket (seeee ya pay check!). The guy at the desk also said that if I completed online traffic school, my 3 points would be cleared from my record, yippee!

A bit later, I met up with Steph and we went character hunting at DAK! We met 18 out of 25 of them--winning! Our adventure continued on the safari--we saw baby Jabali!! Then we had ice cream, did some shopping, and watched some of the parade.

Happy Holidays from Animal Kingdom!

Although the afternoon was fun, the evening would prove to be nothing short of unforgettable. I could not WAIT for the concert. By the time I got in line at 7:00, it was already wrapped around the back of HOB!! I wasn't gonna let that long line stop me from getting up close to smokin' hot Josh Turner, though! While a ton of people headed for the bar or upstairs to the merch table, I ran right to the stage and got pretty close. A local band called Jill's Cashbox opened up, and they were really good. They played some original tunes, and also a few covers of Jason Aldean and Jake Owen. Josh FINALLY came on at 9:40 and I'm pretty sure I've only ever been that excited for a concert once before (Keith Urban). I can't even explain how amazing it was. Josh is so charismatic, genuine, and a great performer. He played every song I'd hoped for, and I sang every single word with him. After the show, I waited around, hoping for an encore, but there wasn't one. It was ok, though! His mandolin player threw guitar picks into the crowd. He pointed at a girl and threw it toward her, but it landed on my arm and I caught it!! Haha sorry, I wasn't about to give that back! Then I went upstairs and bought a Josh Turner tour shirt. After that, I went home, feeling like I was on cloud nine. What a perfect night! One good thing about Orlando is all the awesome concerts they have, and going to these shows has been one of my favorite things during my internship.

Saturday, Nov 19th: Back to work. We only had 12 presenters today, but I didn't realize that that meant the schedule was changed. So after Tree of Life, I went to the gibbons as normal. At 11:57, I was talking to Nick and we realized I should have been in Dinoland. OOPS. So I bolted over there to bump Megan a little late. My bad.

After work, Sonia and I met a few of the Pooh characters. They were too adorable to exclude from this post. Christmas cards, anyone?

Monday, Nov 21st: Not a bad day! I jumped in the hot tub with my girls after work, and then watched the Pens game. It was Sidney's first game back from his concussion, and we won 4-0!!! YEAH!

Tuesday, Nov 22nd: Today, Sonia and I worked late due to our longer holiday hours, so we closed CS an hour later than usual. While I was at the flamingo exhibit, a dad said to his kid, "Look, flamingos! That's what rednecks put in front of their trailers!" HAHAHA. Best quote ever.

After work, Sonia and I met up with Hulbie and Nicole at Hollywood Studios. We saw the famous Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, which is a display of millions of Christmas lights throughout the Streets of America. It was unbelievably beautiful! Every 15 minutes, the lights would blink and "dance" to the choreography of different holiday songs. At the end, snow fell down from the sky. That was one of those moments at Disney I'll never forget.

Wednesday, Nov 23rd: It was kind of slow at CS with Julie, so I decided to make a few lists. Lists of characters I still need to meet, ride/attractions I need to do, and other tasks I need to complete before January 7th. Boy, I still have a lot to accomplish!

Right after work, Steph took me to the airport because I was going home to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving!! When I got to my gate (wearing a Pitt Panthers shirt), a woman clad in a Mountaineers shirt sat across from me. Another man said, "A Pitt fan and a WVU fan together??" We joked that we were being civil to each other haha. It turns out they both were WVU alumni. Love that hometown connection in Florida!

It was so good to be back home in the Burgh--even if it would just be for a short trip.

Thursday, Nov 24th: Happy Thanksgiving! Today was such a great day because I got to see a lot of my family, especially those that I haven't seen in a long time! The Rihs clan headed over to my uncle's church so we could help set up for dinner. Meanwhile, all of the little kids ran around and played with each other to get rid of some of their crazy energy. Thanksgiving dinner was soooo delicious! Afterward, I watched Cars 2 with all of the little ones. Overall, it was a wonderful night with family! But it wasn't over yet.

I'm the only one over the age of 7 watching Cars 2 in this picture. Haha.

Jonathan, Staci, and I went to Target at midnight for Black Friday. It was exciting because I'd never done that before. There wasn't anything specific I wanted, so when we got in, I went straight for the movies. I bought Glee season 1, Dexter season 3, Rio, Sherlock Holmes, and Batman Begins for just under $50! What's even better is that I saved $76!!! Yeah, buddy!!! Black Friday shopping was so worth it!

Friday, Nov 25th: In the morning, I played with the kids for a while, and then went to OT Park for frisbee!!! It was a good turnout--14 people. However, the field was really muddy. When I went to cut for the disc, I slipped and fell on my back. I was covered in mud, but it was pretty hilarious. I don't think I appreciated JC ultimate enough until I graduated, so I enjoy being able to play with my high school friends. Later that afternoon, my uncle and cousin came by to take me to the airport. Time to go back to Orlando. While I waited for Sonia to pick me up, I watched a Spanish family cram 7 suitcases and 7 people into their tiny Nissan Altima. It was quite a sight, but somehow they made it work.

Saturday, Nov 26th: Today I got some sad news. Winnie, the 37-year-old bald eagle at Back To Nature passed away of old age. She was such a sweetheart, and it was horrible to see her cage empty the next time I was there.

Tuesday, Nov 29th: While I was at lunch at Pride Rock, I listened to the voice mail I had on my phone. It was a Disney manager, and they wanted me to interview for the animal keeper traineeship!!! I was so excited that I squealed out loud and everyone congratulated me.

Wednesday, Nov 30th: During one of my breaks, I talked to a member of Core Team, and she talked to a few people and worked out a time for my interview! It was very difficult to schedule since my schedule changes every single day. But, she set it up for Tuesday at 1:30, yay!

That night, Lady Gaga and Sugarland performed "You and I" at the Grammy nominations concert. It was rather strange, but oddly amazing. Check it out right here.

Ok, I hope y'all enjoyed all the pictures! It was an eventful couple of weeks for me--probably some of the best times I've had here in the Sunshine State! Next time, I'll fill you in on my scary car situation, my fun day at Universal, and a story about a kid that tried to make friends with Marley the American Crocodile.

I'll leave you with some Josh Turner lyrics. I love this song, because it's about just enjoying the simple pleasures in life, which I appreciate.

"Everything is fine, fine, fine

Through the sunshine and the rain

I got a peace of mind

You know I can't complain

I'm feeling good and everything is fine"

Another Internship Opportunity

If you just got a little worried from the title, have no fear! I'm still at Disney, but I'm starting a second internship, too! But you'll hear more about that later...

Saturday, Aug 13th: After work, the roomies and I went shopping for Florida's weekend of tax-free clothing. (I miss PA for not having to pay clothing tax there!!) It was absolute CHAOS. There were people parked in the grass and on curbs! Unfortunately, I didn't end up finding much, but I did buy a new sweater at GAP and a McFlurry at McDonald's (yummm).

Sunday, Aug 14th: Sonia and I went to Forever XXI today, and I bought a few shirts and a new purse! Yay! I could have probably shopped in that store for hours; it was fabulous!! Afterward, we drove to EPCOT, where we eventually met up with Cassie and Alyssa. We explored The Seas, rode a few rides, and then worked on a Kim Possible mission in Norway. Yeah, we're THAT cool. Then we got some delicious ice cream, went on Soarin', and headed home. Another great night!

Monday, Aug 15th: Tonight, the roomies and I went to Vista Way because there was a welcoming party for the CP (College Program) kids. We got free pizza plus met Mickey, Chip, and Dale! WIN. Later that night, I received an email from Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge. I had applied a few days ago to volunteer there, and they said I should go in on Thursday to check out the facility and sign some papers!

Tuesday, Aug 16th: Work was pretty boring, but I found out that Bethany, Andy, and Aaron are coming to visit me in October, yay!!

Wednesday, Aug 17th:  At work, I had a few really good conversations with families in Spanish. Slowly, I'm starting to speak more and more fluently...ish. Later on, Sonia, Cassie, Alyssa, Steph, Melissa, and I went to Johnny Rocket's for dinner--my milkshake was delicious! Then we went to Fort Wilderness to watch "Lilo and Stitch." I never used to like that movie, but now I love it!!

Thursday, Aug 18th: Today I drove to Back To Nature (BTN)! Kelly, one of three full-time employees, asked if I wanted to be an intern instead of volunteer because I would be able to log more hours. Ummmm yes, of course! So she told me a little bit about the facility and had me read the intern manual and sign papers. I'll be working every Thursday and I'll get to clean cages (can I add "professional shit cleaner" to my resume?), feed the animals, and sometimes even take care of the babies that people bring in! They have about 43 permanent residentsthat include squirrels, opossums, goats, deer, raccoons, tortoises, doves, mockingbirds, owls, vultures, bald eagle, sandhill crane, emu, cougar, bobcat, and an arctic fox! Also, a ton of animals are brought in every day to be rehabilitated--sometimes up to 20! I can't wait to work with all of them!! Also, I'm excited to get some rehabilitation experience to put on my resume. The only bad thing is that I have to pay $7 in tolls each week. EW.

Friday, Aug 19th: Boring day at work!

Saturday, Aug 20th: I decided to look for some internships online, but I didn't find any legit possibilities. However, I did find some volunteer opportunities in Tanzania, South Africa, Costa Rica, Guam, and TIPUTINI (the biodiversity station I stayed at for a week in Ecuador)!!! I wish I could get paid to work in such exotic places!

Sunday, Aug 21st: I was at the Africa KDC, and after going through all the clues with a little girl, I said, "This animal lives in Africa, has 3 toes, eats plants, and has a horn on his head. Do you know what it is?" Her guesses were: "A UNICORN!!...A PONY!!...A RHINO!!" Third time's a charm, I guess. Not gonna lie, it was pretty hilarious.

Also, I realized that today marked exactly two years since I arrived in Ecuador to study abroad. This made me so sad! Sometimes I wish I were back there with my host family, trying to tell the maid in broken Spanish that I needed toilet paper (ask me about that story--it's a classic), or listening to my host grandmother explain a Spanish "novela" (soap opera) to me when I didn't understand a single word she was saying.

Monday, Aug 22nd: Today I literally melted at work because I had the 3 hottest stations--Dinoland, Cotton-Top Tamarins, and Asia--all in a row.

Tuesday, Aug 23rd: I had fun with Megan while we were at Conservation Station! The whole time, we people-watched, and she pointed out all her fellow Canadians. Well, we had to entertain ourselves for two hours somehow! Later, at Dino, a kid knew EVERYTHING about the dinosaurs just by looking at the lower jaws!! At the end of the day, I closed Tree of Life with Megan, and it POURED the entire time. Luckily, it stopped just in time for us to leave at 5:00!

Alright, time to go. Next time, I'll tell you all about the awesome EPCOT scavenger hunt and my first day at BTN!

"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

This One Time, at Disney World...

Hi! I have a lot of fun things to talk about in this entry, including my day at MK when I met a bunch of characters!! Here it is...

Thursday, August 4th: Today I went to Coronado Springs Resort with Cassie to search for Hidden Mickeys.The resort had a Mexican theme, complete with a Mayan temple surrounding the pool. One of the lifeguards told us where some of the alleged Mickeys were, but we couldn't find most of them. After we gave up on our scavenger hunt, we walked over to the cabanas. They each had their own little beach with some palm trees and a family-sized hammock. I'd love to stay there someday!

Friday, Aug. 5th: Melissa Hulbert, Steph Pierson, and I went to Magic Kingdom, and we met A TON of characters. I was SO excited to act like a little kid again and get their autographs and pictures with them! First, we met Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora. When we saw Minnie and Mickey, I let them sign with my "Mickey hand" pen that I got at Cumberland, and they were disappointed to see that it actually had 5 fingers instead of 4. Oops...sorry. Not official Disney merch! After that, we met Pinocchio, Buzz Lightyear, Angelica (from PotC: On Stranger Tides), Goofy, Aladdin, and Jasmine. It was an absolutely great day at MK!

Later on, the roomies and I went to Friendly's for dinner. It brought back memories of the one I went to after the Wildwood beach ultimate tourney a few years ago. Good times have always been had at Friendly's! A few other interns joined us, and they probably thought we were crazy. My roomies and I are so loud and we bicker all the time and joke around, but we all mean it in good fun. From the outside, you'd think we hate each other, but we actually get along really well. The best part of the night was when a woman came up to us and made balloon animals: Cassie had a shark, Alyssa had Minnie ears, Sonia had a monkey, and I had a blue and gold macaw(yes, I AM being that specific with my balloon haha). That whole day was one of the best I've had in quite a while.

Saturday, Aug. 6th: Nothing of note happened today, but two little kids gave me a hug after they did the Africa KDC. As Sonia would say, it was "so ca-yoooooot!"

Sunday, Aug. 7th: So today I walked over to Asia and heard the weirdest noise. It took me a few seconds, but then I realized the Siamangs were vocalizing!!! Check out a video of their call here. And look at the inflated vocal pouch on their neck--so cool! You have no idea how excited I was to hear this--it took them over a month to vocalize while I was there!

The highlight of my day was when I was at Conservation Station with Nicole. This Guest from Alabama  saw my Pittsburgh, PA name tag and proceeded to ask if I was Amish. No, sir, just because I'm from PA doesn't mean that I'm Amish. I live near the city, thank you very much. If I could have died of laughter right there, I would have. As if that wasn't hilarious enough, a Hispanic man came up to Nicole and I, and had his wife take a picture of the three of us together with his iPad. He then uploaded it to his facebook right there. Well, I guess I'm famous in some other country!

Monday, Aug. 8th: Nothing too eventful happened today.

Tuesday, Aug. 9th: I was at the Tree of Life and my next-door neighbor from home and her grandson stumbled upon the KDC and came down to visit! I knew they were in Disney, but I didn't think they'd be able to find me among the thousands of people.

That night, I started looking on the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) website for some jobs and internships that I could do after Disney. I found THE PERFECT JOB at the North Carolina Aquarium. I would help with educational programs, do presentations, and be one of the primary bird trainers. That would be AMAZING. Ugh, too bad they probably need to fill the position asap because the deadline is soon. I guess that for now, I should focus on looking for internships instead.

Wednesday, Aug. 10th: Today I was at the Flamingo exhibit because it was raining at the Cotton Top's area. I met a family that lived in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, so I asked them where they were specifically from. They actually live in the neighborhood I grew up in as a little kid! Also, their son goes to Avonworth Elementary School and has some of the same teachers I did!! Considering there are only about 1,500 students in grades K-12, that's pretty amazing that I saw a fellow Avonworthian in Disney World. (Is that what we're called? That sounds weird. Oh well.) To top it off, the next family I talked to was from Greensburg! *Cue the "It's A Small World" theme song*

Thursday, Aug. 11: We had our first of five leadership seminars today. This one focused on the "Disney Values" and the basics of how to be a good leader. Because it was technically my day off, I got to go home after the seminar. Nicole and I decided to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" with James Franco, and it was actually very good--the CG animation was pretty amazing.

That night, I tried to go to Publix, but my car failed to completely start. So I thought my battery had died. That's awesome because I had an important meeting the next day. I called AAA (because my windows were down and I was worried it would rain), and it took them forever to come. It was 10:30pm by the time they got here! The woman opened my hood, took one look, and said that the battery was fine--the terminal was just loose. Well, I guess I'm glad it wasn't as bad as I thought. She tightened it up for me and then said I should buy a new part and then my car would be fine.

Friday, Aug. 12: In the morning, I went to Epcot with Betsy because we both had a meeting with a few managers to discuss future career options. The first thing we did was see the "Captain EO" 4D movie. IT WAS GREAT. It's a movie that was made in 1986 exclusively for Disney World, and it was produced by George Lucas and starsMichael Jackson! MJ is Captain EO and he travels to space to give "The Supreme Leader" a peace offering. She captures MJ and his crew, but he ends up defeating her with his crazy dance moves. Let's just say this movie was the 80's at its best. While Betsy was in her meeting, I explored "The Seas with Nemo and Friends"aka The Seas. After my meeting (which went pretty well), we went on "The Sum of All Thrills," a simulator where you get to design your own rollercoaster and then actually ride it!! It's really cool!! Then after we went home, I went to Meineke to fix my car and Winn-Dixie to do some extreme couponing! Yeah!

"Disneyland is often called a magic kingdom because it combines fantasy and history, adventure and learning, together with every variety of recreation and fun designed to appeal to everyone."--Walt Disney