Becoming a Local

It's been awhile since I've had time or energy to be able to formulate a complete and coherent thought that I would want for those following to read. I've learned and experienced a lot of different things that are presented to living down in Central Florida, that I'm not used to in Southeastern Wisconsin.

1. 

These geckos are EVERYWHERE. Taking out the trash... you see one. Walking to your car... three more. Awesome little guys.

2. Rain is completely unpredictable. There won't be a cloud in the sky and it will downpour and cause flash flooding. 

3. The traffic isn't terrible. It's the waiting 5 minutes at every red light that is terrible. 

I've been able to experience a lot of different things that I haven't been able to experience before when I was down here vacationing. I was able to go to the Florida Mall earlier in the week because I was giving a roommate a ride to pick up some shoes. That mall is huge! Probably the biggest mall that I've been in aside from Mall of America. So big that there is a hotel that is attached to it... Massive.

One afternoon when I had off from work and it was raining I was able to go to the AMC at Downtown Disney. Before, whenever I would be visiting Disney, I would question as to why someone would want to go see a movie if they were at Disney. But it makes sense now as to why Disney wants it there. It provides Cast Members with an easy access theater for entertainment. It was so nice to be able to sit down, by myself, and actually enjoy a movie and some time alone, away from people. 

Today, after my morning class, I went to Cici's for lunch and was supposed to meet up with a coworkers, but turned out we both went to different Cici's... Whoops. Then a drove over to the Cast Connections and Property Control trailer which is where Disney sells all of the discontinued or damaged merchandise to Cast Members at super discounted rates. Not only do they sell that merchandise, but they also were selling furniture that is no longer used in resorts and printers and monitors that were no longer used at desks. If I had more space in my apartment and car, I would have spent a lot more money than I did. They also were selling produce and items that kitchens use at discounted rates, which is always good to know when I want some fresh fruit and don't want to have to pay massive amounts at the grocery store for it. 

On to the work side of my adventures down here. Things I think have been going smoothly with transitioning from a trainee to a regular employee. There are still a lot of things that I don't know about how such a large restaurant is run, but I making friends and learning from those that have been around the kitchen for awhile. My manager has enrolled me in the training program for me to be able to work on the register, which is what I really want to be doing. It's where I feel most comfortable, as I have been doing that for five years.

One of the culinary, Teddy, and I seem to get along really well. We hit it off the first time that I was working in his station. When it was slow, we were able to talk about the times that he spent a couple nights in Waukesha and how much he enjoys live music. We hit it off with my love of working Summerfest and all of the cool things that I got to do while I was there. He;s been with Disney for I believe four years and always has a huge smile on his face. It's a good day when I get to work with him. 

Another person that I quickly took a liking to was Alex, one of the trainers that I had. We also hit it off right away. He had made some sarcastic comment under his breathe when he was training me, and I responded with an equally sarcastic response, and we kinda haven't stopped talking since. He's been with the company for just over a year and plans on staying with the company and moving up into a management position. We typically close together, and once the park is closed and our shift is over we will walk out our cars together, talking about how each others days went and how much he despises certain upper management. It's nice to be able to have someone my age, going through some of the same things that I am, and instantly become friends without having to really try. We went to a place called Wawa after close earlier in the week because he kept telling me about how amazing it was. So to amuse him, I went. And it was amazingly cool. Best gas station that I've found down in Florida. It's Kwik Trip on steroids. All of the customers order their sandwiches via touchscreens with ways to customize it whichever way you want. The computer prints out a slip with the order number on it and that is taken to the register to pay for the food, along with gas and whatever else you find in the store. And then by that time, your food is ready and they have a patio area for eating. It was fantastic. And the best part is that they don't close. So if I get stuck working a crappy shift, I could go to Wawa on my way home and get any shake I want. 

In other news, the Brazilian Tour Group season is upon us. Massive groups of them pile into places at once and flood the area. Disney has specially trained Cast Members specifically for these groups and they act as translators for Cast Members that have to interact with them but don't speak the language. There are also Cast Members that have to go under cover and watch where the groups are going throughout the park and radio in to the next area that they are headed in that direction and any available Cast Member needs to be on stage to help control the situation. As Cast Members, we HATE Brazilian Tour groups because they, as a whole, are the most rude group of people that we encounter. 

The World Cup is big news right now down here. One of the buildings at Epcot is specially designed for Guests that want to watch a certain match during the day. I don't understand it, but I guess it's a big deal...