Dream catching

Toady was my last day working for the mouse.  This time I was the one standing up at the podium as dream catchers fell while I was doing my final speil.  Trying to sum up this year is like attempting to answer the meaning of life.  I don't even know where to begin.  So for now I guess I will just say that this year has been quite the adventure.  Thank you for sticking it out with me.

and for one last time ...

from Florida with love,
Jilly

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

http://www.ted.com/talks/charlie_todd_the_shared_experience_of_absurdity.html

A few months ago one of my good friends introduced me to TED.  It is a nonprofit organization devoted to ideas worth spreading.  It was a small conference that started out in 1984 connecting people from three areas: Technology, Entertainment, Design.  Ever since then the conference has been growing each year with one conference taking place in Long Beach and the other one in the UK.  More than a thousand people attend and it often sells out months before the event actually happens.  Over the course of four days, 50 speakers have a 18 minute time slot to tell their story.  However, there are many short ones that include music, comedy and performance.  The mission is to spread ideas.  They believe that with the power of ideas we can change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So TED.com is like a powerhouse of it all.  Where you look up talks, find out about events and even learn how to organize one yourself.  The link above is a talk that I watched yesterday.  I was interested in it because I had been watching Charlie Todd on youtube on the channel "Improv Everywhere."  So when I stumbled upon him giving a talk on TED I wanted to share it.  The talks have now expanded into culture, arts, science, global issues and more.  They range from funny, inspiring, persuausive, courageous and down right fascinating.  So if you have time today I strongly encourage you to check out TED.  Happy holidays!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Washington, DC

Korean War Memorial

View of the Capitol Hill from the Old Post Office tower

The White House

On Wednesday I left sunny Orlando on a plane to Washington, DC to spend 4 days touring the city.  During my short time there I managed to see 6 museums, 3 art galleries and 11 monuments.  It was a easy city to navigate and my hotel was only a block from the National Mall.  Days started early and envolved a lot of walking but with the amount of coffee shops dotted along the streets it was easy to keep my energy up.  The White House was a lot smaller then what I thought it would be, but it was still impressive.  I had to fight the school groups to get that shot because when one school group left it seemed like another one showed up and took over.  My map I had of the city is covered in check marks with all the museums and monuments I did.  But there is still so many other ones I need to do.  I guess they will have to wait till my next trip.  That's all for now!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Look!

Maggie and I made a trip to Hollywood Studios today, specifically to go on Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster.  We took this beautiful picture on our 4th time on the Tower.  We were overlooking the park when we spotted a statue in the corner and the camera managed to capture us as we pointed at something we overlooked the past 3 times we went on the ride.  After that ride we went on Rockin Roller Coaster for our 5th time then finished the day going back on Tower of Terror.  Now we are heading out to see our friends play!  It definitely is a magical day :)

from Florida with love,

Jilly

I'll be home for Christmas

I've never really been one to hope on board the christmas train in early november, but being at Disney they get into the holidays very early.  Three out of the four parks are already decorated and Epcot will be the last one to join as soon as the Food and Wine Festival is done on the 13th.  I've been listening to Micheal Buble's new christmas cd (which is amazing, go buy it) and Starbucks finally have their christmas flavor latte's out. This year will be a proper christmas because there will be snow!! Which I am sort of looking forward to being in.  However, I am soaking up all this sunshine and warmth while I can.  Although the temperatures have dipped to a cool 80 degrees, it's still pleasant outside.  Tomorrow I am heading to hollywood studios and then downtown Orlando for a play that my friend directed.  Work was fun today, only had short shift so that probably helped. Anyways, gotta go and do something fun because the clock is slowly counting down the days till I get back to Canada.  Can't wait to see everyone when I get home!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

mmmmBOP

Remember these guys?  I got to listen to them on Tuesday during my Amgard shift.  It was a lot of fun.  Screaming girls and unhappy boyfriends make for an entertaining crowd.  Anyways, work has been good and things are well here.

from Florida with love,

Jilly 

Sunday

Ah, the sweetness of doing nothing.  I definitely did that today, and it was quite enjoyable.  Usually at the end of the day I kinda feel that regret and annoyance of not getting stuff done on my "to do" list.  Today was the complete opposite.  I was more than happy to sleep in till noon, have a delicious breakfast and then proceed to watch all three Twilight movies.  Then I worked out.  Everyone should try doing nothing sometimes.  Feels good.  Now I'm going to sit down and watch Iron Chef America: The Next Iron Chef on t.v then probably go to sleep.  Such a great day. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Good people

Thank you to the girl who gave me her seat on the bus.  She wasn't in a costume and told me she was just visiting the park as a guest and let me sit down in her place soo that was nice of her.  Anyways, today was a good day.  I went to the hair salon and got some groceries.  Then I just hung out at the house and watched t.v.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to go and do a little shopping because our discounts started last week.  We passed our housing inspections and got some free cookies out of it so that's always a good thing.  That's all for now folks, have a good night.

from Florida with love,
Jill

Graduation

Yesterday about 60 cast members went to the Contemperary Resort and celebrated the graduation of the international cultural program.  We walked into the ballroom and got our graduation "ears" and had a nice breakfast with Minni and Mickey.  It was a chance to catch up with the group we arrived with and swap stories about work, plans after the program and share a few good laughs.  Afterwards we headed to the magic kingdom to take some pictures in front of the castle as well as hit up space mountain.  Then it was time to head to Epcot for work.  Then Devon, Bruce and I closed the attraction last night.  We were the closing group for about 4 months before we started moving up the ranks in senority.  Probably the last time we will all get to close together.  I know I've been saying this for about two months now, but it really is settling in that I only have a short amount of time left. I know the rest of my time here will be filled with fun because that's how the past 10 months have gone, so I don't plan on stopping that now.  I woke up to rain this morning so I'm thinking that the guest count today in the park will be a little bit lower.  It's kinda nice to have those days because everyone loves to come to Canada because we have a nice warm little cave they can sit in and stay dry so we get a really good guest count coming into the attraction haha! Well, it's time for breakfast and coffee.  Have a great day everyone!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Mini Golf

If you were wondering if I'm still terrible at mini golf, the answer is yes.  Don't get me wrong I had a couple good holes, but for the most part I spent more time looking for my ball in the bushes then I did on the green. Even though I didn't win, we still had fun.  There was 5 of us who went last night to the Fantasia Mini Golf by the Boardwalk.  Afterwards we walked to Beaches and Cream, grabbed ourselves some ice cream and then headed home.  Later on that night we had our throw out in the church parking.  Not a lot showed up but we had to move the event because we have extra magic hours tonight.  All in all it was a good evening.  Today is my first day back after my mini holiday.  Should be a good day.  Anyways, I'm off to get ready for a magical day at work!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Sittin on the balcony drinking ice tea ...

What a lovely day!  Just sitting here on my balcony in a t-shirt and shorts drinking ice tea while writing.  What a life!!  I would keep going with this but I feel like if I did nobody would read this anymore.  Sooo I'll just keep going with what I've been up to these past few days.  As you all know I've been off these past 6 days and it's been great.  Got to sleep in lots, shop and finally get the moutain of laundry done.  Feels good to cross off everything on your to do list.  Last night we did a scavenger hunt in my apartment complex.  It was a lot of fun.  I'm pretty sure the people we woke up by knocking on their apartment doors and asking for random objects like cucumbers and phone numbers weren't to impressed by it.  In the end we didn't win but we now have 23 photos documenting our trek across the commons.  Tonight is a throw out and one of my good friends from merchandise is leaving.  My throw out is slowly creeping up.  Yesterday I booked my one way ticket back to Saskatchewan.  It took me about 5 minutes before I could actually press the purchase button, but I managed to do it.  Now the next step is to figure out how I am going to pack my life up at the end.  I will definitely need to buy another suite case.  Well, I just spilt ice tea all over my shirt so I guess that's a sign that I should go and get ready for mini golfing and supper. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

November 30.

This weekend I am just relaxing for once and trying to catch up on my laundry, groceries and cleaning.  We have yet another house inspection next week so gotta make sure everything is in tip top shape.  It was a cool 15 degrees out last night, I had to actually wear my costume coat at work.  I even went as far as to having tea in my water bottle so I wouldn't be freezing.  Work went by fast last night.  It was extra magic hours so we were open till 12.  I was super tired when I got home but like I said, I have the next few days off so I can sleep then.


Next week I graduate from the program.  When I look back on all I have done and accomplished, it feels good knowing that I stuck it out even when times were tough.  I wouldn't have traded this experience for anything.  The time is slowly winding down here and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing my friends and family when I get back!  My last official day working for the Mouse is on November 30.  So for now I am just trying to squeeze in the last bit of fun before I say "see you later" to Florida. 

Anyways, I must get back to work!  Hope yall are doing well and see you in a month or so!!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Test Test ... is this thing on?

Yes I'm still alive.  My post have been fewer and fewer as the year rolls on.  I apologize.  Things here in Florida sure have been changing.  One of my closest friend from the program left today.  It was quite sad.  I'm going to miss her a lot.  It's definitely going to be weird not seeing her everyday.  One of the good things about being here is the amount of friends I have made from across Canada.  I can now go across the great white North and have friends in every province.  Some much needed visiting will have to happen when I get back.  Things in the attraction have been about the same.  Food and Wine festival started last week so Epcot is becoming slightly busier.  Although the amount of traffic coming through Canada is still the same.  Who knows, tomorrow there could be a huge demand for Martin Short and the great landscape of Canada.  I won't know because I'll be in Arizona!  Yes folks, another trip.  Quite excited about this one.  We have a lot of things planned and it's going to be a grand ol' time.  Well that's all I have to say for now.  Maybe when I come back I can get back into the swing of things.  If not ... I guess my random posting will just have to do for now. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

What to do with 10 days off ...

First off, my best friend Nicole, arrives in 5 1/2 hours.  I'm so excited for her to get here.  We're going to be doing everything Disney for the next 6 days.  I've already got so many things that I want her to experience when she's here.  Second, I'm going back to Phoenix in a couple of weeks to visit my other best friend Nicole.  Then at the end of October I'm thinking about going to Washington.  I'm not entirely sure on that one yet ... but I'll be figuring that out in the next few weeks.  I feel the time here flying by, especially now that I have a plan for when I get back to Canada.  The next chapter is definitely coming together. Which makes the last few pages of this chapter, extra special. I'm not quite sure why I'm choosing to view my life like a novel, but I'm just going to go with it.  Yesterday I went to Animal Kingdom and manged to go on Everest twice as well as the Kali River Rapid ride.  Which I got soaked both times but it was refreshing because it was a million degrees outside.  Sooo that was a nice time.  Then I bought some new lululemon shorts at the mall.  They are the most comfortable piece of clothing I have ever worn.  Well folks, I would love to continue telling you all about my life ... but I must run. Gotta finish packing, clean the house up, work out and possibly take a nap after lunch.  Ahhh what a great day.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Hoop Dee Doo Revue Show

Last night my friends and I went to Fort Wilderness to watch the Hoop Dee Doo Revue show and dinner.  It was awesome!  They sang, danced, had funny jokes and got involved with the crowd.  We were sitting at a table right in the center and behind us there was a big empty space and it turns out that's where they do most of their songs and interact with the crowd from.  But the best part of the night is when me and 3 others got pulled up onto the stage to do one of their finally songs of the night.  We each had a part to play and got costumes to wear as well.  Turns out I was the Can Can Dancer!!  I put on this black poofy dress and went out on stage and did the can can for 30 seconds and then I got to say a line.  At the end of the night they give you a certificate and a picture of you up on stage.  I think I forgot to mention that the food comes in silver  buckets.  There was fried chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, corn and not to mention corn bread.  Last night was definitely fun.  Tonight there is a throw in because we have some new people coming in the attraction as well as Food and Beverage.  Then on Friday I am going to Animal Kingdom for the day.  Saturday will be the best day ever because that's when my best friend is coming down to visit!!! I am so excited.  I've already got lots of plans for us to do.  It sure is going to be a good time.  Anyways, I must go and get ready for work.  Hope Canada isn't to cold.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Early bird gets the worm ...

Today was really productive.  Got up nice and early to catch the 11:12 bus to go and get groceries at Wal-Mart.  Then I made myself some tastey pizza and had some Canada Dry ginger ale that I picked up, it was quite refreshing as today reached well over 100 degrees.  Then my friends and I headed to Bongos for supper followed by a little bit of shopping in the outlet mall (I bought a toque) which was a good time because there was so many end of summer sales.  Saturday has treated me well.  Anyways, that's about it for today. Tomorrow I work a nice little 6 hour shift because of mandatory overtime. Hope all is well back in Canada.

from Florida with love,
Jill

see ya later, alligator.

So this is what a I did last Saturday.  I realized before I left that the one thing I really wanted to do was sit on an alligator, and boy was it fun!  To be honest, it is a little scary to sit on something that could bite your arm off in a second, but they did tape the mouth shut (with what looked like electrical tape) before people sat on him.  After I sat on an alligator I went and fed the bigger ones hotdogs and then saw a creepy crawler show that featured a boa constrictor and various other types of snakes.  It was a great Saturday.  Work has been slow since the end of August but will be picking for the Food and Wine festival that starts September 30 and runs until the middle of November.  A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to head out to Phoenix to visit my cousin for 5 days and that was so much fun.  It was nice to get away for a while but I was glad to come back home.  It's hard to believe that in just 2 and a half months I will be heading back to the great white North.  The time past 9 months have gone by fast and I'm sure the next two will go by in a blink of an eye.  Just wanna send out a big thank you to everyone who reads this blog! I know I've been slacking on the number of posts (an entire month went by with nothing) but I've finally gotten a little bit of down time now to catch up.  We have a house inspection coming up on Sunday so I've been busy getting the house ready for that.  A couple of my friends have finished their program and are getting ready to leave, so we've been having a lot of throw outs lately which is sad but I guess we all knew that coming into the job that we would eventually leave.  I think I just heard the dryer beep, must get back to cleaning. 

from Florida with love,
Jill

shark week.

HEY.  Just wanted to tell everyone that it's August.  I also wanted to let everybody know that it's also Shark Week.  So go turn on the Discovery Channel, grab yourself some coffee and watch some sharks. 

Have a magical day!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

back to school.

This is what I spent the better part of my Sunday collecting at Publix.  Across the 4 different Disney parks we are doing a back to school drive. This will provide low income families with school supplies for their children who might otherwise not have the favorite jungle green crayon or glue sticks for all those arts and crafts during the school year.  It's just another way that Disney gives back to the local community.  I've been sick for the past three days, but I'm finally on the mend.  I slept the day away yesterday as well as today and I'm finally feeling like my old self again.  Half of Brazil was here this past week so that has made work quite busy.  It's supposed to slow down in the next couple of weeks which should give everyone some much needed rest before the Food and Wine festival starts up in September.  Hope things are kickin along nicely in Canada. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

copy cat.

Hahaha I found this picture quite funny.  Anyways, it's Sunday and I got some stuff to do today.  I already made some scrambled eggs and drank some coffee.  But I gotta head to Wal-Mart and pick up a few supplies.  Should be a good time.  I also have to get some cheese.  And maybe some cough drops, kinda starting to get sick.   Not good.  Hope everyone has a happy sunday!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

keep moving on.

A lot of people have asked me what I plan on doing after I've finished my year here at Disney.  I've definitely thought about it now that I realize I only have 4 short months left.  I also realized how unconventional my life really is.  In my 21 years, I have done some pretty cool things, and accomplished a lot.  I've always been a big dreamer and entertained a lot of career possiblities like becoming a spy, travelling the world in a hot air balloon, and sailing the seven seas with a boat that I built from scratch.  While these are all ridiculous ideas and probably things that I won't ever do, it's fun to entertain the thought of them.  I guess to answer the question of what I'm going to do afterwards is this:

I honestly don't know. 

In school and in life, it teaches you to always have a plan.  To look towards the future and accept the past.  To go with the flow, but have structure.  To be unpredictable but not crazy. To eat your vegetables but to indulge once in a while.  To be responsible yet let loose and have fun.  It's completely exhuasting.  No wonder our stress levels are increasing and the world is falling apart.  Life is funny.  It really is.  We look to other people to find out what we should be doing, comparing ourselves and having the most craziest standards on what we think is the ideal life.  What I've learned is to map my own life.  And I am in love with that idea.  Majority of the time I don't know where I am going, all I know is that I am moving forward.  I have the whole world in front of me.  To stand at the crossroads and tell people I don't know what's going to happen next is scary, but quite liberating.  I find we are all waiting on the world to change.  Waiting for someone else to make a move and take action.  Instead, I believe we should stop waiting on the world to change, and start changing ourselves. I have reason to believe that people are decent and that we seem to be unlearning what we learned at birth to be a good person.  Respect is what we deserve but first we must earn it.  I make a million mistakes a day.  I put dirty dishes in the the dishwasher that is full of clean plates and glasses, I sometimes eat to much at dinner because the food is just to good, I procrastinate, I forget peoples birthday's, I take the wrong turn and push buttons that sometimes lead to the most crazy outcomes.  The key is that I still have the heart to continue.  I know that failure and mistakes are a part of life. 

My one wish for everbody who reads this blog is to keep marching on.  Lighten up and fall flat on your face if you must, but for the love of life, do not stop moving.  Recyle.  Know that you are worthy of love and belonging.  And most importantly wear sunscreen. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Drawing Class

One day at a park can feel like you've been there for a week.  Yesterday I went to Hollywood Studios with my friend.  It was another jam packed day!  We drew for 3 hours and I now have Pluto, Mickey, Woody, Jimmney Cricket, Buzz and Donald Duck all hanging up on my fridge.  We got to the American Idol experience (twice) and voted for our favorite singers.  Then it was back to Midway Mania for our fastpasses.  But then the ride broke, we were stuck on it for 15 minutes.  Then an announcement came over the loudspeaker that the ride was closing because of technical issues.  The house lights turned on and we got to walk back through the ride and to the exit.  The attraction looks totally different when the house lights are on.  I didn't even see half the stuff on the walls during the ride.  After Toy Story Mania we went on the Great Movie ride (twice) and then drank some beverages while watching the parade.  We got to the park just after it opened and ended up leaving after it closed.  It was a really great day.  Yesterday was the first time I really appreciated a park because I've done just about all the attractions there.  The weather was perfect and it didn't even rain!  Today it's back to work but the weather looks pretty decent today and I'm pretty sure the park is going to be the usual 30,000.  I work Amgard today so I'll be listening to the tribute band of Janet Jackson.  That should be entertaining.  Well I better get movin along!

from Florida with love,
Jilly  

Youtube is great for things like this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ7-n930zJo

This is about the cutest video I've seen on youtube yet!  Last night I saw the movie Horrible Bosses and it was hilarious.  It was the fastest two hour movie I've watched in a long time.  So many jokes and one liners that had me crying from laughter.  It's been raining here for the past couple of days.  And every time I get off the bus from work it always seems to pour. I should probably invest in a raincoat.  Work has been quite busy, it's been picking up with all the tour groups from South America coming.  It's all right because it makes the day go by faster.  Other than that, it's been pretty routine around here.  Hope all is well!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

I'm alive

Well lets get you all up to speed on whats been happening around here.  I had my birthday on Friday and we went to a place called Jellyrolls which is on the boardwalk.  It's a duelling piano bar and the guys can play anything you request.  We listened to the sounds of Lady Gaga to Meatloaf mixed with som Elton John and Bryan Adams.  At one point we got them to play O' Canada (we bribed them with toonies) and all 8 of us stood up and sang our hearts out.  It was a great night and I will definitely be going back there again.  The weather has been hot hot hot!!  And with the heat comes humidity which brings the rain and thunderstorms.  The storms here roll in fast and settle in for a couple hours and then continue on there way.  When they clear out the air is more bearable and it's a relief.  The Brazilian tour groups have arrived.  Close to 200 every day, usually they don't cause to much trouble but you can hear them long before you can see them.  I got a chance to eat at Cat Cora's restaurant on Sunday.  I haven't had a meal like that since I was last home.  All the ingredients are fresh and you can see them actually working since it's an open air kitchen.  Well I better hit the hay, I'm opening Canada tomorrow!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Oh, Canada

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjiwBwBL4Qo

The pavillion was decorated yesterday to the max of red and white.  They even had all the provincial flags up!  We had a party in the breaktrailer complete with food and Canadian music playing.  It was a great Canada day even if I couldn't be in the actual country.  Work has been crazy lately, we've been getting a lot of rain which makes us become a rain shelter at times.  I can't believe that in a week it'll be my birthday, its come up so quickly.  I don't even have any plans for it.  I'm sure that in a couple of days I'll have planned something out.  Anyways, just thought I would share a very Canadian video. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Well this is awkward ...

I just had a knock on the door and guess who it is ... the cleaning team!  Before you get a new roommate they come in and clean the apartment to make it look good for the new roomie. This is totally normal and would be not in the least bit awkward if I wasn't at home .. sitting on the couch looking like this fellow again! 

Do I attempt to talk to this lady?  I said hi .... maybe that fufills the talking ... OH NO SHE DIDN'T .... I just saw her throw my recycling INTO the garbage.  That poor cardboard and plastic container ... may it rest in a landfill in peace.  Ok ok ok, I'll just turn on the tv and let it be somewhat normal.  I hope your Sunday isn't as awkward as mine is right now. 

from Florida with love,

Jilly

This tree is really angry ...

Good morning!  I'm finally getting a new roommate! And I couldn't be more happier because it's one of the girls from attractions so I'm quite pleased with that.  I've had quite the lazy morning watching "You've Got Mail" and having breakfast with my morning cup of coffee.  It's been great.  Other than that, nothing new to report besides all the rain we've been getting.  It's been a nice relief to the 110 degree heat we have gotten this past week.  Hope Canada is having some warmer weather. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Darn.

Guess I can't stay in Florida forever because the house I was looking at was not not for sale or rent. 

Fantastic Friday ...

happiness,
is glowing
happiness,
is fun
happiness,
is an amazing feeling
happiness,
is when you smile all day
happiness,
is giving someone a hug just because you can
happiness,
is that light in your eyes
happiness,
is what makes the world go around

happiness,
is bliss



It's friday.  Let's sink into the weekend and have some fun. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

From Paris to the East Coast

The small child:  So, is like, Canada by Paris?
Me: Uhhh, nope ... we are United States top hat
The small child: What?
Me: We're north of the United States
The small child: Can you write my name?
Me: It's the same ... we speak English
The small child: Oh ... *walks away*
Me: *start banging head against table at todays youth*

The male adult: So where are you from?
Aimee: I'm from Montreal, Quebec
Me: I'm from Saskatchewan
The male adult: So you are out East (pointing to me) and you are out West (pointing to Aimee).
Me: Well, not quite
The male adult: Well, you can't win them all
Aimee: Nope, you really can't
Me: *start banging head against table at todays adults*

There has been some interesting questions at work these past couple of days.  Some have been hilarious but most of them have been made up of moments when you seriously start to question the education of the people coming into the attraction.  I will admit that there have been moments where I have answered questions and sounded completely stupid because of how I answered it.  I guess it is all in a days work.  I passed my housing inspection yesterday and I got free Oreo cookies out of it.  Then I spilt Sprite all over the floor  ... so much for a clean house haha.  I still don't have a roommate, right now I'm going three weeks strong.  We are starting to have arrival groups every two weeks now so we'll see if they put someone new in here.  No trips have been planned besides Washington this September.  Well, I gotta go and get ready for work ... the attraction isn't going to run itself.  Somedays I wish it would.  Like today.  I could leave little post-it notes around the attraction.  It's really not difficult.  Just press one green button and you are good to go.  The doors even open automatically.  But in the end it's all about the magic so that really does mean I have to go to work because I make it 10.5 hours a day. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly  

Silly Sunday ...

Lets celebrate today!  Not only is it Fathers Day but it's a great day to relax and kick off the good ol' working shoes and put your feet up!  Laugh a little to loud today, sing in the shower, eat to much food, but most importantly call up your dad, grandfather or any man who has been there for you, and tell them that you love them and are so blesssed to have them in your life.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Favorite Mary Oliver quotes ...

"Instructions for living a life
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it."

"Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed"

"Keep room in your heart for the unimaginable"

"I believe in kindness. Also in mischief.  Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed"

There is also a poem that Mary Oliver wrote called "The Journey" and I absolutely fell in love with it.  You should read it sometime. 

We've had a couple of storms the past couple of days and they are calling for another one tonight.  Yesterday I got to work at the American Garden theatre and listen to "Hotel California" which is a tribute to the Eagles.  It was a lot of fun even though the sky dumped a bucket of rain on us.  The guests were in good spirits about it and continued to have a great time.  I have Sunday off so I'm looking forward to really lazing about, especially if it's raining!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Paradise

90 miles to Cuba

I had such a great time in Key West.  It is full of history, art and culture.  I visted several museums such as the Little White House, the Custom Art Gallery and the Lighthouse museum and even went on a Ghost tour of the island.  There was also an abudance of art galleries to choose from.  Who knew that so many talented artists lived on the tiny island.  It was quite the drive though, took us 10 hours to get there instead of the intended 7.  But we caught traffic in Miami so that held us up a bit.  We stayed in a campground that was about a 10 minute drive from downtown.  It was a nice location, very safe and a handful of amenities.  As sad as I was to leave, I was happy to be coming home to an actually bed and a real shower!  All in all it was a fantastic trip and I will definitely be heading back there sometime.  Now it's back to work and we'll see where my next trip takes me!

from Florida with love,

Jill

Knee Deep ...

Gonna put the world away for a minute
Pretend I don't live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away
Had sweet love but I lost it
She Got too close so I fought it
Now I'm lost in the world tryin to find me a better way

Wishin' I was
Knee deep in the water somewhere
got the blue sky, breeze and it don't seem fair
the only worry in the world
is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy
never felt so high
and I think I might've found me my own kind of paradise

Wrote a note, said "Be back in a minute"
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody's gonna miss me anyway
Mind on a permenant vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishin' my condition ain't ever gonna go away

Now I'm knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowin' wind thru my hair
Only worry in the world
is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy
never felt so high
and I think I might've found me my own kind of paradise

This champagne shore watchin' over me
It's a sweet sweet life livin' by the salty sea
One day you can be as lost as me
Change your geography and maybe you might be

Knee deep in the water somewhere
got the blue sky breeze blowin' wind thru my hair
only worry in the world
is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy
never felt so high
and I think I might've found me my own kind of paradise

Come on in
the waters nice
find yourself a little slice
grab a backpack
otherwise you'll never know until you try
when you lose yourself
you find a key to paradise

Ate breakfast.  Made my bed.  Everything is packed.  Talk to yall in a few days!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

11 Things

1.  Georgia by Ray Charles is my favorite song of all time
2. I love to travel 
3. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day (I'm eating toast and drinking coffee as we speak...or write?)
4. Waking up early is awesome ... as long as it's after 7:30 am ... anything before that and I'm like a hibernating bear who's been woke up before the winter is over ... I'll be so disorientated and confused
5. One of my favorite movies is Night at the Roxbury
6. I absolutely love the newspaper
7. No matter how hard I try, I find it difficult to arrive on time
8. I never understood the show Lost
9. Thailand, South Korea, Mexico, Hawaii, New York and Florida are just some of the places that I've travelled to
10. Procrastination ... I tend to do that a lot
11. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 

Not quite sure why I felt the need to share some things about me, but there ya go!  One final day of work and then I'm off to Key West.  Not sure when I'll be able to post anything again, so just be patient I guess.  I still don't have a roommate.  I'm hoping that they forgot and I can have a place all to myself for the next 6 months.  Who knows, I could very well come home to a person in my house and the locks change (and we all know how much of a disaster changing locks is) so it'll be interesting.  Anyways,  hope Canada is warming up and everyone is doing well.  Talk to yall in a few days.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Key West

I made a list of things that I'll need for Key West this weekend.  It goes a little somthing like this:

• sunscreen
• sunscreen
• sunscreen
• sunscreen
• bathing suit

I think that's a pretty great list so far.  But in all honesty I'll be much more aware of the sun and reapply the sunscreen often.  We've already planned some cool things to do.  There is a sunset cruise, eat in a restuarant that has a glass bottom over the ocean, shopping and maybe hitting up some museums when we're there.  I was supposed to go to the farmers market this past Sunday but I went and saw the hangover 2 instead.  I would say that movie is almost better than the first one.  Anyways, I guess the attraction isn't going to run itself ... gotta go and get ready for work!!  Hope yall have a magical day :)

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Hah, this cat looks funny



Have you ever had those days where it just isn't running as smoothly as you would like it to?  When everything you say, do or attempt to say goes very wrong.  I don't think any of my words that I was saying outloud yesterday made sense.  It was probably quite comical for the people listening to me but boy was it a long day! It wasn't like I was in a bad mood, it was just a very confusing day.  And to top it all off, a man (who we call the prospector, think of a man who looks like Santa ... but without the fat aspect ... well actually just picture a man with a really long white beard .. like Gandolf the Grey in Lord of the Rings) came and told me that Canada was part of the United States.  Then the prospector said that Martin Short isn't quite right with his directions.  I told him I agreed with him because he keeps trying to get out of the screen everyday but fails everytime ... sooner or later that fastpass for Soarin is going to expire.  He then got confused and then I got confused because he said I looked like an interesting person.  I didn't know what that had to do with the previous conversation.  Like I said, quite the day.  Today will be much better.  Also today marks 6 months that I've been here in Florida.  Time has gone by in a blink of an eye.  I've grown in so many ways and I can't wait to see where these next 6 months take me!!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDhBMIOKLz8

Also, this is my new favorite song. 

Good Morning!

Haven't written one of these in a while!  My sunburn is all healed up and life is back on track.  We had another throw out last week.  My roommate and 4 other people were thrown out so it's been a slight adjustment seeing all her stuff gone out of the house.  I'll be getting another roommate this week.  Work has been slow lately.  Not a lot going on here.  This weekend will be very exciting, finally heading out to that big trip to Key West!!!!  We have a lot of activities planned like snorkeling, museums, shopping, maybe a beach day.  Should be a gooooood time.  Last night I went and saw the Hangover 2 which was absolutely hilarious.  Maybe even more hilarious than the first one.  Lots of surprises and twists which made the movie more interesting.  Wow, this post is quite silly haha.  Anyways I'm going to go and get ready for work.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

From another planet ...

Have you ever had those mornings where the sight of yourself startles you in the mirror?  Like you actually look like a person from another planet.  It's like you forgot to take off your make up and it smudged everywhere, like you stuck your hand in a socket and it fried your hair, and not to even mention your breath smells like you ate 42 cloves of garlic and 3 onions during the night.  I definitely had one of those mornings today.  I actually laughed at myself and wondered how this could happen in just 9 hours of sleep.  Thank goodness for showers. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun ...

Cocoa Beach, 2011

What a great weekend at Cocoa!  The sand, surf and sun were much needed.  Although the sunburn (yes I wore sunscreen) I acquired was not.  We spent the night at a hotel right on the beach.  The next morning we woke around 5:30am and watched the sun come up.  It was absolutely gorgeous to see.  I can't wait till our next big trip in June when we head out to Key West! 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Every drop in the ocean counts

 Thailand, 2009



Today I got to talking with one of my friends from college about our trip to Thailand.  We went with a group of students and spent a month exploring, learning, relaxing and touring the city of Bangkok.  It was one of those experiences I will never forget.  The picture that is up above was taken on our final weekend in Koh Samet.  It was fabulous.  We stayed in bungalows that were roughly a 2 minute walk from the beach.  The smell of the ocean was intoxicating and the lull of the waves was our soundtrack of the weekend.  One day I will get back there and once again be put under the spell of the island, but that's just fine by me.

from Florida with love,

Jilly

Expedition Everest - COMPLETE!

I am so proud of myself for completing Everest, you have no idea! It was so much fun.  I arrived around 7:00pm and there were huge tents set up and music was playing.  Lots of people had already started filtering in.  We just hung around and stretched and talked.  So around 7:45, they started doing the course talk again and letting us know what to expect (sorta) and then they just cranked up the music and we had a big dance party before the race.  So around 8:15pm they opened the gates and we started to fill in the chute.  I was in wave 1, and there was 7 other waves behind us that were going to be coming in 5 minute intervals.  Then they started to count us down.  So instead of the traditional guns that go off to signal the start of the race we had fireworks and loud music, it was epic!  The race started in the butterfly parking lot and made a giant loop before entering into the park.  But before you could, you had to jump over the small bails that they had set up.  Then after that we made are way into the park and up to Rafiki's planet watch where we hit another obstacle, tires! It was classic football style, we had to kinda hop through the tires before setting off again.  Along the way the cast members from animal kingdom had spread out and were cheering us and giving us words of encouragement.  They had volunteers who would give out water along the way.  After we made it through the bails, tires and all through animal kingdom we made our way out of the park for our final obstacle.  We had the choice of climbing over ropes or crawling underneath this mesh stuff.  I choice to climb over the ropes.  Then came the second part of the race, the scavenger hunt! We then had to solve 5 clues, each one of them taking us to various parts of the park. So a 5K race completed and then a scavenger hunt done, we had to run to the finish line which was at the base of Expedition Everest roller coaster.  At the end they gave us powerade, water, bananas, Clif bars and a giant medal that had a compass on the inside.  Ruth (my friend from the UK who did the individual race as well) and I rode Everest 3 times and went on Dinosaur.  We hit the dance party for a bit and then grabbed our bags and headed home.  I am so so so happy I did the race.  It's a good starting point for all the next ones to come!  Today my friends and I are hitting up Fort Wilderness lodge and Animal Kingdom (again) today, followed by Hollywood Studios tomorrow!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

No question this night will be epic ...

Tonight it all goes down!  Today is the day of the expedition everest challenge.  I have to go to ESPN today and pick up my race packet.  Then it's time to just chill out and then after supper, head on over to Animal Kingdom.  I'm really looking forward to it.  The event is sold out so there should be a lot of people!!  Last night my friends and I went and watched the opening of "Something Borrowed" and it is by far one of the best movies I have seen this year.  Yes it is a chic flick, but it was well done and it wasn't to predictable (unless you've read the book before hand, then you know what's up) which I liked.  I should head out and make my way over to the world wide of sports.  Wish me luck for tonight!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Imma celebrity ... hah just kidding

Some of you may or may not have noticed that little newspaper article about me.  I had such a great afternoon talking about Orlando and Disney ... I probably talked his ear off.  It was a lot of fun, and I was very happy with how it turned out.  Anyways, this week has been pretty slow at work.  We only had about 1069 people in our attraction on Wednesday so it's definitely a bit of a lull here in Disney. I got groceries so now I can eat for the next couple of weeks and I run my 5K race tomorrow which will be a bit of a gong show.  Lately I've been obsessed with tea.  I drink it in the morning, afternoon and in the evening when I get back from work.  It's so good, I just can't get enough. One of my shelves in the kitchen is dedicated to tea.  Green tea, white tea, herbal tea, black tea ... any time is tea time for me.  I tried making a broccoli salad last night but I had a terrible knife so my broccoli ended up getting butchered instead of cut.  The salad turned out all right but it looks scary to eat cause of the poor broccoli.  Ah well, there is room for improvement I guess. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Paul Reevre & the Raiders

I had so much fun while I was home in Saskatchewan!! It was so nice to see everybody and have some good home cooked meals. I don't think there was any point in the week that I wasn't eating haha.  Like I always say, the more time I spend away from Saskatchewan, the more proud I am to call it home and to really appreciate it when I do get a chance to get back to my roots.  If I missed seeing anybody, I'm sorry and next time I come home we'll have to get together!  The flight home was easy and I didn't have any trouble at customs. I was glad to get back to my house and see all my friends.  Although the day I got in I had to get ready and head out again. It was one of my friends last night in Orlando and we had a going away party/ throw out.  I was completely exhausted by the time I got to bed (close to 1 am) since I  had almost been up for 24 hours.  Work started the next day and I had to just keep trekking on until my day off! 
During the Flower and Garden festival here at Epcot we also have weekly concerts held at the American Gardens infront of American Adventure.  I was lucky enough to land a spot working on Friday while Paul Reevre & the Raiders played.  They play such songs as "Cherokee Nation" and "Kicks" along with some other ones that I wasn't familiar with.  Paul Reevre is actually hilarious, half of their show is just the band talking and joking with each other.  They played three shows and all of them brought in a full house.  Another thing that kept me up was the wedding of William and Kate.  6 am came rolling around and my roommate was up watching the wedding.  That day we went to work and the UK pavillion was handing out free food and cake as well as champagne.  I was talking to some of my UK friends and they said that it was proud day to be British.  That was definitely a good way to end the week off! Since today is my only day off I plan on doing laundry (finally!) and going grocery shopping as well as doing some much needed napping.  I heard that there is another cold snap coming to Saskatchewan, I'm glad I got to visit while it was somewhat warm and sunny.  Hope yall are enjoying the last few days of Easter holidays!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Oops, sorry for the lack of posts!

I'll try to hop back on the posting train.  In the past three weeks I've managed to move apartments, head to Saskatchewan for a visit and learn how to play tennis.  I'm still training for Expeidition Everest which will be happening in just 2 short weeks.  Once I get back home I'll do a long post, but this will have to do for now!

from Florida with love,
Jilly  

Goodbye Orlando, hello Saskatchewan

In just 13 days I will be flying to good ol' Saskatchewan for a visit.  I am very excited to see my family and friends, plus have some good home cooked meals of course.  Whenever I try to explain what Saskatchewan looks like, people have a hard time grasping the wide open space concept and the fact that Outlook is a very small town.  I always chuckle when someone mentions they come from a small town of 10,000 because to me that's quite large and more of a city type atmosphere.  Like I've said before, I have never felt so proud to be from Saskatchewan than I do right now.  So hold on to your party hats, because I'll be seeing yall very soon!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Disney Voluntears and Tennis

Today was the bowling fundraiser for the Junior Achievement program in Orlando.  Close to 100 Disney Cast members took over 70 lanes at the Boardwalk Bowling center downtown.  It was 10 pin bowling with actually bowling balls (the one with the holes in them) and it was so much fun.  Although I didn't have the best scores in the world there was lots of laughter and no one got seriously injured, so all in all it was a good time. The better part of last week was quite rainy and there were a couple of tornado warnings out, so the park was quiet.  We have a new attractions cast member so he's been busy getting trained, he's quite nervous so we're all doing our best to assure him that it does get better over time.  I can't believe it's April already!!!  Time has flown by and it's starting to get way hotter out during the day.  That's why my friends and I spent all day Friday shopping and running errands around the city.  We also went to see the movie  "Hop" which was hilarious.  I'm still training for Expedition Everest and I'm so excited for it!!! Other than that nothing really earth shattering has happened.  Hope yall are doing well in Canada!! 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

[insert funny title here]

Friday was the mother of all days! Who knew I  could eat at Perkins, go on all the rides at Universal, watch the Mardi Gras parade and see OneRepublic live?  By the time I got home on Friday I was a very tired panda.  Saturday was a lazy day of watching movies and catching up on some paperwork that I had been putting off.  Today has been pretty successful in my books, got a run in before the blasting humidity and 30 degree temperature set in, made breakfast for my roommate and booked some things for April.  Work has been steady and we have new arrivals every couple of weeks now, which means that a bunch of people will be leaving which makes me sad, but that's the nature of the beast ... or contract I guess. Other than that, it's been pretty low key around here.  Hope all is well in Canada!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Kidcot Queen & Sea of Green

It's tradition on the last day of your contract to do a final speil as charms fall from the top of the theatre.  This is your chance to say a formal goodbye to the attraction that you've worked in for the past year.  Since I've been working here for 3 1/2 months I've watched two of my friends say their final farewells.  Angie was my trainer and she left at the end of January and Allison left for Canada on Wednesday.  The second part of the tradition is a Canadian throw out.  We all gather together and the people who are leaving give away all the things they can't take back to Canada like food, clothes, furniture, kitchen items etc,.  The next step that happens is they give away any titles that they have had passed down to them through the year.  Allison gave me the Kidcot Queen.  So now my job is to always make sure Kidcot is well stocked and that Duffy bears are stamped and ready to go!! I hope to perform my job to the best of my ability haha!!!  Yesterday was St. Paddy's day and I totally forgot ... until I came to work and pretty much all of the Epcot guests were wearing green.  I had a mild panic attack cause I thought "Oh dear god are the Riders having some sort of pep rally that I didn't know about?"  It was a really stupid thought I'll admit but it was hilarious when I saw a man come through the attraction wearing a Rider shirt and then telling me that it's the only green shirt he owns. 

Price Management (the company that runs housing) has an (almost) idiot proof system when it comes to changing locks on doors.  First they send you a letter telling you the locks are going to be changed because someone left the apartment.  And the letter isn't sent to you in the mail like normal.  The letter is shoved in the crack of the door where it closes.  When you do open the door the letter falls and then you kinda kick it inside because 96% of the time you have just gotten groceries and can't be bothered to pick up the stupid letter because the milk is about to fall out of your hand.  You put away your groceries and then forget about the letter (keep in mind it's still in the entrance of the house).  After you go in and out of the house countless times (by now the letter is reduce to some sort thin sheet of tissue paper because you've been stomping on it the whole day) you finally pick it up.  It says the locks will be changed the next day. Great.  You go to sleep that night only to wake up to the sound of a whistle blasting in your house the next morning.  Yes folks, a whistle.  The maintence people blow a whistle to let you know that they are in the house.  So as they are blowing a whistle you are having a minor heart attack because you were in a dead sleep cause you've probably worked 13 hours the day before and its your one day off. So the locks get changed.  Then they leave a nice little yellow letter saying "just so you know we changed your locks and hope to god that you pick up your new keys so security doesn't have to let you in. and by the way we are going to have really inconvienent office times so it makes it impossible to actually get your new keys. oh and those key tour times, we don't actually do those so don't bother waiting for us at that time.  so I think that about covers it. have a magical day." 

and that's how it works when your locks get changed.  I went without keys to my apartment for 2 days.  security had to come 3 1/2 times to let me into my apartment.  by the way I got a toaster at the canadian throw out.  I was a happy camper that night.  Hope the snow is finally melting in Canada!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

All I do is ... run, work, and eat Kraft Dinner.

Yesterday was my three month marker of my time here in the sunshine state.  Time really does fly when you're having fun, and it also helps when you don't have a calendar and what you rely on most is your weekly work schedule.  Anyways, it's crazy to think that I've been here that long and I'm looking forward to the rest of my time here.  Last weekend I went to Old Town for the first time, and lemme tell ya it was so much fun!   Yes that's right I went to an antique car show, and yes I had no idea what I was looking at most of the time.  At 8:30 all the gentlemen (and some ladies!) jumped into their cars and cruised up and down mainstreet while people cheered and drank beverages.  This cruise happens every Saturday night and you better believe it when I say I'm going again this weekend.  Work has picked up a lot since it was the start of our Flower and Garden Festival on March 2.  I have never seen so many different kinds of flowers in my life.  I also haven't seen Pooh, Piglet and Tigger made out of flowers before but that all changed when I walked past them in Future World in the showcase garden.  It's a 75 day festival so that'll give me lots of time to go around and take pictures.  Speaking of days, I have less than 60 days before my first 5K race here! I am in full swing of training. And before you say I'm going all "hardcore,"  I should let you know that you are absolutely right in saying that.  Before I would run just because I loved to (which I still do now) but with the extra motivation of completing the challenge it's turned into a whole new ball game ... or running game I should say.  The other day my friend and I were having a terrible day at work.  I mean we had guests who tried to steal things, guests who had no idea Nova Scotia was in Canada, guests who tried to exit to backstage, it was just a really tiring day.  So to make us feel better we went home and made Kraft Dinner and I brought over Canadian oreos.  It was probably one of the best suppers I've had haha.  It's nice and sunny here today so it should be a lot better of a day!  Hope all is well in Canada!!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Expedition Everest

Only 66 days left until my first 5K race of the year.  Yes that's right, I have entered the Expedition Everest challenge that is held in the Animal Kingdom park.  And not only will I be running through the park but the course is also peppered with obstacle challenges and afterwards there is a scavenger hunt.  The best part is the after party that is full of food and I can ride the Everest roller coaster as much as I want!!!!! Some of us in the Canadian attraction are going to be on a bowling team with the vice president of Epcot in April.  It's part of the Junior Achievement fundraiser they have every year.  There is free food and you can bowl for like 2 hours straight so I'm sure it'll be great fun.  It's raining today so I'm expecting the park to be pretty quiet. Last night my friends and I sat around the pool and hung out because it was still so hot outside at 10:00 pm it was glorious!! Hope all is well in Canada!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

What a week!

My parents have been visiting me this week and it has been amazing!  Not only did they bring tastey treats from Canada but it was just fun to be around them for a week.  I took them to Animal Kingdom on Wednesday and we got fastpasses for the Safari as well as Everest.  I guess I should mention that only my dad and I went on Everest, mom stood at the bottom and watched us all plummit to the bottom and then race around the side.  On Thursday we went to Hollywood Studios and watched Fantasmic and did a couple of other things.  It's been so much fun having them here!!  Since we had our schedule bid a few weeks ago I now have three days off in a row!  That means I can go on much longer adventures to far away places!  Whooopieeeee :)  I just wanna say that as I'm writing this I'm sipping on some Tim Horton's coffee, life is good!  Anyways I gotta go and get ready!!! 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Hump Day!

I'm happy it's Wednesday.  Not only is the week half over but my parents are coming this weekend!! I am so excited to see them and show them around a little bit.  I've been working my ass off lately which is good because it means I make more money and then I can do more cool things.  I've also been running twice a day which probably doesn't help the situation but I love it so much! Work is going really well, it's not slow enough where the days drag on but it isn't to busy that we're running off our feet trying to get shows done and Duffy Bears stamped.  It was a beautiful day on Tuesday so I grabbed myself some ice coffee and the New York Times and sat on my balcony the whole afternoon, it was amazing!!  Tonight we have another Canadian Throw in which is awesome, more new kids to bug (just kidding). Today is our last day of 40% off so I'm going to Downtown Disney and picking up a few things.  Hope the weather isn't to horrible in Canada and that yall are doing well!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Ladies! Listen up!

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Elizabeth-Gilbert-on-Failure-and-Living-Well/1

Ladies, you should read this. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Sweet Tomatoes

If you're ever in the states and are looking for a great place to eat that's healthy and delicious, you need to try Sweet Tomatoes.  It is a buffet of salads, soups and bread.  My friends and I spent over 3 hours there before the Super Bowl.  It was absolutely heaven.  The atmosphere was light and cheery and the employees were really friendly.  I am definitely going back there because it is amazing and you all need to try it.  After we filled our face full of food we made our way to Publix and bought even more snacks (like we really needed any) and some refreshing beverages.  Then it was time to watch the Super Bowl.  Trying to understand football in general is complicated, but trying to explain it to a bunch of people who've never seen a game in their life, is a challenge.  All in all it was a good time spent together, even if the team we wanted to win lost (the girls were cheering for the Steelers, the boys were for the Packers).  I've finally mustered up enough ambition to do a load of laundry and maybe later I'll go for a run.   Today is our second anniversary of being here in Disney.  I have no idea where January went and February is looking to go just as fast! Hope yall are doing well in Canada!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

http://www.souplantation.com/

Busy Bee

This is the first time this week that I can finally catch my breath.  Between work and socializing, it's hard to find time just to sit and hear yourself think.  Luckily tonight is the night I can just chill out.  This past week there has been lots of activity at the Canadian pavilion.  We had a new shipment of fresh meat that came this week so we've been busy having welcoming gatherings to help them feel more at ease with everything.  We're getting one more cast member for the attraction.  I haven't met him yet but I'm happy I'm not the rookie anymore haha.  The weather this week has been very warm but humid.  I'm not used to running in such high humidity that I was completly soaked in sweat within 15 minutes of starting my run.  I've taking a liking to running very early in the morning now to help avoid that issue.  I have the next two days off which is lovely.  I know we're going to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch tomorrow.  Today someone asked me what a Canadian accent sounded like.  I told her that however I'm speaking is a Canadian accent.  She thought I was an actress they hired from Florida to play a Canadian.  I had to hold in my laughter the whole time she was talking to me cause I just couldn't believe it.  I hope everyone is well in Canada!!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Motivation

I stumbled upon this a couple of years ago and it has been a link in my favorites tab ever since.  It helps me to stay motivated at work and in life.  Take time out of your busy day and read it.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/king/words/blueprint.html

from Florida with love,
Jilly

80% English and 20% French

I was at work yesterday when this group of French-Canadians came up to me and started speaking french.  I politely told them I don't speak the language.  They looked at me and said I am not Canadian because I don't speak french.  It not only happened once, but it happened again that same night!!! Some people are really silly. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Harry Potter & Butterbeer

I finally went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it was amazing! One of the best experiences here so far!  It really felt like you were taken out of Disney and placed at Hogwarts.  The butterbeer was delicious! It reminded me of cremsicles and other tasty treats.  I had three, which was probably three to many because they were really sweet and therefore gave me a slight headache and I'm pretty sure I now have six cavities from drinking them.  It wasn't crowded at Island of Adventure so it made it easy to get onto rides.  We did alot of rides such as Doctor Doom's Fearfall, The Amazing Adventure of Spider Man, the Jurassic Park River Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff, Frog Choir and that's about all we did.  On Monday we are going to go back but this time we are going to do Universal Studios Florida.  Other than that, this week has been filled with Canadian throw outs, work and going to wal mart.  It's been a pretty awesome week!!  Tonight I work extra magic hours which should be pretty quiet considering the park has been tame all this week.  Hope all is well in Canada!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

BOOM! There goes Toon Town!!

As of February 1st, Toon Town will be no more.  They're knocking it down and puttin something else in.  Kinda sad considering it's relatively small for Disney size and it's really cute.  My friends and I spent some time there on saturday, got to see Minnie and Mickey's house for one last tiime. It was sad :(  We also went and ate at the German Beer gardens.  It was so so so good! It was buffet style so I ate a lot, and by a lot I mean I had three plates full of food and then two plates of dessert.  I was stuffed afterwards.  Luckily we walked off some of our calories by taking a quick trip through 3 countries before we decided it was time to hit the road and head home.  This Tuesday I'll be heading to Universal, hopefully getting to go to Hogwarts now that the big christmas rush is over.  Finally I'll be able to taste the beautiful butterbeer as well as get me some school scarves, except Slytherin (I would probably burn those scarves if I ever got one).  Canada has been pretty decent lately.  Not much traffic coming in which is fine by me.  I have another opening shift tomorrow which should be a good time, another trip to China.  Anyways, that's it for now.  I can proudly say I took some more pictures ... which I'll be posting ... later on (maybe tomorrow ... or the day after, I'm not really sure).  I hope yall haven't lost your fingers and toes to frostbite yet! Stay warm Canada!!!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Oops

So this past week I've been starting work at 1:00 pm.  Except for yesterday.  I found that out the hard way when  I showed up for work and tried to clock in for my 1:00 pm shift and this note comes up on the screen saying it was to early to clock in for my 3:15 pm shift.  I was over 2 hours early!!!!  Since I had my costume on I couldn't even go out and kill time and walk around world showcase.  When I got home last night I checked online and wrote down my schedule for next week in my day planner so now I can double check what time I start and hopefully not make that mistake again.  I met a couple from Medicine Hat yesterday and it turns out the man worked for the company that put in the big pipeline near Outlook.  It's crazy how small the world really is when you get talking to people.  Tonight I work extra magic hours so I don't have to be in for work until much later (don't worry I checked)  and then I'll work till midnight.  There was another thunderstorm last night and it's been raining on and off today.  Well I can't put it off any longer, time to head out for a run and then make a quick trip to Starbucks for some coffee and then start gettin ready for work.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

We're getting new roommates!  They were supposed to arrive yesterday, but I haven't seen any of them yet.  Mind you I have been working everyday this week and hanging out with friends in the evening.  I finally got the package that my family sent a couple weeks ago.   It was so nice to get it!  It was full of photos, socks and Canadian things.  I hung up my Canadian flag right away and now I just need a roughrider flag to make it complete!! It's been rather quiet at work besides the Brazil tour groups that we keep getting.  And when  I say tour groups I don't mean like 10 people in a group, I mean 20-30 people in a group and they always have like 5 passports each for us to write in.  Apparently it's the wrost at the last two weeks of June and the first two weeks of July.  This Saturday I might be going to Universal Studios which should be fun!! Maybe go visit Hogwarts too.  Anyways, that's about it for today.  Gotta go and create some magic for the day!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Day off!

I finally had a chance to get to wal mart today.  Good thing I did otherwise I wouldn't have any toothpaste to brush my teeth with and I would probably end up smelling bad because I was also out of deoderant.  Anyways, onwards with my day ... I went to wal mart which was nice. Ran into bus driver Lloyd and we chatted for a bit.  Then I came home and started to clean the house because it was messy.  But not gross messy ... just dishes in the sink and I had to take out the garbage.  Afterwards I rented a vaccum and went around the house with it and made a slight improvement on our floors.  I also ate some almonds and had some soy milk.  It was a very productive afternoon.  So it's back to the daily grind tomorrow until friday.  I like working so I'm glad to get back to it once I've had a day off.  Funny story, I was at work on Saturday and this boy comes up to me after I finished my pre opening speil and said "Is Vancouver the capital of Canada?"  I had to hold in my laughter and told him that it sadly wasn't and our capital of Canada is actually Ottawa.  That question just about killed me haha best one yet!  Hopefully the snow hasn't buried yall to much!! 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Morning meetings in China

This morning I was the only only opening for Canada.  That means that whenever you are opening you have to go to morning meetings and all the pavillions that have attractions go to China.  While there you get the paperwork for the day as well as the illuminations radio.  It's pretty laidback and they just want to make sure that you are briefed for the day and ready to roll.  After the meeting is done you go back to your respective pavillions and start to open up.  We have a pretty easy checklist because we are a theatre which doesn't require a lot of prep work.  It just involves checking things out and then calling maintenanceif we find anything out of sorts.  Afterwards the 10:45 people show up and help you out with anything that you haven't done yet, which usually ends up being kidcot.  One of the good things about starting so early is you get to leave at 6:45 which means there is less of a rush to get to the bus and you'll most likely end up getting a seat.  You also get your break first which is awesome!!!  Today we only saw roughly 900 people in our attraction.  Definitely down from our previous record of 4000 during the christmas break.  Tonight I plan on studying and just chilling at the house.  I've been so busy hanging out with friends that I kind of forgot what it was like just to do nothing and not have any where to go.  Hope you are all staying warm in Canada!! Oh I also met a guy who used to be a cop in Outlook!  Small world eh?!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Don't worry, I'm still alive

Sorry for not posting in a really long time but I have been pretty busy ... visiting parks ... and eating ... and going to see movies ... visiting friends ... and of course working.  Epcot has slowed down so much, I swear we only had about 20 people in a couple of the last showings tonight.  It's been really nice though, going to the other parks because they are pretty much empty.  I went to Animal Kingdom on Monday.  Didn't get to see to many animals, except for ducks and this animal that looked like a pig yet somehow resembled a hippo ... it was weird.  I managed to get on the roller coaster Everest which was awesome! Definitely a must do!!! It goes super fast, at times it was moving backwards and then you have this massive drop that literally goes like straight down ... I loved it and wanted to go on it more but we were going to be late for Finding Nemo (the musical) which was sooo cute!!  Tomorrow will be my first opening of Canada.  I'm not really nervous because there isn't much to do except for go to China for the morning meeting and get kidcot ready and that's pretty much it.  You also have to do a little bit of paper work but it shouldn't be to stressful.  I found out that Florida is the only state that doesn't have snow right now and I'm hoping that it stays that way for a little while longer.  It's been really cold here the past few days and even people who live in Orlando say that this is the coldest they have seen it in a long time.  I had a guest tell me today that this was the beginning of the ice age ... I coudn't tell if he was serious or not but I laughed anyways.  Another guest came up to me and asked if I knew who Boyd Derdall was after I said my opening speech.  It was a great bonding moment haha.  Anyways, that's about it for now.  I'll try to get back into the swing of posting more regularly.  

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Happy one month anniversary!

I cannot believe that exactly one month ago I arrived here in Florida.  I arrived not knowing anyone, having no idea what my job was, not even sure why I was even here and just doubting myself.  But look at me now, just one month later.  I have a good group of friends, I love going to work, I got the bus system down and I actually feel like I belong here.  It's amazing how much can happen in a month.  I've done so many things already and the plans that I have for the rest of the year are going to be amazing.  This is truly the good life right now.  I feel so blessed to be here and to have this opportunity.  There isn't much to compain about.  I'm just soakin up life in Orlando. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Chinese food at Midnight

Yesterday I finally went on Soarin!  It was a blast and definite must do if you are in Epcot!  The wait time was 100 minutes but we had fast passes so we got to go right in, maybe waited 15 minutes and that was it.  It really felt like you were flying over California.  I've had these past couple of days off so it was nice to just relax and catch up with some friends.  Last night we all met up at my friends house and ordered chinese food and watched tv.  It's not often we get to do that just because the work schedules are so different.  We're thinking of going to Tampa later in the year. We can catch the train and it is only like $30 round trip which is awesome, probably hit up some beaches and relax.  Work is going really well. Finally getting into the swing of things more and more.  My speils are getting better, just got to keep practicing!!!  Anyways, that's all that's new here. The weather is nice although it rained yesterday but not much you can do about that.

Hope everyone is well back home!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

2011

Wow, these past three weeks in Orlando have just flown right by.  I can't believe that this Friday I will have offically been here a month!  My friend that I met during my first few weeks here actually left to go back home because her program ended, she was here 7 months and she said the time just goes quick.  I have the day of today so I'm just taking it easy.  I'm going to have to head to the outlet mall this afternoon and buy a dress.  A couple of us from work are going to the California Grill this Thursday and we're getting dressed up for it.  I'm pretty excited to go!  Last night 6 of us went to the cinema to go watch Tangled 3D.  It was a good movie, had some nice laugh out loud moments.  Work has been rather slow lately.  Considering the park was at capcity on New Years Eve (close to 78,000 people) it has seemed rather quiet with only roughly 27,000 people walking through our gates. The weather has been warming up here which is much appreciated by everyone here although some people from South America still think it's cold and come to our attraction wearing parkas and mitts which is funny.  Now I got to go and get ready to do some serious shopping! 

from Florida with love,
Jilly