Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Happiest Internship on Earth has moved! You can now find all of my new posts at www.happiestinternship.wordpress.com. Why are you still here? Click on the link to the new site, all ready!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

So This Is the Year 2000, Huh? Nice.

Just a reminder that this will be my last new post here on Blogger. Starting tomorrow, all new posts can be found at http://www.happiestinternship.wordpress.com/.

For once, no one can accuse me of being indecisive. After my computer crashed last week, I sorted through all of the options, did all of my research, and last night, just shy of a week later, bought a brand new Dell. Of course, I can't take all the credit for my decisiveness: I found a really great deal. So now I have a computer, printer, and, unfortunately, a much skinnier wallet than yesterday. But with 4 GB of memory and a 320 GB hard drive, my new computer doubles the power of my old one, so it's all worth it.

Now it's time for a confession: I don't have high-speed internet at home. We live out in the sticks, and high-speed's hard to come by. I guess it's not such a horrible confession, and I may have even mentioned this here before on my blog. But it makes me feel so 1990s. So with my new, fast computer and the super-fast internet I'm looking forward to once I move to Florida, I have a feeling that I'm going to be wasting a lot more time on the good ol' inter-web. And no more bumming wi-fi at the library every time I need to work on an important project or download a necessary program! (Okay, okay. Or everytime I want to watch a video of a drunk squirrel on a treadmill.)

Monday, July 20, 2009

"Ch-Ch-Changes" and To Study or Not To Study?

After a week of exploring, testing, modifying, and just plain playing around, I've decided to switch The Happiest Internship blog over to WordPress. You can find the new blog at http://www.happiestinternship.wordpress.com. WordPress had a few options that Blogger didn't, and I felt like this was a good time to make the transition. So I hope that you will all follow me over when WordPress becomes my official new home on Wednesday!

For the next two days (Monday and Tuesday) I will continue to post here on Blogger and on WordPress. All posts, going back to the beginning, will be available on WordPress, along with some new sections of the site with more information about me and the CP. Starting on Wednesday, July 22nd, my Blogger account will still be functional, but no new posts will appear: it will be all WordPress, all the time.

Got it? Good! Now on to your regularly scheduled post.

One of the last major decisions I have to make about the CP is whether or not to take a class/classes while I'm in the program. I only have limited time in Florida, and I can't get credit anyway, so I don't want to waste all of my valuable adventure time in a classroom. I can do that at home! But at the same time, I genuinely enjoy school (sometimes), and a Disney class would definitely be a unique experience. Ugh! When can I stop having to decide things?!

Above: An actual photo taken in a Disney class lecture. (Okay, maybe not.)

There are three types of classes at Disney: Collegiate Courses, Professional Development Studies, and the Exploration Series. The Collegiate Courses are designed for college credit and are a lot of work: homework, quizzes, lots of class sessions, etc. As far as I'm concerned, these are out. I don't want to take a class that could potentially stress me out while I'm at Disney, especially if I can't even get credit for it!

Professional Development classes are available for students involved in one of four areas of study--engineering, entertainment, finance, and security--and only for those students. So since I'm not enrolled in any of these majors, these are out for me, as well.

The Exploration Series, however, is kind of intriguing. They have no tests or homework, and are, according to the official website, "highly interactive and [encourage] each participant to fully experience all aspects of the 47 square miles of the Walt Disney World Resort as a learning laboratory." Sounds fun! These classes only meet once a week for 8 weeks, which means that I would still have plenty of time to get all of this done.

There are 5 classes in this series, exploring Communication Processes, Guest Service, Leadership, Marketing, and People Management at the Walt Disney World Resort. The Guest Service class sounds the most interesting to me, and seems to have the most potential for tours and all of that fun stuff. The Communication Processes one is also intriguing, as it seems to look more at behind the scenes stuff like Public Relations.

I hope that, whatever I decide, I don't regret it. (I've still got one more month to think about it: I will have to sign up for any classes within the first few days of arriving, though I'm not sure whether I do it at check-in or not.) I originally hadn't planned on taking a class, but as the summer's wearing on, I can almost feel my brain beginning to atrophy and I think I may need to challenge it just a little bit. Plus, there seems to be a common theme of regret among the blogs of former CPs who chose not to take any classes.

Most importantly, if I don't take a class, I won't get my Mousters degree! I bet you think I'm kidding, don't you? But I'm not: Exploration and Professional classes earn you a "Mousters", while taking a Collegiate course gets you your "Ducktorate." I love it, but I have to admit that this is definitely the cheesiest thing I've come across yet in the Disney CP, and that's really saying something.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Facebook: All The Youngsters Think It's the Bee's Knees!

I’m not really a huge Facebook-er. I post the occassional picture, join the occassional group, but I’m not real big on talking to people on-line who I barely talk to in the real world. I do have to admit, though, that Facebook has come in handy the last couple of days, CP-wise.

A large group is getting together on Facebook for a meet-and-greet dinner at Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney the night before check-in. I’ll probably go, but I haven’t RSVPd yet. There are already more than 30 people who have signed up to attend since yesterday, so it will be a nice, big group! Sounds fun!
A fellow CP asked me on Facebook yesterday if I knew about renter’s insurance. I told her I hadn’t even thought about it, which was definitely true, and then I did some digging on the good ol’ official website. It says that renter’s insurance is encouraged, but not required. I need to do some checking, see how much it would be, but I have a feeling I will be skipping it. I like to live dangerously! Honestly, though, what are the chances of needing it? Probably not very good. If I do get it, though, what are the chances that I’ll waste a lot of money? Very good!
If not for Facebook, I wouldn’t have known about the meet-and-greet, and I wouldn’t have even thought about renter’s insurance. I know I’m going to sound like an 85-year old when I say this, but this technology thing is kind of nifty! I might actually try to use my Facebook account more often.
I began packing last night. Just a few things that I probably won’t need for the next month: sweaters, cookbooks, those kinds of things. It’s really exciting, but it’s also really hard. I have a lot of stuff! I’m glad to be getting such a huge head start, though. Yay for me!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Problem Found, Problem Solved

I went to the school library a couple of nights ago to get some books. I spent half an hour finding what I wanted in our huge collection, only to get to the checkout desk and hear that my library account was inactive, because I was not yet registered for the fall. Sigh.

At least they didn't sic the library cop on me.

I was supposed to be enrolled by the Career Center in a GEN 099 class, a class that signifies that I have full time status, even though I'm not earning any credits. They told me at the end of the Spring semester that they would get a list from Disney of the participating students, and then sign them up for the class. I just assumed that this had been done by now, because registration was back in May. So I went to their office yesterday to see what the hold up was. She said that they usually don't get the final list until the beginning of August, which, to me, seems like that's cutting it a bit fine.

So, because of the library thing, I asked if they could go ahead and sign me up. It took a little work--the school's switched over to a new record-keeping system, and the GEN 099 class hadn't even been created yet--but they got it done for me. Thanks, MSU!

I now have the paperwork in hand, saying that I'm a full-time, off-campus student. Yay! One less thing to worry about. I'm going to go back to the library tonight, and hopefully this time I'll leave with books!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

So Little Time and So Much To Do

Living in Florida temorarily will give me the rare opportunity to be a long-term tourist. Unlike someone who might move there permanently, I will have no desire to try to blend in with the locals. And, unlike a short-term tourist, I will have the opportunity to try to see as much of Orlando as my little heart desires. It's the best of both worlds! Besides the obvious (spending time in WDW and at the beach), there are a million other things I want to do during my 4-month stay. But I am going down there to work, after all, so I know I won't have time to do it all. However, because I am such a good, organized person, I also know that the key to getting stuff done is to prioritize. So here it is, my list of the top 100 things I want to do while I'm in Orlando (Kidding, kidding! I narrowed it down to 5.)

Busch Gardens

I've been to most of the other major Florida theme parks, but never Busch Gardens. It's basically like Sea World with mammals and better roller coasters. Like this one, a floorless coaster with the closest thing to a 90-degree drop I've ever seen. See the tiny people hurtling face-down towards the ground? "Space Mountain" this ain't.

Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba

I've always wanted to see a Cirque show, and I don't think I'll ever get a better opportunity. This show takes place at Downtown Disney, and I can even get a Cast Member Discount on the pricey tickets! Other things on my list may or may not happen, but Cirque is the one thing on this list that I will do...even if it means eating nothing but Ramen Noodles for a month so that I can afford a ticket.

Skyventure

Have you ever leaned really close into a box fan and said, "Luke, I am your father"? Then you understand how much fun a fan can be. That's the concept behind Skyventure, except that instead of simply causing your voice to sound like Darth Vader, this giant fan is under you and keeps you suspended in air, recreating the sensation of Sky Diving. Click here to see an awesome video of the experience. Okay, so actually this is nothing like talking into a box fan. But that's fun, too, right?

Sleuth Dinner Show

As a mystery enthusiast, I've always wanted to see one of these Mystery Dinner Theatre things. Guests at Sleuth find themselves in the middle of a comical, quizzical who-dunnit. It's sort of expensive, and doesn't involve flying (see Skyventure) so as fun as this one sounds, it's not exactly a priority. But if the opportunity arises, I will definitely take it. (Note to self: remember to pack magnifying glass and deerstalker cap.)

ICE at the Gaylord Palms Resort

An annual Christmas exhibit of Ice Sculptures at a fancy resort may not sound very exciting, but just look at these pictures! A giant ice slide, a giant ice Santa, and giant blue parkas for everyone! Cheesy Christmas fun at its finest.

The key to fitting everything I want to do into a short 4-month period will be pushing past the inevitable bone-weariness after working full days at the park. I'll just have to remember that sleeping is for wimps. I'll sleep when I'm dead! (Or maybe when I get back to Missouri. That would probably be a good idea.)

Monday, July 13, 2009

The Computer Blackout Blues

At the end of a mostly good weekend, I tried to get on to my laptop to rip a CD. Nothing unusual, just wanted to put Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band onto my iPod. When I put the CD in and opened iTunes, however, my screen went all shimmery and then black. Uh oh. I tried to restart, with no luck (since when does hitting Ctl+Alt+Del twice not restart your computer? I don't know, but I'm pretty upset about it!) so eventually I had to just use the power switch to turn the thing off. Fortunately, everything looked okay when it came back on. No sooner had my desktop come up, though, than the screen went black again. After much fiddling, I discovered that random things would make the screen flash back up--jiggling the wireless toggle, crazily moving my fingers over the touchpad--but it would quickly go black again.

I've had problems with my computer in the past, but this is the first time it's been this bad. I hate to give up quickly, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out my screen is just done. So I may now be trying to buy a new computer before I leave for Florida.

Best Buy has a couple of comparatively economical options. For $399, I can get a Dell with a dual-core processor, 2 GB of memory, and a 160 GB hard drive or for $499, I can get an Asus with 3GB of memory and a 320 GB hard drive. Unfortunately, each has some downsides: the Dell has no webcam (I could buy one and mount it, but...) and, according to reviews, the graphics on the Asus leave something to be desired. Also, the extra $100 for the Asus doesn't seem like that big a deal, except that it bumps the computer up into the next highest price class for the warranties at Best Buy, something I want to invest in. So the price difference actually ends up being closer to $200. The extra GB of memory isn't worth it, but once you figure in the extra 160 GB of hard drive space and the webcam, it might be. I use my computer mostly to store music, videos, and pictures, along with the internet, email, and DVD viewing, so I don't know if I really need the extra hard drive space. I'm not doing any intense gaming or anything like that. Both of these computers have around 15.5" screens, which is another drawback--my old computer had a 14" screen, and even that was a little big for me. But now you can't really get much between the 15" and the little bitty netbooks. So I think this is one thing I'm going to have to compromise on.

I just hate thinking that I'm going to have to spend at least $500 of the money I'd saved for Florida. There's just really very little way to get around having a computer--I'll need it for school in the Spring, anyway, and I was planning to skip taking a TV, and just watch Hulu and DVDs while I'm in Florida. There's a computer lab in the apartment buildings, but I don't want to have to go down there every time I want to check Facebook. It's going to be hard enough as it is to keep in contact with every body at home! And, of course, I need to be able to update my blog frequently! :)

My old computer lasted just over 2 years. It wasn't a really cheap computer, either. It was a pretty nice HP, but I guess I just didn't take good enough care of it. It's extremely frustrating to me, too, that the 2 year warranty had just expired when the screen went out. However, they had already replaced the motherboard and the battery once, so I guess I got my money's worth out of the warranty.

If I have any tech-savvy readers who want to weigh in, please feel free to leave me a comment! Is it a mistake to go cheap and get the smaller hard drive? I'm just afraid that this one won't last long, either, and I don't want to wind up with another very expensive paperweight!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

A Post Mostly About Knitting (Sorry!)

I started a new knitting project last night, and remembered that I never shared pictures of my other projects. I know you've all been foaming at the mouth with anticipation (can't you at least pretend?) so here are a couple, as promised:


This one is, as you can see, a bag to hold my knitting projects. This was my first big project and I'm pretty proud of it. I even sewed in the lining, which is a gorgeous Amy Butler fabric. I love her patterns and luckily I had enough fabric left over to re-upholster a chair cushion. (You can see the chair in the corner of the top picture here.)

This one is, duh, a headband. I did it to use up some extra yarn from my second project (no good pictures of this one yet) and also to practice doing lace work. Even though this may not look like "lace", the open holes in it technically make it lace. I'm not sure how I feel about the finished piece, but I learned a lot of new techniques and all it cost me was a few bucks for a new set of needles.

My newest adventure is an honest-to-goodness sweater and is definitely the hardest project I've tackled yet. It's going well so far, though, but we'll see how I feel in a few days.

As a reward for all those who suffered through my knitting pictures, I do have one small piece of CP news: I officially opted out of roommate notification. I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may when I get there. Adventure, thy name is living-with-whoever-you-just-so-happen-to-stand-next-to-in-line. (Hey, Adventure, you might want to consider getting a nickname.)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

I'm Back!

Well, I'm back home, minus my luggage. I barely made my plane last night--the last flight out of Atlanta--but unfortunately my bags missed the plane, and I'll have to pick them up today. So that was sort of a pain. But otherwise, my trip was great and I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get back to real life...and planning for Disney!

After I got assigned to a roommate, we emailed each other back and forth for a few days. I was double checking some of my Disney arrival information today on the College Program website, and decided to check and see if I was still matched up for a roommate. Well, guess what. I'm not. I don't know what's going on with that. The way that the website's been, it may just be a glitch, or she may have found another roommate or whatever. I have no idea. Oh, well. So I'm signed back up, and we'll see what happens. I'm actually thinking about taking this opportunity to opt out of roommate notification all together. I'm wondering if I'll be happier waiting until I actually meet some people at check-in. Then at least I will be able to have some say in who I'm rooming with. Plus, it will add an element of surprise. And I like surprises!

I'm going to spend the next couple of days browsing the official website and the blogs, trying to figure out what my schedule will be like for my first few days at Disney. Since my mom is flying back, I will have to take her to the airport and the only direct flights are at the Sanford airport, which is about 45 minutes away from where I'll be. The flights are all early in the morning, and we'll have to figure out what day I won't have to be at training early so that I can take her and be back in plenty of time. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it.

Just one month and three days now until I'm on the road to Orlando!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

A Quick Vacation-y Update

Well, hello there, friends! It's been a while! I've been on vacation for the last few days with limited internet access, and limited interest in blogging (sorry!). It's been a nice rest, so here I am for a quick update.

My wonderful grandma had some travel points, and used them to make reservations for my mom and I in Orlando. I'm not really sure which hotel she used them at, but I know it was close to Vista for check-in, and that it's a reputable hotel chain. Sounds good! So this means that, even though we still haven't sold our old house, my mom may go with me now because she was reluctant to pay for the extra 3 or 4 nights for her hotel. So now that's taken care of. Thanks, Nana! :) (yes, I call my grandma 'Nana'. Don't make fun of me!)

Well, now I'm off to do more vacationing! See you guys again in a few days when I return to real life. Happy 4th, everybody!