A Whole Week of Birthday

Apartment Living

Two-and-a-half weeks after moving into my apartment, I'm beginning to get used to the lifestyle. When I moved into my dorm at ASU back in Fall of 2012, I though that was "independent living." Let me tell you, any place within a one-mile radius of a dining hall cannot be classified as "independent living."

That's truly been the hardest thing to adjust to: buying my own groceries and cooking my own food. I've become so much more cost-conscious! And time-conscious, when it comes to the length of time it takes to cook dinner. I took it for granted, living at home or near a dining hall, where food was always just ready to be placed on my plate!

Speaking of being cost-conscious, toll roads suck. They literally nickel and dime you for trying to take your car, which you paid plenty of money for, by means of gas, which you paid plenty of money for, to a different part of the city. It's evil! I finally caved this morning and purchased a sticker that lets me pass through the toll without stopping to pay money. Don't worry, I still get charged - it's just linked online to my checking account. But it's supposedly slightly cheaper than paying the real tolls, and at least I don't have to worry about quarters!

The other major adjustment has been living with people. Well, people other than my family... Though did I really need to make that distinction? Just kidding. For the most part it's gone smoothly because we all get along and none of us are that messy. The one problem is remembering I'm not the only person living here.

After I finished writing last week's blog on Sunday morning at 1:00 am, I went to bed. Francisco decided to stay up a bit and watch a movie, so he grabbed his pillow and a blanket and stayed out on the couch. I washed up, then locked the door and changed into pajamas real quick. Then I turned out the light and went to bed.

Did I miss something?

Oh, yes, that minor detail of unlocking the door. Francisco discovered his temporary banishment to the living room around 3:30 am. But because he's really cool, and because he already had a pillow and blanket, he just went back to bed on the couch. What a good sport.

Work Continues

Waking up at six every morning is beginning to take its toll on my energy by the end of each day. Rawlings tells me I should take up coffee like the rest of the guys in the office, but I'm not giving in! I haven't tried it in years, but I'm afraid that if I do try it again it'll grow on me and then I'll become addicted to it (or obsessively dependent on it, if you're a coffee-drinker who things "addicted" is a bit harsh).

This week felt more like a true week of work. There was no interruption on Thursday with intern orientation like there was last week, I didn't have any online training, and I'm beginning to become more familiar with the park and its backstage operations. It feels good! And the work I'm doing is a bit more interesting than last week as well. I'm already learning a lot of new stuff, which is great; I hope my future projects continue to develop my learning. Also, I got to see behind the scenes of Haunted Mansion on Friday, which was quite a treat!

My only concern is that I might seem a bit ignorant to Rawlings. I have to ask him a lot of questions about what things are or how to do certain things, and I'm worried it betrays my lack of engineering industry experience. But hey, he knew he was signing on an 18-year-old sophomore! And his behavior hasn't shown any frustration or disappointment with me, so maybe I'm just being too self-conscious.

In other news...

Other top headlines for the week include a couple of booked vacations! Hannah is officially flying out to me (for nearly free, I might add, due to her inherited propensity for getting bumped) over Valentine's weekend, and she'll be coming out again with my parents and brother in late April. Let the countdowns begin!

Friday night, Francisco, Jongui, and another friend of ours went to the dine-in theater at Downtown Disney and saw Frozen. It was my second time, Francisco's sixth, but the others hadn't seen it yet, so we decided it'd be fun. It was very expensive, but the food was actually pretty good, the seats comfortable, and the experience unique!

The following evening we all went to Studios and took an animation class, where we drew Mike Wazowski! He was limbless, though, because apparently it takes years to learn how to draw hands. The animator clearly neglected the fact that Jeremiah Dwight was in the room, or he would have given us more to handle, but I suppose I'll have to forgive him for that...

Afterward we hit up three rides in the space of about 60 minutes, which was pretty impressive! It may have had something to do with the fact that one of us knew the attendant at the front of Rockin' Rollercoaster, who happened to have four fastpasses in her pocket... :) And then we finished up with Fantasmic. Great evening.

So far the Disney parks haven't gotten old in the slightest. Rather, I'm learning to appreciate and enjoy them even more because I'm beginning to understand how much goes into every bit of the ride's experience!

The Best, Saved for Last

If you don't already have it written in bright colors and all caps on your calendar, January 20th is my BIRTHDAY! This year, that date was last Monday. I'll admit I didn't have very high expectations for it, seeing as I was thousands of miles away from the people I usually shared that INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT DAY with, but it actually turned out to be a very memorable and fun 19th birthday!

It started a day early, when on Sunday morning I received a delivery of two dozen bagels from Einstein Bros. Bagels, courtesy of my family! I've been eating them for breakfast and/or dinner every day for the past week now, and I still have seven left. I tried to share with the others, but they've only had a couple! That's fine, though. More for me.

...Which is theme consistent with the birthday cake I made for myself later that day, as well. That's right, I made my own birthday cake. My mom has made a delicious chocolate cake for me every year for as long as I can remember, and I wasn't gonna let being across the country from her change that streak! So I had her email me the recipe and took it upon myself to bake my own birthday cake from scratch. And it was delicious!! Still is, actually. Still will be. That was a big cake, and with no family to help me consume it and roommates too wimpy to tackle the chocolate tower, I still have four good-sized slices left, one week later.

I topped off the eve of my birthday with two fantastic conference championship football games. Looking forward to the Super Bowl next weekend! I hope Richard Sherman gets knocked out of the game with a concussion this time instead of Percy Harvin.

My birthday itself started out pretty average. Monday was MLK Day, which in most people's cases meant a day off from work, but not for me! Ironically, I was the only one of us four in the apartment that had to work that day. But that fact has its perks! I came home to discover our apartment decorated and a fresh cake on the table. It shocked me that guys I'd known less than two weeks would go so out of their way to do that for me. They also gave me a card signed by about two dozen Disney characters throughout the parks, with a special happy birthday note from Mickey! Plus Jongui and Rug each got me a shirt. I also got a sick D-backs jersey (Goldschmidt #44) from my family. Baseball season can't come soon enough!

Rug was gone that evening, as was Jongui, so Francisco and I went out to Chili's for dinner. Then he invited one of our friends and her roommates over to hang out; we ate cake, turned on the TV, and just chatted for a couple hours! It was very relaxing.

It wasn't until yesterday that Jongui decided to go check our mail, and he came back bearing a handful of birthday cards/gifts for me from other friends and family. It was a pleasant surprise to find other nice notes and gifts several days after I thought my birthday had ended!

Oh, and I almost forgot! One of the best things about this week was discovering that my brother's incredible musical talent had been validated by the Regionals auditions he had on Saturday. For those of you that don't know, he plays trumpet, and Regionals is an annual festival held where high school musicians audition to perform in either a band, choir, or orchestra. He earned the single top score in the entire region this year, as only a junior! I'm extremely proud of him and excited for him. Though I'm not surprised at all. Not one bit.

By the way, there's a Hidden Mickey in this post! You may have already noticed it, but if not, scroll back up and find it. Spoiler alert: it tasted delicious.

First Full Fweek

Traditions

Sorry, I needed some alliteration in the title, so I had to take a bit of creative license in the spelling. Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?

"Traditions" took place at 8 am on a Saturday morning, which is cruel in the most un-Disney sense of the word. But despite the early time, it was a fun and interesting morning. We learned about the history of The Walt Disney Company, received our official cast member name tags, and even met the big cheese himself - Mickey Mouse! And yes, that pun was intended.

We also got to take a tour of Magic Kingdom's "backstage," the parts of the park the guests never see. And this, unfortunately, is as much as I can divulge. This will be a frequent phrase, I expect, for Disney explained to us in Traditions that we must be very protective of the information we learn in our roles, so as not to ruin the magic for others. And that lack of information also means a lack of pertinent pictures... :( So let your imagination run wild! Just assume all the rumors you hear are true, because you'll never actually find out whether they are, and imagining that they are will surely make things more interesting.

The next day my roommates and I spent the day in the parks, since Rug had never actually been before. Imagine that: working for Disney having never been to Walt Disney World! And he lives just two hours from Orlando, far closer than any of the rest of us! Anyway, even though the rest of us had been to the parks before, we all grabbed "1st Visit" buttons. Cast members treat you extra special when you're wearing one of their Disney buttons, and we decided the "Just Married" ones might give the wrong impression.

We've also been taking pictures with every character we see. We're usually the only adults not accompanied by one or more children when we stand in line, but hey - ya gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Work Begins!

Work began bright and early at 7:00 am Monday morning. Not a long commute though, which is nice; my apartment is just five minutes down the road from Disney University (where Traditions class happens), which has a bus station that transports cast members to and from backstage Magic Kingdom. Quite handy in terms of both time and gas money!

My manager/mentor that I'm working with this semester, whom I shall call Rawlings, met me at the bus stop. He's a funny, friendly man, and I think it'll be a pleasure working with him this semester. Though to be honest, I have yet to meet a seemingly unfriendly cast member. Disney certainly has a type!

Half of this week consisted of online/in-person training, so there's not much fun stuff to report.

Just kidding, it's Disney - there's always fun stuff to report! But like I said before, I can only report so much. So I'll do my best.

Rawlings is responsible for the proper functioning of Splash Mountain, which is currently down for refurbishment till some time in March. This means that the flumes are all drained, so that the engineers can walk through and inspect the ride more thoroughly. And engineers includes engineering interns, so I got to go on a very thorough tour of the ride and all its behind-the-scenes mechanics! Very cool.

As a matter of fact, I got to do the same thing with Rockin' Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios on Wednesday morning. But it was even better. Rockin' Rollercoaster isn't down for refurbishment; the third shift mechanics just needed Rawlings to come in (at 6 am, of course) to inspect a few things. Well of course I came with, and we finished inspecting things about a half hour before the park opened, soooo Rawlings and I rode the coaster twice before we left! The first time was in the dark, just like the actual ride runs, but a few miles per hour faster than normal, since the ride operators have to test it above the average speed each morning. And the second time we did the same thing but with the lights on! Such a neat experience. Rawlings also took me on a tour of the room in which the coaster resides, so I got to see the track up close. There's even a tiny Hidden Mickey on the floor in there! Good luck finding it when you're riding the coaster, though.

I also learned on Thursday from the intern specialist that they were actually pretty selective in hiring us on: apparently there were roughly 500 applications for engineering internships, and there are about 75 of us working here now! So that feels pretty good.

You're probably wondering what my job actually consists of. As nice as it would be to get paid almost twenty bucks an hour to experience the rides in ways guests never will, I have to actually be productive for most of the day.

I work in the sustaining engineering department, which is responsible for keeping the rides in the park functioning smoothly. If something breaks down, they call us to come get things running again, if possible. We also have to do routine refurbishments to improve the parts of the rides that need improving, hence Rawlings's role on Splash Mountain. The projects I'm assigned this semester will relate to these improvements/refurbishments. Rawlings is primarily responsible for Splash and also Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so most of my work will be focused on those rides, which is great because they're two of my favorites!

By the way... My cubicle has a nameplate. What's that? Oh, yes. Yes, I am that cool.

[Imagine the picture of it right here.]

The Nooks and Crannies

The one nice thing about starting work at 7 each morning is that I get off by about 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. This leaves me lots of time in the evenings to get stuff done, or just have some fun!

I've been getting to the gym fairly frequently, though I've had to stagger my workouts a bit lately because of some pain in my right knee. It's been bothering me for close to two months now, and I figured it would just kinda go away if I ignored it, but it hasn't... I'm worried the tendonitis I experienced in seventh and eighth grade is back. For now, though, I'm just staying away from running and leg workouts. My prescription back in junior high was to simply keep it rested and not over-exert it, so I figure I'll try that for a few weeks to see if it helps. No use in wasting a trip to the doctor to get advice I've received before!

I've also been keeping up on my trombone practice! Thankfully my roommates obliged my request to practice in the apartment, despite the loud noise and thin walls. This is good, because I honestly don't know where else I'd practice! Maybe make some money playing on a street corner? But people probably wouldn't pay much to hear long tones and lip slurs... Point is, I'm glad they're indifferent to my practicing.

And of course, we've been making good use of our free entrance to the parks. In addition to last Sunday's full day in the parks, Wednesday night we went to Epcot! Francisco worked on Test Track last semester, so he found an old buddy and got us literally dozens of fastpasses to a few different rides that we can use until the end of the month! We also rode Mission Space, despite the voiced concerns of Rug; but he ended up doing just fine, for which I was thankful, as I sat right next to him. We finished off with a walk around World Showcase and the IllumiNations fireworks show in the lagoon. As special as Magic Kingdom's stuff is, I have to say that Epcot definitely has the best fireworks.

Cooking didn't go as smoothly for me this week. Monday night I came home and made chicken Alfredo, but while I was cooking the chicken I forgot to keep stirring the sauce, so it burnt a little. However, there's an upside to this: no one was interested in eating the resultant dish except for me! So that was my dinner for the next three nights. And it wasn't actually that bad. It just had an unexpected smokey flavor.

Francisco and Jongui made a great dinner Friday night. It was just chicken with rice and beans, but in all its simplicity, it was delicious. We've also been working on a puzzle the last few days, and just finished Saturday evening! I'll leave you with a picture of it. It's pretty. And, of course, it's Disney.

See? Bambi! Until next week, friends!

And So It Begins...

What is this?

In September of 2012, I was offered an internship in Ride & Show Engineering for Disney Parks and Resorts, based in Orlando, Florida.

I know what you're thinking: "Wow! How did Jeremiah procure an engineering internship at one of the world's most beloved and reputable companies?"

Well those are my very same thoughts, word for word. At the time of the offer, I was 18 years old, midway through just my third semester as a mechanical engineering student at Arizona State University. I had never held any sort of job even remotely related to engineering. My knowledge of the corporate world was so limited that when Disney called me for my phone interview, I didn't realize our discussion was the interview until they ended the conversation with, "Great! You should hear from an HR rep in the next three weeks about if you're selected."

Shockingly, HR did call me back just two weeks after my interview. Picture the gaping face of a largemouth bass and you'll have an accurate image of my reaction to their call.

In short, I'm still in disbelief that I am now in Orlando, about to begin my job as an engineering intern for my dream company. I don't feel experienced enough with engineering to begin applying it in real life! But that's what I'm about to do. I'm gonna spend 40 hours a week engineering the magic of Disney. And I'll spend the other 128 hours in the parks!

This is easily the largest change I've gone through thus far in my life, but that also means it's the greatest opportunity so far for me to grow. My goal is to post to this blog at least once each week in order to keep all my friends and family back in Arizona updated on my experiences... Because I can't keep track of all the people who told me, "Keep me posted!" or, "I can't wait to hear all about it!" This blog is you. Hearing all about it.

The Drive

Did I mention this internship is in Orlando, Florida? And that I'm from Mesa, Arizona? There's 2100 miles of interstate between my house and Walt Disney World. Probably sounds like hell.

Which is why I dragged my girlfriend down into the inferno with me! (If I'm gonna burn, she's coming with me.) But actually, we turned it into a really fun road trip.

Austin

Technically, our first stop on this four-day drive was Fort Stockton, Texas. But that city's about as interesting as The Norton Anthology of English Literature (sorry, Mom, but you're in the overwhelming minority here), so I'm cutting it short; this paragraph alone is an inappropriately superfluous amount of space to devote to it. But hey, give it props. It has a hotel or two without roaches.

Austin, however, is beautiful! Hannah and I stayed with my Aunt Molly and Uncle Richard in their renovated, sophisticated home, along with a couple of their British friends who were also in town. We had a delicious steak dinner cooked by my aunt and uncle, framed with Pink Floyd and Pet Shop Boys played over the Blutooth speakers we got working. During the day, Hannah and I visited the original Whole Foods Market, as well as an authentic BBQ food truck by the name of Brown's. We also drove through the University of Texas campus, saw the capitol building, drove down Sixth Street, and visited the city's largest lake. Certainly an enjoyable stop!

New Orleans

Who dat? We rolled into New Orleans on a Saturday evening, the same Saturday evening that kicked off the NFL playoffs with the Saints visiting the Eagles in Philly. When we got there in the afternoon, Bourbon Street, Decatur Street, and the other iconic roads in French Quarter were packed! But sure enough, by 7:10 pm, the streets settled down as all the Saints fans - that is to say, every single person in the city - retreated to little bars and cafes to watch the game.

We ate at a place called Huck Finn's Cafe, where our sandwiches/wraps came speared by Saints-themed sandwich picks. We had no choice but to conform and cheer for the Saints, who successfully beat the Eagles despite the tragic depletion of their secondary. Then we finished up with some sinfully sweet beignets at Cafe Dumonde!

The city itself felt very authentic, in the sense that it shamelessly exposed the essence of its culture. Which is a fancy way of saying the city - and the people in it - scared us a bit. Neither one of us had ever been in a city like New Orleans, and we felt very vulnerable, especially on some of the side streets.

One man came up and shook my hand and wanted me to play a game with him: if he could tell me "where I got my shoes," he'd give my Sperry's a sole-cleaning. I was naively intrigued, so I played along; he told me, "Well it obvious, ain't it? You got yo' shoes on yo' feet!" Next thing I know he's squirting this jelly on the soles of my shoes and rubbing them with a rag. Thirty seconds of small talk later, he stood up from my clean Sperry soles and told me "Ten dollas fo da cleanin', ten dollas fo da tip." I was baffled. I pulled out my wallet and handed him two bucks for his trouble, but refused to act startled enough to fork over a twenty. Granted, I shouldn't have fallen into the trap in the first place, but nevertheless, I was proud to have walked away only two dollars poorer.

And that, my friends, is New Orleans. It has a very nice Hyatt across from the Conference Center; I recommend you stay there, if you're tentative about the safety of more... "authentic"... hotels.

Orlando

Hannah and I arrived in Orlando two nights early to give us some time to spend in the city. And since 98% of the city consists of theme parks, we spent our first full day park-hopping between Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom. From Expedition Everest to Tower of Terror to Space Mountain, we hit up all the best thrill rides. It was, well, thrilling! And Hannah and I had always dreamed of visiting the Disney parks on our own together, so it was a great way to spend the day. It's pretty cool to think I'll be helping with the engineering behind some of these amazing rides over the next few months!

On our second day in the city, we went to Downtown Disney and drooled over the awesome Disney products that were too overpriced to purchase. But I'll have the last laugh about the prices, because working for Disney comes with significant discounts on already reduced prices for items sold at the cast member store!

Then we went to the Premium Outlet Malls and drooled over all the awesome non-Disney products that were too expensive to purchase, despite their already discounted prices. Unfortunately I won't have the last laugh on this one.

Introduced to Disney

Well I suppose I've already been introduced to Disney; I mean most of us probably saw our first Disney movie before we could say the name of the film! But yesterday was something different. I was introduced to the corporate side of Disney, the people who create the magical front most of us imagine when we hear "Disney."

And it wasn't exactly a magical introduction.

My day began at 6:15 am, when I woke up and threw on some brand new business casual clothes I received on the happiest day of the year just two weeks earlier. Saying goodbye to Hannah, acknowledging that we wouldn't see each other for several weeks, was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. It was sickly ironic that Disney, one of the greatest sources of happiness and carefreeness in my life, was now forcing me to turn away from the single greatest source of those feelings: my girlfriend.

With that wonderful thought in my mind, I drove twenty minutes to the check-in location for Disney Professional Interns (PIs). After waiting around in line for about an hour and a half there, I turned in my check-in paperwork and drove another sixty minutes to the Disney Casting Center (though it should have taken me just fifteen minutes, if my phone's GPS had been functioning properly) for more paperwork and the like. Three and a half hours later, I left the lines at the Casting Center and drove to my apartment twenty minutes away, where I lugged my luggage (I guess that's why they call it luggage) up to the third floor of my apartment. Then I drove another twenty minutes to get my photo ID card, which was, by one of Murphy's laws, located just five minutes from the first place. I finally ate "lunch" at 4 in the afternoon.

If you found the previous paragraph a bit monotonous, good. You feel a fraction of the frustration I felt from all the driving and waiting and driving I did that day.

But there's a silver lining! I met my roommates, whose names I will keep confidential by means of pseudonyms, since I don't know whether they want to be mentioned in this blog. My roommate's name is Francisco, and the other bedroom houses Jongui and Rug. Eclectic names, I know. And they all seem great! Jongui and I plan to hit the gym together frequently; Francisco has already done an engineering PI and has been answering all my questions about the job; and Rug bought LOTS of groceries for us today so he's made a great first impression.

The stress and monotony of the first day was only for that day. My roommates, on the other hand, are gonna last me the next four months, so I'm particularly thankful that we're all getting along. As a matter of fact, tonight we ate our first dinner all together: spaghetti and meatballs, my treat. The meatballs were in a frozen package, the sauce from a jar, and spaghetti noodles practically cook themselves - but it was a meal. And, quite frankly, it was delicious.

Oh! So I knew going into this I would likely be on the younger end of the PIs... But I didn't understand the extent to which this was true. Rug and Jongui are both 22 years old, and Francisco is 25! They scoffed when I told them I was 18, but I'm the tallest of us four so they can't tease me too much. It's gonna be interesting living with people so much older than me, but I'm looking forward to it. Life experience, ya know?

What's more, the apartment itself is pretty nice. The complex is part of a neighborhood, so we're right near full-on houses and the like. There's a gym and pool at the clubhouse, grass-lined sidewalks, and lots of pretty trees. Our two-bed, two-bath apartment has a nice roomy kitchen with all the usual appliances, including a dishwasher! There's also washer/drier and a twenty-inch television with HD cable, for which I'm especially thankful after the limited range of channels I got at ASU. We can even watch Magic Kingdom fireworks shows from the stairs outside!

So although my introduction to the corporate side of Disney wasn't very fun, I'm confident that the rest of this semester will be. From what Francisco told us during dinner, our jobs will be very interesting, and what we can do off the clock as cast members will be even more fun!

Well, here we go! On Saturday I have a "Traditions" class at Disney University. Then, on Monday, I begin working. Be looking for another blog post in about a week!