It's been a long time old friend...

So I haven't posted on this as much as I thought I would.  It's been a while since it's been so busy or I let World of Warcraft take over my free time again.

So my best friend Ryan (http://rjhendrix.blogspot.com/) recently decided that he was going to start a Blogger account and he started to post.  That got me to think, wow... he used to make fun of me for blogging and now look at him!  He's blogging and I'm not! Like WTF right?

Anyways, so I'm going to try very hard to be somewhat regular with this.  If anything, it's good stress relief and good therapy to reflect in all of the changes that I've made in my life.   I'm glad that Ryan has decided to do so and it's gotten me to realize that it's something that I need to do as well.

So here it is.  Last time on "Burnt Toast's Corner of the Web", we see our hero packing up very little of his crap in glamorous Orange County, California and moving out to Orlando, Florida.  He had just gotten a transfer to Walt Disney World to work at one of the numerous Resort hotels that they have.  He starts as a lowly part-timer and is determined to make the best of it, work as hard as he can, and be happy with his life.  He's also 33 years old as of March 19th!  Where has that time gone?

Fast forward to the present... I'm still at the same Resort hotel.  I'm now full-time, but in a totally different position, and I've been promoted to one of the low-level Operations positions.  Put in an interest in becoming a training facilitator for the numerous new hires that come to us from all around the country and the world with their initial on-the-job training as well as the general Resort orientation tour.  I live in a kick-ass townhouse (three-bedroom, three bath with full appliances and washer/dryer for $950 a month?  Wut wut?!) with a friend of his from his many trips out to Walt Disney World and one of his co-workers at the Resort I work at.  I still miss my friends (like Ryan, who's always been a good friend through thick and thin... even if sometimes I forget that and let my insecurities get in the way) and family dearly.  I have fallen in absolute love with Publix fried chicken and their "Marshmallow Delight".

All joking aside and all in all, I'm generally pretty happy.  The work is tough sometimes (especially the hours, thankfully I'm on a 4/10 schedule so I get three days off a week), but I am definitely making the best of it.  I've been trying really hard to keep a positive attitude but I'll admit that sometimes the old angry me explodes out and lets everyone know that it still is around... just buried and covered up as best as I can.  I got a new kick-ass gaming laptop, AS I CAN ACTUALLY MAKE A LIVING OUT HERE, but I'm taking a break from World of Warcraft so I'm keeping busy with all sorts of other stuff.  Recently I made that decision to take a break from WoW and try to go out more... and I have a new wonderful friend named Christina, who works with me, who has made a true effort to get me to go out and get a little sun.  I've been trying to go to the Parks a little bit more too, but it isn't the same when your partner-in-crime isn't around to enjoy them with you (yes Ryan, I AM trying to guilt trip you here) and the peak season is coming up on us again.

I've seen a lot of old friends and old co-workers while I've been here at Walt Disney World, certainly a lot more then when I worked at the DLR... though sometimes I haven't been able to meet up with a lot of them as much as I would because of my quirky work schedule.  I still get to go back home for things like Westfest or whatnot when I want... because I actually have a savings out here without worrying about hours or really busting my ass with a lot of overtime.

So all and all, everything is generally pretty good. I know I keep saying that... but it's weird to actually say that and actually mean it.  Other then being around my friends and family, I was unhappy in SoCal for so long.  I didn't know what it was like to actually be happy with work and my life... it kinda sucks that the trade off to have that happiness is that I have to be away from my friends and my family.  Sometimes I question if it is really worth it... and I think so far it is.

 I miss my buddy though. :(

Angryface!

So I upgraded my phone from the Sprint HTC Mogul to the Palm Pre. I actually went out and stood in line at 8am in the morning when the Sprint store opened and got one on the very first day.

Overall? I really like the phone... though there are a few issues that I don't like about it. Big complaint I have is the keyboard... I need to have a hardware keyboard but geeze, could they have made the thing any smaller? I love the way it multitasks and I think it's a very beautiful phone overall. I probably will exchange it at some point because of the light leakage on the bottom right corner of my screen, but other then that... even that process will be easy since everything is saved in the "cloud" so restoring my replacement phone to be like the old one will be quick and painless.

Other then that... I've been applying for new jobs left and right. Again, I don't want to leave Disney but the department I'm in has been pretty dead-end for me, even though it wasn't billed as such when I transferred back. When I transferred back, no one knew that we were going to be overloaded with College Program kids who are guaranteed to have 30+ hours a week. Well, those hours have to come from somewhere and it comes from all the part-timers. Then I lost out on backup Specialist and Emerging Leaders was canceled this term... so yah, part of me feels like I completely made a mistake and wasted my time coming back to this department that I really liked in the past. I still love what I do and I love helping my Guests... but I feel that at my age, it's not something that will support me very much longer if it continues to stay the way that it is now.

So I've been shopping around. I got denied a while back for a transfer to the Front Desk over at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, but I think a lot has to do with a boneheaded decision that my manager made to cover his ass (he actually put a coaching on my record card for attendance the week of my interview and then actually told me that it shouldn't affect the transfer process when I confronted him about it). Seriously, wtf. I put in for a transfer to Guest Services at the Disney Cruise Line but haven't gotten a response back. I'm probably going to be putting in an application tonight for a Guest Services Specialist position with Disney Visa/Disney Gift Card... so wish me luck.

I also put in an application to Blizzard (makers of World of Warcraft) for a Forum Moderator position a month ago... but I've never received a response back from them in the past so I don't expect one this time either. It would be nice though for once.

Other then that, it's been going pretty good. I could use more hours but eh, what can you do when we are completely overstaffed because of the College Program.