Graduation & Other Fun

Hi guys & gals!
Here I am, once again, to tell you more about what has been going on in my neck of the woods. Aside from working, I have also been doing my very best to visit the parks as often as possible; mainly because, hello, I will be gone from this place in 3 weeks!! I actually came to the realization today that I will be headed home in 2o days. 
As my time here is winding down, my schedule is becoming increasingly full. I have now officially graduated from the Disney College Program. The proof I have to show for this include, two Mouster Degrees, a Certificate of Completion, a pair of Mickey Graduation ears, and a picture with the boss himself. 

Co-workers of mine

Graduation was on Tuesday of this past week and it was just the beginning of a very wonderful & eventful week for me. The same night as Graduation, my coworkers and I participated in yet another scavenger hunt. This time around, my managers organized the hunt in Epcot. --Now I am not sure if I mentioned this when I wrote about the last scavenger hunt, but my team lost epically. So you can imagine, that this time around we were all determined not to lose.-- My team got such a work-out as we briskly walked around Epcot answering some extremely difficult questions! Not to mention the fact that we had to ride a 15 minute attraction. All of the questions and tasks had to be completed in 2 hours, because of park close. However, to our wonderful surprise, we ended up coming in as first place winners =D It was great to finally be able to claim the "winner" title!

Huddled in a phone booth in England

Trying on hats in France

Wednesday was just as eventful as Tuesday. I was able to secure a location to say between the end of my Program and when I fly back to California, I had Meet and Greet with a lady who works in the behind the scene side of Merchandise, and I went out to dinner at an extremely tasty restaurant. 
The meet and greet that I had was, and still is, very informative. I was fortunate to meet the lady at my apartment complex in stead of taking the bus to meet her. She holds the title of Manager of Merchandise Marketing, Synergy, and Special Events. Being able to speak with her was incredible and her passion for Merchandise and the Disney Company is encouraging to me as I pursue a career with the company. She offered great advice, such as, always be willing to do whatever your managers ask of you and do it with a smile, never speak ill of your co-workers to other co-workers and especially not your managers, and be happy/optimistic. Hearing her say all of this was such a great reminder as well as encouraging. She told me that she is positive her success came because of her attitude while working.
That same evening is when I explored some of the gingerbread displays that my previous blog is about. Not only did I see gingerbread, I also ate at a delicious restaurant named, "Flying Fish."  I urge every single one of you to eat there if you ever come to Walt Disney World. It is beyond tasty and the service is spectacular! Some of you may have guess from the name that the restaurant is sea food based. Yes this is true, but they do have salads and steak. However, all of the sea food is raised right on property --Epcot has an area where food is both grown and raised--, so it is fresh and cooked perfectly. I decided to 'go big or go home' that night with my food choice. My dish of included shrimp, crawfish, and mussels, with a light tomato and vegetable sauce and wild rice. Talk about delightfully yummy! Not sure if I will ever order mussels as a main dish, but they were not that bad. Dessert consisted of creme brulee, a chocolate dish (it was about every kind of chocolate taste and texture imaginable), and gingerbread s'more pops. Pretty much by the end of the evening my stomach had absolutely no room left and the sight of food was no longer appetizing. I will say it again, if any of you visit Walt Disney World you must eat at Flying Fish, located on the Boardwalk!

 

The main course

Creme Brulee

Chocolate Dessert

Gingerbread S'mores

Thursday was great because I saw the newest Hobbit movie. I cannot even begin to explain how epic the movie is! For those of you who may not appreciate The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, I am sorry because you are missing out. The movie is almost 3 hours long, but very worth it. All of the acting is superb and this goes without saying, but the special effects are incredible! 

Friday I was pleasantly surprised with being able to see a dear friend of mine while at work. I met her this past summer while in Colorado and she lives about 3 hours south of Orlando, Florida. Being able to see a friend brought automatic joy into my life. Few things could be more wonderful than being reunited with a sister in Christ. It was as if no time had passed between us, and just when I thought my week could not get any better, this happened :) Thankfully I got off work earlier that evening, so I was able to spend time with Tori at Epcot.

Tori and I

As I approach Christmas, work is starting to take over my life. The following two days I have off though. My plan is to successfully go to all four parks in one day. This is very possible, so I have to make it happen!

Goodnight everyone. I must get some sleep if I am to complete this task that I have set for myself. 

Have a Magical day, wherever you all may be =D