May 22–May 28, 2011

Yes, it was softball Sunday again!  It was a tight game but we pulled it off in the end – our last regular season game!  With this win, team Fantastical ended in 2nd place in the standings! Woot!  We have next week off and then it’s playoff time!  I can’t wait!

Monday, I spent the day with Harry.  I had finished book 6 late Sunday night and jumped right in to book 7.  And all day, while laundry was washing, I joined Harry on his final adventures.  Seriously – all day, from wake up until just about 6pm when I got ready to attend Danielle’s going away karaoke party.  I hadn’t quite finished with Harry (but was very close) but I couldn’t miss seeing Danielle off!

It was a great time at the karaoke bar.  I got to spend some time catching up with Danielle and some mutual friends. Harry (a real life man!) and Sammie were there, along with Sammie’s son Travis and his wife Vilma.  I declined on the singing, and the bar was better for it, but the others all got up and did at least a number. I realized how much I missed hanging out with this group and seeing them on a regular basis.  But my crazy schedule and the 30 miles between us really makes it difficult to keep up with them. 

After several hours of singing and good conversation, I headed home and back to Harry (the fictional one).  I ended the night by ending my adventures with him.  I am super excited and ready for the final movie now!  Just so long as they don’t change too many things, I will be very happy!

Tuesday saw me finally experiencing the movie Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides in its entirety.  I’d been seeing the same one scene for weeks on end with Join Jack’s Crew and now got to see how it all fit together.  I enjoyed the movie though I may have been partial to it.  I thought it was right up there with the first one. 

On Thursday, my cousin Cheryl, her husband Scott, baby Westin, and cousin Barbara arrived in town from Utah.  I met up with them late in the morning to sign them in to Disneyland.  As I had Grad Nite that night, I couldn’t play with them but they got a good many hours in the park.  Thankfully I knew we had the big family BBQ on Saturday when I could really catch up with them.

Friday I started my refresh on the summer fireworks spectacular, Magical.  It is a much faster paced show for us stage managers.  In addition to the two fairy flights, we also have a pachyderm flight.  We are constantly doing something during this show – not a lot of time to sit and enjoy the pyrotechnics. 

I continued my Magical refresh on Saturday but not before I experienced the famous Pickett Summer BBQ.  We usually saved the big BBQ for 4th of July but as we weren’t sure about the state of the house sale, we moved it to Memorial Day.  The kids got a bounce house, BINGO is played at the end of the night and all evening, my mom’s fabulous BBQ and spread is feasted upon by all.  There were probably 50+ people, family and friends, all hanging out in the family’s backyard.  It is such a fun time.  And I finally got to catch up with my cousins!  I was a little bummed to leave early (missing BINGO – with prizes!) and head in to work (especially as we ended up cancelling due to high winds!). 

Another family filled fun week in the books!

May 15–May 21, 2011

No softball games scheduled this week, so no softball fix.  The week was plenty full of fun regardless!  So much so that for the most part I’m going to skip most of “work” for this week.  Not to say that I didn’t work or spend any time at work – quite the opposite really.  But enough babbling, to the point – the only work related item of consequence was my 5 Year Service Celebration on Wednesday.  Technically, I’ve been with Disney for over 6 years but since I started as uber part time, the first 18 months ‘didn’t count’.  The company was a bit late with the celebration for April (me) so they combined it with May.  Sarah & I share service birthdays – she’s been with the company even a bit longer than me.  I love that we can share our milestones together.  The Entertainment service celebration is held in one of our rehearsal halls with cake and lemonade.  The ceremony is for those service celebrations of the month in 5 year increments starting with the 5 years.  It was lovely to share the moment with many of my friends. 

On Thursday, before Grad Nite, the Osgans and I spent the day playing at Disneyland.  I had tickets for the Cast Preview of the new Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.  We met up not too early (I did still have to work ALL night) and enjoyed the day.  We started with Indiana Jones as Shane really wanted to ride it – he’d heard his friends talk about it and was finally tall enough.  Brandon was quite skeptical but since little brother was willing, he could try it.  Needless to say, neither quite enjoyed it.  Shane sat calmly with his hands gripping the sides with his eye firmly shut.  Brandon wouldn’t let me let go of him as he held tight to the ‘steering wheel’.  Good thing we took pictures before the ride started!  I don’t think we’ll be trying it again for a few years. 

The rest of the day was a typical day in the park until 3pm.  Enjoy the various pictures… 

We decided to see if they were letting us go in early (the tickets were from 4-8 p.m.) and they were so we jumped in line.  It was a relatively short wait and seeing all the new material made the line go even faster.  Before we knew it, we were sitting in the Starspeeder 1000 ready for our first flight.  It was AMAZING!  The combination (1 of 54) we got was Darth Vader stopping us then escaping through a space battle, down to Hoth weaving through AT-AT’s and over cliffs, with Princess Lea imploring us “Star Tours, you’re my only hope” and to head to Naboo, where we headed into the ocean and Jar-Jar’s world before emerging at our final landing at the Queen’s palace.  SOOO much fun!  We wanted to do it again right then but technically we only got one ride with my ticket and the line had quadrupled since we’d gone in the attraction.  Alas, I can’t wait to ride again!  Then we spent some more time in the park before I had to go to work…

Friday, after a short sleep (Grad Nite really gets in the way of sleep and socializing), I headed in to meet my folks at the park because today was their day to ride the Cast Preview of the new Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure attraction.  I had a couple of meetings so I ditched them after lunch only to find the meetings cancelled and re-scheduled.  Boo!  I met back up with them in line for the ride.  We waited longer than for Star Tours (that’s what happens when you pick the final preview day for ST and the first preview day for LM) – about an hour!  But we got to catch up and enjoy each other’s company, which is never a bad thing!  Eventually we got to the ride, which for what it is – a dark ride (similar to Haunted Mansion or Winnie the Pooh), is really good!  The advances in technology really bring the audioanimatronics to life.  Then it was back to work for me – Join Jack’s Crew.

But the day was not done for me, no, I met back up with the folks for dinner at Big Thunder Ranch (as it is literally attached to the arena where JJC performed).  BTR has excellent food – a bit overpriced – but what isn’t at Disneyland.  And of course, I knew the entertainment (a guitar playing singing cowboy) so he came over and interacted with the family.  And one of the pirates, on his way out to the trail, tried to “lift” my mom’s purse.  It was a fantastic dinner.  Later, my Mom took my Dad to see The Magic, The Memories, and You! for the first time.   :)  Then they came over and became the only family members to experience Join Jack’s Crew.  After the show, I let them stay in the arena and interact with a few of the pirates!  My mom has those pictures (they didn’t transfer very well from her phone to my computer).

It was a great week!  Truly a family week and chock full of memories.  Life is made for week’s like this (even if not a lot of sleep was experienced!).  I am truly blessed with an amazing family and love them very much!

May 8–May 14, 2011

Softball Sunday doubleheader – oh yeah!  I had a rehearsal for Grad Nite Explosion (more to come on that) during the afternoon and had to be late to the first game.  But I made it by the second inning and joined in on the third inning.  It was a fun game and we won, even if I did only play an inning and a half!  The second game we won by forfeit but decided to scrimmage with the other team.  It was a very nice, relaxed atmosphere to really enjoy each other’s company.  And we came away with 2 wins! :)

This week was mostly devoted to Grad Nite Explosion – rehearsal and opening night.  Sunday’s rehearsal was the first time we were able to put the whole thing together, acrobats and dancers, in the rehearsal hall.  It is a fun show with lots of movement and color and talent.  Near the end of the evening we even added in the costumes for the acrobats – they have lights on jumpsuits, similar to what they did in this years Super Bowl half-time show. 

Monday night was our first on-stage rehearsal with all elements – lighting, sound, and pyro.  We spent the first part of the evening wishing the rain away.  It is a bit hard to work on a tumble track and raised stage when wet.  Thankfully, the rain hit fairly early and we were able to get everything dry and ready to go just after midnight.  The cast got accustomed to the stage and I started to put together my responsibilities for the show.  At the end of the evening (which was really Tuesday morning around 4 a.m.) we added in the pyrotechnics – wow, the fireworks really complete the show!

Tuesday, my friend and co-worker Kim, had her Emerging Leader graduation.  It was held at the Disneyland Hotel Grand Ballroom and I was so proud of her.  I had such a great experience in the program and knew she had too!  It was slightly bittersweet because she was offered a full-time salary position in another department; I am going to miss regularly working with my friend.  Sandy, her mentor, and I met up with Marcie and enjoyed some refreshments after the ceremony with Kim.  It was a lovely afternoon.

Wednesday shifted back to Grad Nite Explosion rehearsal.  It was our final night before debuting for the Grads.  Thankfully, the rain had moved on but left behind was bitter cold.  I made my salsa to share with the cast & crew as a thank you for their hard work throughout this process.  For me, the best part of the process was coming to an end.  I love performances but very much enjoy the rehearsal process – it is the time I get to spend with the performers.  Once shows start, my time with them is limited.  We had a lovely rehearsal, got through everything and even managed to end a smidge early (5 a.m.!). 

We were ready for the Grads on Thursday night.  The first Grad Nite is always a bit smaller in numbers, I think we only had around 11K Grads (our larger nights bring in 26-28K).  But small is a perfect way to make sure all the kinks are worked out before chaos sets is.  We had two great shows (1 a.m. and 3 a.m.) with most everything working. The thing with Grad Nite Explosion shows is that you never have a perfect show, it could be a great show but something, even if it is little, will go awry.  I have accepted this fact and it makes the nights a bit more manageable.  This was also my 12 on 12 day – see my next post for all things photo!

I got to sleep and recover on Friday and then it was back to work on Saturday for Join Jack’s Crew – but that never seems like work!  I don’t think I will ever get tired of working with my pirate cast & crew; and closing night is looming ever closer :( 

May 1–May 7, 2011

Softball Sunday!  Woo hoo!  I got to play another game :)  I know I’ve said it before but I’m saying it again, I love playing!  We’ve got a great bunch of folks playing and we’re not too shabby.  We even won this game!  I look forward to this every year since I got invited to play with the group.  Heck, I was quite upset the first year they played and formed the team without me even though I’d committed to playing while in the interest phase.  Alas, they smartened up and got me on the team eventually! 

Earlier in the day, my home teachers stopped in for a visit.  They a nice couple of guys – one works for a cancer research center in LA and the other is a local cop.  Can’t ask for a better couple of guys to check in on me each month or who I can go to if I need anything.  They even brought me cookies (which a wife had made!). 

The rest of my week was taken up with two things – prepping for Grad Nite Explosion and Mother’s Day celebration (a day early).  I spent all of my work hours prepping and rehearsing the pyrotechnic dance extravaganza the grads get to enjoy twice a night at 1am and 3am.  This year’s big ‘gimmick’ (for lack of a better word at the moment) is a trampoline (tumble track) set in the stage and those acrobats in costumes that light up (similar to those used in the Super Bowl Halftime Show this year).  It was several long days – yup, that’s right – days!  The girl who’d been working the swing shift (3pm-midnight) for the past few months suddenly had shifts beginning at 8am!!!!  But when you have an amazing cast & crew like I have for this event/show – it’s all worth it.  My cast is so very talented and they are taught by some very, very talented choreographers!  It makes my job so much easier – gives me time to deal with the headache that is pyro closures/restrictions and procedures. 

I tried to get a head start on the chaos this year but I think I just stirred up a kettle of fish (whatever that really means!).  Thankfully, I think I have it all worked out.  The test will be the first night we have the crazy wind conditions that shut just about all of Fantasyland down!  When I wasn’t in rehearsal with the dancers or dealing with procedure paperwork, I got to learn about trampoline and acrobatics – well, a little anyway.  Again, I have great tumblers who are willing to try and figure stuff out as we figured it out :)  I am truly blessed to be surrounded by wonderfully talented folk.

On Saturday, I got to put work behind me for a day – while everyone else at Disneyland was working the World Premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides, I got to spend the day with a couple of mothers in my life: my Mom, Joanne, and sister, Karen.  Unfortunately, my sister Sarah is just too far away (Seattle, WA) to spend the day with – but I heard her family treated her well.  Mom, Karen, and I started our day with lunch at Café Rio in Laguna Hills.  We ate way too much because it’s just too good not to finish.  But you only celebrate Mother’s Day once a year, so why not?!? 

After lunch, it was Mani/Pedi time! We headed up to a local Happy Nails Salon and Spa for our girly delight.  We all decided to upgrade to the spa treatment with hand and foot massages and other luxuries included.  I even went so far as to get my eyebrows waxed and shaped (maybe too much info but I don’t care!)  Sitting there with my family, getting my hands and feet pampered, I could totally see how the well-to-do make this a part of their lifestyle.  I suppose if I wanted to do without certain other luxuries, I could reappoint that money to this – it’s all a matter of priorities I suppose.  Perhaps one day, this will be a stronger priority for me… I certainly did enjoy it! 

When our nails were all pur-dy, we headed out for some good old-fashioned shopping.  We intended to just briefly stop in to Bath and Body Works but they were having a sale.  On top of that, they had a bonus bag full of awesome stuff for not much money if you spent so much money (I know, right!).  But the lady into the store just before us took the last one.  However, the helpful employee called another store and held a bag for us.  So it was back in the car and off to the Mission Viejo Mall and the store with the bags.  We each spent over the required amount and got our bonus bag full of goodies.  And, yes, while we spent a significant amount of money on bath soap, lotions, and sprays – I won’t have to buy anything else for at least a year (maybe more!)!!  By the time we got back to the first BBW, I was exhausted so I headed home.  But Mom and Karen continued their kid-free shopping for a little bit longer.  I think it was quite a successful girls day out!  Happy Mother’s Day!

p.s. after lunch, I intended to take more pictures but plain forgot! :(