Packed!

I am basically officially packed. Besides the things I need tomorrow (contact stuff, watch, phone, and computer), everything else is in boxes and bags, waiting either by the front door or the door to my room.

The final breakdown is:
2 boxes
1 checked bag
1 carry-on bag
1 tote bag as my personal item

My room is clean (oh my gosh!), but somehow it doesn't look like much is missing... which is sad, in more than one way. I think I need to get rid of things, if I've packed up everything I need for 4 months, but my room is still the same...

Right now, I'm burning DVDs to make room on my external hard drive, since I had a lot of movies on there. My sleep schedule is going to be so messed up on vacation. Ugh. Once this one is done burning, there's only one more though.

I've been reading people's blogs, and I must say, I am so excited for the first week, especially Traditions and Park Orientation. Mostly Traditions though. Every time I read another blog, I get more excited, because the anticipation is building. I keep feeling like I'm going to cry, but I haven't yet. I'm sure tomorrow or Wednesday morning though, it's going to happen.

I keep looking at my carpet, because I vacuumed, and it's soooo clean. Usually, I can't see it past all the stuff on it, but now all that stuff is in boxes, instead of on my floor or in the closet.

One great thing about packing for the College Program, and I'm not sure if anyone else had this happen, is that you purge a lot of things. You go "I don't need to bring this with me.. do I need it when I come back? I don't think so" and toss it.

I have a whole bunch of books I'm going to donate to the library, I got rid of massive amounts of body lotion and perfume and soaps, etc. I cleaned out papers, candy from Easter that I know I won't eat, all sorts of stuff. It felt great.

I only have 30 more hours in Boston. Wow. This is getting really cool. :)

Packing List

Woohoo! Alright, so I know packing is a big deal for a lot of people, especially those of us who are flying.

I made a list of everything that I want to buy and bring with me, or purchase there, and put it all together, separated by room. I don't have it separated into what to buy when, because I figure that some people might read this who will be driving down, and can bring more, and others may buy things down there that I am bringing down with me (like a pillow, for instance - it takes up a lot of room!) Also, this is a girl's list, so guys won't need everything on it...

I know this list isn't totally 100% all you will need, but it's everything that I can think of right now, and if I think of more, I'll go back and edit it. But for now, here is the list:


Bathroom:
Towels (beach and bath)
Washcloths
Hand towels
Cleaning Supplies (Ajax, Windex, etc)
Deodorant
Pads + Tampons
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Contact Care things
Glasses
Sunscreen
Shampoo
Conditioner
Deodorant Soap
Body Wash
Laundry Detergent
Benedryl
Ibuprofen
Rolaids/Tums
Prescriptions
Razor and spare heads/Electric Razor
Shaving Cream
Stain Remover Stick
Tissues
Toilet Paper
Hair Brush
Nail Clippers/File
Glasses repair kit
Tweezers
Bandages
Rubbing alcohol
Shower Curtain
Cotton Balls
Soap Box
Small Mirror
Spray Bottle



Kitchen:
Water Filter
Toaster
Garbage Bags
Frozen Food Packs (ice packs)
Paper Towels
Ziplock Bags
Dish Soap
Sponge/Steel Wool Brillo Pads/Brush
Dishwasher Detergent
Colander
Dish Towels
Napkins
Dish drying rack
JetDry
Pitchers
Tupperware/Leftover/Lunch containers (Gladware is cheap, that's what I got)


Bedroom:
Mattress Pad
Sheets
Pillow
Alarm Clock
Hangers
Laundry Basket & Bag
Waste Basket
Small bedside lamp
Lightbulbs



Clothes:
Socks
Tights
Casual Clothing
Professional Clothing
Sneakers
Sandals
Dress Shoes
Belt
Pajamas
Underwear & Bras
Rain Coat/Poncho
Sewing Kit
Sunglasses
Hat


Extras:
Tripod
Batteries
Camera(s)
Ethernet cable
Wireless Router
Memory Card Reader
Employment Eligibility Documents
Debit Card
Checkbook
Health Insurance Info/Card
Writing Paper/Notebooks
Pens
On-boarding paperwork
Day bag (for park visting or bringing to work)
Lunch box
Calendar
iPod + Headphones
Combination Lock
Computer/Mouse/Plug/Mousepad
Backup Drive
Cell Phone and Charger
Extension Cord/Surge Protector
Stamps
Envelopes
Umbrella
Rubber bands
Tape
Ironing Board + Iron
Safety Pins
Stapler
Scissors
Post-its
Lint Brush

Heard Back...

So.. for Fall 2010, I will be an......

Attractions Hostess. Haha. I got an email on Friday telling me I wasn't offered the Character Performer position.

And strangely, I was totally okay with it. I was a little disappointed when I opened my email, but after about 30 seconds, I was good. I was glad that I didn't have to wear a heavy, hot costume for 4 months, I was glad I had a better chance of getting days off for when Lou and my mom visit.... I think all those things that I had been thinking about over the past few weeks helped me feel better about it.

I am so excited to go down and work in Attractions now though!

In exactly 4 months, I will be in Disney!!!! Today's when my family arrives for our vacation, the one I won't come back from, because I check in ~two weeks after that.

Today I made some business/calling cards for Disney and networking - when they come in, I'll put up a photo. I think they're really cute, they remind me of Main Street.

Audition

Ack, so I've sort of been sleeping off my audition for the past few days, my bad guys! I think I need to get in shape if I get this, haha. An hour of dancing totally kicked my butt.

So, here's my audition experience:

I had to get up really early to get my brother on his bus, so I got up even earlier to shower, eat, etc. Turns out I waste a lot of time in the morning, so I ended up missing the bus I wanted to take, but there was another one at 8:25.... it said it would get me to the Red Line around 8:40. Well, there was no traffic, and then I made really good connections, so I ended up getting to Central Station around 8:45. Wow! Keep in mind the audition starts at 11, haha.

So I realized on the train that I was swaying, I was totally a bundle of nerves, it was awful. I finally realized that I'm going to Disney no matter what, and I practiced as much as I could (I was watching little kid dance videos up until I needed to catch my bus, which may have been why I was late...), and that I was going to give my best, and it's all I can do.

My mouth was still dry, so I stopped off at a Walgreens and got the biggest bottle of water I have ever seen, haha. And it was somehow cheaper than the little bottles I usually get? Weird. But great. It seriously must have been at least a half-gallon, it was crazy... I didn't have to worry about running out.

Anyway! So I walked down Mass Ave and found the dance studio.. it's now 8:50, and the studio wasn't supposed to open until 9, so I waited outside for a few minutes, until I saw someone going in - I went up to them, and was like "Good morning!" - turns out they were a real dancer, and not someone going to the Disney audition - haha. As in, they had been there before, and were sort of taken aback by my "wow, look at this! It's so weird!" when I walked in... oops.

I was the second person there, Brittany (Hi Brittany!) was first, so we met and chatted before Liz showed up, and then we were the only ones for a little while. Keep in mind, it's just about 9 - we still have two hours before it officially starts. Haha. We talked, got into our dance shoes, talked, etc, before the person at the front desk told us to head up to Studio 4. The three of us were the first ones up the stairs, so we were in the back of the room, which was unfortunate when they sent us up to Studio 6 a few minutes later - this meant that we were in the back of the line up there.

When we got up to Studio 6 (this GIANT room on the top floor of the place), it turns out my presenter from Northeastern was there, Margo! It was great to see her again, and so we chatted later for a bit. First though, she handed out paperwork to fill out. Luckily, I had brought my pen, so I speed-filled it out, and was the first one done, meaning I was #1! Yayyy! What a loser, haha.

This meant that I was the first one to get measured, and the first to get my photo taken as well. After my photo was taken, they measured me at 5'4.25. Huh? I didn't say anything, but that's about an inch shorter than I actually am. Unfortunately for a lot of people who are 5'5, they are getting cut almost immediately at bigger auditions, so I'm wondering if there was a reason I was measured down? I guess I'll find out, won't I?

So after I was measured, I went over and warmed up and stretched while waiting for the other 74 people to get all set.

The Disney people then went over what will happen, and told us that we were going to have two things to do - animation (miming) and dancing. They said the animation matters a lot more than the dancing, and as long as you can kinda follow along, you'd be okay if you were just going for meet-n-greet, which is what I want- and thank god! haha.

I think I was great with the animations - there were two, which was different, apparently! We had to meet our favorite character, and then get something to eat at the park, and then do our dance.

Did I mention we learned this dance in about 30 minutes? And it was 40 counts? And it was HARD!?!??! Oh man. I could not do it for the life of me.

We all learned together (all 75 of us), and then performed it 25 at a time, doing our "Character, Food, Dance - a few seconds to breathe - Character, Food, Dance, stand back for the next group" thing. After that, we all had to line up going down the stairs, and went in 6 at a time to perform again for the Casting Director.

My group was first, which meant that I had no time to practice.. which sucked. It was really hard, and I totally messed up my dance. No one in my group was kept for advanced dance, needless to say. I was out of there pretty fast, and I didn't feel badly about how I did. I know I tried my hardest, and considering I've never really danced before, I feel that I didn't do too badly (even though I stunk, I could have done worse!), and I think my animation was definitely better than other peoples' - when watching others, I couldn't tell who they were meeting, but I know I picked a really distinguishable character - there aren't many you can have a hula contest with. I know that might sound kinda egotistical, but I really felt good about my animation - that was the one thing I had prepared for really well.

Speaking of preparing, if anyone hasn't danced, I suggest the Tinkerbell Dance Studio Jazz and Ballet movies. If I had watched them sooner than the morning of the audition, I think they might have helped a little more. I also used the Dance-Along High School Musical things - that helped me learn how to watch someone and copy what they are doing. Those are on Youtube, or get them from your library.

I hear back in 2-3 weeks about my results, but either way, I'm really happy I did the audition - it was fun, after I calmed my nerves down, and I know I'll be happy with Entertainment or Attractions. :)

Thank you for reading, everyone!

And by the way - less two months until I go to Disney for my May vacation! I'm excited! And almost 5 months until I check in for the College Program!!!!

Hi Everyone!

Well, this is it. My foray into blogging. I hope that throughout the next 10 months, I will be able to keep everyone updated and entertained as I detail the life of a Disney College Program Participant. I know that multiple people have asked me to start a blog, so although they didn't know what they were getting themselves into, I hope other people who might be interested in doing the College Program are able to find useful info in these coming months, and far in the future. I would like to thank, before I go any further, thecutestblogontheblock.com, for the background and header template. The ribbon people princesses are Rachael Young, and they are no longer available as digital elements, which is unfortunate.

Now that that's out of the way, let me give a brief background on what's going on right now.

I will be going to Disney from August 30th to January 7th to work for them in an Attractions role. I also have an audition on March 24th for a Character Performer, but I doubt that I will be offered that position. So I'm planning on working Attractions, but that was my #1 role, and I'm really excited about it.

I think that's all I have for now, so I hope you keep reading, and if anyone has any questions, just leave a comment and I'd be happy to answer them!