The time I decided to write stuff

I published my first story for BroadwayWorld.com today. It's a show review of a fundraiser cabaret. Follow the link here to read the story. I can tell you that this is what I was meant to do. At least this feels right at this exact moment. I'm also working on a big project that will hopefully knock something off my bucket list. My creative juices are flowing!

As a budding freelancer, I'm having some difficulties as all new journalists do. I find myself reaching out to publicists and hearing nothing back in return. Given the fact that I majored in Public Relations, I'm actually not surprised. So I sent out my information explaining who I was, but what do I do now? Wait?

My job is to review theater. Do I buy tickets in the meantime to get the job done? I'm already poor, because my full-time job is at a theme park. I do not want to be too pushy, but I also know the importance of waiting.    I'd be interested to know how other writers got their connections. I know it's about building relationships, but how do you even start?

For now, I will continue researching and waiting. If you're an Orlando theater publicist. I'm real! I'm here and I want to review your shows! Please contact me.

If you're a freelance writer, I want to hear from you too. I want to know how it is you do what you do. It turns out that the writing is the easy part of the job.

Witches and Drunk Pirates

Yesterday was my 27th Birthday. Aside from the fact that I'm freaking out about my current life status, I had a great weekend. 

I took two whole days off of work, as in not at any of my three jobs. Friday, I started with a massage. I chose a deep tissue massage, which turned out to be quite painful. I was not able to move my shoulders for a few days. Today, I feel so much better. All those tense muscles are gone, but I don't think that I will choose a deep tissue massage again. Essentially, I paid someone to beat me up. 

My family took my to my favorite restaurant at the Royal Pacific Resort, Emeril's Tchoup Chop.  The food was absolutely fantastic. I had the best Seared Tuna Steak of my entire life. Great company and atmosphere too. 

On my real birthday, Saturday, John arranged for us to see Wicked in Tampa.  We got a late start to avoid Gasparilla, which I believe is a parade with pirates. The whole thing is an excuse for college kids to get drunk in the streets and for girls to dress like pirate whores. Fantastic. Driving there was very fun. I literally crossed the river at least 5 times in an attempt to park the car. The musical itself was fantastic. We were in the last row of the theater, but it was great to see the whole picture.  The cast was phenomenal. Great strong performers. 

We drove an hour back and spent the night at the Royal Pacific Resort. I found a combination that nearly killed John. Basically he drank an energy drink, then Nyquil, then had strenuous physical activity and his heart nearly exploded. Poor guy was sick and coughing. I hope I do not get sick.

So overall, a great start to my next revolution around the sun. 

My Big Fat Gypsy Theme Park

Here's a little call to action that I wrote for work. If you are a "gypsy," no apologizes.

How to Stop Theme Park Scammers: An Exposition

It is important to note that not all people are categorized as professional criminal families, or commonly known as “gypsies.” The degree to which people complain depends upon the frequency and legitimacy of their claims.  Some people may just be “serial complainers,” while others complain “professionally.”

Personally, I am angered by professional criminal families. People work very hard for what they earn and these types of families unjustly receive things for no reason. These costs are ultimately passed back to those who work the hardest.

So how can you tell the difference between someone with a legitimate complaint and someone who is trying to rip you off?  It simply comes down to proof.  Working in a theme park, we have several ways to verify a Guest’s claim. Do they have tickets or receipts? Did they interact with specific people?

While the M.O. might vary, the general story comes down to:
[redacted as proprietary information]

Contact with these guests will occur either via telephone or outside of the parks.  Upon questioning, the story will be riddled with inconsistencies.  When you decline compensation, sometimes these guests will escalate quickly and request to speak with a Manager, ultimately to get what they want. They may attack your attitude and create a scene to escalate the situation further.

Change needs to happen from the top down. No compensation without proof; and no picking up compensation without matching ID. Many times, these families use aliases to keep us off their trail. The names will change quickly, but ultimately the rule of matching ID must stand.

Let the people who legitimately experience an issue be compensated appropriately. Stop the cycle of crime through vigilance and sticking with our policies.  

Chromebook Day 1 Reflection

It's here! Finally technology that I can use without having to click through messages telling me to upgrade my browser. I decided to purchased the computer for my birthday and for writing purposes. I have a lot of great writing gigs coming up and surprisingly, you need a typing device. I was looking for price and quality, which is where the Samsung Chromebook came in. After my harrowing adventure to Best Buy, I ordered the Chromebook from Amazon, which came a day earlier than I expected.

My brother said, "One you go Mac, you don't go back." All of that would be true, except for the fact that Macbooks cost more than I make in a month. My decision really came down to my needs: Internet and a physical keyboard. Thus this netbook/Chromebook totally fits my needs. I will definitely keep my 2006 Macbook in case I need things like music and photos, but my primary computer is now this device.

The Chromebook is different. The trackpad is much different and so is the keyboard. I got stuck in strange shortcut oblivion a minute ago. The packaging is very Mac-esque. Start up was a breeze. I plugged it in and less than a minute later, the computer was up-and-running using my Google login. Despite my computer literacy, I decided to go through the tutorial. Then I immediately changed my background and started downloading apps.

Most strikingly different is the fact that the whole thing operates from the web browser. The little toolbar at the bottom is merely a show of different links. It's not bad, but I wonder what will happen if my wi-fi stops. Supposedly, there is ability to write offline, but I imagine one would not want to turn off the device.

So on Day 1, I'm pleased.

Ain't nobody got no time for Best Buy

There's just something about Best Buy that sets me off. For my last two visits to Best Buy, I've had pretty bad experience. Not from the employees, well, not really; but I usually end up yelling at someone and storming out of the store. I never want to be THAT person, but it seems that in my older age I get agitated quickly.

You would think that working in customer service, I would have more patience, but I think I set myself up for these experience.

Best Buy Trip 1:
I see my fault with this one. I visited Best Buy on December 23, 2012, to get a final gift card for John. Nothing else, just a gift card. I grab a gift card then waited in line for an hour. This occurs after my 8 hour work day. While in line, I play with my phone and do things normal people do. The guy behind me starts touching me. At first, I thought he just brushed up against me. I am not one to be too rude, so I throw a nasty look and brush it off. I stepped as close and out of the way from this guy as I could, but his hand continues accidentally brushing my leg and butt. Ugh! So I finally get to the register and the lady says, "Oh we can't activate gift card, we haven't been able to all day."

That's pretty much when I lose my mind. I screamed "Well a sign would help," and threw the gift card and stomp out of the store. In my peak of rage, I may have dropped a Merry F*ing Christmas. I'm definitely not proud, but at the same time, a sign really would have helped. The exhaustion and the guy harassing me also contributed to this incident.

Best Buy Trip 2:
Yesterday, I decided that for my birthday/Graduation/necessity to buy a new computer. After researching, I decided to go with Samsung's Google Chromebook. At the time, it was sold out online, including Amazon with 4-6 restock. I called Best Buy at 9 AM and was told that they had the computer in stock. Again, probably my fault that I work a 60 hours a week, but I could not get to the store until about 8:30 PM. I ran out of a meeting and made it to Best Buy by 8:35 PM with the store closing at 9:00 PM. There were two fatal errors, not skipping the meeting, and going to the Best Buy at the Mall in Orlando. Malls in Orlando = tourists. I run to the computer section and after a desperate tracking of an employee, discovered the Chromebooks. A Brazilian Tourist had the LAST one in his hand. Working in a theme park, you can ID a Brazilian Tour Group miles away. The store associate was quite apathetic when I asked if there would be more in stock. She said, "Well, they're so cheap, so they sell out quickly." Then, the tourist puts the box down, so I make a move for it and he grabs it again. This is when I regretfully say: "Do you even have plugs that size in your country!??"

The Sales Associate tells me to either order the computer online, or drive 20 miles out of my way to fight for one of eight of these left in the entire state of Florida. Oh the humanity, I just want a cheap computer.

Anywho, I return home and complain to my brother, who of course opens Amazon and found that the Chromebooks came back in stock hours earlier. So I ordered my new computer and it's on its way. I probably wasted more time and energy going to Best Buy than just waiting to order online.

Needless to say, I am just going to order everything online from now on.

60 Hours of Volunteering

Volunteering is so in this year. So I've committed to 60 hours of volunteering this year. It's a low goal, which correlates to about 5 hours a month. This can be challenging for me, because I work so much. I find that the events that I volunteer for are really early or very late.

There are so many opportunities out there. My first event of 2013 and next will be assisting at race fundraisers. Since Orlando is a place where lots of families come to live out their kid's wildest dreams, there are a lot of organizations like Give Kids the World. I hope that volunteering at these events will help unfreeze my heart.

My other goal is to get as many people as possible involved too. Volunteering is just more fun as a group.

Movie Musical Etiquette

On my recent trip to see Les Miserables, I had the unfortunate luck to sit next to a couple of niños in the theater. Grandma and grandpa thought it would be a good idea to take them to see this grown up movie musical. Luckily, they ended up leaving after about an hour. This lead me to think about movie musical etiquette. Aside from standard movie etiquette, movie musicals are it's own breed and bring out a different crowd.

1. Don't sing. I didn't pay $12.00 to hear you sing. I don't care if you were born on Broadway, if there are no bouncing words on the screen, it's not a sing along. 
2. Don't give away the plot. I'm glad you've seen the show on Broadway 40 times. Do not give away the plot before the movie starts.
3. If you never seen the show before (aka. you're being dragged by your significant other), do yourself a favor and read a summary online. This cuts down on you snoring loudly behind me or you asking "what did he say?" every five seconds. 
4. Alternatively, do not explain the plot during the movie. You should have done this before and can certainly do so after. 
5. No in-movie commentary of the performance. The whole point of a musical movie is that it is adapted from stage to screen. There will be differences to fit the medium better. 
6. Don't clap between musical numbers. They can't hear you. They never will.
7. There is no intermission. So pee and snack-up before it starts. 
8. If you are unfamiliar with the musical, but like musicals. Listen to the Original London/Broadway Cast album before the show. This way you can have a better appreciation for the show. 
9. Know the difference between seeing the movie musical 40 times, and seeing the stage musical 40 times. Do not be surprised when you see the stage show and it's completely different. 
10. Bootlegging not ok for both live and filmed productions. We can all see the light on your camera/cell phone. Just turn it off. Just buy the cast album on iTunes. 
11. If you wouldn't take your kids to see the musical live, do not take your kids to see the movie version. See introduction. 

On behalf of musical lovers and movie go-ers. Thank you for reading!

Reflection: Theme Park Peak Week

December 24 - January 2nd is every theme park worker's personal hell. It's where many of us wonder where we went wrong in our lives to end up where we are. It's when many of us lose faith in humanity and also promise ourselves that we will (try) not to be working in the same location the next year.

To live through Christmas Peak Week - Think of it like Black Friday on crack that goes on and on for a week. People wait for hours, mob scene, angry people, long lines, repeat. Theme parks prep as much as they can: adding hours, adding people, extending lines, more training, more parades, fixing things in hopes that the parks can survive the mob of people invading Central Florida. As a four year veteran of the worst week every, I can say that my best advice is to avoid the area at all costs. If you want an ideal vacation with no lines, perfect weather, and sweet angel children - then come in September/October.

During this time, we see the worse in people. People who do not put on their patience pants in the morning. People who expect to be the only ones on the planet. Defiant people who think that screaming and using foul language is the key to getting what they want. All this multiplied by thousands.

One of my favorite sentences is: "This would never happen at [insert any theme park name]." But the truth is, it does.

During the middle of the 2012 Holiday Peak a video went viral of a Disney Cast Member "acting out" and "yelling" at people. Well, when you have a parade dumping into a stage show in a bottle-neck area of the park, you have a new form of hell called Magic Kingdom during Christmas. Sure the general public sees a Disney worker yelling at poor innocent people. But, but, but Disney workers are supposed to create magic!!! BLASPHEMY!

Here's what I see: an overwhelmed young, underpaid woman, whose bosses told her to do "crowd control." On a normal day, this would be fine. However, I am sure this woman endured hours of telling people to move. But why tell people to move - it is Disney after all? Because if the crowd did not move they would die. Simply, trampled or hit by a large parade vehicle or killed by an angry mob. Why did she need to yell? Because she was speaking to at least 200 people, and you can't speak quietly if you are trying to inform 200 people that they're going to die if they do not move. This girl, who probably got fired, spoke to truth when she said "I'm just a number." Honestly, she probably would be treated better working at a fast food restaurant. At least there, if she messes up, it's her fault.

Also in this video you see a line of Electronic Convenience Vehicles (ECV). Controversy warning: I would guess that 8 out of 10 people using those ECVs actually need them. The words "I can't walk/stand for long periods, etc." Translate to me as: "I'm entitled. I do not feel the need to wait in line. I deserve special treatment." If I had a dollar for everyone who is suddenly stricken with a horrible non-standing disease when visiting a park, I would not be writing this.

And that's the root of the problem. It's all fun until Everyone feels entitled. Everyone's family deserves a perfect vacation. So, do not blame the theme parks for "overselling" or "not being prepared." Trust me, this happens every year, your family was just too enamored with the idea of spending Christmas in a theme park.

So to my fellow theme park survivors, Congratulations another one down. To travelers, please stop complaining. Travel in September, it truly is much more enjoyable.

Update: The lady in the above video supposedly did not get fired! She's been seen around the MK working hard.  Yay. If you know the Cast Member, please have her email me - I'd love to interview her.