Disney Pixar - Day and Night

The best Pixar short that I've seen, it was first shown before Toy Story 3 this past summer:

August 2009? Yup! It's Daytona Beach!!

TWO posts in ONE day says you?!! YES says I!!! And here is why: I feel like I majorly failed in the second half of my program updating my blog. So I'm going to between now and my face to face interview and perhaps beyond throw a bunch of photos and words at you about the middle-end of my program. We're going to go back to August 2009 and begin with when my darling friend Amy and her mum Lisa came to visit from home! We went to Daytona together!! It was so much fun - and HOT!

First off Amy and her Mum stayed at Disney's Pop Century. Each of the buildings is themed after a different decade and has intensely huge oversized 'things' to do with that decade.

We went to the parks for a few days, I worked most days so didn't really get to hang out too much during the Disney portion of the trip, except I got to eat with them at Coral Reef and Le Cellier. Amy and I were talking about this the other day and I think there may be one other restaurant I went to with them, but I don't remember! Sorry!! I do remember Lisa not liking how little recycling there seemed to be at the Disney parks though! :)

I kissed a girl and I liked it, taste of her cherry chapstick! hehehe Oh Mrs. Potato Head.

So after a few days at Disney we set off to Daytona Beach!!!

While we were there we drove past where they hold the Daytona 500

We went for a walk one of the days and got terribly lost. It was kind of frightening in some parts, this place freaked me out :

Buck's Gun Rack. They had a sale on Gun Safes at least...free delivery!

We walked way into Daytona, past a bunch of somewhat run down residential neighbourhoods, a church on every corner, the Daytona College, and eventually found a bus stop outside of a hospital. And it was insanely HOT OUTSIDE!! I thought I was going to melt into the cement. That's why it was great when we got back to our hotel...this is the view from our room:

Not too bad to wake up to every day! The only thing separating us from the beach? The Pool!

So after Daytona I covered the fall pretty well in my January 2010 post. It involved a lot of working, dinners out, a trip to Miami, a few trips to Tampa, a trip to the Bahamas on a Disney Cruise, and a trip to Toronto to visit my family! My next post I'll throw some random pics from throughout this time up, and then move on to my Aunt's (and sister Carrie's!!) visit to Disney World for the first time, and then we'll cover Boston and Mardi Gras before my last week on the job! Sorry for all the backtracking and jumping around, we'll figure it all out, get totally caught up and hopefully have some exciting things to post about in February/March!

31 Days 8 hours and 40 minutes until my Disney Face to Face Interview!

Childhood Obstacles

When I was in elementary school I wasn't a skinny kid, really I have never been a small child. That's me in the Pocahontas matching shirt + shorts - stylish as well ;)

The reason I'm pointing this out (besides the super cute pictures of my sisters and I!) is because yesterday I concurred a fear from my youth - The Terry Fox Run.

A little background (straight from Wikipedia) on Terry Fox and then I'll tell you why I feared this incredibly important fundraiser:

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox CC OD, (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadianhumanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$500 million has been raised in his name.

Even now, 30 years after his death, Fox remains a prominent figure in Canadian folklore. His determination united the nation; people from all walks of life lent their support to his run and his memory inspires pride in all regions of the country.^[70] A 1999 national survey named him as Canada's greatest hero,^[71] and he finished second to Tommy Douglas in the 2004 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program The Greatest Canadian.^[72] Fox's heroic status has been attributed to his image as an ordinary person attempting a remarkable and inspirational feat.^[73][74]Others have argued that Fox's greatness derives from his audacious vision, his determined pursuit of his goal, his ability to overcome challenges such as his lack of experience and the very loneliness of his venture.

Being from British Columbia I always felt extra proud and related to Terry Fox, as I'm sure a lot of others did. I raised as much money as I could, had big discussions about Terry and cancer and the likes with my parents and grandparents, I was inspired and cried at the presentations and videos I watched about him. However when it came time to actually run the Terry Fox Run at school I got huge knots in my stomach and was so nervous and embaressed, because there was no way I could actually run the whole distance they wanted us to run! It seemed like that country road that turned into a dirt road then a cul-de-sac was the longest uphill run ever and I could barely make it 50 meters up the street before breathing heavily and having to walk as my friends peeled ahead. I would try to cheat even by switching sides of the road quickly, bend to "tie my shoes" and then run back. They gave out bookmarks at the end of the route though so this technique wasn't very good. As I got older I'm embarrassed to say that I took the stance that I was "too cool" and would walk the run with my friends to chat and take extra time before having to go back to class.

Terry Fox ran 3,339 miles in 143 days, that's nearly a marathon a day. He didn't want fame, except to raise awareness for cancer research and he didn't want celebrity. It wasn't a glamorous run, it was early mornings, long hours on the side of highways almost being run down by trucks, it was intense pain and all for a hope, for a dream of finding a cure. His drive and determination makes you know anything is possible if you fully believe in it and work hard to make it happen.

I returned home to my childhood house to visit my parents this weekend in Royston,BC. I laced up my sneakers (they're actually Livestrong runners) and ran from my house, past my old elementary school, and started up that old country road that haunted my days as a kid. I ran the entire way up the road, and back - it felt a lot shorter than it use to. I even pretended I was grabbing a bookmark when I reached the end of the dirt cul-de-sac. Then I continued and ran my whole 5 mile run up and down the hillside of Royston. It felt good running the course, even though it was just a couple of kms, facing those childhood fears.

I will never skip a Terry Fox Run again, no matter where I am, or what I am doing, where I live or how busy I think I am, every year in September (Sept. 18th, 2011!!) I will lace up my sneakers and run for Terry and for the cure to cancer. Maybe I'll even sport this beauty:

For more information on Terry Fox, the Terry Fox organization and runs in your area check out their website: Terry Fox Foundation

Its safe to say I can run further than my 5-11 year old self could, which is kind of sad. There's only one way to go from here, and it's aimed towards the Walt Disney World Marathon next January.

31 Days and 9 Hours until my Disney Face to Face Interview!!!

Disney Face to Face!!

Greetings Kathryn (Kate)!

I hope you are excited for the upcoming interviews for the Walt Disney World Cultural Representative Program. The Disney Recruiters look forward to meeting you when they come to Canada! During this time you will be able to attend a presentation about all about the Magic known as Disney, and gain information about the Cultural Representative Program and the perks that come with it. After the presentation, you will have the opportunity to experience an interview like you never have before with the Walt Disney World recruiters!

For the upcoming interviews, we are offering the following dates and locations:


Friday, February 25th
Vancouver, British Columbia
845am-5pm

OR

Tuesday, March 1st
Toronto, Ontario
845am-5pm

OR

Thursday, March 3rd
Montreal, Quebec
845am-5pm



Transportation and any accommodation costs for the interview are at your own expense. The interviews will last all day, so we do ask that you choose a day that you will be able to attend the full interview time frames.

As space is limited for these interviews, please do contact me by Monday, January 24th, to confirm which interview location you would like to attend. We will grant confirmations for your selected city on a first come first/served basis.

Please do note that once an interview location is filled, we will ask you to choose an alternative location.

Once I have your preferred city choice I will email you a confirmation, so you can plan the start of this exciting adventure! We will then email you in the next 2-3 weeks, with the details of what you will need for the interviews as well as the name and contact details of the venue in your interview city.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Have a Magical Day,


Kristen Thornton
Yummy Jobs

Yay!! Sooo exciting!! I already replied of course and have a spot at the Vancouver interviews! It's so nice knowing that I have an interview date and can plan around it! This was a big week because I also got accepted to University this week! So a lot of decision making will be made mid-March when I find out if I have another program or not! Stay tuned...this is getting exciting!

35 days 1 hour and 7 minutes until Disney Face to Face Interview!

Check this World Of Color Video out courtesy of asianbma at MiceChat! It's unreal!

2 more weeks...

Greetings!

We hope you had a great holiday season and are excited for the upcoming Walt Disney World interviews! Yummy Jobs is excited to be getting closer to the finalization of our upcoming interviews with Walt Disney World in Canada. More information regarding the locations and the exact dates should be confirmed in the next 2 weeks! We are anticipating interviews to be held between February 25- March 4, but will have the 100% confirmation of the cities and each date very shortly.

Please do keep an eye on your emails, and should your email address change please do contact me to let me know.

These interviews will be for arrival dates on the Cultural Representative Program that will start primarily between July and December 2010, lasting for one year from the time you arrive Orlando. If your situation has changed and you are no longer able to participate in this program, please do let us know so we can ensure that you are eligible to be considered for future programs!

We look forward to sending you more information as we have it!

Have a Great day!


Kristen Thornton
Yummy Jobs

Not exactly what I was expecting when I opened the email, but at least there is a time frame now! And at least it's at the beginning of March not the end! I'm so excited/nervous for the interviews and just really want them to take place already!! I want to know one way or the other haha. So we shall wait, 2 more weeks, and hopefully know the interview date sooner than later. At least I don't have to travel anywhere for the interview...that would drive me nuts because flights are just getting more and more expensive! Until next time....

This is why Running is Disney Related!

I have never been a huge runner...until now. Over the past few months I've somewhat fallen head of heels in love. They say you fall in love when you're least expecting it..and that seems to be what has happened. Some days it feels amazing and as if I could run forever, and some days, like today, that last mile is ridiculously hard! 2 days ago I had a fantastic run, where all the songs hit at the perfect times and once I finished my 5 mile run (just over 8km) I thought why not run one more, and then I ran the rest of the way home so it ended up being about 6.75 miles (10.86km) and I was tired afterwards! The last two days have been tougher and I've done 5 miles each day. All of this started when I heard one of the guys I worked with my first go around was running the 2010 Disney Marathon. I thought that was so cool, and as I had always secretly wanted to run a marathon at some point made the decision that I would run the 2012 Disney Marathon, and now it's less than a year away! I've always been sporty but not necessarily very fit. This year is the year though, as I don't really have a choice! I start a running clinic every Tuesday evening on the 25th for 12 weeks leading up to my first official run - The Vancouver Sun Run on April 17th! I just found a 8km or half marathon that happens on May 1st, however the original plan was to run the Scotiabank Half Marathon June 26th - so we shall see!
If I get to be in Florida by October I'm hoping to do the Epcot Food and Wine Half Marathon then! And then the grande finale - the 2012 Disney Marathon taking place the first weekend of January, the 6-8th!
I hope that whoever reads this, besides my family, doesn't mind that I'm blogging a bit about running in between hearing from Kristen at Yummy Jobs, and the Face to face interviews, but I need some distraction or I'll go stir crazy! My friend Ali from my first contract emailed Kristen and she still hasn't heard any news from Disney as to when the interviews will take place, which means we're all in the dark still too!
I'm sooo nervous and excited to hear about the face to face interviews and actually have them happen! It's so frustrating having to wait wait wait... maybe running will teach me some patience?
Until next time... if any of you are in Florida here is one of my best tips: Rent boats from one of the resorts on the Seven Seas Lagoons!!! You get a cast member discount (if you're a cast member of course) and even if you aren't they are soo much fun, especially on a sunny day! When I went we rented the 2 seater kinda of speed boats, and I'd never driven a boat before, but we each got one, and after initially being freaked out, it was INCREDIBLE! Zooming around the water, with the castle in the background, the beautiful wilderness lodge, the Floridian, it was great! If you ever get the chance...DO IT! :)