If there's a bright center to the universe, Ohio is a place that's furthest from

So I created a new blog. Go ahead....judge all you want. This one's much easier to use. I know, I know, my laziness knows no bounds, but the reason for the lack of postings prior to this was due to the frustration with Tumblr. Yay for Google. Anyway, everything has pretty much exploded since I last posted anything, so here's a not so quick recap of my life the past month. 

For those of you who are not yet aware, were aware and forgot, or were aware and still don't care, I am a character attendant here at the fantastic Walt Disney World. Now, all I can really say about that is that I get to hang out with the wonderful and amazing characters here. My home park is Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios), so I spend most of my time there. I am allowed to work at other parks, but only if I either pick up shifts there or am transferred due to short staffing. That's the not so great part about the job. My schedule can change literally at the drop of a hat. Let me put it in perspective. I could go to bed having looked at my schedule. It could say, for example, I'm supposed to hang out with the Incredibles from 11:15am-7pm. I could wake up to a phone call at 9am saying that I need to come to work right now, and I'm now hanging out with Phineas and Ferb. The likeliness of this happening is small, but it still could happen. Hoping and praying it never does. 

Anyway, back to my job. I love it...most of it....some of it...okay I like hanging out with the awesome characters. Also, there aren't many things in this world that can compare to seeing a child's face light up when they're meeting their favorite character. The only downside to my job is the absurd amount of standing. Now, let me preface this complaint by saying that I am not lazy. At least when it comes to work, I am not lazy. My job at Petsmart leaves me pretty much zero time to even breathe, let alone sit down for five seconds, let alone even take a break. I have spent more than a few 10 hour days on my feet at Petsmart and yes, I'm exhausted by the end of it, but it's not bad at all. The key difference is that at Petsmart, the work is fast paced. The work is demanding. Not that being a character attendant here is not demanding, because it is. It's just demanding in a completely different way. You have to be attentive to the people in line. You have to be, at the same time, attentive to the characters you are hanging out with that day. You have to be on the look out for inappropriate things that could appear in photos. It's demanding for sure, but the time goes by much slower in a shift. The extent of my walking as a character attendant is walking from the front of the line to the back, or, depending on the area or cue line that is set up, from the character to the next guest in line. A lot of it depends on what area you are working for the day and how that cue line operates. If there are two attendants and you're the one walking the line, you can only talk to the same people so much before they get annoyed with you.....or yell at you in Spanish......or Portuguese. It's not as bad if you are at the front with the characters going back and forth between the next guest and the characters. I guess it's just overall not as fast paced as Petsmart? I'm not sure. Both jobs are demanding, but time just goes by very, very, VERY slowly sometimes. I do still love it though. Like I said before, nothing beats seeing a kid's face when they're meeting their hero for the first time. Plus, I get to do stuff like this at work....

                   Bet your job's worker appreciation parties don't have Sebastian. 

                                          Or Prince Eric & Princess Ariel. 
But, I digress. Anyway. Living situation. I couldn't love my roommates more. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better group of people to live with. The apartment complex I live in is called Patterson Court. I am about six miles from Epcot to give you a distance idea. I am not used to being so close to everything here! Back home it's almost 25 minutes just to get to Wal-Mart. Here, I could walk there if I really wanted to. It's most definitely been nice having these conveniences. Also, my gas gage doesn't move when I drive to work. Definitely another perk. Patterson is extremely nice. The apartment complex is very safe, and all the ammentities are very nice. Here's just a few pictures of the apartment, clubhouse, pool, and other random tidbits. 

 This is the pool at the clubhouse above. Below is the fountain right behind the pool at the entrance to the clubhouse.

 This is my room. We live in a three bedroom apartment with two girls per bedroom. My bed is the one on the left with the blue sheets :)

 Amazing walk in closet above, Below is our kitchen and the entrance to my bedroom.

 Living room above, below is our bathroom area. Not too shabby!

So, basically our apartments are quite nice. My amazing roommates and awesome living space has definitely made the transition much easier. I'd be even more homesick if I were coming back to a place I hated. Definitely blessed! 

OH yea, and here are my amazing roommates. We're missing Amy on this one unfortunately. My actual roommate is Maria on the far left. Sarah is behind her. Anna is the one bent next to the penguin, and Corinne is behind her. Again, I love them all dearly.

I'm not quite sure why my font decided to change, but oh well. I'm too tired to fix it right now. I just got back from an amazing visit home. I am so blessed to have been able to spend Valentine's Day with the love of my life. Also, I got to spend his birthday with him too :) Above are the beautiful flowers Colin surprised me with on Valentine's Day. I am so unbelievably lucky to have such an amazing boyfriend :)

Also, seeing my puglets was amazing as well. I missed them so much it just wasn't right. Of course I missed my kitties too. Here's a few pictures that, if you have a soul, will make you smile.

 Pixie, Otis, and Magoo all crashed on their favorite bed.

 Miss Lois asleep on my bed.

 Magoo giving me sass because I was leaving.

 Chewy in his adorable Chinese emperor outfit.

 Baby Tig (Tigger) being sassy as usual. He loves his little house.

 Chewy when he came to see me at the airport.

Me and my Magoo. I miss these little stinkers so much. Lilly is the only one who wasn't in any of these pictures unfortunately.

So overall, aside from the snow and freezing cold weather, my trip home was awesome. I was glad to be back in the warmth, but there really are no words to describe how much I miss everyone already. On a positive note though, Colin is coming to see me in just three short weeks! This will definitely make the time go by quicker.

Well, that's all for now. Work beckons me tomorrow morning. Promise I'll be better about posting, haha.

Hugs and wishes,
-Haley