True Stories I Made Up

"The Road Goes Ever On and On..."

2011-10-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hmm.. where to begin?! So much has been going on!

Welp, I’m definitely adjusted to European college life. Things are running smoothly (well, as much as can be expected), and I’ve been going out and adventuring some! So far, I have been to London, Stonehenge, Bath, and shopping in Staines, and a weekend in Wales. So that just about covers all of the weekends I’ve been here! My goal is to get out and adventure somewhere new each weekend. So far so good! In later in November I’ll be going on a day trip to Oxford and the Cotswolds. In the meantime, myself and the flat-mates purchased tickets to see Les Mis in London later in November, and hopefully take the Eurostar over to France for a weekend… even looking into Scotland! J Lots of possibilities in the near future!! Here’s more on what I’ve done so far (album links, too!):

London was a really exciting day! Due to some last minute changes, my friend was no longer able to go, so I headed into the city on my own. 40 min train ride into London Waterloo station, and a bunch of tubes later, I managed to navigate my way to Kensington Garden to see the processional for Rapunzel’s Disney Princess coronation (so cool to see a little piece of Disney here!!), Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey (even ate lunch right next to Big Ben hehe), Temple Church (Da Vinci Code anyone?), the Millenium Bridge (terrifying), the Globe Theatre, and finally, the London Eye and pier. Whew! It was a crazy day of running around, but I had the time of my life!

Click here to see the pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150480833079698.467932.600394697&type=1&l=bdaa5a5297

Stonehenge and Bath was another loooong, but fantastic day! We started out the morning with a lovely 2 hour bus ride to Stonehenge. It’s so funny, because it’s pretty much surrounded by farms on all sides in the middle of nowhere on a hill! I mean, I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t to see these massive stones suddenly appear on the side of the road! It was super cold and windy out (silly me, I hadn’t learned yet and didn’t wear proper weather cover! Oops!), but really the experience was just amazing. Pictures just cannot do it justice! These stones are massive and just loom above you… so breath-taking. I’d love to go back again and spend more time there.

After that, we got on the bus again for another hour to the Roman city of Bath. So. Roman. It felt like it came out of a mythology book. There were buildings made of ivory rock everywhere and fashioned, well, like something out of Rome! It was gorgeous. After a quick walking tour, we got loads of free time to eat and explore! Finally, we got into the Roman Baths. It was much more than I thought it would be.. you know, like more than just a place rich Romans went to mingle with their neighbors. It was a massive temple with several different bath areas for different purposes. Lots of worship and offering areas everywhere. It was just completely amazing!

Here’s the photos to check out:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150480833079698.467932.600394697&type=1
Ooh, the last few pictures are from when I went shopping in Staines with some of my flat-mates.

My latest adventure was to Wales this past weekend. It was definitely quite the adventure!!! Got on the bus at 8:15a, drove for about 2.5 hours over to Wales to see the Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre and Military Barracks, Caerphilly Castle, and St. Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life. Then we headed over to the Premier Inn in Swansea, got settled in, then headed out for dinner and to check out some of the night life on Wynd Street. The next day we were up bright and early for a hot traditional Welsh breakfast (yummm), and out the door! We drove through part of Brecon Beacons National Park while on the way to Big Pit Mining (gulp), stopped quickly in Monmouth, drove through the Wye Valley to our final destination, Tinturn Abbey. Whew! It was a super crazy weekend, but so much fun!!

Check out both of the photo albums:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150513038059698.474412.600394697&type=1&l=20864e2a1e

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150514021099698.474660.600394697&type=1&l=ffd578fafa

Spent most of this week just recuperating and catching up on some school work. I just had my first presentation on Wednesday.. Have another coming up on Monday, with one following the second week in November… just in case you thought I had forgotten about school ;)

Still trying to figure out what to do this weekend… decisions, decisions.

You know, it’s funny; my dreams are still as big as the day I dreamt them, only now, they are starting to come to life. So this is living.. I could get used to this.

Good night, Moon.

Love, CPK xxx

I Chose the Road Less Traveled By...

2011-09-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

Oh, hey.

I suppose it's that time again where I update this thing so everyone stops yelling at me. The quick version is I'm in the UK now... but that's the super abridged version. Here's some of the details:

A little over 3 weeks ago, I was still in Orlando. The last few days before I left were some of the most amazing. On Monday night I went to Magic Kingdom by myself (everyone else was working) to see Disney's Electric Parade (and wave 'hi' to a few special someones), then I watched Magic, Memories, and You, followed by Wishes at the castle. If you haven't seen either of these, I highly recommend watching them... maybe on Youtube, but that doesn't really do it justice, so you should just come visit me when I get back down there :) The next few days were comprised of Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Sea World (for the first time, I might add! Special thanks to Julie for getting me in!!!). I truly can't thank my friends enough from taking time out of their already crazy schedules, and even running themselves to exhaustion, to come out with me... they were some of my best memories in Orlando yet!

After all the chaos, I flew back to Mass for about a week to do a little visiting, and lots of preparing for the UK. It really went by much too quickly, and I did not get the chance to see nearly as many people as I would have liked. For those that did take the time out to see me, thank you so much!! It was so good to catch up again. I really do miss everyone up north muchly. I was able to go to Hampton Beach for the Sea Food Festival for a day, visit SFNE, go out to dinner with some good friends, make a few trips to BPC, and drive to both malls about 8 million times.

Currently, I'm in Egham, Surrey, UK... which is about 10 minutes outside of London. It was about a 6.5 hour trip from Logan International in Boston.. sitting next to some rather large, odorous Europeans. Hmm...

Anyways... I am going to school at Royal Holloway University of London. It has been quite the experience hitherto. I arrived Saturday 17 September (gotta get used to doing that!)... wow it's been a week already! Yikes!! This past week is what is known as Fresher's Week (freshers= first year students), so no classes yet, but lots of events, getting settled, and inductions (orientations). Classes start this coming Monday (so late!). I live in a flat with 5 other students, 4 are freshers and 1 is another abroad student from Georgia. Flat, as I learned when I got here, is a fancy term for us getting our own rooms with bathroom and sharing a kitchen area, which has already become our common area. It's kind of nice knowing that at certain times of the day everyone is probably venturing there to prepare a meal or get ready for the evening events.

Oh, right, there's bars and clubs on campus... it's so strange to me! Also a Student's Union. And a bunch of dorms. And I hear there are classrooms somewhere ;) kidding!! I've seen some...

You know, it's terribly odd being in a culture you thought you would understand pretty well, and discovering that you have practically nothing in common. Even the language is taking me a while to get used to. Thus far some of my favorite words are: bullocks, mad, fairy lights, torch, bear, shite shirt, and brilliant. I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can currently think of. It's fun playing the "Wait, what did you just say?!" game.

It is definitely taking some time to get used to everything, but I am learning and adapting. I never knew until this past year, and it applies even more now; to go into a new environment you truly need to forget everything you knew in order to learn the new ways of where you are. I cannot accept something if what I used to know will not let me... so I have to drop that idea and embrace the new one. I had to do that for Disney, and the same is true for RHUL. I am not saying that you cannot go back to it later and use it to help you, but it seems so much easier to temporarily let it go, then get it back once you have accepted the new culture/ideas/norms/values/whatever.

I guess I have really learned a lot and grown since September of last year...

But enough with being philosophical... I need to get to bed! Going to London bright and early with the school for a guided tour :) I am so excited!!! I'll post pictures of the school campus and London tomorrow when I get back :)

Oh, one more thing. To everyone that ever told me I couldn't do something, thanks. It's because of you that I fought for everything I was ever passionate about and the reason I am where I am today. And to everyone that has ever encouraged and helped me, thank you. I honestly could not have done it without you. You are the ones that kept my spirits up when I was tired of fighting the world, and continued pushing me... and look where I am now.

I am so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing people.

Love,
CPK

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."

2011-08-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hey, look! I'm getting a little better at this! Ah well... I try.

Right now, life in Orlando is kind of evening out (well sort of, I suppose). Still working as a character attendant at Disney; now getting scheduled 5 days a week of pm Character Spot attendant (4p-9:30p), which is kind of draining every day, but I make due. Just finished up an online course through WNEC to try and stay on track of classes. It's nice to use my brain again for some critical thinking.

Currently, I'm trying to work with everyone and finalize plans for going back to MA and London. Hard to believe that in 11 days I'll be back up north, and in 20 I'll be getting on a plane to the UK for two months. So surreal.

It's a little.. frustrating, for lack of a better description... packing up my life and moving every few months or so. You know? Every time I settle into a new home, I move. I lived at Bay Path for over a year continuously, at Vista Way apartments for 5 months with my 403 girls, and now I've been at Century Palms with the 101 roomies for about 3 months, and I'm off again! Just kind of puts you in an odd mindset for where home really is.

But I do love my adventures (you know it's bad when your mother starts quoting that to you), and while I'm a little hesitant to jump over seas, I know I would regret passing up the opportunity to do any of this. And while I really can't wait to get back up north to see everyone and fly overseas for a new adventure, I'm also excited to come back to the place I call home now and begin actually pursuing a career... maybe being a big kid, but that might be pushing it.

It's funny to say (write), but I really believe that coming down here and experiencing everything that I have been through has made me grow up.. understand a lot more about a lot, to say the least ;)

Oh, and if I haven't mentioned it before, I might have a new found cartoon love for these boys :)

And because I don't get to say it to any of you enough: I miss you all, and think about you almost constantly. Just because you don't hear from me doesn't mean you aren't on my mind all the time.

Love, CPK

We Were Boxing the Stars

2011-07-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, once again, I was reminded how long it has been since I posted on here. Fail. I decided to renew my efforts in consistently writing on this (not that it was ever terribly consistent). Well.. I do what I can.

Man, it really blows my mind how much has happened and changed in the past few months since I started this thing. Like really. It's unbelievable. Gosh.. where to start...

Ok, so I ended my College Program on June 3rd. It was probably one of the saddest/happiest days of my life. On one hand, I was really excited to start a brand new chapter in my life (details of I will get into later). But on the other, these girls that I had lived with since January had become my family.. we all went through a lot together, and learned a lot of hard life lessons. It was so terribly hard to say "Goodbye" to them.

That's us going to the CP Formal. Such a great night. I know whatever happens in life, these girls will always be my friends.

After leaving the CP, I made the crazy decision to stay in Florida and get an apartment with some friends. There is now 4 of us living together: 2 of my closest friends who moved down from up north, April and Julie, and a great new friend I met down here, Matt. There is now a huge friend group living in Orlando that has moved down from MA.. most worked at Six Flags with me. It's really exciting to still have these people around, while making new friends down here.

Our apartment is really quite nice. We live at Century Palms.. look it up and be jealous. We have a lovely view of the man-made lake at the center of the complex, live on the first floor, and very close to the pool and gym :)It's also a 5 min drive to Epcot cast parking, 7 min to Studios, 9 min to DAK, and 15 to Magic Kingdom. We're kind of in the middle of everything. Especially toll roads :/ Ah well, can't win them all.

Currently, I work as a seasonal cast member as a character attendant. Don't get me wrong, it's been difficult trying to pick up enough hours and make bills.. but I wouldn't trade it for the world. One of my managers who is aware of my past experience and wants to help me reach my goals keeps sending me pretty awesome job postings, so I keep applying to those simply to see what happens. What have I got to lose at this point??

However, the reason I am not super actively pursuing much more at WDW for the moment is because I was finally, after months of battling many different departments (even on different continents), been accepted into Royal Holloway, a University on the outskirts of London. Yayyy!!!

Gosh, I've said it before, but I'll say it again. It's a good thing I'm so stubborn.. otherwise I would still be back at BPC wishing I had done my internship at Disney. Take that.

We're still making all of the arrangements, but more details to come on the timeline. I'm hoping to come back up north (can't call it home anymore!) for at least a week before flying to the UK to visit friends and family. I never thought I would miss Mass and everyone who comes with it as dearly as I do. Things are just so different down here! When people ask where I am from and I respond with Mass, they look at me confused because Mass is at church on Sundays. And I had a conversation with someone down here about "snow skiing".. and I thought it was so amusing he called it that, but it's because he also water ski's... what?! Threw me for a loop! I also now have a terribly habit of saying "y'all" from my old roommate from Louisiana. Too funny! Don't hate me when I can't stop saying it. Seriously.

I'm also currently taking an online class through WNEC to keep up with credits.. and re-teach my brain to use book smarts again. Yikes.

Hmm... I just realized I had planned on posting many more pictures. Let's fix that.

Look! It's me.. at the end of my College Program. Sad! (Now I have bangs again!)

This is from my College Program Graduation.. a certificate from the Big Cheese himself.. and free food to boot!

This is me and my roommate, Matt, with the characters from Monsters Inc. at Pixar weekend.. we're both 5 year olds at heart.

Here are the roomies of 101 on July 4th at Poly to watch fireworks! That night, we saw fireworks from Magic Kingdom, Studios, and Epcot. We're kind of awesome like that :)

Here's part of the group of us that went firework watching!

One of my favorites.. we're at Pixar Weekend.

The gang at Blizzard Beach.. No big deal ;)

Finally, these are two of my new faves to work with; Phineas and Ferb! Don't know who they are? Check out their show. Seriously. It's great for adults, too. Do it.

Ok, so it's definitely my bedtime.. long day today, and another long one coming up tomorrow. I'll be sure to post more and keep y'all updated, though. Forgot how much I liked doing this!

Peace. Love. Disney.
CPK

"Heads or Tails, Fairy Tales in my Mind.."

2011-04-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

So I've realized that it's been a while since I updated this.. time to fix that! And seeing as it's technically my Saturday and I'm being domestic by staying in and doing laundry/cooking, why not now!

It feels like the past 2 months have just flown by.. we're already at our half way point in the program! I've been working about 35 hours a week, minus the weeks that family has visited or I've picked up more shifts. They keep me mostly in World Showcase at Epcot, mainly with Snow White in Germany and DONALD in Mexico ;), but I do get the occasional shifts in the UK with Alice, or Pooh and Tigger, or France with Marie the cat/Belle/Aurora, Character Spot with the Fab 5, Visa Promo, or even Main Gate with Daisy. I even had the chance to extend my hours one night, and take a captain's place over at the Land building to watch over the character dinning there. It seems there is always adventures to be had at Epcot.

As for the roomie situation, we have all still been getting along quite well. No major disasters, or explosions, or anything yet! When we have time off, we tend to go exploring at parks, and regularly go out after work together.

As for me, I'm finally just about over this stupid cold that I have had for almost a month now.. no bueno. I've been making lots of friends at work, and connections for the future. It's the greatest feeling to walk in to a room and have the people you're working with for the day be relieved and happy that it's you they get to work with. I even had a character write out a Fanatic card for me, which is when cast members write out compliment cards for each other.. it goes on your record at WDW.. pretty cool. Things down here finally seem to be falling in to place.

Family has been spending a bunch of time down here with me! About 3 weeks about my mother spent about 5 days, and we had a pretty fantastic adventure at Magic Kingdom, and running around the hotels/trying to find our ways around! Last week my father and step-mom spent 4 action-packed days that started off with home-made cookies :) and ended with home-made salsa :) and had Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and beaches in between. And in a few weeks April is coming down to visit for a week!

It seems so crazy how close June is!
And the adventures continue...

Swim.

2011-02-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

"How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."

- Trina Paulus

It has been a longggg week. I'm finally finding my way around Epcot, and figuring out the flow of everything/how everything works. It's a completely different culture here than anything I have ever encountered before. Not everyone is willing to help you learn... a lot of the learning is trial by error. I think that is the most difficult part of being here. Some days are better than others.

Anywho, my tour around the world has began! I have been with Daffy in Mexico, Pooh and Tigger in the UK, and today I was with Alice in the UK. Coming up later this week I get to chill in France and Germany. I have also spent lots of time at the Epcot Character Spot, and Visa picture shenanigans. Oh, and Daisy and Stitch by the Main Gate.

Yesterday was spent with friends at Typhoon Lagoon, one of the water parks here at Disney. First sun burn of the year... watch out tan!!! Also took advantage of the final day of cast member holiday discounts at Downtown Disney with the girls, and got to meet up with Marc, finally!!! I can't wait to get settled into my schedule so I can finally spend time with friends down here outside of the College Program.

Still lots of exploring and adjusting to do, but everything is getting easier as time goes by! I'm just happy that I jumped and landed on my feet... and not face first. Cheers!

Look for the Girl with the Sun in her Eyes and She's Gone...

2011-02-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

Hmm... It's been a while. Things have been happening so fast, I'm not sure where the time went!

Let's see. Recap:
    I moved into my apartment at Vista Way with 5 other girls.
    Survived about a week and a half of pretty intense training.
    Still have no clue how to navigate around the back of Epcot
         without getting lost.
    Have managed to successfully take the buses to work every
         day... go green!
    Love my roommates and exploring the parks!

Thus far I have worked 2 official work days outside of training. People were pretty helpful and helped me get where I had to go.

My costume is pretty cute... a blue button-up shirt and khakis, with a side pouch that hangs off of the belt. Wayyy easier than trying to hold a bag all day. I must admit, thought, I'm pretty jealous of some of the other costumes.

I finally got my pin trading lanyard yesterday... had NO idea how popular pin trading was, until about an hour and a half later about 8 guests had already approached me about it, and most of my good ones were gone hahaha. Ah well.

The apartment is really nice! Three bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and 2 sinks, a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Since none of us have TVs, we moved the couch so we can people watch out our living room window. We tend to make a lot of friends that way :)And as weird as it seems, it's nice not having a TV. We talk instead of stare at a screen all day. I'm officially a fan.

Have not had too much time to go to the parks, but finally went on Mission Space at Epcot, Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios... some of the rides I never thought I'd let myself get dragged on! Got to see Fantasmic for the first time, and it was truly magical... just like everything is here.

On the third night here all of the roomies went out to see Wishes at the Magic Kingdom... none of us could stop crying! It seems so silly, but I can't help but feel that every part of this place is magic.

Move-in Day!

2011-01-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

yep, tomorrow is the day

which means bed time for me.. going to buena vista in the morning to hand in all my paperwork, request the number of roommates and building, and finally meet my room mate in person yay

bed time.........now

Midnight train to Georgia?

2011-01-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

it is midnight. i am on hour eight of a seventeen hour train ride to florida from washington dc. its a pretty awesome train... with seats on the second floor, a dining car, a lounge car, and a bar, it has been a pretty smooth ride hitherto.

i believe we are somewhere around florence, south carolina... but that is only a guess from the one billboard i just so happen to see for a gun show in florence... insert cheesy joke here.

for the lounge area movie, they showed singing in the rain. yep. it is a train full of elderly and i love it.

okay. perhaps sleep is in order. its been a long few days. tomorrow we will be arriving in florida around eight.thirty am, then driving half an hour to the hotel in orlando. after that... adventures in finding out where everything is located and how to get around the city.

i am not looking forward for reality to kick in... but i am..

love, me

...and so it begins

2011-01-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

finally, after seven hours of driving, i made it to dc around nine tonight. i forgot how pretty this city is at night. after driving in circles checking out the monuments, we finally checked into our hotel... which just so happens to be about two blocks away from the white house. this is so surreal.

tomorrow, driving to virginia to take the seventeen hour auto train to florida from virginia.

ps. i conquered the jersey turnpike hehe

Oh Hey!

2011-01-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

So...the awkward first post.

I wanted to start this so I could keep everyone updated with my travels and adventures in Florida, and wherever life may lead me after that.

And on that note, the adventure begins in 5 days. Wow. I should probably start packing...