Resumes

Creating a resume is a daunting task albeit perhaps the most important one in getting a job. Yes, even potentially more important than your degree, hot shot internship, or cool research project you worked on, because how can your recruiter know about those things if you can't portray them correctly in your resume?

While I do not proclaim myself on being an all knowing expert on resumes, I weirdly used to enjoy making them when applying to internships and full time positions. I feel like while I may not be the best writer in the world, I am good about making connections to my experience to the jobs I am applying for. There are many great places for resume advice like your school's career center, a parent, mentor, or professor, but here is some of the advice that I have picked up through my years of applying to positions at Disney (and even after sitting on a hiring panel once as well!)

My first step in creating a resume is opening up word and start listing EVERYTHING that you can thing of that you may want to put on a resume. Schools, jobs, volunteering, languages, conferences attended, major projects you have worked on (even if they were just in school), awards, scholarships, anything and everything you can think of: list it all out! I recommend this since listing everything out can really help you see all you have to offer and can actually help you focus more on the important things to include rather than trying to figure out what is most important to include off of the top of your head. Also, make sure to list all responsibilities that you had in roles or projects including software/machinery used (or whatever may be applicable in your subject area). This document could be 2 to 10+ pages long depending on your experience. Remember this is a starting point and not what you are submitting!

Then start looking at what positions you are interested and try and figure out what is most applicable to include on your actual resume. I recommend tailoring your resume to every position you apply for, so this is why the previous step is helpful: you don't need to start over every time you are applying to a new position. You have a starting place to plug and chug and modify as necessary to have a nicely polished, focused resume. 

Now while making your resume here are some tips:

- Don't try and cram everything on one page if you honestly have more relevant experience. It can begin to look sloppy and hard to read if you have too much there 

-Nowadays it is very acceptable to have a 2 page resume, but don't go over 2 pages unless they ask for a CV. Life has changed from when our parents and grandparents applied for their first jobs and the 1 page rule is becoming much more of a thing of the past

-If you do go over 1 page make sure you can fill 2. Doing 1.5 pages looks sloppy and most recruiters don't like it

-Try not to have more than 3 bullet points under a position. People are trying to get a quick grasp of what you did in that job that gives you the experiences to get the position you are applying for and listing too much is hard to look at quickly. Disney gets a lot of applicants and recruiters don't have time to read a novel no matter how cool the job was

-Look at the job description and qualifications and try and figure out what makes you qualified. Try and match similar keywords and connect your experience to the position

-Don't include positions that have nothing to do with what you are applying for if you are just trying to fill space and can't adequately tie it to something related to the position 

-Split your resume into 4 parts by making lines down the center of each direction of the page. Try to have even white space in each part as it makes it easier to read and is more visually appealing 

-Don't include a mission or objective. It is outdated and isn't worth wasting the space to just say you want xxx job at yyy company. This is another outdated practice and literally everyone who has ever given me resume advice says not to include it. You have limited space to prove yourself so don't waste it with something obvious. If you have sometime you want to say that can't fit in your resume, write a cover letter instead!

-Make sure to include key words from the job description. I cannot repeat this enough. Many companies, especially Disney, get a crazy number of applicants for each job positing. Therefore, resumes are often scanned by computers before people look at them so you need to make sure the computer thinks your a good candidate before you can even hope to convince a hiring manager or recruiter. On the flip side, don't just copy and paste entire phrases from the description as that is (obviously) plagiarism

-Look up resume action words and include them in your descriptions. Also, If you have a way to quantify parts of your projects, do it! Saying you were a biology tutor makes far less of an impact then saying that you created problem sets for 4 student peers a semester and anticipated difficult subject material for weekly sessions to aid in raising students' grades an average of an entire letter grade in an introductory biology course

-List your sections of your resume from most important to least important (but remember only important things should be making your resume in the first place). Many people will take a couple of seconds on their initial scan to see if a resume is cleanly put together and if there is something about this candidate that will make them want to read more of the resume. So don't include your most important skills and experiences at the bottom of your second page.

-Give your resume to friends, family, or anyone you trust to give constructive feedback. Other people might notice mistakes you missed or even remember something useful that you may want to add before submitting the final product

-Save your resume as a PDF before submitting it. This will ensure that formatting won't change depending on who is looking at it (don't worry, the computer scanners don't have issues with PDFs)

I had two pages when I was applying for jobs as I had a diverse background and wanted to include both relevant experience and project work without cramming too much in a short space (which I know is ironic given how lengthy my blog posts tend to be 😃)  The important thing to remember is to sell yourself in a clean presentable format. This may mean different things to you or what field you are in, but resumes are perhaps the biggest impact on getting to that pone interview where you can sell yourself even further!

If you made it through this, congrats, you are on your path to start creating a stellar resume!

Awaken Summer

So I'm not sure if you've heard but my little neck of the woods here in Central Florida has a couple of cool things heading our way pretty soon...

Disney World has a ton of things that are coming this summer, some that we knew about, but even more were announced the last few days as Disney welcomed media from around the country and world to show off what new things guests can expect soon as the parks Awaken Summer. (I know, I know....I can be cheesy after being punny with our guests the last few days). 

I just have to say that there are so many cool things that are coming that I am just like a kid in a candy store! It has also been neat as now that I have been with the company for a little bit that I have gotten to see things I worked on as an intern come to fruition. Like all the new stuff at Disney's Animal Kingdom! I was able to play a super small part in it while I was an intern at Merchandise Planning and we were able to see the artwork and predict how many of each product we would order. And while that seems like ages ago, some of the artwork is out now and it is exciting to hear the buzz around all the great new things coming to the park that I was lucky enough to call home during my time as a Wilderness Explorer. (and you can pretty much guarantee who will likely be buying a ton of that merch!!!)

The last few days I was lucky enough to play a teeny tiny role in helping host some of the media while they were checking out some of the exciting new offerings. If you want to see some of the cool stuff that they were able to see (including a sneak peak of Rivers of Light!) you can search #awakensummer (or if you want to specifically see the people I worked with you could maybe look up WOMX on their website or various social media platforms ;) The talent may or may not be vying for first place in line for Olaf)

Anyways, while this summer is bound to be hot (I did mention this was Central Florida, right?) you can be sure to find me at the parks quite a bit with all the new stuff going on.

Disney Ambassadors

The Disney Ambassador program is something that I learned about earlier this year during my time with the Walt Disney Company. It is a wonderful program where 1-2 cast members are chose to represent each of the different resorts around the world. These are truly some of the best of the best of the Disney company and they have the honor of representing the Company and their Resort with different public engagements and cast recognition events for a year term.

The Ambassador program started in Disneyland for their 10th anniversary in 1964 with the first Ambassador Julie Reihm. Walt Disney couldn't make it to every requested appearance during the busyness of the 10th anniversary, the success of the movies, and ProjectX (future Walt Disney World) so he chose Julie, who was a tour guide, to represent him when he wasn't available. Talk about a lot of responsibility to be Walt when he couldn't be there!

While the number of ambassadors for Walt Disney World during a given year has fluctuated from 1-3 individuals since the resort first opened, the current ambassador team represents the nearly 75,000 cast members at Walt Disney World resort. They also represent the cast at Hilton Head, Vero Beach, and the Disney Cruise Line. This is a very big responsibility and those chosen are truly representative of the legacy and ideals that the Walt and the Company hold dear.

The Disney Ambassador symbol.
You can identify a current ambassador if you see them wearing silver pin
with this symbol above their cast member name tag.
image source: http://publicaffairs.disneyland.com/community/ambassador-program/

I am currently taking a series of classes at Disney University and had the lucky opportunity to be in a class with one of the current Ambassadors, Nathaniel Palma. This was my first time meeting an ambassador, and in some ways I was almost a little awestruck. Here was someone that is literally a representative of the entire company, and I was sitting in class with him! I always enjoy reading the articles the ambassadors write during their cast shadows (they get to follow a role around for the day, learn about it, and write an article for the Hub. They even did a shadow of the Wilderness Explorers recently- my old team!) I was able to work with him on a few group projects in the class and ate lunch with him. It was so cool to hear about his adventures thus far in his role and all the cool work he does. He is probably one of the most positive people I have ever met and was truly genuine in thanking everyone for all the hard work they do. It was an honor to met him and I would love to cross paths with him again someday!

If you are a current cast member I encourage you to look up the Disney Ambassador module on the Hub. There are biographies on each of the past Disney Ambassadors and a lot of cool information including the stories that they post about their shadows!

For those who aren't current cast, or even those who are, the Disney Parks Blog has done a lot of cool articles about the Disney Ambassadors over the years. If you want to learn more about this cool position or these awesome people just search for "Disney Ambassador" in the search area. I've also included a few of my favorite articles down below. Enjoy!


Note: Reading these articles I just realized that Steven Miller was a Disney Ambassador in the "where are the ambassadors are now" type articles! You might recognize Steven Miller from the merchandise articles he writes for the Disney Parks Blog! I worked a little with him during my second PI as a Merchandise Planning intern. I literally walked by his office everyday and talked to him a handful of times during my work there about future items for articles and to help answer guest questions that were being asked on the blog. I can't believe that I never realized that he had been an ambassador! That is so cool. I could totally see him as an ambassador. He even had an important job as his ambassadorship was extended after the events of September 2001. It truly is amazing that at such a large company you have these connections!

Here is a cool interview the Disney Parks Blog had with the first ambassador, Julie. First Disneyland Resort Ambassador Comes ‘Home’ for 50th Anniversary of Disney Ambassador Program

Here is the article from when the current group of ambassadors were named last year (including Nathaniel!) First Disney Ambassador Julie Reihm Casaletto Welcomes New Ambassadors

2014 Fall Presenters Stats

It's been a little over a year since my group of presenters started our internship. Since I have had a ton of time on my hands I've decided to dig a bit to see where we are all now.

-There were 29 of us in the Fall 2014 Conservation Education Presenter internship Group.

-There are currently 15 of us still employed by the company (not including the 3 that are still seasonal presenters).

-Of the 15 of us left, 10 have positions still within Animal Programs. (This is a little lie since in reality one person works with Natural Encounters, Inc which is a contractor, so she technically isn't really a cast member and isn't in Animal Programs, but it's close enough...)
-The 10 who are in Animal Programs currently hold positions as Summer Conservation Camp Instructors, Education Programs Instructors, Wild Africa Trek Guide, Pangani Trail Guide, Animal Keeper, and Wilderness Explorer Coordinator Internship (called Conservation Education Operations).
-Most of the people in Animal Programs are part time. The Conservation Day Camp Instructors are on a Full Time TA for the summer but go back to part time Instructor positions afterwards. 1 person is an intern. The one who is a contractor with NEI is full time. The Keeper at DAK Lodge is on a Full Time TA.

-The 5 of us who aren't in Animal Programs are in widely different positions from Revenue Management to Secretary to Cruise Line Trainer to Attractions Host to a position that I don't understand.
-The 5 of us that aren't in Animal Programs are Full Time or have Full Time TAs

So that's a peek into what a Presenter Group looks like 6 months post-internship completion. I loved my group and can't wait to see where Disney takes us, whether it is a life long career or a place to vacation.


As a side note, the 14 who aren't employed by Disney have a wide range of jobs too, including Museum Education Manager, part time Zoo Keeper, a couple Zoo Educators, Au Pair in Germany for a year, one still in undergrad, an Education Coordinator, one going to dentistry school, one works with the Salvation Army, one is getting her PhD, and a few that are between things (such as just moving across the country and getting married to her marine fiance, another getting married in a week or so, and a few that are a bit of a mystery to be honest after finishing their second PIs a month or so ago)

PI Timeline Part 2

This timeline is a bit more confusing than the first since I am making it so much later. Additionally, I never got official emails/notifications about not being in consideration any longer about a few of the internships. I also applied to A LOT more internships than the first time around. I applied to internships and got NLICs at across a wide timeline so that makes it confusing. Ultimately, it is just a big mess, but I eventually got an offer and that's what counts, right?

Spring 2015 Professional Internships

5 Sept 14- Applied for Management Internship-Animal, Science, Environment Operation

12 Sept 14- Email request to schedule a phone screening interview

18 Sept 14- Applied for Consumer Insight Market Research, Workforce Management Science, Learning Analytics & Evaluation, Forecasting and Planning, Travel Ops Planning, Analysis, & Optimization 

1 Oct 14-  "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Workforce Management Science 

6 Oct 14- Applied for 3 Animal Programs positions (Conservation Education Instructor, Behavioral Husbandry, Education Project Specialist)

13 Oct 14- Applied for Pricing Strategy and Analytics 

16 Oct 14-"Application Complete" email from Animal Programs team

20 Oct 14- Email to set up Montage video interview for Conservation Education Instructor

29 Oct 14- Email to set up Montage video interview for Education Project Specialist

30 Oct 14- Montage video interview for Education Project Specialist

               - Montage video interview for Conservation Education Instructor

3 Nov 14- Applied for Strategic Initiative & Integration and Consumer Insight

7 Nov 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Learning Analytics & Evaluation 

12 Nov 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Management Internship-Animal, Science, Environment Operation

17 Nov 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Education Project Specialist, Behavioral Husbandry, and Conservation Education Instructor

24 Nov 14- Applied for CMR Tech Solutions, Marketing Campaign/Analytics

26 Nov 14- Animal, Science, and Environment email about NLIC/feedback

28 Nov 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Travel Ops Planning, Analysis, & Optimization 

3 Dec 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Forecasting and Planning 

4 Dec 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Management and Analytics

6 Dec 14- Applied for Travel Operations Reporting Analytics

8 Dec 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Consumer Insight Market Research

11 Dec 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for CMR Tech Solutions, Marketing Campaign/Analytics

2 Jan 15- Applied for Merchandise Planning Internships

14 Jan 15- Phone call to schedule a phone interview for Merchandise Planning Internships

15 Jan 15- Phone interview for Merchandise Planning Internships

               -Email from recruiter to set up follow phone call

16 Jan 15- Merchandise Planning Offer Phone Call!!! 

               -Accepted offer

               -Welcome to the Team Email

               -Emailed about being added to Housing Waitlist

19 Jan 15 -Got email about being added to Housing Waitlist

19 Jan 15 -Got email about a spot in Company Sponsored Housing

22 Jan 15- Email about Arrival/Transfer Information 

25 Jan 15- Transfer Date between internships

27 Jan 15- Start date

2 Feb 15- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Travel Operations Reporting Analytics

PDD (Post Disney Depression) and some Post-Disney Reflections

My time at Disney was- dare I say it-magical. I met so many friends. Had my first real relationship. Gained a lot of good experience, professional and otherwise. I got to freakin' live at the most magical place on earth for an entire year. It was amazing to not live with feet of snow and spend an hour or two at a park whenever I wanted. College wasn't always amazing for me, and Disney wasn't without some bumps here or there, but I truly was able to find myself and I was the happiest I had been in a long time.

That being said,  the first two weeks home I was really depressed. I was missing the warmth (it's been a cold summer in Michigan. When I first got home there were very few days above 80, but it has been a bit warmer the last week or so.) I was missing my cubicle at Maingate. I missed logging into SIMBA and seeing the weekly reports being updated. I missed modifying my Starbucks/DLR 60th forecasts. I missed my apartment at Falcon Square. I missed my friends. I missed (most) of the roommates I had had during my year in Florida (all 8 of them). I missed DAK. I missed the rides. I missed the resorts. I missed hearing the Sandhill Cranes calls. I missed running around Independence. I missed so many things. 

I had applied for a few positions and hadn't gotten most of the positions. When I found out that I hadn't gotten the one I was most hopeful for (and would have kept me at Maingate Merchandise) I cried. I cried a lot. I honestly felt like my dreams had been crushed. During the weeks since the bad news, I've actually had a few more interviews, including what would be a dream job for me. I found out I didn't get one position, but there is still one I am waiting to hear back on. I think I will still be really disappointed if I don't get the position, but I am beginning to be okay with staying in Michigan. If I don't get this position I might cry, but I have come to adopt the mentality that a few of my old Presenter friends who left Disney have said: Disney isn't going anywhere anytime soon. So if I don't get the position, right now I am going to hold of on applying to more Disney positions and look for some jobs around Metro Detroit. Then once I pay off loans (and maybe get sick of being at home) I can always go back with the added experience. 

I think all ex-Disney CMs should have that mentality: Disney isn't going anywhere. It's going to be there for the foreseeable future, whether or not it is just for a visit or if it is there to stay. 

That being said, fingers crossed for some good news in the next week or two. :)

Trying to be a Good Blogger

So I started this blog as all people do, with the best intentions. While it may appear abandoned, like I previously said, I actually have been good about trying to update my bucket list and ride count pages. I have also done a decent job at keeping a record of what I have been doing as well. It is more of a bullet point style that I have kept as drafts all of this time. Therefore, since I was home sick today (stupid fever/flu I have been dealing with since Saturday evening), I decided to be a good blogger and try to actually make those notes readable and post date them. So starting today I have a few "new" posts for June and am going to try and keep updating like this so I have a better record for myself. If others ever find this blog and actually read it, it will also hopefully be more helpful for them as well. Right now I will continue with catching up on some early days stuff, but I might transition to real time posts as well. 

After my fever broke after hours of sleeping, I got bored.
Hence, I channeled my inner 5 year old and took a selfie with my stuffed animals. 

Going back and writing this stuff in complete sentences and adding pictures is helping add to the realization that I only have 2 and a half months left down here and have been here over 4 and a half months. Dana and I were having a conversation about it today and how there are so many things we have left to do while we are here since we possibly could never be back. She leaves in exactly 2 months. I have 3 more weeks than her, but it doesn't seem like a lot at this point. I haven't been going to the parks as much recently and have gotten into a routine with work and coming home and watching Netflix (granted the last month or so was pretty crazy for a few reason out of my control that prevented me from doing much at one point). So we were making a list of some of the things we have yet to do. Luckily we have the same days off now and can hopefully conquer some of these things together.

Here is the list of some of the things we talked about:
-seeing the manatees as they head this way for the winter
-going to the beach before it gets any colder
-exploring the rest of Islands of Adventure (since I have only been to Hogsmead)
-deciding about getting tickets for Very Merry Christmas party (I am definitely going but Dana wants to make sure it is worth it)
-Seeing the Candlelight processional (maybe one that we know people singing in the choir!)

I'm going to end with a picture. I never got a good picture of our apartments massive Halloween decorations (thanks to Amber), but in true Disney spirit I put up our first Christmas decoration this evening (thanks to my mom).

Leah said she wanted to see it everyday.
So she decided it should be prominently hung from the fan chord!

Training Schedule Part 2

Sorry that I haven't been good at updating! I have been making notes each day and I plan on writing more in depth about this past week or so. Today is on of my days off and the beginning of a new week. We got the rest of our schedules for the next two weeks yesterday. Today is the last day for the rest of the semester that all of the presenters have off together. We are planning on getting together tonight to go on Tower of Terror and trying to get a full elevator of animal programs interns and maybe make some signs or something.

This next week is still full of more training, including finally getting more in the park training. Then next week we start full time in the parks as the current presenters leave. Here is my work schedule for the rest of my training:

June 23-24: The last two days of classroom training, including our assessment (whatever than entails...)

June 25-26: Shadow days in the park in small groups with the current presenters.

June 27: Last day all of the Fall presenters will work all together. Time training in the park

June 28: Final day of On the Job training in the park!

In a little bit Amber, Dana, and I are planning on heading out to meet other Animal programs interns at Hollywood Studios. Hopefully, we will have a good turnout!

Training Schedule

At our Animal Programs meeting on Wednesday, we went over our training schedule a little bit. So now we now when we are working over the course of the next week.

June 12-13: We have Thursday and Friday off to allow us to get settled in and for our background check to go through (or so the rumor is...). However, all of the AP interns that scuba dive as part of their job had to get a diving physical on Friday.

June 14: On Saturday all the PIs that checked in June 11 have traditions. All of the Animal Programs interns have it in the morning, while everyone else I think is split up between the morning and afternoon seasons. I think all the AP interns have other training in the afternoon. I think we were told that Education Presenters have computer training after lunch, whereas my roommate that is in the Vet Hospital has to get a TB test and the first of the rabies vaccine shots. Our day is supposedly from 7:45 am-4:30 pm.

June 15: On Sunday we have Welcome to Ops at Disney University. I am in a different letter than my roommates Amber and Dana. Our day is supposedly from 7:30 am-5 pm. This is also the day we are planning to go to do an Animal Programs Tower of Terror event.

June 16: We have DAKlimations. Everyone who works at Animal Kingdom has to do this park orientation. I think we get our costumes this day, too. Our day is supposedly from 7:30 am-5pm.

June 17: First day of on the job training. 8 am-5 pm

June 18 and 19: Days off. The only time all the Ed Presenters will all have the same days off the entire 7 months

June 20-21: Second and third days of on the job training. 8 am-5 pm

Different areas all have different training schedules, even within AP. For example, the Living Seas people I spoke with have Friday and Saturday off (and our new MI friend, Josh). My roommate Dana (Vet Hospital Intern) has Tuesday and Wednesday off. Also, our days have typical work hours, as do those that work in offices, but not all do. One of the guys I met today (Patrick, who is doing a Guest Relations PI at MK) even has a training shift from 7pm-3:30am!

Arrived!

So today has been super stressful. It was all good until we got around Disney. We ended up deciding to drive by the apartments the PIs live in. They are super nice, but we decided to get an idea how far they are from Animal Kingdom, and while we took a wrong turn or two, it seemed to take FOREVER! I am really wishing that the non-Disney housing I tried to line up had worked out. We did check to a CP at the gates to Animal Kingdom parking and she was super nice and helped us get re-directed and asked if I was starting a CP, too. Then we checked into my hotel. It is really nice and I am glad I stayed here over the Holiday Inn that a lot of people recommended since I saved $20. After checking out my room, we decided to find where I needed to go tomorrow, so it won't be as stressful. I luckily am pretty close to Vista (housing check-in) and Casting. Afterwards, we drove around property a bit more before heading toward Kissimmee. 

Tigger at breakfast at the Days Inn hotel (he is confused since it says that the Tiggers at Kansas City was postponed, when the Tiggers actually played the White Sox....)

I plan on it!

Since we had time before my dad had to go to the airport, we stopped to get my oil changed since I was due for it. It was looking good, until we got on the toll road and the check engine light came on. My dad got out and looked at the oil and it looked good. We were going to try and head back to where I got my oil changed, but didn't have time. So I dropped my dad off at the airport and headed back. Unfortunately, a big monsoon hit and I could barely see in front of me. Then my brakes started acting funny. I luckily somehow made it back to the oil change place right before they closed. They ran a diagnostic on it and said it should be safe to drive but I will need to get it checked out. After more stressful, rain filled driving, I finally made it back to the hotel and just didn't want to deal with the rain and decided to just make dinner out of the food in my car (potato chips, cookies, and muffins, ftw!). 

We made it to Flordia!

I spent a chunk of the night super stressed trying to find a car place and all the Chevy dealerships are further away than I would like. My mom found a mechanic closer to my apartment that has good reviews so I might try to call there or the Chevy dealerships tomorrow to figure out where I will take my car. Hopefully they can figure out what is wrong on my two days off before training on Saturday! After a shower and listening to music I am much calmer, but still a little anxious with having to deal with so much in a new state when I already have everything else (casting, moving in, grocery shopping, etc) going on. Despite today, I am super excited for tomorrow!

The hotel pool

Some birds by the oil change place

Made it to Disney!!!

Our hotel for the night. Tigger gets one bed and I get the other

My future workplace!!!

My apartment complex 

The Journey Down with Tigger

Well, we have made it to our hotel for the night! We left around 6:30 and drove most of the day. I had a really hard time saying goodbye to my dogs, my mom, and my sister. I know I will see my family at the end of July and can talk to them, but it is hard knowing they are on the opposite side of the country. I have lived a by myself for the majority of the past 4 years, so I know I won't have to deal with how to cook, etc, but Florida will be very different from the Midwest and the comfort my parents were just a few hours away just in case. With my dogs, I won't see them until I come home in January, so it was almost harder saying bye to them than my family. Especially since my old dog, Bailey, isn't doing well so I am worried I won't see her before she has to be put down. I hope that I can see her again. :(

Currently we are about 4 hrs away from Disney! I slept for a large part of the day while my dad drove, but I took a little stint at the wheel. I took pictures with my Tigger stuffed animal throughout my journey. Pretty much all of the other animal programs interns were also taking pictures with stuffed animals as they traveled. It is kind of cool that we all ended up with different ones! 

Saying goodbye to my dogs. :(

Tigger and I are packed up and ready to go!

Tigger, dad and I ready to pull away!

Driving through Ohio

Lunch in Kentucky

Driving through Tennessee

Entering Georgia

Tigger with the Olympic Torch in Atlanta

Stopping for dinner in Georgia

All ready for a good nights sleep in Southern Georgia!

Last Days Living in Livonia

Friday 6th
So on Friday I woke up a lot later than I planned and chilled for a chunk of the day. I had to finish a few things up for my work for the Hope College Chemistry department, so I worked a few hours on that. I also got my information for housing check-in on Wednesday. Instead of checking in at The Commons, where Spring 2014 people did, we will be checking in at Vista Way. It will be an interesting, long day, since I will have to head right to Casting, then hopefully have a bit of time before the Animal Programs meeting, and then finally move into housing. Friday evening, my family went to a graduation party for one of my sister's friends. It was fun. They had pretty good food catered and even had a bartender. I ended up getting a margarita and tried a sip of my mom's Long Island Ice Tea (wasn't a big fan...) 

Then my best friends Mary and Ashley joined me at this restaurant at a local golf course called the Tin Cup for a last goodbye. My mom had been there a week or two ago and recommended it to us. Since I had just eaten at the grad party and Mary was coming from a dinner with her aunt who was in town, Ashley got a burger (which looked pretty good) and I ordered a side of sweet potato fries, which were good and had honey on them, which I never thought to try. The big highlight of the evening was out drink order. We split an 100oz Power Tower. Only Ashley and I were there when we ordered it and got some funny looks from the other people in the restaurant. 

The Power Tower

We had a great time hanging out, and they even bought me some Michigan themed gifts! We even tentatively planned them coming down the week after Ashley graduates in December! After finishing, we decided to call my parents to pick us up so they came and got us and drove my car home. Mary and Ashley left theirs overnight since we asked and they said they lock a gate. They decided to sleep over, so we played our favorite game, 1313 Deadend Drive, and slept on the couches in the basement (well Mary decided to sleep on a bunch of body pillows instead...)

1313 Deadend Drive...Our favorite game!

Saturday 7th
We woke up really early (6:30!) and talked for a few hours before I drove Mary and Ashley back to the golf course to pick up their cars. We hugged goodbye and drove separate ways. It was hard, but we are used to not seeing each other for months at a time, so I know that we will keep in touch and see each other sooner than we know!

I then spent part of the day doing errands with my mom. At night my family hopped to 3 different parties. The first one had the best food. It was catered and probably the best grad party food I have ever had. The second party we didn't spend a ton of time at and didn't eat much. The third we spent a ton of time at. They had catered greek food and stuff. It was pretty good. The best part was the deserts. I joked with the mom that she needs to send me care packages of her deserts (they are soooo good!). I only half jokingly said I wanted to come pick up some extras the next day (I really wanted those deserts!) Megan stayed longer, but my parents and I were tired and getting attacked by mosquitos, so we decided to head home.  I went through my clothes with my mom making sure I didn't forget anything important and then crashed since I was exhausted.

Sunday 8th
My dad rotated my tires and made sure I knew how to change a flat. My mom and sister had to do a bunch of errands for her grad party next week. We went to yet another grad party (I am seriously going to miss getting all this free delicious food in Florida!) and finished going through my stuff. My dad and I even stopped by the storage unit and found my Tigger! I will be taking pictures of Tigger on my drive down. I went by my Grandma's house and picked up some cookies she made for me and said goodbye. It was really hard. I tried to hold back tears and put on my sunglasses before she could see. I just am worried that something will happen to her and it could be the last time that I see her. I didn't have time to stop by my other Grandma's assisted living. I feel bad, but she barely knows who I am anymore and wouldn't understand what was going on. I said goodbye to her on Thursday at my sister's birthday dinner, but I hope that nothing happens to her either since it will be probably harder to talk to her on the phone and everything. She has Alzheimer, but is otherwise really healthy, so I hope that I won't have to have more regrets about not being able to say a final goodbye to her. Lastly, I ended the night watching the Tigers game and making a no-sew blanket. My mom and sister gave me some material, but I ended up being the one to spend my last few hours making it! lol.

Well the car is all packed up and ready to go, so I should get a few hours of shut eye until I leave bright and early tomorrow morning!

Tigger has been rescued from the storage unit

The pictures weren't uploading right, so I put reminders in to put them up when I get a chance. I promise to finish my PI application posts soon! I had written a bunch up in advance since I knew how crazy these last few days would be, but I got to one that I needed to type up and haven't gotten a chance to. Well, almost set to begin my exciting journey to Florida bright and early tomorrow!