October 2001 Archives

Perhaps I should think of another name for the Daily Update. It hasn't been Daily this week that's for sure. I guess I have been busy and really have not had much to say. Things are going well, other than the fact that we had our first rainstorm of the season in LA on Tuesday. The result? It took me two and a half hours to get to Anaheim from my house. Normally it takes me an hour tops. It was one of those days that no matter what route I tried, there was a Sig-Alert with massive congestion. Thankfully, I was on stroller patrol to begin my shift and was able to unwind before I had to deal with any guests.


Tonight at the park it was empty. I was expecting a few more trick or treaters. There were a few cool outfits. My favorites were the Captain Hooks as well as one kid who had the Evil Queen as an old hag outfit from Snow White. I think crowds were just small because Friday the park rolls out Christmas and it should be packed this weekend.


In other job news, I am applying more and more for non-web jobs. I sure hope to get something soon. I have seen some good surveyor ones so keep your fingers crossed.

Another joy of work: Getting everyone on the Carousel to wish a little kid a happy birthday. It was Cameron's turn yesterday, and it is always a good feeling when you hear everyone say "Happy Birthday". Scheduling wanted me to come in tonight for Haunted Mansion guest control. I wanted to do it, just so I could wear the groovy outfit, but tonight is Cory's Halloween party and as a member of the boy band, I have to go. I am gonna be the "rocker" member complete with leather pants. Should be an interesting time, as well as being warm in those pants.


Another couple of weekends and it will be Wendy's wedding. She's a friend from back my geography classes in college and is a fixture at the Anti-Valentine's Day parties. Both Wendy and her fianc�e Mice (short for Michael) are big Disney fans as well and I wish them all the best. I will be in the wedding reading a Psalm, and I have promised not to sound like Jesse Jackson while reading it (think Jesse on Saturday Night Live reading Green Eggs and Ham).

The worst shift to work in Anaheim has to be the one I worked today. It was the 8am to 4pm shift which put me in the middle of rush hour traffic both ways. Each person has their own limit to how long they can sit in traffic in one day, and today I think it was reached. I max out around an hour and a half - especially on a route that I know would only take 30 minutes in no traffic.


But despite the traffic, I still managed to have a good time at work, despite squishing my finger in the gate on the carousel - right after telling the kids to watch their fingers and toes as I opened it. At least now I have an example to show the unruly types. Another thing that struck me was how much construction can mess with the load times of attractions. I thought Dumbo was bad while the queue was being worked on, but Casey Jr. is right there. A simple attraction that already is a slow loader is now reduced to a crawl.


Still no idea what I want to be for Halloween. It will be the first time in ages that I have actually dressed up - so the choices are plentiful.

Body parts were exposed and a decent size crowd turned out. Even more interesting was the number of people who were on their way or had plans to attend, and fate intervened. This year's party had two people on record as vomiting as well as people passed out in various rooms. Another highlight was the confessional which allowed people to chat in the dark and still be recorded thanks to my night vision video camera. I still needs to review it before I digitize and post it.


You can view the pictures at:

Around the World in 29 Years Pics


Thanks again to all those who sent in their birthday wishes!


Today it is back to business as usual - looking for work and picking up shifts at Disneyland. I think one of my favorite things at Disney is trying to get kids to make wild animal and monkey noises in the cages at the Casey Jr. train. It is one of those things that I think makes people's days that much better.

Well I made it. The Daily Update is one year old today. It has been an interesting experience writing it. I have never really kept a journal other than when I go on trips (hence my trip diaries) and it has been interesting trying to accomplish what I set out to do. The idea for the update came from a desire to have more updated content on the site as well as to have some sort of record of the minute things that happen to a person over the course of a year.


This past year has been an interesting one to say the least. From lamenting the loss of my old Toyota, the opening of California Adventure, to me becoming unemployed. Also, my web site has grown significantly over the past year. Not really in size (I have only added to existing sections), but in traffic. A year ago, the most popular section on my site was Disneyland Paris. This year, it is Charo by a wide margin. Hits to my homepage have tripled in the last year as well.


I have noticed in the last month or so that my updates are not quite daily anymore. Hopefully, that will not be the case anymore and I will get back to a regular schedule - well I will try but no promises. I put part of the blame on being unemployed, which tends to make someone extremely lazy. Then, I started working at Disneyland and the body just needed some time to readjust. But enough of the excuses. I hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing.

When I started my orientation at Disneyland, they told me that I would run into people that I hadn't seen in 10 or more years. Lo and behold, the first day that I worked at the park, I run into Daily Update reader and longtime friend Mark Woodsmall and his family. I hope they enjoyed their ride on Peter Pan. That was quite a trip to see him there, and I wonder how many people I will recognize, especially as the holiday season draws closer.


My first day was a lot better than I had anticipated. I was really worried about screwing up, but once I got into the rhythm of things it was way fun. I didn't even mind being in the Pan Console position for the better part of 3 hours. Of course, I contribute it all to my expert trainer Tori - and the fact that I took great notes.


Tuesday was Amanda's birthday. She turned 21 at Buca de Beppo and earlier in the day managed to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Kudos to her. The real excitement came when My step-grandmother almost passed out after dinner and had to be taken to the hospital for observation. She's doing fine, thankfully. She just needs to remember to breathe every now and then.

I just got my Disneyland schedule for next week and so far I am again only scheduled for one day. Me thinks I need to work with scheduling and get some more hours.


A fun time was had by all this past weekend. The funny thing is that only one day was an actual event (Fred's BBQ). The other event was just a spontaneous gathering of people. Sometimes those can be the best experiences. I hope the forthcoming party will prove to be as much fun if not more.


I am still feeling as though I am in a new era. One that was defined by that crazy week two weeks ago. I have met some really cool people and some crazy people in the last week. Hopefully it is a sign that good times are on the way again. I certainly feel like it is!

After a solid week of working, it is finally nice to have some time off. This has been a crazy-surreal week. It is still hard to believe that I work at Disneyland. I have been approved for the dark rides, so I am now qualified to run all of the attractions in my area. I haven't worked a day in the regular shift yet, that will come next Wednesday, unless they call me first.


The surreal factor is probably influenced by my way bizarre schedule the last week. I have been getting up at 4am on some days, and others I don't work until 2pm. There was one day that I worked 16 hours in a 24 hour period. It has been a lot of fun. I still can't get that Casey Jr. theme song out of my head.


Other things have happened including my mom and brother joining me on the unemployment list. That happened last Thursday, which in a way, was the beginning of a new phase of experiences. I am hoping that it is all leading to something better for all of us.


My birthday is coming up soon which means my Daily Update is turning a year old. It certainly has been an interesting year. I know there have been long pauses in the update, but all in all, I think it has gone well, and I intend to keep going for the time being.

What a crazy week it has been. Since my last post, all sorts of craziness has ensued. Today is the first day I was able to get a good night's sleep since then. Between working at my dad's work and Disneyland, I have been up before dawn for the last 5 days.


Saturday and Sunday were spent at orientation. Saturday focused on the general rules for working at Disney, while Sunday was spent on Attractions orientation. I can't tell you how excited I was to get my ID Card and name badges. Sunday, I found out that I was assigned to "The Classics" in Fantasyland. These are the attractions that are closest to the castle - Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Snow White, Carousel, Casey Jr., Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, and Tea Cups. Alice and Teacups are being refurbished, so I will learn them later. At the same time I found out that I was in that section, I also got my training schedule. I started yesterday and continue through Thursday. 3 of the shifts start at 6:30am, which means leaving my house at 5:15am - whee!


The experience has been fun, but also nerve wracking at the same time. I guess I am overly-concerned with screwing up. My trainer has been great and I have passed my first test (Dumbo, Casey, and Carousel), but that spiel on the Carousel is gonna take some time to learn. My favorite so far is driving the Casey Jr. Train (My apologies to the people on the train when I stalled it). Well I better get going, I am due back at the park later today to learn how to close an attraction. I have a feeling the dark rides are gonna be a handful.

Here is the link as promised to my Amazon Wish List. I looked it over and it does need some updating. You can still find some of the DVDs and books that I want to get.


There are not too many things that are worse than being sick on your birthday. Roger is currently suffering and today is his day. To celebrate, a group of people are getting together this weekend and heading to Disneyland, the same day that I start working there.


Yesterday and today, as Roger has stayed home sick from work, the phone has been ringing off the hook as various people keep calling me for one reason or another. Usually when it is just me here during the day, I'm lucky if the phone rings once - and then it is usually Roger calling to get his messages.


To help prevent myself from getting sick as well, I have been spraying Lysol(tm) around the house and choking down some of the worst tasting Echinacea - ever. Hopefully, these ounces of prevention will help me not show up sick for work.

Another game show rejection. First it was as host of the DCA Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Now it is as a contestant on Weakest Link. I don't feel too bad though, of the 200 people in the room auditioning, only 6 made the cut. What really bothers me is that when push comes to shove, I sometimes forget the easy questions.


Today was not just and ego check however. I discovered on Comedy Central's site the upcoming airdates for the new Absolutely Fabulous Series 4.They also have a link to the great BBC site on the series, complete with video excerpts and summaries. The fun starts November 12th, so get your VCRs ready! I can't wait.


Citizen Kane came out on DVD today. I guess it is time to add some more items to my Amazon Wish List. Maybe tomorrow.

Fall is in the air here in Los Angeles. Of course, someone forgot to tell mother nature. Today's high temperatures are in the 90's. To top it off, the humidity is high due to some remnants of a hurricane in Mexico. Some of my relatives call it "Earthquake Weather". I call it "Upper Midwest".


Had a good weekend hanging out with the crew. One of our destinations was the new Paseo Colorado shopping complex. What really surprised me was that this used to be the old Pasadena mall, which looked like a mausoleum the last time I had visited it. Now thanks to a multi-million dollar makeover that included turning it into an outdoor plaza with apartment units, it is once again drawing big crowds. The grand opening was on Friday, and when we visited on Saturday it seemed some of the stores were still having problems with their air-balance.


Oh, and I can't forget to mention to thank the star of the weekend Tom, who managed to take us on a whirlwind tour of skid row and the house where they filmed "The People Under The Stairs" (noted for starring two Twin Peaks alums), all while we were running out of gas.