Mousekeeping w/ Lourin & Kevin

Episode 1

They'll get more interesting, I promise.

I'm here

Well hello everyone!

It's been quite some time since I posted anything, and a lot has changed since the last time I had. Biggest news so far: I'm now living in Orlando. That's right, I finally made my way out to the East coast! And let me tell you, it's amazing! Well, it's not exactly I-want-to-live-here amazing, but I can tell you that it's going to be an adventure living here.

To start things off, it's raining. Well...pouring is more accurate. And when the cold rain mixes with the already wet heat, it gets even more humid. There's been lightning almost every night too, which I've thoroughly enjoyed. And lizards everywhere!

So Wednesday was the big day when we go through all the check in junk. Needless to say, it was a long, stressful day. We went from 8am till I don't know when checking in to our apartment. Then from there we went to casting to go through back ground checks and fingerprinting and to make sure we fit the "Disney look." That last part is what caused all my stress.

For those of you who don't know, I once had spaced ears. Fairly large spaced ears at that. I took them out at the beginning of the year and since then they've closed up quite significantly. When you look at them, they just look like slits. No big deal right? Well, policy is that I have to pull on them to see if light comes through. It does. So they tell me that I have to go get stitches in my ears by Friday, two days away. I do some research and find out that it will cost me $500 and they can get me in on September 13 at the earliest. I had to get it done by Friday or go home. I don't think I have ever been more stressed in my life.

After a day of freaking out, my roommates and I come up with a second option. I could just glue my ears. I talked to what's-his-face (cause he kept calling me) to see if gluing's ok and he said as long as it holds and doesn't leave a mess. Score! So if you're planning on doing the Disney College Program and have once-spaced ears that haven't fully closed up, then super glue them before you go to Casting. FYI.

So I'm in. I've been exploring the parks and going through training that past couple of days and I'm having a blast. Working here is going to be sweaty work, but it'll be an adventure.

Monday's the Day

Just a measly 27 hours and 46 minutes separate me from the plane ride to Orlando, where I will spend the next 5 months--45 minutes--working.

I've got to admit that this is feeling very surreal, very unnerving, very--44 minutes--exciting. I'm getting the New Job Jitters. But I'm not just starting a new job, I'm also--43 minutes--moving to a new state. And just any state, I'm moving to the furthest state--42 minutes--from California that I can think of. One of them at least. I guess it depends on how you--41 minutes--look at it. New York and Hawaii are pretty far away also.

But that's beside the point. I'm going to be working in freaking Disney World by Wednesday. 40 minutes. I don't know what I'm going to be doing--39 minutes--, I don't know where I'm going to be living (out of the options they provide), and I don't know what to expect. 38 minutes.

Thank God Lourin's going too, or else I don't think I'd be able to handle it. I mean, I'm sure I'd still go through with it--37 minutes--because I was able to move to Fresno all by myself. But this is Florida. It's a whole new game.

36 minutes.

It's exciting because I need to get out of California for a little while. 35 minutes. Or at least try some place new. I'm tired of Manteca and Fresno. In the context of where I've lived, I haven't really branched out. So this is going to be an exciting leap of faith. 34 minutes. It won't be all butterflies and rainbows. Or pixie dust and mice, however you want to look at it. 33 minutes. I'm going to miss my family. Fresno wasn't so difficult, considering that it's only--32 minutes--two hours away from Manteca. So the fam bam was only a feature film away. But they can't come get me this time. 31 minutes.

And then there's Sharayah, the love of my life. We've been together 6 months tomorrow and I'm leaving for 5 months. 30 minutes. But I love her and I want to be with her and I know she feels the same way, so we can make it.

29 minutes.

It's going to be an experience though, that's for sure. And I'm going to make the most of it. That's also for sure.

By the way, I said that I'm going to be coming out with a weekly video on my Disney World Adventure--28 minutes--so be on the lookout for the first of many this weekend (Friday if I can help it).

My work still isn't finished...

It's the first day of August, my second favorite month of the year. My first favorite month is December, the Holiday month. Actually, August is pretty far down on the list of favorite months, in terms of events. It probably ranks around number 10 or 11. It's the month that school starts. Only weird, school-loving people love it when school starts. I don't.

But I digress.

The reason I like this month is because it's my birthday month. In just under 3 weeks, I'm turning the big 25.

But I digress again.

I am now roughly two weeks away from starting the Disney College program.

So to prepare, I moved back home to Manteca. Last night was my first night back in my old house. I think I use this verb too much to describe being home, but it's relaxing. I feel very secure here. Plus it's nice to be out of that very expensive "low-income" fraternity house. Don't get me wrong, I love that place and most of the guys in it, but I needed to move on. Now I have a clean bathroom and a working kitchen. The only problem is that the hot water runs out fairly quick. I don't know how they did it, but the hot water at Theta Chi seemed to last forever. But it's time to move forward (and I need to do something with all my junk), so home I am.

I should have taken a picture of my empty room.

It took a good week to pack everything up. I'm sure if I didn't constantly procrastinate, it would have only taken me a few days, but that's not how I roll. But things aren't done yet. In my haste to pack things, I didn't organize my things in a way to make packing for Orlando easy. So now I have to go through my boxes and make a check list of the items I need to take with me...other than clothes, that is.

My list isn't going to be very big, because I can't take much with me. So I'm deciding on what I need to take, and what I need to buy while I'm there.

Mainly the list is comprised of gadgets and a picture of Sharayah and me that she framed (:D).

So Lourin and I have decided that we're going to attempt to make a weekly show to help keep all of you up-to-date in what we're doing (one of the reasons why my to-bring list is a lot of gadgets). It'll be short and more fun to watch than reading some boring blog. My goal is to put a video out every Friday. So if all goes to plan, expect the first video on August 20th. Hold me to it.

I'll get on that ASAP

Three measly entries for July. Well, I think 1 or 2 have some meat to them. As a matter of fact, I know at least one does exactly what I set out to do...to update people on where I'm at in life and, more specifically, the Disney college program.

So I thought I'd fill you in on more of what's going on up till now.

I'm packing. Well, trying to pack at least. My room is full of boxes and my possessions have been shifted around a little. As a matter of fact, I'm taking a break from packing. Resting isn't the best idea, seeing as how my 'Rents are coming tomorrow to load up my dozens of half-full (optimistic) boxes. I'm moving home. That's right, I'm moving home

I've decided to avoid paying $4-freakin-1o for another 2 weeks in the No. So I've been in the process of packing so as to head back to Manteca. But before all you Manteca buddies get too excited, I'm not staying for long. I'm going to be in town for a day shy of two weeks. Basically, the plan is to come home long enough to go to the dentist and the physician.

Why you ask? Because my flight to Orlando departs on the 16th of August. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I've booked the flight. After a rigorous 45 minutes to half an hour ( I wasn't paying attention to the clock) of texting back and forth with Lourin, we finally found a flight cheap enough, discovered my parents would have to spend 12 hours on the road to take me there, devised a plan to remedy the situation, brought the flight back up, realized it wasn't going to the right city, found that we'd have to leave from a different airport, then settled for the next lowest priced flight. So, with all that said and done, Lourin and I are departing from John Wayne airport (SNA) on Monday the 16th at 9:40PM. Not bad if you ask me.

That also takes a lot of stress off my chest. We chose The World over The Land not thinking about how we'd get there. And with my tight budget, our options decreased. It's over and done, and now all that's left to think about (for now) is packing my junk to move back to the fam bam's house. Err...attempting to at least.

I only have a little left to pack (mainly clothes), so I'm going to try to bust that out.

The little-big things in life.

Lately I've been thinking about things I want to accomplish in life. They aren't exactly big-big goals like getting married or starting a family, but something that will still take time and dedication to complete. They're more like little-big goals. So I thought I'd compile a list of things I want to do within my life. Call it a bucket list, even though I'm still pretty young.

1) I really want to restore a Volkswagen Bus.

So far that's it for my little-big goals. I'll add more things when I think of them.

Trip to the coast

The Southern coast that is!....of California!
(The San Clemente pier, made indie through Hipsta-matic)

It was a fun weekend, I must admit. The best I've had in a while. I went with Sharayah to visit her fam bam for a few days. It was a relaxing trip.

We left around 5ish pm-ish on Friday and made our way to Ventura, a trip we didn't realize would take us over 100 miles out of the way. Oh well.

The point of our epic (pun intended, as you will soon learn) deviation was to visit our good friend Nick, who works at a venue in Ventura known as Epic. It's a ministry-based venue, similar to Fresno's Kuppajoe, that brings in all kinds of bands to perform. A very cool place, it's decorated in an 18th-19th century style reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean. Definitely a place to check out if you're in the area.

That night was a little strange because of an all-ages rave going on. The owners had their reasons for allowing the event, but it was still a little disheartening. Sharayah and I are venturing back to Ventura (ha) July 28th for a show. You should come along.

The next day we attempted to wake up at 7 (we got in around 4), but it didn't happen. Once we did wake up, we drove to Sharayah's cousin's to help out with some backyard renovations. I helped move rocks around. After about an hour, we headed out again to do some exploring. One thing I enjoy about San Clemente is the support of local restaurants and cafes. It sounds all "scene-kid" to say that, but it was nice to eat at places that I wasn't familiar with, and that can actually compete with the larger fast food chains. It's refreshing.


That night, after meeting up with her friends David and Serena and a delicious meal at the Cheesecake Factory with them and the fam bam, the four of us (Serena, David, Sharayah, and I) went galavanting around town (and the
beach, once again artsified by Hipstamatic). We saw a movie, got coffee, etc, etc.
It was the great way to end an eventful day.

The next day, we met up with them at church. Once that was over, we went our separate ways.

Then we had to decide on what to do.

After a long deliberation, and checking the price for Disneyland tickets several times, we decided to take a trip to San Juan Capistrano.

Now, I'm a pretty able man when it comes to directions, but I've got to tell you...I can't help but get lost in Orange County. It should be easy considering the Pacific is right there, but still... I hadn't realized we had visited the town the last time I came down with Sharayah. I was almost positive we had not. But we had. I guess I just wasn't paying attention the last time. It wasn't until we went into a nearby Starbucks, that I realized we had been here last time (which, I had assumed we were still in San Clemente). But I'm starting to better understand the area. It's a shame it's so darned expensive, because I can picture myself living there. Of course, a place that well kept has to be expensive.

While we were in Capistrano, we visited the mission. It was a beautiful landmark. I also finally got the joke in Dumb & Dumber about the "salmon of Capistrano." Hyuk, hyuk.

The rest of the day was spent doing some more exploring. We took a trip to the Dana Point harbor and got some ice cream. We walked around for a bit. I've decided that I want to take an ocean voyage sometime in my life. Like, I'd like to take a small yacht (maybe I'll have rich friends later on) and be out at sea for a week or two. Time will tell if that dream will come to fruition.

After we spent time in the harbor, we returned to San Clemente and went shopping at a gluten-free market. We got some beer and I'm curious as to how it tastes. A lot of the food that we tried was pretty good. Different, but good.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing.

We spent the next day getting ready to leave. We wanted to leave around noon so we could beat the traffic. Before that we visited Sharayah's grandpa. After that we did some laundry, packed up, and headed out...back home to Fresno. Sigh...