Tuesday I was an AM on 707... it was an okay shift. The weather is getting to be rather warm now so less guests are keen to sit outside on AM shifts. Also had a slight issue with love bugs which are big black flies basically, they like humid weather and they started annoying one table of my guests so I had to move them to 701 which is at the other end of the lower deck so that was a bit stressful and kinda weeded me a bit. After my shift, I went home and ended up randomly meeting Nick for some food. We were going to go to Panera Bread but they shut at 9.30pm so we were a tiny bit too late, instead we went to Downtown Disney and got Earl of Sandwich. Then we went back to his apartment to chill out because we hadn't hung out for a few days... in the end (for a variety of reasons I can't be bothered to explain... nothing of my fault though!) he dropped me off back at Commons at around midnight and I went to bed.
Wednesday I was a Mid and it was an awesome shift... I had a lot of drive that day for some reason. I was on 303 in the morning and 508 in the evening. Section 508 is known for being the 'weeded' section - as in you end up with too much to do and not enough time to do it in! I was actually coping fine until I got sat a table with a surprise allergy and my other table which had only just been sat ordered two bottles of wine... this meant I had too many places to be at once and it all got rather manic. I did earn the most money I've earnt as a server though on this shift which was good... I got out pretty late but I could afford all the festivities the next day so I was happy... because...
The Thursday was Nick's birthday!! So I'd planned for ages to take him to Kennedy Space Center because he'd never been (despite being exactly the kind of person that would enjoy it). So I walked over to his apartment in the morning complete with the cakes I made him and his gifts... he predictably was still asleep. He eventually got up and opened his presents which were more random bits and bobs I'd bought him really.... then we went to Cracker Barrel for some breakfast before driving to Cape Canaveral. We did the bus tour, watched two IMAX 3D movies (one about the space station and one about the Hubble telescope), went on the ride that they have (a cross between Star Tours and Mission Space!) and wondered around the museum-y area. We stayed there until about 6pm and then drove back to Orlando... it was great :) We met up with Kathleen and had some dinner at Carrabas (an Italian place near the Commons) which was good... I had a raspberry martini which was the strongest drink of my life. I ended up having to water it down and then mix orange juice with it just to make it drinkable!
On Friday I was on an PM in section 401. This is one of the nicer sections of the restaurant in my opinion especially because you can end up with lots of big tops which means auto-grat which means more money! But also, its airy and outside... plus there's a POS right next to it which is very convenient. I was rather tired this day so I wasn't working as hard as I should have... until I got an 18-top. Yes, 18 people at one table! And they were sat at 8.45pm! So basically I was the last to leave with the KDs and it was exhausting. I went home and straight to bed!
The next day (Saturday) I was on an AM in section 303. I had some nice guests, it was a pretty standard shift. I was still tired but it was okay. After work, I went to Downtown Disney and met up with Sophie and Craig... we ended up getting the F bus to Crossroads and getting TGI Fridays. Then we headed home and I went to bed around midnight.
Sunday was my day off... I left the house bright and early at 9.30am to pick up my car! Woooo! I love having a car here - it gives you so much more freedom!! I whizzed by Walmart and then picked up Sarah and Sophie to go to Universal for the day. It was totally dead there so we didn't queue for more than 15 minutes for anything, even the Forbidden Journey in Harry Potter World!! We did all the big rides - Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge (twice), Spiderman, ET, Men in Black, Hulk, The Simpsons Ride, Rip Ride Rockit etc. Such a good day. We drove back at about 7pm and I dropped the others off. I bummed around my apartment before giving Tyler a ride home from work at about 11pm (via McDonalds for ice cream).
On Monday.... I JUMPED OUT OF A PLANE!!!! As you do....!
There was 12 of us that went to the Skydive Center all together but only 9 of us actually dived. We drove up there early at like 8am, went via McDonalds for breakfast and then got there at about 10am. It was near the Space Center. We had to sign our lives away and then pay... it is quite expensive but not as expensive as the UK! I think it was about $400 in the end but that did include the ultimate video package as well which was about $150 in itself. We got harnessed up and split into three groups of three. I was with Stephen and Steffie originally. The first group got in the plane and went up to do their jump - the sky was cloudless, perfect weather. Everything went to plan and just as the second group were getting on the plane they announced that the radio had broken inside the plane and they needed a part to fix it. Cue about a 90 minute wait for them to get the part and put it into the plane... still, at least they have Safety as their priority. We bummed around in the sun until they were ready. Eventually the second group went up and did their dive... because of the delay, it meant Stephen actually ended up going in the second group too and then it was just me and Steffie for the third group (plus another guy who wasn't part of our group). We got in the plane and that was when the nerves started to kick in! It was weird getting into a plane but not being seatbelted in! We were sitting on these benches with one leg on each side, attached to our jumpmaster.
When we reached 18,000 feet (the highest tandem skydive in the WORLD!), the plastic door got slid open and there was a sudden rush of freezing air. The first guy went and then it was my turn! I was sooo scared, my tiptoes on the edge of a plane and the only thing keeping me from falling was the jumpmaster attached to me! Then suddenly it was time to go!! I think I let out a massive scream as we initially fell - I totally forgot to put my feet back to make the arch shape and start "flying" so I was flailing around all over the place! I also think I got slightly winded as I jumped which made me think I couldn't breathe which made me panic which made breathing even more difficult! The freezing air doesn't help either! In all my pictures, I look like a bit of a mong because I wasn't making any effort to smile!! I was too overwhelmed!! After about 45 seconds (which seem like forever) you could see the clouds approaching you (during the 90 minute wait for the radio part, it clouded over) and suddenly you were going THROUGH A CLOUD! How awesome is that! It was odd - like breathing in water!
Just after we came out of the clouds, after about 90 seconds of 120mph freefalling, my jumpmaster activated the parachute which was a relief as you felt yourself being pulled upwards and then it was much easier to breathe. Although I was huffing and puffing as if I'd just run a race, I was out of breath because I don't think I'd breathed for the last 90 seconds!! It was a little painful (I think my harness was too tight) on the way down but I did get to have a go steering the parachute and I also got to say a few words for my video as well. It was a great view - you could see the space center and everything. After about 7-8 minutes of parachuting, you land. I have to admit - it was a fantastic feeling getting my feet back on the ground! We walked back across the field to the center and waited for our videos to be processed. Finally, we were all done at about 3pm!
We got back in the cars and drove to Citywalk where we got food (I had Panda Express chinese food) and then we went to play the new MiniGolf that they have there. By about 7pm we were done and EXHAUSTED. The adrenaline from the day and all the emotions left me sooo tired. I swung by Walmart quickly before going home and going to bed at 9.30pm!
I had 11 hours sleep before getting up yesterday for my AM shift. I was in Dart Room (301) which is probably one of my least favourite sections. I had an awkward situation with a group of 7 who had 3 different Deluxe dining plans.. after the dining plan had come off, they all had outstanding charges. Two parties left me money to pay it so that was fine but the other one didn't... cue a confusing process of getting the co-ordinator to look up his room key and charging it to his room. I think he genuinely thought it had already been charged - it gets very confusing with the dining plan!! So that stressed me out a bit but I finished work at 4.30pm which was good. Me, Heather and Emily went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner which was expensive but delicious... the service was so-so. After I got back, I called Nick because I hadn't seen him pretty much since his birthday and I took him a piece of cheesecake too... I bummed around his apartment while he did his calculus revision (ugh) and then crashed seen as he stayed up ALL night doing revision for his exams today. I couldn't physically stay up that late even if I tried!! We were originally going to hang out tonight but considering that by then, he won't have slept for like 36 hours, it won't happen... I'm on a PM today so I probably won't get out until late anyway.
So it's been a busy week! It's had AMAZING highs and some bad lows too... a very mixed few days. But in other news - I have cheesecake for lunch today! Woo!
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