Life since May 22nd

Well, since my poor blog has nearly been left in the gutter since my last REAL post on May 22nd, let's see if I can do a brief overview on life since then. Fancy headings, maybe? Bear with me, there's a lot of stuff... here we go.

Life

Well, probably the biggest thing to happen to me in the last year is the fact that... I NOW OWN A HOME!!! A 3/3 town home, to be specific. Mom has really helped me out a lot with the down payment, as well as painting, outfitting, and all the other things necessary to make this work. It was quite the headache to make happen back in May, but was totally worth it. I'm so lucky to have had the economy, timing, and financials to be working in my favor to make this happen. Allie and Elisha are renting the two other rooms from me this year which, after a few "growing pains", is starting to work out pretty well. It's pretty crazy to know that I really am a homeOWNER instead of a home/apartmentRENTER. Although the thought of being "tied down" has crossed my mind, it really doesn't bother me all that much and I'm planning on making a move in five years or so. Hopefully, the cookies will be crumbling just right to make things work then, too.

This is Grandma. My Dad's mom. She was an amazing woman. She found home with God in the middle of July. It was hard. Really hard. Grammy, my Mom's mom, passed away around the time of Hurricane Charley in 2003. That was really hard, too, as she was the first person I can remember being close to that passed away. Grandma's death wasn't any easier. Probably even more difficult to accept in the fact that I had grown older and really learned the value of these relationships. Grandma was, by far, one of the most spiritual people I have ever known... and that was inspiring. She loved God, her family, her career, and the world around her. I may never truly realize the blessing she was to me, as the concept of death is something I still have a problem fully grasping. Maybe one day, though. Love ya, Grandma.

Not to harp on the previous theme too much, but 2009 really has been a rather sucky year overall. In particular, the number of notable deaths have been astonishing. From MJ to Farrah, Ed to Ted and Les to Patrick, it's just been insane. I've always hated odd-numbered years (weird, I know), so, hopefully 2010 will bring a lot of good things.

School

It's been quite the roller coaster. Spring > Summer > Fall > Now heading towards Spring. Starting with a full load, screwing up, not going to classes, making up for it, maintaining a good rhythm, withdrawing from classes, losing track of my schedule, and so forth. HOWEVER, as long as I stay on track (or whatever the hell you want to call it), I will walk in August 2010. Now that I can put a near-definite date on it, the thought of graduation seems a lot more plausible... which is good, very good.

Vacation
Okay, so I've only taken one trip this year (unlike last year's record), but it was a good one I figured it should have it's own heading. Back in August, I went to Utah to visit my friend Randall and had SUCH an awesome time! Randall was awesome hosting and taking me around to all these different places in a state I had never visited before. I learned about copper production at a mine that can be seen from space, went to a zoo, museum and aquarium for the first time in forever, climbed mountains, explored caves, saw beautiful gardens, went into Salt Lake City, saw the torch from the 2002 Winter Olympics and learned all about the LDS Church (which, surprisingly, was really interesting). I also got to hang with Amy, who I met on Randall's last visit to Florida, as well as a few of his friends from out there. They were all super-cool. I took 1,376 pictures, as well as uploaded a bunch of mobile pics from my phone to document the journey (in other words, picking just one for this post was rather difficult, nor can it even begin to describe the trip). The whole visit was just so amazing, I loved every minute. Hope I can get back out there again soon!

Work

I celebrated one year of "continuous" service in June, receiving my one year pin... finally. I'm not bitter after being employed by the Company since May 2003, it just seems like it's been quite the trek to this one little piece of metal. Nonetheless, I'm really happy to have it. So yay.

Also, in the little over a year that I've been in Entertainment (following my management internship that was in Spring 2008), I've actually learned a lot of different things. I was thinking this wasn't for me just a few months into the role, but, looking back, it sure has been a lot of fun and something that I'm certainly glad I made a step into. Here are just a few pics of some fun things I've got to be a part of so far... let your imagination run wild! 

That's just a small sampling of some of the exciting things that have kept work interesting and fun for me. Also, I'm learning how to swim "Under the Sea" right now and that whole process should be done by the end of this week. That has been the most challenging thing in this department so far, but will certainly be worth it in the end. More to come!

Relationships
Why don't we just skip to the air conditioning and Jacuzzi period, huh?

I know, I know. I'm a nerd. Stop judging.

Anyway, I just can't seem to get this right. I think I've made somewhat of a valiant effort four times in the past few months, but with no avail. Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places - that idea has crossed my mind a few times, too. Maybe it's the fact that I'm just looking too hard... that, or I like crushing on straight boys, which NEVER works. Or, maybe I really do have an issue with commitment. This concept is really strange to me, though, as that's not who I know I am. I can commit. Perhaps it's just the issue with wanting to, but something in the back of my mind keeps telling me that the present situation just isn't right.

I think I'm back to the whole "enjoying the company of myself" stage. However, that thought never helps at night when I find myself being rather pensive. Oh, well. I'll keep my fingers crossed for 2010, but not fret if the chance doesn't pop up right in front of my face. We'll see what happens.

In Conclusion
Now, that wasn't all that bad, was it? Okay, don't lie. It was long. I barely scratched the surface to encourage you to read everything, so I hope that worked. (and this is why I keep everything in my iCal, so I can ACTUALLY remember some of these things) And if you made it all the way down here, I commend and thank you. Now that I've FINALLY jumped over the hurdle of bringing this thing back up to speed, I'll be posting more often. It's just been the odd-numbered year, I swear.


I'm glad to be back!

I know, I know.

It's been FAR too long. I know. All the cool kids aren't writing in their blogs, so I just had to join!

But now they've started writing again. Guess I have to, as well. =P Anywho, let's see if I can pull off a summary of the past, oh, 10 days.

This past Saturday (the 7th) was fun. I was super-desperate for hours, so I picked up work at the Sports Complex in Concessions. Figured it wouldn't be that difficult, maybe even fun, as I've worked there in the past. ("The past" is definitely right, as I first thought it was only 10-12 months ago. But, I looked it up and realized I hadn't worked there since, oh, October 21, 2005. Yea. That was over three years ago.)

I arrived around 11 AM and was immediately thrown into it. I stocked a few carts for about an hour then took over for another CM at a cart in the Jostens Center so she could go on break. I had the "pleasure" of watching a bunch of cheerleaders do their thing down on the stage, as well as seeing a bunch of both happy and extremely tearful ones. If I ever have a daughter and she expresses an interest in cheerleading, I'll be pointing her in the direction of karate.

After selling far too many pretzels and the like, I went on my hour break. About 15 minutes before I was finished, I went down to the office to ask if A) they needed me for another hour and B) if they needed more help that night, as I was soliciting Chase (he was off work at Magic Kingdom soon). They said "yes" to both accounts and the Ops Manager who was in there asked, "can your friend coming from Magic Kingdom bring us pretzels?" as we were selling them like crazy. I thought she was joking, so I just played along for a beat. After realizing she was actually serious in getting some from Stands West at MK, I offered to take a van to pick up both the boxes of pretzels and Chase. They were super-excited when I told them I was familiar with the area, immediately said "yes" to letting me go over there, handed me the keys, and I was off.

I picked up Chase, got him a generic costume, and headed into the Tunnels to get the goods. An hour and a half later, I was back with 7 boxes of frozen pretzels and one additional Cast Member. It was awesome.

On Sunday (the 8th), I managed to pick up an opening shift at Coaster from Brian and then went to DAK to drive parade. Mom came up that evening and we spent some time at Epcot. Later that evening, Allie, Elisha, and I went to Wal-Mart where I got to ride around in the cart, having tons of groceries piled on top of me. And yes, I was a good value, but not on sale. Good times.

Tuesday morning (the 10th) was rather exhausting, as I wasn't able to get any sleep the night before due to being a failure and sleeping in for most of the day. I went to a special Color Coding with the hopes of improving my colors (our "skill coding" system in Entertainment) and I did the usual Movement/Animation, as well as puppets and stilts. Although I'm already making progress with stilts (more to come on that one later), I wanted to try something more. It was alright, just long and mildly tiring. Wish I could have done a bit better, but we'll see what happens in time.

That night, Ryan, Jimmy, Allie, Dan, Elisha, and I went out to Logan's for dinner. I love Logan's. I kinda fell asleep and was a bit late (blame the day), but still made it for some food. After, we went to Dippin' Dots and I kidnapped them all to Old Town for a bit. It was a fun evening.

Finally, here I am at last night, something I had been waiting for for a long, LONG time... the "Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It!" Cast Previews! AHHHHHHH! It was amazing, to say the least. I went with my new friend Dan and met up with a bunch of people from work/school/etc.

What can I say? I REALLY loved that show! To join the opinion of the masses, I agree it's not all that original, but still wildly fun. My roommate even said he liked it, which, if you know Alex, is quite the complement. It's gonna be a lot of fun for our Guests, but will probably be quite the hot mess come Phase 4 closings. We shall see!

Since I'm talking so much about the show, I guess I'll go ahead and publicly admit it here... MISICI is the reason I'm still in Entertainment. Ever since it was announced back in August, I've wanted to do stilts in it. Badly. I didn't really even know all that much about it when it was first talked about, I just knew I wanted it. I've gone to the mover workshops, came back a day early from my vacation to Colorado in December to audition for stilts (as I had mentioned here) and, of course, went to a voluntary Color Coding on Tuesday. It's something I know I can do. It's something I know I want. Honestly, it's all I'm holding out for. I love Entertainment, it's fun, but I really want this show. With a passion.

I've definitely made the right step, as that stilt audition in December has landed me in rehearsals for stilts in my good ol' past time, Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade at DAK! It seems like I'll never get away from that thing. It's okay, though, as it still is something else I'm learning, which is a good start. Besides, who knows? It might just be the extra boost I need to get back to MK.

ANYWAY, Dan and I went to dinner at Steak 'n Shake after the preview, which was great. We talked in the parking lot until 3:30 or so before going home. We'll see where things go with that one...

Today was alright. Yes (Ryan and Jimmy), I DID go to class (most of them) and actually got caught up a bit. I TOTALLY missed the American Idol Experience Press Event today, which kinda bums me out, but I'll survive. I don't really like the show, just the attraction. It would have been cool to see Ryan Seacrest, though. Oh well, I'll just have to live vicariously through Chase, as he got to do and see SO MUCH MORE today than I could ever imagine! Lucky Production Coordinators.

Tomorrow is looking rather promising, as I'll be at MK bright and early to cheer on my friends Meaghan and Casey in MISICI's Grand Opening, followed by my usual day at MJJP. However, I'm scheduled to drive, wait for it... Rafiki! First time EVER since I was driver trained in July! Woot! If I get pulled, someone's gonna get stabbed. ;)

Sorry this one was so freakin' long, I just didn't want to miss anything! I'll be more punctual with my posts from here on out. Promise.

Back to where I belong

Well, it sure has been quite the trip, to say the least. I'm sitting outside my gate here in the Milwaukee Airport, waiting for my flight. I've got a quick layover in Memphis, just enough time to deplane, go to the bathroom, and get right back on. That's good, as I'm certain that the terminal will be blairing country music - which would NOT make me happy.

I actually drafted another blog that I was gonna post before leaving, but ran out of time. So, you'll just have to wait until I get back for the trip recap!

But, just to give you a little something to tide you over, I got to experience a whole lot of cool things, met some neat people, finally understood what it's like to live in the city (which I'll NEVER do), and put my hand in Lake Michigan. I also might have screwed up a friendship that probably wasn't even anything substantial in the first place... but that's for another post.

I've got a lot of cool pictures to share when I get home, so keep an eye out for them!

Now, time to board my... holy crap, it's a puddle-jumper. Although it's really cool looking and technologically advanced... it's tiny. Really tiny. Ugh.

Well, that's all I've got for now! I had so much fun, but I'm glad to be on my way home, back to where I belong.

Just so you're not completely lost, here's a re-cap of what has been going on

I'm Matthew... hi!

That intro was funnier in my head. Anywho, it's been a while, but let's try and stay ahead of the game by using bullet points!

Work and Related

• Seem to be somewhat stuck at DAK. It's ok, though, as I like driving floats.
  
• My Jeep died on the parade route on Saturday. That always sucks.
  
• I'm suddenly able to start hanging out with my princely friend again! Finally.
  
• Really gonna miss PI...

Friends

• Glad that I have recently been able to catch up with a few long lost ones.
  
• I'm sooooooo proud of Tiffany! She knows this.
  
• Wish I could manage to see more of them more often.
  
• Recently made a few new ones!
  
• Jimmy and Brendon, we must plan a date to CFA soon... I have a Gift Card now!

School

• Hee hee hee... as of posting, I am right on the line of falling behind.
  
• I CAN do it, just have to set my mind to it!
  
• Wanna stay, yet honestly, really wanna get out.
  
• Hope to get everything organized soon!
  
• I really want to study abroad. Really, I do. In Austria. It would be amazing.

Relationships (the romantic kind - duh)

• You've got to be kidding me! I'm over it, but when am I not?
  
• Why can't it just work?
  
• Where am I even supposed to go from here?
  
• Don't make me get desperate... again.
  
• Random friend requests always are a cause for disaster! Remember this!

What I should be doing right now

• Sleeping.
  

Got it? Good. If ya don't, well that's you're problem 'cause you're... eh... you? I guess? That line doesn't work as well in this context as the first one did. Oh,well. Goodnight.