![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
It's Giving "Howl's Moving Castle"
Jul. 28th, 2024 09:48 pmWe were both up early on Thursday because our internet has been behaving badly and a tech was supposed to come out "between 8am-11am," but then he cancelled so...early day haha.
Applied to some jobs and then got dressed in some nice clothes and prepared to sweat my little heart out over at Disney Springs, running around and begging for jobs.
I hadn't originally planned to do legwork with the way job applications work in 2024, but shockingly many of the Disney Springs applications seemed "old-fashioned" in that you could just APPLY. As opposed to filling out a form AND linking Indeed/LinkedIn AND attaching a resume AND re-filling the whole resume on an external application site like workday AND completing assessments and evaluations that no human will ever see. In fact, one employer (Splitsville) REQUIRED that you apply in person!! In this day and age!!
Most places that I visited said the predictable thing: "You can apply on our website, or to any positions you see on Indeed."
Of all the stores I visited, only two actually gave me time of day: a candle company, and a hat shop. The candle company gave me a direct email, I sent a resume and to no one's surprise, never got a response.
But the hat store--a hat store, of all things!--offered me a job on the spot!!
This place: (CLICK HERE to see)
I hadn't even planned to go in (I find clothes/fashion retail to be very intimidating) but they had some Haunted Mansion hats displayed near the door and I wanted a photo for Jameson's mom, who loves to see the spooky merch.
And then I sort of looked around, felt how calm it was in there--felt the vibes, I guess--and figured, why not ask. The woman at the register looked bored, but jumped up as soon as I asked about a job and ran to get the manager right away. He came out and interviewed me right then and there. A shock!
He talked a lot, about the history of the store and their sister stores and some of the future goals of their company. And of course about hours and pay (part time and $15 which is the most I am ever allowed to hope for.) In turn I told him about the Main Street Philharmonic and my quest to find a job on Disney property for proximity and flexibility reasons. This manager is a Castmember himself, and said that he has no problem with his employees making short-notice shift changes.
He then texted his boss, who right then and there approved my hiring. Well! I'm not one to turn down an ACTUAL job offer. Especially when I have ZERO experience with hats, of all things. Honestly, life is so weird. I sent off my paperwork as soon as I got home.
Updated Jameson on my doings, practiced trombone, and made dinner for us. Homemade turkey sausage patties with cheddar cheese, arugula, local farm egg, and tangy apple dijon slaw on wheat English muffins.
For once it turned out well. The patties were juicy and cooked just right, the slaw was an awesome addition that gave tangy contrast and crunch, and the super-fresh eggs that Pat gave me last week were perfect on top. We both really loved these!
Spent the rest of my night changing pretty much ALL of my passwords online and detaching my compromised bank account from everything I could think of (recap: my PayPal was compromised and whoever got in there stole $$$$ directly from my bank account.) Really hope I get my money back :(
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday I was up early ahead of a Public Safety Recruiting Expo. I had signed up for it hoping to find some sort of administrative government job, and also because they mentioned "part time 911 dispatch" which is unheard of and that I'd be deeply interested in, if it existed. It did NOT exist, unfortunately. Every single police and fire department had openings for 911 dispatch, but they all thought I was crazy for asking about part time. I wanted badly to ask, "Have y'all considered that maybe the reason you can't find dispatchers is because no one is willing to give up their entire home life to do 12-hour on-call PTSD-inducing shifts?"
Back home I packed lunch and clothes for my "last" Disney day tomorrow.
I usually post a little Instagram story about "Come do the Hot Dog Dance with me!" or somesuch, so people will know to come say hi if they're in the park. But I was feeling kind of down. I am and always will be extremely grateful for this time with Disney, whether it continues or whether tomorrow really ends up being my last day. But right now...I am tired, I feel sad and disappointed in myself for not having better job prospects, and someone just stole a large chunk of money from me, and there are no friends or family here for a quick hug or to buck me up. Usually I'm fine with being alone or having Jameson, but he's also been heavily depressed lately and...I feel alone, sometimes. I try to be my own cheerleader and motivation and power source, but sometimes I can't singlehandedly DO all of that while also fending off the thieves and belittlers and general negative aspects of life. You know?
One thing that continues to cheer me up is the little firefly petunia. As it has gotten healthier it glows more brightly. Jameson must think I'm crazy because every night I pick it up and bring it to the bedroom with us. It glows all night long and different parts of it glow each day, depending on (I assume) how much sun it got, or which parts of the plant are receiving more energy. It's beautiful and fascinating.
And it is starting to produce flower buds again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday was my last scheduled Disney day. After this I don't know if or when I'll be called to perform again. I'll have to wait for the regular trombonist to call out sick or use vacation time, or until there's a rehearsal for the Halloween stuff.
I am sad, but grateful to have enjoyed so many days performing in the park up until now. I never dreamed I'd get this chance even for one day, much less for so many days. I'll never forget it.
That photo is from today, one of Jameson's friends happened to be in the park and caught one of our sets.
Here are the trombones doing Under the Sea. I must say, we sound well balanced and mostly in tune!
(CLICK HERE to watch)
It was a straightforward day, no drama, nothing special, just sets and the parade and the flag retreat, in the heat and with the crowds. It was nice. Afterward I got my cheap grocery sushi and came home, told Jameson about my day, and did a little firefly petunia research to try and help my plant thrive. My new boss at the hat shop added me to the company Sling chat (which I will henceforth be referring to as Hat Chat!!) where I will be able to clock in/out, trade shifts, etc. Still can't believe I'm going to be selling hats...so strange. It's giving "Howl's Moving Castle."
The thing that cheered me up a bit today was remembering that my mother, who was a wonderful and smart and well-educated human being, never once worked a "fulfilling" job. She was a homemaker, and a waitress at Friendly's, and tutored briefly. But she was a great person having nothing to do with her occupation. Never once did I think less of her for not having a "real" job or a high-paying job. Why can't I apply that same acceptance to myself?
(Because I also grew up under the influence of my dad, that's why. Anyway.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday:
- Breakfast
- Bagel shop: egg, veggie, and cinnamon raisin.
- GNC for L-tyrosine, which supposedly helps firefly petunias to glow brighter.
- Ordering a grow light and some petunia-specific fertilizer. Yes it's $$ but the plant was expensive too and I want to do everything I can to keep it alive indoors until it's cool enough to take outside.
- Weeding and sweeping the pool deck and front walkway.
- Fertilizing the banana.
- Meaning to give my jalapeno plant a dowel for support, and forgetting. Will do tomorrow.
- Watching Olympic archery, then synchronized diving, with Jameson.
- Watching tutorials on how to work for Uber Eats.
- Watching anime.
- Going to Publix for Pub Subs only to face disaster: they were out of meatballs for Jameson's sub, then he asked for lowered-sodium Italian and they wouldn't make that because it would require them to cut each type of meat specifically from the deli instead of using the pre-cut stuff on hand. So I gave up and we ate random stuff around the house.
- Jameson watched The Pope's Exorcist, I ate an Italian ice and contemplated life.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming things:
Will try being an Uber Eats driver tomorrow and see how it goes.
Expecting to get a schedule from the hat shop soon.
Will be getting a grow light and fertilizer for my petunia, and will set all that up.
Will watch more Olympics.
Will cook some dinners from us.
Applied to some jobs and then got dressed in some nice clothes and prepared to sweat my little heart out over at Disney Springs, running around and begging for jobs.
I hadn't originally planned to do legwork with the way job applications work in 2024, but shockingly many of the Disney Springs applications seemed "old-fashioned" in that you could just APPLY. As opposed to filling out a form AND linking Indeed/LinkedIn AND attaching a resume AND re-filling the whole resume on an external application site like workday AND completing assessments and evaluations that no human will ever see. In fact, one employer (Splitsville) REQUIRED that you apply in person!! In this day and age!!
Most places that I visited said the predictable thing: "You can apply on our website, or to any positions you see on Indeed."
Of all the stores I visited, only two actually gave me time of day: a candle company, and a hat shop. The candle company gave me a direct email, I sent a resume and to no one's surprise, never got a response.
But the hat store--a hat store, of all things!--offered me a job on the spot!!
This place: (CLICK HERE to see)
I hadn't even planned to go in (I find clothes/fashion retail to be very intimidating) but they had some Haunted Mansion hats displayed near the door and I wanted a photo for Jameson's mom, who loves to see the spooky merch.
And then I sort of looked around, felt how calm it was in there--felt the vibes, I guess--and figured, why not ask. The woman at the register looked bored, but jumped up as soon as I asked about a job and ran to get the manager right away. He came out and interviewed me right then and there. A shock!
He talked a lot, about the history of the store and their sister stores and some of the future goals of their company. And of course about hours and pay (part time and $15 which is the most I am ever allowed to hope for.) In turn I told him about the Main Street Philharmonic and my quest to find a job on Disney property for proximity and flexibility reasons. This manager is a Castmember himself, and said that he has no problem with his employees making short-notice shift changes.
He then texted his boss, who right then and there approved my hiring. Well! I'm not one to turn down an ACTUAL job offer. Especially when I have ZERO experience with hats, of all things. Honestly, life is so weird. I sent off my paperwork as soon as I got home.
Updated Jameson on my doings, practiced trombone, and made dinner for us. Homemade turkey sausage patties with cheddar cheese, arugula, local farm egg, and tangy apple dijon slaw on wheat English muffins.
For once it turned out well. The patties were juicy and cooked just right, the slaw was an awesome addition that gave tangy contrast and crunch, and the super-fresh eggs that Pat gave me last week were perfect on top. We both really loved these!
Spent the rest of my night changing pretty much ALL of my passwords online and detaching my compromised bank account from everything I could think of (recap: my PayPal was compromised and whoever got in there stole $$$$ directly from my bank account.) Really hope I get my money back :(
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday I was up early ahead of a Public Safety Recruiting Expo. I had signed up for it hoping to find some sort of administrative government job, and also because they mentioned "part time 911 dispatch" which is unheard of and that I'd be deeply interested in, if it existed. It did NOT exist, unfortunately. Every single police and fire department had openings for 911 dispatch, but they all thought I was crazy for asking about part time. I wanted badly to ask, "Have y'all considered that maybe the reason you can't find dispatchers is because no one is willing to give up their entire home life to do 12-hour on-call PTSD-inducing shifts?"
Back home I packed lunch and clothes for my "last" Disney day tomorrow.
I usually post a little Instagram story about "Come do the Hot Dog Dance with me!" or somesuch, so people will know to come say hi if they're in the park. But I was feeling kind of down. I am and always will be extremely grateful for this time with Disney, whether it continues or whether tomorrow really ends up being my last day. But right now...I am tired, I feel sad and disappointed in myself for not having better job prospects, and someone just stole a large chunk of money from me, and there are no friends or family here for a quick hug or to buck me up. Usually I'm fine with being alone or having Jameson, but he's also been heavily depressed lately and...I feel alone, sometimes. I try to be my own cheerleader and motivation and power source, but sometimes I can't singlehandedly DO all of that while also fending off the thieves and belittlers and general negative aspects of life. You know?
One thing that continues to cheer me up is the little firefly petunia. As it has gotten healthier it glows more brightly. Jameson must think I'm crazy because every night I pick it up and bring it to the bedroom with us. It glows all night long and different parts of it glow each day, depending on (I assume) how much sun it got, or which parts of the plant are receiving more energy. It's beautiful and fascinating.
And it is starting to produce flower buds again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday was my last scheduled Disney day. After this I don't know if or when I'll be called to perform again. I'll have to wait for the regular trombonist to call out sick or use vacation time, or until there's a rehearsal for the Halloween stuff.
I am sad, but grateful to have enjoyed so many days performing in the park up until now. I never dreamed I'd get this chance even for one day, much less for so many days. I'll never forget it.
That photo is from today, one of Jameson's friends happened to be in the park and caught one of our sets.
Here are the trombones doing Under the Sea. I must say, we sound well balanced and mostly in tune!
(CLICK HERE to watch)
It was a straightforward day, no drama, nothing special, just sets and the parade and the flag retreat, in the heat and with the crowds. It was nice. Afterward I got my cheap grocery sushi and came home, told Jameson about my day, and did a little firefly petunia research to try and help my plant thrive. My new boss at the hat shop added me to the company Sling chat (which I will henceforth be referring to as Hat Chat!!) where I will be able to clock in/out, trade shifts, etc. Still can't believe I'm going to be selling hats...so strange. It's giving "Howl's Moving Castle."
The thing that cheered me up a bit today was remembering that my mother, who was a wonderful and smart and well-educated human being, never once worked a "fulfilling" job. She was a homemaker, and a waitress at Friendly's, and tutored briefly. But she was a great person having nothing to do with her occupation. Never once did I think less of her for not having a "real" job or a high-paying job. Why can't I apply that same acceptance to myself?
(Because I also grew up under the influence of my dad, that's why. Anyway.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday:
- Breakfast
- Bagel shop: egg, veggie, and cinnamon raisin.
- GNC for L-tyrosine, which supposedly helps firefly petunias to glow brighter.
- Ordering a grow light and some petunia-specific fertilizer. Yes it's $$ but the plant was expensive too and I want to do everything I can to keep it alive indoors until it's cool enough to take outside.
- Weeding and sweeping the pool deck and front walkway.
- Fertilizing the banana.
- Meaning to give my jalapeno plant a dowel for support, and forgetting. Will do tomorrow.
- Watching Olympic archery, then synchronized diving, with Jameson.
- Watching tutorials on how to work for Uber Eats.
- Watching anime.
- Going to Publix for Pub Subs only to face disaster: they were out of meatballs for Jameson's sub, then he asked for lowered-sodium Italian and they wouldn't make that because it would require them to cut each type of meat specifically from the deli instead of using the pre-cut stuff on hand. So I gave up and we ate random stuff around the house.
- Jameson watched The Pope's Exorcist, I ate an Italian ice and contemplated life.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming things:
Will try being an Uber Eats driver tomorrow and see how it goes.
Expecting to get a schedule from the hat shop soon.
Will be getting a grow light and fertilizer for my petunia, and will set all that up.
Will watch more Olympics.
Will cook some dinners from us.
