The Waiting List Dwindles.....

Sounds positive doesn't it...... Let me fill you in...

You see, we'd been doing lots of w a i t i n g and when I say lots, I do mean lots. Take me for example, it's now 28 days (so exactly 4 weeks) since my f2f and I've heard absolutely nothing. I'm thinking about e-mailing Yummy Jobs again to check if they actually got my previous e-mails.
So we're doing our waiting on the Waiting List and even have a thread on WDWIP - 'UK Wait List', basically a support group for those of us who can't talk about flights, insurance, Christmas away from home, wages in $ and what they want to see and do in Florida. We were even planning a get together since Kirstie, Chari and I are reasonably close geographically.

AND THEN, THE BOMBSHELL WAS DROPPED...

The Waiting List started moving, some Waitees needed to wait no longer!!!

The first person to get the call was Beth, on the 19th. She starts on the 23rd June as a Merchie! Then Kirstie was called today! She also starts on the 23rd June, but in FnB.
My excitement has literally grown and grown as the Waiting List has shrunk - it gives me lots of encouragement to think that I could be next. It's also making me quite nervous, because I have to have my phone on silent when I'm in lectures etc and I'm worried I'll miss the call.

So that's basically all of the TGI crew except me, I think, that have now been given a start date.... Let's see if I can get a little list going on (thanks to Matt for compiling it first!)

February 3rd

Louisa (DisneyGibbs) - F&B

June 9th

Michelle (mpark90) - F&B
Daz (Dazzlingdaz) - F&B

June 23rd

Beth (theb5) - Merch
Kirstie (Kirbie) - F&B

July 14th

Jess (Disneyjess) - F&B
Jo (*Minnie*) - F&B
Lee (Disney Dude) - F&B

July 28th

Karri (Karritada) - F&B
Matt (MattSource5) - F&B

August 18th

Helen (hen87hels) - F&B

There are more of them obviously, but these are the guys who I have met personally, who were all rooting for each other and who kept each other sane at the f2f (as well as before and after)! Hopefully I'l be joining them very soon and on that day, dear sweet and innocent blog of mine, you had better prepare yourself for an explosion of joy!!!!

What else is there to say at the moment? Well I can't seem to keep away from the Forums or from my e-mails or Facebook cos I need to keep up with all of the breaking news as it breaks!!
The problem IS that as more and more people get the call, I get both more excited and more nervous. Being on tenterhooks is not a nice place to be for a whole month.

Nevertheless, I have had plenty of things to occupy me; essays, presentations, seminar reading, meetings with my tutor re all of the above, dissertation planning and thinking about that rather ominous thing know as THE FUTURE. Unfortunately, the first and foremost aspect of these discussions revolve around employment plans....
Suffice to say that, beyond Disney, I have none! I've never really had any to be honest, but I think the mists are clearing in some areas. Let's hope I get some positive thinking done when my Network Course questionnaires come back from Tom, Ellie, Sarah and Joe.

My worst enemy at the moment - against whom I have no defence - is impatience. Wanting to hear from Yummy (preferably yesterday) and thinking about when I'll hear from Yummy is actually ALWAYS on my mind. I can't help comparing myself to the other girls and trying to see what it is that sets us apart and at the moment there's nothing save availability date and whatever perception they have of us from the interview.

Hopes are high.... :-)
Until the next time I'll leave you, not with a quote, but with these lyrics from High School Musical 3 (which I went to see with my friend Kathryn and really enjoyed) because it's how I feel about my WDWIP buddies, the TGI Crew:
You know how life can be, it changes over night,
It’s sunny then raining, but it’s alright.
A friend like you, always makes it easy,
I know that you’re getting me, every time,
Through every up, through every down,
No matter where life takes us, nothing can break us apart,
I just want to be with you!

The dreaded e-mail and Disney induced insanity

Well, the e-mail arrived in my inbox today. Let me tell you the story:

Well the forums had been going crazy with so many people tense and uptight with impatience and worry over when we were going to hear back from Disney via Yummy Jobs. Then they went down for a good few days and you could barely get on them at all...so I was out of the news loop for a while.

Not suspecting anything, when I checked my e-mails today, this was what was waiting for me:

Dear Victoria (Vicki)

On behalf of The Disney International Program Recruiters and all at Yummy Jobs we would like to thank you once again for attending the recent interview. We enjoyed talking with you and sincerely appreciate your interest in Disney’s International Programs.

We would very much have liked to consider you for the Cultural Representative Program and you were brilliant but unfortunately we are unable to offer you a position at the moment but we will hold your details on file until February and if position becomes available we will contact you to find out if you are available.

Once again thank you for attending the interviews and we look forward to the opportunity of offering you a position in the future.

Kindest regards,

Michele

Yummy Jobs was my reaction because I thought it was a flat out no and they were just being nice about it in a very Disney way!

However, when the forums came back up and news started to come in from everyone else, it seems that all is not lost (and I'm not alone on the waiting list)! It says they haven't got a position for me at the mo, not that they didn't like me
We could still be offered a post apparently, if they need more people or have someone drop out/get terminated/decide they can't commit etc. Even so, I'm distraught and in two (or more) minds about what to do. I can either: do nothing and wait for them to call, bearing in mind that the call may never come OR I can ask them to take my details off of the list, forgoing my right to be offered a job if one comes up, but enabling me to apply again for departures from September.

Confused? I am. I'm also keeping it a secret at the mo. You may then be asking why on Earth I'm posting this blog on the internet. Well the simple answer is, that if I don't tell someone, I may just spontaneously combust Most of the guys I was interviewed with got in and I am so happy for them its unbelievable; they deserved it so much and will make ace CRCMs. Having met them, I can vouch for that 100% On the other hand, its kind of like they've moved on and left me and the others behind - and its true, they have. It makes it a bit bittersweet for us though....
We do have to be grateful for small mercies though, some people got rejected outright and that must have been a terrible blow for them. Is knowing one way or the other better I wonder? Yes; if you got in, no; if you didn't!

What I've been trying to figure out is why some of us were waitlisted. You know - what factors led to it...
At first I thought it was because I chose Merch as my preference and they don't have as many roles (80% of participants go in to food&bev). No, not neccissarily. Someone else on the waiting list asked for f&b. Then I thought it must be start date, as I'm only available from August. No, not neccissarily. Someone else on the waiting list said they were able to go straight away! Maybe its a combination of the two....

I JUST WANT A PHONE CALL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE GOT TO TELL THEM THAT THEIR DREAM HAD COME TRUE! AND I WANT IT NOW!! AND I HATE WAITING AND NOT KNOWING AND LIVING IN FEAR OF NEVER HEARING ANYTHING!!! FINALLY, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO JOIN IN MY WDWIP FRIENDS' EXCITEMENT AT GOING TO WORK AT DISNEY FOR A YEAR TOGETHER!!!!

Rant over
Shall I leave you with a thought? I will - just because trying to come up with one will help me cope and I need coping strategies!

"Patience with others is Love, Patience with self is Hope, Patience with God is Faith." (Adel Bestavros)

THE wait to end all waits.....

Hello everybody,

As you can see from the title; I'm still waiting to hear the outcome of my f2f which was 11 days ago now!Waiting is not a good occupation at all - it destroys the brain! Since I haven't been able to get up before midday at any time this week, I don't hink anymore brain addling is required to be honest....

I know that they said 3 - 4 weeks before we hear but that doesn't stop all of us (on facebook and wdwip) from checking our e-mails etc every 5 seconds and speculating along the lines of 'Oh there were so many of us / I'll never get the job / Does registering again and again on the Yummy website mean we're not in? etc etc

Although when I got the e-mail saying we have to register on the new Yummy website I was a bit confused cos we then had to apply through the website despite only just having come back from our f2fs! I hope we all get it, I can't bare to think of some of us getting to go and others not, that would be too cruel to think about..... Still I have plenty to keep me busy, especially uni work - nasty 3rd year stealing all of my free time!

Also, the current event that is on everyone's minds is THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. That's right, America goes to the polls tomorrow! We'll be getting live coverage from midnight to 6am on TV over here and I think a fair few people will be staying up to watch it. As for me, I'm undecided: Obama or McCain? They both have their merits..... By this time tomorrow it'll all be over :-)

I'll be back with another update as soon as there is news (or maybe even if there isn't!)

Until then, in light of the fact that it's Rememberance Sunday this week, I'll leave you with this:
Stay safe, all our boys and girls who are so far from home. We haven't forgotten you!

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Private, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

"No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at Vimy on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the streets of Arnhem,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

"I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got a nice smile."
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white and blue.. the Union Jack

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life for my sister of brother..
We stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure, for all time, that this flag will not fall.

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife, daughters or sons."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget,
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone;
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

THE day (and touristy outings in London!)

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin the story of my interview:

DAY ONE

As far as travelling goes, I was not lucky. Due to a "fatality" at Woking, my train was delayed and then my tube train was delayed as someone pulled the emergency alarm at Sloane Square. Then, I got thoroughly lost on the way to my hostel, despite having looked up the directions - I turned the wrong way out of the tube station!! Oh dear.
Anyway, once I got to my hostel, I found I had the room to myself and set about unpacking as my as I could do whilst still keeping everything in my little locker.
In the evening I changed in to my Mickey Mouse t-shirt for the meal and made my way via Embankment Station, to the TGIs in Covent Garden.
TGI is yummy. Our server, whose name I don't know, was awesome and deserved a medal for getting everything right and keeping smiling! Louisa Gibbs (from WDWIP) also deserves a medal for organising the meal and sorting out all of the money etc. The meal was great cos we got to put names to faces that we'd met on the forums and generally chat to lots of people. There were people who'd had their interview the day before, randomers who had done things like the summer program and then us who had a Friday interview.
I was back at the hostel by half 10 and found I had a roommate. She finally got in at midnight but there was no way I could sleep anyway so it didn't really matter.

DAY TWO - INTERVIEW

Got up at 6am! Not good. Woke up my roommate when my alarm went off twice at 6 and 6.05. Ooops. I must say though, I did feel very swanky in my interview clothes on the tube with all of the business people. Thankfully it was only a two-stop trip on the Underground, so the fact that I then went to the wrong reception desk at the Disney building didn't matter so much!
They had a little camera mounted on a pole that took our photos "for security reasons" at the reception desk when we signed in! Anyway, we were taken upstairs and had to fill in some forms (that to be honest they could have sent us in the post and saved us an hour up there!). Then came the presentation and we were introduced to our interviewer Roger, who was giving it. People got prizes for answering questions and even for asking them afterwards! Then the times for our actual f2fs were read out. The first one was at 10am, mine was at 2.30pm!
I went to McDonalds with a girl who I had only just met; Michelle (Pender). There wasn't really a lot for us to do though and we went back to the Disney building pretty soon afterwards. After that, the
w a i t i n g xx b e g a n!!!!!!
I was fine until it got to around 2.15pm, then I got nervous. Also, the person who I thought I was going to have my interview with; Laura (from WDWIP) wasn't with me in the end. I went in with a girl called Gemma who had done the programme before and so Roger seemed to focus on her more than me....
It was over so very quickly that I couldn't believe it! I was calm mainly I think because I had downed quite a lot of Bach's Rescue Remedy throughout the day. I was asked 'Why do you want to work for Disney?' 'How will you cope with the heat?' 'What is your work experience?' 'What do you like to do in your free time?'. Then it was over. Just like that. I was a bit disappointed really as I'd been expecting a lot more - other people agree that it was a bit of a let down too.
Oh well. There was nothing else to do except enjoy the rest of our time in London, which is exactly what me and Michelle (Park) set out to do! We said goodbye to everyone and went to our respective accomadations to get changed. Then we met back at Hammersmith station to do some exploring! I'd also got to see another new roommate who was from Perth. I never found out her name, but she was very friendly and we chatted a lot. I wish her lots of luck with her new flat and lots of peace and enjoyment now that she's no longer living out of a rucksack!
Michelle and I visited; Big Ben, the London Eye, Harrods and Oxford Street, taking full advantage of Zones 1 and 2 on our travel cards! It was incredable fun and Michelle deserves special recognition for having the audacity to apply for a Harrods Loyalty Card (despite living in Preston!)
So that night I was very happy but quite sleepy when I got back to the hostel. I spent a long while chatting to the Aussie girl who was SO friendly and told me that I deserved to get on the CRP because I had a great British accent! Slept well that night, that's for sure and did a lot of my packing before I turned in.

DAY THREE

Check out day! Had breakfast at the hostel and then checked out. Stored my bag at the hostel and then took a couple of hours to go and visit St Paul's Cathedral. Except, "due to scheduled engineering works on the Central line, no services will operate to or from St Pauls"! So I did a bit of a walking tour all the way from Chancery Lane to Bank! Oh well, walking does you good.
St Paul's was amazing to look at as well. Then I got to see lots of other cool buildings, which to be honest I can't remember the name of!
After that, I headed back to the hostel to collect my bag and took my last tube journey: to Waterloo. I lunched at Burger King at Waterloo and then hopped on the train back to Southampton - I was back by 2pm. The first thing I thought? Soton is so cold! Sarah says that's because there is no polution!

So, that's my account of my trip up to London for the f2f. Now we have to play that all too familiar game - the Waiting Game! Now I need to throw myself back in to my lovely studies, especially to catch up with what I had to miss in order to go to London! We now have 3 to 4 weeks to wait until we find out if we were successful or not! Scary!
And so to end: The thought for the Day is "Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a Mouse!"

The interview draws closer!!!

That's right! The interview is FOUR days away and as yet I am only marginally worried!! Hmmm is there something wrong with me I wonder, not being worried yet? Then again I wasn't nervous about the phone interview until a few hours before.

Right, news:

Uni is really hard, but I'm getting through it somehow - largely because I haven't done a lot of the reading!! That's because I'm missing lectures this week and because when I fused some ribs and vertebrae in my back last week, I couldn't actually go anywhere! Take my advice - don't ever fuse vertebrae and ribs, it hurts, you can't get comfortable or sleep and laying around for a week is boring! I have no idea how I managed it for a whole summer...
I have to give a presentation tomorrow on the problem of depopulation in interwar France - not exactly the highlight of my week to be honest. Oh well, needs must for the sake of my degree and (I've become very excited about this recently!) GRADUATION!
Then again I'm also very excited about Christmas, but that's allowed right?? I say it is because this IS the Christmas term AND (very importantly!) the Disney Shop have their Christmas stuff in already!!

Worship Central is Wednesday night and High School Musical 3 comes out this week at the cinemas - we are organising a girly trip to see it - its going to be awesome!!! Plus, you know I mentioned the Disney Store? Well I bought the book of the film in there yesterday!! Well exciting :-)

And So To The INTERVIEWWWWWW!

The plan is this: travel to London to arrive before midday. Check in to my hostel (Globetrotter Inn) and then set out to explore the route I'll need to take both to the interview and to the meal at TGI (Covent Garden) that night.
It is a brilliant idea to meet up with the people who you'll be interviewing with because it means there is one less scary and new thing to deal with on the day of the interview! It also means that the recruiters will look at you and see you being calm, collected and chatty and think 'Yes, I'll employ her.' (We hope!!!)
So I'm aiming to get to the interview venue for 8.15am at the latest and meet up with some other peeps. The presentation starts at 9am so its going to be a pretty full on day methinks.
BUT we're going to be with actual Disney recruiters, at the actual Disney HQ in London!!
I'm expecting my interview will be quite late as I haven't had to come as far as other people (some guys I know are coming from Scotland and the North - as far as that is concerned they're flying or getting the Megabus/train - so shop around for the cheapest way to travel to the interview).
I'm booked to stay overnight that night at the Globetrotter, so after the interview I can go back there and change and then go home the next day. I could possibly see something of London or do a show. If you have the time when you're there, do see a bit more of London, especially if you'll not be back there again soon.

The thing that has been going round and round and round in my head is what answer can I give to THE question: 'Why do you want to work for Disney?'. I just can't decide on how best to approach it cos there's so much I want to say.
One tip for both the phone and f2f interviews is to get to the point and not to waffle. So I think I'm going to go for buzzwords like passion, people, dreams, experience....
The other questions I think I can better come up with answers on the spot:
o Tell us about your home town
o Describe your current job
o How will you deal with living with randomers from several countries
o How will you cope with the heat
o etc etc etc
All I need to hope is that they don't throw in a curve ball question, like in my phone interview when I wasn't prepared for, but got asked about a typical day at my job.

On the plus side my outfit is ready, my photocopying is done, now I just need to get out some cash and finalise my exact travel plans. Another tip from me, especially if you - like me - are unfamilliar with the tube; be prepared! Carry a map with you, plan your journeys before you go and keep your wits about you (and your stuff!) at all times! So I'll know for example; how many stops, in what direction, on what line I need to go, before I get there! Simple. I hope!

What else is there to say? Nought I think.

Thought for this day be:
'Hold your head high and keep smiling, cos that's just what a Princess does!'

Change of plan for October!!!

Hey!
Well I'm updating again (cynics may say that it's because I currently have naff all to do, but I have news to share - honestly!)

22nd October - Worship Central at Central Hall
23rd October - I have lectures 11am - 1pm and 3pm - 6pm AND I need to travel to London AND the CU's Progressive Supper (moved from the 22nd so we can all go to Worship Central!)
24th October - my f2f in London

So you see, I no longer have to rush around, leave Worship Central early, get to London absurdly late or anything! I do have to miss Progressive Supper (for anyone confused, that's a 3 course meal put on for freshers where they go to a different house for each course and therefore get to know lots of people inthe CU!).
Because I won't be here and Ruth (my housemate) will be out for part of the evening, we've decided it would be a lot easier to pull out :-(

I'm mega relieved because now - although I'll have to miss my 3hour Food and Cooking lecture - I can arrive in London A LOT earlier, possibly even do something and then meet up with other wdwip people!!

I know this is supposed to be a kind of Disney Blog, but unfortunately real life goes on alongside the application process, so I'm reporting it as it happens. Right now, for example, I'm rather peeved because I want to transfer to Argos in Southampton for Christmas (I've worked at Argos in Hastings for 4 years and worked in Southampton last Christmas) and they've told me I have to go for an interview!!!! All the other people I know from home who have transferred to other stores have done so with no problems and have a permanent contract there.... :-/ I'll just have to go to the pointless interview and see what happens.
The main thing of course is that I'll be earning £££££s which convert to $$$$$$$s to be used in Florida! Special.

What else can I say? Not a lot really except to leave you all with the thought for the day (not that I've actually done any thinking...yet):
Don't put off until tomorrow, the smile you can put on today. Bit of a random one I know, but I heard it and liked it and I'll have to keep smiling if I work for the Mouse. Failure to smile = end of the line! Dun-dun-derrrrrrrrrrr.

Ciao for now blogites

Back at Uni

Well the title says it all really. I'm back in Southampton for the term....

The next time I leave this city will be for my Disney f2f - in exactly one month's time I'll be on my way to London for the moment of truth. I'm not scared yet..... but ask me again in 3 weeeks and you might just get a different answer!

So ONE MONTH til my f2f; ONE YEAR til I could very well be writing this blog from Orlando, Florida! WHOOOOO HOOOOO.

But I have plenty to keep me occupied until then; Freshers Week here begins on Saturday when the first Freshers move in to Halls and goes on for the whole week! Between now and some point very soon, I need to get Microsoft Office because although I love my new laptop, that vital ingredient is missing.

My advice to anyone thinking/getting excited/wondering about the CRP, is DO IT but be prepared for lots and lots of waiting at every stage of the application process.

I'll leave with my thought for the day ~ Strenuis Ardua Cedunt - The Heights Yield to Endeavour (University of Southampton's motto) because at the end of the day hard work is the answer and this year I am determined to do a bit more of it!