Wednesday, November 28, 2012
10 Recording Bloopers that Made the Album
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Soooo True
- The Ten Commandments of Engineering
- 1: Thou shalt not be social
- 2: Thou shalt remember the slide rule, and keep it holy.
- 3: Thou shalt not speak to women, unless they are one of the Discipline.
- 4: Thou shalt not know literature.
- 5: Thou shalt do horribly in English class.
- 6: I am the Lord thy Major, and thou shalt have no other Majors before me.
- 7: Thou shalt not wear matching colors.
- 8: Thou shalt watch Doctor Who.
- 9: Thou shalt remember that Grammar is thine enemy
- 10: When thou are not working, thou shalt play video games in order to avoid "real life."
(Found this on a tumbler page and thought it appropriate. Title links to the page.)
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Engineering Part
Since this is about my training for Imagineering, I should mention what I have been up to besides just the Disney stuff...
I have been recording my friends' band Worst Case Ontario.
I have done a session with a different set of friends' band Tomato Face. Also got to help with their sound check one night at a show.
(check them both out on Facebook!!)
I am in a club called StudioLife, learning tons of audio stuff, giving me access to a multimillion dollar set of recording and mixing studios. Through it I also work the shows hosted in the building. I've done one- live recording- and this week I will record a show live, and the next night work as a stage hand.
I have put in a few hours at the school's theatre scene shop (these were required for a class), but it's still a step in the right direction.
TO DO LIST:
It's not much compared to many of the peers I work with here, but it's more then I ever had before. My audio background before college was the one show I ran for a summer production at my high school and helping put in the new sound system at my parents' church. Baby steps!
I have been recording my friends' band Worst Case Ontario.
I have done a session with a different set of friends' band Tomato Face. Also got to help with their sound check one night at a show.
(check them both out on Facebook!!)
I am in a club called StudioLife, learning tons of audio stuff, giving me access to a multimillion dollar set of recording and mixing studios. Through it I also work the shows hosted in the building. I've done one- live recording- and this week I will record a show live, and the next night work as a stage hand.
I have put in a few hours at the school's theatre scene shop (these were required for a class), but it's still a step in the right direction.
TO DO LIST:
- Get in touch with the community theatre on volunteering
- Get in touch with the guy running sound at the school's theatre
It's not much compared to many of the peers I work with here, but it's more then I ever had before. My audio background before college was the one show I ran for a summer production at my high school and helping put in the new sound system at my parents' church. Baby steps!
Congratulations!!
I GOT IN!!!!
The day came about a month ago. I got the email and my jaw dropped, I then preceded to fall out of bed, burst out the door to run downstairs to tell my best friend the news. I cried for like an hour because of the overwhelming joy I had from finally getting a job at the Happiest Place on Earth. I'll spend the spring and summer working Quick Service Food and Beverage in Orlando. Eight months of hard work, and bliss.
Still working on my Disney College Program Bucket List, but will post and update as I complete it.
My countdown says 75 days until I check in. Registration for classes has already opened. That, in and of itself is nerve racking. Yes there are tons of classes to choose from, but of course I have to be difficult and place my name for the waiting list for one of the professional studies classes. From what I have read, they go through and check everyone's major before you can officially enroll because they are major specific. They are also extremely difficult to get into in general so I'm pretty worried about that.
TimeKeeper game thingy finally opened tonight and I played, and finished it in a couple hours and was pretty disappointed that all it was was disney trivia and heritage. Personally, I knew pretty much everything, then again I've read the largest Disney biography out there and have the toughest disney trivia book.
The day came about a month ago. I got the email and my jaw dropped, I then preceded to fall out of bed, burst out the door to run downstairs to tell my best friend the news. I cried for like an hour because of the overwhelming joy I had from finally getting a job at the Happiest Place on Earth. I'll spend the spring and summer working Quick Service Food and Beverage in Orlando. Eight months of hard work, and bliss.
Still working on my Disney College Program Bucket List, but will post and update as I complete it.
My countdown says 75 days until I check in. Registration for classes has already opened. That, in and of itself is nerve racking. Yes there are tons of classes to choose from, but of course I have to be difficult and place my name for the waiting list for one of the professional studies classes. From what I have read, they go through and check everyone's major before you can officially enroll because they are major specific. They are also extremely difficult to get into in general so I'm pretty worried about that.
TimeKeeper game thingy finally opened tonight and I played, and finished it in a couple hours and was pretty disappointed that all it was was disney trivia and heritage. Personally, I knew pretty much everything, then again I've read the largest Disney biography out there and have the toughest disney trivia book.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Disney College Program 2012
I have yet again made it through the application and the web interview portions for the Disney College Program. I am awaiting my phone interview date and preparing, good thing I made a list of things I needed to improve on from my last interview! Soooo excited. Wish me luck!
Disney Vacation 2012
One of my favorite parts of every Disney trip is talking to the cast members. This trip I got to talk to a cast member that is an old friend of my family's that works at The Land and also got to judge the sidewalk drawings two cast members did of Donald Duck (the seven year olds standing around had no idea what they were talking about). Then we chatted for a bit. Talking with these people makes me feel so at home because they understand me. Every trip reinforces my dream to become an Imagineer.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Disney College Program
On my list of things-to-do to get hired by Disney is the Disney College Program or DCP. What better way to get hired by your company of choice than to have it beaming there on your resume? It's my secret weapon, my lighthouse beacon, my jumping up and down waving my arms in the air shouting "Pick me! Pick me!" Any job at Disney is REALLY competitive and DCP is no different. I applied for the fall of 2012 and was wait listed and then months later, rejected. The plan now is to apply again for the spring but I wanted a compilation of tips and tricks that may help me, or you, get into the program.
DCP is all over the social networking sites; like it, follow it, friend it, subscribe to it, bookmark the website. This is part of your research that you would do for any job. Learn what is going on, what you like and dislike about it. Watch videos on Youtube posted by it and by previous participants. You will learn TONS from the former cast members about everything: the interview, the job, the preparations they took, what they like and dislike about it, and in the end what they left with after the program.
Make yourself aware of Disney policies for their cast members. DCP has its main focus on the working aspect on the program and less on the education. (You can take a class through it and get college credit IF your college excepts the credit so check with them.) Disney has something called the "Disney Look," and if your dream has always been to work there you already know this. The Disney Look is something that every Disney employee has and they won't hire you if you don't follow it.
Research the interview on Youtube from previous participants. Make a list of the kinds of questions asked and feel free to make a cheat sheet for yourself for the PHONE interview. Sucks that it's over the phone but it does have this perk at least, and that the interviewer can't see in your eyes how nervous you are (unfortunately for me, this was the first thing I blurted out to her.)
After all of this research you are ready to apply. If you have done your research right, DCP has e-mailed you the moment they began to take applications. Apply at this moment. On the application you come to a page that asks you to put down all of the positions you are applying for. TIP: They will not hire you for it if you don't apply for it, so apply for EVERYTHING you can. Apply like you are desperate for a job and your seven kids will starve if you don't get it.
If it goes well then you will be invited for a web interview and then the phone interview. When you apply early, all of this happens in a matter of days (waiting for each step is excruciating!!). When you are waiting after you apply, go ahead and attach your formal resume to your dashboard. For your phone interview, tips I've read and will try for my next application:
1. Dress for the occasion
2. Have your cheat sheet and any questions you might have prepared
3. Make sure you are alone and in a place with good cell reception
4. Make sure you thank your interviewer!!!!!
DCP is all over the social networking sites; like it, follow it, friend it, subscribe to it, bookmark the website. This is part of your research that you would do for any job. Learn what is going on, what you like and dislike about it. Watch videos on Youtube posted by it and by previous participants. You will learn TONS from the former cast members about everything: the interview, the job, the preparations they took, what they like and dislike about it, and in the end what they left with after the program.
Make yourself aware of Disney policies for their cast members. DCP has its main focus on the working aspect on the program and less on the education. (You can take a class through it and get college credit IF your college excepts the credit so check with them.) Disney has something called the "Disney Look," and if your dream has always been to work there you already know this. The Disney Look is something that every Disney employee has and they won't hire you if you don't follow it.
Research the interview on Youtube from previous participants. Make a list of the kinds of questions asked and feel free to make a cheat sheet for yourself for the PHONE interview. Sucks that it's over the phone but it does have this perk at least, and that the interviewer can't see in your eyes how nervous you are (unfortunately for me, this was the first thing I blurted out to her.)
After all of this research you are ready to apply. If you have done your research right, DCP has e-mailed you the moment they began to take applications. Apply at this moment. On the application you come to a page that asks you to put down all of the positions you are applying for. TIP: They will not hire you for it if you don't apply for it, so apply for EVERYTHING you can. Apply like you are desperate for a job and your seven kids will starve if you don't get it.
If it goes well then you will be invited for a web interview and then the phone interview. When you apply early, all of this happens in a matter of days (waiting for each step is excruciating!!). When you are waiting after you apply, go ahead and attach your formal resume to your dashboard. For your phone interview, tips I've read and will try for my next application:
1. Dress for the occasion
2. Have your cheat sheet and any questions you might have prepared
3. Make sure you are alone and in a place with good cell reception
4. Make sure you thank your interviewer!!!!!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Counting my blessings daily. To all of the friends and family that have brought me to this path I travel: every step towards my future, damp from tears of joy or sorrow, I walk in memory of you and the moments with you that make life so special. I only hope that I have repaid my debt to you by giving the same freedom that comes with the treasure a person that you can be 100% yourself.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
"It all started with a mouse."
I know this blog is supposed to be about the trials and tribulations of making a career for myself but since it is summer I'll reflect on other aspects of my life that college has changed.
It is my first summer home from school and right off the bat I had a few problems adjusting to living with my family. "Well that's your problem!" says the old man. Yes living with your parents again is no fun, especially in a dysfunctional family unit like mine. When everyone lives and interacts like strangers, all with their own methods of doing things and no communication whatsoever, they get into disagreements (to put it gently). So here I am, adding another person into the mix. I've lived on my own for almost a year now without Mama and Daddy's help, without a dishwasher, without a TV, and without a toaster. Be careful when you move back in, because if your mother is like mine, you will instantly be expected to use these appliances even though you would rather not. I don't know what it is about not having a TV at school, but at home I get so irritated when it is on. I end up being driven out of the living room and barring myself in my room to avoid it.
When you get home, after it is not your home for quite sometime, it surprisingly does not feel like home anymore. Growing up I always regarded Charleston as a second home because I spend so much time there. The climate is not that different from that of my hometown. The difference for me in these two places is that one feels like home because it was home, and the other has a homey familiarity where you reside comfortably but does not have the full feeling that you belong there. This feeling has not plastered itself to my hometown as well and when I walk outside, it is Charleston. Geographically it is not, but the culture, the smells, the salty sea air is all the same. Homey and familiar, but it's not home. Home for me is Tennessee's country-side. Family is my new friends; family bonding in the basement, family day outings, family dinners and family movie nights. For the first time since I was little and blissfully ignorant, I feel like I truly belong somewhere with this group of people in this place, regardless of how much I resent the climate.
Going off to college is one of the best experiences of my life. Along with the education I adore so much (I was always one that loved school to an extent that concerned some people) I have found a touch of happiness. So in my studies to become an Imagineer I have learned this: family values (even if it is not my birth family, I love them no less), I have learned that home is with the people you love and feel most yourself with and not the little yellow house that I always had a strange attachment to for no discernible reason. And to think that I can thank one person, one character, tracing back to the very beginning brought me to this path/pursuit to happiness. "It all started with a mouse."
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Beginning of the End
More of a dramatic title then needed but my professors keep reminding me that finals are just around the corner so I thought it fitting. I am not a writer, never have been, never will be. So I'm not going to pretend that I am one.
It struck me one day, though, that it might be to my benefit to write down lessons learned in my life and in college as a reminder to myself, and maybe a nifty tid-bit for someone else, so that I don't forget it and maybe, by miracle, follow my own advice for once.
To begin I'd like to note that at this point in my life, I am finishing up my freshman year of college and the semester is coming back to bite me in the ass. Everything that I told myself I wouldn't do this semester, that I made habit of last semester and in high school, I did.
So note to self, next year missy DO NOT:
1. Skip class as frequently if at all
2. Pintrest, Facebook, play Sudoku or Tetris, read books that have nothing to do with the lecture or anything that doesn't involve ACTIVELY listening and/or taking notes. It sucks when you have no idea what is going to be on the test even though you attended every class (mostly).
3. If you know you can get the answers for the tests after you take them, even if it's only the ones you missed - DO IT. They are most likely on the final and therefore awesome study material.
4. Papers are way more fun to write when it is not 3 am the night before they are do. At that hour you are cranky, tired, and a little loopy from sleep deprivation.
5. Study days and/or weeks before a test, not the 20 minutes before class.
6. Forget how lucky you are that you are here, heading to the exact future you want, and that you have made life-long friendships here that are precious and should never be taken for granted. These people see you are your prettiest and ugliest and still want to be around you. They will bring you french fries from McDonald's at 3 am and make you soup when you are sick. Treat them with the same respect.
7. Forget the people in your past that made you the person you are today. Good or bad influences you learned from them. And whether or not you chose to keep them in your life after you have left, do it with no regrets. You cannot live your life in the past because you have reached a new chapter. "It's a whole 'nother can of worms" as my mother would tell me. Find out what path to lead down next, always travel with a buddy, and do what you love.
As a note to other freshman:
1. Live in the dorms your first year and introduce yourself to EVERYONE, especially upperclassman. You have a lot to learn from them.
2. Avoid the meal plan at all costs. The food will suck. You will get fat. And it is way too expensive.
3. The freshman 15 is a very real thing unless you go to the gym at least a couple days a week. Work out, no one will judge you for how sweaty you look while hiking back across campus, they will revere you.
4. Value what little sleep you get. Every minute is a very precious thing.
5. Get to know at least one professor a semester. If it means taking an honor class so there are fewer people to fight his or her time for, it is worth it. Having someone know you means you can use them as references on job and scholarship applications.
6. If you can get your hands on money do it. I don't mean selling drugs. Get a job, keep up with scholarship applications, beg your family for it. Save it. You will run out of it before you know it.
&
7. If you are not a partier like I was coming into school, there is nothing wrong with missing out on a few. If you are not a drinker, don't let lose and become one right away - most of your friends who do this will likely take it too far i.e. getting arrested and/or cited for drinking underage or public intoxication, eating jail bologna during his drunk night it jail, or spending most of finals week under the influence. If you don't do drugs it's best that you don't start now. Many of these habits cost way too much money then you can afford to part with whether you know it now or not.
As a final note to this note: the lesson every single one of my professors has taught me this semester that had little to do with the rest of this note to myself.
"Own your shit! That is where the money is made." Disney learned it the hard way and lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Universal and that is why he copyrighted the shit out of Mickey Mouse.
It struck me one day, though, that it might be to my benefit to write down lessons learned in my life and in college as a reminder to myself, and maybe a nifty tid-bit for someone else, so that I don't forget it and maybe, by miracle, follow my own advice for once.
To begin I'd like to note that at this point in my life, I am finishing up my freshman year of college and the semester is coming back to bite me in the ass. Everything that I told myself I wouldn't do this semester, that I made habit of last semester and in high school, I did.
So note to self, next year missy DO NOT:
1. Skip class as frequently if at all
2. Pintrest, Facebook, play Sudoku or Tetris, read books that have nothing to do with the lecture or anything that doesn't involve ACTIVELY listening and/or taking notes. It sucks when you have no idea what is going to be on the test even though you attended every class (mostly).
3. If you know you can get the answers for the tests after you take them, even if it's only the ones you missed - DO IT. They are most likely on the final and therefore awesome study material.
4. Papers are way more fun to write when it is not 3 am the night before they are do. At that hour you are cranky, tired, and a little loopy from sleep deprivation.
5. Study days and/or weeks before a test, not the 20 minutes before class.
6. Forget how lucky you are that you are here, heading to the exact future you want, and that you have made life-long friendships here that are precious and should never be taken for granted. These people see you are your prettiest and ugliest and still want to be around you. They will bring you french fries from McDonald's at 3 am and make you soup when you are sick. Treat them with the same respect.
7. Forget the people in your past that made you the person you are today. Good or bad influences you learned from them. And whether or not you chose to keep them in your life after you have left, do it with no regrets. You cannot live your life in the past because you have reached a new chapter. "It's a whole 'nother can of worms" as my mother would tell me. Find out what path to lead down next, always travel with a buddy, and do what you love.
As a note to other freshman:
1. Live in the dorms your first year and introduce yourself to EVERYONE, especially upperclassman. You have a lot to learn from them.
2. Avoid the meal plan at all costs. The food will suck. You will get fat. And it is way too expensive.
3. The freshman 15 is a very real thing unless you go to the gym at least a couple days a week. Work out, no one will judge you for how sweaty you look while hiking back across campus, they will revere you.
4. Value what little sleep you get. Every minute is a very precious thing.
5. Get to know at least one professor a semester. If it means taking an honor class so there are fewer people to fight his or her time for, it is worth it. Having someone know you means you can use them as references on job and scholarship applications.
6. If you can get your hands on money do it. I don't mean selling drugs. Get a job, keep up with scholarship applications, beg your family for it. Save it. You will run out of it before you know it.
&
7. If you are not a partier like I was coming into school, there is nothing wrong with missing out on a few. If you are not a drinker, don't let lose and become one right away - most of your friends who do this will likely take it too far i.e. getting arrested and/or cited for drinking underage or public intoxication, eating jail bologna during his drunk night it jail, or spending most of finals week under the influence. If you don't do drugs it's best that you don't start now. Many of these habits cost way too much money then you can afford to part with whether you know it now or not.
As a final note to this note: the lesson every single one of my professors has taught me this semester that had little to do with the rest of this note to myself.
"Own your shit! That is where the money is made." Disney learned it the hard way and lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Universal and that is why he copyrighted the shit out of Mickey Mouse.
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