AWOL

Hi all!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you! I'm just experiencing some trouble with my internet at the moment so my posts might be a bit delayed. I'm working on getting a few posts up when I get to my dad's on Tuesday (his wifi isn't broken) about accepting the offer and the health insurance. I hope you can bear with me until then :)

- Lily

Roommate Survey

Background

Name: Elizabeth Holz
Nickname/s: Lily (If you call me Elizabeth you're dead to me)
Gender: Female
Orientation: Straight
Birthday/Age: October 3, 1993
Relationship Status: Single
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
School: RMIT
Degree/Course of Study: Advanced Diploma of Professional Screenwriting
Are you allergic/have allergies to anything? Yuppers. All creatures that come from the sea and pineapple. Nothing too crazy though. They just make me ill in the tummy.
Other important medical conditions/information: Nope.
Food requirements (vegetarian, vegan, coeliac etc): Nope.
Do you have any siblings? Yes, one younger brother.
Do you have or fears or phobias? Spiders. So much so I should probably seek help. To a lesser degree I'm also terrified of heights and deep water but nothing compared to how much I'm afraid of spiders. In fact, let's stop talking about spiders, shall we?
Have you ever lived out of home before? Nope. I'm a first time home leaver.

Program Details

Arrival Date: Jan 13th, 2015
Role: Merchandise
What city/airport are you flying from? Melbourne, Tullamarine.
Wellness or Non-Wellness? Non-Wellness.
How many people do you want to live with? 6. I'm a more the merrier type of gal but I think 8 might just be a little too merry.
Which housing complex would you like to live in? (list in order of preference) 
Honestly I don't mind the complex. As long as I have good roommates I'll just go with whatever they want. But if I had to choose:
1. Chatham
2. Commons
3. Vista
4. Patterson
How do you feel about bunk beds/3-person bedrooms? I don't mind living in a room with two other people but the bunk thing doesn't sit well with me. I'd be fine to take the bottom bunk if necessary but the top is a no-no. An accompaniment to my spider phobia is a tendency to be anxious when I'm too close to a ceiling. (It makes no sense, I know. Phobias are irrational after all)
Are you planning on applying to extend to 12 months? Definitely applying to extend.

Lifestyle

Do you party? How often? Not at all.
Do you smoke? Nope.
Do you drink? Nopety nope.
Can you cook? A little. I have a few fallback things that I know how to cook (Dad's spaghetti and meatballs recipe is always a winner) but I'm really keen to learn more about food and cooking on a budget while on the program.
Are you a night person or morning person? Definitely night. Especially in a creative capacity my brain seems to only fully switch on when the sun goes down.
Do you snore? I don't believe so.
What does your bedroom normally look like? A bit of a lot of a mess. Though most of that mess stems from the abundant amount of junk I own. Hopefully when I'm on the program and my life has been stripped back to the bare minimum of material possessions I won't have anything to make a mess with.
Do you like it when your room is hot or cold? Warm. Though my interpretation of warm is some people's interpretation of hot.
Do you prefer light or darkness when you sleep? I'll own up to the fact that I do have a low wattage light on when I sleep (Fear of the dark is another side effect of the spider thing). But I'm trying to phase it out and learn to sleep with the light off so I won't bug my roommates.
Do you prefer music/noise or silence when you sleep? I can sleep through pretty much anything so I don't really mind. I don't need music on when I sleep but I also probably wouldn't notice if it's playing either.
Would you rather go out or stay in? Down in Melbs I like to stay in but that's purely because there's not much to do and petrol ain't cheap. At Disney World I'll definitely be going out every opportunity I get whether it be hanging out with friends, going to the parks or just going for a walk. I'm up for whatever.
What do you like to do on your days off/the weekend? Currently on my days off I like to write, catch up with friends, watch movies, watch youtube videos, go for walks around the block and bother the neighbors with my horrendous singing.
Do you work out a lot? Not at all. I'm deceptively unfit.
What is your favourite chore? Anything that I can do while singing to entertain myself (don't worry, if you're sleeping I'll just lip sync very dramatically).
What is your least favourite chore? Dusting/De-cob webbing (for obvious reasons).

Personality

Three words that describe you: Passionate, excitable, up too late to think of a third word that's not 'Disney'.
One good quality: I think my good quality is that I'm passionate about what I love.
One bad quality:Probably that I don't think things through. Whether it's something as simple as cutting my hair or something with a bit more of a consequence, I can often be a bit more on the 'leap before you look' side of things.
Are you outgoing or quiet? Definitely not quiet. I might take a little while to become comfortable with people but even in the initial stage I can be a bit full on.
Do you like hanging out with people or keeping to yourself? Definitely hanging out with people.
What would you want in a roommate? Looking for someone who is ready for some Disney fun! I really want a roommate who will come to the parks with me as much as possible. Someone who is keen to make the most out of the experience and is willing to take on a partner in crime.
What are your biggest pet peeves/dislikes? People who do things for their own personal gain and don't stop to think how it will effect other people.
Are you messy or organized? I'm pretty organised when it comes to the important stuff and I get pretty annoyed when things end up where they shouldn't be. My room is a bit of a mess but I always seem to know where everything is. Not the first to say it and certainly won't be the last but organized chaos is how I roll. Like I said before though, when I don't have years worth of junk cluttering my room I'm confident that I'll be able to keep everything organised.
How do you feel about sharing a room and apartment? Super excited to share. I'm really excited about meeting my roommates, forming strong friendships and going on all kinds of adventures, good or bad.
Do you like having people over a lot? Not at home, no. If I do make friends on the program outside my roommates I'd have them over for dinner or movie nights but nothing too crazy or too frequent.
What are your hobbies and/or interests? Film and television, making/watching youtube videos, writing, singing poorly. Am I repeating myself yet?

Favourites

Favourite thing to do:One thing? Probably writing. Or watching movies. Damn that's two things.
Favourite Music:I don't often listen to music that's not Disney but when I do it's any of the following: Soundtracks to musicals e.g. Phantom, Chess, Wicked, Les Mis, West Side Story, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Cats Don't Dance (musical movies still count right?) or, very occasionally, normal music e.g. Wintersleep, Two Hours Traffic, The Danks.
Favourite TV Shows: X-Files, Veronica Mars, Gravity Falls, NCIS, Suits, Sleepy Hollow.
Favourite Movies: Clue, Rock and Rule, The Mummy, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Becoming Jane, The Lego Movie.
Favourite Food: Either pasta or dumplings. Don't make me choose.
Favourite Candy:Sour cola bottles
Favourite Drink:Coke or Earl Grey tea.
Favourite Colour: Blue.

Disney!

Favourite Character:Bernard
Favourite Princess: Ariel or Aurora
Favourite Movie:One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Wreck-It Ralph, The Rescuers, Newsies.
Favourite Park: I've not been to Disney World yet but probably Magic Kingdom. I just love rides and it has the most.
Favourite Ride:At Disneyland my favorite ride was Matterhorn Bobsleds. My favourite ride prediction for Disney World is a toss up between Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest.

Shameless Plug

Hi all!

Since I've been accepted it's finally time for me to start posting the videos I've been filming since the week after I applied. If you want to check out my videos I've included the very first one here and I'll add a link to my channel in the tabs as well. Enjoy!

- Lily

Tell Everybody I'm On My Way

Hi all!

No, that title isn't purposefully misleading. I did it!

Yesterday at 7.21am I received my 'Congratulations' email from Disney informing me that I'd been accepted for Merchandise!

After a lot of screaming and excitement I told my mum whereupon she join in with the screaming and excitement. I cancelled my plans for the rest of the day (sorry, plans) and set to work completing all the steps and paperwork that I could. And let me tell you there were a bloody lot of them. Throughout the day I managed to accept my offer, pay my program fee, choose and pay for my health insurance, order a police background check, download and complete the hire documentation (I don't think I was supposed to do this yet though), start email communication with a travel agent and start a passport application for my mum.

Somewhere in there (during the hour and a half wait between accepting the offer and the arrival of the 'next step to accept' email) I called my dad and even though I'd managed to keep my eyes perfectly dry all morning I started crying as soon as he answered the call. He congratulated me and then told me to stop crying and be happy. I laughed, agreed and then told him that with all the preparation I had left to do I didn't have any spare time to cry.

I spent the rest of the day drowning in paperwork and trying to keep all my documents organised. When I finally headed over to my dads I got a quiet moment to myself in my car. With my Disney playlist blaring through the radio it finally started to hit me exactly what the day had meant. I did it. I finally did it.

After two years of preparing and waiting and wishing upon all the stars in the sky I'd finally got my chance. And as my favorite line from one of my new favorite Disney songs, 'Once Upon A Time In New York City' (Oliver and Co.), played through the speakers I sung along and started crying again.

"Keep that dream alive, dreaming is still how the strong survive."

It finally dawned on me: I was strong. I had survived. And now my dream was finally coming true.

- Lily

P.s. I will be making more detailed posts on accepting an offer, paying the program fee, health insurance and the background check so keep an eye out for those. I'll also chuck them all in the 'Important Stuff' page here. I have very limited access to internet at the moment though so updates might be a little slow. I'll also be posting about the hire documentation but maybe not until Disney actually tells us to do that.

Soon To Be Legal (Part 1)

Hi all!

Thought I'd just give you a quick update on the party situation considering it's consuming my life at the moment. 

So the other day (thanks to my buddy Bec) I worked out what balloons I needed for my themed tables so dad and I popped down to Lombards to do some shopping. Only to be greeted by this as we walked in...

Looks like someone told them I was having a party. Thankfully my Anna costume is going to look a lot more true to the film than this. 

I frantically searched around for the balloons I needed and dad nearly died when he saw how many I wanted. After trying and failing to convince him to buy a full sized Elsa stand board we left with something like $80 worth of balloons and balloon supplies. 

We also found out how much the helium tanks are to hire so I think we're pretty set in terms of balloons. 

I've also spent the last week or so trying to get my paper mâché Spaceship Earth done. It started off alright. 

First we covered a fit ball in a few layers of plastic wrap to make sure the mâché wouldn't stick directly to the ball. Then my friend Katherine and I started mâchéing with newspaper and a watered down PVA solution. It was going great until we ran out of glue. We improvised and made some with flour and water which worked well enough for us to leave it to dry and go get more PVA from down the road. 

Then a few days later I spent anthother three hours coating the ball again with the newspaper and PVA solution, until I'd added another three layers, while I watched Newsies and Tower of Terror.

I left that to dry and that's when things started to go down hill. A few days later my brother came into the lounge to tell me that my ball was cracking. I ran straight into the dining room to find a huge crack running all down one side of the ball. Turns out the heat had caused the ball to expand and the pressure broke through the newspaper. 

The parts of the ball that'd we'd used flour and water on had also started to mold. We put salt in it, like a lot of the recipes said to do, but it hadn't stopped the mold from growing. I ended up having to cut the moldy part off so the ball currently looks like this. 

The good news is that the parts I did with PVA are drying rock hard and my mum's partner just bought me another four litres of PVA wood glue from the hardware store so hopefully once I have the chance to get back to it it'll be as solid as ever. Here's hoping I can get it back on track. 

I've also been working on little cards to attach to the balloon centerpiece on each table. Each of the tables will be themed like a different park at WDW so I'm going to have little laminated cards that have the park's 'symbol' on one side and information about the park on the other like it's opening date and some facts. I haven't had the chance to do much work on them but I've finished the first side of the EPCOT one to show you.

That's pretty much it so far. My dad also bought a Disney parks autograph and photo book off Ebay to be a kind of sign in book for guests but I'll talk more about that when it gets here. I'll keep you updated with my party planning progress and I might even be able to show you photos of my costume in my next post! 

- Lily

The Aftermath

Hi all!

Just a quick update to say I got my 'Thank You For Interviewing' email.

It's just an automated email but it's a really nice thing to receive. We're on the home stretch now though. It feels so weird to know that the next correspondence we get from Disney will be results. Finally, after two years of waiting, I'm finally going to know definitively whether or not I'm going to be an ICP.

In other news, I'm not sure what to do about telling people anymore. I wanted to keep it a secret and tell everyone at my party but when I mentioned in passing to my dad that he wouldn't know my results until October he got a bit mad at me. I have a sneaking suspicion that he wants to organize some sort of surprise for me if I get in but I don't know what. We'll have to wait and see.

- Lily

P.s. Wondering what would happen if I started giving all of my posts titles that you would be likely to see on the cover of a really generic 2000s horror film. Might be funny. Might put people off. This post will just have to be a trial run.

The Important Stuff: Interview

Hi all!

So interview day has finally been and gone. Overall I'm pretty happy with how I did but I know that I probably could have done better. Now it's all about waiting for the results. I'm going to give you a play-by play of everything that happened so you know what to expect for your own interviews if you are indeed thinking of applying.

7.00: Started getting ready. I'd already done my hair the night before so all I needed to do was comb it a little, put some product in it to tame the frizz and pin it up. Also did my make-up, made sure my bag was packed, got into my interview clothes and then I was ready to go.

8.15: Mum drove me into Camberwell so I could catch the train to Melbourne Central where I headed straight for the cafe.


9.00: Reached the cafe but no one else was around yet so I vlogged a little and waited for Bec to show up. When she finally arrived we did the good old yelling and screaming ritual and then went to get some coffee. While we were drinking Nichola and Lauren showed up and we chatted for a little while.

                 

10.00: We headed over to the interview room and there were a few people already there. We had a chat with them about the facebook and suddenly a woman showed up with an American accent. The mystical Jill was in the building. Jill and her fellow recruiter Delinda went into the room to set up while we all waited outside.

10.45: A little later than scheduled we were let into the room, had our IDs checked and were seated for the presentation. The presentation went for around an hour and was quite fun. There were a lot of laughs and even though we already knew most of the information it was still really interesting. Bec and one of the girls we met at the presentation and I all earned luggage tags for answering trivia questions. They were all pretty simple but that doesn't make it any less special.

12.00: Being the over prepared weirdo that I am, I already knew where the interview room was and how to get there. We headed over to check it out so the people who interviewed before/after me knew how to get there on their own. Nichola had her interview at 12.30 so we dropped her off and went off to have some lunch.

1.00: Lauren had her interview at 1.30 so she left to get to the room in time while Bec and I decided to go window shopping. We went for a bit of a wander and then all of a sudden it was 1.50 and we needed to be at the interview room in 10 minutes. We rushed over to the room only to find that they were running behind by a fair bit so Bec and I left for a little longer to vlog and grab a bottle of water.

2.15: We came back to find that there were still two people from the 1.30-2.30 slot left to interview. So we were not expecting to be called in for a while but within what felt like minutes Bec was up to the plate. She was in there for what I can only guess was around 10/15 minutes (I should have timed it really) before she came out. We talked a bit about how she felt and what they asked her and soon enough it was my turn.

3.40: I was called in for my interview and let me tell you it felt like it was over in a flash. The questions I was asked were (not in order cause I honestly can't remember the order):

- You go to school here (RMIT)?

- What are you studying?

- Why did you chose to study that course?

- Why do you want to do the program?

- What work experience do you have?

- Have you been to America before/where did you go?

- Have you worked in America before?

- What do you want to get out of the program?

- What work experience do you have?

- At your job do you have to motivate people?

- In Operations/Attractions how would you ensure guest safety?

- QSFB involves these responsibilities, are you okay with those?

- How do you feel about living with others?

- What would you do if you have a disagreement with a roommate?

- Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

- Are you okay working indoors or outdoors in high pressure environments?

- You may be working in large groups or independently, is this okay?

- Most of the roles at WDW involve working with cleaning chemicals and heavy lifting, is this okay?

There may be a few that I'm forgetting but that's as much as I can remember right now. I wasn't particularly happy with my 'Why do you want to do the program?' answer but I'm pretty confident in all of the rest so hopefully it sees me through.

After all that was done Bec and I waited for all of our friends to finish and then they all had to pop off. Bec and I parted ways as she had to return to the airport. I hung out with my friend Katherine for a while to calm my nerves and she tried to convince me I hadn't done as bad as I thought while we both ate nuggets.

The horrible weather meant that we left the city at 5pm and I didn't get home until around 7.40 but we made it eventually and now I'm just thinking it all over.

Despite the hiccups along the way I had a really good day. Got to meet some lovely people from the facebook group, finally met Jill and the more I think about the interview the more I realize that maybe I didn't do so badly. With any luck the next few weeks will fly by and we'll know the results soon enough.

- Lily

P.s. My party is in just over 3 weeks so I'll be posting a lot about preparations for that until results come in. Hope you enjoy party talk.

What's In My Bag?

Hi all!

We've been getting a lot of questions recently on the group in regards to what you should bring with you to the interview. As far as we know the only thing you REALLY need is photo ID but because I'm a preparation maniac I've filled my bag with all manner of things that I could need throughout the course of the day. And because I'm an over-sharer I thought I might show them to you.

So here's a pic of all of my junk laid out as nicely as I could manage.

We need to go deeper!

1: The Handbag

Isn't it lovely? Picked this little baby up 30% off at Forever New. Purely because all of my other bags are really unprofessional, a little bit dirty and mostly broken.

2: Disney Folder

Much document. Such information. 

This cute little folder is just for all of my Disney documents. It's got my PSSF (original and copies), my passport (original and copies), a printout of my interview booking confirmation email, my cover letter, resume and references from my current employer.

I've also chucked a pen and notepad in there in case I need to take some notes. 

3: The Purse

This one is possibly the most important not just personally but for the interview as well. Before you begin your interview they will check your ID to make sure you are who you say you are. So don't forget that. Other things you might need are your public transport passes (we use a system called Miki but that's only for Victoria) and cash or credit/debit card so you can go out after your interview and eat your insecurities. That last one might just be me.

4: Make-up Touch Up Supplies

These are the kind of items you might need to make sure your face stays on all day. I've got my translucent powder and brush, setting spray, lip gloss/lipstick (still haven't decided which one I'm going with), double ended eyeliner and mascara. With any luck this will be enough to keep everything where it needs to be from 8am when I leave my house to 3.45pm when my interview is done. 

And it's all packed into my Little Mermaid make-up bag for a little extra Disney magic.

5: First-Aid (?) Case

Not quite sure what to call this weird assortment of items but we'll just roll with it. 

In this lovely little baggy I've got some pain-killers and band-aids in case of stress headache or heel blisters. Lots of paw paw ointment and lip balm to keep my lips from cracking. Hair ties and hair pins to keep the puff in check. And lastly, gum because I'll probably end up having lunch between the presentation and my interview and I'd much prefer my breath to smell like lemon & lime rather than whatever I had to snack on (probably sushi cause it's just so yum). 

Don't chew gum in the presentation or interview though. That's just silly. 

6: A Book

Not for any particular reason other than I have to read this damn thing for class. I'm hoping that if I read it on the train on the way in I can distract myself from my crazy life for at least a little while. 

7: Lucky Pen

Not sure if I've spoken about this pen on here before. I got it at the presentation I went to last May. Sadly I wasn't allowed to apply but I won this lovely Mickey pen during one of the trivia breaks. I carry it with me now for good luck even though it doesn't write anymore. Hopefully, it proves its worth on Tuesday. 

8: Deodorant

This one is more of a 'just in case' type deal. I'm going to be using one of those clinical protection deodorants that you put on the night before and they protect you for 24 hours. But I'm not 100% confident that it works so I'm taking some spray on to make sure I'm protected if it stops working.

9: Tissues

Whether the cold I just got rid of decides to come back to haunt me or if my make-up starts drifting it's good to have these on me. Also, when I come out of the interview and spontaneously burst into tears they'll definitely come in handy. Just me again?

10 & 11: Camera and Phone

I'd like to introduce you to my brand spanking new camera. Readers meet Canon IXUS 265HS. IXUS 265HS meet the readers. I'll be vlogging my whole interview day to give my audience the most detailed and accurate account of the day possible. So this little guy will be hanging out in my bag ready to capture my adventures. 

I'll also have my phone on me to update my friends in all caps throughout the day. 

12: Keys

Gotta get back into my house somehow. Also couldn't resist the opportunity to show off my Emmett keychain. He's just so damn cute.

13: Phone Charger

I'm going to be out for most of the day so I want to make sure my phone can last with me.

14: Mickey Sunglasses

The weather  down in Melbourne is starting to warm up and the last couple of days the sun has been bright and shiny despite the air still being a tad chilly. To make sure I don't hurt my beautiful eyeballs I'm bringing along some shades. The Mickey pattern is just an added bonus. It obviously makes them twice as effective. 

15: Minnie Mouse Watch

I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to have this in my bag or actually on my wrist. It's definitely something I wan't to have on me to keep track of the time without checking my phone but it doesn't really match what I'm wearing. So if it's not adorning my arm it'll definitely tucked into my bag. 

So this has just been a quick run down of everything that's coming with me on the day. Honestly the only things you actually NEED are your photo ID and you. Obviously, depending on your own personal circumstances all the little extra things will be different but I hope this at least gets you started on thinking about what you could need. Being like a boy scout never hurt anyone. 

- Lily

On The Home Stretch

Hi all!

I've been meaning to make this post for a few days but I haven't been entirely sure what to say. Even when I only had one week left I couldn't properly find the words to express how I was (and still am) feeling. This one is a hard one for me. Because even though it feels like I'm at the beginning of this crazy adventure it's actually more like the mid-point. Or, if lady luck doesn't see fit to send kindness my way, it could very well be the end.

I've been waiting for this moment, this day, this event, to come for over two years. I've been close before, so close I could taste it, and it wasn't to be. But this time it's real, this time it's coming. After all the preparation that I've done since Spring of 2012 I still can't help but feel unprepared. Maybe not so much for the interview but for everything else. Being rejected. Being accepted. Telling my family.

All of the things that could happen swim around in my head over and over until I'm dizzy for all the chasing. No matter how much I try not to think about how quickly time is passes it still ticks on and on anyway bringing things ever closer.

So in five days from now I will snug in my bed, trying to sleep, thinking of everything that could go wrong and everything that could go right. In five days and some change I'll be interviewing with recruiting. In six days my fate will be well and truly in their hands.

- Lily

P.s. I'll definitely be doing a Important Stuff and maybe a Story Time on the interview. So keep a look out for that and wish me luck.