Keeping Up With AmyLouLa

Transitional Weekend

I fly to Knoxville Friday afternoon. I am going to pick up the rest of the belongings I left behind and move them to Orlando.

This is going to be a rough weekend.

Thank you for all your kind words and thoughts everyone. I hold them close in my heart.

Moving In

Just a very brief update, as I need to pack the cats into the car with the final few of my boxes and head up to Orlando, where I will stay in my brand-new apartment tonight! Yesterday, I packed up most of my stuff and moved it up. Paid my deposit and got the keys. Here are pictures with very short updates above the pictures. 

Living room as seen from the front door. Sliding glass door opens onto a balcony. I'll get to have a small container garden!

To the left of the front door is the kitchen:
 

Through the kitchen to the laundry area, with washer & dryer!   

There's a desk area set up in the kitchen, with cable internet ready to be hooked up.    

Looking over the kitchen bar to the living room, then outside.  

Bathroom:

View from the bathroom door to the living space, cat toys already on display:
 

Bedroom, complete with air mattress and box of knitting. Thanks, Pammie!    

Nice size closet:
 

View looking straight off my third-floor balcony:
 

Looking off the balcony to the west:

The last slog up the turnpike is this morning, then I can relax. I have some paperwork to fill out before I start work tomorrow. Speaking of which, I clocked the mileage to my new job... 7 miles door to door. Yay!

I will be without computer access at home for a bit, although our clubhouse at Bella does have a free internet cafe that I can use. I will post when I can, especially since The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens this weekend!

Making Preparations

 

One of the things I'm frantically trying to do before I move is find a good home for this guy. He's Patrick's cat Zander, but since Patrick is in the Navy, I brought him with me to Florida in the hopes of keeping him in the family. As I prepare to move to an apartment in Orlando, I'm going to have to reduce the cat population from three to two, and I think Zander would be an easier kitty to place in a loving home. This will leave me with Oscar and Zoe, my two gray kitties.

 

Zander is about 3 years old, neutered, litter box trained, indoors and a very sweet boy. When it was cold last winter, he took to sleeping on my lap. Here in Florida, he likes to sleep on his back on the cool tile floor, belly up to the cooler air. He is a bobtail with very thick hair, and he has the most wussy meow you will ever hear. And he is a darling.

Let me know via comments, email or phone if you or someone you know would like to adopt him. I won't take him to the pound and I will only adopt him out to someone I know. Please pass this blog link on to anyone you know who might be in the market for an awesome kitteh. Thank you for your help!

I Am Well and Truly Blessed

Lots of big news on the AmyLouLa front...

Last Wednesday, I started my new job at ETS.

This week is my last week there.

Because I am starting my NEW job as a Web Producer at...
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online in Orlando!! 

Woo hoo! Okay, I know that's really sudden! This is how it played out...

I started last Wednesday at ETS, but on Thursday afternoon, I got a call from Aquent, the creative talent agency I worked with in Los Angeles (they employed me to work at Disney out there). Turns out the hiring manager at WDPRO (I love the acronym!) wanted to talk to me about my resume.

(Wait, back up. When I moved to West Palm Beach, I contacted Aquent in Orlando and let them know I was interested in finding employment there. That's why I got the phone call last Thursday.)

Getting that call from Aquent made me reevaluate my ability to stay at ETS. Knowing that I would be waiting and looking for a job from Disney did not seem to be fair to my new employers, who needed someone who could stay for a while and really improve their processes. So I spoke with Debbie, my awesome boss at ETS, and explained my situation to her. We then decided that I would stay on in an hourly administrative position and help them organize the plethora of files and information that needed it. It's been a win-win all around. In fact, Debbie went so far as to let me use a private office for my phone interview with Disney! What a great company! And they've already been able to replace me!

So, Gerald, my Agent at Aquent, set up a phone interview with WDPRO for 2:30 today. By 5:30, I was told I had the job! I know! I'm verklempt!

Thankfully, there is no needing to give two-week notices. My also-very-awesome Starbucks boss, Shelly, knew about the interview as well, and we decided not to schedule me for any shifts next week, on the hope that I would get this job. And my shifts this week, which were on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Delray Beach store, have been covered by one of my fellow baristas, who, because of a scheduling error on his part, needed the hours! Universe, are you trying to tell me something?

I will have to see if I can hold on to my Starbucks job in Orlando, or whether I will have to give it up. My new position (at Disney!) has an on-call element to it, as the internet never sleeps. I would still like to keep my toe in at Starbucks, since I love it so much, but it literally may not be possible.

As far as what websites I will be working on... that is yet to be seen. However, some of the websites that my team works on include Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disney Cruise Line and Disney Vacation Club.

Now, I am on the hunt for a place to live. I have an AWESOME lead already though... from my other wonderful Aquent Agent in Orlando, Rhonda. She knows someone who has a small house to rent, in the perfect area! Close enough to work but also close to downtown. She just let me know that it was available still! I KNOW!

Oh, and did I mention I start on Monday? 

WHEE!

Not for the Squeamish

 

I'm keeping this photo small because it's kind of gross. Click on it if you want to see the gory details. Pam and I just got back from a 2-day trip to Disney World. We had 2 days left over in our 4-day pass from her birthday bash in January. We neded to use the pass up by the 25th of May. We went to Animal Kingdom yesterday (a not-so-great experience) and Disney's Hollywood Studios today (a far better time).

On the way back, it was love bug central through the center of the state, hence the photo. Again, not for the squeamish. And, just what I like to do after a 3-hour car trip... scrub bugs off my car. Ugh! But, worth it. Disney is always worth it!

Another Day, Another Starbucks

Since I moved back to Florida three weeks ago, I have worked at seven different stores. Yes, SEVEN. It's been an interesting experience, going in to a new store every time, having to learn where they keep things, how their bar is set up, who the regulars are. New people, new systems, new challenges. But it's also been very rewarding. I've enjoyed meeting some great people, and honestly, it's making me a better Starbucks barista. Being able to go with the flow means thinking on the fly, which is not my forte. So, it's stretching mind muscles that don't normally get stretched. It's a good workout, let me tell you!

Here are the stores I've worked at, in no particular order: 

1. Worth Avenue, Palm Beach (my home store)
2. Downtown Lake Worth (near the Lake Worth Playhouse)
3. CityPlace (in West Palm Beach)
4. PGA Blvd. & US1 (Palm Beach Gardens)
5. Lake Worth & Jog Rd. (busiest store I've been in so far)
6. Okeechobee Blvd. and I-95
7. Atlantic Avenue, downtown Delray Beach

Today, I head back to Atlantic Ave., and I am there all next week, too. They lost a barista, so I am filling the gap. It's a nice store, very well organized and run, so it's a pleasure. And downtown Delray Beach is so pretty... there are worse places to spend time, I know!

I guess I should explain that the reason I am working at so many stores is because I left a full-time job in Knoxville, and transferred to a store that only had part-time hours available. So my awesome boss, Shelly, has kept an eye out for me when she hears about shifts that need to be covered at other stores. I have also been leaving my name and number at stores so that when a barista needs to have a shift covered, they can call me and I will fill it. It's worked beautifully and I've been keeping very busy and full-time.

My Drive To Work

 

I drive to my new work, the Worth Avenue Starbucks, by driving 11.8 miles north of Lantana, on A1A. These are photos of part of my drive, if I look strictly east out to the ocean. Not bad!

 

 

Oy.

I've been internet-incommunicado for the past few days. The cats killed Uncle Tommy's internet cable modem.

Oy.

They were playing, and as they tore through the house they ran across the cable stretching from the modem to my computer (which stretches across a hallway), pulling the modem and router off the table and crashing them to the floor. Dead modem.

I picked up the new modem yesterday, and Uncle Tommy worked his hocus pocus to get it working. Now, there is a rug covering the wire and the modem/router is bungeed tight to the table. We are learning as we go.

I work two shifts at Starbucks today, one in downtown Lake Worth and one in CityPlace, West Palm Beach. I've been enjoying working at a bunch of different Starbucks, and since I've been putting my name and number up at different stores, I've been getting a fair amount of calls from people who need shifts covered. Today's Lake Worth gig is from one such call. My new boss, Shelly, is also doing an amazing job to get me as many hours as possible. I am still on the hunt for a full-time gig, either in South Florida or in Knoxville, so again, if you have any leads, please let me know.

Meanwhile, it's off to start my day. More later!

Settling In For Now

 

Here's Miss Zoe, enjoying the view of lizards and birds outside the confines of my uncle's house. I will probably let her out to the back yard on a day when I will be home all day to keep an eye out, but for now, she remains a frustrated indoor kitty.

I started at my new Starbucks yesterday (Thursday) and it went very well. It was very "just like riding a bike"-ish, and the customers and my co-workers seem very nice. I think I recognized one celeb, and he was the reverend from Little House on the Prairie, but I didn't ask him to confirm it. I'm pretty certain it was him, though. Kind of cool, since that was one of my favorite shows when I was a little girl.

Today, I'm off to spend some time with my sister Holly. She's taking me to see Clash of the Titans, and then we're having a late lunch. Hopefully we'll get to visit her horse, too.

Last night, I saw the friends-and-family preview for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at the Lake Worth Playhouse. It was WONDERFUL. If you are a local, please go see it. It's an amazing show and the cast truly are very talented.The best part, though, for me, was reconnecting with old friends. Seeing them again... well, it felt like we just picked up where we left off 10 years ago. It made me very happy to see them. There's nothing quite like reconnecting with a friend.

My New Starbucks

 

Tomorrow, I start at my new Starbucks, on Worth Avenue, Palm Beach. Above is a shot of the cafe. Why yes, that is a wall of water cascading down behind those chairs! And yes! Those are the same cafe chairs and rug that were in my old Starbucks in Knoxville! The same, yet, different.

I'm excited to start tomorrow. I met my new boss, Shelly, yesterday, and she seems AMAZING. She is so on-the-ball, and is working hard to find me shifts where she can. I can't wait to start. The store is on swanky Worth Avenue, which, in case you don't know, is like the Rodeo Drive of South Florida. I've been told that we have many celebrity customers, so it should be fun. I'm just looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, with nice, friendly partners, good coffee, and that legendary Starbucks customer service. I really do enjoy my job!

Meanwhile, I am also canvassing the local Bux, leaving my name and number as someone who can pick up shifts here and there. I was surprised to see a Starbucks in downtown Lake Worth, near where I did a lot of community theatre back in the day, at the Lake Worth Playhouse.

 

I've been visiting this Starbucks in the morning because it's very close to where I'm staying, and it's very comfortable. I go in, grab a coffee, sit and read for a while, then start my day. It's nice. I will keep you posted on my first day tomorrow!