Right Here, Right Now...

So Sarah's (my roomate) mom was in town for thanksgiving and filmed her in High School. It just so happened that Peter, our other roommate, and myself were in that particular show as well. It is the only time that we have ever done a show together!

It is a really good recording of the entire show and the cast that day was ON POINT. Fo Realz.

So for anyone who can't or hasn't seen the show, watch this version because it is good representation.

Part 1



Part 2




P.S. Here is a screen shot from the video when the three of us realized that we were standing together for the first time.

Lesson Learned: Problem Solving

After a lot of thought I decided on a series for this month's posts. It will be called "Lessons Learned" and it will be all about the daily lessons that I learn.

Today's lesson is all about problem solving!

For any of you who aren't familiar with the High School Musical breakroom at Disney's Hollywood Studios lemme explain the layout a little bit.

The space serves several purposes. First it serves as a break space, with a common area full of couches and a coffee table. There is also a fridge, microwave coffee maker ect. ect. There are two dressing rooms that extend from the common space for the dancers to change in. In the far corner there is an office for our manager and computer so we can check schedules and things. The largest area of our breakroom is costuming. It is where all of the costumes are kept in bulk and also shoes, boxes and two costumers.

Now, in the past, when we needed an extra shirt or a different size pant, we would walk into costuming and grab it off the rack. Apparently the costuming manager had an issue with that and wanted to keep us from doing it.

SO rather than asking the cast to stay out of the costuming area, they simply installed this:























It is one of those fold out doors like they used in the Titanic to keep the third class passengers in the basement. Now kids, lets talk about problem solving. If you want to keep people out of somewhere, here is my suggestion: tell them not to go there. But instead of solving the problem logically they installed the cage door. Here are some reasons that this doesn't make sense:

1) The door doesn't lock
2) The walls around the costuming area don't go all the way to the ceiling, therefore allowing anyone to easily climb over.
3) There are two other doors in the back that don't lock.
4) It is a fire hazzard
5) It reminds the costumers just how much like prison their job really is.

So there you go kids. Lesson learned.

Linda Skywalker...

I apologize for going a little YouTube crazy lately but don't you think videos are fun too!

This gem I found showcases our number one fan at the High School stage. Her name is Linda Amidala Skywalker Efron (for real) but we just call her Linda.

Anywho she loves our show and comes every Wednesday to see us. She brings us candy and gifts and holidays and she knows all our choreo. It is awesome and we love her.

So here she is in action!

I Want It All...

I know I have been talking about our new show at the studios a lot lately so I found some YouTube videos of it and I thought I would share it with ya'll.

I am the giant with the gay-ass white shirtsleeve hoodie and plaid shorts...I know

This is the last time to get it right...

Today is the first day of rehearsals for the new show at Hollywood Studios. I am uber excited. So is my roommate Sarah, as evidence by this video that she made and posted on her blog this morning.

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Raindrops on roses and strawberry mini-wheats...

You know how much I love lists and photoshop. So today I thought I would combine the two and post a list of my top ten obsessions as of late, accompanied by beautiful orb pictures! So what am I waiting for?

1. I love the fall so much. The leaves are better looking, Halloween comes, and the weather changes so I don't have to dance in Africa and more!

2. I know, I talk about it all the time. But HSM3 is gonna be SO AWESOME! Not only the movie but the new show at the studios...hypothetically...I know nothing about it

3. Strawberry Frosted Mini-Wheats are amazing. They are my favorite cereal right now. I love them.

4. This one has already had an entire blog devoted to it. I love you Demi Lovato.

5. With High School Musical 2: School's Out! closing at the studios, there were A LOT of pictures being taken. But lets be honest, dancers are egocentric and take "pics" of themselves all the time anyway. Either way, people have been taking pictures a lot lately and I along with my dear friend Erin have made it our personal mission to get into the background of as many pictures as possible. Try it sometime. It is exhilarating.

6. My favorite lunch lately has been Brie (its a french cheese), grapes, salami, and wheat thins. It is so good. I have been eating extra meals throughout the day just so I can eat more!

7. Lately I have been putting flowers in my room in vases and either the colors, the smell or the increase in oxygen has put me in a better mood. I recommend it.

8. Along with the smell of fresh flowers I HAVE to burn incense. I love the smells they release, they relax me.

9. Having dinner with my Gypsy family is the most enjoyable thing I can think of doing. It feels like family dinner minus the awkward relatives. So comfy and fun and warm. Huzzah.

10. Spending all of the little money I have on itunes is what I do best.

Fay Fay comes to Play....Play...

If you pay attention to the national weather news at all you may have noticed a little Hurricane named Fay is making her merry way towards the Florida mainland. I have lived here for 2 years and never have I been through a hurricane. I am kinda nervous I won't lie. However, it is only supposed to be a category two at the most which isn't that bad (according to everyone else. But a category two is worse than the category nothings we have in Utah).

Anywho. Disney World doesn't play when it comes to hurricanes. You better believe that the parks are in full on lock down mode. Lets just say windows are being boarded up and bushes are being secured. They might have to close early/open late depending on how bad that storm is. I am gathering that it is gonna be bad because my weather bug won't shut the hell up. chirp chirp chirp I get it, death and destruction is looming shut it!

Back to work. If they do close the parks it is our responsibility to call this number and ask if we have to come to work or not. Well they printed a bunch of these fliers and posted them around the break rooms with the number we are supposed to call. In our break room at High School someone ...(Dusty. Who is absolutely terrified of hurricanes and is literally camping in our living room "till this bitch is gone") took the liberty of illustrating the paper. Just so we could get an idea of what it will be like when Fay gives us a visit:















As you can see our float along with a cheerleader is being sucked up into a twister and the eye of the storm is actually a wildcat paw. Who knew?

LVD: Hurrincane High School Musical

OK I know that it isn't August yet, however, I am too excited about the segment I thought of for August so I am going to start it now.

Basically I got my dare and I love it. At high school we named her Liv because she can speak and read me my text messages. It is great. Anywho. For the month of August the new segment is called "Liv's Video of the DAY! or LVD for short. Since Liv has an awesome video camera on her backside, I am going to exploit that.

I am going to start to share the ridiculous things that I see on a daily basis. It is pretty funny stuff. So here we go.

Today's Video I call "Hurricane High School Musical".

Catching Our Zzzzz...

With the exhausting hours we are forced to under go at work, most of us spend our day in a delirious haze. With 65 hours a week, we can barely stand up in between shows. Ever since Block Party opened we have all become zombies and, even though we aren't suppose to, we usually all fall asleep at some point through out the day.

Now you must understand that our breakroom is about the size of a personal storage shed. Seriously, the common area of our break space has only enough room for like three couches. On top of the space restrictions, there are 27 people breaking there daily, all at one time. Needless to say, the sound in the break room can reach ridiculous levels. This, however, does not keep us from getting our beauty sleep. This week I have been putting together a presentation called "How to Effectively Sleep in the High School Musical Break Room" (or HTESITHSMBR for short, you can choose how to refer to it).

But before I present it to my peers at work I wanted to share it with all of you first. So here it is:

"How to Effectively Sleep in the High School Musical Break Room
(HTESITHSMBR)

This first method I call the mummy. It is a common practice during heavy traffic times of the day.






















This second method is ideal, if you have the space to accommodate it. Notice how he hides his face to keep it from being written on by others.

















The third option is not for begginers. It involves falling asleep, whilst sitting up in one of the arm chairs. This is perfect because it tricks those in authority positions.






















The last option is to utilize your break space. If the common areas are full, one can retreat to the changing areas, allowing one to stretch out and really relax.
*note: this method requires you to bring your own supplies (ie pillows, blankets ect.)

High School Musical 3...

So yesterday at work we got the news that our show (High School Musical 2: School's Out) will be closing on September 13th of this year to make way for a new show based on the third movie that comes to theaters October 24th. We are all pretty sad because we love the show we have now but after hearing this next little clip I am about to post, this third show is gonna be awesome. Tell me what you think.

The Trail of Tears...

I have never been so exhausted as I have been lately. I think it is a culmination of several things that is causing me to feel this way. Between work, my personal life, money stress and everything else that comes with being a twenty-something in this world, I have just felt so wiped out. I find it interesting though because I don't realize just how drained I am, probably because I am always running to a show, from a show, to the store, from a class then back again. It's like a take all my stress and anxiety and put it in this box to save it for later because I can't have it in the way when I am working, but then I forget its there and it fills to the top and starts to overflow. Then I have to deal with it. Yesterday was one of those days.

I woke up and was rushing to get to work on time, while still getting my dog situated before I left. I feel bad leaving her at home all day so I try to make her accommodations as comfortable as possible. Anywho I got to work and had to speed walk to the clock to clock in on time. It was SO hot & muggy that our first two High School shows were awful. It was one of those days where you already are drenched with sweat from the walk down to step off. I also received a text informing me that I owed $240 and that it was due the next day. Anyone who knows anything about Disney knows that I would have to work at least 40 hours to hit that and still have money to survive. Just another chunk of awesomeness to stash in that stress box. Later, in the afternoon, one of my closest friends (I call her my soulmate) came into town and was watching Block Party. despite the heat, I gave the first show stop my all because I wanted to show her what Block Party with Bry was all about. Needless to say, 16 minutes later I wanted to die, and I still had another show stop to go. That second show stop was rough. At one point I had to hide in the tweener (that is what the floats are called) to keep from passing out on the street. I wasn't the only one. There were several people that went down that day. Then again thats what it is always like at Block Party. We call it the trail of tears. Once we finished the last show stop I went to my post and began pushing the trampoline to step down. I was in so much pain and, because of my weakened physical state, could no longer hold back the box brimming with heaviness. I suddenly felt so overwhelmed with everything. It hit me all at once.

While still on parade route my unwilling eyes started spilling with tears. I couldn't stop it. There was so much inside me pushing itself out through my exhausted form that all I could do was hide my face from the guests in the park and cry. Once we were stepped down I just had to sit there and let it run it's course. I have never felt like that, so tired and weary that I couldn't help but sob. It wasn't that I was sad, I just couldn't keep anything inside me at that point. This job, though it is so incredibly gratifying and amazing, is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I have never sweat and shook as hard as I do in this profession. The other day peter gave me a quote that he heard on TV. I am not sure of the exact wording but in paraphrase it said something to the effect of:

"The only glamorous thing about dancing is the make up and the costumes. Everything else is blood, sweat and tears."

Nothing has proved more true than that statement. This is no cake walk, but it's a walk that I take every day, and I love every minute of it.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame...

So the other day at High School someone brought a bunch of movies for us to watch in our free time. Of the nine hours we are on the clock we are only performing for about two of those hours, so needless to say we have a lot of free time. Anywho one of the movies they brought in was Disney's interpretation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I was ecstatic because it had been years since I had seen it and, from what I could remember, it was a really good film. So they popped it in and we started watching it. Luckily for us, our one o'clock show was down do to an awesome thunderstorm (reducing our actual work time to an hour and 25 minuets) so we were able to watch the whole thing in one sitting.

So here's the thing. Ya know when you watch a movie when you are a little kid, then ten years later you watch it again and you are amazed at how little of the movie you actually understood. This was totally the case for me with this movie. Frankly I was shocked. Not really in a bad way, just in a shocked way. First of all, for a children's movie, this thing is dark. It is no Little Mermaid that's for sure. It deals with, in my opinion, some of the most intense and adult themes than in any other Disney cartoon. The whole thing is about religious beliefs, lust, obsession, acceptance, prejudice, jealousy, and greed. It is really intense. I'm gonna be honest, I had to take a break every once in a while to let my emotions rest. Plus the villan, Frollo, is SO much scarier than any other Disney villan, because, unlike most of the others, there is nothing magical about him. He isn't half octopus or have magical powers. He is just straight up evil. You can see the darkness in the way they drew his eyes. He really freaked me out.

I loved it though. The illustrations are stunning and the characters are so deep. They have layer upon layer of emotions and scars. I was so enveloped in the movie that I had to remind myself that I was watching a cartoon and that they weren't real. Lemme tell you though, if it weren't for those damn singing gargoyles and their comic relief I dunno what I would have done.

Bottom line: go pick it up off the shelf, blow the dust off of it and pop it in. It is beautiful and I walked away from it really glad I got the chance to revisit Notre Dame.

Not-So Present...

Publish Post
Today as I was making the hour long trek through the parking lot to leave work
I started going over the happenings of my day. I was, like always, at my usual High School/Block Party shift. As I thought about my day and the shows I did I came to a startling conclusion: I didn't remember a single guest that watched our show today. Now for any other show this may not really be a big deal but with High School/Block Party it so is. The reason being is this: there is more audience participation in those two shows than in an episode of The Price is Right. We go into the audience and interact with people like 80 times a show. That is like 200 times that I dove into a crowd of people today and spent an extended amount of time with them. Now do you see the problem with me not remembering them? If I am really that unconscious during our shows then something needs to change. One of my major goals in life is to become more conscious, like the amazing Eckhart Tolle. I am fairly sure that he remembers at least one person from every seminar he holds. Anywho, it was just a little reality check today reminding me to always try to be present in the moment and not off in la la land. So there's my story for the day. Good night.

The "Classics"

I have a question to pose to you writers out there. Do you ever feel like you need to write something but you just don't know what? I am overwhelmed with this feeling at the moment and I can't shake it. It is 1:25 am and let's be honest I am tired as hell. High School/Block Party is a long shift and I would love more than anything to lay in bed and sleep right now but I gotta write for just a sec and see what comes out ya know?

So today at High School, one of our singers had her last show. She was offered another contract on property and is leaving starting tomorrow. It was a sad day because I like the girl a lot. She is amazingly talented though so she does need to move on to bigger and better things, as we all do. Anywho. For our/her last show many of our peers came out to support her and show some love. This was great and touching and Disney magic and everything but it made me realize something: I hate performing in front of my peers. Everyday I shake my junk in front of literally hundreds of strangers. Doesn't phase me. But put me in front of three close friends and I choke! It is kinda ridiculous. They were all standing there, front and center and I was freaking out in my head. I ever started getting like nervous jitters. But they did give us energy to get through that last grueling show of the day so I guess it worked in the end.

Speaking of High School, today in the breakroom they turned on Mary Poppins. I know, ridiculous, as if we don't get enough Disney shoved in our face we watch the movies on our breaks. Beside the point. Anywho I was half watching it/half trying to take a nap. I couldn't follow the movie. One second there are abusive parents, the next some lady is flying around making toys dance around, then there were animated penguins, old men it was all over the place. Needless to say I haven't seen it before. Now before you start throwing chairs and yelling calm it down! I already got it from everyone in the break room today. You say one thing like:

"I've never seen Mary Poppins." and the whole room freaks out like I just said "I like to kill babies and small kittens". It's true I'll say it, I've never seen it! What are you gonna do about it!?

Anywho after the verbal assault I sat in my chair and realized there are a lot of "classic" movies that I haven't seen and, frankly, don't plan on seeing. Lets make a list shall we?

Movies Bry doesn't care that he hasn't seen:

1. Mary Poppins
2. Annie
3. Sound of Music
4. Pride & Prejudice
   
5. Oliver & Co.
6. The Black Cauldron
7. Dirty Dancing
8. Shindler's List
9. Singin' in the Rain
10. Breakfast at Tiffany's
11. Top Gun
12. Psycho
13. Any of the Godfathers
14. Pulp Fiction
15. Forest Gump
16. The Terminator
17. Jaws
18. Gone With The Wind
19. Some Like It Hot
20. It's a Wonderful Life

Just to name a few. Some of them I have seen parts of, other I saw more than ten years ago, all of them are too boring to actually sit down and watch. Who has time to watch old movies when there are so many new ones? I know it is blasphemy but I am going to keep living my life without the "classic" films listed above, and I have no intent to change that fact.

Quote of the Day

I haven't done a quote of the day for a while. The reason being is that I found myself searching for a meaningful quote which kind of eliminates the point. So I have just been waiting for quotes to jump out at me. If I read something and it slaps my cerebellum or tugs my heart stringys then I will jot it down. But you can't force that kind of magic so the quotes of the day might not be a daily thing. Sorry to break your heart.

Earlier today, as you might have seen (all two of my loyal readers, thanks mom) I wrote a post about Alanis's new CD. Well, this sent me on an obsessive internet spree of her website, where I just happen to find the quote of the day. It was written on the top bar of her home page and it said:


"Don't try to carpet the world, wear slippers."


I liked this quote because it came as an answer to some questions I have been having. Lately at work there has been ridiculous amounts of drama. The entire feeling of our group has shifted from it's previous happy energy to a negative, suspicious sensation when one enters. I hate it with a fiery passion of a thousand suns. High School used to be a safe and caring place. Don't get me wrong, we can be bitches, but for the most part there has always been an underlying feeling of love.

I really miss it, which is why lately I have been trying to get us back to wear we used to be. It has been so frustrating, trying to fix everything and put out every fire. I am not a fireman people. So when I saw this quote it hit me. All I need to do is fix myself. I need to stop frantically trying to fix the world around me. If I fix myself then eventually, everything around me will be ok too.

So thank you Alanis for the advice, and the awesome quote of the day.

Riley

Today I worked my usual High School Musical/Block Party Bash shift. It was mega hot in the bad humid way. The first two shows of High School were ok. Aparently there was a funk in the air because Matt, our manager, said it was the "whitest" show he had ever seen. He said it looked like none of us had any rhythm. The whole show he stood behind the float and clapped at an awkward beat other than the music.

Matt is our new manager and at first I thought he was a huge douche bag and I couldn't stand him. Now that I have gotten to know him I am found that he is still a huge douche bag but I like him. I trust him and I know he has my back and, with the people at High School lately, that is rare.

Block Party was probably the hardest parade I have ever done today. The heat isn't the bad thing about performing outside here, it is the humidity. Walking outside today was like walking into a warm pool with your clothes on. It was gross. Plus I was in track 2, the track I hate the most. Angy was my partner though and that is always a plus. She came in because Erin is suspended. That is a wholenother blog that will never be written cause it is a violation of company policy. Anyone at High School knows what I speak of.

Anywho. The last High School show was the what made my whole day worth it. As we arrived at the hat to do show we noticed the cutest little boy that has ever exsisted standing stage left. Lets make a list so I can properly illustrate his cute factor:

1. Full on HSM garb including a foam finger
2. Red Hair
3. Chubby Cheeks
4. Freckles
5. Bright Blue Eyes
6. BRITISH ACCENT!

So needless to say, the best thing ever. Behind him was his stout mom and father, all three looking uber excited to see the show. Well we did the show and obviously he was picked for every crowd participation.

Beri picked him for the brush dance.

I picked him for the limbo. (it was really sad, on the way out he tripped and lost his wittle croc shoe off of his foot. By the time I helped him up and we got his shoe on the limbo was over. A for effort though!)

Then Katie brought him up to teach him the wildcat break down.

He was so precious and the whole time his mom was filming him with the biggest smile on her face. As we finished the show we started assembling to leave I had the weirdest feeling like we should do a meet-and-greet with him and his family. It was, however, our last show and usually the policy is that we don't do m&g's after the last show cause everyone wants to leave. But I couldn't shake it so I asked our manager Nancy if we could do one with them.

She agreed and I am so glad that we did. He came back stage intimidated but extremely excited. He was very quiet and his mom told us that his name was Riley. We all gave him high fives and asked him what his favorite part of the show was. In his wittle british accent he said:

"My mum"

Then his mom informed us that he was autistic and that is why he didn't speak much. She started crying tears of gratitude as she explained that this would be the highlight of their "holiday". They we so grateful and sweet and it was so nice to be around such a pure energy like Riley's.

Moments like that really make me appreciate my job. At first glance High School Musical seems extremely vapid but in all honesty it really connects to those little kids. I am extremely grateful for the position that I am in and I am even more thankful that I got to meet Riley.