Maria Ramirez
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2016
- Messages
- 9
UPDATE! As of 6/7/2016, I have a new job!!
***
It's your second to last park day at WDW. You are enjoying the second half of that day at Disney's Hollywood Studios, when you suddenly get a text from your boss. In summary:
M for Me, B for Boss:
B:"Where is your substitute for work today, did you actually get anyone to cover you this time?" (this story happened twice during this trip)
M:"Yes, *so and so* is me today"
B:"Well, he's here for someone else right now, not you, it is also not written on the substitute sheet"
M:"He definitely told me he would cover for me today"
B: "He says he told you no"
M: "Should I expect to get fired?"
B: "Yes."
***
I was standing in front of Star Tours with my two friends watching the Jedi Training Skit the park performs. We had just gotten there, as our fastpasses didn't start for another 20 minutes, might as well watch the show. It was great for the first few minutes. I decided that I wanted to start filming parts of it, so I grabbed my phone from my drawstring bag, only to see an hour old text from my boss, asking me if I had even bothered to get my shift covered back at my job. My first reaction was, "again"? See, this had happened two days prior with a different shift, and a different person...who also failed to show up for me. Naturally, my first reaction was annoyance, as I would expect my coworkers to be able to simply follow through as they said they would. But as we kept texting, I suddenly felt my palms begin to sweat, and I began to get nervous. This job had been my first job, one that I had had since I was freshly 17. I am now 22. A feeling of nervousness overtook me, Darth Vader's voice in the background, happy tourists watching their kids without a worry in the world. The carefree nature of what I was surrounded by didn't mix with the suddenly-stressed and extremely anxiety-filled state of mind I was in. After the defining text message, I simply put my phone down by my side and said out loud to my friends who were standing in front of me, having a great time:
"I just got fired".
It took them a second to register what I had said, but when they turned, the look on their faces along with their "WHAT??"s, told me that they were just as flabbergasted as I was.
For the sake of those around me, I acted like nothing had happened as I put my sunglasses back on, holding tears back. My friends saw this response in me and did the same as they continued to watch the show, but with the concern still plastered on their faces. Moment ruined. I tried to enjoy the rest of the Jedi Training, but couldn't. The second it ended, my friends and I walked towards the Backlot Express, which was right behind us. Thankfully it was quieter there, so we could grab a table. I told them what had happened, tears coming out again. This was when I knew the very first thing I had to do: call my mom.
As I told her everything (she was as surprised as I was), surprise and sadness turned into anger. I had walked over to the ledge that is above the main seating for the Backlot Express, so naturally, I felt like somewhat of an exhibit for the diners, as some would shoot me looks every so often. I felt bad that this was part of their view when looking up from their meals, but I also couldn't control it as much as I wanted to. Plus, the alternative was what? To go and cry in a bathroom, where sound is amplified? To sit on the ground and cry, therefore attracting more attention? There is no good answer.
15 minutes go by as she guides me in what to do next and until I calm down. This was my first time getting fired, after all. The phone call ends and my friends join me, asking me how it went. After that we just talk about it again and we go on with our day. But it was extremely difficult to do so for me. We went on Star Tours, and saw Indiana Jones do his stunts, but in the back of my mind, there was the uneasiness of:
"I have no income. This is my sixth day of traveling, and I have spent so much money, now with no job to replace the spending".
The rest of that day wasn't very good. As much as I tried to tell myself it would be okay, my vacation was no longer "stress-free" anymore, with one more park day left, and one more travel day to go. But I could have made it worse for myself as well. Here are the things that I tried not to do, succeeded in some, failed in others:
DON'T:
1.) Panic. A new job will come eventually, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. I certainly had my moment of panic.
2.) Be in a terrible mood for the rest of the vacation. You will regret it, and you will bring the rest of the group down with you, and they don't deserve that. Keep your head up. If you want to be grumpy and angry at the world, hold it off until you are back home.
3.) Take it out on cast members. They try so hard to make your day as magical as they can. They won't be able to make your day go smoothly if you bark at them, blow up at them, are short with them, and are just overall rude towards them. They have the rest of the day ahead of them as well.
4.) Constantly talk about it. You will become obsessed with the feeling of anger and justification that it will play on repeat inside of your head for the rest of your trip.
5.) Make a scene. There are dozens of people around you, many taking photos, videos, and just enjoying the atmosphere. Plus, seeing someone crying or being angry might trigger some.
6.) Don't let jealousy determine how you will view things. The people around you most likely all still have their jobs. They are enjoying their vacations with, probably, no cares in the world. Don't let this affect you. This stress you have won't last forever, it will be okay.
And here are some things that helped me out, kept my anxiety down, and pretty much prevented overall and absolute chaos in my head.
DO's:
1.) I talked to my mom. She is my main lady when it comes to sudden disaster and when I need guidance. Call that person. The person who can help you when no one else can. Someone who's advice has never let you down a bad road.
2.) I repeated her advice to myself whenever my nerves would come back. "It's just a job. You have us and you are on vacation. There's nothing you can do right now, even if you wanted to do something, you wouldn't even be able to, so just enjoy where you are and have all the fun in the world".
3.) I did as much of that as I could. I breathed in the Florida air, felt the sun and listened to the environment around me. I took in every detail around me. I stared at the palm trees rustling in the wind, which was probably the most relaxing thing I could have focused on.
4.) I reminded myself that I was, indeed, on vacation. A vacation that my friends and I had saved our hard earned, college student pennies every month for a year to be able to afford this eight-day trip. Not that what we had spent put any pressure on the " you need to have fun because of how much this vacation has cost us/me", but I remembered that everything we had saved had already been spent. So I had to tell myself that all of the expensive things have already been payed for, so I wasn't losing any money in the end.
5.) "Who knows when you'll see all of these things again". Since this last trip was my last trip to Disney for who knows how long, I needed to tell myself that. Life goes on, but this Disney trip doesn't always come around often at all.
6.) Enjoy the company around you. Your friends and family are there for you, and they will support you emotionally and even financially sometimes. Even if they pay for your Mickey Bar, or the pair of ears you were planning to get on the last park day. They are there for you and to help you. Let them.
7.) Get a good night's rest. Even though the day itself wasn't as physically tiring as the other park days, I felt more drained from Hollywood Studios than the rest combined. It was an emotionally exhausting day. When we got back to our rooms, I took a long shower, put on fresh pajamas, and went straight to bed. felt leagues better the next day, and thank god because it was not only our last day, but it was MK, Epcot, back to MK, then to the hotel until 1:30am. And it was a great day. I enjoyed every last second of it.
So there's my long article about how I got fired while in WDW. It sucked. But now I am home and am enjoying my extended vacation from not having to work. Wish me luck in job hunting!
***
It's your second to last park day at WDW. You are enjoying the second half of that day at Disney's Hollywood Studios, when you suddenly get a text from your boss. In summary:
M for Me, B for Boss:
B:"Where is your substitute for work today, did you actually get anyone to cover you this time?" (this story happened twice during this trip)
M:"Yes, *so and so* is me today"
B:"Well, he's here for someone else right now, not you, it is also not written on the substitute sheet"
M:"He definitely told me he would cover for me today"
B: "He says he told you no"
M: "Should I expect to get fired?"
B: "Yes."
***
I was standing in front of Star Tours with my two friends watching the Jedi Training Skit the park performs. We had just gotten there, as our fastpasses didn't start for another 20 minutes, might as well watch the show. It was great for the first few minutes. I decided that I wanted to start filming parts of it, so I grabbed my phone from my drawstring bag, only to see an hour old text from my boss, asking me if I had even bothered to get my shift covered back at my job. My first reaction was, "again"? See, this had happened two days prior with a different shift, and a different person...who also failed to show up for me. Naturally, my first reaction was annoyance, as I would expect my coworkers to be able to simply follow through as they said they would. But as we kept texting, I suddenly felt my palms begin to sweat, and I began to get nervous. This job had been my first job, one that I had had since I was freshly 17. I am now 22. A feeling of nervousness overtook me, Darth Vader's voice in the background, happy tourists watching their kids without a worry in the world. The carefree nature of what I was surrounded by didn't mix with the suddenly-stressed and extremely anxiety-filled state of mind I was in. After the defining text message, I simply put my phone down by my side and said out loud to my friends who were standing in front of me, having a great time:
"I just got fired".
It took them a second to register what I had said, but when they turned, the look on their faces along with their "WHAT??"s, told me that they were just as flabbergasted as I was.
For the sake of those around me, I acted like nothing had happened as I put my sunglasses back on, holding tears back. My friends saw this response in me and did the same as they continued to watch the show, but with the concern still plastered on their faces. Moment ruined. I tried to enjoy the rest of the Jedi Training, but couldn't. The second it ended, my friends and I walked towards the Backlot Express, which was right behind us. Thankfully it was quieter there, so we could grab a table. I told them what had happened, tears coming out again. This was when I knew the very first thing I had to do: call my mom.
As I told her everything (she was as surprised as I was), surprise and sadness turned into anger. I had walked over to the ledge that is above the main seating for the Backlot Express, so naturally, I felt like somewhat of an exhibit for the diners, as some would shoot me looks every so often. I felt bad that this was part of their view when looking up from their meals, but I also couldn't control it as much as I wanted to. Plus, the alternative was what? To go and cry in a bathroom, where sound is amplified? To sit on the ground and cry, therefore attracting more attention? There is no good answer.
15 minutes go by as she guides me in what to do next and until I calm down. This was my first time getting fired, after all. The phone call ends and my friends join me, asking me how it went. After that we just talk about it again and we go on with our day. But it was extremely difficult to do so for me. We went on Star Tours, and saw Indiana Jones do his stunts, but in the back of my mind, there was the uneasiness of:
"I have no income. This is my sixth day of traveling, and I have spent so much money, now with no job to replace the spending".
The rest of that day wasn't very good. As much as I tried to tell myself it would be okay, my vacation was no longer "stress-free" anymore, with one more park day left, and one more travel day to go. But I could have made it worse for myself as well. Here are the things that I tried not to do, succeeded in some, failed in others:
DON'T:
1.) Panic. A new job will come eventually, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. I certainly had my moment of panic.
2.) Be in a terrible mood for the rest of the vacation. You will regret it, and you will bring the rest of the group down with you, and they don't deserve that. Keep your head up. If you want to be grumpy and angry at the world, hold it off until you are back home.
3.) Take it out on cast members. They try so hard to make your day as magical as they can. They won't be able to make your day go smoothly if you bark at them, blow up at them, are short with them, and are just overall rude towards them. They have the rest of the day ahead of them as well.
4.) Constantly talk about it. You will become obsessed with the feeling of anger and justification that it will play on repeat inside of your head for the rest of your trip.
5.) Make a scene. There are dozens of people around you, many taking photos, videos, and just enjoying the atmosphere. Plus, seeing someone crying or being angry might trigger some.
6.) Don't let jealousy determine how you will view things. The people around you most likely all still have their jobs. They are enjoying their vacations with, probably, no cares in the world. Don't let this affect you. This stress you have won't last forever, it will be okay.
And here are some things that helped me out, kept my anxiety down, and pretty much prevented overall and absolute chaos in my head.
DO's:
1.) I talked to my mom. She is my main lady when it comes to sudden disaster and when I need guidance. Call that person. The person who can help you when no one else can. Someone who's advice has never let you down a bad road.
2.) I repeated her advice to myself whenever my nerves would come back. "It's just a job. You have us and you are on vacation. There's nothing you can do right now, even if you wanted to do something, you wouldn't even be able to, so just enjoy where you are and have all the fun in the world".
3.) I did as much of that as I could. I breathed in the Florida air, felt the sun and listened to the environment around me. I took in every detail around me. I stared at the palm trees rustling in the wind, which was probably the most relaxing thing I could have focused on.
4.) I reminded myself that I was, indeed, on vacation. A vacation that my friends and I had saved our hard earned, college student pennies every month for a year to be able to afford this eight-day trip. Not that what we had spent put any pressure on the " you need to have fun because of how much this vacation has cost us/me", but I remembered that everything we had saved had already been spent. So I had to tell myself that all of the expensive things have already been payed for, so I wasn't losing any money in the end.
5.) "Who knows when you'll see all of these things again". Since this last trip was my last trip to Disney for who knows how long, I needed to tell myself that. Life goes on, but this Disney trip doesn't always come around often at all.
6.) Enjoy the company around you. Your friends and family are there for you, and they will support you emotionally and even financially sometimes. Even if they pay for your Mickey Bar, or the pair of ears you were planning to get on the last park day. They are there for you and to help you. Let them.
7.) Get a good night's rest. Even though the day itself wasn't as physically tiring as the other park days, I felt more drained from Hollywood Studios than the rest combined. It was an emotionally exhausting day. When we got back to our rooms, I took a long shower, put on fresh pajamas, and went straight to bed. felt leagues better the next day, and thank god because it was not only our last day, but it was MK, Epcot, back to MK, then to the hotel until 1:30am. And it was a great day. I enjoyed every last second of it.
So there's my long article about how I got fired while in WDW. It sucked. But now I am home and am enjoying my extended vacation from not having to work. Wish me luck in job hunting!
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