Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in wonderlandtammy's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
10:58 pm	It worries me that you are so stupid Karma is not on my side today, but I don't want to get into the whole story of bad Karma week. I just realized precisely what irritates me about one of my biggest pet peeves... I was walking into EPCOT today and since they changed the bagcheck system, I have to walk all the way to the monorail station, around the ropes and security that block the entrance, so that a security guard can effectively rumage through my tote bag full of my personal necessary belongings before I can do a u-turn to go the cast entrance. I never particularly cared for the bag checks before, but they were never something to warrant much hatred for either. Until now. At first I thought I was irritated because I was forced to walk all the way to the monorail station when I park right next to the far left cast entrance. And then I thought it was just extraordinarily bad show to rope off the entire entrance to EPCOT. The ropes, themselves, look extremely tacky, but more importantly, an assembly line of traffic contradicts the easy flow of the park's design. Even in it's layout, EPCOT is very Modern-- filled with white space, pathways are open so that people are able to move about freely and easily. However, today as I was gazing at Spaceship Earth while making this trek down the ever so magical tram roadway, I realized how truly sad this sight is. EPCOT, the permanent world's fair, symbolizing "unity, fellowship, and harmony around the world," treats each of its guests as a potential criminal. I somehow think this isn't what Walt had in mind when he dreamed of a utopian society. I somehow think this isn't what Marty Sklar meant when he said "We believe that in a world where cynicism and negativism abound, there is another story, and we have chosen with forethought and conviction to be that voice of optimism." The world is not meeting the expectations that I learned from Walt. Current Mood: bitchy (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 11th, 2007
12:24 pm	For anyone who has ever wished upon a star... I haven't updated in a while. I have been so busy! Things are good, though. I'm still not quite at home yet on my job because it's a big adjustment going from something you've done for 3 and a half years, but I really like it! I've become the sign person. People are starting to come to me for signage and stuff, which is fabulous. The other day I wandered through the Imagineering offices!!! And apparently Disney Design Group is merging with Product Development so now Mike Wood and all the DDG people will be around even more! And Elizabeth and I have been discussing my goals and stuff and she's going to try to get me some shadows with DDG and anything else I'm interested in. And the other day we cleaned out the offices and Samantha said I could take anything that we were not saving because it would just be going to property control. So I got a pair of Disneyland Paris Minnie ears, pink Mickey flip flops, a Bambi tote, and a Retro Disneyland purse! I so love my job! I'm also entering the pin design contest. I had it down to three concepts: Mary Blair, Spaceship Earth, and Emporium Minnie. People at work LOVED them all but voted on Emporium Minnie. Samantha said it was "Super cute!" So, Landon left a couple weeks ago, which was really sad. We had a good time, even though I was tired out from going to the parks so much. But it was good to hang out with his old roommmates and meet them. Again, it was me and a bunch of guys. Oh, and one day when Landon and I were leaving to go to EPCOT in our Dork shirts, who do I see by my apartment building? Brian! How random. He liked our shirts, though. And the other day Steve and I went to see Harry Potter and ran into Neal! Mom and Dad were in town again last week and Dad had a good 60th birhday. And last weekend Andreas Deja and his boyfriend, Roger, were in town and Spence and I hung out with them and their family! How cool is that! We talked a little about animation studio here and the princesses, which they hate! It was just amazing and surreal to hang out at EPCOT with the guy who drew Triton! How crazy! And they both said they liked the Nemo ride here more than the subs! But they both come from an animation point of view and are looking at the dimension of depth here as opposed to the small submarine. But it was a really interesting insight. So, yesterday I was at the Magic Kingdom to see Jed in Dream Along With Mickey. Apparently we are friends again now that Landon is gone. I really thought he was mad at me, but we talked the other night and seem good. So, of course, I walked through Emporium to see the few people who still know me, which, last night, was Sally and Simon. Sally told me that Ian is in town! I need to call him. And Simon wants to hang out in the parks sometime, so he gave me his cell, which at first I wasn't really sure about. But really, it fits, because I kind of see myself more on equal ground with people like him than some of my peers. He's working hard trying to get statused and I'm working hard trying to get this internship to lead somewhere. I guess there's just a different level of maturity. I like my roommates, but I don't really socialize with them. This is Allison's first time here and Joyce just got off the college program, so I kind of feel like while they are super nice, they are kind of where I was three years ago. I did the partying and college program thing. I've been here for years and it's time for me to go somewhere. So I guess now I see myself more on the level of lower managers and stuff and would totally rather hang out with Simon. However, I do have one more semester of school and I still need to drop my classes for fall. I'm kind of scared to. I'm scared that they won't come up in spring or that I will not want to leave again. But I really do need to do it asap. I'm still seriously contemplating getting my masters in Art History and do my thesis on the architecture and design of EPCOT. I think it's kind of unrealistic but I kind of really want to do it. I also need to decide what to do today. I kind of want to go to Magic Kingdom again because I left early last night to get dinner and get away from extra magic hour crowds. I haven't spent a whole lot of time there. I never really played there a lot when I worked there so I really haven't had an MK day to myself to just enjoy in a long time. I also kind of want to go to MGM because I know it will be changing a lot in a couple years because Disney's contract with MGM licensing is running out. Sadness for my favorite ride! BUT, I am taking the backstage tour of it on tuesday! Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007
4:08 pm	If they pick you out you're on your way... Oh my goodness, I never realized how excrutiating the Disney interview process was. The person who interviewed me said that based off this, she is passing my stuff on for review. This is a good thing. If I pass the review from the particular department heads, then I get a second interview, which would finally make the hiring decisions. This is an extremely long and stressful process. I should feel relief that I seemed to have done reasonably well in the interview since I have been passed on for review, but now I'm just feeling more and more worried. Current Mood: scared (Comment on this)
Friday, January 5th, 2007
12:12 pm	Ouch So, watching 42nd street last night, my mom asked me what things in gymnastics I could still do. So I made the unfortunate mistake of trying things out and now my stomach is really sore. All I did were a few handstands and bridge and ups. I am so out of shape, it's not even funny. Current Mood: sore (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007
3:15 pm	Surprisingly good explanation of Atheism You are an Atheist When it comes to religion, you're a non-believer (simple as that). You prefer to think about what's known and proven. You don't need religion to solve life's problems. Instead, you tend to work things out with logic and philosophy. What's Your Religious Philosophy? Current Mood: annoyed (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007
1:09 pm	Ack Disney has posted the rest of their internships for Florida. I foresee this upcoming semester as being extremely stressful. Let's hope I don't have a nervous breakdown by March. Current Mood: scared (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 24th, 2006
5:44 pm	Back in the Christmas spirit! I just got a call from Debbie! I missed like 4 calls from Landon about an hour ago because I was in the kitchen baking and my hands were all sugary and when I called him back I just got his voicemail. But a few minutes ago, I got a call from a 407 number and it was Debbie. Landon gave her my number so she could tell me how much she loved her picture! I love her soooo much! She said she that everybody is going to be so jealous and she was going home to show her husband and then she was going to frame it! I'm so happy she's so happy. I've perked up quite a bit even though I still need to finish this cover letter. You would think writing about why I want to work for Disney would be easy, but no. It's stressing me out quite a bit and family stuff is still stressing me out quite a bit, but I actually have a difficult time not being cheerful this time of year, so now my cheerfulness is outweighing my stress level, especially after my phone call from Debbie and all the cookies I'm making. I guess that some stuff is just getting to me more than I thought, but such is life. Oh, well, back to cookie baking and archiving pictures and cleaning and writing resumes. Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Monday, December 11th, 2006
10:02 pm	Wow, that's kinda scary! Your Birthdate: April 16 Calm and understated, you struggle to express your love with words. Over time, your partner learns to recognize your passion by the actions you take. You're good at wooing someone slowly, without them even realizing it! Number of True Loves You'll Have: 5 Number of Times You'll Have Your Heart Broken: 1 You are most compatible with people born on the 7th, 16th, and 25th of the month. What Does Your Birth Date Mean For Your Love Life? (Comment on this)
9:57 pm	Bwahaha You Are a Snowman Friendly and fun, you enjoy bringing holiday cheer to everyone you know! What Christmas Ornament Are You? You Are Smores Unusual and unconventional, you make your strange ways work for you. You've got personality - no one's denying that! What Dessert Are You Most Like? Current Mood: bored (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
10:54 pm	Share a Dream Come True Just wanted to give a warm happy 105th birthday to Walter Elias Disney. The great man and his works certainly live in our hearts forever. "I look upon Walt as a conductor of one of the world's greatest symphonies, and I was a part of the orchestra." ~Herbert Ryman Current Mood: busy (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 2nd, 2006
12:08 am	You never know where your dreams might take you Thanksgiving went really well. I love my dad, but I actually really love the alone time with mom. I can just talk to her more easily when dad isn't around. But we had some really good long talks over the break about some of the things I've been feeling. I think she understands me more than I give her credit. I also got the Christmas decorations up except for the outside ones because the yard is just messy with leaves, and basically just watched a bunch of Bing Crosby. School this week has gone surprisingly well. I'm kinda not ready for the semester to end! For some reason, I ended up becoming the Illustration girl on the group project and we are starting a project in Flash, which I am doing to EPCOT background music. I'm actually kinda excited about the projects, but I wish I had more than a few days to finish all this work. However, I was thinking, that even though I'm not necessarily the best, I enjoy what I do and I am happy with my life. Even when I had plans of going into engineering, my real dream was to work on storyboards and design concepts at WDI. And now I'm going to school and learning about how to storyboard and animate and design. So I'm sort of heading where I've always wanted to go. (By the way, speaking of engineering, my drawing teacher asked if I was an engineering major because I used a ruler and calculator to get the exact dimensions of something I was drawing. It's a really nice drawing, though! I'm just a geek and a perfectionist.) On the other hand, I'm kind of nervous about advanced internships. WDW has only put up their summer only internships. There is one that seems interesting, but if I can only apply for a limited number, I don't know if I want to chance it with something I'm not 100% into. But it would be nice to have a summer internship so I can just finish up school at USC in the fall. Definitely one of many things for me to think on. In other news, Landon is really nagging me about my decision to visit over Christmas. On one hand, it's Disney at Christmas, my favorite time and place in the whole world, and the Emporium keeps asking about me. On the other hand, this could be my last chance to spend the Christmas season at home and this year I'm finally getting along with Mom and Dad again and could actually enjoy the season here. I do have the rest of my life to spend at Walt Disney World. So I'm really torn. I'm probably going to visit Daniel after Christmas so it would be a lot of traveling, but I could squeeze in Orlando before Christmas. Mom and Dad are actually even ok with me spending Christmas at florida, but I really don't want to do that. I may not actually believe in Christmas, but the tradition is really quite important to me. I want to be in my own home at Christmas, not crashing on Danielle's couch. I'm like Dorothy in Return to Oz. I wish I could be in two places at once. I have about a day to decide. Boo. Life is just going to fast right now. Current Mood: chipper (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
12:03 am	Who are you? I sometimes hate my introspective and overthinking self. Maybe I'm strange, but I just don't see how some people go through life without ever stopping to reflect about who they are and where they come from, as both an individual and a human being. These are the kinds of things that I think about. Just as I ponder over how humanity would be different had, for instance, the Romans never converted to Christianity, I also wonder how my individual life would be different in varied scenarios. I've been doing this quite a bit lately. I'm not sure why. (As far as the whole religion thing goes, disregarding my belief in the existence or nonexixstence of god, I just find the massive role of religion on human development over the ages fascinating.) Getting to the point, though, is that I have been wondering lately about my own personal life. I think maybe because I am slowly getting closer to graduation and Disney still hasn't posted the internships I want. They are mostly for Burbank studios. Some of my classmates are talking about internships with local businesses and for the first time since I was in engineering, I'm really second guessing myself, mainly because I don't want to work for a local company. There is a big difference, though. I do actually like design. I just still only want to work for Disney. However, I'm really beginning to wonder if this is a problem. I just hate seeing these people go through the college program and be all excited about Disney and then a few years later move on and forget about their Disney dreams. What if that happens to me? I've had this dream since I was three years old. I would be lost without it. I have defined myself through my love of Disney for so long, I don't know if I know who I am without it. Granted, I have outside interests. But when you stop and think about my childhood, most of these outside interests were a result of something Disney. Would I be as interested in art and architecture if I hadn't been inspired by the architecture of Main Street as a young girl? Would I love animals so much and be such an advocate for animal rights if I hadn't been introduced to the manatee by EPCOT? Would I be interested in classic films if I had never been to MGM studios? I just wouldn't be the person I am today without the influence of Disney, so how can I possibly imagine my life without it? What would I do if I didn't want to work for Disney? How would my life today be different? And does the fact that Disney helped shape my character detract from the person I am? I guess I'm just afraid that after nearly 20 years of dreaming, I will end up heartbroken. Daniel is severely depressed because he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life and says that at least I have a goal. But is it really worth it? It is in movies like Pinocchio and Hercules, but the real world just doesn't work like that. People just don't have intense and passionate lives where their dreams all come true. Am I being too idealistic? I just kind of wonder if I would be doing what I'm doing today if it wasn't for Disney. As in, did I just put myself into another engineering scenerio? I do enjoy design. However, I would seriously probably have been a math teacher because it's safe and practical. So is my pursuit of a design degree another false goal because it was sparked by an outside force rather than strictly my interests? On the other hand, I have always enjoyed design outside the realm of Disney. Disney has just given me an outlet to be able to actually use it, thus allowing me to take that risk. I don't know, but I do think I'm pondering this way too deeply. I sometimes wish I could not think about things so hard and be a little more Pleasantville. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. I will say another thing, though. Totally random, but I was watching Gilmore Girls and one of the kids on it was in the hospital with appendicitis and the Lorelei was talking about how hard it was that one time that Rory was in the hospital and how freaked out she was because of the IV. And I realized one of my earliest abnormal perceptions of reality. I am totally unfazed by hospitals or IVs. I guess after 17 hospital trips in the first 7 years of life just made it seem common to me. I understand now, though, that this really is not common, but it just shows that it has fucked with my head. And I'm sure it has messed with my head in more ways. I am almost positive that those early experiences have indirectly influenced my aversion to emotional intimacy and my radical perceptions of society. At a very young age, I perceived myself as being different. I think I also developed a degree of strength from these experiences, though. Daniel is not emotionally well. He asked me tonight, crying, what I did to get out of my depression of sophomore year. I was in a similar situation as he is in now because I had no idea anymore what I wanted to do with my life, but honestly, I just got myself out of it. But that's just me. I've always been the one who was optimistic in the family (which I guess is why Dad hates my recent cynicism so much). I have always been able to pull through. But Daniel just isn't able to do this and I don't think he should try to do it alone. But I also know that there really isn't anything I can say to fix it, so I'm at a loss. Also in my situation, while I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, I still had that Disney goal, which brings me to my original question. Is it good that I have a this goal, even with the risk of being heartbroken? Current Mood: gloomy (Comment on this)
Monday, November 20th, 2006
10:09 pm	Think of me think of me fondly when we've said goodbye remember me once in a while please promise me you'll try when you find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free if you ever find a moment spare a thought for me we never said our love was evergreen or as unchanging as the sea but if you can still remember stop and think of me think of all the things we've shared and seen don't think about the things which might have been think of me think of me waking silent and resigned imagine me trying to hard to put you from my mind recall those days look back on all those times think of the things we'll never do there will never be a day when I won't think of you (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 19th, 2006
10:46 pm	I am a geek, help me stop OK. It's official. I am either the biggest geek in the world or I am just certifiably insane. For one, I forgot how good Return to Oz really is. It actually does include more of the books than the original movie. It even had the Patchwork Girl and H.M. Wogglebug T.E. in the last scene. I am a dork for knowing this. And I am an even bigger dork for designing my own label for this movie because I can't bear to look at the ugly cover and it was also really fun making it. And I am an even BIGGER dork for what I just did. I turned the Disneyland logo from the Happiest Celebration into Tammyland. Yeah, I really didn't want to clean my room or do my homework. Current Mood: geeky (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
12:08 am	The Nothing I must express my opinion regarding fantasy stories, especially movies from the 80s, particularly Return to Oz. I had a dream the other night that I was Ozma for halloween, which would actually be a really cute costume, so I had the urge to watch Return to Oz. It is on a vhs that I don't want to get eaten by our evil VCR so I went and bought it on dvd. It's worthy. However, its cover is not. It's fucking ugly, for one thing. And for another, the moron at Buena Vista Home Entertainment who wrote the synopsis on the back obviously never saw the movie and needs to be fucking shot in the head. "If you loved the Wizard of Oz, you'll love accompanying Dorothy on this thrilling adventure based on L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Dorothy finds herself back in the land of her dreams and makes delightful new friends. OK. First, besides a few character names which are taken from the books, nothing in this movie remotely resembles anything that L. Frank Baum ever wrote in his life. It didn't even claim to. It didn't even take the title of any of his books. And it certainly isn't Judy Garland sugar coated MGM musical. It's fabulous in its own right but bears no resemblance to the real Oz and should by no means claim to. And secondly, what delightful new friends? Dorothy fucking escapes a mental hospital after receiving electro shock therapy and ends up in a totally fucked up version of Oz with a delapitated Emerald City, which is ruled by a psychotic head hunter bitch and a stone Nome who wears women's shoes. The movie is fucking scary, like all the great 80s fantasy movies like Labyrinth and The Never Ending Story. Don't fucking market it as something sweet and cheerful. Kids can handle it. Children are people too and to me, these movies reflect a time where children were not talked down to. The movies aren't fake and condescendingly sweet. They're fun and adventurous. It makes me happy that these movies are coming out on dvd, but sad that people feel the need to sugar coat them because they don't seem to feel that children are intelligent enough to handle more complex stories. Granted, Return to Oz certainly isn't the most deep or complex of films, but this still reflects that general attitude of keeping children in a bubble to protect them of anything remotely politically incorrect. I mean, heaven forbid they see Clayton from Tarzan drink a glass of wine! It's not just Disney doing this. But it makes me particularly disappointed that the company that revolutionized both animation and films that appeal to all age groups is now giving in to the trends set by their followers. I have always loved fantasy, Disney and nonDisney. That is probably the reason I never outgrew my love of Disney and why Journey into Imagination so captivated me. The power of human imagination is amazing and should be celebrated and explored. Today, I was reading in Walt's Time about Jeff Kurtti's experience writing this book about the Shermans. He mentioned the song The Age of Not Believing and said that as a growing child this song helped him deal with the increasing reality of life and it made him feel better that others understood these feelings captured in the song so well. And it makes me happy to know that there are people like Jeff Kurtti who relate to the same songs for the same reasons as me. To somewhat get to my point, fantasy and imagination are important. I can't really explain why. Imagination can bring you great delight as well as make you think. It's just terribly important somehow. Current Mood: bored (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 15th, 2006
11:55 pm	Calloo callay no work today I hate those moments when I actually kind of understand where my dad is coming from. I don't know what got me to thinking about it, but I guess the things that interest me most are rather frivolous. I mean, what would I do in a society that didn't have so many luxuries? A big national industry for goodness sakes is leizure and I want to break into that industry. Of course, I want to be in the artistic aspect of this activity, which makes it even more frivolous. I guess it depends on your perspective, though. I think that art, design, and architecture are important aspects of a society and I am lucky enough to be in a society which is economically prosperous enough to have jobs relating to these rather impractical areas. But I guess coming from science people like my parents, it's hard to really feel respect from people who I know look down on the humanities because their science jobs are so important and much more "practical". I guess I just wonder sometimes what I would do if Disney wasn't an issue. But then, it's nearly impossible to imagine any aspect of my life without Disney being involved. My life would have been drastically different. I guess I would have been a math teacher, since I like math. So does this fact take away from my involvement in the arts in this version of my life? I think I'm just really really out of touch. On one hand, I'm completely immersed in a fantasy Disney world. On the other hand, the only important worldly matters that concern me are also impractical in a conservative and capitalistic society such as ours. The environment. I used to want to be a transcendentalist like Thoreau and squat on Emerson's land to be surrounded by nature like a hippie. I don't know if this out of touch with reality syndrom is a result of Disney or if my love of Disney is a result of my living in fantasy already. These are interesting things that I ponder while I should be doing work. I think maybe I just have an acute case of near-end-of-semester-itis. Current Mood: mellow (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 7th, 2006
7:13 pm	Craziness So, I'm a bridesmaid! Crazy, huh. I went on the weekend trip to the mountains with the family which turned out pretty fun, but cold. Our log cabin was very cute and Anne and I slept in the loft like Heidi. So, after we got back Natalie came over to discuss wedding stuff. I had about 4 monograms for her and she seemed to like them. We settled on colors and flowers and the wording of the invites and stuff, so now I have something to start designing. Since my plans for the summer are up in the air because of Disney internships, she asked how sure I was if I could make it to the wedding. But, whether mom and dad believe it or not, some things are more important than Disney and I wouldn't miss Natalie's wedding for the world. I mean, she's one of my oldest friends. I could be in Glendale designing an EPCOT ride and, damn it, I will find a way back to SC for the weekend to see this. So that being said, Natalie said she wanted to ask me before but wasn't sure of my plans but wants me to be a bridesmaid. Sooo craziness. So today, Natalie, Ms. Wittig, Molly, Kristen, and Natalie's friend Tiffany went dress shopping. It was actually quite fun. We settled on dresses and shoes and got measurements. It was also good to see Kristen because even though we are both at USC, we are involved in our own things and don't talk much. But it was really more like hanging out with the high school girls again rather than wedding planning. Kristen and I made fun of ugly dresses and tried on wedding veils trying to pick out one for Natalie. And I went crazy with my camera as usual. And then we all went to lunch and then shopping. I actually found some dress pants that fit, to everyone's surprise. It was also good to see Ms. Wittig. She liked my monograms. I'm actually kind of excited. Although, it's still weird. Current Mood: weird (Comment on this)
Friday, November 3rd, 2006
12:28 pm	Thought for the day I think one of the saddest songs is Puff the Magic Dragon. Dragons live forever but not so little boys painted wings and giant strings make way for other toys One gray night it happened Jackie Paper came no more and Puff that mighty dragon he ceased his fearless roar His head was bent in sorrow green scales fell like rain Puff no longer came to play along the cherry lane Without his lifelong friend Puff could not be brave so Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave Current Mood: busy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
6:00 pm	The Future World is Reborn Today Landon told me a rumor that the infamous sorcerer wand might be coming down from Spaceship Earth. Knowing Disney gossip, I'm doubtful as to the validity of this. However, if it does happen and if I am living in Florida, possibly a small apartment in Celebration, then I am going to have an EPCOT party with wine and morrocan food, decorated with topiary, and play EPCOT background and attraction music. Magic Journeys! Current Mood: chipper (Comment on this)
Monday, October 30th, 2006
10:37 pm	If you can dream it then you can do it, yes we can! I don't believe in horoscopes and stuff like that but I was bored and reading our school newspaper today and thought this was funny and appropriate: Aries: Things that seemed impossible not very long ago are commonplace now. Keeping that in mind, what do you want to accomplish next? Current Mood: exhausted (Comment on this)