Dana

Well, I am back in the Northwest. I traded in my Mickey ears for a plane ticket back to cold weather and mountain country. I flew back Thursday to Washington State for my college graduation at The Evergreen State College. I stepped off the airplane and was immersed into the world of Priuses and Starbucks. My mom and I spent the afternoon tinkering around Seattle. We went to the mall and did a little shopping. She helped me buy my very first suit. I recently acquired a new job working for the Admissions staff at Evergreen, which will begin late this July. So I will literally go from one job to another, and exactly one day in between. But I am so excited about this new job, and all the opportunities I will have to preach the gospel of Evergreen to others.

Graduation was on Friday. My family and I drove onto the Evergreen campus early in the morning to stake our seats. I was back in the world of dreadlocks and patchouli. It felt eerily nice to be back on my campus. It was a sight for sore eyes. And to see some of my friends again was a real delight. I graduated sitting next to some good friends and feeling more confident than ever. I was a graduate. I was going to enter the working world sooner than I anticipated with a fun and fulfilling job with the college I had been enjoying so much over the years. Graduation was practically perfect.

And now I’m back in Wenatchee for a couple of days, spending time with my family and enjoying Father’s Day. I feel lucky to have such a loving family who has supported me in all my endeavors over the years. I had 11 family members at my graduation cheering me on. And 16 total for the evening dinner. I feel blessed.

So here I go, off to work and be an adult. But who knows what might be next in line for me. I certainty wasn’t expecting to play a 12-year-old British girl at The Happiest Place on Earth. From this experience I have learned that I should always stay flexible. I never know what new and exciting opportunity might be around the corner. So the you all I say:
Omnia Extares “Let it all hang out!”

Posted by Dana at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel like I have been on the go for so long that I can’t remember where one day begins and another ends. The last three days I have been working 10-14 hour days, and I’m also getting over a cold. When I come home my body is aching and I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow. It’s summertime now, and I can tell that these next months I will be working myself hard.

Two days ago I was friends with Alice all day, and yesterday I had the privilege to be friends with Wendy. I hadn’t been friends with Wendy since my training, so I was so thrilled to spend some time with her yesterday. Wendy spent the day with Snow White outside Toontown, greeting the guests. They had so much fun skipping and laughing together!

Today I worked at the Crystal Palace dining with my friend Winnie the Pooh. It was my first time meeting Pooh, and I was surprised how loved he is by all the guests. All day Pooh heard comments like “Oh Pooh, you are my favorite!” or “Pooh, our child has been waiting her whole life to meet you!” It felt really great to bring joy to all those families.

I leave on Thursday to fly back for graduation. I’m looking forward to seeing all of my Evergreen friends. I’ve missed a lot of them since I’ve been gone. All of my family is coming into town for graduation as well, so this will be really neat. I have 2 aunts and 2 uncles that also graduated from Evergreen, so it will be great to share this experience with them!

Posted by Dana at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is a picture of Alice with her friends Pooh bear, Tigger, and Eeyore. What sweet characters!

This is a big time in my life. I have been enjoying my internship at Disney more than I thought I would, and now I have another opportunity to represent the Evergreen State College next year, which will be amazing.

I am very excited that I will be coming back to Washington state, because I am seriously missing the mountains and the dry climate, but I am sad that I will have to leave Disney. This has been such an amazing experience and my plan if I didn't receive the Evergreen job was to continue with the corporation. But as many friends here have told me; Disney will always be here for me. I can come back sometime later if I want to.

I also wanted to let you all know that I will be graduating in just a few short weeks. I'm flying back to Seattle on the 12th of June to participate in the graduation ceremony on the 13th at Evergreen. I will be in Washington through the 20th, and I'm hoping to make a quick stop back in Wenatchee. I'm very excited to be walking with the class of 2008. Doing college in three years is big stuff, and I'm very proud of my accomplishments.

I miss you all so very much, but I will be back in Washington for good starting August.

Posted by Dana at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)