Time in: 7:45 a.m.
Time out: 8:45 p.m.

Today was crazy yet calm at the same time. I'm finding that most of my days at MiSiCi are like that. It'll be really busy and hectic one second, and the next second you're sitting doing absolutely nothing. It's the exact atmosphere I thrive in though so I'm starting to feel right at home. The day started out with no extra large stilt liner again just like yesterday. The coordinator today was Julie so she called down to Alt's and had them drop one off at Shade Control so I didn't have to go all the way and get it again which was nice. I had to make a whole new King Louie since we used my preset last night. I've discovered the easiest way to get the rings inside Louie and Baloo is to literally crawl myself into the pad and then snap the rings in. I don't know exactly what I look like to the people walking by but I'm sure it's something special. No one has said anything about it though so I think they all know exactly why I need to do it. They're both just so big and annoying to deal with! Anyways I built Louie in no time and then we were loading the truck and off to shade control. Right when I got there I got to work on building my stiltwalker. The zipper on his pants was really tight so I had to try and loosen it using pliers. They were too big to work though so the seamstress used a smaller pair she had. I really wish Disney would let CP have Gerbers on them at work because I would get one in a heartbeat. They're so handy! It's first thing on my list of necessities for next semester. So the seamstress got it all fixed and I finished the stilt and went on to build Louie's headpiece. I realized I forgot to grab the arm covers that poof up his arms so I had to take the Pargo and run back to the PC for them. I was annoyed I had forgotten them but Julie wasn't upset at all so it was okay.

When I got back it was time to help the stilts get ready. I don't know if it was just the group I had today or if it's just getting easier but today was much less awkward. It was a little bit right at the beginning of the morning but all through the day it got easier. I just joked with them and had little sarcastic snippits and we all got along fine. I like track 2 better now that I feel comfortable with what I'm doing. The first show went fine and we headed to the Character Room to put away NSA. Nothing really that exciting there.

My good friend from home was in town at the parks for her spring break so I went out on my lunch break to hang with her and her family. It was really nice to see a familiar face here! We rode the Pirates ride and watched Day Parade together. It was the first time I've seen Day Parade since I started working parades and it was really weird! I found myself looking at the costumes for anything messed up or really bad sweat stains. I also recognized a whole lot of the performers which was weird too. I really liked it, however, because I feel pretty at home with parades now. I realized just how special my job is and I think I'll be more appreciative of it. I don't have too much longer here and I don't want to let myself stop realizing how special this adventure is.

After lunch I built my presets pretty quickly and then helped do a few odds and ends. Day Parade did a reverse step off for the second parade, meaning they stepped off from Splash Mountain and stepped down at Shade Control. Julie had us go up to Shade Control earlier than we were supposed to so that we didn't get caught in traffic with the floats. We got to see the DP people break down the pre-parade which was really cute bunny stuff for Easter. Then we helped break down DP as usual and then headed back to the PC. Julie had us help DP unload the truck of their stuff and immediately load up our stuff and head back up to Shade Control. We took our 30 minute break there just to make the day flow easier and it really worked. We set up and everything went smoothly for the 5:15 parade except I had forgotten to set up the stilt bins with the mesh bags. I felt really bad for forgetting, but it wasn't really a big deal. I guess I can't win 'em all.

When they were out, one of the stiltwalkers got pooped on by a bird. It's kinda funny now, but she was not very happy about it at the time, even though Julie said that was good luck. Julie had me make a run back to the PC for another vest for the girl. I remembered to put shoulder pads in it which was a win for me because that's what I forget the most with my stilt presets. When we got ready for the last parade of the day it was pretty eerie because I knew exactly when the stilts were going to need help. Especially Robert, this extravagant and needy performer that everybody knows. He'd been yelling at me every time he was ready so far that day and the last time I knew just exactly when he'd need help. It was kind of impressive but kind of sad at the same time.

The rest of the day went right on cue. We set up for step down, broke down all the costumes, and were sent off to the Character Room. It always feels really weird to be in the Character Room now on my MiSiCi days. They feel like two different worlds in my mind but they're not really. I like the tracks that go downstairs fine but the worst part is the 15-20 minute wait for the washing machine to get done. That's when we just help out the Character Room people and I have CR shift flashbacks. They're not pleasant. I can't even explain how happy I am to be on MiSiCi. I'm really loving it.

That's all the magic for today!