"Never Tell Me The Odds"

Hello, dear friends!

Well, time marches steadily onward, with no thought to the triumphs or struggles of humankind; what a comfort and aggravation at the same time! It's been over a month since my last post, and what a topsy-turvy month it was!

Ever constant with me is the slowly ebbing grief of the passing of one of my friends, Siobhan Hanson. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the fall of last year, and her battle cry became, "Never tell me the odds," her favorite quote from Star Wars. Siobhan was the first to welcome me into the parade family at Magic Kingdom. I had just trained to help Piglet in parade, and she found me looking lost amidst the parade performers. She took me under her wing, let me borrow her locker for the day until I got my own, showed me where the buses were and when they'd be running to the production center, and followed up with me after parade was over. I will never forget her kindness and patience in befriending me. She also knew Tigger really well in parade, so we got the chance to work together on many occasions during parade, and those were such joyful times! She worked closely with me during my first Halloween Parade as well, and again, those are such cherished memories. Now as Star Wars season starts again, I'll also always remember her taking me under her wing again when I became friends with a Jawa for the first time and explaining to me in brief all of the movies, characters, and facts I needed to know. Siobhan, you are loved, and you are missed.

Casting, preferencing, auditions, and trainings have all been muchly talked about in the Entertainment realm here. All full-time performers who knew at least one show or parade on property were able to "preference to cast" for the summer cast season (May-September). I preferenced to be cast at Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, Move It Shake It Celebrate It Street Party, and Fantasmic, respectively. We'll see what Casting decides! :D Also, I recently went to the Star Wars Audition and basically had the time of my life there. I have been blessed to help Jawas two years in a row now, and I am hoping and praying for a third. Uttini!! What kills me is the wait between the audition (where I overanalyze it do death) and the cast list going up (sometime in April). I am just not patient!! :P

The other audition I attended was the annual brush-up on animation and movement for all character performers. There are four levels ranking from fair to excellent, and I am happy and proud to say that my animation stayed at the highest ranking, although my movement level went down a notch. Argh!! To top that off, I received a highly constructive criticism from one of my favorite staging specialists on my performance during parade, and since he is in charge of helping cast Star Wars, I was beginning to fret about my performance and my chance at Star Wars this year. I have learned to give my worry to Abba, and that's when Abba stepped in and held me close, and then I knew everything was going to be all right. :)

God bless my friends who have become my strength and support down here! It was the neatest experience to be in the greenroom when they made the announcement of Siobhan's passing and then to see every head bowed and every eye closed as we had a moment of silence. They asked for prayers, and I could feel the spirit of the Lord wash over the place. And this is Disney, not some church camp! It just goes to show that wherever God is allowed, He will shine! I'll never forget that feeling. Again, too, my friends supported me when I went through the auditions and was struggling with what to do with the constructive criticism and how to make myself a better performer. Their wisdom, patience, and love will never be forgotten, and I can only hope and pray that I am as good a friend to them and others as they have been to me.

Well, that is what has basically been the roller-coaster of my life, to say nothing of meeting a wonderful friend at the Star Wars audition, going to the Kennedy Space Center and meeting an astronaut, and many other daily excitements and nuances. Life will never cease being an adventure; if it did, it would cease to be what I call living! :D

May you all truly live as God intended today and always, and as always, I love you with my life!