Out on a Limb . . .

Ok! . . . So this keeping it current thing is not going so well. I'll try to be better, really! I men it this time!
So, the 50th Anniversary Celebration is roaring to a close and it's just getting stranger and stranger at the land of the Mouse. Intrigue, politics, subterfuge, and flat out backstabbing! And we're not talking the plot line of 103 Dalmations here . . . though I'm pretty sure somebody's hide is gonna get nailed to the wall.
All is not well in Walt's Kingdom. It seems that the people that work in the "Hot Dog" Building keep forgetting that the noisy neighbor behind them is the very same Theme Park that pays their oh-so-undeserved salaries. The 'Blue Cards', meaning those with salaried positions, hold the 'Yellow Cards', (those 1000's of Hourly Cast Members), in such low esteem that they forget who really pays the bills around here. With the EXCEPTIONALLY high Cast Member turn over, some of those very same 'Blue Cards' now have to work fill in shifts in the Parks! Oooh, and are they so not happy about that. It seems that as they brown nose to their managers that they would love to be a team player and help out, they're really looking for any excuse to avoid being in close proximity to the great unwashed masses . . . The PAYING GUESTS!
After going through the mandatory training as Attraction Operators, Food Servers, Guest Control, and (GASP!) Custodial . . . They conveniently have projects that prevent them from showing up for their SCHEDULED shifts, or forget their costumes, or even worse . . . Just don't care to show up at all! Now I know that staffing an Attraction in the same costume that a $6.75 an hour Cast Member doesn't hold the same glamour as being the 1st Assistant to the Executive Director of Entertainment's 3rd level Scheduler, but C'mon people . . . What do you think a Guest is going to care about? The fact that you were there to keep P.O.T.C. running at full capacity or the fact that you can xerox better than anyone else in your department?
The days of Cast Members willing to make less money than the starting wage at In-N-Out is RAPIDLY coming to an end. And the laughable, highly derived, and banner waving "Disney Difference' is not going to make an ounce of difference one way or the other when you can't pay your rent, or you have to choose between buying gas or eating that week. It's the Hourly Cast Members that keep the 'Kingdom that Walt Built' running smoothly, not the spread sheet readers, not the forecasters, not the micro managers, not even the Diversity Team.
When it comes time to divvy up the pie and hand out bonuses, why is it only the 'Blue Cards' that get the cash? If it wasn't for the 'Yellow Cards and they way they interact with the Guests and provide and maintain that 'Magical Experience' for every click through the turnstiles, there would be 90 plus acres of very pretty buildings and greenspace. 'Cuz there would be no one to keep those attractions running, stock those merchandise shelves, cook in the kitchens, keep the place clean, and run those turnstiles. Do you think the 'Blue Cards' would step up to the plate and help out? Very few I think . . . Just the ones that started as a 'Yellow Card', because I don't see a lot of those people in the "Hot Dog Building" wanting to get their fancy degrees dirty from human contact.
I'm going out on a limb and saying it plain and clear. The rumbling you hear is not the boat lifts on 'Pirates', but a growing chorus of alienation from the rank and file.
What was once truly the "Happiest Place on Earth", is now only the distant memory of "One Man's Dream", and a nightmare for others.
There's my 2 cents.

*** Hot Dog Building: The Frank Ghery Designed Team Disney Anaheim administration building. Term taken from it's Yellow, Green, and Red color scheme: Mustard on one side, Relish on the other, with a bunch of Weenies running up and down the halls!

The view from here . . .

Why is it that we can always find the person of our dreams someplace other than where we are? What is it about long distance relationships, friendships, romances that make it so easy to fall in love? Is it because from a distance we don't see the flaws? And not just the flaws in the person, but the flaws in the whole concept.
We all know the old adage "Distance makes the heart grow fonder", but does it have a basis in fact and/or reality? Why should distance put 'rose colored glasses' on what we see when it comes to matters of the heart? What makes someone who's not within smooching range so much better or attractive than the guy next door?
This is not my 1st turn through this turnstile, in fact one of my more 'heart wrenching' relationships was with a guy in LA when I was living in San Francisco. We met online through some now defunct chat site. We flirted, chatted, confessed our deepest secrets, described childhood traumas/dramas, and what we thought we wanted from life and love. We went from sitting at the computer screen for 3 hours to an all night phone call that lasted for 14 hours. (Don't even ask what that cost... Just thank your lucky stars if you have 'free weekends' on your calling plan.) We spoke to each other and emailed each other every day for 3 weeks until we could schedule a date for our BIG MEETING! Cut to me flying down to LA and clearing LAX security looking around for my 'dream man'. There he was, standing off to the side, a shy grin on his face and a rose in his hand. I flew across baggage claim like I was much smaller than I was. Leaping over piles of luggage, dodging business travelers and reuniting families, covering the distance of a football field in what seemed the blink of an eye. I felt as graceful as gazelle but in reality I probably looked like the prima ballerina hippo dancing through the 'Dance of the Hours' segment of Walt Disney's 'Fantasia'. 4 glorious, blissful, sex filled days later there was a tearful goodbye scene at the gate in the departure lounge (this was pre-9/11). Oh man, I felt like Debra Winger! We made plans to meet in 3 weeks in New Orleans. Each day between our next encounter was like a bad French film, full of furtive phone calls, quick emails, all night chats, promises of undying affection, and my favorite thing . . . PRESENTS!
New Orleans, New Orleans . . . That jewel of the South, that city of joy and life. And after one week it became the place where I actually contemplated the murder of a fellow human being. They say you really never know someone unless you travel with them. There has never been a statement made that was ever more on the money than that! In LA, we were both kinda on home turf. I grew up there and he lived there, so it was safe. Put us in a whole new environment where we didn't have things to fall back on and we had to make PLANS . . . So NOT PRETTY! I learned that he was condescending to people he perceived and lower in station than he. I learned that unless he travels with his special pillow he will toss and turn and snore like a sawmill. I learned that he is cheap and hates to tip. Not only was the bloom off the rose, but we'd taken a bulldozer to the whole garden. I was never so happy to head to the airport in my life. I was so grateful we were on different flights in 2 different areas of the airport. Thank god for security because our goodbyes had to be quick and furtive!
What I was completely astounded by, was the fact that he was clueless about the entire thing. It took him another 3 weeks to even notice the extreme drop off in our relationship. When it finally hit him, after me saying on more than one occasion that it wasn't working and I felt we should walk away while we were still friends, he had the nerve to ask what was my problem!
Not only does distance lend enchantment, but I think it makes you blind!

But taking all this into consideration . . . Why is the guy 300 miles or more away so cute?