I have often dreamed...

I have been watching a lot of classic movies lately.  They are a very good anti-depressant for me.  Something about that era of movies wherein the jokes are clean but sidesplitting, the men are dashing and charming, and the women are classy, gorgeous, and worth the chase.  In all of this, nothing can make me smile wider than watching Gene Kelly sing and dance.  I've read that he caught a lot of flack because his chosen career of dancing was not considered "masculine".  Boy, do I ever know that feel, bro.  You know, when I chose to be a theatre major, there were a lot of people that literally laughed in my face.  Including some individuals that worked in my chosen university's Disability Accommodations office.  As you can probably imagine, I was quite smug when I called to personally let that individual know that I had been cast as the secondary male lead in our upcoming production.

I spend a lot of time-especially after I watch a Gene Kelly movie-wishing that I had been born in his time.  But let's get real.  If I were always destined to be in a wheelchair no matter what time period I had been born in, my quality of life would've been a lot poorer than it is now.  Modern conveniences make things much easier.  Besides, I really dig my iPhone.
As for where I fit, I have no clue.  As little as one month ago, I would've told you it was Disney.  Now I've never been more unsure.  To quote my friend Hercules:

I have often dreamed of a far off place, where a great warm welcome will be waiting for me.  Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face, and a voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be.
I will find my way, I can go the distance, I'll be there someday if I can be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while.  I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong.

Until then, I guess I'll just keep singin' in the rain.
No really.  Florida weather sucks.  

Be Our Guest

I almost did not blog today, but if I want to be a serious writer then I have to write every day.  Besides, it's therapuetic, however, I can't promise it will be a long one.  So today I found out I did not get extended for another four months in the Disney College Program.  I thought I was pretty well prepared for that possibility, but I must confess it still hit me pretty hard.  It didn't help in the least that I still had an hour of work to go when I found out.  During that last hour it was all I could do to keep smiling.  What does it matter?  The fact that I have never called in, my five guest service fanatic cards, all my positive mentions by name in guest surveys?  Doesn't anyone care about that?

Then it hit me.  That's just it.  It's all about the guests, not the cast members.  Guests are the only ones that matter.  So as long as I keep guests happy, that's all that matters.

And that's about all I can muster today.  If you're the praying sort, lift one or two up for me, will you?

Ryan Arnold's personal blog is in no way affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Just a little bit of Pixie Dust

Well, I said I was going to try to blog more, and if I do indeed reach the end of this post and publish it, that'll be two days in a row.  I don't want anyone thinking that by yesterday's post I was trying to be negative about Disney.  I wasn't.  I wasn't even ranting really.  I was simply posting an explanation because I had gotten so many "What happened?" messages/texts/phone calls.  Which means that a lot of you are concerned about me, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Let's talk about good Disney.  This is my view, and is in no way affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.  Now, let's face facts.  Not a lot of people from my neck of the woods get to work at Disney.  Even out of the few that do, VERY few of those are cripples from Mississippi who no no one thought would ever even attend college, let alone graduate from it.  I have done both, even though it took me longer than the average person, but hey, I'm allowed.  Besides, my goal in life is to make sure that nothing about me is normal or average.  Who wants to be normal anyway?  Normal is nothing but a cycle on the dryer.  If it were up to me, there would be no such word.  The word normal indicates a bland, everyday sort of thing.  Life is a gift.  As people that are alive and breathing, we should be thankful for those breaths every day.  If we are truly thankful for them, we should use them to our fullest ability, and if we are doing that, then our lives will be anything but NORMAL.  Normality should be an abomination, to be called normal should be the biggest insult anyone could ever be paid.

Whew, got off Disney there for a minute didn't I?  That's okay, I actually didn't have a lot more to say about it.  Only this. The fact that I was ever able to work here to begin with, regardless of what happens past this, has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life.  Greater even than my college degree; than any show I've ever been a part of.  Why?  Because everything I am now, and everything I will be, and even most things I love, whether they have the D on them or not, would not exist without Disney.  This is my message to Walt Disney, with a little help from some of his friends:  (slightly paraphrased)

"You have saved my life.  I am eternally grateful."

Who cares if I was only here for a short while?  According to Peter Pan you need two things to fly:
1. A happy thought
2. Just a little bit of pixie dust

I'm happy in the knowledge that, thanks to me, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of kids out there that have both.
It's what I do.

Thanks for Your Service.....Have a Magical Life

Yeah, I know I said I was going to restart this blog and take it seriously.  And I will.  I want to be a writer.  I yearn for it.  But writing is a tiring process.  It may not be physically exhausting, but is takes a toll on the mind, it's very mentally taxing.  Plus, to be a good writer, you have to have something that up until very recently I have lacked in a rather big way.  Discipline.  However, during the past seven months on the Disney College Program, boy have I learned a lot about Discipline.
Now here's the point in the blog where I start talking about Disney, and before I can do that, I have to state:

This blog and the views expressed herein are solely the opinions of the author, Ryan L. Arnold.  In no way does the blog express or claim any affiliation with the Walt Disney Company or the feelings of the individuals employed therein.

Now then.  If you follow my Facebook, you know that I went from "DISNEY IS THE MOST WONDERFUL PLACE EVER and I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE" to "This is horrible and I want to go home" seemingly overnight and with no warning.  In this entry I am going to provide you with an explanation.

Again, if you know me personally and follow my Facebook, you know Disney appointed me as a greeter at a merchandise shop.  At first I thought this was great until I realized that they had just stuck me there because they realized that because of my disability I am too slow to run the cash register.  This puts me in a class known as "non-essential."  Simply put, that means they do not need me to run the shop.  As a result, they will not allow me to pick up any extra hours because every hour that I do work, they are overbudget.  Why didn't they just fire me, you ask?  They could have, and they probably would've been justified in doing so, BUT...if they had, they would've had a lulu of a lawsuit on their hands.  Which is why, when I went to casting two weeks ago, although it wasn't said, I distinctly got the impression that not only were they not going to extend my program, but they weren't interested in employing me either.  No matter how many guest service fanatic cards I have, or how many kids I've made smile.

You may say, "Why are you posting this while still on the program?"  I've asked several people about this, and that is why I posted the disclaimer.  It protects me.  Besides, all this has done nothing to lessen my enthusiasm for the Brand.  All this has nothing to do with Mickey or all the happy things Disney.  I still love Disney.  Besides, I understand.  It's strictly business.

Anyway, that's it.  If you comment, please do so here and not on Facebook.