When I joined the Walt Disney World College Program in 2012, I was assigned a custodial position at Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. I worked at a couple of the other resorts, but these were my home base where I spent most of my time. By far, my favorite place to work was Old Key West. No matter how few people there were, I always had a great soundtrack for my workday, and on the playlist were several Jimmy Buffett songs. These are three of my favorites from Jimmy Buffett after listening to more of his music. (This article contains affiliate links. If you order through these links, you support this work, and it doesn’t cost anything extra. Thank you.)
Continue reading298 Consecutive Days of Posting
About 299 days ago, I decided that I would commit to publishing 365 consecutive days of posting. Somewhere along the line, I ran across a motivational speaker, who said something like “If you can commit to 365 days of anything, you can succeed.” I don’t know if that’s true or not, yet. To be honest, my other website, www.penguinate.weebly.com, which I can’t access from my current location, is still doing better than this blog in terms of income and in spite of the fact that I haven’t published anything new there for more than a year. I even pulled the most popular post from that website and put it here: Internal Communications of Southwest Airlines.
Continue readingWhy I Wrote ‘There Are No Penguins in Alaska’
When I was living in Alaska, I saw a lot of wildlife in the wild. I saw brown bears, black bears, moose, foxes, beluga whales, and other animals while I was hiking – often they were not far from town. It’s an absolutely stunning state, especially in the summer. The one creature I never saw was a penguin because there are no penguins in Alaska. Still, tourists would continue to ask waitstaff, grocery store clerks, and random strangers: How can I see the penguins?
Continue readingStickers from Dodo Pizza as a Collection
Some collections just happen because you like a product and they offer a prize or something a little extra with it. Kids love McDonald’s and the Happy Meal toy is the bonus. (To be fair, many adults also enjoy McDonald’s even though they know it’s not the healthiest food, and I loved when they had Disney tie-ins, like the Christmas 101 Dalmatians [affiliate link] in the late 1990s.) Cereals often have their own collectibles. In Russia, Dodo Pizza, which can also be found in Mississippi and Tennessee of all places, offers a hospitality packet with each pizza ordered. Inside the packet are a couple of napkins, one or two toothpicks, and a sticker. It’s great for people who collect toothpicks… and stickers from Dodo Pizza.
Continue readingControl the Internet, Don’t Let It Control You
If you’re like most people, you have a smart phone. It’s good for taking photos, getting directions, finding out who the winner of the 35th Kentucky Derby was (Wintergreen), and protecting you, at least in a legal sense, from a police beat down or a Karen verbal, and possibly physical, explosion. You may also get a viral video in either of those last two cases. However, your smart phone is also capable of controlling you in ways you haven’t thought possible. Those who worry about being chipped through a vaccine have failed to realized that they have much more effectively chipped themselves through their Internet and smart phone usage. You need to control the Internet and take back your personal autonomy from the what you think to what you do to who you do it with.
Continue readingReturning to the U.S.? What to Do?
Davy Crockett once said, “First, be sure your right and go ahead.” It’s a motto I’ve tried to live by. Make a (good or right) decision and move toward it as quickly as possible. Don’t let anything stand in the way. It’s gotten me into some dangerous situations, but everything worked out – and I have some great stories to tell. However, barging ahead doesn’t work when you have other people to consider. Now the question I face is “Do we move to the U.S., or do we stay in Russia?”
Continue readingRegain Your Creative Confidence
On each Monday over the last five weeks, I’ve posted an article about how believing you can be more creative will allow you to become more creative. This is simple human psychology. People who believe they can do something will at least make the attempt. Those, who believe they can’t, won’t try or worse, will sabotage their own efforts. While many people believe many things without any proof of those things, it’s much harder to believe something about yourself, especially if you’ve been programmed from a young age with certain beliefs about creativity. Regain your creative confidence and you’ll become more creative.
Continue readingTomorrowland and Adventure Thru Inner Space
The last time I was able to go to Disneyland with my Grandpa Bob, we must’ve to Tomorrowland to ride Adventure thru Inner Space a half dozen times. That year, Grandpa Bob was dying, and his trip with us was a last hurrah. He was one of the people in my life to teach me chess and to fill the father-sized void. We toured him around Disneyland in a wheelchair, and we got on all the rides without waiting. Grandpa could still walk some, so he would get out of the chair and walk down the ramp with me to the Atomobile.
Continue readingAre Animal Crackers Cookies? #CookieSaturday
As a kid, I loved to eat animal crackers because they came in the circus train boxes. It never occurred to me that they weren’t cookies, in spite of the name. Saltines are crackers; graham crackers are crackers; Ritz are crackers. Animal crackers are cookies, or are they?
Continue readingWhy I Wrote ‘Disneyland Is Creativity’: Creative Process
I wanted to capture the joy and use the examples of creativity in Disneyland to help people become more creative. Creativity is a core part of our humanity. People have been artists and storytellers since they came together in caves hundreds of thousands of years ago. Human beings survive as a species not by being the fastest or strongest but by being the most creative. Our creativity allows us to adapt as a species, and our personal creativity allows us to live better lives. I wrote “Disneyland Is Creativity” to help you find your creative process and empower you to become more creative.
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Penguinate! Positive Creativity 