The Safety Post

So I naively thought that Orlando was the safe, happy little vacation world that I visited in my youth. Where the currency was smiles and Goofy delivers your mail. Alas watching the news last night that is not the case. Three separate shootings last night, one hostage threat in a hotel two miles from Disney world, a kidnapping of a four year old boy, and a car jacking that took place 5 minutes from where my new apartment is located (I saw the chopper hovering and assumed it was a weather/traffic reporter, I tune in later in the night to see the footage of the arrest via helicopter). Scary stuff. Talking to my co-worker George here at work I found that the area I am to be living in is known for hookers and hustling as well as frequent robberies and muggings in the neighboring plazas… not cool. On top of that, the Toyota Celica is the most commonly (or at least one of the most commonly) stolen vehicle in Orlando, due to their street racing syndicates that operate in the Orange County area. Why would that bother me? Well as of last week; I was told that I’d be swapping out my trusty Ford Focus with my parents for Dad’s Celica. I’m extremely stoked, the car is awesome, but now I’m going to be nervous parking it outside my apartment and sticking a club on it at night. I’m hoping that these sort of things are a rarity, and that George is being on the more pessimistic side of thought, but still, a bit of a wakeup call for naïve little Jamie.

Work was good stuff again for day two, I’m confident that I’m really going to like it here. My co-workers Bruce and George are great to talk to and a lot of fun, and the rest of the staff are so kind and welcoming. Wrapped up the Sea World project this morning and got it approved for use in the San Diego park, which is pretty amazing for me. Right after finishing that project they started me up with the next client: Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure. It’s a similar project to Sea World, focusing on the P.O.E (point of entry) shots of park-goers, but new formatting and different themes. Another excellent big name to add to the portfolio though. Considering its only day two I’m doing pretty well for myself, and having a blast doing it. The free Bagels and Donuts in the office to day were icing on the cake.