BYE

So....

I have avoided the blog for a while...delibrately.

I got ill. unfortunately.

And due to these unforseen circumstances I had a couple of hospital visits in the US, which proceeded to me returning home for the free NHS to figure out what was wrong with me, and receive treatment.

All is well and good now i am on a treatment plan and becoming my normal if not better self...this is the good news.

The bad news is this took longer than the allowed 30 day exemption period on my VISA, and so farewell to my placement, hello, back home to my beloved England!

So...i guess...now alyssa is NOT in USA...this blog no longer survives really...um...its kinda sad, but no worries people, im happy to be home...just no wizarding world of harry potter for me!

i may make a new blog tho...

watch the space.

thanks readers!

bye bye

Family Holiday

Im sorry it's been ever so long since my last post...which was a month ago - New York <3

So this post is gonna be about the muchos fun i had with my family :-) and WELL NEEDED!

So they arrived a little late cos of silly aeroplanes and security and such like! but nontheless i was OVER THE MOON to see them!!!!
So i worked and they visited me whilst i worked to see my most lovely preshow at Shrek :-)

and then i was off work....YAYAYAYAYA!!!!!

So we went to Seaworld on what was probably the coldest day ever in florida EVER, and i had to something shameful as to put on my dads socks with my flipflops....my sister was unaware of this at first and when we visited the toilets she thought she was next to a japanese person and found my feet HILARIOUS. i dont care it was toooo cold to care!

so we went to daytona to visit one of my mams friends which was lovely, and we went to THE MOST AMAZING restuarant - aunt catfishs....best food iv eaten since iv been here!!!!! unlimited salad bar buffet type thing with EVERYTHING u could POSSIBLY imagine. mmmmm

and we went to Epcot on NYE - CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY, totally packed, and they thought it was a good idea to give everyone free horns...and they thought it was a good idea to give them to their kids.....who i wanted to kill. i actually made friends with a lil boy who was sat beside us waiting for the fireworks just to stop him blowing the horn!!!!!! it worked!n it was nice to b in england for NYE too!!!!! however it did take us 2 hours to get out the car park - ridiculous!!!! we got there at 8am, and left at 2am.....ridiculous huh?! proves my parents are too old just yet tho! and tom came with us too, hes extended family now!!!!

so on NYDay my mam made us a huuuuuge roast dinner (xmas dinner numero dos) and my housemates came and some other friends so there was tonnes of food it was immense!!!!! felt like xmas day :-)

so then we spent a night in the Portofino hotel...AAAAAMAZING, i love those beds better than chocolate :-). so we went to see Blue Man Group which was awesome again, and we ate at hard rock cafe, was sooooo good!!!!!! and the next day we went to universal and islands which was really cool and it was nice to show my family where i work n all the little facts n things i know about my new home :-)

and we went to see Avatar in Imax 3D ---- the best film ever invented...it was amazing i recommend EVERYONE to see it!!!! i also watched new moon again...the cinema was a lot quieter...but still not silent. i <3ed it!still

so we also saw its complicated which was reasonably hilarious :-)

we did a day of shopping as well....how can u avoid that in america :-)

So yeah thts about the extent of whats been happening.

Since my family left i have been getting my uni work done....but something AMAZING happened at work..


i recieved TEAM MEMBER OF THE MONTH DECEMBER 2009!!!! how flippin amazing is that?! i am so over the moon and totally chuffed about it, eeeeeeeeeeps, think its deffo up there with one of my most proudest moments :-) im glad i can share this with you all though :-D



Thats the extent of my excitement...i shall post news soon.

<3 New York New York <3

Was fabulosa

So we got up at 4.30am got our taxi to the airport. Me and Tom spent about 30mins people watching and deciding their life stories and why they were at the airport. We even discovered 2 long lost brothers who didn't even know they were at the same airport!!!!they both had creepy moustaches!
Then on our flight we tried to sleep but we were all so excited. I told Immy to tell the flight attendant that it was my birthday to see if we got any free stuff or upgraded to 1st class. So i dozed for a little then over the tannoy was the following:

"Hello passengers, today we have a very special person on board...Alyssa Nicholls in seat 17A....wave your hand alyssa so everyone can see....Yes today is her birthday............say happy birthday...happy birthday Alyssa.......AND....everyone congratulate her as she is getting married in two weeks!!!!Congratulations Alyssa!!!!!"

I kid u not. The strange woman beside Tom turned and congratulated me, as did the passengers infront...whilst Immy snickered behind me...indeed i went slightly red! but i had to accept the congratulations cos it was too embarassing otherwise!So we created the story that i was going to meet my fiance and get married in NY and have my hen party etc.
Good times.

So we got to JFK airport and went to get a taxi...and what a taxi we ended up in...it was a shiny black SUV/escalade type car with rimms....we arrived at our hotel in STYLE!!!!!!....but when i say hotel i mean hostel type place! pah it was perfect for what we needed though...4 bunks, an ensuite, nicely decorated, clean.perfect.


So then we went to times square and 5th ave, and Tom went to go pick up his girlfriend Alex from the airport as she was coming to stay too.

Me and the girls went to Tiffany's to get my 21st birthday present...and wow its pretty :-) Then Tom called us to go meet him and Alex in Times Square so off we went.
We got to times square and started climbing the red stairs when i heard Tom call my name. I turned round to see Tom and Nicola stood behind a statue/monument!!!! for a split second i just saw Tom, then i realised it was Nic i ran down the stairs and nearly knocked her over with the biggest hug ever. Over the moon is an understatement....i was soooooo suprised and pleased she had come all this way, i couldn't let go of her all day, i just couldn't believe she was there i was so so happy it totally made my birthday. i couldn't ask for anything else!So we went back to the hotel/hostel and got ready for our night out in the ibiza new york club pacha in my birthday dress and present :)
So the next day, my actual birthday...it absolutely POURED down, we went and bought our top of the rock tickets for tues morning, and then went down 5th ave to buy boots as my toes had gone numb in the rain! we had new york bagels too yumm! i couldn't find any nice shoes at reasonable price...and i had some leftover birthday money...so if im gonna end up spending money...i might aswell get designer ugg boots. chocolate brown with buckle's :-D my feet were warm yay! and i got them from bloomingdales in the big brown bag :-D
so we went to the toy shop with the big piano, and grand central station which was pretty and got our first tube. awesome.

When we got back to the hotel we got ready and proceeded to chinatown for a chinese which was nice and then went to a comedy club - Ha! in times square which was well funny!!!!!good times.

The next day we went into manhatten and on the way the BEST THING EVER happened to me. This japanese woman stopped me in the street and requested to take my photo for a japanese magazine, and then interviewed me about what i was wearing...and what my look was, and wear i bought everything. chuffed isn't even the word. I WAS STOPPED COS I LOOKED GOOD IN NEW YORK FOR A MAGAZINE. yeah baby!
So i floated over to central park with Immy Nic and Tom, whilst Rick and the girls went to take the S.Ferry to statue of liberty and ground zero. We went to the zoo...which by the way has NONE of madagascar animals...and i fed some goats :-), then me and Nic rode the carousel and we were going to go ice skating but the ice rink closed at 2.30. So instead myself tom eleanor and nic went up the empire state at night which looked AMAZING. all the night lights :-D
So then we all met back up at the hotel and went to the NYU area for clubs and stuff. AMAZING...i think...not quite sure.
So on our last day we took the lift 69 flights up the rockafella center...not good after the night before with alcohol, and we all felt pretty ill that high up, but the sights were amazing :-DThen we all made our own way to Central Park for Ice Skating. However me and eleanor got lost and ended up about 20 blocks in the wrong direction then struggled gettin the right tube. eventually we got there FINALLY!!! and went ice skating. Now tom had complained that he was crap at ice skating...but he was a proffesional compared to me. SERIOUSLY. i was awful. i would NOT let go of the side. after 3 laps i had a rest...and when i went for my fourth lap, they dragged me to the middle for a nice picture...then left me stranded...so i tried to make my way to the edge and of course bounced off the floor and cut my knee. i felt like a little kid it hurt an bled :-(
but still...i ice skated at central park :-D
(check out my tight grip)

Then we had to go back home...in our flashy ride again!

It was sad to leave but i got some fab pics on the plane of New York...better view than empire state anyway!

I had a near death experience...

its true. my whole life flashed before my eyes!!!!

So, I was walking to work yesterday, and was walking across the bridge above the I4...minding my own business..when all of a sudden i just heard this ALMIGHTY BANG! i looked down and seen a truck carrying cars.

The first thing that went through my mind was there was a crash, and after seeing the truck i thought...oh lord....the fire is gonna explode right up here and burn me to death. Totally blacken me to a crisp...i am going to die here on this bridge. and if its not the fire that kills me, its the shrapnel and pieces of car blown up that will strike me down and pierce right through my torso. I am going to die. I could see it happening right before my eyes, a tyre will come flying through the air and hit me right in the face, clean me right out. or a car door is gonna fly up and squish me.

literally my heart was in my mouth...i nearly vomited.

I swear ive never been so scared.....

....i squeezed my eyes shut, clenched my fists, took a fast deep breath and prayed to God, thought about my family back home....

......



.....

was i still alive?

....

.......

i could still feel the breeze and hear the cars below me on the I4....

.........

...

I opened one eye..

...

i felt ok.... opened the other eye, and peeked over the bridge.

I've never been so happy with the image i seen.....

.....

there ws a small piece of rubber flying through the air....and the truck had pulled onto the hard shoulder....one of his tyres had burst.

that was it.

just a popped tyre.

the driver and truck were fine... as were the 6 cars on top....

....as was i.

Thank God.





I composed myself and began breathing again...chuckled to myself and continued my walk to work.



I hope nobody saw my expression...and nearby drivers probably didn't even hear the bang!!!I woulda looked quite funny randomly stopping on the bridge and holding myself together with a look of sheer horror on my face.

bluh...im just happy to be alive!

I live to see another day, i cannot wait for NY on sat morning....WOOP

RIP Sticky

Im afraid we have some awful news.

It was Tom, Amy and Becca's day off today, so they went out and got Xmas decorations and a tree. Woop.

So i came home from work, to see the house half decorated - woop, thn Becca helped me dye my hair for NY... (3 DAYS PEOPLE, 3 DAYS!!!!!!!)

But then Amy broke the news to me. When they were moving the Tv...they found him....the remains of him. He had lost so much weight his body was the same thickness of his tail...u cud see his ribs :-(



RIP STICKY, you will be missed :-(

We shared so many good times, you even spent thanksgiving with us. We will remember you always

Macy Day Parade

So today all us lucky english interns got to join in the Macy Day Parade at Universal! We were going to have one balloon with us all one, but we were divided into the parade.
I got to be an escort for the one and only Santa Claus himself at his sleigh at the back of the parade. WHOOOOP!










So we all arrived signed up and put our most amazingly attractive various coloured jumpsuits on and wandered around the park to recruit guests as fellow balloon handlers. During this time all the TNA wrestlers were preparing for filming...and i bumped into THE kurt angle. I have no idea who he is, or appreciate how famous he is, but i've been told people would be jealous so i thought i would share my blind dumbness when meeting a celebrity.




It was pretty awesome to say the least. Although i didn't have a balloon i felt well special standing next to santa's sleigh. As we walked through the park, just watched the excitement on the little kids faces to see THE father christmas HIMSELF, they were all frantically waving and shouting his name it was SOOOO cute. There was even this adorable lil girly trying to copy the dance moves that santa's lil helpers were doing. It's the first time i felt christmassy and felt that xmas was coming.

So it was all excitement and fun....


(this uniform is better than my shrek uniform anyway)


But now, 6 hours later...i feel a lil homesick, and i just been reflecting on past xmas's, and what ill be missing this year.

• The annual christmas meet with my school friends at St Bees on xmas day to play on the swings.
• Falling asleep on xmas eve to the noise of my mum stuffin presents into my stocking on my bedroom door.
• Waking up with my bro and sis and sitting on my parents bed to open our stockings
• After opening presents downstairs, trying on all my xmas presents and stuff, and then after gettin ready , being with my family, smelling the turkey cooking and listening to old fashioned christmas carols. My mum in her silly tartan pinny.
• Going out in Whitehaven in silly fancy dress on the friday before xmas, xmas eve eve, xmas eve and boxing day, and then new years!!!
• Getting ready with my friends before our nights out, drinking and chatting in spoons or cat, then ending up dancing the night away in galls and senny's after cocktails in shakers, shots in jpjs and browns, and meeting everyone in north.
• Sitting with my sister, stealing her clothes and joking around
• Fighting and shouting with my brother about stupid stuff that means nothing
• Opening the first of the xmas presents at the sunday church family service, and watching the xmas play.
• Fancy dress at the church xmas party, playing the games, the buffet and sophie singing and dancing

Its pretty depressing i won't be at home for this stuff....stuff that i took for granted. Christmas Day will be horrible without my friends and family, and i will deffo appreciate it more next year!!!!

So...i need a mission....all suggestions are appreciaited!
My apartment are probably all working over xmas day, so we are going to go out or cook a meal together in the evening afterwards, and we are getting a tree to decorate and tings. We are going to have a great day together and be each others family for xmas day.

Also when my family get here we are having our own xmas day.

The only thing missing is my friends from back home.



I hope you all enjoy ur holidays and get what u asked for, but don't take it for granted, enjoy every second, including the arguements.

I should take my own advice...

So i think all of you that read this should deffo read my housemate tom's blog - ethnictom.blogspot.com
its HILARIOUS, everytime i read his update im like crying in total hysterical laughter to the point where i think i may vomit, so i deffo reccomend it. the most recent of his posts had me just about roll off the sofa cos i physically couldn't keep upright i was laughing so hard i actually couldn't take air into my lungs. the one with the bike. if any of you know tom, it just makes this story way more funnier! so read the one with the bike.
After reading it i found his misfortune so funny i repeated this story at work. finding his pain funny.

Now another thing you should know for you to understand this story is the following:
At work the queue line for shrek goes right down the side of the building - visible and accesible to guests on the sidewalk, so frequently once we are loading a show, or when we are quiet, some guests climb over the bars/chains to avoid walking all the way to the actual enterance to then walk back on themselves. Normally we used to turn a blind eye, but we have been told to enforce that the guests walk all the way to the main enterance, for health and safety issues AND to make it fair on the other guests.

So today, i had some guests want to enter the last show, and they were at the front of the queue line, and some of their party wanted to ride Rockit, which had just gone down, so i offered to come and get them if rockit started running again before the park closed. Now most of this party entered shrek, whilst one of their party waited outside as they didnt want to ride shrek.
So i continued letting guests into the attraction and then noticed the rockit was running again, so i went inside to get the party, doing so by opening the wheelchair line as there was none in the line. Now after these people had gone to rockit, i noticed the other member of the party sitting on a bench, so i ran back inside to ask the party if this member had wanted to ride rockit or not. in the process i decided to hop over the wheelchair line chain. i got one leg over...but didn't lift my other leg high enough, which got caught on the line. In that same moment i KNEW i was going down. i made the LOUDEST smack on the floor, my glasses and hat went flying and i only just saved my face from a broken nose. that would have been perfect for New York.

Now when i said a loud smack on the floor, i mean loud enough to stop the preshow. i felt the blood rush to my face as i got up off the floor as fast as i could, to notice that the guests beside me pretended they hadn't seen and turned away...to save my embarassment. pfffft didn't matter then, i was already embarassed.
however it got worse.
the guests beside me were guests i had told off for trying to hop over the queue line cos they could hurt themselves. so i told them i was ok, and that was the reason why they should never climb over the lines.

then when i got to the party i was looking for, i asked if their other member had wanted to ride rockit...and of course they didnt....so all that for nothing.



but oh no. it wasn't over just yet.

not even

about 10minutes later we closed the attraction and i opened the chains to exit out my position...then walked to another way i could get into our theatre, and opened only one chain of the queue line...and climbed over the bottom chain.

but of course only one foot made it, and i caught my foot AGAIN.

not even 10 mins later. seriously.

luckily, i didnt land on the floor but my NEAR fall caught all the guests attention.

SO.

the lesson learned from this is DONT CLIMB OVER THE QUEUE LINES/CHAINS. not even if u work here.
my personal lesson - dont laugh at others misfortune...it will come back to you.

pffffffffft.


side note - i have bruised knees and a bruised wrist. i bet they dnt fade in time for NY.


bugger.