Busch Gardens Interview

Fair warning, this is a long post. I didn't want to break it up into two, though.

This weekend, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA had open interviews for stage technicians. They also had auditions for dancers, singers, and instrumentalists. As tempting as it was to bust a move, I decided to just go for the interview and forgo the auditions. :-P

Since I love Williamsburg, and went there pretty much every summer as a kid, I made a weekend of it. I left at 7AM on Friday so I could get there in time for lunch. I made it in almost exactly six hours, and went straight to the Williamsburg Winery.



I've been here once before, but I was only 19 or 20, so I couldn't do any tasting. I got there just as a tour was ending, so I joined in at the end for the tasting. I toured last time, so I didn't really need to again. After the tasting (and after buying a couple of bottles) I went across the way to the Gabriel Archer Tavern. It's a little pricey, but this was my mini-vacation, so I splurged. I had a glass of wine from the winery; a turkey sandwich with gouda, apple slices, lingonberry chutney, and honey mustard; and a bowl of French Onion soup.



It was all amazing. A. mazing. Well worth a few extra dollars.

After my winery adventure, I went to check into my motel. The ride there was awesome... my GPS took me right through the William and Mary campus, and along a back road right behind Colonial Williamsburg. It was relaxing and gorgeous. When I found my motel, it looked ok, and the location was amazing, but I was the only person there. It was back away from the road a little, and as it got later and darker, I was pretty sure I was going to be murdered/robbed/raped. The room was nice enough, though, and it was clean.



I got settled in, and played on my computer a little before heading out again. I drove around awhile, just poking around. I wanted Zaxby's for supper, so when it got to be about 6:30PM, I went into 'points of interest' in my GPS and typed in Zaxby's. Well, apparently the one in Williamsburg is newer than my GPS, because it told me that the nearest Zaxby's was 109 miles away. So I looked up the address and found it that way.



That bright blue sign was like music to my eyes... you know what I mean. Zaxby's is a southern thing, and I loved it during my time in SC. I got some fantabulous chicken, and stopped at Brusters next door for a milkshake before heading back to the motel. When I got back, there were actually two other cars there! It was less sketchy with other people around. I got comfy, watched some tv on my computer, and went to bed.

The next morning was my interview. Tech interviews started at 10AM, so I got around and checked out a little after 9AM. Busch Gardens was only about 5 minutes away, so I found a Starbucks and had breakfast while I killed some time. I had the strongest Americano ever. I think it was just a grande cup full of espresso. It was wonderful.

I got to the entertainment department at about 9:50AM, and there were already 7 other people there. I waited about an hour for my turn. The woman who interviewed me was the same woman that I met with two years ago when I interviewed there. Once I told her that I used to have hair, she remembered me.

My interview went very well, much better than last time when I didn't actually know anything about anything technical. This time, the only question I couldn't answer was about some kind of... system... or coding... or... something. I can't even remember. She didn't seem to expect me to know it, anyway, it just would have been a plus if I did. So she asked all of her questions, and I asked all of mine. She said the park opens at the end of March for spring breaks and whatnot, so if she wants me to start in time for that, I'll get a call within the next week. If she wants me for later in the summer, I'll hear from them in the next month. If they don't want me at all, I won't hear from them ever. So now I wait.

After my interview, I drove up Rt. 60. That's the road that has a million restaurants along it, some local stores, civil war stores, outlet malls, etc. I swear, any restaurant that you can think of has a franchise in Williamsburg. Go ahead, name a restaurant. There's probably one in Williamsburg, and it's probably along Rt. 60. There are also Pancake/Waffle Houses on every other corner. (Waffle Houses are to Williamsburg what Starbuck's are to New York.)

The Williamsburg Pottery Factory is also on 60. I love the Pottery. They've been there forever, and they've recently started renovating. This is what it used to look like:


(Photo courtesy of... somewhere on the internet. I did a Google image search, I don't remember. :-P)

This is what it looks like now:

(Click for a larger view.)

They're just finishing up the changes, so they aren't open yet. This was the first time in my 25 years of life that I've been to Williamsburg and couldn't shop at the Pottery. They're re-opening at the beginning of April. I'm super tempted to go back then (if I'm not already living and working there). As much as I'll miss the old version of the Pottery, and re-living my childhood whenever I was there, I hope the revamping will boost business and allow them to be open for another 74 years (they first opened in 1938).

After I took some pictures of the Pottery and trudged around the construction site a little, I went to Golden Corral for lunch before heading home. I love Golden Corral more than I should. The new Chocolate Wonderfall is wonderful. If I get this job, and end up back in the south, I'm going to have to join a gym or risk getting morbidly obese.

So that was my mini-vacation/interview weekend. I would love to work at Busch Gardens. This is the third year that I've applied. Maybe the third time will be the charm! I love Williamsburg almost as much as NYC. Hopefully I get a call this week!!