| Big Dog Mom's profileDriving the Dog MobilePhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
June 26 More Details - Part TwoOkay, here's the rest of the list . . .
7. Sometimes famous people are the biggest jerks you'll ever meet - The headliner for Saturday's concert arrived sometime during the night/early morning hours . . . after the big rainstorm. The tour bus promptly got stuck in the mud. A Big Tow Truck was already at the lake to pull out another truck that had gotten stuck in the mud and the Tour Manager asked the Tow Truck Driver to pull him out. Only problem was, the Famous Guy didn't want to pay the fee for the Big Tow Truck to do the work. Because it was for Famous Guy, Tow Truck Driver reduced his price . . . and the Famous Guy STILL didn't want to pay the price. So Tow Truck Driver did it for free, since he was there for another customer anyway. Funny part was, the Bus Driver got the bus stuck a second time and the Tow Truck Driver laughed when they asked for a second freebie.
8. I always get chills whenever I see a Marine or a Sailor in full dress uniform. As part of the entertainment on Saturday night, one of the acts did a tribute to servicemen and women. There were a bunch of Sailors and Marines in full dress uniform at the concert. It gave me chills to see them walking down the midway. I was amazed at how the Sailors managed to keep their dress white uniforms clean.
9. Always wear sunscreen. And a hat. I didn't and I paid the price. Arms, nose, neck legs (I wore shorts) all got sunburned. And the hat . . . it would have helped me from getting a sunburn on my scalp. Yea, it's as painful as it sounds.
10. It must be an unwritten law somewhere that every Southern Rock Band in American has to play "Sweet Home Alabama". This is a law that must be repealed . . . immediately. In between the Big Name Acts, the Local Acts performed. Some of them were very good. Some of them were not. One guy was so bad that he never finished a song. Then there were the "Sweet Home Alabama" versions. By every single band. And they were all bad. That is one of my all time favorite songs and I was so excited when I heard the opening notes . . . only to be very disappointed when they started singing. By the end of the day Saturday it was just painful to listen to.
11. Speaking of laws . . . it should be against the law to wear spandex shorts and belly shirts after the age of 30, sundresses and cowboy boots at any age, or to have your bra straps showing on purpose. I did a lot of people watching - it was fun. But I saw some seriously distressing fashion trends. Spandex and belly shirts on ladies that were more than a tad overweight and on the "other" side of 40. I saw more bra straps than I care to mention. Is it the fashion trend to wear a racer back tank top and a regular bra? Aren't you supposed to hide your bra strap or is that a hang over from the repressed 1900's? But the funniest thing I saw were the young girls in their sundresses and cowboy boots. I just don't get it . . . and I admit that I laughed out loud the first time I saw it. But then these girls were everywhere so I'm guessing this is normal? Maybe I need to get out more.
12. I have a lot to learn about professional fishing. Up until this weekend, I never realized that you could make a career of being a fisherman. There were a half dozen of the pros at this event doing demonstrations and people were begging to go out fishing with them. They make a living fishing. What a concept.
13. I love seeing Hubby's eyes light up whenever he talks to someone about fixing fishing rods. We took his equipment with us so he could work on the fishing rods during the expo. We had people hanging out in the booth just to watch. Hubby was really in his element explaining what he did and the techniques he used to fix the fishing pole. And the people he talked to were just as excited to talk to him as he was to talk to them. I sat in the corner and watched. It was exciting to watch Hubby share his love of fishing with so many people . . . and to hear the feedback that he got from the visitors to our booth. I have a feeling he's really found his niche . .
It was such an overall good experience for us - and the business - that we're looking at other expos to attend. The Little Business might not be so little for very long! June 22 More Details - Part OneI promised more detail on the Rei Lakes event . . . get ready for Part One
1. Sunshine and alcohol are never a good combination. . . but it makes for some interesting people watching. It was a beautiful summer weekend. That is after the rain on Friday. Lots of sun and warm weather. There were also a lot of beer vendors at the event. Of course, there were some people who overindulged. For instance, the gentleman with no shirt, jean shorts, and a cowboy hat that was dancing up the midway while listening to the bands on Saturday afternoon. The most interesting part of his attire was the fact that he was wearing white tube socks - and no shoes. No, I'm not kidding. 2. Famous people don't always look like famous people. On Sunday morning, Hubby and his BFF were people watching after they set up the booth for the day. A scruffy looking guy on a cell phone walked by on his way to the stage area. Hubby said the guy looked like he hadn't washing his shorts in six months and that he spilled most of his breakfast on his T-shirt. Right after Scruffy Guy walked by, the organizer of the event walked up to Hubby and asked if they had introduced themselves to John Michael Montgomery (the headliner for that day's concert). Hubby said that he would if he saw him . . . turns out Scruffy Guy was John Michael Montgomery. No, Hubby's not a big country music fan. 3. The Dog Mobile doesn't have 4 wheel drive, but it sure can drive through some mud. After the rain on Friday, the pathways at the lake were muddy and had some nice potholes in them. I had to drive around the lakes to get to the parking area. As long as I was careful and didn't go too fast over the potholes, I was able to navigate around nicely. Of course the Dog Mobile got a little muddy. Okay, she's very muddy. We have to 4. If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle and you don't want to drive through the mud, why did you drive a 4 wheel drive vehicle in the first place. I had to make several trips back and forth from the lake - to check on the dogs, to get stuff Hubby needed - so the little dog mobile looks like I spent the whole weekend muddin' (it's term we use when you go four wheelin' through the mud and the mud gets caked all over your vehicle). On one of the trips, I got behind a true 4 wheel drive Ford Explorer. This this was pristine - not a drop of mud or dust on it. He went 5 miles per hour and deliberately went out of his way to make sure he wouldn't get mud on his vehicle. At one point he even pulled off the road and stopped so that an oncoming car wouldn't splash him. Curse and swear, curse and swear, filth foul and blackguard. If it weren't for the fact that we were between two of the lakes, I would have passed him and gone on my way. Heck, I saw a guy in a low rider Honda Civic go faster than that Explorer. Heck, he went even faster than I was going and I was at least being careful of the potholes! Oh, and Yuppie Explorer guy parked as far away from all the other vehicles as he could.
5. The best food in the world is fair food. Oh, the wonderful things we ate! A Philly Cheesesteak sandwich that we had to eat with a fork it was so big. Yummy soft serve ice cream. The best sweet tea I've ever had - and it's hard to find good sweet tea out some where. Oh, and the fries. Good old fashioned home made fair fries. Ummm mmmm mmmm.
6. Sometimes famous people are the nicest people you'll ever meet. I met Joe Thomas at the event. He's a pro fisherman and he was at the expo doing a fishing demonstration and signing autographs. Even though Hubby has a fishing rod repair business, I really don't know alot about pro fisherman so I had no idea how famous these pro fishermen were. I was out on Friday afternoon getting people signed up for the drawing Hubby was having for a fishing rod and reel combo. I approached the booth where Joe Thomas was and asked if they wanted to enter the drawing. Joe said that he had plenty of rods but thanked me for asking. It wasn't until later that I learned who he was and that he gets a lot of free rods from his sponsors - and he would have felt bad winning one from us when there were so many other people there who would love to win our contest. I thought that was pretty cool. Oh, and he didn't have that "Don't you know who I am?" attitude.
Stay tuned for Part Two . . . June 18 And Now For Something Completely DifferentRemember the interview I went on a couple of weeks ago? I got the news today that I got the job. In a little less than two weeks from now, I'll be starting my new job. This time the job is in the health care field. So now my resume includes work in the mortgage banking industry, credit insurance, small leather goods manufacturing, machine tool sales, environmental law, and insurance. Even though it looks a little odd written down, the one constant throughout the different jobs is that it is all administrative stuff. Secretarial work is secretarial work no matter what industry you're in. I guess Mom was right . . . as long as you have a strong set of basic secretarial skills, you'll never have to worry about finding a job. But that's a story for another day.
The new job is for the executive assistant to the medical director of one of the divisions of the local hospital here. I won't go into a lot of details except to say that it does sound interesting and challenging, but after what I've faced at Large Insurance Firm this new job should be a piece of cake. The best part is that it's seven minutes from my house. Excuse me while I do a happy dance. Yes, that's seven minutes . . . which is approximately the length of time it takes for me to walk from the parking garage to my desk. My commute is 45 minutes each way. That's 1 hour and 30 minutes in the car each day. After making the big commute for almost nine years, I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it is to think about a 15 minute round trip commute time. I can come home and let the dogs out at lunch. I can make a doctor's appointment and I won't have to take a half-day off to get it done. If the dogs get sick and need to go to the vet, I can do that.
So I agreed to work at Large Insurance Firm through the move to the new building. I'm either a devoted employee or a total idiot. The move is June 27, 28, and 29. The first day in the new space is June 30. I start the new job July 1. My current boss is very happy that I'm sticking around to help with the move. She understands that I need to do what's best for me and she understands why I would want to take a job so close to my house. I have not had a chance to have a serious heart-to-heart talk with her about my current job, but I do intend to let her know how overwhelmed and miserable I was in this position. I don't know if my speaking up with make any changes in the current position, but at least I will know that I did what I could to make it a little easier for the next person. No, she didn't make a counter offer to make me stay. I think she knew that it would be pointless to do that. There's no amount of money that can make me give up on my dream of working in My Little Town again. I think she also knew that I am frustrated beyond belief with my current position.
I'm very excited about the new job. The people are very friendly and it appears to be a great place to work. Two ladies that work in the office where I will be were recruited away by promises of big money but came back because of the atmosphere at Small Regional Hospital. That says a lot . . .
June 15 Thirteen Things - Rei LakesThe fishing expo/country concert is over. Hubby survived, but man is he tired. He did more networking today. Met another one of the Pro fishermen and the pro fisherman will be handing out business cards for Hubby. That's three boxes of business cards that we've handed out to different guys to hand out for us.
In honor of the three day event . . . here's a Thirteen Things summary of the event . . .
1. Sunshine and alcohol are never a good combination. . . but it makes for some interesting people watching.
2. Famous people don't always look like famous people.
3. The Dog Mobile doesn't have 4 wheel drive, but it sure can drive through some mud.
4. If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle and you don't want to drive through the mud, why did you drive a 4 wheel drive vehicle in the first place.
5. The best food in the world is fair food.
6. Sometimes famous people are the nicest people you'll ever meet. . .
7. And sometimes they're the biggest jerks you'll ever meet.
8. I always get chills whenever I see a Marine or a Sailor in full dress uniform.
9. Always wear sunscreen. And a hat.
10. It must be an unwritten law somewhere that every Southern Rock Band in American has to play "Sweet Home Alabama". This is a law that must be repealed . . . immediately.
11. Speaking of laws . . . it should be against the law to wear spandex shorts and belly shirts after the age of 30, sundresses and cowboy boots at any age, or to have your bra straps showing on purpose.
12. I have a lot to learn about professional fishing. Up until this weekend, I never realized that you could make a career of being a fisherman.
13. I love seeing Hubby's eyes light up whenever he talks to someone about fixing fishing rods.
Believe me, there are a ton of interesting stories to tell about the event this weekend . . .
Rei LakesHubby and I are at a fishing expo promoting his fishing rod repair business. I thought it was going to be a boring weekend, but I'm actually having alot of fun. It doesn't seem like work.
It rained yesterday and that put a big damper on things. Today started off cloudy but ended up being a beautiful day. I have the sunburn to prove it. Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful too but I won't be there because I'll be with my Dad and family celebrating Father's Day. Hubby and his BFF are going to work the expo tomorrow.
I have lots of interesting stuff to write about concerning the expo. I'll be putting it together next week.
June 08 Pomp & CircumstanceMy Oldest Niece graduated from high school this weekend. The ceremony was at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the party was this afternoon at 2 p.m. According to Dollface (my name for Oldest Niece), the graduation party circuit will last for a couple of weeks.
Dollface (and all my nieces and nephews) attended the same high school that I did. The majority of the kids I went to high school with are still in the same area so there were some familiar names in the graduation class. Kids I went to high school with had kids in the graduating class. Man was that surreal.
I know that an aunt isn't supposed to show favoritism . . . . but I do. Dollface is my favorite niece. Maybe it's because she's the oldest niece. Maybe it's because she's a middle child (like me!) and suffers greatly from Middle Child Syndrome. Maybe because she's just an adorable girl with a personality to match.
Needless to say, it was a little traumatic watching her graduate and realize she's an adult now. I cried practically from the minute I stepped into the auditorium yesterday morning. I got teary eyed when I saw her name in the program. I got teary eyed when I saw the song the senior choir was going to sing. You can imagine the waterworks when the graduates took their places . . . and again when they got their diplomas. The really funny part is that Dollface had asked her mom (Big Sister) not to cry during the ceremony. Big Sister did a good job of not crying, but there I was sitting right behind her with full waterworks. Yes, Dollface saw me. Instead of crying herself, she got a good chuckle out of it. God love her, she understood that her aunt is a psycho hormonal mess and I have no control over the waterworks these days.
But the graduation was nothing compared to the party. One of Big Sister's friends made a special video taking all sorts of pictures of Dollface and making a slideshow which appropriately sappy music. I had to watch it in sections because it was too hard to watch all at once.
I'm happy that Dollface had such a happy weekend . . . and I'm really happy that it's three years before the next graduation. June 06 Short & SweetBeen a busy week. Crazy at work getting ready for company picnic and more stuff on the move. I'm so busy that I can't see straight. I planned to leave tonight at 4:30 - my regular quitting time - because I'm going to a concert here in a few minutes with MIL. I didn't leave until almost 5. I'm just grateful that the concert is here in my little town and I don't have to drive for an hour to get to the venue.
The interview went well. They were impressed with my secretarial background and all my many years of experience. The job sounded very interesting and like something I'd really enjoy. The best part is . . . the job is SEVEN MINUTES from the house. It takes me SEVEN MINUTES to walk from the parking garage to my desk now. The thought that I could come home for lunch is mind boggling. Yes, I know, I need a life.
I'm here. I'm doing well. I've accepted the fact that my current job just isn't working out for me. To paraphrase my mother . . . with over 20 years of experience in my field, I shouldn't have to work this hard.
Needless to say, I'm feeling much better about things . . .
June 01 Random ThoughtsIt's officially summer. On Friday, we turned on the Friday and I had my first soft serve ice cream cone from the little hot dog stand. I wanted to have supper outside tonight on the deck but the cottonwood trees are blowing and I didn't want fuzzies in my meatloaf dinner.
I've decided that I've had enough of the job that I hate. The straw that broke the camels back was gas being $4 a gallon. So I'm off to search for a job in my hometown. As luck would have it, I found out about a job here in my hometown that would be great for me. I have an interview on Wednesday morning.
I'm ahead of my normal schedule in buying Father's Day cards. I bought them today. Typically, I buy them the day before Father's Day. But I was at Wal-Mart and saw some really cute cards. Now I just have to figure out a present for my Dad. Hubby has already gotten his big gift . . . now I just need to get him something to unwrap that morning from Blacky and Luci. Yes, the dogs buy Hubby a Father's Day gift and a card.
It was a very uneventful weekend. For the first time in quite some time I got to enjoy today as my day of rest. I went shopping at Wal-Mart, surfed the net, read a book, cooked Hubby's favorite supper (meatloaf and homemade macaroni and cheese). Generally just goofed off. It was nice.
Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow.
|
|
|
