To Cheer You

I've been busy so I haven't blogged for most of this week. So, some updates...

1. The next day at work, I got THESE...

Dang it all, when Fresno complains he complains with flair! However, am I the only one who thinks "to cheer you" is a rather awkwardly formal phrase? It reminds me of a bad translation or something.

2. I have such awesome friends. I got to go to the temple with Mali for the first time. Jessi did too and we sat together! (The other person in the photo's is Mali's other good friend, who I did not know.) Yay for friends! Yay for the Temple!!!!

I was very proud of Mali; she did great, even under... ummm... EXTERNAL stress.

3. Work has been more than a little INSANE. See, I an technically part-time. But I have often worked 8:30am-7pm. with out a lunch... well, I mean I EAT... Diabetes sort of dictates that... but usually I don't stop working I just drink a SlimFast or eat a FiberOne Chocolate and Oats bar (THEY ARE SO YUMMY) from my pocket while working. But the thing is the work isn't regular, so I have to grab hours when they come. I might work 5 10 hour days and then have a week of 2 hour days. But so far, that just hasn't happened as it is our busy time. So I work a LOT. It is very physical work, too... but actually I really prefer that. You can see results, you know? When you are on the phone doing customer service, you may never really feel satisfied. But when you have to jump in a pen to catch a goat, you KNOW whether you have succeeded or not. When a child is crying and you cheer them up ("to cheer you" Ha!) you know you've done well. Even working in the office I pour over the core curriculum trying to develop an education program for the dinosaur museum, well it is a major challenge of intellect, focus and creativity. It is EXTREMELY hard work sometimes. Every muscle hurts, every nerve is frazzled... but you feel good about what you did.

So far, even though sometimes I feel like crying (and, like when a big fence slammed on my hand, I DO cry), I have to say I LOVE THIS JOB. How many times have I been able to say that? I only make 7 dollars an hour for a job that anywhere outside the Not-for-Profit sector should make at least twice that plus benefits. But I can honestly say that I love TGP. I love the children, the animals, the gardens, the art projects, the dinosaurs, the ever changing duties that help me never, ever bored.

And as for the hardness of the work, well, we always joke about how great it is to work somewhere with such a large fitness facility. We have cardio (keeping up with 7th graders in TLC from building to building), weights (picking up lambs to children can pet them, lifting up the CHILDREN to they can pet the bunnies, harnessing hateful ponies) and flexibility (climbing over the goat's fence, reaching for craft supplies on the top shelf of the storage room). Hee hee hee!

However, some days are just... AAARGH...

4. I am not ACTUALLY superstitious... usually. But holy CRAP what a Friday the 13th!!!!! First of all, I was supposed to be shadowing. Not in charge of a group, just helping. But Neither Rerun (a 20 year old who seems like a 12 year old. He is VERY flaky and has, on more than one occasion completely stopped working when Rinny has left the office. He'll make long distance calls on the company phone, play Sudoku online, etc. But of course, Rinny doesn't have the guts to FIRE him.) nor Milestoner (she was hired with me, and at the point she seemed awesome. NOW, not so much) SHOWED UP for their shifts.

Actually, that's not quite true. I was covering for Rerun on a particularly CRAZY field trip. Rinny, who was not supposed to be running a trip either, but rather in managerial meetings with the PRESIDENT (of TGP... not George W. Bush... or Gordon B. Hinckley) was covering for Milestoner. The others (who were actually DOING their jobs) were CrazyConnie, Boston, and GrandmaBetsy. Anyway, we were all running around like crazy trying to keep things under control and I could have SWORN I saw Rerun. I squinted and waved to him to come over and take his class but he ducked out so I assumed it WASN'T him. I fumbled through the field trip... it was a grade I didn't know the lesson for as I hadn't shadowed it before, but I survived (barely.). Finally, Rerun showed up to do his damn JOB and we were able to get things going a LITTLE better and Rinny was able to meet with the BigWigs.

Our Farm Manager, Mac, is AWESOME. He's a cowboy and knows his stuff, and is also a thoroughly likable person. He is also quitting to run his landscape business. We will miss him terribly. And part of the reason for BigWigs being down to the farm was to talk about his replacement. Several of the Farmhands wanted RINNY to take over. Run Education AND the Farm. She would not do well, but she's do better than who they GOT.

There is really only ONE person at TGP that Rinny can NOT get along with at ALL and that is SGary. He runs the museum, is a cocky jerk, and is 100% businessman. The only thing important to him is his museum and MONEY. The Museum is the ONLY part of TGP that makes enough to break even. Everything else only stays afloat because of our benefactors, the Ashtons. So, yes, SGary has room to brag. BUT he is a JERK about it, hates the education department, kids, messiness. And GUESS who they put in charge of the FARM now, too?!

[NOTE: NONE of this has been officially ANNOUNCED yet, so I shouldn't be saying anything. But I figure none of you care/know these people and so I won't get in trouble. So I vent.]

I can see 2 possible outcomes to this decision. 1. SGary never comes down to our smelly, kid-filled, non-money-making farm and maybe eventually closes it. 2. He raises the admission price to something like the museum's and we become a little ghost town as NOBODY will pay 8 bucks to ride ponies and pet cows. Oh, and Rinny has a freaking Breakdown. When the CEO told her who's be running the farm, she handled it pretty well... she waited till he left before bawling. She HATES SGary. Mind you, we are not UNDER him... he's not HER boss. Education is it's own entity, and RINNY is OUR boss. But she will be working WITH him. And we need his help. We already have a devil of a time getting his cooperation with the museum activities. Now he will lord over the FARM too.

He will be HILARIOUS if he ever COMES to the farm though. In his suoit and being all stuck up, I can just picture him buying our new COWS like Mac did. *rolls eyes* GEEZ.

What a day. OH and eventually Rerun admitted to Rinny he HAD been here. "So, wanna hear a funny story?"

"Does it involve where you were during your shift?"

"Yeah, ummm, it's funny! I read the 2nd page of the schedule but not the first so I thought there was nothing until 12."

"Huh."

"And I came in early to do some stuff in the office [In other words he clocked in to "work" on the computer but 10 bucks says he just read email and played Sudoku] but then I saw a big group of kids on the wagon ride and thought 'I wonder if that's a field trip?' and then... ummm... I saw [Kipluck] leading a field trip[I knew it!]... so I sort of hid in the office for awhile."

"When you saw [Kipluck], why didn't you go relieve her?"

"Ummm... well... she looked busy."

UMMM... DUH?! Grrrrr! Idiot.

Those field trips were crazy, too. I LOVE how IMPRESSIONABLE kids are! We were on the wagon ride and one little 1st grader started BAWLING. I went to sit with him and asked what was wrong.

He wailed, "I jus' miss my Mom and Dad!"

"Oh, but guess what? I bet they will LOVE to here about your day! You can tell them about petting to horses and seeing the chickens with their eggs and petting those bunnies."

*sniffle* "Yeah..."

"They will be SO jealous because this is so much fun!"

"Yeah. [still bawling] This is so much fun." HA!

Then he smiled, wiped his eyes, and was fine the whole time! At the end of the ride, I said "I am so proud of you." Then another little boy told him "You were crying at the first." and the first little boy's lip started quivering, so I quickly said "Yes, but now he is so brave!"

The second little boy said "yeah, he's SO BRAVE!" with a sigh of freaking ADMIRATION! And the 1st smiled again! MY POWER OF SUGGESTION IS MAGICAL!!! Kids are AWESOME.

I also went to the doctor after work. I got some new meds and an appointment with a psychiatrist. SIGH.