Amy Poehler??? REALLY?

I'm into my new jobbie about 6 weeks now.

And you ask, "How's it going?"

Well, how do I put this??????

HARD CORE ROCKIN GOOD!

It's the jelly to my peanut butter.....

the coozie to my Bud Light.......

the rock to my roll.......

the super to my duper......

the donkey to my kong......

the sha to my na-na-na...

You get the picture!

it completes me.

I work for Hallmark on the installation team.

There is a fair amount of traveling. We cover from Provo to Logan and even Wyoming.

It is physical in a way that makes me feel strong and powerful.

We box all cards that are already in display, signs, party stuff, etc. to be gone through and either re-stocked or scanned out for discontinue at the end of the job.

Then we disassemble the structures to their entirety.  They are taken down to the bare floors which we scrape and clean to prepare for a total rebuild.

[above pic shows disassemble in action.

I didn't take one of our rebuild and restock.

Next time you walk into a store make sure to walk down the Hallmark isle and look around.  There's your picture of a completed job]

My hands are full of paper cuts,  my shins have bulging bruises, and my feet are throbbing from the 138629000000 steps I take daily.

Our days are long and the work is hard. 

We earn every penny we make.

It's not all physical work, we have to use our noggins a good part of the time too.  We have schematics for rebuilds and new product stock that is very UN-user-friendly for newbies.  It's like reading a foreign language until you do it a few hundred times.  I have personally learned from my many MISTAKES since I have no intuitive architectural skill.

I am inspired by the women I work along side.

A few are over retirement age and can still lift over 50 pounds and pound a hook into it's anchor with one swing of the mallet.

I guess this is what keeps them all young and feisty!

The mix of intelligent women from all walks of life make the comradery playful and yearning for more.

Pictured above is my new friend Nancy.

Nancy just moved here from Phoenix.

Nancy thinks Utah is cool.

Nancy gets super giddy when she sees a snow flake.

We will poll her again once winter is over. 

 I predict Nancy will have just a liiiiiiiittle different opinion of the cold and snow by the end of the season.

Nancy is so nice and  chillaxed, 

that it's easy to get one up on her.....

not that I purposely would do that of course!!!!

What kind of ass hat do you think I am?!?!

OK! OK!  I hear you!!!

I AM ADMITTEDLY AN ASS HAT!

Here's a lil story for ya. 

Nancy and I were working on signs together and were supposed to read the directions and figure out how to construct them on our own without asking our boss's help. Boss says we are 'big girls now' and we can do things without her guidance.

Oh the pressure of being a big girl!

We broke the sign.

Actually, I broke the sign.

In a scurry, we searched for tape, gorilla glue or a magic potion to repair said sign.

We were laughing with legs crossed to contain the 'laugh pee' and tears were running down our faces.

Our boss asked me what I was up to since it seemed a bit conspicuous that I was going through the universal Hallmark handyman bag looking for a broken sign remedy.

I looked up to her and said, 

"Oh nothing!  

Nothing at all!

WAIT!.....I can not tell a lie!!!!!!!

NANCY BROKE THE SIGN!!!!!!

AND I'M TRYING TO FIX IT!"

Boss yells, "Nancy!!!!  You broke the sign?!?"

Everyone started laughing because they knew I WAS a big fat liar pants and there's Nancy looking from a far with a 'what's going on?' look on her face.

Then Nancy says to me....

"see! I always get blamed for things in life that I didn't do!" 

without knowing  that it was me that threw her under the bus!!!!

I admitted to the scam and she has since forgiven me :)

[it cost me a couple beers tho]

The team work is my currency, the labor is my exercise, the people are my new found friends, the completion of the job is my pride, the paycheck is the cherry on top, and the purple apron is my new fashion statement.

My family and my home have been a bit dis-sheveled with me away, but at this point, it's worth it for my own self esteem. 

But that's not to say I don't battle with feeling selfish going on my own.

[That's a disclaimer just in case  you come over and there's dried cereal on the counter and the toilets haven't been swished.  

My apologies ahead of time]

On another quick note:  While waiting in the doctor's office for a check-up on my wrist, a lady walked up to me with an excited, yet bewildered look on her face.  

She said, "Oh my gosh!!!!  You look just like that funny girl on Saturday Night Live!  You know, the one that has her own show with parks and stuff?"

I replied, "Amy Poehler?"

She boasted, "YES!!!! AMY POEHLER!!!!"

I laughed......

a little because of the lady's enthusiasm and a little because I wasn't sure if  looking like Amy Poehler is a good or bad thing.

The lady points at my mouth and yells, 

"SEE!!!!  It's your smile!!!! You look JUST like her!!!!!"

I left the lady who just thought she spotted a movie star in the middle of Murray, Utah in a doctor's office, and I pondered the question, 

"do people see us the same as we see our own reflection in the mirror?"

After I looked at my work picture with Nancy, my question was answered when I came across this!

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

Wait for it......

WTF!?!?!

This aint good!