Ten Years Ago, There Was Bob...And Uncle Sam

 Tonight, I'm sitting in front of my computer and I wondered about the past--more specifically, what I was doing ten years ago. I think about this type of thing from time to time, so I pulled up the blog post I wrote April 20, 2011. I don't know why I decided to look back exactly one decade ago from today, and not five years, or last year. No, ten it was.

I remember the day--or part of the day--very well.

It was the day Bob and Uncle Sam came to town.

The event was an expo for the Davis County Chambers of Commerce. I still think the idea was genius. My friend Bob, who runs a financial planning institution, wanted to have a visual demonstration of what happens (or can happen...) to your money, your investments. We hired an actor to portray Uncle Sam to take a PayDay candy bar and divid the bar into two sections. We gave one portion to the expo attendee and the other portion went into a toilet. 

The expo was an all-day affair. I only attended near the end. As I recall, it went okay. In my opinion they just didn't have the people attending. 

That expo took place ten years ago. I blogged about this when it happened and you can access the blog post: HERE, if you're interested, that is. As far as the part-time job went, it ended shortly after--I can't remember exactly when it ended. I don't think the company ever attended the expo again, or even if the expo took place. Too bad...it was fun when Bob and Uncle Sam hung out.

Prepare To Scare...

Last Friday the Acquisitions Editor at my publisher asked what everyone was planning to do for the weekend. The answers varied, attending a comic con, chaperoning at a high school dance, other writing-related activities.

Me?

I said I'd be scaring the crap out of people.

And that's just what I did.

And that's what I'm going to be doing this weekend, too.

Also last Friday, I took out my camera and snapped a couple of pictures as we prepared for our shows. My son made sure the chainsaws were ready for the show he house manages. I saw a few of the people assigned to one of the several haunted houses at the amusement parks and they graciously posed for me. And a friend, Colton, snapped a picture of me before the show I'm in started. Colton and members of his family attended that particular Séance session. It was a good one.

Friday's are different from going to the part-time job on Saturdays or Sundays. When me and the kids get to the part on Saturdays and Sundays, we're arriving after the park's been open for several hours. But on Fridays, we arrive before the park opens, before the public has a chance to roam and enjoy.

It's cool seeing everyone walking to their stations in full character. Usually employees in costume must be covered up if they're not at their station. 

I've not had the opportunity to go through any of the other haunted houses on the park. I should, but haven't had the time. People will ask me, as we wait for the next Séance to begin, how our show compares with the other attractions, or they'll ask about how scary are the other haunted houses. I can't tell them. But there are hundreds of employees, kids who love dressing up as ghost, goblins, witches, spooks and spectres, all ready to entertain and scare. 

And tomorrow night, we'll do it all over again.

Starting A Part-Time Gig...

It's interesting, but about the time I really got interested in reading and writing, I've spent less and less time in libraries. Had my new obsession occurred a decade or two earlier, I would have spent hours and hours among the physical books, magazines, and periodicals.

I guess the internet took away that joy, too.

But, funny how things happen. How, when you put in an application to work part-time at your local library and you give it time, you just might end up as one of those guys (or gals...) that wanders around the library with a cart full of books replacing the items we all at one time took out to either look at or leave the building with.

I thought having a part-time job would be so easy, especially after being in play after play for the past two years. It turns out, it's not, at least, not in the beginning. When we do plays we usually learn the music first. This involves all of us sitting around and listening to the music director play our parts. Then we sing.

This is my first week as a shelver and I didn't do a lot of sitting (and zero time singing...). In fact, I spent almost all my shifts on my feet. With plays, when it's not your scene being rehearsed, you sit and wait. When working part-time at the library, it's always your scene.

I hope these comments do not come off as complaints. I'm just expressing how my expectations differ from the realities of the new job. I've even had to take different busses to work--no big deal, just more planning.

But as I wheel my cart among the patrons and bookshelves, it's wonderful to see books I've read, and better yet, books written by people I know. Yes, it's a part-time gig, and I am among friends.

My Other Job...

About two months ago, we decided our income could not sustain our lifestyle, and by lifestyle, I mean food. It actually wasn’t that bad, but I’m sure most can identify. I don’t believe we waste too much money, but raising a family of six on one income and no raise for three years begins to eventually take its toll, and that moment occurred about two months ago.

I found a part-time job as a custodian working 20 hours a week which means I would have left the house at 5:45am and return home at 9:15pm with only an hour break in between with most of that break time used to drive from job to job.

The day I was to decide to take the custodian job I stopped by my friend’s office because I saw his car in the parking lot. My friend is a money-man, not that he’s made of money, but he knows numbers and is very wise and knowledgeable when it comes to the issue of finances.

We chatted and I told him about my new job. I wasn’t too excited about the prospect of being away from my family so much, but custodial work is honest work and taking the job would mean doing those extra things a parent wants to do for their children, like karate lessons, gymnastics lessons and the extra money we’ll need if we expect our 16-year old to be able to drive. I know it might sound shallow, putting these things above spending time with my family, and on many levels, it is. But we don’t go on vacations, we don’t go to movies, and we don’t engage in pari-mutuel betting, at least, not since “the incident…”

My friend listened, then offered a solution. I could work for him for eight hours a

week doing marketing, PR, communications, and other duties as assigned and he would pay me the same salary as the custodian job paid. Of course, I took the offer and I’ve been employed for two months. It’s been one of the funniest jobs I’ve ever had—ranks right up there with stuntman for a wild west show, but that’s another story…