Sunday Scribblings: First Job, Worst Job, Dream Job

I spent a summer working in industrial green houses in Ohio - a job that was tedious, smelly and hot.

Those who know me well know that I am not fond of poinsettia plants. Poinsettia's are tropical plants, and aren't really happy being grown in pots. Because of that everything about planting poinsettias must be done precisely. All of the pots, and flats used are first sterilized with bleach. (This was actually the best part of that job. Two weeks of playing with a hose in the parking lot.) The soil used (can't tell you how many times I was reprimanded for calling it dirt) is sterilized. Poinsettas are planted from cuttings and each one is dipped into rooting medium. And finally the temperature and humidity must be precisely monitored. The plants are rooted in early August so that they're ready for the holidays. The weather in early August in Northern Ohio is hot. It easily reached 105º most days. Poinsettias have to be planted when the temperature is in the low 90s. So during the weeks when the poinsettias were being planted I had to arrive at work at 5am. I am decidedly NOT a morning person. Five am was tough, but I did it. Having seen what is necessary to grow a poinsettia led me to believe that they just aren't worth it.

Poinsettia's were not even the worst part of the green house job. There was boredom - hours upon hours of moving pots from 4 inches apart to 6 inches apart - but that wasn't the worst part. No the worst part was the couple of weeks I spent feeding plants. The mechanism used to do this was a long tube with a hopper at the top that sported a handle with a trigger that was activated by squeezing your hand into a fist (sort of like the mechanism on a gas pump). Each squeeze dispensed a measured amount of fertilizer down the tube into the pot. This action was repeated hundreds of times over eight hours. To get an idea of what this is like spend the next 15 minutes making a fist and releasing it. Suffice it to say that after eight hours of this I could not open my hand - repetitive stress anyone. I seem to remember that my father intervened to get me released from that torture.

But that was not the worst job I ever had. I spent most of 2 years in the mid-90s temping. During that time I had good jobs, a couple of fun jobs, and a few that were clunkers. One of those temp jobs was the absolute worst job I have ever had. It topped the summer in the green house, the hours I spent changing diapers in babysitting, nanny and pre school jobs, and working in a fast food restaurant.

I don't remember what company I was dispatched to on that fateful day, which is probably a good thing. The assignment was to spend the day entering data into Excel spread sheets. I'd had assignments like that before. It was never particularly stimulating but I have a high tolerance for boredom. Given a boring job I'm frequently able to let my mind wander a bit. When a little more focus is called for I make up games - seeing how many entries I can make in 5 minutes without error, for instance - or I entertain myself by looking for patterns in the data.

When I arrived I was shown to a storage closet. In the closet was a table on which sat a computer. This was to be my work space for the day - just me, the computer, the office supplies and a photo copier. Strike one - no day light. Strike two - copier fumes. Strike three - the data I was to enter was codes - think computer generated passwords - mixed numbers and letters. This was strike three. The amount of focus required to enter this type of data is huge. There was no room for day dreaming. By noon my eyes were permanently crossed. Over the course of the day I saw maybe three people. And to top it off I'd put on panty hose and a dress for this. It was hands down the worst work day of my life. The only good news - it was a temp job. My escape was a call to my agency letting them know that I would not be going back.

There you have it - the tale of my worst job.

See more Sunday Scribblings: here.

PhotoHunters: Smelly

Sea Lions in San Diego Harbor.
The tour I was on didn't get too close, but I can pretty much guarantee they were smelly.

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Thursday Challenge: Light

I took this at about 6am on July 25th. I love the quiet of the early morning on Rainbow Lake. This was my "official" entry for Thursday Challenge. I also considered the photo below, which I took a couple of years ago in Owl Cabin at Wakanda.

This is one of about 10 owl lights that decorate the porch of the cabin. We love them. Unfortunately the picture is a bit blurry.

More Thursday Challenge: here.

PhotoHunters: Curvy

I took these a year and a half ago on a trip to the park with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew. N loves going to the park, and that day the curvy slide was a big draw. I couldn't decide which of these I liked better the one with N and his Daddy, or the one of N and his Mommy so I decided to share them both.

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Tag, I'm It

Stacy at sassafras mama tagged me for this.

1) What was I doing ten years ago.
Settling into permanent employment at the company I still work for.

2)Five years ago:
Recovering from major surgery after my second bout with cancer. (All is well now.)

3) One year ago:
I haven't the faintest idea. Although it was probably pretty close to today - working at the same job, loving the same wonderful woman, thinking about where to take my boat this weekend.

4) Yesterday:
Working on my second softball bat. I've never used a lathe until this summer. It's been fun working on this new skill. I'll be posting pictures and a few details on my woodworking blog sometime soon.

5) 5 snacks I enjoy:
Chocolate, cookies, almost any kind of cake, crackers, good and plentys.

6) 5 Things I would do if I suddenly had $100 million:
Buy land in the Adirondacks.
Buy a full shop of woodworking tools.
Take my wife wherever she wants to go - Australia, Hawaii, Europe, Banff and a few places I want to go - the Galapagos, and most of the above.
Move my grandmother into a retirement home near Boston, to give my mother a break.
Give a bunch to charity and invest the rest.

7) 5 location I would like to run away to:
Hawaii, Australia, the Galapagos, Europe, and the Adirondacks where we'd stay.

8) 5 bad habits I have: worrying - if there was an olympics for worrying I would definitely be a contender, spending too much time thinking about "what if", not exercising enough, watching too much tv, being okay with clutter

9) 5 things I like doing:
woodworking, swimming, kayaking, spending time with my wife, spending time with my family

10) 5 TV shows I like: NCIS, Criminal Minds, Numb3rs, MythBusters, the Amazing Race (my truly guilty pleasure)

11) 5 things I hate doing: small talk, cleaning the bathroom, washing dishes, driving in rush hour traffic, listening to ineffectual parents (I always want to step in with suggestions but you just never know what the reaction would be so I don't.)

12) 5 Biggest joys of the moment: fall, our new mattress, the new medicine my doctor prescribed yesterday which seems to be helping with the sinus pain, being at the start of a long weekend, my health and the health of my family.

Tagging: Stacy tagged everyone I would have tagged. If you need fodder for your blog consider yourself tagged.

Thursday Challenge: Autumn

The leaves on our dogwood tree are just starting to turn.

More Thursday Challenge: here

Lensday: Oddity

I took this outside work this morning. I can't explain why this car had this cone on top.

More LensDay: here.

Moody Monday: Simple

Taken after a late night kayak paddle on Rainbow Lake.

More Moody Monday: here.

Sudbury River September 23rd

I headed out of the house early last Sunday, so I could get in a paddle before I headed off to a mini-Reunion* brunch with my college class. The site of the day's adventure was the Sudbury River. The put in is about 10 minutes away. Like many of the access points around here the put in is a break in the bushes and trees with a couple of spots for cars. Although I was early I got the last good parking spot. While I was preparing the boat two more cars pulled up.

Once on the river I headed north. In this stretch the river meanders through marsh for miles. The marsh is part of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Despite the cars at the put in I didn't have a lot of company while I paddled. I did pass a couple of motorized fishing boats, and a few other paddlers, but the twisty nature of the river made it easy to feel alone.

Along the way I saw a heron several times, or perhaps it was a couple of different herons. (Click on the first picture to see one of the herons in flight.) Despite being the first day of fall the trees were only just beginning to think about changing color. (Click on the second picture to see the beginnings of fall color.) The grasses at the edge of the water were showing more signs of fall.

In addition to the herons I saw a couple of turtles, who were too shy to pose for pictures, and a hawk. As you can tell from the pictures, it was a gorgeous fall day - clear blue skies, and just a bit of a nip in the air.

*mini-Reunion - a gathering of classmates living in the area.

Amy's Snickerdoodles

Earlier this week Amy ended a post on her blog with a request for snickerdoodles. You can read her post here. She asked nicely so today I made her a batch of snickerdoodles.

Thursday Challenge: Reflection

Taken in a conference room at work a couple of years ago.

More Thursday Challenge: here

The Gift

I do not have strong memories of my early childhood, so most of the following comes from the stories my family has told over the years.

My Christmas list when I was three included a doll house.

My father wanted to make my Christmas wish come true, so he set about building me a doll house. It was a simple two story house with white walls and a red roof. It wasn't intricate but it was perfect for a three-year-old.

Christmas day arrived. We headed downstairs to see if Santa had fulfilled our desires. There under the tree was the doll house my father had made for me. I can only imagine the feelings my parents had when I wasn't overjoyed with it.

In my three-year-old mind a doll house was a child sized play house. The nursery school I attended had just such a play house. And that was what I wanted - a house sized just for me. I don't know if calling it a doll house was an invention of my mind, or if that was how it was referred to by the teachers.

The doll house my father had made wasn't what I wanted. I cringe when I think about how sad I must have made him. I did get many of hours of enjoyment from that doll house, but during that first hour on that long ago Christmas morning it was not the object of my desire.

Several years ago I built my middle nephew an advent calendar (pictures here). I spend a weekend each December with him, and during that time I fill the advent calendar for that year. I had some trouble figuring out what to use for filler last year. My nephew loves anything to do with outer space so I decided to write a story for him set in outer space to be revealed each day when he opened the calendar. I was disappointed when he wasn't excited about the story. He really wanted robots. In that moment I think I felt a little bit of what my father must have felt on that long ago Christmas morning.

Looking back I'm sorry that I wasn't able to articulate what it was I wanted and that I wasn't thrilled by the doll house. It was a very thoughtful gift.

More Writers Island: here.

In A Row

September 11th memorial in Weston, Massachusetts. I came upon this somewhat by accident. I had to stop in Waltham on the way home from work, so rather than getting on main roads I took back roads from there. As I came over the hill into Weston Center I saw what looked like small purple flowers covering the green. And then I realized that they were flags. Rows and rows of flags. I couldn't just drive by without stopping.
More Unique's Photo Challenge here.

Sunday Scribblings: Hi, My Name Is...

Hi, my name is Hiker Boy. I'll be 4 in November. My favorite color is yellow and I'm really into cars. I have lots and lots of Matchbox cars, and I can tell you all about them. My favorite movie is Cars.

This is me wearing my Aunt Amy's hat. I'm standing on the porch of Owl Cabin at Wakanda. I got to visit Owl Cabin for the 3rd time this summer. When my Daddy and I visit Owl Cabin I get to spend time with my Aunt Chelle and my Aunt Amy. They mostly live in Massachusetts, but in the summer they live in Owl Cabin for 2 weeks. Owl Cabin has trees with bark inside.

There are bunk beds in the cabin. Next summer I can sleep on the top bunk at night. This summer I could only sleep on the top bunk for my nap.

Daddy and I put up our tent next to the cabin. It was cold at night and Daddy hadn't brought any extra socks for me, so I had to borrow Aunt Chelle's socks. They came up above my knees. They looked silly, but they kept my toes warm.

One day Daddy and I climbed a whole mountain. We could see the city from the top. (Editor's note: the "city" was the village of Saranac Lake.)

Every day Aunt Chelle took me for a ride in her kayak. Daddy came with us one day. He got to use a yellow kayak and I really wanted to ride in that one, but Daddy said it was better for me to ride with Aunt Chelle because she is a better kayaker. We saw a black duck one day. Aunt Chelle said it is called a loon. The loon sounds like the clock Daddy has at home.

This is me trying to paddle the kayak. Aunt Chelle gave me half of the paddle to make it easier.


I found this yellow boat at the beach. I had fun riding on it until Aunt Chelle pushed too hard and I fell off. It's a good thing I had my life jacket on. Those are Aunt Amy's arms behind me.

I can't wait to go back to Owl Cabin next year so I can go for kayak rides, and play on the beach, and climb more mountains.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is my father's 75th birthday. Since about mid-day yesterday I've had Cheryl Wheeler's 75 Septembers running through my head. The song, for those not familiar with it, is a tribute to her father written for his 75th birthday. I don't have a song written about my father, but I can tell you a few things about him.

• He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.
• He was the oldest of two children.
• His first language was French which he stopped speaking when he started school.
• He went to Springfield Technical High School, Springfield College, and the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champagne.
• He loves sports. He played football and baseball, and coached football, baseball and basketball.
• He worked as a soda jerk at the original Friendly's Ice Cream store.
  
• If he wasn't at today's Yankees game he was watching it on TV.
• He is a kind, honest and cares about other people.
• He is the father of 4 and grandfather of 4.
  
• He would rather spend time with his children and grandchildren than do anything else.
• I am very proud to have him for my father.

Hapy Birthday, Daddy!

The picture was taken by my mother. From left to right, on top of my Dad, are my sister Terri, my brother Brad and me. It was taken in late 1962 (the date on the slide mount is February 63, but I'm guessing it was taken in December because of the Christmas tree in the background.). Terri would have been 17 months old, Brad was 5, and I was 3.

PhotoHunters: Paper

This paper fish hangs over my desk with 3 friends. It brings me great joy for a number of reasons - I really like fish, I think this is a fun piece of art (wish I could remember the artist's name), and it reminds me of my summer vacations in the Adirondacks because I bought it at the Adirondack Craft Center in Lake Placid.

More PhotoHunters: here.

PhotoSharks: blur

My neighbors viewed through our kitchen window.

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Thursday Challenge: Purple

I took this outside the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans in March of 2005.

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LensDay: Gray

Fountain on a building in Washington, DC. I don't remember the name of the building only that it's across the street from the Mexican Embassy.

More LensDay here.

Weekend Wordsmith: Seuss

"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day. I sat there with Sally, we sat there we two and oh, how we wished we had something to do. Too cold to go out and to wet to play ball. So we sat in the house. We did nothing at all. And all we could do was to sit, sit, sit, sit and we did not like it. Not one little bit.

Then something went bump" (or is it thump) "how that bump made us jump. And we looked and we saw him step in on the mat. We looked and we saw him. The cat in the hat. And he said to us Why do you sit there like that? I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny.”

A show of hands if you know the book those words are from.

I did not look those words up. Those words are stuck in my head. I did not work at memorizing this book, and I don’t have children. So how, you might ask, how did I memorize these.

Well many years ago I taught nursery school. I worked in the youngest class which was mostly two year olds. Most of the morning (nursery school, not day care) was devoted to free play. (An explanation of the educational philosophy of the school is available on request, but will require me to do a little research. The basic thought was that all children learn at a rate based on their cognitive development and when presented with appropriate materials will learn what is appropriate for their level of development.) The children could choose between art projects, painting, blocks, puzzles, dress up, the indoor slide or books. Each day included reading a book to the entire class, but children could also request to have a book read to them during the free play time.

The Cat in the Hat was a favorite in our classroom. I must have read that book at least a hundred times that year. If you’ve ever been to a story hour you’ve probably seen the reader holding the book up in the air to one side so those being read to can see the pictures. This usually requires a certain amount of twisting by the reader to make the pictures visible while maintaining the ability to read the text. It’s a skill I developed but rarely use these days – there’s not much call for it in my current line of work. So now I’ve got you wondering what that has to do with The Cat in the Hat. After a few dozen readings of the book I no longer needed to see the text. The repetition had imbedded the text in my mind. And probably 90% of it is still there.

There are many things that I remember which I’d just as soon forget. These words are not in that category. The words of Dr. Seuss are a treasure that I am happy to carry around in my head. In addition to the bulk of The Cat in the Hat I have bits of Green Eggs and Ham, a favorite from my childhood, and bits from several others. I must admit, however, that I was introduced to Horton Hears a Who by my college roommate who was appalled that I hadn’t read it (thanks RT). And Dr Suess’ Sleep Book - the verbal imagery in that book is so strong that I cannot get past about page 5 without yawning. By the end of the book I’m usually ready for bed, or at least a nap.

A few years ago my wife and I spent a weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts hometown of Dr. Seuss (and my father). The Quadrangle in downtown Springfield is home to the Dr. Seuss National Memorial. There are statues of several characters from his books, and one of the Dr himself. Amy and I had great fun examining the statues and figuring out which Seuss books were represented. Fittingly the Cat stands guard by the Dr’s chair. The picture above is a close up of the Cat statue.



More Weekend Wordsmith: here.