Flashback Friday: Play Ball!

Currently Reading: LOVED One Tasty Night! Recommended Read; this book has wonderful humor in it! I'm now happily reading Regina Carlysle's regency, Chasing Temptation:)


May 2000:
After passing the 'test' with the Girls' Softball games, I felt ready to tackle the Little League schedule. There was only was problem: On Opening Day, we ran out of Pepsi. I thought the secretary/treasurer was in charge of the Pepsi order; he assumed I was doing it! So after getting the number from him, I took a deep breath and called Pepsi, introduced myself, and went about ordering more 20 oz bottles for my concession stand.

I quickly discovered several things:
-Workers don't read. I set up instructions for operating the new cheese machine, and what to do at the end. The process was simple: Put water in opening up to the 'line'; Open #10 can of cheese; place entire can into warmer, on top of the tiny cross-pieces of metal; turn on high for 30 minutes before turning back down to low; insert pump. I can't tell you how many times the contents of the can was dumped into the warmer, ala crock-pot style that first week. Grrr.... And at the end, remove can, place lid on it, put back in fridge. Dump water out and use the water from the hot dog machine to flush the pump. And don't lose the metal cross-piece in the bottom! By the end of the second week, that tiny cross had been lost. Fortunately, one of the coaches rigged another support for me.

-I specified that Concession Reps open up thirty minutes before game time. This should have been a no-brainer; after all, teams are supposed to arrive ahead of time, right? How many people wait until game time to order food? I didn't think it was too much to ask that one person get everything ready an hour before. But apparently 'that's the way it had always been done', and they weren't going to change. I fell into the habit of getting everything started by myself, but this quickly grew old after a week. I did have some reps who understood the issue and did what I asked. But others? Forget it...

-Nobody liked to restock the Pepsi cooler. My arm muscles were well-developed after a month of lifting the cases; shuffling them around the storage area; and restocking every night.

-My SU got tired of me always being at the ball field. "You're leaving again?" was frequently heard after the kids' homework was checked, or after the baths completed. Thankfully, he did help me clean the hot dog machine, the cheese machine and pump, and actually enjoyed the weekly or bi-weekly trips to Sam's Club. If you go at the right time, you can literally eat your way through the store:)

-By the end of the month, I was tired of micro-managing everything and gave up on the Opening issue. But whenever I worked the games or practices, people thanked me for opening up early. I also apologized to the last Concession Manager for doing everything wrong during my year as Rep.

-I also thoroughly enjoyed the bookkeeping aspect...until I noticed after I added a line to the spreadsheet, the new 'total' hadn't changed in over six days! Talk about disaster...fortunately, I'd written out everything in longhand before I'd entered it into the computer, so it was easy to change.

The Indy 500 time trials were rainy that year. I signed up to work the Opening Day, but spent most of my time sitting behind my beer cart in chilly wet weather. I only sold a few beers, but our hot chocolate and coffee sold well.

Race day, K, age six, went with me and enjoyed himself. Juan Montoya won that year.

Rare Opportunity:
Last night just as I was getting ready to leave for dance class, my friend D called and invited me to go to the movies with her. I asked the SU if he minded fixing dinner so I could go, and got the okay. We went to see Letters To Juliet, and it was the first time since (I think!) 1996 I've seen a movie in a theatre with actual friends, not members of my family! The movie was enjoyable; predictable, but a tear-jerker, and afterward we went to Denny's for coffee. I got home around 10pm and discovered that instead of cooking, the boys went our local Amish buffet and feasted on BBQ ribs. S was in a snit and opted to stay home.

I have got to do this more often! I miss being out with 'the girls':)

TGIF! Have a good weekend:)

Goals for Today: (no, your eyes are NOT deceiving you; I only washed the bedding yesterday...told you I need Merry Maids!)
-Wash S's BRM curtains Check. (See? I did do something today!)
-Wash down baseboards along SE corner
-De-clutter 'office' shelves