LETTERS FROM STEVO: Working Class Hero Vol. II- Eye of the Tiger!

For my next entry into the "Working Class Hero" series I will discuss my first official job. Now that I had the wise, sage like teachings of Ol' Ern under my belt, my parents and I...ok, mainly my parents thought I needed to get a job. It was the summer between my junior and senior year of high school and the perfect opportunity for entry level work materialized.

My parents liked to rent movies from a small, locally owned video store called Tiger Video. I can't remember the name of the dude that owned the store, but I remember he was a man large in stature (mainly around the waist) with a well kept pornstache and complimentary receding hair line...Sharp! We'll just refer to him as Mr. Pornstache at this point. I don't recall being interviewed by Pornstache following the submission of my application, but I was soon hired for the job!

I'm not sure what my job title was or what my job description entailed or what was even expected of me, but the following Monday I was thrown into the fire to learn the intricacies of the video rental business! Well, to keep a short story short, I just wasn't "getting it". Apparently, some of my inherent weaknesses are that I'm not a "good listener", and I'm not what you'd call "detail oriented". The first of many jobs to teach me that I basically suck at these skills, or I should say, I don't possess these skills. At one point, Pornstache had me sweeping the parking lot...in a dusty desert town!

On Friday, Pornstache came in and said he was going to Kentucky Fried Chicken. He came back a few hours later and informed me that he would call me when they were busy. Apparently, they never got busy again as he still hasn't called me!

LETTERS FROM STEVO: My Lady of the Water

Let me just start by saying that I'm singing in a choir...and I actually enjoy it. I never thought I would EVER say that! I've never sung in public and Ma Busch can tell you some stories. I sing with Amy and Craig "He-Who-Has-Some-Pipes" Thornton among others. Amy sings 2nd soprano, Craig sings tenor and I'm droppin' the bass lines like I'm gettin' paid to do it! We're like the singing Von Tramps!

Now for the main topic. We've developed a new ritual of taking the kids to the gym swimming pool every Friday night for about an hour or so. We pack our swim trunks and goggles in a nifty bright pink bag which I love carrying around in public. We go to the family locker room and change into our swim trunks, then proceed to the pool. The pool at this gym is large, cold and kid friendly. There is also a lap pool, sauna and jacuzzi's in the general vicinity. The kids jump right in and I follow. I carry Peyton on my back and throw Mya around like a rag doll...she loves it!

Now I have to say, the greatest sight is seeing Amy in this situation. She's always decked out in a bathing suit and looking something like a graceful, almost mermaidish lady of the water who was born to grace the waters with her every stroke as she so elegantly...sits at the side of the FREAKING pool and doesn't even so much as get her toes wet!!! What the???? I'm dumbfounded by this! Can Amy even swim? Maybe I should find this out? Who do I need to talk to? There's another mom who does this with Amy...they sit and gossip the whole time...I won't mention any names but the Nat knows who she is! Amy if you don't know how to swim I will teach you...just like the time I taught you Bulgarian folk dancing and how to make red jello with cool whip on top. Amy, if anything do it for the children...and by children I don't mean our kids but the disease ridden, orphaned 3rd world country kids you see on the infomercials...for just pennies a day...

Seriously, I do hereby forthwith challenge Amy to get in the FREAKING pool and start swimming with her kids...immediately, this next Friday immediately! Get your bathing suit wet for once!

Trying a little harder....

Such a simple goal...yet it seems an impossible task. Today was just one of those days where I really felt inspired to try a little harder. At what you ask?? Well, just about everything. It is so easy to get on survival mode, just making it through each day. I have been in this mode for far too long....Just getting through each morning routine, getting through each meeting, each workout, each meal, each activity...just getting through life.
I am taking a stand TODAY! That is just not good enough. I want to try a little harder. I want to be a better mom. I want to take care of myself better. I want to work harder. I want to be a better wife, a better friend, a better person, a better employee. In fact, I want to be a better blogger and picture taker as well. I have not taken one photo in all of 2009. How sad is that?! It is time to try a little harder to be a little better.

So, as a quick update on all other happenings...life has been busy!
* We had Traci's incredible wedding in March (then she sadly went back to Utah)
* Jen got engaged to Dustin (YAY! June 13 - Denver Temple)
* My mom and I had another great enrichment (we were truly inspired by the incredible women in our ward!)
* My kids got to finally play in the snow and build a snowman (Mya even went sledding down Grandma Shirley's big hill)
* Steffan and I have been working our butts off at work (sadly we spend many late nights on our laptops, instead of snuggled up enjoying each other's company)
* Steffan went to Canada again
* I survived another "quarter end"
* Steffan and I worked our butts off at the gym as well (Steffan is down 20 lbs, and I am down 10 lbs)
* Our kids continue to make us smile and love life everyday
* Peyton had his very first Primary talk as a Sunbeam (he talked about our family and then sang "I am a Child of God" to the entire Primary of 100 kids)
* I also had to give a talk on Obedience (HA! I wish I could let myself say no, but it was actually a really good learning experience - I still have much to learn on this topic!)
* We enjoyed an incredible day as a family today - watching General Conference, playing games, playing with the kids, even folding laundry was fun, since Peyton had to help fold and put everything away. Then we went to my Mom and Dad's house for dinner (we are so lucky to have so much family so close by!)
* Today I was truly inspired, so hopefully there will be a better me to come!

Love,
Long Lost Amy

LETTERS FROM STEVO: Working Class Hero! Vol. I

A working class hero is something to be...John Lennon. Yes, John Lennon wrote those lyrics many years ago. Apparently, he decided he was a working class hero despite making millions of dollars as a musician...

In honor of this delusional rationality, I'm writing a series of posts dedicated to my days as a working class hero! Yes, I once worked manual labor jobs in my younger years! I've since become an HR guy and have to admit there are times I feel like I'm more a part of "the Man" than a working class hero anymore...I can terminate people in cold blood with the best of 'em! I enjoyed manual labor because at the end of the day, there was always a physical sense of accomplishment...as opposed to feeling leashed to my Blackberry...hoping there aren't any emergency situations that need to be handled. Don't get me wrong about my job, the pay is good, there is some flexibility with my hours and I usually enjoy the sense of responsibility. But I admit, I have fond memories of my early jobs. Before I get into my first paid job, I will use this post to address my first unpaid job...working for Ol' Ern!

Ern sensed a real duty to instill the ethic of hard work into the feeble minds of the Busch Brothers. Every Saturday was spent working in the yard, building sheds, digging ditches, pulling weeds, working on cars, painting the house, building a room out of the car port, etc. His timing for projects was typically impeccable...he would pick the windiest day possible to decide to put together an aluminum shed...and it had to be finished that day! I once had to take a day off from school to dig up the septic tank...and I enjoyed it...Dammit! I got into a fight at school and received out of school suspension for a day. Do you think I got the day off? Ern had a "to do" list all ready for me!

The carport project was a beast unto itself! Ern decided that everything other than the framing was DIY. My favorite memories of this include him having me drill through concrete with a handheld drill, holding up drywall while he hammered it in then Ern getting pissed off because I couldn't hold the drywall up for hours on end...I would respond to this with a sarcastic comment that would then prompt him to chase me around the house! Unfortunately, Big Dave wasn't as cooperative as I was, and I recall Ern commenting to me once, "that kid is slow as molasses!" after telling Dave to come out and help for the 20th time!

I think the most valuable lesson I learned from this experience was not necessarily hard work ethic, but how to manipulate Ern into getting what I wanted. Ern's basic philosophy was as follows, "I Ern am bound when ye do what I say, when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." I learned that if I went out and helped him without complaint and worked hard, he would hand me the keys to the party wagon, cash and a license to party on a Saturday night! Lesson learned for a young working class hero!