My Stint in Retail

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve worked at Streamline Swimming for the past two summers. Streamline is (slightly obviously) a swim shop—the only swim shop in Albuquerque, and possibly in all of New Mexico. For clarification: a swim shop is not to be confused with a pool store, of which there are plenty in NM. We sell competitive swimming apparel and gear, not backyard pools or chemicals. And no, we do not have a pool somewhere “in the back”.

While not all of my hours spent behind the counter were enjoyable (actually, some of them were downright awful), I definitely learned a thing or two during my tenure as a saleswoman. For example, I learned that Speedo can be incredibly unreliable and that backorders suck for everyone. I learned that a C.O.D is sometimes something other than a very salty fish. I learned how to squirm my way out of awkward fitting room confrontations, such as “Augh, will you look at these thunder thighs!” or “I’m pretty large in this general area, got anything that will work?” and “No, the 34 doesn’t fit…or the 36…or the 38…do you have a 40?” I’ve learned to smile and let it go when being yelled at for something that couldn’t (in a hundred million years) be my fault. I’ve learned to be outgoing—to make fun of myself—to be honest and open all in an attempt to win the customer’s confidence. I’ve learned about the different suit fabrics and which last the longest; I’ve studied the different levels of racing suits and sold a few LZR Racers (the gods of the swimsuit world); I know which type of fin the customer needs; and how to fit the customer with their perfect goggle fit—I bet you had no idea that there was a science to a lot of this stuff…

I now know all of the Club, High school, Metro, and Sundance teams in the area; I know which team suit goes on which wriggling kid; I know how to deal with our primitive register; I know when to decide for the customer and when to be quiet and let them decide for themselves.

I am Saleswoman.

I came. I saw. I conquered (or at least wasn’t completely defeated).

However, this is the end of the line for my stint in retail. It’s over, folks. The summer has ended and with it, my career at Streamline. As of last Thursday, August 12, 2010, I, Hayley Huber, will never again work in retail! Maybe next I’ll give restaurant work a try—or something to do with children (maybe I’ll try swim coaching again)—or cabinet making… but retail? No, sorry. It’s time to move on. Time to test new waters.

I am very thankful for the job, really I am. But I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t skip to my car after I locked the door behind me for the last time.

Llamas and Princes and Eskimos--Oh My!

Okay, so this past weekend I got to go on a road trip with five of my closest girlfriends—Emily, Tiana, Hannah, Faith, and Kirsten—and Tiana’s mom, Mrs. Turner (who didn’t get to go to Ireland because she broke her ankle). We left early (truly early, not teenager early) on Friday morning for Colorado Springs where we got to experience the majesty of the Garden of the Gods. I know I’ve been there before (I spend more vacation time in CO Springs than anywhere else), but honestly, I couldn’t remember it—you’d think I’d remember something with a name like “Garden of the Gods”. There, Emily disregarded the rules and climbed beyond the “Do Not Climb Farther Than This Sign” sign. (We were determined to get in trouble somehow—we’ve never gotten into trouble before and this trip seemed like the perfect chance to do so. Sadly, we never did end up getting arrested or even getting cited for anything. Darn.) Then this huge storm broke out—it was like the gods were angry with us for trying to echo certain words off the rocks and around the park (‘certain words’ is not as bad as it sounds. Remember, the six of us can’t get into trouble even when we try).

Then we drove to Castle Rock where Tiana’s grandparents have a thirty-five acre ranch. Cool? Most definitely. There we did things like drive on the wrong side of the road (unintentionally), bake a gluten free cake that Emily didn’t even eat (I’m not bitter, Emily, just cynical), sleep deeply, succumb to the plague distributed by Emily, leave the keys in the engine and the engine running (unintentionally), and attend a Renaissance fair.

Apparently I have been to this Renaissance fair before, but I don’t remember it (I seem to do this a lot). It’s kind of incredible that I don’t remember it because it was…interesting. Very interesting.

Tiana made us wear these fairy wings that we had painted ourselves, and when we first pulled into the parking lot I think Faith and I wanted to kill Tiana because we didn’t see anyone else who was dressed as ridiculously as we were. Then we got out of the car. Yeah—us, weird? No, not even slightly. There were Zelda women in leather bikinis with leather pleated skirts and leather boots; there were Amazon-looking characters (fur, dreadlocks, etc.); there were black cloaked figures; there were people of unknown-sex with horned animal costumes; and there were “regular” people dressed as lords and ladies. Our brightly colored, sparking wings were subtle.

The fair was very exciting—new sounds, new smells, lots of flirting vendors...an intense black knight (why do I always go for the bad ones?), Charming and Dashing, corn on the cob, and a frozen chocolate-covered banana (oh, childhood on a stick!), being followed by a troop of college-aged Links (who made their costumes themselves. They were clearly our soul mates.) I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Later we celebrated Tiana’s 20th birthday and I discovered a new heartthrob: Rock Hudson. Why are all of my on-screen heartthrobs a good four decades before my time? (For example: Paul Newman, Jimmy Stewart, Hawkeye Pierce…)

On the way home we made a detour so that we could stop at Bishop Castle—a real live castle built of rocks and ironwork, constructed by a certifiably crazy man. There I climbed higher than I’ve ever climbed with so little to prevent me from falling to my certain death. (It’s privately owned, and the owner scoffs at safety). My knees, they shook. My breath came in gasps—just like it does in the books! Still, it was awesome.

(That's Tiana and I at the top there--staring death in the face.)

The whole trip was awesome (it had its iffy moments--many of them brought about by me being an emotional, hormonal, teenager--but what trip doesn’t?). Thank You, Father for my wonderful friends and for this opportunity to spend quality time with them before we’re once again spread out all over the country.

I love you guys!

A Blog of Thankfulness

Hi.
Wow, it’s been forever.
I haven’t written anything (journaling excluded) in a million years.
I’ve been having the best of times; I’ve been having the worst of times. Much has been going on; absolutely nothing has been going on. My thoughts are in a tangle; my thoughts run as straight as—never mind—my thoughts are most definitely in a tangle.
In an effort to detangle them slightly, I want to focus on what I know to be true and what I know to be good. So, this blog is going to be a blog of thankfulness.
I’m going to use bullets (I love bullets! Thank You, God, for bullets!) because I can.

· I am thankful that I get to blog at work (do you know anyone else who gets to blog at work?—hold on, have to answer the phone…)
· I am thankful that I gave the lady calling from ABQ magazine a chance to laugh—I don’t mind if you laugh at me…I can laugh at me (I’m thankful that I can laugh at me! )
· I’m thankful for my parents, both of whom have been working tirelessly to make me feel better not just this week, but every week of my life. I’m thankful for their encouragement, for their wider perspective of the world and it’s problems, and for their love—a love that’s been tested (tested frequently I'm sorry to say) and proven true.
· I am thankful for my new miniature cupcake tin and the tiny cupcakes to which it gives life! Aughhhh—they’re so incredibly adorable (yes, adorable) I can’t even take it. I cooed over them. Really, I did.
· I’m thankful for the Eskimos and the joy (and tears—what’s a friendship without tears?) that they bring to my life. I’m so thankful for our absolutely AMAZING trip to Colorado!
· I am thankful for my sister. My ready-made best friend forever attached to me by the biological bonds of kindred- spirit- hood. (You understand me, right Hannah?)
· I am thankful that I get to go to a good school in beautiful Pennsylvania where I will learn to be the kind of teacher that the world needs. It’s a lofty goal, but you bet I’ll aspire to it.
· I am thankful for the clouds and for the fact that it looks like it might rain in Albuquerque even if it never actually does…
· I’m thankful that I get to see both Tiana and Lorin tonight and that I get to bring them my beautiful tiny cupcakes!
· I’m thankful that the FedEx truck just pulled up and that it looks like I’ll now have something to do for a while—maybe. (Crossing my fingers. Are the boxes for me? FedEx lady, come back! Aw man. She left. Not even a tiny box for me.) Now I’m thankful that I can keep blogging.
· I’m thankful that I don’t look like a fat boy with long hair in my new passport picture!
· I am thankful that I didn’t get eaten by the huge dogs yesterday or die of a heart attack.
· I’m thankful that we get to go to Creede soon where there’ll be TERRIFIC hikes and G.O.R.P. (good old raisins and peanuts) and family!
I am thankful that God is here with me and that He's never, not even once, left me for a minute. Thank You, Jesus.