The Carny Life

Growing up, my parents were divorced. My dad never had a girlfriend or dated, my mom on the other hand, had and still has the same boyfriend. His name is Brad, and being the guy that took my dads place, it was hard to like him. Especially since he was a “Carny” and took my mom from us nearly every weekend.  My younger siblings and I made fun of him to no end. We told our friends that he was your typically carny, short, has rat-like features and smelled like sausage. Although, he didn’t.

 

Its a few years later and I’ve done some growing up and I realize how good he is to not only my mom but to us kids as well. He asked me to come travel with him while school was out and experience the Carny life first hand. First off, I had it all wrong. He was not a “Carney”. He did not run the rides and he did not live in trailer bunks. I realized he ran his own business and actually made a lot of money. He was a “Food Vendor” and didnt just work carnivals. Over the summer, I had the pleasure of working concerts, bike rallys, rodeos and state fairs and had a blast doing it. Along with making way better money than I do serving back home.

 

I have a new found respect for the “Carny life” and will proudly work for him any time.

 

My friend Melanie and I working at the Sturgis Bike Rally

Buffalo Wild Wings

I can honestly tell everyone that asks, I love my job.  I have been at Buffalo Wild Wings for a little over two years.

 

First off, the management is awesome. Our bosses, mangers, trainers and so on are there to work and keep the place running smoothly, however, they want to have fun as well and make it an enjoyable environment. They are great about balancing work and fun. I consider those of high position than me my friends, but at the same time, I respect them as if they were authority.

 

My co-workers, the majority of the servers and hostesses that work there are females. So you’d think it would be super catty. But that is so untrue. I love all the girls I work with. Most of them are college students trying to pay their way through college. That being said, most are well educated and need the job, so we take it seriously.  Buffalo Wild Wings is not about drama. If we get a new employee in and drama starts to arise, the management quickly takes care of the problem.

 

The atmosphere, I work in a sports bar, 20 minutes from St. Louis. During baseball, football, hockey, well all year long, the place is always hopping. Sports fans pumped up coming to watch their favorite team. Its always a lot of fun.

 

The one thing that helps more than anything is the scheduling. Our managers know we have school, so we walk in every semester with an availability sheet and he works around our classes. We also have a “BDUBS facebook page” that we can all switch shifts with one another, its so convenient.

 

I cant complain about the money either. For a twenty year old, I live on my own, pay all my bills, car payment, insurance, school payment, etc…

Overall, I am so happy I landed my job at Buffalo Wild Wings. I could not have a better job set up while trying to finish school!

Spring Break

Over my break this past week, I went to Florida. It was me and a few friends.

We started off in Jupiter, we went there to watch some pre-season Cardinals baseball. The spring training games were awesome, the stadium only holds around 6,000 people so compared to being at Bush Stadium, it was a lot more one on one with the players.   I got several players autographs and caught a foul ball.

Next we went to Ft. Lauderdale, we stayed here for three nights. We stayed right on the beach an had a beautiful view. This area was a little more laid back, we spent most of our time at the beach or on the main strip. There were several little shops, restaurants and bars to check out. Our last day there, we decided to go off shore shark fishing, this was one of my favorite things of the whole trip. One of my friends caught a decent size shark. Although we didn’t keep it, we still got to take pictures. It was an incredible experience.

Moving along down the coast, we spent our last two nights in Miami. Terrible idea.

I hate Miami.

Maybe it was because it was spring break, but every where was packed. Walking was impossible without bumping into someone and driving down there was terrifying.

And drinks were costing me $19 a piece, we all decided that would probably be our first and last time in Miami.

Overall though we had a great time and made some memories that none of us will ever forget.

On Miami Beach

 

Grandpa Moe

 

Grandpa and I 

 

My Grandpa Moe truly is one of a kind.

He had a stroke about three years ago, and it really took a toll on him for awhile. Although he still messes up his words from time to time and we really have to keep an eye on him, for the most part hes back to his normal self again, whether or not that is a good thing.

He is so funny. He has several pecan trees in his yard and that is his main hobby. He shakes those trees, picks up thousands and thousands of pecans, cracks them by hand and sells them. I’m glad he has those trees, they keep the man busy.

But every time I call and ask what hes doing, the response is always the same “oh, just playing with my nuts” or after selling a bag “I was told I have the best and cleanest nuts around”.

But I love him so much because he just such an awesome person and takes so much pride in our family.

He’s not just my grandpa, he truly is my friend. A good one too.

Every time my friends from back home, my sisters or even my mom calls, they are always looking to gossip or complain or nag, it gets kind of tiring sometimes when I see them calling.

But not Grandpa, when I see my phone light up and its him, I know hes just calling to check up on me. He calls me everyday, if not a few times a day because he forgets that he has already called. He literally just calls to make sure I’m okay, tell me he misses and loves me. Its so heartwarming.

I love my Grandpa Moe.