CHAPTER ONE
Baseball has always intrigued me. Even as a young girl, there is something that gravitates me to the sound of a baseball ‘popping’ into a leather glove and even more thrilling, the sound of the ball making contact with a wooden bat. This beloved game I watch, starting in the spring, climaxing in the summer, and then meeting with the cool crisp air of fall. It is the fast pitch coming right to one single individual who is patiently waiting for the right pitch, the perfect opportunity to make contact and get themselves on base.
I’ve sat through many baseball games both in the flesh, and behind a t.v screen. I am a baseball fan who grew up in a rural town and the closest cities unfortunately have no MLB teams. I am not one to often question God, but how could he honestly plot me on such a non-baseball region of the world? I mean, honestly.
……….Ok, Ok, it could be worse. We do have some minor league teams nearby- including a triple A and a single A team.
My “baseball budget” has recently taken a cut ever since I recently decided to go back to college to study nursing. Yes, nursing. Do you know how difficult it is to find a job with a BA in Fine Arts? And, I am talking a decent paying job. One that can put food on the table, pay rent, and dare I even ask for the luxury of being able to pay on my student loans? Argh, yes, for me, paying on my loans is a luxury. And of course, going to nursing school, I’ll be adding up more debt to my collection. I’ve contemplated this little fact for many, many, months, and there is no stopping me, I will go and complete nursing school. I start summer classes in two weeks.
My BA in Fine Arts has certainly given me an accumulation of experience in some very unique jobs. I have acquired some wonderful skills the past six years. My first job out of college was as a paint mixer at our local hardware store. Sure, I was around colors, and don’t get me wrong, I DO LOVE COLORS, and I learned a lot of skills about mixing, and assisting people with what rooms to use semi-gloss versus egg shell (and here is the part where I am going to sound like I am in a job interview) but the most valuable thing I gained from this job was being patient with the people I refer to as “teeter-totters”.
A teeter-totter is the individual who walks into the paint department and often gives me a quick half smile. Come on now, a half smile... it is as though you are already telling me there is something you are not sure about. The teeter-totter then picks up a sample of 4 shades of blue. They hold the sample and bring it up closer to their eyeballs, as if the answer of “yes! I am perfect for your dining room” is going to be written in fine print on the sample. The sample then is pulled away from their eyeballs and is stretched as far as the arm can extend. It is placed back into the appropriate slot and another color is picked up. The teeter-totter does the same routine with this color, puts it away and picks up the first color once again, torturing the poor souls of these color samples. Did I ever have the urge to scream, “Choose already!” or “For Heaven’s sake- it’s just a color, and it can always be repainted someday”. Sure, I had that urge almost every time, but I waited and waited , and would sigh relief if the teeter-totter broke down and asked for my opinion. Finally!!!! My BA in Fine Arts is getting put to use! “Well, in my opinion, the peach would be an excellent choice for your dining room, as warm colors tend to increase one’s appetite”. However, it’s a rare occasion the teeter-totter asks my opinion. On the contrary, I find the individuals who appear confident, and make quicker decisions ask for my opinion more often. And my theory is: most likely the confident ones already have their mind made up before walking through the door, and my opinion either just confirms that they have made the right choice, or means absolutely nothing to them, confirming they are the expert because what does the girl at the paint mixing counter ACTUALLY know?
So, the teeter-totter’s and the confident individuals have expanded my interest in people. Getting to know them, and caring for them. So here I am, starting nursing school, broke, and in debt, and my only sense of relief is spending my last hard earned hardware store paycheck on season tickets for our ready, wait…….not triple A team butSINGLE A team!
I’ve sat through many baseball games both in the flesh, and behind a t.v screen. I am a baseball fan who grew up in a rural town and the closest cities unfortunately have no MLB teams. I am not one to often question God, but how could he honestly plot me on such a non-baseball region of the world? I mean, honestly.
……….Ok, Ok, it could be worse. We do have some minor league teams nearby- including a triple A and a single A team.
My “baseball budget” has recently taken a cut ever since I recently decided to go back to college to study nursing. Yes, nursing. Do you know how difficult it is to find a job with a BA in Fine Arts? And, I am talking a decent paying job. One that can put food on the table, pay rent, and dare I even ask for the luxury of being able to pay on my student loans? Argh, yes, for me, paying on my loans is a luxury. And of course, going to nursing school, I’ll be adding up more debt to my collection. I’ve contemplated this little fact for many, many, months, and there is no stopping me, I will go and complete nursing school. I start summer classes in two weeks.
My BA in Fine Arts has certainly given me an accumulation of experience in some very unique jobs. I have acquired some wonderful skills the past six years. My first job out of college was as a paint mixer at our local hardware store. Sure, I was around colors, and don’t get me wrong, I DO LOVE COLORS, and I learned a lot of skills about mixing, and assisting people with what rooms to use semi-gloss versus egg shell (and here is the part where I am going to sound like I am in a job interview) but the most valuable thing I gained from this job was being patient with the people I refer to as “teeter-totters”.
A teeter-totter is the individual who walks into the paint department and often gives me a quick half smile. Come on now, a half smile... it is as though you are already telling me there is something you are not sure about. The teeter-totter then picks up a sample of 4 shades of blue. They hold the sample and bring it up closer to their eyeballs, as if the answer of “yes! I am perfect for your dining room” is going to be written in fine print on the sample. The sample then is pulled away from their eyeballs and is stretched as far as the arm can extend. It is placed back into the appropriate slot and another color is picked up. The teeter-totter does the same routine with this color, puts it away and picks up the first color once again, torturing the poor souls of these color samples. Did I ever have the urge to scream, “Choose already!” or “For Heaven’s sake- it’s just a color, and it can always be repainted someday”. Sure, I had that urge almost every time, but I waited and waited , and would sigh relief if the teeter-totter broke down and asked for my opinion. Finally!!!! My BA in Fine Arts is getting put to use! “Well, in my opinion, the peach would be an excellent choice for your dining room, as warm colors tend to increase one’s appetite”. However, it’s a rare occasion the teeter-totter asks my opinion. On the contrary, I find the individuals who appear confident, and make quicker decisions ask for my opinion more often. And my theory is: most likely the confident ones already have their mind made up before walking through the door, and my opinion either just confirms that they have made the right choice, or means absolutely nothing to them, confirming they are the expert because what does the girl at the paint mixing counter ACTUALLY know?
So, the teeter-totter’s and the confident individuals have expanded my interest in people. Getting to know them, and caring for them. So here I am, starting nursing school, broke, and in debt, and my only sense of relief is spending my last hard earned hardware store paycheck on season tickets for our ready, wait…….not triple A team but
