New Employment

For those of you who don't know, I just started a new job this week.  I'm an "agent assistant" for an insurance agent... sounds a lot better than secretary, huh?  I thought so.  But for the first time in my life I have a job where I feel so lost and helpless.  I know nothing about insurance.  I've had jobs in the past where I knew nothing starting out, jewelry sales for example, but was able to manage.  "This diamond ring is my favorite.  It's so sparkly."  Not hard.  But when it comes to insurance and annuities I can't even pretend to know what I'm talking about.  It's been a little stressful, but Nate just keeps telling me that with time I will be the best insurance agent assistant ever.  My boss has also talked to me about getting licensed, which would help out.

So I was sitting here thinking of all my past jobs and all their low points.  Here are the top three:

1.)  Working Fast Food-  One day while cleaning off tables I was approached by a gentleman who proceeds to ream me for "using chemicals around [his] wife when she has severe chemical allergies."  I was at a complete loss for words and actually apologized... excessively.  How was I supposed to know that his wife could die (which he made very clear) from cleaner?  Of course later I thought of all the great replies... isn't that always the case?  (Oh, and he finished his meal INSIDE while his wife finished hers outside... what a great catch.) 

2.)  Jewelry Sales-  Telling a guy that I wasn't sure if a watch we sold was "quartz."  He then informed me that quartz meant battery-powered.  Who knew?  I felt so stupid; even though my knowledge of diamonds, pearls, precious stones, gold, kinetic watches, adjusting watch bands, etc. is actually quite extensive.   

3.)  McDonalds-  A cute boy came through drive-thru and after handing him his food, he asked what time it was.  I looked at my analog watch (see I told you I know my jewelry!) and proceeded to tell him the time.  He gave me an odd look and drove away.  I then realized I mixed up the hour and minute hands... yeah.

My Knight in Shining Armor

I just feel the need to let the world know how lucky I am to have such an amazing husband. And while I've known this all along, I was once again reminded this week that I might very well be THE luckiest girl.

At Eastern in the art dept, in your final year you're required to take a class called Senior Seminar, and in Senior Seminar you're required to attend an overnight camp-out at a local lake. Mind you this was Wednesday... and it was freezing.  I had frost on my pillow!

After we all sat around a campfire talking about art and politics, etc. we all headed off to bed.  I shared a little two-man tent with a girl in my class.  Because it was so cold and my feet were so frozen I couldn't sleep, but I tried really hard for Jessie's sake to keep quiet so at least she could maybe get some rest.  

So round about 3:00 in the morning I heard the tarp under our tent rustling... it stuck out on each side about 2 feet.  Now La Grande is a windy place, so at first I thought nothing of it, but then I noticed that the trees above us were still.  I sat up to get a better listen and Jessie whispered, "You heard that, too."  We continued to listen and heard grunts, licking, breathing, etc.  So I started FREAKING out.  We have bears and cougars in our area, including all sorts of other wildlife.  And I am terrified of bears and cougars (I am my mother's child and Jaycie's sister!)  So I seriously started hyperventilating.  I was waiting for the moment where the cougar (or whatever it was) was going to decide it was hungry and collapse in our tent; and I was imaging the chaos that would then ensue.  I knew I was going to die.

Then I debated whether to call Nate and finally after the animal walked around our tent for awhile I decided I should.  Better safe than sorry, right?  As quietly as possible, as to not draw attention to myself, I whispered, "Nate, come help me.  There is an animal outside our tent and I'm scared.  Bring the gun."

I have to admit that I have always been hesitant about having a gun.  I really hate them, but I now see a need for one.

About 10 minutes later we heard a car coming.  It usually takes about 20 minutes to get up there.  Seriously Nate was hauling it in order to have gotten there as fast as he did.  So Jessie looked out to see what it was just as Nate was pulling in with his brights on.  She couldn't tell what it was, but she said it was big.  I, on the other hand, was too scared to look.

Nate was so sweet about everything.  I knew I could call him and that he wouldn't hassle me if it turned out to be a squirrel.  We talked to everyone in camp and then Jessie and I decided to spend the rest of the night in her car.  And the next morning we found a pile of poop by our tent and the whole camp was trying to figure out what it could have been.  Nate and Jaycie both thought it was a bear because of my description of the poop.  

Either way it doesn't matter.  I'm just grateful to have a husband that wouldn't think twice about doing whatever he needed to do to calm down his hysterical wife.  He is my best friend.  I could spend every minute of every day with him and never tire of him.  He's so thoughtful and absolutely amazing.

So to thank him for his heroic efforts, I made him cheesecake (his favorite) the very next day.

A really cool alley way in La Grande that we found yesterday.

Of course I can never keep up.  Just yesterday he sacrificed his day off to help me find places to take senior pictures and even let me practice a bit before next Saturday.  I am so lucky. 

One of Nate's favorites from yesterday.