Kym's Adventures at the Fair

Things are changing quickly around here. I've been getting used to the new work schedule (5 AM - 1:30 PM), with its afternoon naps (sometimes) and early bedtimes. Actually I've been getting quite a bit more done around the house with the "extra" time. And it still feels like I'm getting out of work early all the time. But this morning I was informed that I was being recalled to my former area, which means I'll be going back to the regular 7 AM - 3:30 PM (and I doubt that I'll get up at 3:45 AM to do the stuff I've been doing between 1:30 and 3:30 PM). I'm happy to go back except for having to work for Skeeter again. I had the option of staying on my current job, but I want to be back up the ladder, another level away from being laid off "out the door". I'm not sure when this will be effective, but since it's a shift change for me they are supposed to give me a week's notice. It will most likely be Monday. So, it was a short term on the paint chain, but I got some overtime out of it! The other big change is that Kym is moving home. She intends to find an apartment, but for now she'll be living at home. Several things have happened leading up to this. She was working for a restaurant whose owner also has a concession trailer that goes to fairs. She worked at the Heart of Illinois fair in Peoria a few weeks ago, and during that time there were a series of incidents with her boss that completely creeped her out. It's a very long story that I don't even want to get into, but in essence he was trying to separate her from everyone, not allowing her to chat with other concessionaires, giving her a curfew to be back in the camper (they stay onsite while they are at fairs), not allowing her to go to first aid when she was burned....and ultimately starting rumors about her to keep other guys away from her. Oh yeah, and introducing her to people as his "fiance" and "future wife". Iccckkkkk!! Thank God he never touched her or anything -- or I'd be in jail now. After the rumor incident, she called me crying at 1 AM (just after the fair closed for the night), wanting to leave. She knew if she did she'd lose her job, and I told her to come home. We had to get the police to help her leave because her boss came back to the trailer, drunk and yelling. They got her out quickly and calmed him down, I guess, but no charges were filed because there was actually no crime committed. The next day we went back to talk to the police in Peoria to see what we should do. They basically lectured her about what a rough place fairs are, and that she got off lucky, and should have left sooner. And they gave her some good advice about collecting her last paycheck. After that weekend, with no job and no real prospects, she decided she wanted to get serious about finishing school (YAY!!!!). She has been trying to move away from her roommate for awhile, and her other close friend in the town where she lives has gotten back into drugs in a big way, so there's really nothing there for her. She says it's too hard to try to go to school around people who aren't going to school, and there are no jobs other than food jobs. So she will be enrolling in ISU in the spring (the deadline is past for the fall), and for now she'll be going to Heartland Community College. She already has a job lined up here, too. It's going to be kind of fun and kind of strange to have her living here again. And somehow we have to fit an apartment of furniture into her room for the time being. I am thrilled, though, that she made this decision. She was registered for SIUE for fall, but will cancel that. And I have her books ordered on Half.com again -- I got spoiled when she was at SIUE because they rent books there. Oh, and her final paycheck? Payday was last Thursday, but they told her to come back today. They agreed that they owed her for three weeks, and they'd have a check for her this morning. Nope. This morning they told her it might be two more weeks, they aren't sure. So, on the advice of the Peoria police she has contacted the state Department of Labor to file papers with them to collect. The place has 13 days after the payday to get her money to her or she can file. Still, the delay is a problem, given her upcoming move. School starts Aug 16 (she came up yesterday to get registered), so she'll be here within the next couple of weeks. She and I spent the weekend in St Louis last weekend going to Union Station and eating at Hard Rock Cafe, attending "The Lion King" at the Fox Theatre, staying over at a Sheraton (thanks to Lynda, for use of her points), and spending Sunday at the St Louis Zoo. Kym claims she had never been to the zoo, but she most certainly has. Her first trip there was at age 5 weeks (for some reason she doesn't seem to remember it), on the hottest day of all time. She was also there when she was about 7 and Chad was 12. She does remember that trip, but thought it was at another place. Anyway, we had a great time -- it was a nice little getaway and a good chance to talk things over regarding the pending move. I'm getting new living room carpet, and the guy will be coming to measure later this week, so I need to get busy cleaning, and pitching stuff, painting the living room, and pulling up carpet to paint the floor with Kilz before the installation date (2-4 weeks from now, I guess). How I'm going to accomplish this while also moving Kym, I'm not sure right now. She spent a good portion of yesterday moving things around in her room to make room for the furniture, but she didn't get done. I can foresee some late nights and busy weekends ahead. But for now, even though things are crazy, it's good crazy and I can deal with it.

Sugar Creek

This is my favorite weekend of the summer, the Sugar Creeks Arts Festival in downtown (not "uptown", I will never say "uptown") Normal. It's a juried art fair (not cheap stuff). This year is a special one, too. It's the 150th birthday of Illinois State University. In past years the festival has covered two downtown streets, but a lot is torn up down there because of massive construction and renewal projects going on. A lot of the former parking is gone now, so it was necessary to rearrange the festival a bit to accomodate visitors. Because ISU wanted to draw attention to its birthday, too, much of the expanded festival this year is on the In Exchange sculpture garden and on the quad, and ISU opened several of its parking lots free for the festival. There are 60 new vendors (210 all together), two music stages, lots of food. Normally, this weekend features one blistery hot day and one day where it pours down rain. This year, though, both days promise to be sticky hot -- in the 90's. The quad portion of the festival was absolute heaven under the trees, and the Shakespeare Festival performed a Green Show on the steps of Hovey Hall. (The Green Show is a brief, funny version of whatever the current night's play is.) I managed to buy some things for upcoming birthdays and other events, and I bought myself a beautiful Pegasus made out of woven rope (hard to describe).

Tonight is my second Illinois Shakespeare performance, "Much Ado About Nothing". Last week, for "Henry V", it was perfect weather. Tonight it's supposed to cool off after dark, but I'm afraid it will still be humid so I'm debating about how to dress. Dad will be my date this time.

I have been off work since Wednesday, and I'm amazed at how quickly my little mini-vacation has gone by. Since I still don't know if my September week of vacation will be approved, I have nothing to look forward to now as far as time off. I think I need to plan a long weekend or something.

Summer Stuff

Kym's and my birthday celebration was nice tonight.  We got nice loot, and had "steak with red junk" and chocolate cake with glaze -- and homemade macaroni and cheese for Kym.  Normally we don't share a birthday dinner, but Mom and Dad were in Scotland last week.  It was still a little weird, though, because Lynda, Courtney, and Caleigh are in Israel right now.  We could have waited (Courtney will miss her own birthday on the 8th) but it will be the 21st or something before Courtney is back (the others come back earlier).  That's almost a month past Kym's real birthday and three weeks past mine, so it was just easier to do it now.

Shakespeare Festival season has started.  On Saturday night Chad and I attended the first of the performances, "Henry V".  It was really good, though the histories aren't usually my favorite.  It helped that it was one of those perfect summer nights -- it cooled off to near 65 by the time it was over, with low humidity and no bugs or rain (it's an outdoor theatre, so that matters a lot).  Next week is "Much Ado About Nothing".  I think Dad will be going because Chad is working.  The grounds of the manor are torn up because they are still working on the big garden project.  They were bequeathed something like $5 million to develop gardens around the manor by a man in honor of his wife, who loved both the festival and gardens.  ISU wanted to name the gardens in honor of both the husband and wife, but his instructions insisted it be named after only her.  It will be stunning when it is done, but right now it's a winding brick path surrounding a lot of dirt.  One bonus this year is that I got my favorite seats for all three plays!

My new job starts at 5 AM, so I need to get to bed -- 3:45 will be here before I know it.