Wind

It's very dry and windy here.  I thought I'd show you what it's really like in and around my tent.  Some nights are hard to sleep through.  And I've heard some people woke up to the side of their tent slapping them in the face.

Philmont, it's history, and the BSA

Today, we did more training:  Boy Scouts of America aims and methods, the Philmont brand, weather safety, and safety in the workplace.  Mark Anderson, Philmont's program director, presented these sessions.  He's the head honcho here...

 

We also toured the Villa Philmonte, the summer home of Waite Phillips.  Phillips donated his land to the Boy Scouts of America in 1938, and his gift ultimately created Philmont Scout Ranch.  

Anyway, here's most of the trading post staff...

Tooth of Time Treats

Welcome to my office... As the Snack Bar Specialist, I'm responsible for the management of Tooth of Time Treats, Philmont's snack bar.  So far, we have about thirty staff, and management's been busy training them. 

The snack bar's doing well-- it's looking more and more like a snack bar every day.  We've cleaned, stocked, and are waiting on a few more distributor deliveries.  Frito-Lay, Pepsi, Coke, and Red Bull have delivered.  I'm waiting to order more candy and snacks from Core-Mark and will train with the hot dog, ice cream, cappucino, nacho, and popcorn machines next week.

We have some new products including my personal favorite, an Australian root beer.  It looks like a grenade.  But I think it'll sell well. I want to have an Australian theme night so we can advertise.  Just need some music outback...

Internet overloaded

I've been meaning to post new stuff, but since there's 950 staff members here now and they all want to use the internet, it's been tough to log on.  Here's a picture of the landscape behind tent city, where I live. It's been windy, but other than that, the temperatures have been perfect.

Back to work

The last few days I've been preparing the snack bar for it's June 5 debut.  I cleaned out the big walk-in cooler, had Pepsi and Coke stock the beverages, and wiped down just about everything.  The snack bar wreaked of chemicals, so I turned the ceiling fans on.  They hadn't been used since last summer, so down descended all the dust that accumulated over nine months.  I've come to the conclusion that no matter how hard I try, the dust will find a way into the store.  It must be a New Mexico thing...

Yesterday, I started training too.  I took management training for my "Snack Bar Specialist" position.  Basically I have to make sure that the snack bar is clean and stocked.  I'm also responsible for customer entertainment: holding contests and "theme nights" to engage the customers. I'll need to train about 30 staff members on all the food equipment and sanitary procedures (that way I don't have to do all the work).  I also took driver's training in the evening.  Now I can drive Philmont vehicles (legally)!

  

After work today, I went to the closing campfire area.  I snapped this photo with the amazing vista in the background.  The weather was beautiful today-- not too hot, not too cold.  Partly cloudy and a light breeze. It'll get cold tonight, definitely down to the 40s.  I hope it's not as windy as last night.  The tent next door blew over. 

Delay, Delay, Delay

So, I booked my plane tickets months ago.  My first working day at Philmont was May 21, so I needed to be there May 20.  I got up early, went to the Erie airport, said goodbye and then boarded the plane.  Moments later, I would find out that there would be a two-hour delay due to fog in Detroit.  

 

I knew I would miss all my connecting flights, so they re-booked me for the next morning.  It all worked out--I had an extra day to get ready, relax, and have an epic bonfire.  

Next morning, I try again.  I made it to Detroit after another minor delay, then sprinted to make the next flight.  I made it with five minutes to spare.  Now, onward to Minneapolis.  We landed, and as I got off the plane, I noticed a certain darkness in most of the airport.  The escalators weren't running either.  Yes, the power was out.  And no, my plane wasn't taking off.

 

Some accused the rapture of occurring a few hours early.  One negative Nancy complained non-stop about not being with her dogs.  In an attempt to figure out what was going on, I, a grandmother-like lady named Margaret, and Mackenzie, a college junior heading to a Christian camp, went to the "light side" of the airport, where there was power.  

We got in line.  Mackenzie and me called Margaret "mom" after a while; we were like her adopted children.  And when we got to the airline agent, Margret made sure we were all taken care of.  Mackenzie and I were booked on a flight to Colorado Springs the next day.  Margaret was booked on another flight.  

We stayed at a hotel two blocks away from the Mall of America.  Never been there before, so that was exciting.  I mingled with some Minnesota folks and found a Packer store called Rybicki Cheese.  They sold Wisconsin cheese too.  After dinner, I went to bed.  What a couple of days...

Day three began, as Mackenzie and I caught the shuttle to the airport.  Made it through security, went to the gate, and everything was fine.  Another minor delay, but we actually landed in Colorado Springs (though our baggage did not).  Mackenzie found her ride.  We said goodbye.  She was like my twin sister for the past two days.