Update Galore

A few items I'd like to record here:

--We hired a new employee at the shop just before I left on my trip. He had worked in another bike shop for a few years, so he had more experience than I did in many things. He also had a friendly history with the new owner AND he was hired as a full-time employee. Soooooo, I was feeling pretty insecure right off the bat. What would he be like? He'd probably be an awesome mechanic. Would they like him better than me? Would I be relegated to flat fixes forevermore? I was dreading going back to work today, but most of those fears were resolved within a couple of hours. He's a regular guy with strengths and weaknesses. I love that he's already capable and trustworthy enough to share the crazy work load that my other co-workers have been carrying on their own. No more 50-60 hour work weeks for them! And you know what? He's willing to learn and he's good with customers. He works diligently and does good work. I respect that. He's not a superstar mechanic, which brings me a shameful sense of satisfaction (Mind the pridefulness, Susan!), but he's confident in his abilities and doesn't mind asking questions. I will gladly work with someone like that!

--I was called into Federal Jury Duty this month. They didn't want me on this week's jury, but I get to call in every Thursday evening through April to see if they'll need me later. When the judge was asking me questions as part of jury selection, he asked about my profession. I told him I was a mother of 4 kids and a part-time bicycle mechanic. He chuckled and asked about the bike mechanic part. Maybe he thought I was being funny? I know it's not a terribly common profession, especially for a middle-aged mom of four, but some people are truly shocked to hear about it. Later, while we potential jurors were waiting outside of the courtroom, another woman asked me about it. Turns out, she's a professional assembler for Wal-Mart. She travels the region assembling all sorts of things for them, including bikes. And I'll tell you what...she's no slouch. I wish every Wal-Mart hired professional assemblers to put their bikes together! Just a couple weeks ago at the shop, a customer brought in a brand new bike they had just purchased at Wal-Mart. They had bought it for their kid who tends to thrash things, so they didn't want to spend a lot of money on a bike for him, but they brought it to our shop for a tune-up and assembly check before giving it to him. I'm so glad they did! That bike was functional, but a mess, and not as safe as it should have been. It was clearly assembled by someone who didn't know how to assemble bikes.

--Our river cruise in Europe was excellent. My favorite parts were 1) the style and culture of the cruise line itself (Viking River Cruises), 2) going with my parents and ALL of my siblings so there was always someone available that I wanted to chat with or eat with or sit by or go on an excursion with, 3) grocery shopping with Bobby in 3 totally new countries, 4) doing laundry with Bobby at a laundromat in Bratislava, Slovakia, 5) 3-course meals every lunch and dinner, 6) a diligent and experienced maitre d' who understood my dairy sensitivity and worked with the chefs EVERY DAY to modify or create delicious food that I could enjoy with abandon, 7) active shore excursions like hiking and e-biking, 8) being introduced to a refreshing Austrian soda called Almdudler (pronounced ahlm-doodler), 9) running into Austrian school children on field trips and seeing what they ate for lunch, 10) spending Easter Sunday with Bobby's cousins who currently live in Budapest (I have always been impressed and enamored with Bobby's cousin culture, this time was no exception, and it simply felt genuine and home-like and normal), 11) realizing my parents are 86 and 81 years old and STILL in really good health.

--Bobby's parents came to Illinois to care for the kids while we were away. Neither party will say much about the experience. I've only been able to glean bits and pieces. Alex tells me dinners were dead quiet. James and Matthew said they did a lot of reading. Robert tells me he let Grandma and Grandpa do things their way, even though he could have told them how to do it our way. Bob tells me it was good to come and get to know the grandkids better and that sometimes the kids drove them crazy. Loretta tells me they looked at a map of the Danube River and talked about some of the countries we were seeing and introduced the younger boys to "The Danube Waltz." Matthew showed us a really nifty Easter Week presentation he worked on with Grandma and James. Bob and Loretta diligently took the kids to their appointments and attended their parent-teacher conferences and did everything on the schedule. They cooked, they cleaned, they cared, and they patiently got through the day. I get the overall impression that adults and kids alike were tolerating a lot of discomfort to get through it together. Bob and Loretta did an excellent job, though, because all the kids seemed just the same as when we had left them. No one was angry at us leaving or too freakishly excited to see us come home. It was fine. They were fine. Now we're all fine together. 

--I finally made a big enough mistake at work to get the big boss's attention. I have been waiting for this milestone. I wondered how they would let me know about it and how I would take the news. Well, the mistake happened in the last hour of my shift the day before our trip, so no one caught it until the customer picked up their bike the next day and I was long gone. It was a major safety concern that I just didn't catch while doing the repairs. And somehow I didn't notice it on the test ride afterwards, either?? Anyway, it was a big to-do. One inexperienced person had ordered the wrong part and I was the inexperienced mechanic who didn't notice that the new part was the wrong size. It was an easy fix once discovered, but a huge embarrassment to the owner and a mark on our reputation as a reliable shop. Well, when I realized this was not a mistake of laziness or sloppiness, but inexperience, my shame evaporated. I just wanted to learn how to do it better in the future! So, not too shabby for my first big mistake, eh? :)

--The garden is underway! Asparagus harvest has begun, strawberry plants are in bloom, and the spring garden is almost completely planted. 

--My family kept pointing out bikes and bike shops on our trip. They helped me realize that I'm not a bike junky. I know a little about brands and components, but that's not the fun part for me. I'm actually drawn to the beat up and abandoned bikes...the ones that I can transform into useful, practical, and efficient modes of transportation. The sleuthing and healing bits are way more appealing to me than the parts themselves. That's my nurturing streak, I think. That same undercurrent propels my interests in food/nutrition and gardening. And it supports my investment in my kids.