When Hunter agreed to the job, I knew there would be chaos and I decided to keep a little diary. I'm sure it was not his idea to work for Saley. At the time, he had worked for Simon (at a restaurant) but he complained about that job and had expressed an interest in doing something else. I just happened to ask Saley if she was looking for summer help since I knew she did a lot of weddings every summer. She was very happy at the prospect of having Hunter for the summer.
Several years later, I ran across my *diary* and was really happy that I had taken notes. Nobody can remember this many stories.
Enjoy.
At the time, Hunter was living at home and I was working out of a studio that was two doors from our house. This explains some of the calling - when he is at home. When he calls his grandmother, trying to find me, it is because she lived in the duplex where I had my studio and often knew how to find me if I had gone out.
Day one: Monday:
Hunter calls me at the crack of 9 am and asks how he should go about starting his job with Saley.
He has contacted her previously by email and she says he can work for her this summer.
I suggest that he can try one of two options:
1. He can call her and make an appointment to see her.
A. When he arrives for the appointment, she may or may not be there.
2. He can just drop in
A. She may or may not be there.
i. If she is there, she may be in a meeting and he may have to wait to see her.
Later in the afternoon, he calls his grandmother, Wilma, trying to find me and has questions to answer on an application.
Wilma tracks me down, I call him to see what kind of application, and it is for Saley, so it sounds like he must apply for the job with her.
I hope he will still be able to work for her.
He calls me as he is walking into JBenjamin's and I caution him to not let Simon suck him into working.
He says he will be firm that he is not available for the summer.
Day two: Tuesday:
I am at the studio at 7:30 am and he calls to ask what the best way is to get to Saley's warehouse.
I ask if he has ever been there before and he says, "Yes, I worked yesterday."
I wonder why he has to fill out an application after he has started work, but figure, that is just Saley's way.
I tell him to take 63rd to get to the warehouse.
He calls at 8 am and is perturbed because nobody is there.
He wonders if he had the time wrong.
I ask what kind of work he was going to do, he says tear down.
I suggest that tear down is usually something that happens on the site of an event, not at the warehouse.
He says yes, he knows that and he had tried to get clear times and locations from her.
I remind him that he needs to ask her everything twelve times and then call back at midnight to see if she has changed her plans.
He says when he walked in to JBenjamin (on Monday), Simon handed him a check for $250 and told him that he expected Hunter to work every night that week because Simon and Holly were on their way to Napa Valley to drink wine.
I sigh.
He calls at 10 am. Saley wants to know what kind of glue will stick glass to glass. I tell him.
He calls at 11 am. He can't find Colonial Cleaners. I give him directions.
I see him at 5pm as he cruises through, to take a shower and get dressed to go to JBenjamin's.
He says he arranged flowers.
He said there are 10 weddings next weekend.
He said that the work time and place was 8 am at the warehouse, but everyone else was late.
Day three: Wednesday:
He calls me at 9 am and tells me he knows it is not my job to wake him up, but he was supposed to be at work at 9 am.
I tell him it will be no problem, since they are always late.
I run some granola bars over for him to eat while he drives to work. (My studio was two houses from the house. Hunter was living at home that summer - it was probably between sophomore and junior year.
He calls at 10 am needing me to find 505 5th Street in downtown DM.
I find it and give him directions.
He calls at 10:30 am saying he was supposed to MapQuest an address at the warehouse before he left on the deliveries but he forgot, so he would like me to MapQuest an address in WDM, which I do.
He cruises in at 4 pm to get ready for JBenjamin.
He says Saley barked once when he was asking questions.
He got down to the shop to pick up things and did not recall exactly what he was supposed to pick up.
The lady working there cautioned him that Saley is a nazi about people knowing what they are supposed to pick up.
He said...yes, he knows.
She said, "Look, I know it is your first week. You should know that I have seen her make drivers cry."
He laughed and said that he had known her for years, so he was aware of some of the challenges.
He expressed how tired he was having stayed out until 2:30am
I suggested that he might want to get some sleep if he is working both days and nights.
I'm thinking I need to get him a Garmon. (During the summer of 2010 or 2011 - most people did not have smart phones. Garmons were a device installed in your car for getting directions.)
Day 4: Thursday:
It seemed like a quiet day. I did not hear from him at all. Then at about 5 pm, he calls and says he was doing some spray painting and had paint all over his hands and face and wondered how to get it off. Luckily, I was at the duplex and could run over and help him. Luckily, I have the ServiceMaster kit for removal of pretty much everything. His main story of the day was that Saley had had a meltdown when nobody could find any of the tools they use for cutting the thick flower stems. She told them they were all going to have to go buy a pair of their own so that they would appreciate the value of them and stop losing them. She also wants them to learn the names of the flowers. I think he said she expects them to learn 10 a day or 10 a week...or something like that. He was pretty sure he would not be learning any names of flowers. He said *We worked on hibiscus today? No, that doesn't sound right.* I said *Hydrangeas?* He said yes...
Hunter calls me at the crack of 9 am and asks how he should go about starting his job with Saley.
He has contacted her previously by email and she says he can work for her this summer.
I suggest that he can try one of two options:
1. He can call her and make an appointment to see her.
A. When he arrives for the appointment, she may or may not be there.
2. He can just drop in
A. She may or may not be there.
i. If she is there, she may be in a meeting and he may have to wait to see her.
Later in the afternoon, he calls his grandmother, Wilma, trying to find me and has questions to answer on an application.
Wilma tracks me down, I call him to see what kind of application, and it is for Saley, so it sounds like he must apply for the job with her.
I hope he will still be able to work for her.
He calls me as he is walking into JBenjamin's and I caution him to not let Simon suck him into working.
He says he will be firm that he is not available for the summer.
Day two: Tuesday:
I am at the studio at 7:30 am and he calls to ask what the best way is to get to Saley's warehouse.
I ask if he has ever been there before and he says, "Yes, I worked yesterday."
I wonder why he has to fill out an application after he has started work, but figure, that is just Saley's way.
I tell him to take 63rd to get to the warehouse.
He calls at 8 am and is perturbed because nobody is there.
He wonders if he had the time wrong.
I ask what kind of work he was going to do, he says tear down.
I suggest that tear down is usually something that happens on the site of an event, not at the warehouse.
He says yes, he knows that and he had tried to get clear times and locations from her.
I remind him that he needs to ask her everything twelve times and then call back at midnight to see if she has changed her plans.
He says when he walked in to JBenjamin (on Monday), Simon handed him a check for $250 and told him that he expected Hunter to work every night that week because Simon and Holly were on their way to Napa Valley to drink wine.
I sigh.
He calls at 10 am. Saley wants to know what kind of glue will stick glass to glass. I tell him.
He calls at 11 am. He can't find Colonial Cleaners. I give him directions.
I see him at 5pm as he cruises through, to take a shower and get dressed to go to JBenjamin's.
He says he arranged flowers.
He said there are 10 weddings next weekend.
He said that the work time and place was 8 am at the warehouse, but everyone else was late.
Day three: Wednesday:
He calls me at 9 am and tells me he knows it is not my job to wake him up, but he was supposed to be at work at 9 am.
I tell him it will be no problem, since they are always late.
I run some granola bars over for him to eat while he drives to work. (My studio was two houses from the house. Hunter was living at home that summer - it was probably between sophomore and junior year.
He calls at 10 am needing me to find 505 5th Street in downtown DM.
I find it and give him directions.
He calls at 10:30 am saying he was supposed to MapQuest an address at the warehouse before he left on the deliveries but he forgot, so he would like me to MapQuest an address in WDM, which I do.
He cruises in at 4 pm to get ready for JBenjamin.
He says Saley barked once when he was asking questions.
He got down to the shop to pick up things and did not recall exactly what he was supposed to pick up.
The lady working there cautioned him that Saley is a nazi about people knowing what they are supposed to pick up.
He said...yes, he knows.
She said, "Look, I know it is your first week. You should know that I have seen her make drivers cry."
He laughed and said that he had known her for years, so he was aware of some of the challenges.
He expressed how tired he was having stayed out until 2:30am
I suggested that he might want to get some sleep if he is working both days and nights.
I'm thinking I need to get him a Garmon. (During the summer of 2010 or 2011 - most people did not have smart phones. Garmons were a device installed in your car for getting directions.)
Day 4: Thursday:
It seemed like a quiet day. I did not hear from him at all. Then at about 5 pm, he calls and says he was doing some spray painting and had paint all over his hands and face and wondered how to get it off. Luckily, I was at the duplex and could run over and help him. Luckily, I have the ServiceMaster kit for removal of pretty much everything. His main story of the day was that Saley had had a meltdown when nobody could find any of the tools they use for cutting the thick flower stems. She told them they were all going to have to go buy a pair of their own so that they would appreciate the value of them and stop losing them. She also wants them to learn the names of the flowers. I think he said she expects them to learn 10 a day or 10 a week...or something like that. He was pretty sure he would not be learning any names of flowers. He said *We worked on hibiscus today? No, that doesn't sound right.* I said *Hydrangeas?* He said yes...
Day 5: Friday:
I did not hear from him all day. He mentioned that after a set up at Prairie Meadows, Saley invited three of them to go to the opening of a new restaurant. They had delivered flowers earlier in the day. So they went and had wonderful food. Then after a couple glasses of wine, it was suggested they all go to the Royal Mile. He said Saley had her credit card out and was buying drinks for everyone. Jordan Grund came by and said hello. He thought Saley would remember him, but she didn’t. Hunter had a great story about when they were working together and Jordan came back at 11 for tear down and was drunk and knocking over whole stacks of plates <sigh>
Hunter had learned the name of a flower. I can’t remember what it was. Halcion, or something like that.
Day 6: Saturday:
He left early saying that she only asked him to come in at 9, but he had told John that he would come in early to help John. I did not hear from him all day, he got home around 4 and said that he did not have to go back for tear down. He had a few more details on how crazy it is to go out in the evening with Saley on Friday. At the opening of the new restaurant, which is in the Savery, there were some people chatting and they kept asking an Asian girl to do her impression of Saley. She did not want to do it in front of Saley, but was finally persuaded. In the sing-songy Asian accent, she said, “So…you do not like my flowers? Well you can f*** yourself. I am Saley.” Everyone laughed. Later, John told Saley that he thought it was mean to make fun of her. Saley did not think it was mean. Hunter said that maybe they were just making fun of her accent, to which she replied, “Do I have an accent?” I assured Hunter that she knows she is a diva and likes it very much when people recognize that and she can laugh about it.
Then, he tells about showing up early Sat am to help John and John does not show up, so Saley sends Hunter and Elia to set up pipe and drape at Jester Park. Elia is a really nice girl who runs the warehouse and is very good. She does not usually go out on set up. So, they get out there and find that there are bolts missing to hold everything together. Hunter calls Saley to see what to do and Saley says, “Use your college education and figure something out.” So, Hunter and Elia figure it out. The woman who runs the place was freaking out and screaming her head off. But, Hunter said he handled it and he thought they had it looking pretty good.
Later, he brought lunch for Saley and she said, “That was really not fair of me to send you and Elia out to do the Jester Park job, but, I had no choice.” Up until then, Hunter had not asked her how much she was paying. She brought it up and said that she would pay him $10 per hour for the first month and give him a review and raise after each month. So he was happy with that. Later he asked John how much people make and she is not paying anyone more than $9 an hour. Most people get $8. So, Hunter thinks helping her out at Jester was a good move.
She did not have him come back for tear down at 11 pm. So he stayed out until 4 am. Apparently John is bad about sleeping in and being late. John has worked for over a year. But, Hunter has pretty much bumped him. I imagine John has lost interest in being a good worker. She has three guys that do tear down. That will be nice for Hunter if he does not have to go back for tear down.
Day 7: Sunday:
He slept until 2 pm on Sunday and then took off for Winona. He had to move the rest of his stuff out of the house and into storage. I told him it was Saley’s birthday on Monday and he thought it would be funny to order flowers from Boesen’s. He had asked her what her favorite flower was and she said while she does not have a favorite, she hates carnations.
Day 8: Monday:
For her birthday, I picked her a bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley and took her some chocolate. I arrived at 10 am and she was so happy to be remembered on her birthday. I asked if she needed any help, since Hunter was out of town. She said she thought she was OK. Then she told me that she felt really bad about what she did to him at the Jester Park job. I asked if the bride was happy and she said yes…the bride is always happy. It is the lady that runs the place that is very difficult.
I told her that Hunter was going to call Boesen’s and order her a bouquet of carnations. She laughed.
I got back to my studio about 11 and the phone rang. It was Saley thanking me for the flowers. Then she asked me if I could work this weekend. She has the 10 weddings this weekend and wants me to *manage* a crew. Quality control, checking, straightening. So…this will be interesting. Hunter has to take his statistics course, so I think I should be on call to help. He has to do the homework and pass that class. So, it will be good for me to do a little helping to remember what all there is to do.
Day 9: Tuesday:
Keep in mind, he left on Sunday to get back to his house in Winona to finish removing his stuff and to clean it on Monday so he could return to DSM on Tuesday and work on Wednesday. At 2 pm he calls and says he has not made much progress, so I should not expect him back until late on Tuesday. He calls at 9 pm wondering if I have made anything for supper. He is still an hour and a half away, but will be hungry when he gets home. I assure him he should eat at a restaurant.
Day 10: Wednesday:
He wakes up and I fix him breakfast. I say, “So, you had trouble getting the house emptied out and cleaned? What were they doing?” His reply, “Mostly lying down.” He went on to say that not everything got done and he doubted it would. I refrained from making a comment about the joys of trying to get guys motivated. About 11 am, he called asking where Vet’s Auditorium was. He also wondered how to handle another errand. She had asked him to pick up deposit slips for West Bank and also USBank. But, she had given him a USBank check to deposit into WestBank. So, he was really confused. I assured him to break the task into three parts and not lump it all together.
Goodness. There were a lot of calls today, too many to even count. He had a long list of errands. Flowers to deliver to funeral homes that he could not find. He was sent to get potted hydrangeas only to discover that Saley wanted the hot house kind, with blooms, not the garden shrub kind. He had to return what he had picked up, then try to find the hothouse kind. Eventually, I tracked down Tom Boesen who explained that the hothouse kind have been gone since Easter. He was also sent to get candy out of some kind of *machine* in the bread dept of HyVee. He decided to just buy bags of candy and Saley was disappointed. At one point, I was in Dahl’s, asking to borrow a phone book to look up numbers for him. I must remember to give him the number for directory assistance. [Again- this was before smart phones - when looking up numbers was not as easy as it is these days] If this is the Wed before 10 weddings, I can only imagine
what Thur and Fri will be like.
Day 11: Thursday:
I notice that the back end of Hunter’s pickup truck is full of beer cans. I ask if he thinks he is going to turn them in for a nickel apiece. He says yes. I tell him you can’t get a nickel unless they were purchased in Iowa and have the stamp. He moans. Obviously he had brought them from the house where he lived in Winona.
I notice that the back end of Hunter’s pickup truck is full of beer cans. I ask if he thinks he is going to turn them in for a nickel apiece. He says yes. I tell him you can’t get a nickel unless they were purchased in Iowa and have the stamp. He moans. Obviously he had brought them from the house where he lived in Winona.
10 am Saley’s assistant calls me to see if I can exchange the candy. I go pick it up, return it, buy new candy and deliver it to the warehouse. It takes a couple hours. Saley is happy. At her studio I run into a calligrapher friend of mine who has come across town on his lunch hour to write one word for her. He can’t figure out why she did not ask me to do it. Long story for another time. I tell Saley to call me if there are any other jobs or errands that come up.
2 pm she calls and says that Hunter forgot to buy floaties. I ask her what floaties are. The inflatable rings that little kids wear around their waists in a pool. She needs 3, no wait, make that 6. I find them at WalMart and deliver them. She is happy.
Later Hunter calls asking if the rust building is the Ruan Center and if the DM Club is at the top. I honestly can’t remember if that club is still open. He is peeved that I went out and returned all the candy and then repurchased almost all the same stuff. I assured him that what I selected was different. He said that what he had selected was more what people would actually like. I told him that he was probably right, but that she could care less what people LIKED. She only cared what color it was. He said he understood.
He called at about 6 pm swearing a blue streak because she had sent him to deposit checks in the USBank. He could not figure out how or where to do that. I tried to give directions to where it might be (having no idea which bank is USBank. Eventually he found it. He apologized for swearing.
Day 12: Friday:
He worked from 8 until 1 in the morning. He said it was hectic. At 1 am he had to give Saley a ride back to her car at the warehouse. She said she would go home and have a glass of wine, watch a little TV, take a shower and be back at the warehouse at 3 am to prepare for the day. She says sleep is overrated.
She also mentioned that her husband and boys always want to go camping. She said she had no interest in camping because you have to lug stuff. She said she might consider camping if they took along people to lug her stuff. Like with the flowers. Everybody lugs the stuff, she just does the *pretty part.*
Earlier Friday evening, she was supposed to leave at 6:30 to go to her older son’s high school graduation. By 7 she had still not left. Her husband was texting her as they got through each letter of the alphabet’s last names. A – B – C – Hunter thought she probably got there for the L people and then left and came back to work.
Sometime Friday afternoon, he called asking what the quickest way from Jordan Creek to the warehouse was. I suggested one way. He thought there was a different way. I couldn’t think what it would be. After he hung up, I looked at a map and found it. I should probably carry a map with me at all times. Or get that Garmon.
Day 13: Saturday:
He got up at 8:30, had some breakfast, grabbed his swimsuit so he could hop in the pool to place the floaties that were covered with flowers. About 1pm, he came crashing through the house, looking for a towel. He thoughtfully asked for one that would not matter if he lost it along the way.
He got up at 8:30, had some breakfast, grabbed his swimsuit so he could hop in the pool to place the floaties that were covered with flowers. About 1pm, he came crashing through the house, looking for a towel. He thoughtfully asked for one that would not matter if he lost it along the way.
Sat and Sunday were a blur.
He worked 17 hours on Sat. Sunday, he was up again at 7:30 am. Saley texted him to go straight to Glen Oaks for tear down. He got home about 9 pm and went directly to sleep. He woke up about noon on Monday and had the day off.
Highlights from Sat and Sun include:
She offered to take everyone out for dinner after all the events were set up on Sat and while waiting for tear down. Some people just went home to rest. Hunter enjoyed his dinner at Mango. Saley bought a bottle of wine, but nobody else wanted wine so she drank the whole thing herself. Later, in the car, she was going to put her credit card in the glove box. Hunter and John told her “No, you will never remember you put it there.” But she did. Later, on Sunday, when she went crazy looking for it, they reminded her where it was and that they had warned her.
On Monday she kept calling Hunter hoping he had it. He at least recalled the last time he saw two other guys using it to fill the gas tank on the truck. He had an interesting story of the guy who has been working for a check at the end of each day wishing he could switch to the every two weeks method where she pays withholding. He said his parole officer wants him to have a real job. Hunter coached him on how to approach Saley. It looked like it was going to work out. I remarked that it is an interesting mix of Saley, the college kid, the guys on parole), the gay guys, the random girls, the older types that run the front office, the high school kid. Hunter agreed, it was an interesting melting pot. She thought that the ten events had been *flawless* in that they had been able to remedy all the inevitable flaws. He had a lot to say about how clients should not hold the event planner responsible for the weather. After setting up a very nice graduation party for Max Holmes’ daughter around their pool, it had rained and when they went to tear down, Max was very grumpy about how the party had been a *disaster.* At some point, Hunter had been sent to buy a shop vac that would blow up balloons. Somehow, the one he got was not the right one, but then, nobody had told him what to get. We had a conversation about how to establish what they want before you even head out the door.
Week Three: Tuesday: (since Monday was a holiday)
Quiet day. He made it to 2 pm before he called, needing to know where Christiani’s was. He’d been there before, and knew it was somewhere on the south side, just did not know if it was south east or south west.
Quiet day. He made it to 2 pm before he called, needing to know where Christiani’s was. He’d been there before, and knew it was somewhere on the south side, just did not know if it was south east or south west.
Wed
Had the day off.
Thur was the only guy scheduled. Spent the whole day on errands. Did not get everything done. He wanted to stay late, but Saley said, no, she was tired and wanted to come back at 7 am. He called once, wondering if DM Golf and CC was on 50th in WDM, no it is on the other side of the freeway. He apologized after he figured it out. He’s been there a bunch of times. No problem.
FRIDAY _ Called to ask if there was some trick to getting a padlock closed. I asked if it was a combination or a key. There was swearing. Then he said he got it. Apologized. It’s 9:44 am. They have an extra truck to load today, so that means more than one event. I asked him why he does not know how many events there are. He said he tries to ask Saley, but she just barks that he should be paying attention to what he is doing and not ask questions. It never occurs to her that workers who have some idea about what is going on might do a better job. Why does keeping everyone in the dark seem like a good idea?
I had to drop him off this morning because Hunter’s uncle Don needed to borrow Hunter's truck. I was there when Saley arrived. She came over and told me she needs to pay me for my time last week doing errands. I told her to add my hours on to Hunter’s payslip.
I asked if Hunter was doing a good job and she said she was very happy with how careful he is with details. She beamed. So, I guess they are getting along.
Sat and Sun he worked crazy hours. He was invited to her son’s graduation party and she asked him to help bring some supplies. When he arrived, she was mad as a hornet at her sister who was late with the food. The party was at the family restaurant. Then, she discovered that her sister had not hired anyone to serve and tend bar at the event, so she told Hunter and two other guys she would pay for them to stay and work the party. She insisted that they eat first to insure that they at least got whatever they wanted to eat. He said the food was great.
There were phone calls over the course of another busy week, although, they are tapering off. The funniest one was when he called asking where the *Hessan* Center was. I had no idea what that word might have been and suggested he call an English speaking person in the office to find out where she was setting up. He called back and said Polk County. So, we deduced that it was the Polk County Convention Center. That turned out to be correct. Mostly, I just wish he would make her repeat herself until he knew what she was saying.
He called on Friday, looking for a cell phone number for one of Skip’s friends who used to work for her. They were trying to track him down to work that day. It amazes me that she can’t plan ahead and is forever trying to scrounge up old ex-employees who probably never want to see her again.
Yesterday was Saturday and he worked 7 am to 9 pm. Then had to be back to work at 6:30 am for tear down. He is now on the couch and probably won’t move.
He has found out that he is making more per hour than any of the other workers. So, she must really like him. At least he has sense enough to not tell any of the rest of them how much he is making.
The past couple weeks have had some phone calls. Mostly the same type of stuff. He usually finds the places. I keep reminding him to jot down the directions if he can’t print them out.
He has mentioned that he knows what he wants his own wedding reception to look like. He has his favorite flowers.
He’s learned how to deal with drunks. At one tear down a drunk was giving him a really hard time. He handled it and later the drunk felt bad about giving him a hard time and wanted to come back and help him. He was chilly to the guy. I told him he needed to be careful around drunks because they are prone to just hauling off and hitting guys. He replied that the drunks were the ones who should be careful. He has a real feisty streak.
Last night he dropped his phone in the toilet. Luckily, his phone is the one that I have insurance on. He’ll be getting the new one overnighted to him.
There were many more interesting events. Mostly, it was Saley leaning on him to work more hours. His disposition deteriorated and eventually, he convinced her that he was quitting. We all went out for a final dinner together. Her husband and son joined us. It was a fun evening. Saley ordered many more dishes than we needed. At one point, she asked the server for another glass of wine and the server said that the bar was closed. Saley looked over at her smirking sister and said, “She cut me off. I can’t believe my sister cut me off.” She was still complaining the next day.
So, it was a fun summer. Hunter learned what everyone needs to learn. Go back to college and get a degree so you don’t have to work at low paying jobs like event set-up.
****end of diary
I do not recall how many weeks he worked....I'm just happy that the phone calls tapered off.
