The simple pleasure of snow

Thursday, April 23, 2009
To be honest, I thought I might not have enough to do when I got back to work. But…I soon became a victim of “Jamie, I’ve got something for you” or “Jamie, can you do this…” or some other chore, phone call or activity. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about keeping busy at work. In fact, I’d like to talk a bit about my philosophy on government work.

I feel that government and state workers have had a stereotype placed on them. In some circles government employees are lazy, a waste of tax dollars, and perhaps useless. WELL, let me tell you….That doesn’t happen in my field of work. Us resource interpreters work our butts off! Well, most of the time. We do a good bit of shootin’ the breeze, but, it’s usually to a visitor OR in the name of progress to our co-workers! I enjoy my job no matter what it is and I do work hard. My philosophy is that I am going to be the one to make things better. I am going to be the one to improve the situation of visitors, their experiences in the park and make them feel like they got their moneys worth.

I don’t enjoy hearing about government workers wasting time, money and resources…so I’m trying my best to be the one who is efficient, saves money, and works to the fullest of my potential. It may sound cheesy, but I just want to make things better. That’s my philosophy.

I can’t write today without writing about the SNOW! I woke up today and it was about 20 degrees. It’s been about 4 months since I’ve seen those temps and SNOW!

The other morning commute...

from my apartment to the district office.

It snowed over a foot! Now the snow drifts between my apartment and my car are back! I was really excited about this, but kinda unsure of what to do. My little Toyota Corolla is by no means 4-wheel drive! I also know that there is only one government vehicle (that I can use) which is 4-wheel drive. Sooo, I wasn’t sure what to do. Do I drive my own car to the visitor center…across the windy prairie??? Do I stay home and try to work on things until the roads are plowed? Do I get the all-wheel drive Aerostar Van? Ahhhh! I decided to put on my gaiters, all three of my NPS uniform jackets, my fleece hat and trekked to the District Office. I took the Aerostar Van and it was no big deal. I did get to plow through a drift that was probably close to 2 feet deep! That’s the deepest snow I’ve ever driven through, it was AWESOME!
It was a good day all around. Snow has a way of brightening your day! Ha!

Happy Trails!

Weather:
7 degrees F & wind and snow in the a.m.
Teens and 20’s throughout the day.