Sunday, May 30, 2021

NO VACANCY!

 I must have jinxed the computer when I said it was functioning properly because yesterday when I tried to post, it lost all my words!! I knew I had very little time to be messing around with the computer yesterday, but I tried three times without success. Then this morning, everything was back!

I am weary this morning, yesterday was a long day. All the days leading up to yesterday were labor intensive. I would be less tired had I been working outside all day long. I spent an afternoon last week preparing meals for this weekend. With HeWho's sodium restrictions, fast food is prohibited, as well as frozen entrees and much of the canned food. I made 5 pans of lasagna to freeze, keeping one out for tonight. A tuna casserole, a stir fry and I was going to bake a cake, but I succumbed to fatigue. I try to keep something sweet so HeWho will not resort to ice cream. He is hard to cook for.

I managed to fill all my sites for every night of the weekend. I hated having to turn people away. I had a no show last night, but filled it this morning. Another camper decided to leave early, so I refunded two nights. I know that I don't have to do that since she reserved three nights, but I have already filled that one, as well. Karma, you know, Val's Even Steven at work.

It is only 10:30 and I already long for a nap! I feel like I have been glued to the check-in counter for an eternity already.

I have four large groups this weekend. Two with similar names. They had made the reservations months in advance, assigning the task to one person. I am always careful to ask what each camper in the group will be coming in, as well as the length of the unit and the electrical needs. I need all that information to be able to place them in the most optimal sites. One of the reasons I prefer to take all the reservations myself. HeWho sort of tries to help, would just tell me that someone wants five 30amp sites together and leave me to figure it out with no call back number. Over the years I have tried to train him better, but will admit that I have failed miserably!

One of the groups first camper arrived and was upset to find that he would not have 50amp service. A nice older gentleman, so I rearranged my seating chart to accommodate him. Had I known in advance I would have flipped the two groups' locations, since the other group needed only 30amp. But some of the other group were already in place and I was not going to ask them to move. Best I could do put the 50amp man apart from his group.

He was fine with being apart, saying the rest of his group could congregate on his site, since he was the patriarch of the family. But before I could change the site I was telling him how to get to the 30amp site I had originally assigned him. HeWho tries to help was in the store and decided he knew a better way than my way and began telling the man that he would pull through 18 to get to 19. After 17 years he still doesn't know the site numbers! First of all, the odd numbers are behind the even numbers and 19 is behind 20, making his "route" impossible. But, since it was a man getting directions, he automatically thought the man giving the directions knew more than the woman behind the counter. He had the poor man so confused that I finally told him to leave. My husband, not my customer.

The man insisting on a 50amp site took my 50amp offer. I knew he could get by with 30 since it was only 54 degrees yesterday and a forecast for the high this weekend not reaching 70. He would be more likely to use heat than air conditioning. I continued checking in campers, only getting confused about the groups having similar names and multiple check-is happening at once and I rebuffed any further "help" from HeWho can't give directions.

About an hour after 50amp man checked in, his wife called to request they be moved to the original site I had reserved for them. I had 2 checking in and some others buying ice cream at the time of the call and I handed the phone to HeWho happened in and told him to answer it and put the caller on hold until I could answer them. After I cleared the store, he told me of the request and even though I said NO, he set out on a quest to fulfil their wishes. Texting me and calling me with what he thought might be a solution. I had already had to rearrange things to get them into the 50amp site and was not going to make the camper I had put in the site that was to be their's move. Every empty site he saw, he would call me or text me asking if I had "plans" for the site!

I found it extremely annoying, so I stopped acknowledging the texts and simply said "NO" when I answered. What part of reserved does he not understand? Finally he ran out of options and stopped. The wife of 50amp man called again to see if my husband had relayed the message, telling me how nice and helpful my husband was. I explained to her that I would have to move the people in the 30amp site and she understood and was fine. I was so happy to hear that she found HeWho was annoying, to be so helpful and almost offered to let him spend the weekend with them!

Being booked with no sites left to offer did not stop the ringing phone. You might suggest that I not answer, but not all the calls were for this weekend. And .... if I don't answer I will be into the evening with call backs. Lots of the calls were orders for firewood and people reserving sites into the months ahead. Firewood, marshmallows, Hersheys and graham crackers were the big sellers. The low temperature made for lots of campfires, although we still had swimmers. No snow cones. I am not sorry about that, as I would have needed help to do that and check everyone in.

Maybe I am a control freak. I don't like the way HeWho crushes too much ice for the amount of snow cones he is making. I hate waste, you know. He will gladly use the extra ice to treat himself to a snow cone with way too much syrup. Oh, let's face it, he just can't win with me!

7 comments:

RunNRose said...

I was looking for the sequel to the story about the man who was refusing to leave, I can't believe you have survived 17 years in that job!
For sure you need to be thinking of a way to retire. Surely all that stress is not a great thing. You deserve the peace to work in a garden without the constant bugging! Any kind of bugging!

Anonymous said...

Whew! I'm tired just listening to you dance with all your different partners. Such a complicated do-si-do, yet you remember the steps, keep count to the music and never miss a beat or confuse your partners. Well done.

You are a great storyteller, too.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Your life is so full on compared to mine

Joanne Noragon said...

The weekend is almost over. One more day. Sleep well tonight.

Val said...

Yes, Even Steven and his bestie, Karma, can reward or smite you when you least expect it! It wouldn't surprise me if HeWho 'accidentally on purpose' makes too much crushed ice, and then has to use it up, of course, and nobody wants a sno-cone with plain ice...

Donna. W said...

I'm a relatively new follower of your blog, but I find it delightful, though very tiring to read. I could never live with all that stress!

Donna. W said...

P.S. I live in Missouri too, about 30 miles east of Kansas City.