October.

OH… you mean OCTOBER. October is spelled with four letters: “B-U-S-Y”. Busiest month of the year.

Okay, really…not much happened in October. I just went to school full time and worked overtime. Not bad, right?

It was our *busy* season at work. Yeah, I’m sure you’ve seen it! It’s when swarms of people line up outside at the orchard for their annual cider and donuts. Literally, thousands of people come through in one weekend alone. The fall colors attract the city people, and they leave happy with their arms filled with pumpkins, apples, cider, donuts, caramel apples, and really tired kids. It’s fun, though… we love it.

The weekdays, on the contrast, consist of quiet mornings.. that is, until the school groups arrive. “Organized Chaos” is what Becky calls it. It is. She does an impressive job keeping all the groups in order. The frenzied teachers arrive, check in, all the while trying to keep their groups together. They board the wagon before the students get impatient (they’re usually preschool-3rd graders). When they’re done picking apples, it’s off to the petting farm. In the meantime, those of us in the Store stock up like it’s Y2K with hot dogs, nacho trays lined up all over the counter, cider back on the shelves, whatever we think we need for the group that comes in. The last stop for the fieldtrip is to the store for cider, donuts, and lunch (which is a huge ordeal and the reason why we need to stock up while the group is outside)—and when they’re done—well—it’s like a whirlwind went through! We take a breath and set up all over again, just in time for the next group.

I worked so much this year, that when I came home and tried to relax, I’d close my eyes for a split second and saw THIS:

I have to mention one fabulous weekend. The highlight was when we ran out of donuts. Customers were pretty confused as to why Blakes Orchard didn’t have donuts. We have a pretty good team, though. My manager came up with a plan that kept everyone at least momentarily sane. It’s crazy. One day we’re doing retail, the next day…crowd control.

Answering the phone is a blast, too.

“Blake’s Big Apple, can I help you?”
“Hi! This is Blakes?”
“Yep!” :D
“Um… how do I get there?”
“Well…where are you coming from?”
“Home.”
“Okay, where do you live?”

When we’re actually *not* busy for a moment, we find ways to *look* busy (and this is the fun part). Cheryl has some mad display skills, so helping her out with that is something I always enjoy. If you come into the store this year and see two people randomly staring at certain spots of the store from different angles… now you know what we’re doing—trying to imagine something that isn’t there—yet. Once we (er, Cheryl) has an idea, things just go together, and they usually turn out pretty nice. I was pretty pleased with the turnout one day, and when no one was looking, I grabbed my iPod and ran up to the loft:

Cute.

On top of working overtime there, I was in school three days per week, 4 hours each day, driving 6 hours each week, doing homework, and trying to get comfortable at a new campus–OH and working on a few logos here-and-there. Thank God for my family who picked up my slack at home, my co-workers who dealt with my lack of energy and a little bit of grouchiness, and my friends, who didn’t mind that I neglected them (sorry guys, I still love ya!). SO glad October is over. Can’t wait for the next time it comes around.

What I learned in October: Sleep is overrated, drink MORE COFFEE!
Okay okay on a more serious note, I learned how much I’m capable of if I put my mind to it. It wasn’t easy, but that’s because I wasn’t certain of the outcome (i.e. my GPA turnout, haha if people still liked me at work, if I’d get my friends’ design jobs done on time). Now that I know I can do it, I think I’m more equipped handle it this coming fall. Granted, I always manage to take on a lot more than I think I can handle, but with God’s help, I think I’ve got a pretty good chance at winning again.

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