Updating That Resume

Yesterday I officially added a new "skill" to my resume: Forklift Operator. I know, my parents must be very proud. That college degree and 20-plus years of newspaper editing are really paying off.

At the nursery, we use forklifts to unload trees and shrubs and such from semi-tractor trailers. And spring, when the plants arrive daily by the truckload, is just around the corner. So I got my first forklift training yesterday, on the nursery's new Toyota nonetheless. Very exciting. Not sure if they'll really tap me for the unloading task, but hey, how cool is it to say: Yeah, I can run a forklift. I'll be putting that right after "proficient in Adobe InCopy Design" on the old resume.

Until spring, however, I'll be taking a few weeks off from work. "Praise Mohammed," exhales the lonely mountain man Mason. January is a slow month at the Barn, so why not take some time off to smell the roses? Or paint the new shed and the cabin ceiling, while I'm at it.

The projects awaiting my attention are endless, but we'll focus on the new shed, the cabin loft ceiling and expanding the non-tiki bar "tiki bar" area with some new mulch. Oh, and building up the flower bed in front of the porch. And finish raking and shredding all those leaves. And I need to sew some covers for the beer crates. And it'll soon be time to start taking down trees for NEXT winter's firewood supply. And I need to ... well, you get the idea.

Meanwhile, sorry Mom if it's disappointing to say, "My daughter threw away her good career to go live in a hunting shack drive a forklift." Who knows, maybe I'll go back to editing someday. Until then, who else do you know who can lift that Dumpster (yes, people, that's capitalized; it's a proper name) and take it out to the curb (or kerb, in Australia)? Take THAT trash talk.