Originally I wanted this to be up Saturday but "life" got in
the way…and by life I mean sleeping for like 17 hours straight and then dragging my butt to work.
For my job I travel, a lot, to seemingly random locales.
(Why can’t people log in places like New York City or Southern California?) I
find myself in the swamp land of south Georgia, the hills of Mississippi, the
flat land of Arkansas. Discovering dear ole Dixie has really been a high point
for me and my sense of adventure just seems to keep growing. Then I went to a
place called Louisville, Ky. for a lawn and garden tradeshow…and woof.
The four days I spent in Louisville were something straight
out of a movie. First example, the eight hour car ride there: did you know
there is a strip joint south of Nashville called the Boobie Bungalow. No? Me
neither. But google it, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Myself, the
house’s web guru (a 23 year old Baptist youth minister) and my beloved
be-moustached coworker in his mid fourties with a love of all things ironic and
creepy found it hilarious. Not only did a twenty-minute conversation, inside of
a rented Dodge minivan, ensue about the Boobie Bungalow but for the remainder
of the trip the Boobie Bungalow was discussed. As in, “Oh wow, that chick looks
like a reject from the Boobie Bungalow.”
German "booth babe," definitely a loaner from TBB. |
The tradeshow had sponsored concerts each night. Of course
for the open bar concert Kansas played. I had to DD. For the big concert with
Eli Young Band we still had press seats but not an open bar. This was the night
I chose to drink…to the complete jerk that took my credit card from the Hard
Rock Louisville: you really suck. I hope an entire army got completely
blitzkrieged on the $250+ you spent in one night at a bar, where wells were
like $4.50. Assclown.
Enjoying while he could. |
In my line of work I write about some pretty heavy
machinery. Machinery that costs upwards of $250,000 a piece. I’m not usually
allowed to touch said machinery. See also: said machinery cuts down trees and I
would rather not be responsible for that kind of thing. I can see the news item
now, “Little logging reporter causes fatal accident killing herself and three
others in El Dorado, Ark.”
BUT, I also
write about machinery that is a little more run of the mill consumer friendly.
For example, this MSRP $599 Lithium Ion battery powered Oregon self-sharpening
chainsaw. I got to run it while Dan my be-mustached coworker, the VP of Oregon,
and the product manager for Oregon chainsaws watched me. I liked it…a lot.
Please notice this awk part of my hair. |
Oh and then there was the riding commercial grade lawnmower. This puppy sure is a beaut. MSRP $7,999. (Why did they let me drive that thing I’ll never know.) I got her to top out at about 3 MPH. My friend riding along is the product manager for the Ariens family of companies ZTR riders. (Yes, all this power equipment jargon is…well, it is what it is. But as my dear friend Brian always says, fake it til ya make it. Even I don’t really understand fully what the jargon all means.) This, y’all, is living.
I can honestly say that pure elation on my face is not faked. I had a damn good time. |
SO FUN, Jess! I love reading about your adventures in the world of logging! :)
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