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| Jane manning the church parking lot. |
Several things have taken place the past few days....
PARKING LOT DUTY
We served our first tour of parking lot duty for the church on Monday and Tuesday night. The church building is located just south of the minor league baseball stadium. The church doesn't own the building or the parking lot, but the owners let the church operate the lot for events at Parkview Field and we get to keep a portion of the money for the youth. It generally takes 2 volunteers per event, and we are currently signed up to work 3 baseball games.
It's pretty easy work. Everything is usually set up and so we arrive 1-1 1/2 hours before the game and simply take money as people pull in to park. Then when we're done we pick up all the cones and signs and put them back in the church and that's it. We charge $4 to park, and it is the cheapest lot near the ballpark. We quit taking tickets once the game starts, or when the lot is full, whichever comes first. You get 4 free tickets for volunteering, and can do with them what you want. They are great seats right behind home plate. We used 2 tickets both nights and just went over and got something to eat. We didn't stick around too long at the game. We left the unused tickets because they can turn them in later in the year and get free lawn seats for them that anybody can use.
I actually like doing things like this. It's neat chatting with people as they come and go, and it's easy peasy. Several people donated extra money to the youth each night. Mostly it was just telling us to keep the change for a $5 bill. Anyway, I thought it was great fun.
TINCAPS
So, these were our first two ballgames of the year. Monday night we chatted with our usual beer vendor who has been in the same place for as long as we can remember. It's funny how we just pick up right where we left off every year.
Neither game was all that busy as school hasn't let out yet, but I'm sure it will get busier pretty soon. There weren't a lot of changes to the ball field this year - which I'm glad of. It seems every year they think they need to "improve" things, and all it usually does is ruin the view or make things worse. Anyway, it's still a great thing to have downtown, and it's about as cheap of entertainment as you can get if you play your cards right. Especially so with free parking and free tickets!
FOCUS ON HEALTH
This morning I once again attended the "Focus on Health" event right by where I work. I got a complete blood work-up, psa , thyroid, and who knows what all other kinds of tests done - all for $105. I could have had it done cheaper, but I just opted for the wellness package recommended for men over the age of 50.
It was once again a very smooth process. I was in and out in about 30 minutes. I had to fill out paperwork, get my blood pressure checked, have my blood drawn, pay, and get a summary analysis. The only bad part was they had a newbie take my blood. He was the only guy and was an EMT. I could tell he was nervous, and he stuck the needle in my arm then chickened out. One of the lady nurses was right there and just shoved it in further and finished. She took 3 vials.
The only thing that was a little irritating was the summary analysis. When this young girl took my blood pressure it was 143/81. I realize the top number is a little high, but she did it right as soon as I walked in the room and it was done on a cheapo little portable thing. I wasn't at all concerned about it - especially since I keep pretty good tabs on it myself. Well, when I got to the summary analysis this lady got all riled up about it. I told her it was okay that I check it often and am under a doctors care. She started asking me all these questions about my lifestyle and whether I'm active enough and whatnot. I said, "Well, actually I literally just got done running 4 miles on a treadmill about 20 minutes ago, and I do it most days every week." She then just gave me a customer care form to fill out and left me alone.
So, in a few days (or weeks) I can find out my lipid profile, sugar, thyroid, and psa numbers, and go from there. I celebrated the 12-hour fast by getting a sausage and egg biscuit from McDonald's.