Ending the Week On a Great Note...and Early

Yesterday was pretty long and had some strange quirks, so I decided to cool off and wait til I had more exciting and interesting things to share. I spent most of the day up to my nose in grant reports and grant updates. After a few hours, I got so confused and finally asked Lori to explain each individual project to me. There are projects for the village, projects for improving collections security, projects for improving collections storage and accessibility, projects for improving the general museum maintenance. YIKES! Some involve grants, some are simply internal documents. Telling the difference is hard though, because all include information from reports from local architects (Jeff Oertel and Rebecca Ellis) and are kept in huge thick binders. I totally appreciate what Lori does even more now because there is so much to her job. I’m gonna have a list a mile long about all the different software programs, grant application databases, and local/state/federal organizations I got to work with during my stay, and that’s only the business side! The rest is implementing all the goals in each of these reports. WOW!
Around noon, three guys came into DD speaking Italian. When I asked where they were from they answered, “We are from the city of Romeo and Juliet!” When I shrieked, “Verona?!” they were really impressed I knew where that was. Yay Shakespeare!
In other news, there’s a church theater group coming from Minneapolis next week to do some living history stuff. I suggested a girl could be one of the ladies whose wedding dress we have on display, because one of them has like 3 pages of info about the girl. I off-handedly said, “I would do that one.” and Lori was like, “Great, it’s yours.”
AHHH!!
So next week, I get to play dress up and do some living history for one of the girls in my own exhibit! This is gonna be so awesome!
Today I realized how much I LOVE MY JOB! :)
Worked with Jane and Pat in the basement again. We rehoused one picture then took down all the framed pieces hanging in the Changing Gallery by the balcony. A new artist came in yesterday and gave us a bunch of new pieces for us to put up there. Once we got the stuff taken down and put back into archives where it belonged, I ate lunch and started entering all the Hobo’s into Lori’s computer. Somewhere around 2:00 I took a break to take my recently-finished promotion kiosk and flyers to the Corn Palace, where two very nice guys from the front desk help me haul it from Jan’s truck into the front lobby. Once I got back from the Palace I finished the Hobo readings (got to get into the glass cases again…SCORE!). Then I set to redesigning the flyers I had just hung up in the Corn Palace. Lori and I discovered some design changes we needed to make that we hadn’t considered before, so I spent a couple hours changing them. Laurie Yeo’s going to take them back to the Palace and change them out tomorrow. My oops, but technically, this is her project and I’m following orders, so it’s not a huge deal for me to redesign them.
Gave at least 3 tours through the Beckwith House today and I LOVED it! I’m beginning to realize how much I love explaining that history to people. It’s the same thing when I give tours of the academic side of campus at EC…hmmm. I’m sensing a pattern here. I love what I’m doing here, and I’m kinda bummed I won’t be back to DD until Monday.
Clay has a doctor’s appointment in Sioux Falls tomorrow so I got the day off to go with Cindy and Clay. Cindy is going to show me around the Falls, take me shopping, and we’re going to get sushi. She was thrilled when she discovered I liked sushi because then Clay becomes the minority against those of us who have a strange fascination with raw fish. I tell you what, sushi is becoming that one thing that I try everywhere. Wherever I go in the U.S. or abroad, there is always SOMEplace selling sushi. Gotta love it!
So that’s tomorrow. Then Saturday is the Beach Boy’s concert at the Indian Village and Cindy has recruited me to work at the VIP reception, which includes a personal meeting and picture with John Stamos! *shriek and happy dance!* I’m headed out to the Indian Village now to buy my T-shirt. Should be an exciting weekend! Can’t wait to share pictures!!! Let’s just hope the weather holds and we don’t get rained out….