Yep. That pretty much sums up my days at the Sale Barn. I love the work and the people, but I am not sure which way is up at the end of the day. The work is not difficult, but they are are training me in 6 different jobs and I might do 1 or 2 or three in the course of a day and then I may not be called to do one of them again for months. Well, heck. By then, I have forgotten what that particular job entailed. Can't recall whether this buyer wants this amount for freight for this client or whether this person is assigned this commission or whether Benny gets the green and cream copies or the white and yellow ones. And I haven't a clue which pens to assign for which head. There is a definite method to the madness, but I can't make heads of tails of it. When I think its a head, its a tail. And we won't even go in to the dreams I've been having since I've hired on! LOL.
And lest you think I'm complaining, I am not. It's been an adventure and I'm bound and determined to make sense of it all, although I may very well be senseless when that time comes. :)
They had a special sale 2 Saturdays ago and I trained in a new position that I flew solo in yesterday. I kept hearing, "We do this today, but you won't have to do this on Monday." And I told the buyers to be sure and bring their patience with them on Monday and if they didn't appreciate Dana now, they were REALLY going to appreciate her when she got back! One of the girls is going to Egypt for 3 weeks this month. I told her I would greatly appreciate daily prayer.
And can I just add that the gal I work for is just awesome. She is a champion multi-tasker and juggled not only all of her tasks, but my never-ending requests and questions. Everyone I work with is great and I truly appreciate their help and kindness.
I took a batch of Cowboy Cookies and everyone kind of wanders in and out of the office throughout the day and soon the cookies had disappeared. The buyers came to my window with cookies in hand, and as we conducted their business, they commented on how much they liked them. One buyer requested I leave a batch at his house. They were all very patient and sweet and kind. Cookie power! :) Homemade cookies have been known to soften a curmudgeonly cowman or two in the past and I figured if THAT didn't do it, I could bring out the big guns next week and make them cinnamon rolls. That is IF I still HAVE a job next week!
If not, I guess I could just sit outside on the curb and sell my cinnamon rolls.
Showing posts with label Tales From a Sale Barn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tales From a Sale Barn. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
A Peek into a Day at the Sale Barn
Whew! I survived that first day at the sale barn...barely. Land Sakes!! My head is swimming. I don't imagine many of you have had any experience with sales barns and auctioneers, but my brain is on overload.
Leslie, if you read this - I thought of you. :) Did you hear my cries of HELP!? :) There were a few "Lord, have mercies and good gravies mixed in.
They put me in the ring, which means I sit with the auctioneer on one side and a very nice coworker on the other, who fixes all of my mistakes, enters the weight, and lets the people in the back know which pen to sort things into and sends all the information to the office.
The other very sweet and extraordinarily patient lady sat behind me and walked me through the day. My sincerest apologies to both of them. They deserve a raise for having to put up with me.
My job is to enter the tag numbers (there are 1-5 tags per lot), the codes for what is being sold, number of hd being sold, the code for each buyer, and all pertinent information relating to said buyer. As well as any anomalies such as bobtails or knots. There are about 50 different codes and combinations thereof for what is being sold and I have to look at what comes into the pen and designate a code for each. Not always easy when they come flying into the pen on the fight, flinging dirt and cow crud into your face and down your shirt. That part I can handle. :)
Some don't have tags and I have to give one of the owners a hand signal that it needs a tag and he then shows me a tag that I enter as he slaps it on the critter as it flies out of the ring onto the scale. And they don't always sell them one at a time. Some are sold in lots. There were 29 in one lot. No problem if they then sell them that way, but often, they will decide to split the lots and then I just want to cry.
And my eyes! I found out that bifocals are in my future if they still want me to work there. :( I have reading glasses, but I don't need them for anything else and with this job, I don't need them to read the tags or see what is in the pens, but I darn sure need them to enter things into the computer. That means I took my glasses off approximately 1000 times on Monday between 9 and 2:30. I would need them to look up the codes too, but there isn't time to do that. You just need to know the codes.
Remember, this is an auction and they run the cattle through at warped speed. You're lucky if you get 20 seconds to document what needs to be documented and my old 50-yr old mind just does not function like that anymore. I'm not sure that it ever did.
I adore the people I work with, but I felt as if I had worked on Wall Street by the end of the day. It might be a misconception, since the only thing I know about working on Wall Street is from a movie or two, but you don't see many 50 yr olds on Wall Street, and I'm pretty laid back. Not sure that's a good thing in this situation.
I could not turn my brain off all night. I actually liked the work, but good gravy, the speed just threw me for a loop. They sold 1000 hd in 5 1/2 hrs. The ladies that are training me have been working there for 20 years so they have it down to a T. They even have time to visit. Shoot. I didn't even have time to breathe. I drink a lot of water throughout the day, but not on Mondays because there isn't time to go to the bathroom. I stayed so busy that I kind of forgot that I had to go. LOL.
I sure hope the good Lord doesn't mind spending His Monday's at the sale barn, because heaven knows I need Him to be there! And don't ask me who else was there because I could not tell you, but if you happen to be a red mottled face heifer, I'm your gal... because I know your code! :)
Leslie, if you read this - I thought of you. :) Did you hear my cries of HELP!? :) There were a few "Lord, have mercies and good gravies mixed in.
They put me in the ring, which means I sit with the auctioneer on one side and a very nice coworker on the other, who fixes all of my mistakes, enters the weight, and lets the people in the back know which pen to sort things into and sends all the information to the office.
The other very sweet and extraordinarily patient lady sat behind me and walked me through the day. My sincerest apologies to both of them. They deserve a raise for having to put up with me.
My job is to enter the tag numbers (there are 1-5 tags per lot), the codes for what is being sold, number of hd being sold, the code for each buyer, and all pertinent information relating to said buyer. As well as any anomalies such as bobtails or knots. There are about 50 different codes and combinations thereof for what is being sold and I have to look at what comes into the pen and designate a code for each. Not always easy when they come flying into the pen on the fight, flinging dirt and cow crud into your face and down your shirt. That part I can handle. :)
Some don't have tags and I have to give one of the owners a hand signal that it needs a tag and he then shows me a tag that I enter as he slaps it on the critter as it flies out of the ring onto the scale. And they don't always sell them one at a time. Some are sold in lots. There were 29 in one lot. No problem if they then sell them that way, but often, they will decide to split the lots and then I just want to cry.
And my eyes! I found out that bifocals are in my future if they still want me to work there. :( I have reading glasses, but I don't need them for anything else and with this job, I don't need them to read the tags or see what is in the pens, but I darn sure need them to enter things into the computer. That means I took my glasses off approximately 1000 times on Monday between 9 and 2:30. I would need them to look up the codes too, but there isn't time to do that. You just need to know the codes.
Remember, this is an auction and they run the cattle through at warped speed. You're lucky if you get 20 seconds to document what needs to be documented and my old 50-yr old mind just does not function like that anymore. I'm not sure that it ever did.
I adore the people I work with, but I felt as if I had worked on Wall Street by the end of the day. It might be a misconception, since the only thing I know about working on Wall Street is from a movie or two, but you don't see many 50 yr olds on Wall Street, and I'm pretty laid back. Not sure that's a good thing in this situation.
I could not turn my brain off all night. I actually liked the work, but good gravy, the speed just threw me for a loop. They sold 1000 hd in 5 1/2 hrs. The ladies that are training me have been working there for 20 years so they have it down to a T. They even have time to visit. Shoot. I didn't even have time to breathe. I drink a lot of water throughout the day, but not on Mondays because there isn't time to go to the bathroom. I stayed so busy that I kind of forgot that I had to go. LOL.
I sure hope the good Lord doesn't mind spending His Monday's at the sale barn, because heaven knows I need Him to be there! And don't ask me who else was there because I could not tell you, but if you happen to be a red mottled face heifer, I'm your gal... because I know your code! :)
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
A New Place to Hang Out on Mondays
A few weeks ago I received a phone call out of the blue from the lady who owns the local sale barn. I know who she is, but I don't KNOW her. DH deals with her husband on a regular basis when we haul various loads into the sale barn and I often tag along, but rarely am I inside.
She asked me if I would be interested in a job. Ummm... I was shocked since I'm not looking for a job, but I figured I ought to at least give it some thought and prayer because surely there was a reason I had received this phone call. She said she's been looking for someone for a while and her SIL, who is one of the county extension agents, suggested I might be a good fit. I thought that was awfully nice of her to recommend me.
So I prayed about it and talked to DH about it and last week I went in for an interview. I have been out of the job market for a really long time and it all felt kind of strange, but I guess everything went well and I start on Monday.
Its VERY part time...just Monday's since that's sale day, but I think that will fit in really well with the rest of my life.
As we visited, Cindy told me that 4 of the ladies that worked there were quilters, including her and that they always brought things to show what they were working on or what they had finished. Yep. I think I just might fit in.
So if you're looking for me on Monday's, you can find me here:
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