Storage is FUN!

Do you remember the first time someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up? "A ballerina!" you replied, or "An astronaut!" or "A professional golfer!" Then, when you got to be a little older, your answer changed to, "I wanna be a teacher!" or "A lion tamer!" or "A professional golfer!" And then, when you were in college, you dreamed of being in a profession that would truly make a difference in the world. "I want to be a writer, so I can write about my world!" or "I want to go into social work, so I can help the children of the world!" Or "I'm going to be a professional golfer so I can SEE the world!"


Once upon a time, I was that ballerina/teacher/writer. Turns out, I'm none of those things.


I have a weird job.


See: this is where I work:

Similarly, this is where I live:

You should be. Let me explain. I'm an on-site manager for a self storage facility. (Wait, to make that sound more significant I'm going to capitalize it. I'm an On-Site Manager For A Self Storage Facility. There, I'm immediately fodder for Most Important Job of the Year.)


My job description is thus: I maintain the grounds, keep the books, deal with the legalities of storage (ie: rental contracts, billing, enforcing liens, etc.), and run our auctions. (Yes, I said auctions. As in, just like Storage Wars, except my husband doesn't talk that fast, and we never find bags of money or weed. Well....almost never.) When I say on-site manager, I mean just that. We live here, too. Our apartment lives right behind the EZ Go Golf cart, and I run the office "from home." That means I'm here to answer every phone call, and I never miss a potential client.


The best things that can be said about my job are 1) the commute is about 30 feet, 2) I have LOTS of free time to pursue numerous hobbies (you're reading one now) and 3) no rent, no utilities, nice paycheck.


The worst things that can be said about my job are 1) it's not the sweet little house with a yard and a garage that I've always dreamed of, 2) there have been people who have asked to make payments or rent units through my open kitchen window like we're running a 24-hour McDonald's Drive Thru, and 3) mundane isn't even an efficient enough word to describe my daily work load.


Due to the fact that I mostly sit around and do nothing all day, I have plenty of time for hobbies galore. I read (a lot), blog (obviously), waste the day away on the internet. I crochet, I paint (this one's a new hobby, and I suck at it, but it's fun,) I garden (from pots, since we have no yard) and I try desperately to lose weight.


But the one hobby that I probably take the most seriously is my jewelry design. I even have a little shop called Simply Charming in SC on Etsy. You may have even noticed my adorable little shop widget, to the right ---------->.


And yes, the whole point of this blog was to plug my jewelry shop. I'm not sure if that makes me a self-serving jerk or a promotional evil genius. Either way, stop by and buy your wife/mother/sister/aunt/girlfriend/best friend/daughter/life partner/secretary/dental hygienist/cleaning lady/3rd grade teacher some earrings. Tell them Abby sent you.