Last Man Standing

Well, almost.  There will be one workamper left after today.  Since I have been here 9 workampers have left.  One left so quickly I never even met her.

This has been my experience of the management style:
You arrive happy to start the season and happy to have such a pleasant management couple to work with.  The agreed upon working hours are great and there are a few other workampers to befriend.  Because you are so happy, you want to please the couple and do your best work possible.  That is when it starts to get interesting.

Nothing, nothing, is good enough for them so you try to work even harder.  They just keep raising the expectation bar until you crack.  And most left.  And when they left, others were expected to pick up the slack.  The management couple actually said it was easy for them to always get other workampers.  But I guess it wasn't so easy for them as we never got anyone new until just recently.  And that man is working so many hours he is actually paying them to work here.  A few conversations with him and he has come to this realization.

They made it clear from the beginning that they would not tolerate any gossiping.  I thought that was a good policy until I realized they didn't want any of us talking together because then we could compare notes.  I kept to myself but as each person prepared to leave earlier than anticipated, they came to my door to tell me their stories.  No one left on good terms and no one had anything good to say.

But I stayed because I liked the park and I liked the job.  And I learned a great deal for future workamping jobs.  I will always have a written agreement that specifies how many hours I will work.  That came in handy when they asked me to work extra hours and I could refer to my agreement and politely decline.  Another woman in the office started working extra hours for them and in the end she was working 5 days a week.  Her choice, but she just couldn't say "no".  A written agreement makes it easier to decline.

I did stay out of the gossiping, but it also kept the workampers from feeling any sense of community.  It was only upon their leaving that we bonded.  Beware of managers who don't want workampers socializing together!  I constantly had the feeling that we were being watched and scrutinized. 

Beware of managers that leave notes instead of personal communication!

Beware of managers that immediately become defensive if you ask to talk to them!

Beware of managers that are too young to have the maturity skills necessary to manage!

Beware of managers that believe they are your "boss" and you are an "employee"!

As I said, I learned a lot and now I am ready to be done.  Today is my last day of work.

Short Timer

My summer workamping job officially ends on September 15th.  They are happy for me to stay as long as I want, but I haven't quite decided how long that will be.  Should I stay or should I go?

I have reservations at my favorite park in Eugene for the month of October so there are several weeks to fill before my October 1st date.  I am not thrilled about working more days but still love this particular park and not sure where to go from here.  Another park on the Coast?  Pay extra money for a park maybe not as nice as this one?  Head to Eugene earlier than anticipated?  Decisions, decisions....

My motto is "don't make a decision until you need to make a decision" and since the travel bug hasn't bitten yet, I guess I will just wait until it feels right to move.

Until then I am snug as a bug inside of Minnie on this cool and misty day with plenty of football games for amusement.  But I am now officially a short timer.

Sand Sculptures

We were late.  The tide was coming in and some of the sculptures were being drawn back into the sea.   I didn't have my camera.  But I did have my cell phone and luckily captured just a few of these amazing works of art before they were gone forever.

Beautiful Castle, Even If a Bit Blurry

Another wonderful weekend on the Oregon coast.

Bye Bye July

Magical Thyme Garden

Where did July go??  It slipped by as quickly as May and June.

I went to Human Nature Festival, had one of my best July 4th, went to the Oregon Country Fair (http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/index.php) and last weekend went to the casino in Florence, OR and to the Thyme Garden in Alsea, OR (http://www.thymegarden.com/).  That was all just in the month of July.  Wow, what a busy summer!

I still love being stationed in Lincoln City and having the ocean right across the street.  I love having a fairly constant stream of visitors and taking the occasional mini vacation.  I enjoy working in the office and the weather has been spectacular.

It has really been one of my best summers ever.

There Goes Another One

We have lost another workamper, this time my working partner.  I check the people in and he escorted them to their sites.  We had a great working relationship and I am going to miss him.

This is a new experience for me, so many people leaving, and not on good terms.  Maybe the owners are starting to wonder as well....

The count now stands at 5 workampers gone, 4 still remain. 

Changes

The park started to change the day I came back from Human Nature.  My favorite workamping couple was pulling out the next day.

I have had my issues with management, which I have since resolved, but my favorite couple couldn't get past some of their discontent and had planned on leaving the end of July.  When they talked to the managers and voiced their concerns they were asked to leave, only given three days to do so.

I was so sad to see them leave as they were very social and I could always count on having a good time while they were around.  Next thing I knew another workamper had accepted a full time assistant manager job in California and will be leaving this week.  That makes a total of four workampers no longer working in the park.  What once felt like an over abundance of workampers now feels like an empty nest.  Management seems to think this is a normal process during the summer but this is my first experience of workampers leaving mid-season and I don't like how it feels.

They have asked if I want more hours, my answer being NO, as there are no plans to hire on more workampers this late in the season and few workampers to take up the slack.  I am usually a team player, but the problem has been there has never been a sense of team at play.  That has been the big problem and why my favorite couple wanted to leave.  They wanted to feel valued and that they were part of a family, if only for the summer.  The reality has been that we all keep to ourselves. 

It may be because it is a small park and there are two managers on site.  I feel they are watching my every move so I keep a low profile.  Another factor has been that the managers have a workamping couple they are very close to and the four of them have excluded everyone else in all their gatherings and outings.  When it is so obvious that can cause some hurt feelings.  Remember junior high and that feeling of exclusion?  Kinda like that.

Management is now trying to correct those earlier missteps and we are all being invited out to dinner and they have been particularly friendly.

 I'm just thinking it is a little late for this season but maybe next season things will be different.

Re-Entry

Back from Human Nature Festival.  It was rainy, muddy, buggy and unbelievably HUMID, but I had a wonderful time and watching my son play on the main stage was the absolute highlight.  These young people are passionate about their music, their lives and raising their consciousness.  I love watching them, listening to them and had some amazing conversations.  I want to take them all home with me.

Main Stage During the Day

Main Stage at Night

Benny In the Booth

Ben Spinning at Quiet Camp

Marisa Spinning an LED Hula Hoop

Three Stages, Non-Stop Music

Three Tired Campers (Ben, Marisa and Ralph)

 I was parked very near the main stage and with non-stop music, I slept when I could.  I soon realized I had no ear plugs on board so when it got really bad I balled up some cotton balls and stuck them in my ears.  It helped, a little.  Ralph slept with me two of the nights and eventually we were both so exhausted we made good bed mates.

All I can say is.....I Wanna Go Again!