"No More Shoveling?"

I got a call from my landlord this morning. He had an idea he wanted to run by me...

In past winters, it's been my job to shovel snow off the sidewalks. Now that I've moved, however, that obviously has to change. If my landlord goes with his idea, that "change" might actually become more of an "upgrade": I'd get to put down the shovel, and pick up the snowblower!

It's an exciting prospect -- at least for me. Wisconsin tends to get a lot of snow in winter. During this past season alone, we got 100 inches, and that's a pretty big job when you're only armed with a shovel, elbow grease, and facing hundreds of feet of buried sidewalk.

I know it may sound strange, but I actually enjoy shoveling. I wouldn't want to make a career out of it, but I do like the hard labor every once in a while. It's a welcome break from my office work.

Here at my new place, someone else is on tap to take care the snow removal, which is fine. She's been doing it for years, and I have no interest in stealing her thunder. Under this new arrangement, I'd still be removing snow at my old apartment (only with a nifty new machine that spits the snow off the sidewalks for me!), taking on a second apartment structure nearby, and helping my neighbor right here -- as needed -- in clearing out any late-day or large obnoxious snowfalls. My landlord would provide transportation (for me and the equipment), and I'd still get to "play" in the snow!

Sounds like fun. Less physical labor than the shoveling, sure, but still a new and challenging gig. And, as I've come to realize lately, I really do need more new challenges in my life. Same-old, same-old is nice -- for a while -- but shaking things up... that has it's advantages too!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 4:23 PM  I   I  0 comments