Indiana State Fair

31st July 09, - Friday – JR and I had half a day off today. It was supposed to be a full day off but Doug was expecting it to get busy today so he requested that we be back by 5pm. After having a strawberry banana smoothie and some food, Monica brought us to the mall where we spend half the day shopping. We saw some interesting things and it was much more interesting and more for guys. We spent most of our time in the Abercrombie and Fitch store where I got a polo tee and JR got 2 t-shirts. We had teriyaki chicken rice after that and used the internet as there was free wifi at the food court. After getting back we started work and it was quite busy at the lemonade stand. Worked till around 1045 and played with Katelynn, a pretty little girl from the stand next to ours. She was really cute and enthusiastic playing catching with us, she is really fast and like her family, she has long legs. Played with her for about an hour before going back to our truck when it started to rain and so we bathed in our truck again. Tomorrow will be another half day to make up for today, maybe we will drop by at the mall again or go to Walmart to help Monica to change one of purchase.

1st August 09, Saturday – since JR and I got half day off again we went to the mall again because we wanted to use the internet. Uploaded some photos and research a little bit on where we wanted to go during our 1 week break after the Indiana State fair. I think more or less should be going to Washington D.C and then after that we will be going to Chicago before going back for our last fair at Elkorn. After that we walked back to the fair grounds and Monica brought us to Walmart where we were supposed to help Mo Mo change some of her cosmetics but in the end we just got them refunded because we were not very sure what was it that she wanted. We also dropped by Old Navy where we got ourselves each a pair of slippers for 2.5 bucks. I got a chocolate chocolate chip Haagen Dazs ice cream while JR got a Baileys one. After coming back to work we were entertained by the children when they made a costume out of boxes and wearing the hat and apron with a corn dog in their hands. It looked as if they were advertising for us, and it was hilarious. Business was much worse than expected for a Saturday even though the weather was good. Tomorrow will be the last day of the fair and we will be going back to the barn.

2nd August 09, Sunday – Last day of the Olmsted County Fair. Worked in the lemonade stand today since the girls are not working and will be leaving early with Monica and the kids. It was our last time eating the chicken strips and drinking the strawberry banana smoothie. I am sure gonna miss them. Things were really slow today and we started to pack up around 4 something and at 6 we stopped and clean up the stands and moved out at around 8. We reached the barn at around 12 and we had some noodles for supper since we didn’t have a proper dinner. Plans are ever changing. Now I want to drive from Wisconsin to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas before going to L.A, which means we won’t be going to San Francisco. I think going to cities like San Francisco would be very much possible in the future, but going on road trips with friends wouldn’t and so I am more for going on the road trip rather than taking a plane.

3rd August 09, Monday – Woke up and started to pack some stuff which we needed for the Indiana State Fair and moved off at about 1130am. The journey would take around 6 plus hours, passing by Illinois and then to Indiana. On the way, I listened to a CD, a story by James Patterson, the big bad wolf. Earl brought it with him so that time would pass faster while driving. Only managed to finish about half of the story though, hopefully can find the book and then finish the story. After reaching the fair grounds, realized that it was so much bigger than those that I have been to so far and this fair would be quite long, starts on the 7th and ends on the 23rd. after parking the trailers we went for dinner at taco bell and then came back to set the stands in place before planning on our trip after Elkorn. I must say that I am very disappointed but it is alright. I will find another opportunity and I will be fine tomorrow.

4th August 09, Tuesday – Last night was really happening, there was a thunderstorm at around 2 and it was raining very heavily and we wanted to see if there was hail so I opened the door to take a look. The second time, before I could open the door, there was one which struck somewhere nearby and after a while we opened the door and saw Chariene outside of Doug’s door knocking and we could smell something burning and then Doug was running around, to switch off the power and soon there was smoke coming out from the girls’ room. After ensuring that it was safe to go back to their room we used the internet till about 4 am and then went to sleep, when we woke up it was raining heavily and Doug told us that we don’t need to work today since it was raining and that we will go somewhere and do something else. They brought us to the mall where we spent the afternoon and then had dinner at the Texas roadhouse. We had a very filling dinner there as there was free flow of peanuts and bread and as Jonathan says, free food taste the best so we kept eating the peanuts and having fun throwing them as we waited for our seats. Aaron, JR and I couldn’t finish our dinner so we had to pack our food and maybe eat it for breakfast tomorrow.

5th August 09, Wednesday – the day started with a training for the concessionaires working at the fair where people in charge talked to us about the fair, what would be happening and what to take note of especially about cleanliness and hygiene. After that we prepared the stands and went for lunch at Fazoli’s. Italian food which was not bad and quite value for money, partly because there was free flow of breadsticks. After that Aaron drove us downtown where we walked around. We wlked around the state capitol. Wanted to go to the museum but it was closed at 5 so we went to the park instead where we met Mike Busk, who was working somewhere nearby and he talked to us quite a bit about the US and told us that he would come and visit us at our stand when the state fair begins. We went to Conseco Fieldhouse where the Indiana Pacers play and after that to Circle centre where the mall was. Connected to a few different buildings but we only had about 10 minutes before Doug called and told us he would be coming to pick us up and then go for dinner. Supposed to watch movie but it was cheaper to go the next morning so we went for dinner instead at Steak and Shake.

6th August 09, Thursday – 1st time I watched a 3D movie, it was cool but I don’t know whether it is worth the extra money. Watched ice age 3 with Doug’s family and Aaron this morning and then ate at Castleton Mall, teriyaki chicken rice again… After that we went back to the fairground as I had to have my photograph taken to make a pass for the fair and then Monica Miller drove us to downtown Indianapolis. Went to the Eiteljorg Museum, which was all about American Indians and Western art, with Monica Chao. It was quite an interesting museum, it would have been much better if only I had more time to spend there as they close at 5pm. Took a lot of photos as we don’t have time to read the text associated with the art piece or cultural object. So we would read it from the photos we took. It feels much better than going shopping. I don’t want to spend so much time shopping anymore, there is so much more to see, hear, learn and experience. After that went to the circle centre mall where we were supposed to meet Chariene Jonathan and JR at the Abercrombie and Fitch shop. Went window shopping for a while before stopping for dinner at Subway and checking transportation to D.C and Niagara Falls and then Doug came to pick us up and brought us back to our bunk trailers.

7th August 09, Friday – woke up earlier today as I had to report for work at 9. The day started slow and after the rest came I was shifted to the pizza stand with Chariene and things got busy real quick, the crowd just kept coming and we weren’t that prepared for them and Doug had to come and help us out as the queue was forming too fast. Things were different in the pizza stand as the person taking order had to get all the food and drinks by him or herself so it wasn’t easy to serve the customers fast. When I finally got my break, it was already 3. Time pass so much quicker when things get busy. After working for a while more got shifted back to the grab joint as Earl and Becky came to help out in the pizza stand. They would be here during the weekends. Went to peel and chop onions after that, this time didn’t cry as long as before, maybe about 3 minutes or so and I was fine. This fair is really huge and I think I am gonna take quite a few days before I can see most of it. Anyway, Jason Mraz would be performing at the fair’s grandstand on the 18th, hopefully would be able to see his performance. Ended earlier since I started earlier, wanted to use the internet but now we have to pay if we want to use it, the signal is so much stronger now… Clean our bunk while waiting for the rest to come back. Realized it was really dirty and that area cleaning is very applicable over here.

8th August 09, Saturday – Today I was working in the grab joint mostly and we were more prepared for the crowd, quite busy again as it was a weekend. After that worked in the pizza stand for a while to give Earl and Becky a break and got to go chop the onions again. 4 things I dislike during my stay here would be mosquitoes, flies, onions and lemons. The onions made me cry again today and after that went back to work in the 2 stands again. Nothing much happened today and business was quite steady today. Finished a little later today and Doug drove JR and I back to our truck. Don’t think we will have much free time here since we do not have that many people working in this fair.

9th August 09, Sunday – Happy Birthday Singapore! First time spending national day outside of Singapore. Today was really warm and everyone seemed to be in a bad mood because of the weather. Everyone’s skin is not dry anymore and we do not have to use moisturizer as we are sweating now although not as much in Singapore because it isn’t as humid. Went to see some of the exhibits today and there were quite a lot of things to see today as I walked to some parts of the fair with JR during our hour long lunch break. Unpleasant things happened all the time and there are bound to be things that we don’t like about each person we meet. I have got to humble myself more and complain lesser.

10th August 09, Monday – Today is Doug’s birthday and so he got the day off and Monica was here to help. Today started slow and it got hectic after a while at the pizza stand, suddenly there were a lot of customers ordering pizza and we couldn’t make the pizzas fast enough. When things slowed down I had to go to the truck to help peel onions, after a while I got called back because both stands were getting too busy and so I rushed back to help. By the time I got my break it was already 3 plus and I was really hungry. Around dinner time Doug came with the kids and then during my dinner break went to walk around the fair. This time I got to see animals and some old farming equipment and how Indiana was like last time. Went to the swine barn as well and there were lots of pigs there, the biggest boar weighed 1175 pounds. Demi Lovato was here to performed today and she was really popular with little girls as the grandstand was fully packed. After the concert we had another rush for food again as they were leaving the fair after the concert. After that while cleaning up, Charlie and Mary came all the way from Milwaukee to give Doug a surprise and we celebrated his birthday after work. Will was very enthusiastic about singing a birthday song to his father and it was really nice to see the family together. We had chocolate cupcakes and ice cream and then played with balloons and the kids after that, we were behaving like little kids, even Monica and Aaron were joining in the fun.

11th August 09, Tuesday – Opened the pizza stand today, things were really slow today for most of the day except during lunch time and that is when Charlie came in to the pizza stand and helped out a little bit until we cleared the queue. It wasn’t as warm today and at a point in time it seemed as though it was going to rain but in the end it didn’t. if it rained some people would have to leave early. Even during dinner time there wasn’t much people around. Everyone was very lethargic today and during my hour break I also didn’t go walk around the fair because I was just too lazy to move. Tomorrow should be a better day as yesterday’s paper had free tickets for Wednesday and Thursday in it so that should draw more people to come to the fair. Ignorance is bliss? Just something that came to my mind when I was talking to Jonathan, JR and Monica.

12th August 09, Wednesday – This morning Doug came a bit later and so had to wait for him to come before I could open the pizza stand. As usual things started slow today and it picked up around 12 and there were a lot of kids around and we had big orders, 5 large lemonades shakeups, 5 small lemonades shakeups, 8 slices of pizza and so on. I was working at the back at that time so had to make sure I am making enough pizzas, pretzels and squeezed lemons. It is fun when it gets busy and you are able to cope with the orders, it is only stressful when we don’t have enough food or drinks when the customers are ordering. Working in almost all the different stands and trying out almost everything I think I get a rough idea of how everything is done around the stands and what kind of problems people will face when doing certain jobs. Not much free time during work today and so time past much faster than yesterday. More bees came into the stand today and we killed about 10 of them today. Chariene and I got a bit of tips today, 2.35 USD in total, finally something which made her happier. It had been quite a while since anyone got any tips. During my dinner break, went to walk around the fair with Chariene and took some photos. Why do people get pissed off? Is it really because they are scared of something? I kinda like that the people here are friendlier and more expressive, sometimes certain little things that they say or do can make your day so much better. Tomorrow should be another busy day since the free ticket from the papers could be used tomorrow as well.

13th August 09, Thursday – it wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be, it was quite constant throughout the day. I worked more at the back of the stand today, I think it is good to be able to rotate with Chariene. Although it wasn’t as busy as yesterday, we still had busy moments and it felt good being able to do things quick when it gets busy. Will asked for yellow lemonade today, he told me he didn’t want white lemonade. The 1st time he told me that I didn’t understand but I still made him a lemonade, then today his mum told me that we ran out of syrup because Will told her that we gave him white lemonade because it was sour as it was just water and lemon juice with no syrup. Yellow lemonade is sweet while white lemonade is sour. A customer said ‘I love you’ to me today, haha, I was stunned for a while. There were quite a few hilarious incidences today as well, both Doug and Aaron asked customers whether they want any fries while serving customers in the pizza stand. Chariene spilled lemon juice on my feet again, a customer didn’t pay for his lemonade refill and Aaron was pissed, a little boy gave me 50 cents tips, Chariene shook the lemonade so hard that lemons fell from the tray as the whole stand shook while she was making the lemonade, I made pizzas with pointed crust as I pinch the edge of the crust really hard, now we have female pizzas and male corn dogs. I saw a bee stung the rag that I was using to kill it. I had my dinner break really late today at around 830. By the time I was back, everyone had already begun cleaning up. Went to watch the free concert during my break, there was a local band performing and they were promoting their new album. Tomorrow Kelly Clarkson would be performing, don’t know whether I will have my break during her performance.

14th August 09, Friday – Woke up early and went for a run this morning around the fair grounds. Saw the horse trainers bringing their horses out for a run on the race tracks. Opened the pizza stand today, Doug forgot to lock it last night. It wasn’t consistent today and we had crowds coming at times and they would clear all our pizzas and we had to rush out new pizzas. During my break, went to see some exhibits with JR and got some free stuff while walking around. We also went to measure our weight at the space exhibit and I am 4 kg lesser than what I used to weigh. There were a lot of orders for lemonade and it could get quite irritating at times. Kelly Clarkson was here today and we could hear her from our stands, it didn’t sound that fantastic because of where our stand is located. We are located behind the stage. We were supposed to start cleaning up early but there was a crowd due to the hot air balloons on the field, so there were quite a number of orders and we couldn’t start cleaning early. Work ended quite late today as we had to set up a tent outside of the stands and also to clean up the grab joint. Made some new friends, from South Africa and Turkey. One is selling food as well while the other works for the Midway, operating one of the rides maybe?

15th August 09, Saturday – today has got to be the busiest day of all the days I worked in the fair. We only had an hour break the whole day and all the other time we were doing something as there were a lot of customers throughout the day. Monica came to help today as we were unable to cope with so many orders coming in and even with her around we were still kept very busy and it has been quite some time since I have felt so tired. Ate a lot during my lunch break and after that it was back to work. It could get quite frustrating at times when it gets so busy and some people just have to make the situation worse or maybe I just have to be more accommodating and take things easy. During my dinner break I just went to the tent where we keep our stock and watch finding Nemo with Will and Hailey as I was too tired to do anything and I just didn’t want to talk anymore since I have been talking to customers the whole day. I am thankful for the nice and friendly customers who help make the day much better. Keith Urban was here today to perform and he drew a much bigger crowd to come than Kelly Clarkson. The grandstand was about 90% full while yesterday was less than half full. After his performance end we had some more customers as they want to grab something to eat or get something to drink before leaving the fair. As usual when we are about to close there is bound to be some customers who would want to get lemonade which made things difficult for us as we have to use the lemon squeezer and wash it again. It is the hardest dish to wash.

16th August 09, Sunday – Another busy day today although not a busy as yesterday. First thing in the morning I had to run to the truck to get pepperoni because we ran out of pepperoni and we need it to make pizzas since pepperoni pizza is quite popular over here. It got really busy during lunch time and I sometimes don’t understand why we only have 2 person working in the pizza stand when it is definitely not enough when it gets really busy. We sold a lot of lemonades today. Really a lot, a lot of lemonades. Will and Hailey were around today since Monica was around to help us as well and they sometimes get in the way especially when it gets busy which made things quite difficult. I got quite frustrated today and thankfully I was ok after my break. We closed earlier tonight and after work we went to Walmart because Monica had to make a trip down to get some things so we tagged along and went to get some stuff for ourselves as well. Got some fruits, Haagen Dasz ice cream, ham and orange juice.

17th August 09. Monday – slow slow day. it was so boring and we didn’t sell much today. Everyone had 2 hours break total. JR, Jonathan and Chariene also ended work early today because of that. They finished at about 815pm while I finished at 10pm. We cooked our lunch today, toasting bread with ham, mozzarella cheese, onions, green pepper, sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms. It was really tasty, and hopefully will get a chance to make something like that tomorrow. Chariene and I killed a lot of bees today. We were so bored we started keeping them in a cup. Since we got internet access now, everyone stayed in the tent outside of the stands during their break so as to use the internet, no one is walking around the fair during their breaks anymore because we are just quite sick of the same thing around the fair although there are still things which we haven’t seen yet. Tomorrow will be the $2 dollar day where every stand would sell something at 2 bucks so as to allow people to try the food. Jason Mraz will be performing tomorrow as well, something to look forward to.

18th August 09, Tuesday – Today almost all the food stands in the fair would be selling one of their items at only $2 so we figured we could go around trying the different types of food we wanna try but didn’t cos they were too expensive. Pizza business was quite good even though now we cut the pizza into 12 slices instead of the usual 8. They looked so small and initially I thought the business for pizza would be bad since the slices were so small. But I was wrong, throughout the day business was steady and we have to constantly make pizzas. The grab joint was selling the Italian sausage at $2, but a much smaller version. Booked the air ticket to DC and the accommodation there using Doug’s credit card. At night Jason Mraz was there to perform but I didn’t hear him although Doug said he heard him sing ‘I’m yours’. Dinner break with Chariene and JR and we went to get taters, Wisconsin cheese and that’s about it as some of the $2 stuff were too small or the queue was too long. Got into some trouble with boss today cos we didn’t do some things. It wasn’t pleasant but I guess things like that happens, just hope that it won’t happen again.

19th August 09, Wednesday – opened the stand today and we made ourselves really busy. I got to go to the mall today because I want to get my hair cut and get some things from the mall so I left at around 2 to find Monica so she can bring me to the mall. She helped me find a cheaper place to cut my hair other than the mall because the one at the mall will cost 25USD. The one she brought me to cost 15USD and I got my hair cut there. My most expensive hair cut ever. After getting my hair cut, she dropped me off at Castleton mall where I had teriyaki chicken, again. Went around looking for things to buy and I finally got the UA backpack which I had been wanting to get since the 1st time I saw it. After that went to Sam’s I think, to get some stock for Doug, bought mozzarella cheese, paper towels, cake for Jonathan’s birthday, strawberries and I got myself a sundae. While getting the stuff into the car boot it started to rain heavily suddenly and we had to throw everything in and we were drenched. When I got back to the stand, it was already about 730 and we closed early today because there was a weather warning that there would be a heavy thunderstorm and so we had to pack up real quick and leave early so we wouldn’t get caught in the rain.

20th August 09, Thursday – today was Jonathan’s birthday and Doug told us to go to the stand at 9am today because we are going to have a birthday breakfast to celebrate Jonathan’s birthday. Doug prepared the breakfast, we had pancakes, hashbrowns, bacons, orange juice, eggs, milk and grapes. They got him a $15 red lobster voucher so I guess we will be going to red lobster to eat one day. they also got each one of us the new Charlie t-shirt which had the year printed on it as well. After we had breakfast it was back to work and I started today since I had a few hours off yesterday. Things were really slow today, I guess it was because of the weather forecast. It was quite windy the whole day but it was sunny as well so it was nice. After Chariene came in, Doug told me to go to the truck to chop the onions. Cried again while doing it, can’t believe I cried so much while I’m here in the US. Then I got an hour break around the same time with Monica and JR and we went to find the long ruler that we saw a lot of people walking around with. After getting it we went to see the agriculture and horticulture exhibits. It was quite cool to see the things they have over there and then it was back to work. Jonathan and Chariene got a 2 hour break today and JR came over to work in the pizza stand for the first time. Killed many bees today and things picked up a lot during dinner time. Just kept making pizzas and pretzels. Got to go get some stock because we were running out of mozzarella cheese and I got my break only after I got back at around 8. Another hour break. Work ended around 1030.
21st August 09, Friday – Friday was really slow and we were quite bored and we had 2 breaks near each other but by dinner time it got busy and we didn’t have any dinner breaks. We were supposed to work till 11 as all the concessionaires have to. So we cleaned up and packed up everything before 10 as the weather looks really bad and we were just waiting to see if we can get permission to pack up early. We are collecting quarters now as the quarters have the different states engraved on it and we wanted to collect every single one of it. Today Chariene and I also took quite some photos as we were bored and there isn’t much chance left for us to work in the pizza stand.