Organized Chaos

I'm usually good at multi-tasking. I usually find the challenge to do many things at once a bit thrilling. 

Man, was I challenged tonight at Covenant House. 

Being stuck in the filing room was no preparation for what I had to dive into tonight....

...the front desk.

Just a few of the responsibilities of manning the front desk include and are certainly not limited to:

- Answering the phone 

(My least favorite! I spent the whole night praying that when it was my turn to answer, it would be an easy call. I'm still trying to learn the staff's names, let alone residents names, and knowing who so-and-so is and  if they're in tonight! Thankfully, my prayers were answered with relatively easy phone calls! Phew!)

-Crowd Control

(Keeping the noise levels down, breaking up any real or play fights, keeping the foyer area clear, etc. This job also involves meeting the requests that the residents have throughout the shift. There are many.)

-Babysitting

(This happens when moms need to step outside for various reasons. Good thing the kids are cute!)

-Buzzing people in 

(Let me explain. There is the front door, and to get in, the individual must knock on the window. When I hear the knock, I press the "Door" button to unlock it. Then there is the Courtyard door, which is a fenced in area outside. To get in, a doorbell sounds, I press the "Courtyard" button to unlock it. To get into the main hallway, where all the offices are located, along with the dinning room, bathrooms, etc, I must watch to see when anyone needs to get into that area and press the "Hall" button. When staff need to get into the copy room/staff bathroom area, I must watch and press the "Copy" button when they're ready. When residents and/or staff need to go upstairs to the residence floors, I must watch and press the "Stairs" button when they're ready. It's a lot of watching and pressing the button before they ask to be buzzed in. You need eyes all over your head, and this job is usually done while answering the phone, updating files on the computer, dealing with a situation with a resident, and keeping the noise down in the lounge next door while bouncing someone's baby on your knee.)

It was definitely a nonstop shift, and in the beginning I think my face was as red as a tomato from the stress of not knowing what to do or how to do it, but I think I got the hang of it quickly! The kids were very nice to me for the most part, making me feel welcome and gave me a few laughs too. I was complimented a few times by the same resident on my "ensemble." Note to self for future reference: when layering clothing of different colors, always go lighter to darker. 

While it was definitely a fast pace shift, I really enjoyed being there and learning the ropes. Also, good news, I parked directly in front of the building tonight and NO PARKING TICKET! Woohoo! Maybe the rain kept the parking authority in for the night. I guess I'll be praying for a rainy winter. 

In other world news, the impossible happened at midnight last night. My mother made a facebook account. I almost fell over when I saw a friend request from her this morning. I have no idea what got over her, and even though I swore that the day she makes a facebook is the day I deactivate my account, I can't help but find it humorous. I tried helping her update her profile, and for some reason she didn't want me to publish things like, "long walks on the beach" in the Interest category, or write "I'm a hip mom of 6, and enjoy gardening and bird watching with the love of my life" for her About Me. What's so wrong with that?? (Hopefully by this point, you're picking up my sacrasm...) 

Oh man.