Flowers, Balloons, and Candy...OH MY!

As I have for the last couple years, I delivered flowers for Valentine's. My friend Stephen roped me into it one year, as he delivered for Killian's Florist here in town. Janet (Killian) does some of the most beautiful arrangements in town, and has several fun and crazy people who help her out on crunch days. Monday afternoon when I got back from Denver was great. I delivered with the window down, wearing a lightweight knit shirt. It was sunny, cheery, and happy.

Tuesday, or as I like to call it, Villain-tines Day, wasn't so pleasant. But more on that in a sec. Why do I deliver flowers when I have the anti-heart bitterness required of terminally single individuals, you ask? Well, it's simple, really. I have found a way to get paid for having to suffer through the nasty holiday. Good thinking, huh? That, and it reminds me that there are things worse than the job I have now. So here's a brief recap from yesterday (I didn't pay as much attention on Monday afternoon):

• 54 - orders I delivered
• 5 - re-deliveries I had to make when someone wasn't home or wasn't where they were supposed to be (3 of these were to one person - she was NOT my favorite)
• 135 - total orders delivered
• 85 - miles I drove around town yesterday
• 9.5 - hours spent delivering
• 32 - average temperature for most of yesterday
• 45 - mph for gusts of wind (great fun for orders involving balloons)
• 3 - gin and tonics I drank at the "light at the end of the tunnel" party we do each year after closing