Smell The Roses

Let me tell you a little bit about the FunCenter.  For those of you that have been here before, you know that when you walk in, you first encounter our gallery area.  If you were to venture behind the orange curtain in the corner, you would wind up in the studio.  If you were to venture to the left and down the stairs, you would find yourself in our client reception area.  The red couch zone.  This is the area where you place your orders, take naps on the couches, or just plain ol’ chillax.

If you were to go through a door in our basement that says ‘Employees Only’, you would find yourself in the NerveCenter of the FunCenter.  This is where the sausage is made…or…this is where the magic happens…or…this is where the wizard lives.  This is also where we spend most of our day.  In the windowless basement, with only a TV monitor image of what it looks like through the front door to let us know what is happening in the outside world.  It’s like being in a casino – you don’t know if it is day or night, as it’s always relatively well lit and 71º; the monotony occasionally broken up by the hideously garish wail of the buzzer that goes off when you walk through the front door, the ringing of the phone, or the constant tapping of Otis’s foot to some unheard song.

We are the basement dwellers.  We make the sausage.  The thing about making sausage is that you really don’t want to know how it happens, you just want to be able to enjoy the final product.  It’s not all rock-and-roll all the time.  In fact, we sometimes forget that about ten feet above our heads is a totally awesome studio, just waiting to bring joy to whomever steps foot inside!  Today, we let it bring joy to ourselves.

After our last shoot, I called downstairs and notified the basement dwellers that they needed to come upstairs immediately.  Now, I’m going to let you in on another little thing that – as boss – I love to do.  I like to call employees to meet with me for an unknown reason.  When they arrive, I will say to them something to the extent of, ‘There’s something that I need to talk to you about…’, and I’ll do this in my most serious voice.  I can tell that they’re starting to get freaked out…I can see the gears in their heads spinning and wondering what it is that they are going to get in trouble for.  Panic!  Alas, my friends, they are never in trouble, it’s usually to tell them some relatively useless piece of information, or to tell them that they are doing a good job, or are getting a raise, or something like that.  If you find yourself in the boss position, try it someday – it’s fun!

Continuing on with the story, I called the dwellers upstairs, which on this fine day consisted of Emily & Maureen.  I could hear the pitter-patter of their feet as they ascended the stairs and rounded the corner into the studio where I was seated.  I motioned them to come over to me, and when they were near, I notified them that it was time for an emergency picture taking session.

Rejoice!  We were able to escape the basement for a few precious moments, and experience the love stu-stu-studio has to give!  We have to practice from time to time, we have to stop and smell the roses.  What good is having a rockem-sockem good time studio if we’re not able to use it from time to time, right?!  After a few minutes, we shut the lights off, turned the music down, pulled the backdrops up, and wandered back down to the basement, back to work making the sausage.

Even on the worst days, we have an incredible job!

MuchLove!

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