Scrapbook Expo

I had an opportunity to work at a scrapbook expo at the Broward County Convention Center.  I worked for a guy named Eric Smith who owns Paper Wizard.  His company makes laser-cut scrapbook kits.  

His kits are really cute and amazingly detailed!  When I worked at Roberts, I became so jaded with all of the scrapbook stuff I saw.  Things had to be really something to get my attention.  These are really something. 

It was hard work, but fun.  I actually worked for Eric on Thursday and Saturday.  However, I also had an opportunity to work for one of the other retailers who had been unable to find people to help her.  I helped set up and put all the product on their displays.  It meant standing all day on cement floors.  The food there was not very good...But Eric paid for it, which was nice of him.  At the end of Saturday, I helped inventory and take everything down so it could be put away for the next show.  Eric does 22 shows a year.  His next one was in California, I think.

The only negative experience I had through all this was going through the Port of Everglades.  Anyone who goes through there has to show their ID.  Friday night I mistakenly went back into the port and had to show my ID in order to turn around.  I ended up sticking my license back into my wallet, but didn't realize or remember where.  When I came Saturday morning, I was shocked to see my license was not anywhere I could find!  I looked everywhere for it!  So I was asked to pull around and see the police officer.  When I couldn't find my license he tried looking it up, but the way I told him, he kept coming back to tell me I wasn't in the system and he was getting more and more annoyed and impatient with me.  I was in tears talking to Mark.  (He had already looked up the license and demanded to know who Mark was)  The way he was treating me, Mark wanted to reach through the phone and punch him.  Finally, I was able to tell him the right name and he found me.  They issued me a one day pass to get through.  When I went through the gate, the man who gave me the pass apologized and said how sorry he was at how I'd been treated.  His kindness made me cry again.  I'd been there for about a half hour and was late for work.  And then the guy at the gate I was supposed to park in wouldn't accept my pass because I didn't have a picture ID, so I ended up parking in the expensive parking ($12.00/day).  I had to ask myself what I was supposed to learn from this experience. 

That night after I got home, Mark went through my wallet and found my license in a side pocket I hadn't checked.  At least it wasn't lost.

The good thing about the weekend was making over $300.00 between the two businesses.  The bad thing is being more paranoid about police officers.