Potato Salad

Everyone in my family loves my grandma’s famous potato salad. We all agree that it is by far the best side dish she makes, and it can go with any meal, or even by itself. I have no idea how she makes it, all I know is when the holiday’s come or even my birthday, I am in for a treat.

For as long as I can remember, my grandma has always made her potato salad. Over holiday’s she has to make at least two batches; one for dinner and the other to split up amongst the family to take home. While at the dinner table, greed sets in as the bowl of potato salad gets passed around. Each of us eye ball the person with the bowl to make sure they don’t take more than their fare share. If someone makes the mistake of taking a little too much (usually my brother), they will certainly hear about it.

When birthday’s come around we each get to chose what we will eat for dinner. For as long as I can remember, I have always asked my grandma for her potato salad. We all get spoiled several times throughout the year with it because we all request that she makes it.

For many years we have all enjoyed grandma’s famous potato salad. It has become one of our favorite family traditions. It has become the highlight of each meal and each holiday and birthday. It has always put a smile on not only my family’s faces, but my grandma’s as well. I don’t think there is anything that makes her happier then to see the smiles and excitement on our faces when she carries the big bowl of potato salad to the table.

A Community at Work

The Loan Center is a community. I work at a local bank in the Loan Center. Our department consists of thirteen women ranging from the age of 25 to 65. We all enjoy working with together with loans and numbers. Everyday is a new challenge. We are always dealing with new procedures and new problems. Fortunately, we love to help each other out. We know that if a problem arises, one of us will be glad to help the other out. This is the main reason why we enjoy our group, because we can count on one another.

All of us in the Loan Center have similar needs, interests, and values. For example, we all need each others help and are willing to give it when needed. This helps us get our work done in a timely manner. We all enjoy numbers, talking to people, and take pride in our work. If one of us makes an error, we make sure to help that person in a constructive positive manner. We each value our job and make it a personal goal that no one is left out in any group function.

While there are many great things each of us in the Loan Center shares, there are also some strong differences that sometimes ruffle the feathers in our community. Month ends are always a stressful time for everyone. There is a constant flow of incoming work with deadlines. This is where our differences really stand out. There are a few members of my group that do not handle stress well. They get frustrated and have horrible attitudes. This hurts the morale of the group. There are also members that socialize a little too much, which causes work to build up and puts unnecessary stress on others. We can look at these differences and see just how different personality types affect our community in a negative way. We can also look at it in a positive way by understanding that we are all individuals who share a common interest in numbers.

The fact that I love to help people makes me fit into the Loan Center Community. I get along with everyone and enjoy being a part of the team. I like to deal with numbers and solve problems, which is an essential part of our job. I want to be a part of this community because of the comradeship between each of us. No matter how stressful a day gets, there is always someone there with a helping hand. We stick up for each other and support each other. I think that is a hard thing to come across.

Assumptions

Just the very thought of me losing my wallet makes me cringe! It’s filled with important information about me and contacts for other people I know. When the finder of my wallet decides to open it the first thing they would see is my driver’s license. The finder would get a lot of information about me just from that. They would get my full name, address, height, eye color, and weight. If they flipped it over they would even see that I have corrected vision. Behind my current drivers license is an expired one. There they could see my last name is different than what’s on my current one and therefore would assume that I’m married. Further examining my wallet they would find my debit card and visa credit card and know where my bank account is held. Behind those they would see my student identification from Everett Community College and would assume that I’m a student there. If they examined the card closely they would notice my last name is the same as what’s on my most current driver’s license only adding to the assumption that I could possibly be married. Digging deeper they would find a bunch of business cards from various deputies from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department. They might assume that perhaps I have been in trouble with the law or that I am a deputy. Behind the cards they would see my checkbook. While sifting through the carbon copies of checks, they would know what kind of car I drive, how much my car payment is, and when it’s due. They might also assume that I mainly use my debit card because there aren’t many checks written. They would also see my husbands name on the checks clarifying that I am married. By looking at my health benefit cards, they would see where I work and where my husband works. Behind that they would see my Petsmart card tucked away behind my Costco card and assume that I have a pet and love to save money.

If all this person had to go on is my wallet, they would miss the fact that I work full time and go to school part time. That I am not a deputy or in trouble with the law but in fact I volunteer for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department. They would have no idea that I have three dogs, a cat and a horse. My visa credit card says “business card” on it and they would assume that I own my own business when in fact I don’t and am not sure why it says that. For the most part everything else in my wallet explains itself and any assumptions would probably be right. My driver’s license is the only thing they wouldn’t need to make any assumptions about. Anything else is just a small piece to the puzzle.

These are my three wonderful dogs! They are Shetland Sheepdogs also known as Shelties. From left to right, Beaker, Lady and Ruby. Ruby is Lady's mom and Lady is Beaker's mom.

My Dogs