Every year around this time, we tear down boxes, organize our plethora of proof and mint sets, update our web inventory, and make the backend of our store a little more user-friendly for the months to come. It always seems like a daunting task to begin with, and this year we added a little twist to the action as we did some “spring assembly” as well.
Recently, I decided to inquire about a scanner that was previously sitting on a lonely filing cabinet, having been out of commission for quite some time. I wanted to make it more available for all us Southgate girls to use. You see, we have our main scanner, which is used daily for everything from Curry’s Chronicle images to making sure all of our website coins get their certificates displayed. But, only having this one scanner means that it gets tied up, and sometimes other projects are delayed until the girls can hop on its workstation.
Now, the only problem with using the other scanner I discovered, is that there wasn’t a workstation that wasn’t already covered in PC technology. When I asked Marie about it, I inadvertently volunteered to spearhead a project to get a new stand for the second scanner that could be used at another workstation.
While perusing our favorite office supply store’s website and catalogs, Rusty picked out the stand that looked suitable and had the correct measurements. It had to be small enough to fit in the space between the computer desk and the wall, with enough space underneath for the CPU not to get overheated. He also picked another, small drop-leaf stand to be used as an auxiliary table when needed.
A day later, we received two huge boxes containing the stands. Well, of course, “some assembly was required,” so Crystal volunteered to play handywoman for a day and assemble the stands. While she assembled the first stand, I made sure that the backup scanner and its software were properly installed and functioning. Crystal then told me she was having some difficulties with the second stand and I had to help her wedge the stand’s legs into their slots in the tabletop… Fun stuff!
After we were finished assembling (sort of) the second stand, we realized that the “drop-leaf” designation was very misleading, because in order to raise or drop the leaf, you had to totally unscrew, reposition, and re-screw the leaf. Rusty decided that this wasn’t really an efficient design, and the next day, he had Nicole disassemble the second stand so it could be returned. Marie then ordered a second stand just like the good one we decided to keep so we could still use it as a backup.
Of course, when Crystal returned after a day off, she had no idea that she’d be assembling a stand for the third time. She applied the experience she’d gained when she assembled the first two stands and got the third one set up in no time. It’s definitely good to have a handywoman around!
Now, it’s time to for us to get back to organizing the inventory. And maybe it’s time for all you weblog readers to roll up your sleeves and get some spring cleaning done, too!
-Maya