My Aladdin Lamp Obsession, Pt. 2: Aladdins in Pop Culture

I have so much to say about Aladdins that I had to break my article into 2 parts! In case you missed Part 1, click here to check it out.

I've studied Aladdins so much, that now, whenever I'm watching TV and movies set in the past, I immediately look at the lighting just to see if I can tell what type of oil lamps are present. I am proud to say that I've now spotted Aladdin lamps twice! They don't seem to be that common in film, so it's always fun to spot them.

My first find was in the show Copper. It is one of my proudest Aladdin accomplishments to say that I found an anachronism! Someone in props didn't do their homework! The show is set in the 1860s. The first Aladdin was sold in 1909, so yeah, they are at least 40 years premature in featuring them in the show! Not only that, but these are clearly lox-on models (there are no raised prongs holding the chimney in place). Lox-on burners and chimneys were not introduced until 1928! Any prop directors wanting lamps for your set? Clearly I'm the one to ask :)

My next find was on Doctor Who. I was surprised to see the Doctor not only carrying the lamp around, but running with it! Those lamps are heavy, and fragile! It was dark, but the glow of the mantle and the up-close shots of the burner make the Aladdin super recognizable.

I wonder where they will turn up next, but I can't wait to find out!

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My Aladdin Lamp Obsession, Pt. 1

My amethyst Lincoln Drape

Hi, my name is Lori and I'm addicted to Aladdin lamps.

Working at Lehman's since I was 18 (14 years now, and counting...), I've learned A LOT! Things like: how businesses operate, marketing techniques, and more information about water pumps, grain mills, and so many other off-the-grid, self-sufficient products than I thought I would ever know. I enjoy learning, and some of our products are just down-right fascinating, not to mention practical.

Over the years, I've always found our oil lamps to be one of my favorite products...mainly for aesthetic reasons. As I've had to conduct training on the lamps (among lots of other things), I've really had to learn a lot about and understand how they work. I've always been drawn to one particular kind of oil lamp - the Aladdin. I've always known they were different than regular oil lamps, and that they have some different parts than regular oil lamps. However, over the past several years, I've learned so much about them, and the more I learn, the more I am simply fascinated with them.

The glow of my Aladdin during a
recent power outage

Ever since the several-hour power outage last year, when I had a need to light my very own Aladdin lamp for not only light, but heat, I've been wanting to get another one. My lamp is an amethyst Lincoln Drape that I keep in my bedroom...because it's purple, obviously. It was a little inconvenient to carry it all the way downstairs to the living room. So, I have my eye on our most popular model, the Genie III. I'm waiting until the new and improved burners are available, and then I'm adding it to my collection!

To further add to my growing obsession, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Clarksville, TN with 7 of my co-workers to the Aladdin headquarters last year! Lehman's wholesale division, Crownplace Brands, bought out Aladdin, so we would be moving the entire operation to little old Dalton, Ohio. My attendance was purely for work reasons - to learn as much about the lamps as possible from the experts, so I can better train our staff. However, it just so happens that I was super excited to go for personal reasons as well...win-win!

In preparation for the trip, I started studying up on Aladdins again, and began to update my training materials. I dug a little deeper into the history of the lamps. The origins of the company are very interesting, and it's fun to see how the lamps have evolved over time, yet keeping the same basic operating principles. We got to see how lamps are put together, tested, boxed for shipping, and more! We got to meet and talk with the people who are the absolute experts, and they shared so many wonderful tips and facts with us. It was a great 2-day trip. I learned so much, and had such a good time! I'm so fortunate that I was selected to go!

One of my favorite parts of our visit was scouring their warehouse filled with thousands of old lamps that were set out in preparation for their auction. It was so fun to see in person, so many old and unique styles. We made it our mission to find an original Model #1, that they said was there somewhere. It took us awhile, but we found it! It was so hard to believe that we were able to touch an original made in 1909! I think it's safe to say that I am an Aladdin geek.

Here are some of the really cool photos I took on the trip to the Aladdin headquarters in Clarksville, TN.

The elusive Model 1!!!

The bottom of the lamp showing the center draft tube

In part 2 of this post, My Aladdin Lamp Obsession, I talk about Aladdins in pop culture.

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It's the Little Things...

Anyone who knows me, knows that for the past 2 years or so at work, things have been....let's just say crazy and overwhelming at times. I've been pretty involved with the implementation of new software, that is affecting just about every area of business: direct sales, online sales, retail, etc. My job as Trainer, has required me to learn procedures for just about every job. And not only learn it, but create procedure documents and training materials. I have to know everything well enough so that I can train everyone else. There have been a lot of deadlines that have needed to be met for getting everything prepared. And that includes printing, collating and hole-punching hundreds of upon hundreds of documents to pass out to the employees.

It's been hard to get everything done, and lots of overtime hours have been put in. Things have been stressful, but thankfully after the big pushes to get things done, there has been some relief before the next round. I tried not to let the stress and frustration show, but some who know me well, knew I was under a lot of pressure during a timeframe of a couple weeks where we were conducting training with selected "Super Users". It was during this time, that I received some little unexpected pick-me-ups that were so thoughtful. These were given to me a couple months ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it.

My Favorite Photo?

I love to take pictures, and I am always the designated photographer on vacations. I pride myself on being able to capture great moments and frame scenes perfectly. I love taking pictures of nature more than just about anything, especially beautiful skies. Clouds, sunrises, sunsets, etc.

I have taken a lot of great pictures in my time that I'm really proud of. But, few months ago, I captured something I didn't expect, and it has turned into one of my favorite photographs that I've ever taken. For this picture, I was just trying to take a picture of the sun and clouds because it was a beautiful day. When I went back and looked at the pictures I had taken that day, this one immediately stood out. There was something special about it. As I looked at it closer, I realized that the rays of the sun formed what looked like a cross! It was beautiful! Ever since then, I keep coming back to this picture and realizing just how awesome it is. Had I snapped the picture a few seconds earlier or later, or held my phone at a slightly different angle, the picture could have been completely different and just plain ordinary. I love this picture so much that I printed it out and put it in a frame in my living room so I can look at it every day. I look at it as a special message from God.

Is That Me?

This strange piece of mail was brought to me at work today. It was addressed to, whom we can all only assume, is me. After laughing hysterically at "my name", I opened the letter to find that it had nothing to do with me. I have no idea why it came to me, or how my name got so horribly misspelled. Just another strange full moon occurrence today.

Why I Love My Job: Part 1

For anyone who doesn't know, I am the Trainer at Lehman's.  May 7, 2011, will mark my 10th year at Lehman's.  It's hard to believe that it's been that long!  I've been really thankful for a lot of things lately, and one of those things is my job.  I know that not a lot of people can say that they love their job, but I can definitely say that!  I thought I would take some time to think about why I love it so much. Note: this is written only from my personal experiences.

A Little Background Info

Mural that I painted in the CSR Dept.

I started out as a CSR (Customer Service Representative) at Lehman's.  All I can say about being a CSR is: it's HARD!  Unless you are or have ever been a Lehman's CSR, you have no idea just how hard it is.  You are pretty much expected to know everything about everything, whether it's "Lehman's-related" or not.  You have to be a customer service rep (obviously), but also other things not necessarily in the title like: product specialist, order taker, phone operator, salesperson, problem investigator, therapist (weird but true...some customers just want someone to listen to their problems), GPS, travel agent, phone book, and not to mention doing many of these things at the same time!  It's so many jobs rolled into one.  During the busiest times of the year, there isn't even time to breathe between calls...they just keep coming!

Why I Love My Job: Part 2

...Continued from "Why I Love My Job: Part 1"

So, let's get to it.  Here are 10 reasons why I love my job (in no particular order).
Note: this is written from only my own personal experiences.

1. Teaching!  I get to teach, and even have my own "classroom"!

I went to school to be a teacher, but I never dreamt I would be able to combine my love of teaching and my love of working at Lehman's.  I used to love the look on a child's face when they learn something new.  Teaching adults is a little different, but it still gives me a good feeling to teach them new things.  All the things that I help them learn, helps them to do their jobs better, and that's a good feeling.

I teach employees new software programs, new procedures, and much more.  I also teach new employees how to use Lehman's voice mail and email.  But the thing closest to being a school teacher is the product training that I do.  I have designed the entire "curriculum" which includes a lesson and a test.  Just like a teacher, I then get to grade the tests. Right now, our current certifications include: Food Preservation, Grain Mills, Lighting, Water Filters and Water Pumps.  10 years ago, I never imagined that I would know enough about any of these things to be able to teach other people about them!

I also have my own "classroom", or Training Room as I call it.  This is where I do a lot of my training that takes places at our Dalton location.  We have 4 computers, so it also functions as a computer lab for web-based training.

About A Girl: My Life in Song Titles

The other day, one of my Facebook friends posted a note with a fun game to pass on to others.  Normally, I hate those kinds of things, and for the most part, I think they're pretty dumb.  However, this one looked interesting, so I read the challenge.  

It said to take your iPod and put it on shuffle.  Then for each question, you were to press "Next", and write the song title that comes next, no matter how silly it sounded.  I read through the answers that she came up with, and while some didn't make any sense.  I was surprised how funny some of them turned out.  So I decided to try it for myself.

Turns out, it was actually kind of fun!  The more I got to thinking about it, I realized that I knew of some songs that I love that actually would answer these questions to describe me.  Because I'm not very good at talking about myself...I thought this could be a fun way of doing just that.

I decided to go a step further, and delete/change some of the questions, as well as add a couple of my own, to better describe myself.  I liked the random idea, so I'm including what songs came up randomly, as well as the songs that I chose that actually best described me (most songs are actually currently on my mp3 player, but some are just from my mp3 music library).  Keep in mind, I chose songs mostly for the title alone, not necessarily what the song is about.  I liked the song titles are to playlist.com, where you can actually listen to the song if you want.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find all of my songs. :(

And, YES the random songs, were actually what came up...I didn't cheat!

Try it yourself...and enjoy reading my list!

1. What should the title of this be?

• Random Song: "Tired of Being Sorry" (by Ringside)
  
• "About A Girl" (by The Academy Is...)

The beginning...

For the longest time, I have wanted to start a blog...even though I wasn't sure what I would write about.  So as a kind of "New Year's Resolution", I decided to set up a blog...even if I didn't have anything to write yet. 

One thing that I've realized, is that it's so much easier to write blog articles for the employee blog, Lehman's Latest at work.  Because my life's not that interesting, this might just be something I do to amuse myself.  We'll see!

PS: I've set up my music player with some of my all-time favorite songs.  Enjoy!