Working Full-Time - Exhausting!
/I am beat. Too tired to move, too tired to eat, even--and this shows you the true depth of my exhaustion--too tired to play with the cats. What accounts for this mental/physical exertion? I've been working full-time.
Thankfully it's only a one-week gig. I live near the furniture capital of the world, or some such nonsense, and twice a year there occurs what is known as Showtime Fabric Market.
It's huge. People come from all over the world to view rooms and rooms and floors and floors of fabric samples and accessories. It's mainly a lot of furniture and clothing companies, coming to buy new lines for the season.
So what is our beloved writer doing here? Folding fabric samples.
I swear it's true. For a nice hourly wage, these companies need people to fold fabric swatches back into manageable order after their reps display them. It's repetitive, anti-mental work that makes me deeply, deeply appreciate my regular writing life. Still, a group of friends and I decided we could use the extra cash and signed up for the week. However, the showroom is about an hour from my home, so factoring in drive time there and back plus the workday, I'm at just over a 12-hour day.
I know--wah. Lots of people have it worse. I agree. I'm just sharing my perspective.
I used to work full-time away-from-home jobs, but apparently I've lost the knack. If I worked full-time outside the home now, I think my marriage would suffer. As proof, I offer a peek at our conversation last night.
I walked in the door about 7 pm. My husband met me with a big smile and a hug. "How'd it go?" he asked.
I put him at arm lengths and held a finger to my lips. "What I need from you," I said, "is the remote, a hot tea, and complete silence for the next two hours."
Oh yes, I am loads of fun to be around.
I will share that I'm embarrassed how quickly my ego reared its ugly head. I like to think of myself as someone not overly attached to job titles. But in my first five minutes there I admit I wanted to wear a badge that read, "Ask me about my Masters degree."
Something to think about.
I left a bit early today as I'm teaching a 3-hour public speaking course tonight. Tired or not, I always look forward to those. So I'm off to make some copies and finish my prep work. Then after class I'll get a good night's sleep.
I better. I've got about a 1,000 fabric samples with my name on them waiting to greet me tomorrow.
Thankfully it's only a one-week gig. I live near the furniture capital of the world, or some such nonsense, and twice a year there occurs what is known as Showtime Fabric Market.
It's huge. People come from all over the world to view rooms and rooms and floors and floors of fabric samples and accessories. It's mainly a lot of furniture and clothing companies, coming to buy new lines for the season.
So what is our beloved writer doing here? Folding fabric samples.
I swear it's true. For a nice hourly wage, these companies need people to fold fabric swatches back into manageable order after their reps display them. It's repetitive, anti-mental work that makes me deeply, deeply appreciate my regular writing life. Still, a group of friends and I decided we could use the extra cash and signed up for the week. However, the showroom is about an hour from my home, so factoring in drive time there and back plus the workday, I'm at just over a 12-hour day.
I know--wah. Lots of people have it worse. I agree. I'm just sharing my perspective.
I used to work full-time away-from-home jobs, but apparently I've lost the knack. If I worked full-time outside the home now, I think my marriage would suffer. As proof, I offer a peek at our conversation last night.
I walked in the door about 7 pm. My husband met me with a big smile and a hug. "How'd it go?" he asked.
I put him at arm lengths and held a finger to my lips. "What I need from you," I said, "is the remote, a hot tea, and complete silence for the next two hours."
Oh yes, I am loads of fun to be around.
I will share that I'm embarrassed how quickly my ego reared its ugly head. I like to think of myself as someone not overly attached to job titles. But in my first five minutes there I admit I wanted to wear a badge that read, "Ask me about my Masters degree."
Something to think about.
I left a bit early today as I'm teaching a 3-hour public speaking course tonight. Tired or not, I always look forward to those. So I'm off to make some copies and finish my prep work. Then after class I'll get a good night's sleep.
I better. I've got about a 1,000 fabric samples with my name on them waiting to greet me tomorrow.
