This year has gone by very quickly. There used to be times where the clock would drag and the days last forever. The week would take it's sweet time with the weekend far away across the ocean.
Not so this year.
Is it morning? ZIP! Actually, my watch says 1:30 PM.
Is it Monday? ZIP! Sorry to be mistaken... Today is Thursday.
July? Zip! October.
To me the days are going by like a flip book. Does this mean I'm busy? Or that I've been kept busy? If a person was busy, they should be making progress in whatever they're doing. If we are to measure progress, then yes, my store looks very good. I get feedback all the time about how clean the place looks and how fast I put stuff up. A long time ago, I jokingly said that the place would burn down if I was gone for more than a few days. Perhaps not erupt into flames or crumble into rubble, but it would definitely lose some of it's luster. Is that ego talking? Perhaps. Here's the truth: they are sure getting their monies worth out of me. Question is, am I getting enough out of the deal? Minimum wage and hard work gets you minimum wage.
True, Lowe's has been making me jump through hoops every day. Just so people understand I'm not exaggerating. In back of the store I cut up several large pallets using circular and reciprocating saws. These are the kind that are used to transport riding mowers, so it's more truthful to call them crates, rather than pallets. The result: four stacks of wood that can now go into our storage trailer before the regional super grand poo-bahs arrive on Thursday. That was accomplished before lunch. (On top of receiving the normal eight delivery trucks that morning. I'm including Fed Ex, UPS and the distribution truck plus the local deliveries in that estimate.) Today I cleaned, loaded, unloaded, pulled, lifted and pushed my way through the day.
Honestly, the work isn't mentally difficult. Meticulous, fast-paced, strenuous, physically demanding... a big hell yes.
Since last year I've dropped 15 pounds. After a quick fact check (ran into the bathroom and weighed myself.) I'm now 175. If I weighed myself right after I get home, rather than after dinner, I wager I'd be closer to 172. I have weighed more (working out at the gym)... I've also been less. (My senior year in high school.)
Back to my perception of time. My day starts before the sun is up. Most of the time I make it home right before sunset. Between making dinner and riding herd on the kids, it's nearly 10 PM. Time for Dad to go to bed. 5 AM comes awfully early in these parts. I sleep, I eat, I work. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Am I, dare I say it, in a rut? If I am, it's not a good one. Using the weekend to catch up on chores and projects, I'm not surprised I'm feeling a little burnt out. Before I left work, I checked how many hours of vacation time I have built up: Almost 35 hours. A week off sounds good, but when to take it? The answer is as soon as possible, of course.
A person in my old writing group sold a short story to an anthology and her historical romance is due to be published some time this winter. I mention this because I helped edit her novel and critiqued it chapter by chapter. The reason they are my old writing group is that they're mostly romance writers. I will be forever grateful to them for teaching me better grammar and structure, but my writing interests and theirs don't coincide.
10 PM local time. A Pink Floyd song lyric comes to mind.
run, rabbit run. Dig that hole against the sun.
When at last the work is done,
don't sit down, it's time to dig another one.
Yeah, that pretty much sums up how I feel.
Not so this year.
Is it morning? ZIP! Actually, my watch says 1:30 PM.
Is it Monday? ZIP! Sorry to be mistaken... Today is Thursday.
July? Zip! October.
To me the days are going by like a flip book. Does this mean I'm busy? Or that I've been kept busy? If a person was busy, they should be making progress in whatever they're doing. If we are to measure progress, then yes, my store looks very good. I get feedback all the time about how clean the place looks and how fast I put stuff up. A long time ago, I jokingly said that the place would burn down if I was gone for more than a few days. Perhaps not erupt into flames or crumble into rubble, but it would definitely lose some of it's luster. Is that ego talking? Perhaps. Here's the truth: they are sure getting their monies worth out of me. Question is, am I getting enough out of the deal? Minimum wage and hard work gets you minimum wage.
True, Lowe's has been making me jump through hoops every day. Just so people understand I'm not exaggerating. In back of the store I cut up several large pallets using circular and reciprocating saws. These are the kind that are used to transport riding mowers, so it's more truthful to call them crates, rather than pallets. The result: four stacks of wood that can now go into our storage trailer before the regional super grand poo-bahs arrive on Thursday. That was accomplished before lunch. (On top of receiving the normal eight delivery trucks that morning. I'm including Fed Ex, UPS and the distribution truck plus the local deliveries in that estimate.) Today I cleaned, loaded, unloaded, pulled, lifted and pushed my way through the day.
Honestly, the work isn't mentally difficult. Meticulous, fast-paced, strenuous, physically demanding... a big hell yes.
Since last year I've dropped 15 pounds. After a quick fact check (ran into the bathroom and weighed myself.) I'm now 175. If I weighed myself right after I get home, rather than after dinner, I wager I'd be closer to 172. I have weighed more (working out at the gym)... I've also been less. (My senior year in high school.)
Back to my perception of time. My day starts before the sun is up. Most of the time I make it home right before sunset. Between making dinner and riding herd on the kids, it's nearly 10 PM. Time for Dad to go to bed. 5 AM comes awfully early in these parts. I sleep, I eat, I work. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Am I, dare I say it, in a rut? If I am, it's not a good one. Using the weekend to catch up on chores and projects, I'm not surprised I'm feeling a little burnt out. Before I left work, I checked how many hours of vacation time I have built up: Almost 35 hours. A week off sounds good, but when to take it? The answer is as soon as possible, of course.
A person in my old writing group sold a short story to an anthology and her historical romance is due to be published some time this winter. I mention this because I helped edit her novel and critiqued it chapter by chapter. The reason they are my old writing group is that they're mostly romance writers. I will be forever grateful to them for teaching me better grammar and structure, but my writing interests and theirs don't coincide.
10 PM local time. A Pink Floyd song lyric comes to mind.
run, rabbit run. Dig that hole against the sun.
When at last the work is done,
don't sit down, it's time to dig another one.
Yeah, that pretty much sums up how I feel.
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