Tag Archives: evil day job

“Rainy Days and Mondays”

Yeah, it’s been another of those days. Rainy and miserable. And not much change in store for the week. But for a brighter note there was a cardinal in the (still leafless) maple tree in my back yard this afternoon, and his song was just the cheery counterpoint I needed.

Only one more day and then I have six days off. My staffing agency called this afternoon to see if I wanted to work on Wednesday, even if only half the day. (Wednesdays are my scheduled days off.) I have a doctor’s appointment first thing in the morning, though, and an “exercise pulse oximetry test” later in the morning, and since I don’t know how long that will take I had to turn them down. I’m not sure what happened to the nurse that is supposed to be there on Wednesdays, but not my problem.

Writing in 100 word segments is still working well for me, except that sometimes I feel like I’m losing the thread of the story and going off on a tangent. That can be fixed in editing, I suppose, and as long as I remember to trust the process it will all turn out all right. Who knows? I might like the tangent better than the planned version.

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Ouch

Someone just needs to shoot me and put me out of my misery.

Last night I got “stuck” in the bathtub. (And somehow clunked my head on the back of it – no bruise yet but I’m sure I’ll have one soon enough. It’ll match the one on my jaw/chin from face-planting on the garbage can last week.)

I’m beginning to think that weekends are hazardous to my health.

We ended up having to call EMS for a lift assist, but at least they got me out.

Part of the problem was that in trying to get out I over-stressed my upper arms and they refused to help anymore. I think I pinched a nerve in my right arm, too, as it was tingling all the way down to my fingers and has a very limited range of motion. Made it to the chiropractor and he gave me an excuse for today and tomorrow, so (since Wednesday is my day off) I don’t go back to the evil day job until Thursday. With any luck I’ll have more movement and strength in my arms by then. And better range of motion in my hips. (I have another appointment with him on Wednesday morning.)

Right now, it hurts to drive, walk, even type. (My left arm hurts too, but not as much as my right one. I took ibuprofen a while ago but it doesn’t seem to be helping much.)

I should probably call my aunt. She lives in Virginia so won’t be much help, but she’ll get a laugh out of this which will make me laugh. (Her accidents are the stuff of legends.)

So, today I’ve mostly watched movies. I’m going to do my 100 words and watch another one. (Movies are safe. I don’t have to use my arms or legs, or stand up, or do any of the other 101 things that my body is currently convinced are impossible.)

Stay safe and upright, everyone.

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Happy Stuff

Welcome to the weekend!

Demon Dog and the Diva did a few zoomies in the basement last night, and then he actually ran about halfway up the basement stairs. He hasn’t run on the stairs in two weeks, so to say I was thrilled is an understatement.

Tomorrow night I’m going to crate the Diva and let Demon Dog sleep with me. I don’t want them both up there right now because they like to play King of the Mountain (with the bed as the mountain) and I don’t think he’s ready for that yet.

And I’m waiting until tomorrow because my roommate will be away. If I do it tonight he’s likely to jump down off the bed when she gets home and I want him to not overdo it.

So, that’s my happiest news of the week.

In Evil Day Job news, I picked up a bunch of Saturday shifts at a group home next month, which will nicely cover for my Wednesdays off from the bus run. Full pay checks and not sacrificing my mental health. What’s not to love about that?

So, all in all, life is pretty good, even if it is supposed to rain this weekend.

And spring is coming! We could still get some snow here and there, but my crocuses are blooming and that makes me happy. And all of the soft serve places are starting to open for the season.

And writing is still chugging along. My accountability partner (the one who is reading my hundred words a day) is full of theories about what’s happening in Song and Shadow, so that’s kind of fun. Tonight’s hundred words won’t be for that, though; they’ll be a continuation of the still unnamed FF vampire novel so I have a post for Rainbow Snippets tomorrow.

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Happy Pi Day!

Well, I made it through the weekend without further mishap. Then slightly pulled my right hamstring getting out of my car this afternoon. *sigh* At least I managed to walk it off before I had to get back on the school bus.

Demon Dog is doing better. My roommate said he was a little cautious on the stairs today, and he is walking up them instead of charging up full steam ahead like he usually does, but at least he’s not hesitating or refusing. I wonder if they make Deramaxx for humans?

Writing is going well. At least, I’m still plugging along at my 100 words a day. I did over 200 on Saturday. Small steps, but at least I’m consistently writing. My current thought is to leave it at 100 words a day for the year, then maybe raise the goal to 150 or 200 next year.

A few years ago I tried doing a thousand words a day. I couldn’t keep it up long term, and I know I can’t do it now – my current job is too mentally draining. Not the job itself, mind you, but one of the people I work with. Being around someone who gets their news from YouTube (and considers it a reliable source of factual information) is exhausting. (He’s also racist and homophobic and I can’t wait until school is out for the summer and I hopefully won’t have to deal with him. He says he’s not driving for summer session. He also says he’s moving to North Carolina after this year, which might make next year a better assignment.)

The time change is killing me. My body thought it was too early to go to bed and go to sleep last night and I’m paying for it today. And Demon Dog thinks it’s bedtime so I’d better get my laundry out of the washer and crash for the night.

How much longer until the weekend?

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Weekend vs Weekday

Why are weeks so long and weekends so short? I swear there’s some sort of time warp involved: a weekday/workday lasts at least 36 hours and the weekend is gone in a blink.

On the other hand, I had a fairly productive weekend. I got all of the “must dos” off of my “list of things to do.” The rest of the things can be chipped away at during the week.

One of the “must dos” was something I was putting off – and it turned out to take no time at all. Isn’t that always the way?

The modem/router experiment worked so tomorrow I’ll call the phone company to cancel my service. (Getting through to customer service anywhere on a Monday is a lesson in frustration tolerance.)

And in the good news front, I got a call from my staffing agency and they may have a nurse to take my Wednesday shifts, letting me cut down to a four day week, at least until I get some health issues sorted. Here’s hoping she takes the shift. (If she does, it’ll let me schedule some appointments, and also have an editing day. At least, that’s the plan.)

Other than that, not much is going on in my life. I’m writing a hundred or more words per day still, and have decided not to increase the goal at this time. I usually get well over the hundred words, but some nights I’m just too tired and it’s a push to do the hundred.

And tonight might be one of those nights.

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Good Things Are Coming

It’s about time the weekend got here! I’m peopled out.

And mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. I really need to make a chiropractor appointment but I’m not planning on leaving the house until Monday.

I’m still maintaining my 100 words a day, and usually quite a few more. I’ve been thinking of upping the goal to 150 words but I’m afraid that it would be taking on more than I have the energy for at the moment. I’m mostly working on the prequel to Song and Sword, but once in a while adding to the F/F vampire story or Wild Worker, (mostly just when I need more snippets for the weekend blog hops).

But in the good(ish) news department, I should soon (in a couple weeks, hopefully) cut down to only working four days a week. Yes, it’ll be a bit rough money-wise, but I’ve lived on less. Plus, that will be 50 less miles of commuting each week (so less gas and less wear and tear on my car), one less meal eaten out, less peopling, more time for my right knee and hip to recover from driving. (I’ll be getting Wednesdays off, so it’ll be two days on, one off, two on, two off.) And I’m going to be getting rid of my landline soon – possibly after this weekend if my experiment works out tomorrow.

I’m hoping to use the Wednesdays for editing and concordance-building, and maybe extra writing. Who know? I might even clean up the avalanche-in-waiting.

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Weekend Recap

Saturday I was up way too early. Or maybe I went to bed way too late on Friday. Either way, I got up a little after 6:00 because I was awake and had to answer nature’s call. And since I needed to be up and dressed by 9:00 there was no sense in going back to bed. (I know me. I’d have laid there checking the time every twenty minutes and wouldn’t have slept anyhow.)

Why did I have to be up and dressed by 9:00? Because my roommate ordered a lasagna and it was being delivered somewhere between 9:00 and 11:00. (The one day all week when I actually get to sleep in…)

My brain pretty much shut down before it was even open that day, and nothing except my 100 words and some snippet comments got done. Well, and laundry. Laundry always gets done.

And I hurt all over. I swear school buses were designed be sadists.

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. I may have been a little less achy, but not any more ambitious.

Next weekend is a three-day weekend for me – well, three and a half as there’s an early dismissal on Friday. Will it be any more productive than this weekend? Doubtful.

But I remain hopeful.

And tonight I wrote 200 words for Song and Shadow.

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Changes

It’s been a long, cold, snowy week and I’m glad it’s over.

I’m starting a new assignment on Tuesday, which gives me a three-day weekend. (My regular assignment that I was supposed to go back to isn’t happening for at least another couple weeks. There simply aren’t enough van/bus drivers anywhere.)

I’m not sure how time is going to work out with this new assignment. I probably won’t be home as early as I have been, and I don’t want to take my laptop along and leave it in my car in the cold, but I’ll keep getting my hundred words in somehow…

And maybe the wait time between the bus trips will let me get caught up on some crocheting goals, as long as it’s not too cold to sit in my car. (And it has been too cold! I normally don’t mind winter but I am so ready for this one to be over, and it’s not even February yet.) Maybe I’ll be able to find a place to hang out inside for a couple hours between bus trips.

And if I ever find Onyx Sun so I can get the changes entered into Word, I can go to Staples and get a new copy printed for the next round of editing. (Eventually it gets so messy that I have to work with what I have, print it, and start a new round.)

What I really want is to find a work from home job, but those tend to be few and far between for nurses.

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Searching and Writing and Driving

I still haven’t found the latest version of Onyx Sun, but then, I haven’t been looking too hard, although I did do a bit of a clean out up in my room. I should make it a point to spend at least five (preferably fifteen) minutes every night before I go to bed working on organizing stuff up there. Of course, that would give the dogs time to get comfortable on my bed, so I’d have to argue with them about who sleeps where when I finished. (The Diva isn’t a problem; she’ll vacate the bed when asked. Demon Dog, on the other hand, will grudgingly get up and move to the other end of the bed and still not leave me quite enough room.)

Anyhow, I’m not even entirely sure that I didn’t bring the printout downstairs although it hasn’t shown up in this area yet.

All I know is that it’s in the house somewhere. And I’m pretty sure that it’s not tucked into a tote bag. (At least, I don’t remember putting it in a tote bag, but on the other hand, it’s not where I remember seeing it last, either.)

Meanwhile, I’m managing to keep up on my hundred words a day, even on days when I don’t feel like writing. I’ve discovered that I actually like writing in hundred-word bursts. It makes for slow progress, yes, but it’s easy and stress-free, and it lets me have time to think about where I’m going next with a scene or conversation. And it gives me a daily feeling of accomplishment.

In other news, the evil day job is not really evil, but the roads sure were, especially on the way home. I enjoy working in the school nursing office, but I really miss my three-minute commute to meet the bus and being able to leave the driving to someone else. (I should have been back on that assignment today, but the bus company didn’t have a driver for the route, and they don’t have one for tomorrow, either, so it’s back to the nursing office.)

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Overscheduled

I’m still making the hundred word a day goal, but haven’t touched a crochet hook all month, and Onyx Sun is still upstairs. I’ve pretty much been too wiped out after work to do much more than my hundred words, to be honest.

For those who don’t know, I’m a nurse (LPN) working through a staffing agency. My main assignment is to ride a school bus/van with a special needs student with a seizure disorder. Due to a variety of circumstances (holiday breaks, the bus company not having enough drivers, the student having doctor appointments, Covid-related quarantines, virtual schooling due to lack of school staff, etc.) I don’t think I’ve had a five-day work week since before Thanksgiving. I worked all five days this week (but not on that assignment – he’s still in quarantine) and it wore me out more than I expected.

But it’s the Friday of a three-day weekend, and we’re supposed to get a bunch of snow, so I’m thinking that crochet and hot chocolate just might be the theme of the weekend.

And maybe I’ll even bring Onyx Sun downstairs and see where I stand with that mess.

And see if I can finish the concordance for Book One of The Academy of the Accord.

*sigh* There I go again – scheduling more stuff to do than I have time to do it. Does anyone else do this? Please tell me I’m not the only one.

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