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"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."
- Unknown

"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."
- Handed down through the ages.

"Life's tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid."
- John Wayne



Time. Or The Lack Thereof.

On Sunday, I promised that I would write a second post.  Which I never did.  Of course.  But, here I am now.

First off, the rain.  We got PUMMELED by inches and inches of rain over the last couple of days.  The big city I used to live in is an absolute wreck.  Even the zoo flooded, and several animals drowned . . . so, so sadly.  Happily, the seal and the polar bear (ummm, who DIDN'T live together for obvious reasons!) escaped their enclosures in the flooded waters and were found out on the streets, very much alive!  But, huge potholes opened up in the streets and swallowed cars.  The shopping area where I go is under water.  And the bizarre thing is that all this happened at the TOP and on the STEEP SIDES of the hill that the city is built on!  I can't IMAGINE what downtown is going to be like when all the waters flow down to the lake!  Even our local library is closed for a couple days - the gutters not being able to control the flow of the rain which ran right inside and soaked into the carpet.

Here, at Swamp River Ridge, all is well as I sit high up on the hill.  But, roads are washed out and closed all over . . . although it is much worse south of us.  The highway - the only main road leading to northeast Minnesota and Canada - washed out and was closed yesterday.  And, the storm washed out the telephone and fiber-optic cables, too.  So, no phone-based Internet access or phone calls out of your immediate exchange (and there are 4 in our large county) or anything like that.  That meant that our credit/debit card machines were down at work yesterday, too.  And south-bound tourists were stuck in our pouring-rain town without anything to do!  Nor plastic to spend!

Back to my schedule, tho.  I always enjoy hearing about people's schedules.  It helps me get to "know" them.  Kind of like seeing where bloggers do most of their writing.  We should all take pictures of our writing spots and post them!  

Anyway, this is my schedule and why I have such a hard time getting things done.  (If I also want to sleep, that is!!)

Work Days:
  • 6:00 AM - Ideally, this is when I should get up.  This is when my three (yes, I'm up to THREE now!) alarm clocks ring.  But, almost without fail, I either sleep through them or get up and turn them off (I have two of the three placed across the room in the hopes that physically getting out of bed will help wake me up - but it doesn't) and then fall back into bed for "five more minutes" which inevitably morphs into 90 or 100 minutes when I frantically wake at 20 or 10 minutes before I need to leave the house!!!   
If I do get up in time, I make coffee and drink my first cup at the laptop.  Then I wash my hair over the tub (no time to take a shower), brush teeth, etc.; get dressed (including ironing the day's clothes if they're not already ready), feed the dogs & cats, throw the day's "stuff" into my bag, put on decent makeup if there's time, fill my insulated coffee mug, and head out.  
 
Often, there isn't enough time to put my makeup on, so I'll do the rudimentary job of applying my base/cover-up and lipstick while driving into town.  (I know, I know - safety first!!)  I'll then put my mascara on while in the parking lot before I dash into work or, more likely, stash the tube in my pocket and put it on during my first trip to the bathroom during work. 
  • 8:00 AM - Leave the house.  Ideally, I should leave at 7:45.  More often than not, I leave at 8:10 and make the fully-an-hour-drive in 50 minutes.
  • 8:55 - 9:00 AM - Drop the dogs off at Mama & Papa Pea's, finish the drive into town, find a parking spot a block away from work (an employer demand during the summer tourism), and walk to work.  Five minutes is not enough time to do all this, you say?  You're right, and this is a problem.  I'm hardly EVER on time to work, and I've only been early (i.e. prior to 9:00) ONCE.  This is not good.  It needs to change.  The fact that I'm a kick-@ss employee (once I'm there) is the only thing that's prevented me from getting admonished for this, I believe.
  • 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM - Work.  I get a 15-minute break from 11:00 - 11:15 and an hour from 2:00 - 3:00 for lunch*.  The boss has hired me for an additional (and automatic, no matter how busy) 1.25 hours of overtime each week as the "closer".  Everyone else can leave if we still have shoppers in the store at 6:00.  I stay for those last dawdlers.  *During which I run errands and/or drive all over, hunting for my next home - which I've been doing most of my time lately.  Occasionally, if I can afford it, My Girl and I will have lunch together to catch up. 
  • 6:00 / 6:15 - 6:45-ish PM - Get out to my car after work.  Then, I run some minimal errands (get gas, pick up my mail and/or groceries, etc.) and pick up the dogs.  More often than not, I pick up the dogs first and then run the errands.  I'm usually heading out of town just before 7:00 PM.
  • 7:00 - 8:00 PM - Drive home.
  • 8:00 - 8:30 PM - Feed the four-leggeds and do minimal chores ("full" chores wait for my days off).  Start the generator since the batteries are all but dead.
  • 8:30 On - Either make myself a decent dinner if my guilt will allow me to ignore the computer (business) work I always have.  Eat it in front of a DVD and then fall asleep on the couch.  Or, sit right down to computer work and generally don't eat (at least, not anything healthy as there's nothing made and my cupboards are bare due to the lack of shopping & prep time).  If I eat and sit down, I usually get to bed earlier (10:00 - 10:30) because I've already fallen asleep, sitting up, right after dinner.  If I'm working on the computer, I usually get caught up in What Needs To Be Done and finally turn it off around 10:30 - 11:00.
  • 10:00 - 11:00 PM - Last thing, head outside to the garage to turn off the generator.  Back to the house, close up, climb upstairs, set the three alarms, fall into bed.  And, in case you're counting, this hardly EVER results in 8 hours sleep.  Which I need.  (Truth be told, I think I'm probably more of a 10-hours of sleep "needer".) 
  • Get up and do it all again until I have a day off.
 
Ironically, I get to bed earlier on the nights before a day off.  Because, I know I don't have to try to cram everything I need to do into those couple of hours in the evening.  Instead, I have Tomorrow!  Which leads me to why I over-exert and exhaust myself (more) on my days off!
The best thing about my two, non-consecutive days off (other than that they ARE a day off) is that I allow myself to sleep in.  However, the cats generally wake me up after 12 hours or so of sleep.  By applying their claws to my lips.  Which is very inconsiderate of them.  I wonder if they're checking to see if I'm still alive?  The BAD thing about this good thing is that half of my day off is already gone by the time I wake up.  Which just makes me work harder and longer . . . and still not get to sleep on time because of same . . . which doesn't really help the over-all effect of rushing, rushing, rushing - always behind - does it?!  Oi vey. 

As I sit here, reviewing what I've written, I realize that while I explain this period in my life with "I just need to get through this" . . . it ain't NEVER gonna stop . . . until my schedule, somehow, does!!!  There's nothing I can "cut".  But, with the move (to Wherever), I will cut the driving time.  And, being closer to town, I'll be able to run in and do some errands on my days off.  And that will help. 


I think, too, that I imagine that I won't have to work full-time away from home forever.  And, that is the plan and my honest belief.  But, in order to make that happen, I have to get my businesses further off the ground, and that takes . . . ugh . . . attention and that b*tch of a mistress, Time!!!


Anyhoo, I hope you don't take this as complaining.  I honestly don't mean it to be.  It's just what Is right now.  You know, a period I just need to "get through".  ;)


 

12 comments:

  1. Try setting your alarms to be the news. There is something about having a person talking about stuff that wakes me up better than an alarm.

    I hope your life slows down soon so you can smell the roses and enjoy life a bit.

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  2. Good golly! You are right - there is no fat to trim off that schedule! I would imagine that being closer to work would be a relief at this point. It's so hard to motivate at the end of a grueling day - where's the energy supposed to come from? And that cat/claw/lip thing? That's why my bedroom door is s.h.u.t.

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  3. So understand Chicken Mamma, and don't see it as whining at all. Do what you can, try not to overdo things (and make yourself sick). I am praying things fall into place for you.

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  4. you expect others to do this with pictures ?I already have to scroll all the way to the top to see what you did at6:00 am I forgot,have a wonderful summer ,up north gal

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  5. I think finding a way to get the alarm to turn on the news is a great idea, especially local news, you may here something important and would cause you to focus on waking up. Or coffee pot on timer would be nice, and the smell of fresh brewed coffee is a great eye opener.

    I don't fix a big dinner since there is just me, a big salad, stir fry or omelets are my usual choices, can vary ingredients, and can be ready in like 5 minutes. Also not a heavy meal right before bed is always best.

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  6. I personally am a wierdo in that I wake up 5 mins before any alarm and can't wait to get out of bed, sleep is overrated LOL - HOWEVER I can see how this isn't one of your major issues, it's that drive! Hopefully you will find a place closer to town and won't have to drive so far which will cut down on your fuel stops and so on, so keep looking - I know that place is out there for you just waiting to be found! My mom called me about the polar bear, how crazy! So sad about all the livestock I heard about and omg I can't even imagine the water levels down near the lake after all that water travels down the San Fran hills!

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  7. Just wanted to stop by and let you know you are in my thoughts and prayers. Know your heart is breaking over having to say goodbye to Maisy. She was very blessed to have you as her human mom.

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  8. I'm so sorry to read about poor Maisy. I'll be thinking about you today.

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  9. You are in my heart and prayers Chicken Mama

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  10. Thanks for sharing! I started getting very anxious reading your daily schedule. I know harried, but probably for other reasons. Yeah, if you're a 10-hour/night sleeper (I am too) going less is hard. I really hope you get more sleep and down time sooner than later, but make sure it's not in the hospital. '-) I need an ALARM also; the news I can sleep through. I like the comment about getting an automatic coffee maker that will make the coffee as you wake up. And your cats--yes, I'm sure they're trying to give you CPR (Cats purr and roar.). My cat starts jumping on me about the same time each morning, because she knows once I get up she gets her treats. No CPR from her. And then if jumping on me doesn't work she starts wailing! Now there's an alarm clock for ya! hang in there. Glad your parents are nearby.

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  11. So very sad to hear about your loss of Maisy. Getting a pet is easy; losing them is so hard. Time will help ease the pain but of course "time" takes time so just go with your feelings and let them happen. She had a great life with you and that's what counts in the end. It just doesn't seem fair that this happened to you now but it's now something you could control. And we all know life is not fair. I hope things in your life start to smooth out as it seems like you are due.

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  12. I didn't know Maisy had crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. I'm so sorry.

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