Just Speaking At The Void in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

Today is an Ames Day. And my work calendar is mostly empty… despite asking my bosses for extra work. And my body is stiff and sore and hurts all over. And I am super tired.... especially considering I had to drive an hour up here. Seriously, a reason to want that County Attorney job. A (at least twice a week) two hour roundtrip for work that doesn’t get paid/reimbursed? I can do without that. And then… thanks to Facebook… I saw something miraculous and rare… something that surprised me because I forgot it could happen… some of my lawyer friends were posting pictures from their vacations and (more shockingly) from their HOBBIES!

Apparently, and I’m going on theory here, if you have a predictable set schedule for work hours… you can plan around work and attend something that meets at a specific time every week. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. When the expectation is “8 to 5” or even “9 to 6” or something like that… being able to say “I will be at THIS place at THIS time every week” is something you can do!

I know how I stated the above sounds like exaggeration but sincerely… it isn’t. NOT having a set, reliable schedule messes with me. Especially since it is almost entirely to do with the end of the day. My work might be done for the day… but if I leave before the Chinese Assistant or the Bosses… then clearly I’m not doing my job. So… I have to just kind of… wait… and feel it out. Because they have specifically and expressly stated that this isn’t a punch clock job, you don’t just go home because the clock says to. Except… yeah. You do. Because (old theme returning here) if you can’t separate your job from the rest of your life… you will always have to choose one over the other. If you separate WORK and LIFE, you can do your best to make sure WORK stuff stays at work and LIFE stuff stays at LIFE. If you refuse to separate, as these folks do, whichever one matters most to you will always interrupt the other. Which is why we don’t get along great. Because for them, they’ll always choose WORK and for me, I’ll always choose LIFE.

So… yeah. I’m back to that place where I hope I kick ass on Thursday. Partially because I honestly believe my pain would be far more manageable with a reliable schedule. I could set appointments for Chiropractors or Massage Therapists as needed… and that’s just the beginning.