Normal......for me.

 In my last post Spo commented That he hoped things returned to normal for me asap.

I had to chuckle at that one. 

Honestly, being on that long boring double shift was more relaxing than my "normal" routine (except for that 3.5 hours of sleep thing).

As soon as my feet hit the floor when the alarm goes off, I'm literally up and running.

This morning, for example, I rolled out of bed- did the morning shower/teeth brush, and hair comb. Then I dressed, went to the kitchen, cleared out the fridge and disposed of all the rubbish in the trash bin. And I washed up all the dishes. 

After that I went downstairs, put on a washer load of bed linens, then went back upstairs and replenished my med tray before I backed the car up to the side porch and loaded 3 trash bags into the back to take off to the recycle center...which I did after feeding all 4 cats. (Nu-Nu, Meepers, Floofy, and EmNem.)-don't ask.)

I drove to the Recycle center, then on the way home I swung by Wally World and picked up a new belt for the Hoover.(Actually, a Bissell, but I call them all a Hoover now after living in the UK for so long.) 

Then I drove home and coming in I noticed my front door autumnal wreath looked a bit on the sparse side, so I stopped long enough to add a few more colorful leaf picks to the arrangement before coming inside and waking my daughter. Soon as she is dressed, I'll be taking her up to my tire guy so she can buy a new tire for her Optima so I won't be the only one with an operational vehicle in the house.

Then we'll come back home and make and eat a sammich before I get changed into my uniform and head back out for my shift at work- 2p-10p. Then drive home, have a glass of sweet iced-tea   and wind down for a half hour  or so before I come to my room, check my email, maybe write a post if anything comes to mind before having another shower and then going to sleep- finally. 

Every day I swear is the same- only with different priorities involved. But always work...... that is my one constant.

I don't mind- usually. Sometimes soon though, I'm going to take a couple days, pack a sleeping bag, cooler of food and water, a fishing rod, and my weapon and go solo camping for a weekend.  That's one reason I want to get my Ranger running again- put the cover on it and a full size mattress (NOT an inflatable one either. HATE those things.) in the truck bed and I can go camping anytime I want to at the drop of a hat. 

Sometimes you just need some time alone to commune with nature and God.

It's Done. For Now. I'm Back!

 Well, since my last post I have been crazy super busy.

On Thursday before last our Site Team leader at work walked out mid-shift. It surprised the heck out of everyone because she seemed happy as Larry with her position there. But at 10:30am she came to the office, dropped off her equipment, got in her car and left the site. 

Apparently, she had gone for a job interview that morning and accepted their offer (she was a few minutes late that same morning).

I sat and though on it about an hour and then texted my account manager and told him I could cover Ery's position the following week to give them time to get a replacement hired. I told him it would be a short-term offer because I hadn't had a vaca in almost 3 years and I just wasn't up to a long-term commitment of consecutive double shifts. He thanked me, told me that that was a long time to and asked if I could cover the next morning as well- as it was a Friday I agreed to do it- I had the weekend to recover and prepare for the following weeks doubles. I had a bit of a shortchange on my pay schedule because of the job change- you know they hold a week back and pay you for the it the following week so the additional shifts would put me back on track with my bills.

I wasn't able to keep my schedule as planned, however. Monday and Tuesday I worked the doubles, but I had to call Mike(manager) and asked could I come in a bit late the next Wednesday. He said of course just let the other first shift guy know. So, I went home, crawled in bed after the double and slept until 10am the next morning. I then got up- opened up my laptop and created a couple of forms we need for the new site before heading into the rest of first shift. 

Just working those two days showed me part of the reason why Ery left. The site documentation is nonexistent and that can lead to some serious consequences. I have been told that they have been requesting documentation forms since we took the site over but for some reason it hasn't shown up yet. So, instead of waiting on forms to arrive I took it upon myself to temporarily fix the problem myself. I created two for patrols and two for Parking ...one a citation and the second a log sheet for the citations issued with Date & Time issued, Make/Model/Color of Vehicle, License Plate Details and a space for issuing officers initials. Repeat offenders have a star asterisk by their name and after 3 citations will be subject for towing.  We have a very limited parking area and although we have an overflow parking area, we are still having to park employees on the grassy areas to accommodate everyone. ALL lanes must be kept clear of vehicles in case of emergencies- the week prior to the double shifts we had a medical emergency and the responders couldn't get thru to the area they needed to because of all the vehicles parked on the curbside. The end of this week we had two and the curbsides were free and clear.  We have a very large Hispanic workforce there and in addition to the citations being worded in English- I have added under each line the Spanish translation for them.  Citations do work when they are prepared properly and fairly.

Anyway, so then I went in to work and finished out the week. Friday, Mike the Manager sent us a new officer and James and I had him trained and ready to take over by half shift, so I clocked out, went to the bank, fueled up the car and paid my rent and was back at the site for my normal second shift hours.

 I averaged about 3.5 hours of sleep between end of second and being back on site for first shift except for Wednesday.

Thankfully- that is done for now. I might work the odd double here and there to fill in for officers taking a vaca or needing a random day or two off, but I'm done with that for now.

Normally this weekend I would be decorating my house for Fall, but not this year. Next weekend I'll be staying at my besties house for our normal monthly Girls Weekend, but I'm pretty sure the following weekend I will be autumn-ing it up at Casa De Camelot. It's already smelling like Autumn... I bought a big Cinnamon Broom for the baker's rack in the kitchen. it smells delicious in there!!!!

So until next time(hopefully I'm back on my normal 2-3x a week posting schedule now)

Yall stay safe and enjoy yourselves this Labor Day Weekend!!!! 

Double Shifts

 Double shifts this week... unless they get someone hired for 1st shift, trained, and vetted. 

Need the extra wages, but my body is already giving me the side eye after only 2 doubles. 

I'm tough... I can do it.

See y'all after the fire is out!! xx

Clayton ..Always In Our Heart. 1983-2007

You are missed. Our hearts are still broken.  The pain never leaves for any of us. 

Til we meet again. xxx Mama, Julie, Frank,

Dear Lord

 Dear Lord,

Give me Strength today.

Give me strength everyday- but especially today.

Hold us tightly in your hands because we are all at a breaking point right now.

Amen

Too Busy To Breathe...

 Long Story short-

New Job, sick kids, 

Two loose teeth that need to be taken care of, 

Loving the new job, meeting new people.

Hoping will settle into some semblance of a routine soon so I can get back to the fun stuff in life- 

ie, blogging, cooking, gaming, writing......

Trying to read blogposts and comment here and there, mostly reading before having to jump up and do stuff tho.... 

It will settle soon- I have faith.- and I pray- a LOT.

A New Beginning

 Yesterday was the first day at my new job. 

Let's just say this is going to be quite an adjustment.  At my previous job, I was 90 mph all morning, a short time where there was nothing to do unless I got a call (which I usually did) and then 90mph for the last two hours of the shift. 

It went from 90 to basically nothing. Second shift is more chill than first shift. My job duties at the moment are to sit or stand and watch for a blinking green light and then take two steps and open a door for a contractor. (New facility and they are still figuring out the standards.) I also make a foot patrol every two hours around the perimeter of the interior- exterior patrols have been cancelled until the yard is cleared up per the powers that be.

Of course, you know I was speaking to as many people as I could to get a feel for the place. About half at least said Hi but that will increase in the coming days, I'm sure.

In the work area, there is only fans, no A/C... but fans are aplenty there. every workstation, the security area and about 50 giant overhead ceiling fans above us. 

The other area is posh- of course you know it's the Office area- AC to the point of being chilly, and by the time I get there at 2pm everyone is getting packed up to head home....

The parking situation is atrocious for now. They are working on a gravel overflow parking area, but it remains to be seen if this will truly "fix" the issue. And best of all, Security doesn't have to deal with a single logistics issue for now. It may change in the future- but due to the business it is, I highly doubt we ever will EVER be asked to do more than log the drivers name, company, and truck numbers before sending them on their way in. There is only one way in and one way out and the company logistics team only touches or even sees the paperwork. LOVE that.

Bottom line, I absolutely love the new place- it's going to evolve as it always does- but Best news is- it's a stone's throw from the house compared to the other job and it's a lot less work for a tiny pay cut that will be more than made up for in Fuel used and wear and tear on my car. less headache meds, less muscle balm for the excessive driving cramps.... I don't think I lost one good thing except for the lovely people I was working with. And since Sister still works there, I feel confident I can still see some of those people from time to time if I take Sister lunch- or Dinner. Or just drop by for a chat.... 

All in all, I feel confident I made exactly the right move for my life at this time.

Happy Days!!!!