Monday, December 12, 2011

12-Hour Revelation

Let's try something I've only done a few times before; let's talk about what's going on in my incredible life.
December has been a busy month. Exams have been creeping in, projects have been due (both group and solo), and I've been voluntarily picking up shifts at work in order to have money for the upcoming winter break (during which time I will not have a job, as my job is on-campus and closes during breaks).

The most stressful point of this last month was easily this past weekend. I managed to get the majority of my assignments and projects done before the weekend, but not so I could relax and enjoy it. Instead it was so I could work so hard Wednesday through Saturday that I would be able to spend Sunday relaxing in a blissful state of numbness.

You see, a typical week for me goes like this (click to enlarge):
The red X'd out class is one I dropped early in the semester when I realized that 18 credits plus working 20 hours a week was too much for me to handle, and the Saturday shift ends at around 3am (we close at 2am) but I only have it every other week.
However, this last week I came in to work an hour early on Monday, picked up a shift on Thursday from 6-9, picked up a second shift on Friday from 10-3am, and picked up a second shift on Saturday from 3pm-8:45.
When you do the math, that adds up to about 34 hours of work. Also when you do the math, you realize that I'm incredibly nuts.
So Wednesday and Thursday wasn't that bad; 4.5 hours and then 3 hours. Big deal. But what was tough was working 9 hours on a Friday night after an already stressful week from 5:30 to 3:00 Saturday morning, then following that up with a 12 hour shift on Saturday from 3pm-3am.
I haven't spent 12 straight hours somewhere that wasn't a sleepover.
Okay, so I'm not the only person in history to work 12 hours straight, in fact my manager that day was there for the same shift, but in my defense that guy also once told me he was out hunting werewolves during a full moon.

The point I'm trying to make is that this has been a stressful month and week, and while I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, there's still two weeks left until exams and school are over, and even then I need to worry about having enough money to make it until mid-January when school and subsequently my job begins again.
But I'm actually doing it.
I've managed to prove to myself that I can manage my time well enough to have almost none of it to spend relaxing, and still keep my sanity and optimism.
And yes, I spent Sunday mostly at home relaxing. I slept in until 11 and watched a Christmas movie at night with my fiancée. It was very nice.

In relation to Christmas, I'm hoping to have a little gift put together in time for December 25th for those of you who love and enjoy reading this blog of mine.

Here's hoping my work pays off.
-Ryan