Bad Schedule/Good Food/Good Company

I only have one day off this week. I love my days off, but lately, I've been so zapped from the new job. My new schedule is that - new - but it's not the schedule that's making me so tired, it's the inability to take a break, even for one minute, during my shift. The agreement is that we will work 8 straight hours without a traditional lunch break so we can get out of there as early as possible. It sounds great. I've done this schedule before. In fact, at my old job in Houston, I ate lunch at my desk almost every day and put in many more hours than 8 per day.

But at my new job, there is no chance to eat or take a break. We are not allowed to have food at our desks. I understand that - the desk is out front in view of our customers. But there isn't anyone to cover the desk and phones to allow us a 2- or 3-minute break to grab a snack or a quickie meal and/or go to the bathroom. I eat breakfast at 4:30 am and most days, don't get a chance to eat again until 2:30 pm. By 1:15, my brain is so foggy that I have a very hard time concentrating. My energy is zapped. I'm not hiking anymore after work because I'm too tired. I'm having a hard time staying awake during the 45-minute drive home and when I get home, I sit down and don't do much else until it's time for bed. This is not the way I usually spend my time.

Anyway, this will be over soon as I'm starting another job in late March. I talked to my bosses and they were not happy that I'm quitting so quickly. But this is the right thing for me. On my one day off - today - I woke up without the alarm at 7:15 am. I did some laundry and hung it out to dry, straightened up the house a bit and made some moisturizing body wash. I ran over to Kristan's to give her an antique coffee table. (It looks great in her living room! This is part of my plan to get rid of things we don't need anymore, disburse my late Mom's things to other family members and get rid of my storeroom. It felt really good to give away the table, especially to Kristan, whom I love like a sister.) We went to lunch for Chinese food. It was very good and we laughed and cut up for a couple of hours until she needed to get back to work. I'm looking forward to having a normal schedule again so I can enjoy spending time with my loved ones. I am sad that the job didn't turn out the way I expected, but I'm grateful to have another job.