It is funny how things work out sometimes. The past 48 hour would be best termed "if anything can go wrong it will". I mean to the point where Colonel Murphy (the originator of the famous saying) would now have been promoted to the rank of Supreme Military Commander of the Universe.
I am generally not one to complain and that is not what this post is actually about. So if you are the pessimistic type looking for someone else's negative opinion (cough* dil*... j/k), read no further. (I do however like to write rather satirically.) A lot of people act as if I have it hard, they tell me that they couldn't do it and act as if I deserve sympathy. I don't get it actually and this is a blog about why, I guess. If you wanna learn about that, read on. But please don't expect too much for rarely do I make sense...
Now the first pity issue is my schedule. It strikes me as odd how many people tell me how hard I have it. Why should you all feel sorry for me when I am the one who signed up for it? Now I admit that it is difficult to cram all the hours into the week that I do but let's clear up two important matters. First, I like to work. Second, I love my jobs. Most of all, I feel that what I do matters and actually makes a difference.
Let me tell you a bit more about my jobs. My primary job is as a community service officer for the Cleveland State University Police Department. This, in my opinion, is a great job. I am basically one of those campus gentlemen who walk you to your car, locks and unlocks the campus and act as extra eyes and ears for the department. They give me a radio, instructions on what and when to lock and allow me to study. Real tough eh?
The job, however, does actually matter. Being on the campus, present, alert and possessing a radio, which give me communication directly to the dispatcher, is a real deterrent to undesirable activity. It is, basically, a safe campus and actually one of the safest in the country. Although my involvement in things is more likely to involve assisting a blind person regain their bearings, I am certain that bright orange, radio carrying escorts help in this fact.
The job also allows me some study time and an opportunity to serve the campus which is one of the things I really enjoy. It also blessed me with the introduction to a few really neat people including my current significant other. Not to mention that I also have learned every in and out of the campus, know most of the staff. Then there is the big perk de todo. I work the weekends. No one else wants them. This also means that no one wants to be on the, largely commuter campus, on the weekends. In short, I am around when no one else is, in other words, prime study time.
My other job is even kooler. I work at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation as a research monitor. I am exposed to many areas of groundbreaking medicine including the Total Artificial Heart Project . Even though I am the smallest cog in the incredible machine of this research it is still very rewarding to be part of this historic research.
Now all of this DOES lead to a hectic, full schedule but I love it nonetheless. I usually work at least 60 hours a week. This, however, is my choice and preference. I like to be busy and this day is gonna be just that.
Despite my desire to "live to work" as dil would put it, I still must sleep. Because of when the work schedules for the various jobs were completed it did leave me with a rather difficult September. Because the clinic schedules a month ahead and the campus figures out the semesters schedule the week before the semester, I was really stressed. My weekends consist of back-to-back 20-hour shifts with only four hours for sleep and everything else in between. From Friday night to Monday morning, I am running about 47-60 hours of work.
Despite contrary belief, I am human and do need to sleep from time to time. I was actually looking forward to getting some sleep. This however, was not in the cards. One of my co-workers was ill. Another co-worker and I got to split the shift. This meant I got to get four hours off between the two jobs and then work 20 hours straight. I did not even get word of this problem until I was already half way through a shift at the campus job. My plan was to get through the shift and crash... This was gonna suck. Fortunately, the lovely lady I recently met was going to turn heroine.
Nami, is a lovely wonderful lady I recently met. She is the lady I mentioned meeting above. Not only did she drop me off and pick me up at work but she also prepared a lunch for me. This added up to at least another hour of sleep for me. I really, really appreciated it and I am quickly coming to appreciate her even more. This is definitely an area where i do not have it rough at all. Nami is wonderful, beautiful and so totally awesome she should be a blog in her own right.
I did manage to survive the shift; by 8 AM I was very seriously fighting to stay awake. I really wanted to do nothing more than go home and sleep. Nami picked me up, dropped me off at home and that is exactly what I did. Four hours sleep and then another 20 hours of work.
The campus job went well enough. It was a busy Sunday though a lot of doors needed to be locked and unlocked. This was actually a good thing for the constant running about helped to keep me awake. The highlight of the day, of course, was seeing Nami. Sundays to Mondays are generally not fun days when I work both jobs.
On such Sundays, I literally have just enough time to hop on the bike after the campus job pedal right to the clinic. The real drag hits Monday morning though, getting off work at 8 AM and the first class at 11AM.This was one such Sunday. Actually this Sunday was going to be a bit rougher come Monday AM. I needed to meet with my professor
The shift did not exactly go the way I wanted it too. The animal was wierd. It was one of those nights where I had to constantly page the doctors and/or the engineers. Somehow, I managed. The shift finally ended and, more so then the day before, I just wanted to sleep. I could not afford to do so.
I hopped back on the bike and pedaled right to the campus. I locked the bike to the fence in front of the police station on the campus and headed to Dr. Ebiana's office. i had to figure out this Maple assignment. I was just not getting how to instruct the math software to solve the assigned problem. The 40-dollar textbook instructing you how to use the math software was of no help either. The commands in the book were wrong. Guess what? The prof didn't know how to do it either. he told me to just do the rest by hand. LOL. After that, I got to sit through the differential equations class, well, uh, better put doze through class.
Well at least I could just go home after class and crash... Not. It turns out that someone tried to rip off the bicycle. The bike lock worked and they did not get the bike. The lock, rather tugged out of shape, would not unlock. Of course, it would be my ironic luck that someone would try and steal the bike I had locked to the fence at the Police Station... Compound this with the fact that the station does not have a set of bolt cutters.
This meant that I got to hoof it to the locksmiths about six blocks away, toss the bolt cutters over my shoulder and hoof it back. I then cut the freakin' lock and peddled back to the locksmith which, fortunately, is right across the street from where I live. I also dropped 25 dollars on another lock and cable. (That would also be 25 dollars I did not have nor wish to spend. The locksmith was good enough to take a postdated check.) Finally, I can go to sleep.
No great dreams so to speak. I awake for another day. No real big deal, one class and then off to the clinic job. As I mentioned earlier, I do love my job but every job has its bad side. Tonight turned out to be one of those days. Halfway through my shift we had, lets say, a failure. This meant I was gonna have a few days off. Not because I did anything wrong but just because things went wrong.
So now my hectic pace dies for a few days? No. I simply use it to catch up on schoolwork and spend another pleasant evening with a certain Grinny. See how it works? I just keep the pace full and busy and I stay happy. I don稚 have the time nor bother to take the time to think about how bad I have it.
