Better Times

Things have been getting a bit better, as promised by all ice veterans, one does get used to mainbody eventually. First off, I got a package! (<------see me smiling with my package) It made my day, well that and the 2 hours of comp time I got for working all those hours this last Sunday. In other good news, we had our second housing party of the year, we had an italian theme and made pizzas...which may not sound all that exciting but pizza is kind of a big deal around here. On pizza days people swarm to the galley so fast they usually don't even have time to really cook the pizzas but people continue to line up anyway. So it was nice to be able to cook our own, not only to have pizza that's all the way cooked but also because when you are getting your meal off a blue tray everyday it is nice to cook a meal yourself. I had to leave the party early because I had to work in the craft room, but that was actually kind of nice, I don't like to stay at parties for too long and I really like working in the craft room. For part of the time it was really quiet (except for the bowling pajama party downstairs) and I played my music and worked on my own projects and then some people came and worked on their Halloween costumes which was fun to see. I haven't even started working on a Halloween costume, mostly because I can't decide whether or not I am going to the Halloween party. It's one of the biggest parties of the year and I am not generally into the parties that come in extra-large, plus it sounds like more fun to hang around and watch some Halloween movies or something...we'll see. On the work end of things, we finally got our regular schedule going, which means: yay, no more training! The trainees are nice and all but I hate carting a bunch of people around and telling them what to do as opposed to doing my own thing. Since I have been here since winfly I got higher priority on picking my buildings (not that anyone else would really want my work center), so I got my ideal schedule: Dorm 208 in the mornings, which is an uppercase dorm meaning that everyone has (and cleans) their own bathrooms which means only one shower for me to clean (the sauna one) and only one bathroom as well. Also not as many party-people since most people who live in that dorm have been here for a long time and don't get confused and think they are still in college or something. In the afternoon I clean the Heavy Shop, which makes people question my sanity...even the people that work think I am a little bit nuts for choosing it. At the beginning of Winfly i was so sure I would get rid of this builing ASAP. It's the dirtiest building on station (that we have to clean...I've never been in the waste barn) and it's basically overheated all the time due to an outdated boiler. Also I get the perk of coming home smelling like oil and gasoline everyday. So why would I possibly choose to work there? The people are great, I love them, they even suckered me into joining their dodgeball team (which I am kind fo regretting but...more on dodgeball in another post). Also, I like to clean really dirty buildings. Not ones where it's because people are careless and make a mess and are assholes about it but ones where it is just honestly dirty, where the dirtiness is a neccessity of the kind of work that goes on and the traffic in the building and the people who work there re grateful that it gets done. Having a lot of work to fill your time makes the day go by faster and makes me feel like I have accomplished something. Claudette, the front desk lady at the Heavy Shop asked me who my cleaning partner would be there and when I replied "no one, just me every day" she said "well that's not fair" and then I said that I chose it and she just kind fo stared at me blankly and was like "oh..kay". I was going to share the building with the night crew but I decide I can't share a building...I am too much of a control freak, I like to know what has been done that week, and what didn't get worked into the the shcedule and I like to have a say in what gets done. Sharing would just create cause for mental stress. Of course not sharing may be causing some physical stress, especially in my shoulder and neck so I have really been having to watch that an ice when I can (any other suggestions would be awesome!). I have also been getting a lot of headaches but I think that's becauseI have been fighting off the Crud, everyone around here is getting it (especially the DAs who handle our food) and I have noticed I will get a headache, go to bed really early and feel better in the morning so perhaps it is just my body saying I need the extra sleep right now. I was having trouble sleeping before but Adam suggested sleeping with earplugs in and just turning my alarm up and that has worked really well so far. But I digress, back to my schedule. One of the best parts of my schedule is that I end the week with an afternoon in laundry, it's a spectacular way to end the week. It's usually pretty relaxing (who doesn't like folding dryer-fresh sheets?) and 2 hours of it on a Saturday is perfect. So yeah, I am pretty happy with my schedule ans that has really helped with my overall mood. Oh and as a final note, if youwant to send me anything for Christmas, now is the time! At least for packages, if mail is flat and fits into a padded envelope (even if it is a giant one), it gets to me much faster...and by faster I mean 2 or 3 weeks as opposed to 6. So the flatter the better and avoid a box when you can. Who knew mail could get so complicated? Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying your orange leaves and pumpkins for me, I miss them so. And I want to see Halloween party pictures!!!