SURVIVING STRESS AIN'T A WALK IN THE PARK

Today, for the first time in almost half of a year and a day, I woke up relaxed, calm, and smiling.

I had almost forgotten what that was like.

Sometimes, I think, we don't realize what a load of stress we're carrying, nor the toll it takes to carry it, until part of it is lifted from our shoulders.

Sometimes (most often, actually) we're the ones who have to do what it takes to throw off part of that load. 

We might not really want to. 
We might not really be able to afford to. 

But to continue with it weighing us down, and to continue to pay that price - those are going to bring us to our knees ... and we want that even less.

So we do what we have to do.

Me, I just dropped my shift-work hours down to something I think I'll be able to manage.

I had no sooner done that than the scheduling person also snagged from off of my shoulders the majority of the burden that has made the bearing of it so intensely expensive for me. 

Finally, after all this time, she has assigned me (FOR A WHOLE WEEK!) to ONE, JUST ONE of the five hallways she's been randomly putting me on for God only knows what reason. When I went back full time she asked me if I have a preference about placement. Because I honestly do love all five hallways equally I said that no I don't, thinking that she was just going to assign me to one of said hallways. Ha. SHE apparently interpreted what I said as meaning that I was giving her carte blanche to do that flip-flop random thing at her pleasure. 

With almost everyone on my 'team' having had at least one major life-affecting event over the past couple of weeks, on top of job-related stressors, we're all reeling. Already well on the road to burnout, we've all been struggling. 

When I tried to talk to someone in management about it, she told me that it's up to me to give her solid ideas and suggestions about what to do about it.

That kind of sounds like a bit of a slap in the face, but in reality it's something I've been waiting for. And waiting. And waiting.

On line I went and on line I stayed for the duration of a full night (when I ought to have been sleeping) doing someone else's homework. 

Really.

People whose educations SURELY included training about things related to their chosen career fields have to tell a lowly bottom-of-the-ladder employee to come up with 'solutions' to a problem that is rampant in their industry? 

*laughing*

It's not like I didn't know where to look, being as it's been on my mind for all this time, right?

Anyway, I wrote up a piece that addresses burnout.

I did it my way. Eighteen pages.

Then I did it her way. A page and a half. 

There's no way in Hades she would have made it through even the first paragraph of 'my way'. Her personality type is probably the exact opposite of mine. Fortunately for both of us, my type is a lot more flexible about communication styles. While she cannot flex far enough to even try to 'get' communications offered in 'my' style, I most certainly can flex far enough to offer said communications in 'hers'. 

Being as (with any luck) she might take said suggestions further up the ladder, giving them to her in a format she can understand makes sense. The ones she'd maybe pass them on to would be even less able to grasp the finer points of my narrative than she would. Not for any lack of intelligence, mind you, but only because their brains don't work the way mine does. While I am okay with accepting that difference, they are not. 

We don't speak the same language. I can learn theirs; they cannot learn mine. So it is theirs I have to use if I want to communicate with them at all. Sad but true.

At any rate, today I woke up smiling, which will likely make me smile all day just remembering it.

It's a chilly gloomy rainy day, a good one to get some writing done on COME HELL AND HIGH WATER. I set out Duke's water barrel to collect rain water for him as our tap water is rather on the toxic side, so hopefully at least he will benefit from this day's rain.

As for me, I can't get anything done on my outside projects so may as well spend the day writing - and maybe at long last getting the leather outers for my felted wool boots worked on. 

Writing and doing my projects are stress-relievers for me.

A vicious cycle kicks in without mercy when I get to a certain point.

When the stressors in my life consume all of my internal resources, the load really does take me to my knees. I can't even stand up, let alone take any steps.

When it gets to the point that I have to carry Pepto with me to my shift-work job because the stress of it creates physical symptoms, and live with headaches for the same reason, and resort to adapting my required 'real shoes' to accommodate at least a modified version of my 'happy feet boots' in order to try to minimize the effects of not being able to wear the actual footwear ... and when my 'off' time consists of futile efforts to reconcile myself to the fact that I'm actually doing what I'm doing with (to) myself and my life here ... I have to shake my head at myself.

It's time to ditch the hope of writing a success story about that place. Maybe one about the value of silver linings would work, though.

But first things first, right?

For this day, at least, I've got a reprieve from at least some of the stress, physical, intellectual, and emotional. 

-My feet, legs, back, shoulders, neck, and arms got a whole night of 'full-body heating pad' so they're limber and happy with me for the moment. 
-My eye is appreciating the break from all those spotlights. 
-My mind is at ease, having gotten that narrative written and then translated. That burden is no longer mine. What she/they choose to do with it is not up to me. 
-I've got a bit of a supply of the protein my body needs, so I'm good on that front. 
-I'm not running out of any of my vitamins. 
-My friends and I are making it through what we've got to get through, one way or another, together. 
-Duke is lying by my side while I patter. 
-I have enough project supplies to keep me busy doing basically whatever I want for a while. 
-I can look forward to some stability at that shift-work job for at least the coming week. 
-And, as soon as the new schedule comes out, I can maybe look forward to a few more days like this!

All of the above contribute to the sense of well-being that has me (finally) relaxed on this day.

And so ... it's off I go to find out what sorts of trouble the Young Ones are going to get themselves into and out of, what might be going on in the lives of our Characters, and try to keep the book shorter than the Mamm of Dunnottar one of the Mamm Books. Wish me luck with that. The century of the 500s CE was a busy one, not to mention what happened 12,800 years ago.

OH.

Lest I forget, here's the translated version of that narrative:

Bottom line:

Burnout is going to show up in terms of people: 
coming in late, 
leaving early, 
calling in, 
taking vacations, 
cutting their own hours, 
being less productive than they want/ought to be, 
dragging rather than bouncing, 
developing stress-related illnesses, 
being physically and emotionally drained and showing it, 
not caring as much, 
becoming grouchy, 
and there being a high turnover rate.

Things an individual can do include:
-getting a good solid physical including bloodwork to rule out physical reasons for their malaise and determining whether or not their symptoms are stress-induced, 
-going to a counselor, 
-getting a prescription for stress and anxiety alleviation or using more traditional remedies, 
-taking personal health days, 
-pursuing and developing interests and activities outside of the work realm, 
-eating and sleeping right, 
-using positive self-talk and positive team-talk on a regular basis, 
-taking a vacation, 
-switching divisions or shifts, 
-cutting hours, 
-trying to talk to management about what’s going on, 
-or quitting if none of the above work.

Things a facility might try include: 
=offering said physicals/health screenings and encouraging their people to get them if they’re feeling ‘off’; 
=training staff and management to recognize and respect the signs of impending burnout and/or compassion fatigue without assigning guilt in either direction so that it can be dealt with in an efficient and effective manner; 
=adapting scheduling and assignments when needed; 
=giving credit where credit is due and appropriate compensation; 
=avoiding ‘talking down to’, ignoring, threatening, minimizing, or otherwise insulting staff; 
=taking care when hiring and giving people opportunities to do what they do best without micro-managing; 
=recognizing that there are times that are going to be particularly stressful for staff and offering support and understanding; 
=including healthy shift meals; 
=developing and nurturing core teams; 
=hiring an impartial professional to do an evaluation of the entire functioning of the facility to identify strengths and weaknesses; 
=having someone staff can trust available for them to talk/vent to confidentially without fear of reprisals, either direct or subtle; 
=using all forms of media for recruitment purposes; 
=management picking up shifts rather than making their staff work short (then chastising them) –  
=volunteering to come in during notoriously difficult times (or hiring someone *short shift* for those few hours every day/evening) –  
=providing what is needed to minimize ‘behaviors’ during those same hours … generally a reduction of sensory stimulation for those sensitive to it; 
=ASKING staff (sincerely and nicely) what is needed and then PROVIDING it; 
=discovering and maximizing the unique talents and strengths of individuals; 
=without de-emphasizing the rights of residents, making it clear that staff also have rights which may not be infringed on; 
=recognizing, accepting, and acting on the fact that you cannot get to the root of a problem by blaming the leaves that get sick and fall from the sick tree that made them sick in the first place. 

Or, as an old cowboy would say, ‘You don’t ride your workhorse until it drops – and then blame the horse.’

Also: you can catch a lot more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. 

And: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

'Shifting For Ourselves'

Having to work holidays doesn't necessarily mean we can't have our own sort of celebration.

New Year's Day of 2016 sees the swing shift 'Shifting for Ourselves' and having a blast with it.

We're having a pot luck meal, but initial reports indicate it might not be what a person would expect.

Here's a list of what we've got on the menu so far, with much more we won't know until the last minute.

Lasagna,

French bread, 

deviled eggs, 

scalloped potatoes and ham, 

knoephle-kraut-sausage combo, 

banana muffins, 

fresh veggie mix, 

black-eyed peas with bacon, 

romaine with lemon, 

cinnamon cider with whipped cream and nutmeg dash, 

sea-salted caramel bits, 

whole wheat dinner rolls, 

dill pickles, 

chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce dip or lemon wedges,
DOT's pretzels (as opposed to the ordinary kind)

 … for starters … 

There are sixteen of us, eight on each of our Units, when fully staffed (which we sometimes are) which gives us a starting point for knowing how much to make/bring of our various contributions. We've also invited some family members as well as some of our co-shifters who aren't scheduled.

Our supper breaks are between six and seven p.m. with two half-hour slots - about half of us taking the first half hour and the rest taking the second which gives us our timing.

We also, if we can fit them in, have a couple of fifteen minute breaks, one between four and four-thirty and the other if/when we find time around nine which gives us set-up and tear-down time.

So each of us will be bringing whatever we choose (accumulating it in the staff refrigerator for a few days ahead of time when possible) and each of us has fifteen minutes to help with the setting up, thirty minutes to eat as we visit, then fifteen minutes later in the shift to get everything cleared up.

When somebody asks if everyone's invited, from the other shifts and departments, the answer is no. We can shift for ourselves, get the set-up and eating and clean-up done for ourselves, but no we do not have the resources to cover everybody. Nor would it be anything like a good idea to have more than five times our own numbers trying to cram into a space (and time-span) that will accommodate half us at a time in relative comfort but not many more than that.

So we say if day shift, med floor, night shift, and departments want to have their own New Year's Day celebrations, they should have at it. Of course a lot of them don't have to work holidays anyway and we aren't overly concerned about those folk. The rest have exactly the same resources that we do. 

This is our own way of taking care of our own selves. We're making the most of what little time, space, and personal resources we've got, fitting our celebration in between the priority of our work requirements. And it must be said that our people have noticed and appreciated our good spirits in the days approaching said celebration. The anticipation and planning gives us a head start on the fun!

Our shift leaders have indeed taken the lead here, sharing their idea with us and being the first to kick in their contributions. We as a team have been more than happy to make this a creatively festive celebration.

We might not have much to work with, but we can by golly get a heck of a lot done in our bits of break time without making a big deal out of it (although it really is kind of a big deal) and without interrupting the flow of our shift or interfering with the care of our people.

One thing I've noticed is that our choices of contributions fit pretty darned well with our work setting - a health care facility. There aren't many (any) junk food types of things represented, not many carbs, lots of healthy and tasty stuff though! 

We do ourselves proud. 

It's a great way to begin a new year!

Well well ... 'INFJ' giving way to 'INFP' ... good news for me ... from my perspective ...

The book that 'changed' me.

The personality type 'test results' you'll find below are From HERE

This is the first time this test has resulted in the 'P' being so strong, edging 'J' almost completely out of the picture. The I, N, and F have always consistently been way high in percentiles with J being less extreme, then edging into P ... and now ... what the heck!

I'm glad to see these popping up in people's social media feeds. There are a variety of free 'MBTI tests' on line - they're all pretty darned accurate and consistent - and surprisingly USEFUL.

Knowing, being able to get a handle on, your own personal style, gives you insights about yourself that you may not have thought about much, or at all for that matter. At least that's how it's been for me. We all are simply a we are, as a general rule. Yet that 'J' always bothered me a little about myself, which the tests have consistently shown over the years ... it was always sort of borderline. 

So, curious me, I'm wondering what has 'changed' in the past couple of years, with that 'J' edging closer to the 'P' end of the scale. Aren't our 'personalities' supposed to be basically cast in concrete? How come mine seems to be changing?

When I stop and analyze it, look at it from where I'm at now, the answer stares me in the face.

I've made some changes in my life, my lifestyle, and my general outlook. 

It was a couple of years ago (2013) that I dropped down to part time at my shift-work job, to begin with. Right about then is when some of my artwork also 'went public' for the first time, not an easy choice and fraught with both anxiety and the antithesis of that anxiety (let them think what they will; until they see it they can't think anything at all, right?). It was a good move as it turned out, and gave me the confidence and determination to follow through on a project that came into my mind at just exactly that time.

And so the Mamm Books happened because I had the time and the energy (from dropping to a more reasonable shift-work schedule) and because the art project morphed into the writing of books.

Last summer (2014) brought another change - a too-long-delayed trip HOME home for me, time off from shift-work, and a further drop in hours there in order to at long last achieve a predictable schedule that I could plan an actual LIFE around. 

Yes it was incredibly expensive ... but quite very necessary. The path I had been on, and at the time not having the internal resources with which to walk such a path without paying an enormous internal price, was taking a dangerous toll. I needed the time I took - to heal and to strengthen both physically and emotionally. In my condition, brought on by my own choice to stick with it no matter what, the struggle almost did me in. It was either give myself a break and a chance or spend at least the equivalent (of the income I was giving up) on therapy and pharmaceuticals I have NO desire to put into my systems.

Until I had been HOME home (the CO Rockies and down in the Arkansas River Valley) for a while and started to feel more and more like my own self, I'd had no real idea of the extent of damage I had been doing to myself.

At any rate, those are the 'changes' that have happened in the past couple of years which are now showing up in the MBTI testing process.

Not only have I given myself permission to not be so VERY strait-laced, I've also done a LOT of research.

*laughing*

I've also 'met' some Characters who don't always follow the straight and narrow path I plan for them in plot lines. 

Writing Mamm of Dunnottar, I realized that Mamm needed a husband if the rest of the books (already written and published!) were going to 'happen'. He had to be from her time, he had to be strong enough to handle Mamm, and he had to have the same values as the rest of the Characters. 

Alaric dropped into my lap from out of the clear blue sky when I skeptically took a 'Which Conqueror Are You?' quiz on line. I'm not exactly 'Conqueror' material and wondered what the heck they were going to be able to come up with for me, the most peaceful and non-competitive person I know. What on earth could I have in common with the Conquerors of our world? I didn't WANT to have anything in common with any of them, to be honest.

Then I met Alaric. And said to myself, 'This is Mamm's mate.'

Little did I know what I was getting myself into. It was akin to finally finding Dunnottar, a fleeting vision from years ago that I kind of assumed wasn't really REAL but turned out to be quite very REAL. Same thing with Alaric. He fit EXACTLY into Mamm's lifespan. Research confirmed that he would indeed be a good match for Mamm, who wasn't about to marry just anybody. 

At first I was tickled pink. Then I realized that this was an actual historic figure here, not totally fictional like the rest of them. I would have to follow the real events of his recorded life. 

Oh my. 

Alaric sacked Rome in 410 CE.

How to reconcile that with the peacefulness of our Characters?

Well, they'd already had to fight more than one battle, were formidable Warriors ... it would be okay ...

And so it was.

Alaric did sack Rome, but all things considered he wasn't mean about it. They opened the gates to him for cryin' out loud - how mean does that sound?

Anyway, the combination of having to stick to an actual course of events while at the same time putting said course into an already existing fictional framework had the effect (in retrospect) of making me figure out how to do it.

Yep.

Then, after I had that whole half of the book's dual story line written, I happened across references to Ataulf that I hadn't paid enough attention to before. 

OOPS.

Had to go back and write him into the story line.

Okay, Ataulf's in there, Mamm's brother who picked up where Alaric left off. We're good to go NOW!

No.

No?

No.

Mamm had to have ANOTHER brother, Waleis.

WHAT!?! 

Are you KIDDING me?

She's already got two much older brothers (besides Ataulf) - one in Albann (Scotland) up in Chattan territory and one in Tarnos of Gaul. Her parents have bloody well LEFT FOR THE FAR WESTERN LANDS and aren't going to come back. Where is this younger brother going to come from, the one who has to take over in Aquitaine after Ataulf gets murdered? The one who later spawns legends as Walther in the Germanic lands? What the heck.

So I had to write in Wally of the West and get him from what would come to be recognized as North America back to the UK and Europe. 

Good Lord.

So yeah, it MADE me HAVE to take myself out of what had become my comfort zone and use the more 'organized' part of my brain because I HAD to get the sequences right - I couldn't just use vague references or flat out make stuff up (although as it turns out what I thought I was 'making up' was not exactly as 'made up' as I thought, but I wrote a whole other book about THAT and am NOT going to elaborate here). Alaric, Ataulf, 'Wally', Stilicho, the Emperors East and West, the battles, the 'situation' of the times ... all are real documented history. Being INFJ (at the time) with that INFP starting to come to the fore, I could not, would not, ignore reality completely just because I happened to be writing fiction.

And this whole long spiel is simply to illustrate how in the world one's 'cast in concrete' personality type can 'change'. It's not so hard to 'get' how the J & P blend - they have to. I had to 'go with the flow' to write in unexpected Characters after the fact, not to mention coping with the stuff the different Characters pulled on me when I thought I had their roles all cut and dried. I also, at the same time, had to follow a darned strict timeline - and get the book done and out when it was supposed to be done and out.

Then the Younglings took the bit in their collective mouth.

Then DANANN, in response to the Hogmanay celebration at Stonehaven and the Fireballs, blew *my* book timeline out of the water and dragged the lot of us ahead with him three thousand years.

To top it off, I suspect J and P in collusion with I, N, and F as being behind my total conviction that Science and God are totally compatible and are in fact one and the same. Linear Logic and Mystic Magic are NOT mutually exclusive, folks. The more we learn the more mystified we become about the stuff we don't know yet, and the more determined we become to keep on searching, only to be baffled by what we find - so we search even harder for both the biggest and the smallest ... and 'round and 'round we go - following PHI because the Spiral is what we have to go by.

And BadaBingBadaBoom as Brooklyn Bill would say.

No wonder my head is spinning and it's a relief to be back full time at that shift-work job.

I kid you not. It's kind of like being on vacation, even though it's really hard work and directly related to having specific goals. Again, the J and the P are 'taking turns' - or something ... At least the INF is absolutely stable and unchanging, thank God. Those three aren't going anywhere. They're still riding at or near the 100% markers. And I'm perfectly fine with that.

INFP

Philosopher - Living in your own ideal world.

You are an idealist. You are loyal to your values and the people who are important to you. You hope you can live in a world which could exactly match your own values. You are very curious about the world. You can always find more possibilities and drive yourself and other people to make these ideas come true. You try to understand other people and help them to maximize their potential. When there is nothing threatening your own values, you are quite flexible and good at accepting other people.

Introversion I or Extroversion E - You can get your energy from where you focus your attention.

You are Introverted Tendency, that is concerned about how the changes of the outer environment influence yourself: concentrate your psychological forces and attention on your inner world, and focus on your inner experience, thinking, idea and emotion. You prefer to think independently and read.

 People different from you are Extroverted Tendency, that concerned about how you influence the outer environment: concentrating your psychological forces and attention on the outer world and communication with other people and like meeting, discussion and chatting.

Sensation S or Intuition N - What will you notice more when you receive and perceive the information from the surrounding world.

You are iNtuition Tendency, that likes abstract theories and principles. You are concerned with the entirety of things and the tendency of change and development. You are concerned about inspiration, imagination and creativity. You like implication, analogy, connections, possibility, inference and prediction.

 People different from you are Sensing Tendency, that are concerned about the detailed information gained through sense perception: things that you see, hear, smell, taste and touch. You notice details and descriptions more. You like to use and develop the skills you already have.

Thinking T Or Feeling F - How do you make decisions.

You are Feeling Tendency, that attaches the most importance to the feelings of yourself and other people. The value and harmony will be your standard for evaluation.You are very sympathetic, kind, friendly and considerate. You always think about how your behavior will effect the feelings of other people.

 People different from you are Thinking Tendency, that pay attention on the logic relationships among things. You like to evaluate and make decisions through objective analysis. You are very rational, objective and fair. You think principles are more important than being flexible.

Judging J or Perceiving P - How do you organize and design life.

You are Perceiving Tendency, that needs to collect more information before you make a decision. So you try to understand and adapt. You focus on process and change your goals based on the information changes. You always allow for unforeseen circumstances in your daily life. You like a loose and free life style, which may be bit disordered.

 People different from you are Judging Tendency, that like to make judgements and decision. You like to make plans and would like to manage, control and drive for the results. You focus on accomplishing the task. In your daily life, you hope your life is organized, step by step and respect the timeline.


 Yep.

That's my analysis for the time being.

Moving My Week Right Along

Back in the Construction Zone days I used to kind of informally keep my week moving along by changing how I dressed for each day of the week.

Even before I went to work at Strata's Corporate Headquarters and their Concrete division office, Wednesdays had been my Bib Overall Day, a middle of the week reminder that we were almost halfway through already (six days a week dark to dark).

Mondays were 'dress up day'. Considering I was working in field offices I only sometimes actually wore dresses. Usually it was dress slacks and a nice blouse, makeup, and maybe jewelry. The people who happened to visit on Mondays were impressed. I generally told them to come back on Wednesday if they could, because I wasn't always dressed like this. Sometimes they did and always laughed.

Tuesdays were still slacks but with a sweater (light or heavy depending on the time of year, but good quality very nice sweaters).

Wednesdays were bib overalls. On site it didn't matter in the least what I wore and Wednesdays were for the fun of it. Sometimes I wore over-sized bibs, sometimes railroad striped ones, sometimes just any old bibs. After a while I didn't DARE wear bibs on any other day of the week for fear of confusing people into thinking whatever day it happened to be was Wednesday. O_O 

Thursdays were good sweater days too, but with jeans.

Fridays were for decent tee-shirts or work shirts and jeans.

Saturdays were for sweats.

I always had my steel toed work boots on hand but didn't wear them on Mondays or Tuesdays unless I was actually going out onto the work site.

It got to be a habit, the first dressing up and working my way down to wearing sweats by the end of the work week.

When I came in from field work to office work I followed a variation of the same thing. Since I didn't work on Saturdays, Strata executives were spared the sight of me in sweats. I wore dresses more often, especially on Mondays, and in general my whole wardrobe took a turn up on the 'fancy' scale. Even so, Fridays were always for more casual slacks (maybe khaki instead of dress black) and sweaters ...

And Wednesdays were ALWAYS for the bibs. Not the over-sized ones any more, and not just any old bibs although the railroad striped ones stayed in the rotation. Got lots of smiles. I checked with Mr. Bradshaw ahead of time to explain to him about my Wednesday bibs (in case he wanted me to not work on Wednesdays, you know, because of the overalls) and he was fine with it; made him grin. 

So there I was, all dudded up on Mondays looking like the executives who surrounded me on Mondays, still sort of like them on Tuesdays, and then Wednesday came around and I stuck out like a sore thumb but everyone just smiled. After a while I again would not have dared to wear bibs on any other day of the week. Someone from whatever department/contractor would walk into Strata Block (mornings) or Payroll (afternoons), see me, and say, 'Ah, it's Wednesday!'

I loved that job, and the people, quite very much. I wish Strata would share their management and personnel secrets, believe me I do. Aces all. Well, one notable exception but he just served to highlight everyone else, yep.

And I'll shut up about Strata now or you'll be reading forever and I'll be both laughing and in tears at once.

Being as I now have a quite very different type of job, and am back to it full time, I'm finding myself wondering how I can make it just a little more fun for myself.

No I have no intention in this world of wearing bibs on Wednesdays. Those fun days are gone, unfortunately.

However, I can come up with another kind of variation.

Scrubs come in all colors.

Until we get the word that we all have to wear identical scrubs in the same color, I have a little leeway in my choice of scrub colors.

SO ... 

*laughing*

It doesn't take much explanation. I'll be following the rainbow through my weeks.

I'll also be able to pare down my collection of scrubs; except for needing to get (buy or sew) a set in yellow (of which I have none for some inexplicable reason) I'm pretty much good to go. Even Saturdays because I have a couple of Alianora outfits (her colors are silver and black, but she uses bright accent colors too) that I used my scrub tops and pants as patterns for.

Since I'm color coordinating I can keep my eyes open for shoes in those colors too. Wearing each pair only one day a week ought to give them all longer lifespans. Until we get the word that we all have to wear identical shoes I have a little leeway in the colors of those too.

One perk of this job is the utter absence of having to accessorize. Not that I don't love accessorizing, mind you, but all things considered the less I have to think about my shifts ahead of time the happier I'm going to be. A weekly rainbow will help with that. It won't be an indicator of 'where I'm at' in my week because some of my 'weekends' fall on Monday/Tuesday and others on the traditional Saturday/Sunday ... it's the nature of the beast, working every other weekend ... but at least I won't have to bother with figuring out which scrub set I'm going to wear, or which shoes.

Now that it's on my mind I realize that I have every other Wednesday off. I CAN wear my bibs on those Wednesdays!

Heh.

That makes me smile.