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Friday, July 10, 2015

I 'twas blithering in the slimey swales....

(My apologies to Lewis Carroll.)  Besides the slimey swales that are my garden and grounds, my job has been rather like working in Dantes Inferno.  (Lots of literary references this post - gratis.)

Due to all kinds of factors, my job has turned into a perfect storm of stress.  I am lucky if I sleep past 3 in the AM - and awake to my mind roiling with worries about missed filings and other drivel that doesn't matter a whit in the Big Picture.  After a particularly stressfullsome day, I came home last night and contemplated my options.  Red or white?  Seriously, I was past the glass-of-wine-will-heal-all-things stage.  So I did what I always have done.  I did something mind-numbing.  I stained a rickety plant stand (one of those 11-shelves-of-crappy-USA-made-so-called-workmanship-slatted things).  Within five minutes of starting, I had reached that Zen stage where my fevered brain slows down and starts a nice, gentle hum.

The original illustration - way
better than mine.  I wanted to be Alice.
I thought she was a grand girl - look at
that stance!
I used to do something similar, but more creative, back when I was a college freshman and stressed to the tippy-top of maxium-ness, I brought a 3x5-foot piece of rice paper back to the dorm and spent seven hours drawing my version of the Jabberwocky on it - filling the sheet from top-to-bottom, side-to-side, with tiny, spidery lines.  Worked like a charm.  My roommate took it (without my permission) and entered it in the art department student show.  I won an award but - BUT - they kept my drawing.  I flailed ineffectively against the system - this was before I realized I had rights - and briefly staged a one-woman sit-in.  While I drew favorable attention from the campus radicals, the art department staff were not impressed.  Pfft.

Yes, yes.  I've had quite a colorful life.  You'll have to wait to read the book.  It will be published posthumously, to protect...me. 

I am hoping to get some pix of the garden (such as it is) this weekend, and to completely erase from my mind any evidence that I have such a job.  It usually works right up until Sunday night, when the darkness begins creeping back in - bwahahaha.

11 comments:

Sue said...

Is there ANY way you can QUIT that job?
Are you looking for other options??
Life is too damn short to be someplace you hate.
Hubby retired EARLY. We are poor as can be. And so damn happy it's shameful.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Sending hugs and I am now waiting for that book. It sounds very very interesting. HUGS B

Sandy Livesay said...

Susan,

Oh dear, this kind of stress will make you sick. You need to find away to totally relax in order to sleep on Sunday nights. Chamomile tea with some drops of Valerian root just before bed helped me sleep (I just didn't do it every day).

I hope this stress calms down for you!
Sending you hugs, and prayers.

Susan said...

Sue - I've looked at it every whichway and I'm sunk. I wouldn't even mind being poor. And there's nothing shameful about being happy - you can't put a dollar amount on that!

Susan said...

Buttons - I think it should be a graphic novel. Yes? :)

Susan said...

Sandy - I do drink Chamomile, but Valerian root gives me a headache. I'm going to try meditation - at least that might help get my mind settled down. Hugs back at you!

Mama Pea said...

Geez, Sweezie, I'm with Sue and Sandy. Bad things happen when the stress gets too heavy. We must sit down and figure out a way for you to leave that awful place of employment. I have a feeling you are "put upon" there and NOT appreciated for all you do. That's another reason for you to get outta Dodge. That's not good for you either. Okay, Dr. Freud is leaving the building now. Love and hugs.

Unknown said...

I'm here early for the same reason, stressing about my job during the summer, when I'm off, at 6 am! I'm in such a negative work environment now, compared to my past boss. Being micromanaged (we all are) and too much divisiveness in the building. I'm trying to transfer out, but can only go where there's openings. Very frustrating...

Tombstone Livestock said...

hoping you can find a perfect job with a shorter commute, life is too short to be stressed.

Fiona said...

Gosh I so feel for you...the old adage a rock and a hard place comes to mind. I do know though your pooches love you!

Casa Mariposa said...

Stress sucks. Go to the local thrift store, buy a bunch of plates, wrap them in newspaper and then stuff the bundle in a big plastic bag. Tie the ends of the bag closed and then start smashing the plates with any hard, blunt object. It's amazingly cathartic. Yelling while you do it is wonderful, too, and gives the neighbors lots to talk about.