Day 11 was Thursday. Every teacher at my school has to sign up for an extra duty outside of the many other duties we have. This year I signed up to sell tickets at the 8th & 9th grade school play. I emailed the director (a flamboyant and energetic man) and asked him what he'd like me to do. He replied that I should man the hallway between the lobby and the back hallway, which was cast and crew only. Once again, I'm hired to be the "muscle." This was fine with me. I thought I'd have a lot more to do, but the hallway was dead aside from two young boys gallivanting around. They were easy enough to take care of. Then I went back to reading my book in the quiet hallway. Once the play started, I was free to go home.
I had worked out in between school and this extra duty, even though I wasn't feeling so hot. I've been feeling tired and a scratchy throat has set in this week. I decided to forgo the mile run and instead ellipticalled for 40 min. I went to bed early and felt like I was going to throw up.
Friday, Day 12, found me feeling just a little bit better, but still tired. It was a tough day with a lot of talking on a sore throat and I decided to skip the gym and treat myself to tomato bisque soup at Noodles. The scale was flickering this morning and I'm hoping to see a drop tomorrow morning *fingers crossed!* After Noodles I went to Target to stock up on things that I had run out of such as milk, yogurt, and protein bars.
I tried a new protein bar this week - Cliff Mojo chocolate covered peanuts. It was super duper good! So I picked up two more Mojo flavors - trail mix and peanut butter pretzel. I also picked up a Luna bar in caramel fudge brownie and another mondo protein bar which contains 20g of protein. Since starting on this challenge to lose weight seriously, I've been trying to up the amount of protein that I have, especially after working out. Protein helps repair muscles and there are so many yummy options out there! It's not just chicken, fish, and eggs anymore (although I keep a steady supply of tuna fish in the house too). I also enjoy making fruit smoothies with Lifetime Fitness's Fast Fuel in vanilla. I bought some bananas and creamy peanut butter to try a new smoothie this weekend. I hope it tastes as good as it sounds!
Speaking of this weekend, in case you haven't tuned in to the Weather Channel recently, we're in for a humdinger of a snowstorm in the next 24 hours or so. I've heard 5" overnight, starting at 9 pm, and then another 8" tomorrow during the day with bouts hitting up to an inch an hour. There are blizzard warnings to the west and south of the Cities and I'm sure we'll see some blizzard conditions as well. MPR said that if we get 15" it will be the 11th biggest snowstorm in Twin Cities history, with the Halloween blizzard of 1991 topping the charts at around 30".
Minnesota Public Radio
I was supposed to work two lifeguard shifts this weekend in Maple Grove. For those of you who are not familiar with Minnesota cities and distances, Maple Grove is 42 minutes northwest of St. Paul...on a good day. With near-blizzard conditions and 7" on the ground, there is no way in hell that I am risking my life and the Echo's life for $55. As I told the manager on duty when I called today, "I like my job, but not enough to risk my life or my car." It's simply not worth it. She told me that if I didn't find a sub, I would still have to come in so I'd better make sure I left enough time to get there safely. Like hell I will! So I sent a text out to the four lifeguard subs offering a $20 gift card to a store of their choosing if they would take my Saturday shift. A guy responded in five minutes and took my shift...all for $20 to American Eagle. I asked him if he'd like to take my Sunday shift as well and he said, "Sure!" What a great kid! I'm tempted to toss an extra $5 onto the gift card just for being so swell.
These were the last two shifts that I was signed up for this year. I had already backed out of a shift on 12/19 in order to attend a screening of It's A Wonderful Life at the Fitzgerald Theater with Stew. I will pick up my check and drop off the gift card on Monday and then I will bid that establishment adieu. In the three and a half months that I've worked there, I haven't been all that impressed. I haven't felt like I've fostered a relationship with the staff or supervisors and to be quite honest, as a lifeguard, I feel pretty darn superfluous. I went through an extensive new hire training and all of the training was directed towards swim instructors. I believe lifeguards where mentioned once. Maybe twice. Definitely not three times. I was even told to provide my own shirt! No company logo, nothing. I wore my lifeguard shirt from the JCC (which I LOVE!!! - the JCC, not the shirt. It's a little big actually.). Case in point - I was pulling in to the JCC last Saturday after the Reindeer Run and this other lifguarding job called me saying that I was supposed to work and where was I? I told them that I didn't have it written down in my planner and that I had said I'd work at the JCC from 2-3 and 7-9. When I relayed this story to my boss at the JCC (who is awesome), she was like, "F*** them! You always have everything written down and if you didn't have it down, you weren't supposed to do it." I've worked at the JCC for the same amount of time as this other job and yet my boss at the JCC knows my personality and how I operate. I wonder if the other people even know my name.
Part-time jobs come and go and I remember the ones that I truly cared about - the ones where I felt like part of a team. Let's Talk Turkey, Pioneer Hall, Piccadilly Valet - those were great jobs where I felt like I mattered. People cared, and in turn, I cared about them and about my job. If you don't have an establishment that fosters a feeling of family, forget it. I pick up one and two hour shifts at the JCC because I want to help out my boss. I pay people to take my shifts in Maple Grove because I'd rather lose money than drive all the way out there for people who only care that I'm there because they need a warm body with a lifeguard certification.
Next week I'll be working two nights selling tickets for the high school boys' basketball team. In those two nights I'll make $90 working just over five hours. This weekend I would have made $88 working 8 hours (which doesn't take into account the hours I'd be on I-94 in a snowstorm). I think working for the athletic department is a good trade off and I won't have to deal with 5-year-old children and florescent cupcake icing underneath my nails.
It hasn't started to snow yet, but I'm pretty sure I've made the right decision. I'll sleep well tonight knowing that I do not have to drive anywhere tomorrow. I can shovel my walk and sip my protein smoothie while watching Netflix. Sounds like a good winter's day to me!
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