The store I work at is getting a complete overhaul: paint, fixtures, electrical, merchandise, and new floors. We had people come from other stores to help out with all of the craziness and it is still not complete. Construction workers, electricians, painters, and employees in the store at all hours. Trust me when I say it made for a very interesting work experience.
As a girl who loves sleeping when it is dark out, this was a huge challenge for me the first couple of nights. The first night everybody is exhausted but excited to get to work. By the third night the schedule had started to feel somewhat normal not knowing what day of the week it is. And by the end of the week I had gotten used to eating only one and a half times a day and sleeping the rest when I wasn't working. People should never be exposed to the amount of paint and glue fumes we inhaled.
The first week, we had a great crew come in from other stores with little for us to do. They were incredible workers though. This last week we actually had more to do to make the time pass a little faster. And the workers were mostly great with a couple of bad apples. One actually tried to give me a compliment and it ended up coming off that I look like a boy ("I like your hair down, it is really pretty and actually makes you look like a girl"). I had to laugh and walk away because I really didn't know what to say. I was pretty much thinking, 'I'm sorry but I kind of figured that my boobs were a big give away that I am not a boy'.
People were always asking how I was always so happy with so little sleep and while others were grumpy. I blame it on the construction. It was so much fun to work with people in the construction field again. I felt at home with the crews around. Yes, that sounds kind of weird but it is something I know fairly well growing up with my dad always having some sort of construction going on in our house. For one of the first times in the four+ years we have lived in Illinois I was able to actually relate to people. I loved the smell of paint (when it wasn't overbearing), smelling fresh cut wood, hearing the sounds of circular saws and nailguns, and picking up the casing of wires.
In the end, we got a lot accomplished with more work still ahead of us. We had night after night of laughing hysterically. We had a pizza party to celebrate a coworkers birthday and didn't have to deal with customers! So here's to new friends and not really minding being voluntold to do two weeks of overnights! No more overnights for this girl right now. I am excited to getting back to my old routine, actually seeing my husband, and getting to the gym!
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| 4 a.m. wednesday, thursday, or friday because I don't honestly know which day was which. |
