[iatetheyeti] Battlemage Vol. I: Beginnings

[Mortimer]

If its not in your control then there's not much point beating yourself up about it. Sometimes the only thing you can do is let go. Sh*t happens and it's no one's fault sometimes. That's what my colleague told me. I have this thing about having things run according to plan and any deviations irk me. But in life one of the constants is change, as well as death and taxes. 

[iatetheyeti]

Today I managed to do two things at work: doze off for a few minutes whilst making pancakes in full view of customers, and set off the store fire alarm. Those two events are, surprisingly, not connected.

 

Rise: 0400, with my waking thought being 'oh no, I do not like this at all' literally as I was reaching to shut my alarm up.

Morning routine: No. But I kept the emergency toothpaste in my locker at work so I could fix one of those things.

Inactive hours: Will be three by the time I go to bed.

Illness/injury: Extreme tiredness brings out my stupid, and my work environment is not a safe place to be tired or stupid, so I have many. The headache I think is tiredness, the screaming arthritis is the humidity.

Evening routine: Very early.

Bed: I aimed for 2000 and I got 2030.

 

At this point I don't know how I'm going to make it through the next five days. Maybe if it cooled down enough for me to sleep at night, but it's doing the opposite of that. At this rate I'll somehow survive the rest of my on-streak, go to bed Thursday night and wake up on Sunday... 

 

[iatetheyeti]

I am too tired for the amount of anxiety I am having (and why am I having it? No one knows!). It's a slightly surreal experience, all in all.

 

Rise: 0500

Morning routine: Nope, locker toothpaste got some use again.

Inactive hours: I don't plan on doing anything active tonight, so... maybe five hours?

Illness/injury: Difficult to tell.

Evening routine: Early again.

Bed: Around 2100ish.

 

There is far too much in my brain right now and I don't have the energy to process it. That might be why my anxiety has shot through the roof again, too much just sitting there gathering dust when it really needs to be dealt with. This whole thing wouldn't be anywhere near as bad if I could just sleep. That's all I want. More than an hour or two would be nice as well.

 

[Sylvaa]

2 hours ago, iatetheyeti said:

Morning routine: Nope, locker toothpaste got some use again.

 

Can I just say that this is an awesome win. Seriously, a lot of people who have trouble just think, "I didn't get it done, I'll try again tomorrow" and you are over here like, well, let's just keep some in my locker. I know it probably doesn't feel like much, but taking care of something like that is huge when things get rough. 

 

I'm sorry that things aren't going well for you recently. I hope you get some extra sleep!

[Mortimer]

I can attest that getting not enough sleep is a very bad idea. I got stretched pretty thin this weekend and I think it might be one of the reasons I lost my wallet =( Have you managed to get an electric fan yet?

[iatetheyeti]

23 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

 

Can I just say that this is an awesome win. Seriously, a lot of people who have trouble just think, "I didn't get it done, I'll try again tomorrow" and you are over here like, well, let's just keep some in my locker. I know it probably doesn't feel like much, but taking care of something like that is huge when things get rough. 

 

I'm sorry that things aren't going well for you recently. I hope you get some extra sleep!

 

You're right, it might be a little win, but right now little wins are major things.

 

Thanks  And I'm hoping for some extra sleep too!

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Mortimer said:

I can attest that getting not enough sleep is a very bad idea. I got stretched pretty thin this weekend and I think it might be one of the reasons I lost my wallet =( Have you managed to get an electric fan yet?

 

Trust me, I know!

 

The fan is having to wait until payday, unfortunately, but that's not too far away.

 

[iatetheyeti]

Today has not been great and tomorrow is not looking like it'll be any better thank to the ridiculous shifts I'm pulling. Still. Trying to look on the bright side.

 

Rise: 0700

Morning routine: Yes

Inactive hours: Four in total, I think.

Illness/injury: The usual suspects caused by the weather and lack of sleep.

Evening routine: On time.

Bed: 2200, I think?

 

The humidity has been a horror today, and that's a sure sign it'll be difficult to sleep tonight. Which is great because I'm in work first thing... We've been promised a massive thunderstorm, but it's taking the long way here, I think. It'd just be nice for this air to get a little clearer and a little easier to breathe. And if it comes with rain, even better!

 

[jonfirestar]

It was really good seeing you yesterday Yeti  I really hope that sunburn isn’t too bad! Hopefully when I am back up your way that the weather is more appropriately Scottish! 

[iatetheyeti]

9 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

It was really good seeing you yesterday Yeti  I really hope that sunburn isn’t too bad! Hopefully when I am back up your way that the weather is more appropriately Scottish! 

 

It was great seeing you guys too  As for the sunburn, well... Parts of me are still a lovely lobster red. I'm really hoping next time you come up the weather has gone back to normal, I an't deal with this for another two months!

 

[jonfirestar]

16 minutes ago, iatetheyeti said:

 

It was great seeing you guys too  As for the sunburn, well... Parts of me are still a lovely lobster red. I'm really hoping next time you come up the weather has gone back to normal, I an't deal with this for another two months!

 

 

I made a vain attempt to tan my shoulders today. I’m still stark white from the elbows up! Except for the bruise that has formed on my arm of course

[iatetheyeti]

No update yesterday because I left the flat at 5am and didn't get back until 10:30pm. It was a Day. I'd completely forgotten, due to a number of reasons, that both @jonfirestar and @Rhovaniel were making the trip north for a day. I only remembered when Jon messaged me the night before asking when and where we were meeting. Cue panic, but it all worked out in the end. And what a day it was. The weather was fantastic (as my extensive sunburn can prove...) and we spent most of the day sitting in the park in the shade just talking, and you know, it was exactly what I needed. No pressure to be anywhere or do anything or present a false face, just a day in the sun. And getting treated to dinner was pretty great too! Admittedly I did get a little emotional as we parted ways and I headed back north, and they headed back south, but I think I'm entitled to that one. Two of my absolute favourite people, two of the most important people in my life, and I only get to see them a few times a year. Such is life, I guess, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

 

On the bright side, the whole thing has made today easier to deal with, and today was a fustercluck.

 

Rise: 0700

Morning routine: Yes, now with extra aftersun...

Inactive hours: Five, I think

Illness/injury: My shoulder are redder than my hair and my arthritis is screaming at me, but aside from that things are relatively ok.

Evening routine: Last night there was none.

Bed: 0000, because of reasons.

 

Someone shuffled my shifts again while I wasn't looking (and didn't tell me), and apparently I've made a few more mistakes than I realised at work (and no one told me, which is incredibly unhelpful) as I'm now in line for disciplinary action. Fun times. But I have proof for the former and an actual reason for the latter, so when the meeting comes all I need to do is remain calm, explain, and not lose my temper.

 

But I dealt with everything today with relatively good humour and somehow managed to maintain that good mood all through my shift, through my bus being late and then taking us on a magical mystery tour, and right up until my delightful cold shower when I got in.

 

What I'm probably not going to deal with so well is the fact that tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day since records began. I might just hide in the work freezer and not leave...

 

[iatetheyeti]

6 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

 

I made a vain attempt to tan my shoulders today. I’m still stark white from the elbows up! Except for the bruise that has formed on my arm of course

 

Going for the neapolitan tan then? Heh, and I think that bruise is at least partially my fault, all things considered...

[iatetheyeti]

I am not cut out for this heat at all. It was bad at work, where I have to wear layers (and work with multiple ovens, a hotplate, and on this occasion, also a hot chicken counter). It was worse on the bus home, where I sat as one sweaty, overheated body pressed all too close to many, many others. And it was worse still during the short walk from the bus station to my front door, where the heat hit twenty eight degrees and I actually had to stop and sit down somewhere shady. It's less than a ten minute walk. And I almost didn't make it. And you know something? The high temperature in this city is about ten degrees lower than the expected high in London. And that's almost ten degrees lower than the expected high in Paris. And that's painful to even think about.

 

Rise: 0400

Morning routine: No, locker toothpaste saw some use again

Inactive hours: I know this is supposed to track the amount of time my backside is glued to my sofa, but I have spent a good three hours hiding out in my bathtub in the dark because it's the coolest place in here. And even that's not much help...

Illness/injury: Everything heat induced plus the added agony of my neighbours cutting their grass as I came home plus my newly evened out sunburn

Evening routine: On time

Bed: Before 2200

 

I was expecting two days off after this eight day streak, but because I am an actual idiot I only have one now. Tomorrow I get to myself, and then Saturday I agreed to cover a closing shift in the deli. Behind the hot counter. In the raging heat.

 

I do not expect to make it out alive.

 

[Mortimer]

Urrrghhh is it possible for you to get cold water to drink while you're at work? It really sounds awful. I hope the heatwave breaks off soon.

 

Here are some tips I read online on cooling houses down:

 

Keep your blinds down.

 

For feet, fill a water bottle, and put it in the freezer before placing it at the foot of your bed. And it sounds strange, but slightly dampening your sheets or popping them in the freezer before bedtime will majorly help you chill out

 

Stick sheets in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before bed. We recommend placing them in a plastic bag first (unless eu de frozen pizza is your fave aromatherapy scent). Granted, this won’t keep you cool all night, but it will provide a brief respite from heat and humidity.

[jonfirestar]

15 hours ago, iatetheyeti said:

The high temperature in this city is about ten degrees lower than the expected high in London.

 

Guess who had to commute their way through London yesterday? I was dripping with sweat just standing on the platform of the train station near Rho's place. The temperature measured a steady 38Cº when I got there! The tube was something else entirely... ugh. 

 

Stay cool if you can Yeti. 

 

On 7/24/2019 at 7:55 PM, iatetheyeti said:

Going for the neapolitan tan then? Heh, and I think that bruise is at least partially my fault, all things considered...

Really there is nobody to blame for the bruises other than myself. 

[iatetheyeti]

17 hours ago, Mortimer said:

Urrrghhh is it possible for you to get cold water to drink while you're at work? It really sounds awful. I hope the heatwave breaks off soon.

 

Here are some tips I read online on cooling houses down:

 

Keep your blinds down.

 

For feet, fill a water bottle, and put it in the freezer before placing it at the foot of your bed. And it sounds strange, but slightly dampening your sheets or popping them in the freezer before bedtime will majorly help you chill out

 

Stick sheets in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before bed. We recommend placing them in a plastic bag first (unless eu de frozen pizza is your fave aromatherapy scent). Granted, this won’t keep you cool all night, but it will provide a brief respite from heat and humidity.

 

I always make sure I've got water with me at work. I'm not allowed to keep it in the department, but neither are they allowed to prevent me from going to get a drink.

 

As for cooling the flat down, I've been pretty good about keeping my blinds and curtains closed during the day, and I only open the windows at night when it cools down. I think I might have to try the water bottle trick, though I for sure don't have space in my tiny freezer for my bed sheets! 

 

 

6 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

Guess who had to commute their way through London yesterday? I was dripping with sweat just standing on the platform of the train station near Rho's place. The temperature measured a steady 38Cº when I got there! The tube was something else entirely... ugh. 

 

That sounds like a nightmare. An actual living nightmare. And that's before I dare to imagine what you must have been feeling on the underground at those temperatures... 

 

It's cooling down slightly up here, so hopefully it'll cool down some where you are too.

 

[iatetheyeti]

I don't think I slept last night, I think I just passed out. Either way, I got some rest and then woke up with the duvet on the floor and the pillows everywhere. And roadworks outside my window. They're replacing all the lampposts along the street and they're taking their time. Can't say I blame them much, not with the heat added to the PPE they have to wear and the physical work they're doing.

 

Rise: 1045

Morning routine: Yes

Inactive hours: Likely six by the end of the day

Illness/injury: Sunburn is cooling now, my shoulders look a little less red. Headache and arthritis pain are also fading a little.

Evening routine: I don't remember

Bed: I don't remember this either

 

Today has been marginally cooler, enough so that I've been a little more functional. Got some housework done, gave my hair a much needed trim, went for a walk and tried to ignore the way my legs blinded every living thing in a ten metre radius. Since getting back it's cooled off even more and we even have a nice cloudy coating, as used to be the norm around here. Temperatures are predicted to drop into the high teens tomorrow, and we're supposed to get rain and thunderstorms (had one last night and I may have stood in my doorway in my underwear watching it with unrestrained delight). So hopefully it'll cool enough that maybe my ill-advised additional shift in the deli won't turn out too badly...?

 

[iatetheyeti]

Well, I just about survived my deli shift, though I'm still wondering whether I really needed to give up a perfectly good day off to do it (the answer is yes, I did, I'm just grouchy about it). I did leave the store as a sweat-soaked horror of a person though, to the surprise of none.

 

Rise: 0900

Morning routine: Yes, but later than expected, as in right before I left for work

Inactive hours: Three

Illness/injury: Two minor burns and my arthritis has gotten ugly, it's screaming and the joint looks impressively awful, but we are at a point of fairly high humidity and it has had a fair amount of pressure exerted on it today (also in a hot, humid environment)

Evening routine: So late

Bed: Maybe 2330? Blame Netflix for luring me back with another free month...

 

Happy as I am to be bringing in some extra money, I do quite strongly dislike my current shift pattern. I've just done an eight days on/one day off streak, and I'm now launching into a six days on/one day off. It makes relaxing hard. It makes having a regular sleep pattern hard. And that's a lot of complaining, so on a positive note, we have lots of rain. Also, I walked past a mirror and didn't actually hate myself, so, progress?

 

[iatetheyeti]

Days like today remind me why I dislike public transport. Bus to work was unpleasant, hot and smelled strongly of damp, and we had to close all of the windows when the rain started because it was torrential and we were getting waterfalls inside. The bus home? The smell of BO was so thick I could taste it, even when I pulled the collar of my t-shirt up over my mouth and nose. Oven-baked BO of however many hundreds of people who have used that bus today. Delightful.

 

Rise: 0900

Morning routine: Yes

Inactive hours: Four

Illness/injury: Coughing quite badly again. It never really went away, but I'd been getting days with only one or two incidents of coughing. Could just be because the weather is taking a turn for the soggy.

Evening routine: Slightly later than planned

Bed: 2230

 

Bus BO nightmare aside, today wasn't too bad. Work is always better without the CO around, the new Overlord seems like a decent guy, and the temperature has cooled itself quite nicely. I did also speak to one half of the canteen staff (who is one person, and the other is off sick) and tell her that if I tried to buy fizzy drinks of chocolate from her then she could prevent me doing so however she liked (apparently throwing things at me is an option, which would be effective), because it's past time I actually took control of my diet again. And the junk has to go. I also managed a successful 'but I have food at home' moment when faced with buying unneeded things at the end of my shift. And I think that's my willpower for the day extinguished...

 

[Mortimer]

Yeah the guy who is in charge can really make a difference to your workplace happiness. And it's quite funny that the canteen is allowed to throw stuff at you if you buy junk food but that's a creative way of getting about it =) I can remind you to tell the other canteen staff to do the same when he/she gets back to work.

 

Also yeah I wouldn't mind throwing stuff at you if you buy junk food as well, though I might favour giving you a punch on your arm instead because my aim isn't that good and I might hit innocent bystanders ^^

 

And good work on keeping the "I have food at home" thing up =)

 

Hopefully the weather is cooled  by the rain so you get better sleep.

[iatetheyeti]

18 hours ago, Mortimer said:

Yeah the guy who is in charge can really make a difference to your workplace happiness. And it's quite funny that the canteen is allowed to throw stuff at you if you buy junk food but that's a creative way of getting about it =) I can remind you to tell the other canteen staff to do the same when he/she gets back to work.

 

Also yeah I wouldn't mind throwing stuff at you if you buy junk food as well, though I might favour giving you a punch on your arm instead because my aim isn't that good and I might hit innocent bystanders ^^

 

And good work on keeping the "I have food at home" thing up =)

 

Hopefully the weather is cooled  by the rain so you get better sleep.

 

Pity we can't get a new department manager too, 'cause she's the real problem... 

 

Heh, I wouldn't say the whole throwing thing is allowed, exactly, but it'll happen anyway (pretty sure most of senior management would do the same if they witnessed it happening anyway!). And hey, I made it through my shift today without needing anything thrown at me, so that's something.

 

And yes, the weather is distinctly cooler, enough to allow sleep, thankfully.

 

[iatetheyeti]

The rain is here. The clouds are here. The sun is blocked. And I can breathe.

 

Rise: 0400

Morning routine: Nope, locker toothpaste got used once again

Inactive hours: Many

Illness/injury: Mystery leg pain is back. Started off up in my right hip and thigh and has since settled in my right shin

Evening routine: Early

Bed: Between 2130 and 2200

 

I've been forcing my poor, tired brain to actually do some thinking this afternoon and it has been hard work. While I did sleep last night, it wasn't exactly a lot (the joys of going from a closing to an opening shift...), and work is rapidly turning into a circus thanks to the sheer amount of staff out sick or on holiday. All departments I'm trained in, so I made sure to run out the door once I'd clocked out. No twelve hour shifts for me today, thank you very much.

 

But that wasn't what got me thinking, it was actually the dawning of the next challenge here. Despite what I said a while back about not making any long term plans or having any major goals, I'm realising that that isn't going to work if I actually want to make progress. Nice as it was operating without the pressure of a larger goal looming overhead, I don't want things to develop into aimless drifting or jumping from one shiny thing to another. I need some sort of plan. It can be a very loose and flexible plan with no pressure until I want there to be, but there does need to be a plan.

 

I already took one step to creating that plan when I decided I wasn't going to race next year. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy OCRs, but I haven't been in a place to train properly in a long time, and doing them without proper training leads to injury and a severely bad head space, neither of which I want. I do also grudgingly admit that it will save me a lot of money. Travel is cheap, races are not. What I want to do with that whole year, well, I'm not entirely sure yet. 'Recovery' is a nice word, but very vague. I do want to keep going with my from-the-ground-up approach, it worked quite well this challenge just passed, and I think I've made the adjustments needed in order to move forward and make progress with this next one. Definitely no big goals there. Which is fine. Big goals right now equal bad. I am still at the 'easily overwhelmed' stage.

 

That's not to say I don't have a few ideas scribbled down and tucked away, but as for when to start going for them... Funnily enough, a lot of my thinking has been less about the need for a plan and more about how it seems like I'm scared of having a plan and moving forwards because that leads to the unknown and where I am is very familiar and safe, but really not in a good way. It's been a fun ride. The only conclusion I can draw right now is to stop thinking about it so much and just get on with it, because there's no need to panic about it just yet.

 

[iatetheyeti]

Today upper management got an unpleasant wake-up all about the way things are just now. And I suspect that very shortly I will have all the overtime I could ever want and then some, both in my own department and the deli, because basically everyone is out sick or off on holiday. Upper management refused extra time to cross train people, leaving me and the CO as the only people capable of working in both departments. They also want us to take on dual duties. Apparently the new Overlord suggested I open both departments Sunday and Monday (in the same time as it takes to do one department open, of course) and the CO told him what to do with that suggestion. When she told me after, I said I'd do it for double time. We both laughed.

 

Rise: 0900

Morning routine: Yes

Inactive hours: Four, maybe

Illness/injury: The sugar withdrawal headaches have started, the mystery leg pain is really going for it today, and my arthritis is screaming because apparently we're now in the storm season portion of summer...

Evening routine: On time, maybe?

Bed: I don't remember

 

It goes without saying that my long-term plan is to get a new job... Easier said than done in a job market saturated with low hour contracts, low pay, and about twenty years of experience and a masters degree to make some coffee or tend a bar. Well, I've been through worse, and I'll get through this, and maybe I can even use the situation to my advantage this time. They need people to work extra? Well, I need my contract upped and then I'll do it happily. We'll see.

 

[Mortimer]

I have no idea why would people be going for vacation in a heat wave unless they're running to someplace cooler. But yeah if they want you to work more hours, bargaining for a better contract is a good idea. You could use the extra cash to get an electric fan and other stuff in the house.

[iatetheyeti]

19 hours ago, Mortimer said:

I have no idea why would people be going for vacation in a heat wave unless they're running to someplace cooler. But yeah if they want you to work more hours, bargaining for a better contract is a good idea. You could use the extra cash to get an electric fan and other stuff in the house.

 

I don't know that they're both going away, just that they have allocated time off work. Either way, works for me. I get the extra hours, that brings in a little extra cash, and I get to buy essentials and maybe, just maybe, I get the contract raise.