Idle Hands

As a permanent temporary employee, I split my work schedule between two offices. One office is in the Provost Marshal's Office and the other is near the ID card section. The ID card office is not very busy, at least not now. When the soldiers of 1st Infantry Division return from Iraq, that will be a different story. We are expecting nearly 5000 soldiers to return within a four week period. Anyway, in the meantime, there is a bunch of down time.

I had anticipated filling in for just under four weeks while a co-worker took medical leave. I was pleased with the prospect mostly because the paycheck would be nice. But, that four weeks expanded. Surprise! Her husband came home on R&R. I got an additional two weeks. Pretty sweet deal all around. I get two more weeks of pay and she gets to see her husband for a brief time.

So, I'm into my fifth week and I have to admit, full-time work sucks. I love that paycheck, but I really miss my free time. My house and social calendar have suffered tremendously. So has my waistline. Instead of spending two hours every morning in the gym, I've been at work. Yes, I could go after work, and I have made the effort to go, but it just isn't the same. I'd rather get out of bed, put on work-out clothes, go to the gym, then come home, shower and get ready for the day. That's my routine. Work has made everything backwards. Now I get up, shower, get ready for the day then go to the gym, work-out, go home and shower again. Not only is my routine our of wack, but after working in an office all day, dealing with people, I would much rather go home and veg out.

The bad part about working is working. The good part about working is the paycheck. That paycheck goes directly into the savings account. When my husband, the most wonderful man in the whole wide world, returns from being all he can be, we are planning to go on safari. This will be a dream come true for me. On my list of things to do before I die I have seeing the wildebeast in Africa (Afrika, as Europeans spell it). I've been saving for this trip for over two years now. I had reached my goal, but then I went to Rhodes, Greece for a week followed by a week in London, England. Those trips dipped into the travel money. So, back to work. I had reached my goal again, but turns out it's not enough. The dollar to euro exchange rate is terrible. I have to keep on working for a few more months. Luckily, the re-integration of the nearly 5000 soldiers, means there'll be extra work available and I plan on taking advantage of it.

But, right now, there is lots of free time. Idle hands....There's only so much one can do in an office that would be too small to park a car in. Okay, a MINI could fit, barely. I've already re-arranged it. I hope the woman who normally works in here won't mind the redecorating. I've read every single magazine in the waiting room and a book or two. I've done some internet browsing and played many hours worth of this game. I've also become a blog junkie. With some help from Ari, my sidebar has grown. Between customers, I visit my blogger friends. Whatever will I do when I get to go back to the life of leisure?