Stronger Than I Thought

I think there's less fat on my belly today. The muscles in my arms are definitely getting larger and firmer. (I get a good feel of them each morning when I rub the sunblock in.) My calf muscles are larger and more defined. Here's the kicker: I've been feeling some back strain lately on the job, so this morning when I rolled out of bed, I hit the ground to do a few quick crunches. I got to 40 before feeling any strain. AWESOME. Maybe I can do this after all. (Maybe at some point, my job and the recovery therefrom won't be the whole of my existence, and I'll see friends again!)

Neighbor-Dan stopped by yesterday evening to see how I was feeling. He said that several other people left yesterday because of the smoke, and others should have. One guy threw up. (I was close, I was coughing so hard.) He assured me that all the bosses are still thrilled with my job performance, and that the smoke won't last forever and I'll be able to work 40 hour weeks. Unexpected but nice thing: I think an unofficial part of my job function is to provide comic relief when the bosses are grinding their teeth over the job. Neighbor-Dan and I have been having after-work conferences on coordinating our jokes. (He then thanks me for getting the other two bosses to smile and laugh.)

I bought bandannas yesterday: pink and purple. Sweet. My "Princess" sticker is peeling off my hard hat (*sob*), so I bought some multicolored permanent markers. I'm going to draw a tiara on the hard hat, then write "Talk to the tiara!" on the back. (This was 64tbird's idea. Thanks, 64tbird!!!) I also bought Band-Aids, handkerchiefs, lightweight sports bras, new undies, and wrist bands. My wrists are sore from the hammer action. I reluctantly walked away from a lavender glitter indoor extension cord. It was truly fabulous. Such willpower!!

Happy! Happy! JOY! JOY!!

It's RAINING!!!!!!!!

The water in the streets is white with floating ash. When splashed up, it's an opaque dishwater grey. Sweet rain. Sweet, sweet, wonderful beautiful gentle soaking rain. Without lightning. Glorious rain. Thank You, Mother.

I got my first paycheck today. $380 for 25 hours of work. Not even a full week's work (because I got sick on Thursday of last week) and I just brought home more than my monthly welfare check, and nearly my monthly earnings at the School of Education. Hallelujah. The bulk of this one is going to credit card bills, so the fuckers will stop hassling me. A little is going toward tools and other work equipment (better pouches and such for my tool belt, a utility knife).

My "girl bathroom" arrived today!!! I take back everything I said about it being silly to have a separate outhouse for one crew member. IT HAS A SINK. WITH RUNNING WATER. I gave all three bosses effusive thanks and a hug over that one. (No, it really doesn't take much to make me deliriously happy.)

Funny Work Things

( Now I have the energy to type them )