I wonder...

Date: 17 November 2012 15:31:28

I have ended the working week significantly less tired than usual.

Yes, I got away three hours earlier than usual on Friday. That certainly helped! But, I'd put in some extra hours earlier in the week.

No, it's not been a particularly different week. In fact, if anything, it's been a pretty stressful week.

The main significant difference is that I have transferred all the contents of my work bag to a shopping trolley. This included

Three pencil cases

Two A4 folders, fairly full of paper

One Travel Scrabble set

One travel coffee mug and jar of coffee

One Lunch Box

One boiler suit or spare pair of jeans

One pair of steel toe capped boots

One Diary, small, but significant

Several items that didn't belong to me, but will be returned to their owners when next I see them on Monday.

One purse

One Season Ticket for the Train

One Work ID badge

One small bag of medical items

One Bible

One Book for reading on the train

One coat/spare fleece

I'm not going into the details of why there is nowhere at work to keep any of these items. I don't need all of them every day, but, I do need all of them in the course of the week. The final straw has been the realisation that I now finish most of my working days after our office has been locked, so I can't even leave my coat there. The one day a week I can, I am liable to forget it's there, and worry it's in one of the four other places I've been since arriving. My left shoulder, and back, had been getting progressively achier since September, and the introduction of the new timetable, and are significantly less so today.

So, shopping trolley it is. I am really surprised at how much less tired I've been in the evenings all week, and how much more energy I've had today. Now, it could be I am much more accustomed to my new routine in both jobs, and am less panicky about Sunday organ playing.

I was wary, initially, of using it on the train, but it's only been a bit of a pain one day. It seems to be conferring eccentric middle aged woman status on me. The young man who was blocking my way to the only seat in the carriage looked set to argue with me for his aisle seat, but gave in when I pointed out the trolley and me wouldn't fit in the window seat. He knew when he was beat, and shifted up.

So, what am I going to do with the new found energy?!