Steady as she goes...

Well if you are counting at home, I just made it through my 2 weeks at the temp job place.  The people are great and couldn't be nicer.  I don't know how long the gig is going to last, so I have to keep looking, (which is not easy when you are working full-time) but this week, I got an employee ID and they gave me the catalog to buy desk supplies...so I guess I am staying for a while.

What's changed since I have been away??? Well this company is running lean and mean, and I think this is typical to other companies as well.  Everyone seems stressed.  Even the bus ride to and from work has a different vibe.  You pay more and get less...fewer buses and many times its standing room only!    Stress...is everywhere.  And for the first time in over a year, I'm feeling it too.

I'm thankful for the job and the money it brings to pay my bills, but I am feeling stress.  I realized this by accident, when venting to a friend on IM.  He was doing his best to point out the bright side of the situation (at least I am making money)...and as I typed the words, " I know, but I feel like my life has been off track over a year." I started tearing up.  

I don't have my head around it totally, but there is a sense of relief to be able to tell friends and family that you are working again, but then the temp status of the work (in this case I was only promised 2 weeks), has me in a state of limbo, which is stressful.  

The whole experience reminds me of a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon that I did with my friend Suzanne after college.  We lived like rafting queens on the water for 5 days.  The guides fed us and did all the work.  All we had to do is bail the water out of the raft after a rapid.  On the last day, the guides gave us peanut butter sandwiches and sent us to hike out of the canyon.  We started out at 6 am, and by noon, we were hiking in the summer sun doing switch-backs for 10 miles.  I could see the end of the hike, but it took FOREVER to get there.   I keep dreaming of an ice cold "Coca-Cola."  The red and white logo actually flashed in my mind as I trudged on to the top.  When I finally got to the end of the trail, all they had was water.  And when I found a vending machine,  all they had was Pepsi. 

This "temp" job is like Pepsi to me.  I'm looking for a Coke and a Smile.  

Well...thanks for letting me vent.  I feel better now.  I know things will get better. I just have to get back to my positive self, and things will fall into place.  They always do.

Top 10 quotes on Beating Stress

"Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff." - Richard Carlson, PH.D.


When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go. ~ Catherine Pulsifer


“In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” Lee Iacocca

“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it.” George F. Burns


Give your stress wings and let it fly away. ~Terri Guillemets

Releasing the pressure, it's good for the teapot and the water. Try it sometime. ~Jeb Dickerson


Stress is the trash of modern life - we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life. ~Terri Guillemets

If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles. ~Doug Larson
 
"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin." - Mother Teresa

"Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." -Benjamin Franklin