NutJob

Here it is. True confession...

I had a new job for about 4 hours.

Yes, I got a position with thru a temp agency. I went in at 11:30 PM and did various repetitive jobs involving the labeling and packaging of catalogues for shipping.
The tasks weren't physically demanding but the repetition caused Carpal Tunnel like pain and numbness throughout my arms and shoulders. I had similar problems when I was stocking last summer, but I soldiered on until I went back to full-time at the video store while the owner recovered from her foot surgery.

I might have been able to do the same at there, except for a strange reaction I had to the situation. As the shift went on, my mood became positively manic; I was overwhelmed by a sudden depression and couldn't shake it. By the time my lunch break came, I was profoundly disturbed...to the point of calling my wife (at 3:30AM) just to hear a familiar/comforting voice. She was, of course, sound asleep but didn't mind (too much). She asked me how it was going and why I was calling. Unbelievably, I choked up and could barely speak; it was all I could do to keep from crying. Being the amazingly understanding wonderful wife (see sidebar) that she is, she told me to just come home. I argued (weakly) that I should stick it out until the end of my shift; but she insisted that, if I was going to wake her up at 3AM, I damn well better follow her suggestion. Since, I was already sitting in my car, I just drove home... feeling very stupid.

Anyhoo, I am still working at the video store and rethinking the job search. I guess I've spent too many years in the retail/service industry to make the change to warehouse/manufacturing work. Of course, it could just mean I am a whacked-out wuss.

I am still a bit down but not quite so manic. I think I will get back to making asinine comments on this blog as therapy. Don't say I didn't warn you.