Two Week Check

Wow... has it really been two weeks since I last posted? Yikes!! That's what happens when working tires you out so much.
I've been in my job for almost two whole weeks (two weeks Wednesday!) And even if it's not my favourite thing in the world (I don't even like cleaning my OWN room...) It's not all bad. I'm getting quicker at flipping rooms (complete clean) and have managed to get most of my time under an hour - so close to the ideal 45 minute mark. The days that doesn't happen... tend to be the days I'm not feeling 100% (stupid cold!!)
So... where to start?
Well, last Wednesday (Sept 14th) we just learned the basics of doing bathrooms to the Fairmont Standard, before doing beds on Thursday and tying the whole rooms together on Friday (and that was hard being rather sleep-deprived.) You know how everyone scoffs when they hear 'housekeeping'? How it's such an EASY job to do?
Throw something at them.
Or, make them do it.
Because Housekeeping is probably one of the most demanding jobs around.
It's stressful, requires lots of physical exertion, and you really don't get a chance to rest until your shift is over.
10-12 hours of labour.
So not fun.
But, it pays the bills.
So far, Sunday (Sept. 18th) has to have been our HARDEST day. I mean, 12-hour shift, I just want to pass out and sleep for a week, hand me that vodka (yes i'll take it straight!) hard.
We were absolutely EXHAUSTED.
I'm pretty sure the only thing that got a lot of the staff through the day was the promise of a night out at the local club afterwards. (and by that time, everyone needed it.)
Thankfully, I had the day off with a few of the girls i started with, so we didn't have to worry (as much!) about the after-effects of a night on the town - a good thing to.
Everyone says to watch out for the altitude, because it will mess with your system - and they know.
You might be able to handle half the liquor up here you could back home - sometimes, not even that much.
But, as the JPL says, we're here to turn moments into memories - even splotchy, fuzzy ones that are missing half the pieces.
Tuesday and Wednesday were good, the weather started to get a little warmer, and we met up with some friends at the local bar after work for a few 'farewell' drinks (okay, drink.) because one of the guys was leaving the JPL.
Thursday was a surprisingly easy day, just a few rooms and nothing too major. A good day to get accustomed to the job.
Oh, and they gave me my own list on Tuesday... that was interesting. These lists... are SO confusing. I mean, they have the basics - room number, if they're staying over or leaving, the guest's names (mostly) and everything, but still - they can get realllllyyyy confusing if you don't know what you're looking for. So, sometimes they can be... interesting to decipher if you aren't sure of all the codes and lingo.
Friday SUCKED. I was sick (something with my stomach, we thought it was a flu or a cold) so they sent me home early (I mean, would YOU want me looking after your room when I'd as soon be sick in the toilet as clean it? Didn't think so.
Saturday was our last 'busy' day, and we got off at about 6pm (yay for a 10 hr shift)
Sunday... just not fun.
The temperature hit an unseasonable spike on Thursday and it was a good 20+ around here for the following three days.
So, when I woke up freezing or sweating in the middle of the night Sunday, I figured it was the outside air competing with the radiators in the room.
And I assumed that my throat was all dry and sore because I was dehydrated from sweating all night.
Strep throat didn't cross my mind until almost 11 am when I could hardly move to make a bed, was getting head-rushes every time I went to tuck in a sheet and wanted to puke the empty contents of my stomach up every time I swallowed. Needless to say - my super sent me home (again.) It took my manager all of two seconds of seeing me to agree that I shouldn't be at work.
So, I spent the afternoon in emerge. Because I do not need another horrible case of strep that lays me out for a week or more.
No thank you.
Unfortunately, by the time the nurses called me up (after the asthmatic, strep prone, high-fever prone, pneumonia prone, can't even look at food I'm so sick sob story) The advil I'd taken had kicked in, and they decided it was just 'viral' and to come back in if it got any worse.
Thanks... antibiotics may have been a better idea.
So, I've spent the last... however many hours, curled up in bed with a book or my laptop, whittling away the time and hoping I feel well enough to work tomorrow and that this viral infection leaves my head (which is currently pounding) and my neck (which hurts whenever I try to move) alone.
Until next time....

Ciaoz!!