She Works Hard for the Money

I've been working as a carpenter's helper all week and am happy to report that all of my limbs are still attached. I've got some minor cuts, scratches and bruises, plus some very achy joints and muscles, but overall I'm doing pretty well. I like being able to see what I've done with my day, see a tangible result of my hard work. I like being tired at the end of the day from something other than the mental exhaustion from a racing mind that never lets me just work on a task without tallying all of the other things I could or should be doing. And at the end of the day, my body is sore from exerting itself rather than just having a sore ass from sitting at my desk all day. It's a nice change of pace.

That being said, it also makes me appreciate how easy I have it. Internet work that can be done at any time of the day, from anywhere in the world that has a high speed connection? Much more convenient than standing on a ladder in the rain at 9:30 in the morning pulling off shingles when I couldn't fall asleep until 3 a.m.

I've been planning a big shoot day where I get a bunch of pictures and videos done and ready to update with just in case I do hurt myself badly enough that I won't be able to shoot for a while. Even now I need to plan around 2 days off, since manicures don't hold up too well under manual labor. To prep for new pictures, I need to tan, get my hair done, nails done and make sure any bruises are minor. I've been wearing leg warmers under my work clothes to try to protect my legs from any new bruises, as I'm quite prone to walking into things. Clumsy is not a good trait to have in a construction worker!

I'd like to go more into the pros and cons of either work, but right now I'm already late. Note: add "schedules" to cons list.