Work is Still Work

I am officially working remotely. At first, I thought it sounded like a great idea, but I am slowly starting to regret the decision, and I am only on the fourth day. With COVID-19 still here in California, our governor has locked down our state which means schools are still closed. Kids still need to go to school though which means we are once again learning via computers. My district gave teachers the option to "broadcast" from our classrooms or home. I chose to work from home.

My home/school office.

Among other reasons, my thinking was that not only would I save a ton of time and money by not making the 35-minute drive each way, but I'd be closer to the barn at the end of my work day. I also have a better laptop, and after the ransomware virus that attacked my district last year, we're no longer able to connect outside devices to the district's network. Hence, working from home enables me to use a better computer for hosting Google Meets (similar to Zoom). And as an added bonus, I can actually pee whenever I want.

The reality has been that I am working harder by being at home. Somehow, at work, it never bothered me to goof off for 15 minutes. Not like it happens often, but if I really don't want to do anything, the kids never mind. In fact, sometimes we throw in the towel and just go outside and hang out, enjoying the fresh air. We've been known to play P.E. for an hour. From home, I feel like I'd get fired if I took my dogs for a 15 minute walk during the workday. So, I have found myself working every single minute from my 7:45 start until my 3:15 end. I haven't taken breaks, and I even worked during lunch.  

My district-provided, jury- rigged doc camera.

Yesterday, I got a text from Tractor Supply that the Three-Tiered Saddle Rack that I had ordered had finally arrived. With purse in hand, I watched the clock until 3:14:59 and then bolted. Here's the thing. Tractor Supply is a 35-minute drive. The same drive I would have avoided had I had actually driven to work in the morning, I could have stopped by on my way to the barn. But no, I drove all the way to the far West end of town in late afternoon traffic.

When I arrived to pick up my order, there was quite a lot of confusion about where my box was even though I had phoned ahead to verify it was actually there. Eventually, someone asked to see the email verifying the box had indeed arrived. Do you know there are TWO Tractor Supply stores in Bakersfield? I did not. I might have dropped an F-bomb or two, and they were not frick and frack.

Still in the box.

I was very politely, and apologetically informed that I was at the WRONG STORE (you moron, they no doubt wanted to add but refrained because, you know, professionalism). I climbed back into my truck and drove back towards the center of town so that I could turn south to drive to the farthest southern part of town. The box was of course ready to be picked up, and I again received an apology as though it were anyone's fault but my own.

By this point, I had left my house which is as far EAST as you can possibly go to drive as far WEST as you can possibly go to then drive SOUTH as far as you can possibly go all while still being in Bakersfield. My plan had been to drive to Tractor Supply, pick up the saddle rack, and then head NORTH to the barn. Well, that just didn't happen. As it was, the round and round and round trip took me an hour and a half.

Izzy's beautiful new halter!

While all of that was more than a little frustrating, the biggest disappointment was that Izzy's BEAUTIFUL new halter had arrived earlier in the day, but because of the above mentioned SNAFU (and yes, I know what that means, Google it if you don't), I didn't get to try it on to see if it fits.

So the moral of the story is DON'T WORK FROM HOME. A secondary moral might be DON'T BE SUCH AN IDIOT. And lastly, LEARN HOW TO READ.