Hitting the Wall

On day 4 I hit the wall.  All of a sudden the phone didn't work and I could not turn off one of the lights.  That was all it took to hit the wall.  When the manager walked in I had such a dazed look on my face he asked if I was ok, but I made it through my 6 day shift.

During those 6 days we had frigid weather.  It was so cold that some nights pipes froze, the drinking fountain froze and I needed to salt areas of the deck that became icy.  I was ever so thankful I did not work the 10PM - 12AM shift on New Year's Eve and instead spent those hours soaking in a pool and looking at the stars overhead.  Because my body was so warm I neglected to think about my face being exposed to 15 degree temperatures and ended up with some very chapped skin, but oh, it was worth it.  First time in I don't know how many years I didn't have an alcoholic beverage.

On New Year's Day a belly dancing troupe showed up requesting a private pool.  These four women carried a certain dark energy which made me unwilling to bend to their ways and there were several go-rounds and a call to the manager before they paid in full and were allowed into a private pool.  Before long one of the women came out dressed in a towel and proceeded down to the Rio Grande, took off her towel and went skinny dipping in the water.  I had to remind her that the public area was not clothing optional.  If one of the men were working this may have gotten a different reaction, but I knew these women too well.  When they left, they left their towels and cups in the pool area for me to clean up.  Even to the end they had treated me as if I were their servant.