The Give and Take of the 8 to 5

I realized this morning that I love being able to drive to and from work wearing my sunglasses. A strange observation I realize, but favorable none the less. Besides the fact that I really love my sunglasses, the real reason is the time of day I am en route, to and fro. I am really diggin the 8 to 5 gig. At my previous job (daily beating) I worked a Sunday through Thursday 6am to 2pm schedule. Although I had rationalized it at the time, in hindsight it REALLY SUCKED! The 8 to 5 has a few drawbacks, but for the most part it is definitely a welcomed change. The traffic is the biggest drawback as it is 3x worse then what I would hit going to work at 6am. But then again, I'M NOT GOING TO WORK AT 6AM, so always a plus. And I have actually been very surprised at the lack of traffic after work. I usually leave here somewhere between 5 and 5:30 and the traffic is actually pretty bearable. There is the occasional snarl, wreck, etc, but in most cases it continues to move.

The other great advantage of the normal work schedule is the hour for lunch. At the previous job we had two short breaks which we were not allowed to combine for eating and whatever. Ahh the joys of having to rush to one of the many fast food joints close by and spend 3/4 of your break standing in line. Then having to scarf your food down, only to get massive indigestion and suffer with that for the rest of the day! YES, AWESOME! The first couple of days I went out for lunch I found myself rushing around. It was a very new concept for me to be able to relax and sit down to a nice meal. Alison and I went to Eatzi's last week and I caught myself checking my watch to see if I still had time to make it back. I had to delete that program and load the newest patch which allowed for the longer lunch cycles. I'm such a computer geek. Anyway, so many new things to get used to. But I am not complaining. Everyday lately is feeling like the first day of the rest of my life.

...and that feels pretty damn good!