working girl

i swear, i've been in texas downpours and stayed dryer than i did today at work! it was a hit-the-ground-running kind of day, in which i didn't have to work but was called in to save the day.

i love saving the day...

actually, for a part-timer, i pulled a full shift today, and have made some gorgeous hours in the past week. i was called in, and less than an hour goes by before i'm clocking in (which means nothing unless you count the fact it takes a half hour to get to work when not by tri-met), and it was:

me: "good morning, ladies!"
the manager lady: "hey, delena! can you bathe the dog in the first kennel? he needs to be out in an hour."
me, barely in the door: "okay!"

after doggie no.1 was rinsed, the manager lady took him to blow dry him, and i got to dry a husky that needed to be out in about the same amount of time. now, the thing about huskies is, if you don't know, they have, like, a million coat layers. drying them is a bitch. drying nervous, i-hate-it-here huskies is even more "fun." after blow drying and blow shedding, i got to shed the dog. i spent full half hour doing nothing but drying and shedding that dog.

and i was singing all the while.

after that, it was one after another. i grabbed a fifteen minute break, but then we were so slammed at one point i glanced at the clock on my way into the back. it was somewhere in the vicinity of after 3:30pm. i thought to myself, "at around 4:15 i'll take my lunch." well, what actually happened was the manager lady came in to wrap up and say good-bye for the night.

the manager lady: "did you take a break yet?"
me: "yeah, i took a fifteen somewhere around after 1:30."
the manager lady: "you shoulda had a lunch in there somewhere."
me, in shock: "i was planning on it in a little bit. why, what time is it?"
the manager lady: "five-thirty."
me: "no shit!" my shift ended at six.

so yeah. no lunch for me, but i was goingoingoing and didn't realize time was flying by. don't you love it when time just flies like that? i left work tired, still sopping from the knees down, but singing. i only sing when i'm really happy. dare i say it? life is perfect.

in the first five minutes of my shift, i was soaked to my knees. after the beagle, doggie no.3, i was soaked to my shoulders. my pants are water-"proof," but more like just water dry-out-really-fast. the mesh on the inside clung to my legs and remained there. my feet still feel soggy and squishing, i walked around with that sensation for so long today. it's kinda weird.

i need to get me some good, solid, no-slip, black work galoshes, lady's side 8. the girls at work swear by the ones over at g.i. joe's sporting goods store. i was hesitant to buy any before starting my job simply because of how much i know they'll cost over at g.i. joe's. so i went with some good no-slip, water resistant working shoes that would have been just fine at, say, a restaurant or any of my other grooming galleries i've worked in.

apparently, not this one! the floor in the bathing room is concrete, with drains and grates in the middle of the floor and along the corners. this isn't grooming lite, ladies and gentledogs. we don't play over there. so i underestimated the vast oceans i'd have to ford over there, and my feet are wet from clock-in until after clock-out. hell, my work pants are still hanging on my shower curtain rod, drying the rest of the way out.

but have i mentioned i love my job?