"Be on Time" Chronicles 1/31/19

Getting ready for work can be a year-round hassle, but the winter months make the mornings even more stressful, for a few reasons:

1) I get a respiratory illness with pain in my back and chest if I get chilled after a shower. So I have to make sure I am dry and have been dressed for at least 10-15 minutes before I leave the bathroom.

2) My zip up sweaters and sweatshirts are so cozy and I wear them every day in the winter. Unfortunately, some of them are difficult to zip, and I'm anal about having them zipped. I don't ever wear them unzipped. Some of them take multiple tries to zip, which I don't have time for on work mornings.

3) My winter coat is heavy and bulky and a bitch to pull on. I have to reach up to get the hoodie part of my sweater / sweatshirt out of the way of the hood of the coat, which is super difficult for me. because I have limited range of movement. Then I have to get the coat buttoned without my work badge or my hair getting caught.

4) My lightweight coat has a zipper from hell. It works when it wants to. If I don't zip it, the damn garment falls off my shoulders, and I'm walking to the vehicle with the coat sliding off my body, which of course defeats the purpose of wearing a coat in the first place.

So I breathe a sigh of relief every winter morning when my sweater / sweatshirt is zipped and my coat is on.
I feel like half the battle has been won.
But then I start worrying about being able to carry my lunch bag, purse, and any other bag I have while being weighed down with a coat.
And I further obsess about being able to see when my vehicle arrives, because I can't stand outside in the cold.
I also can't open the blinds because I can't reach up to close them when I'm wearing heavy clothes.
So I have to stand by the window and hold the blinds open.
Sometimes I'm standing there for thirty minutes.

It's a boring time.
I'm often tired and sometimes I'm frustrated and I usually feel like I'm wasting time just standing there. 
Sometimes I look at Facebook.
If I have the mental energy I read a few pages from an e-book.
If I know my roommate is awake I'll listen to music on Spotify.
Disco or Motown can be good "get you going" morning music.

When the vehicle arrives, I rush away from the window, grab my stuff, and hope I get to the door before the driver bangs on it.
Not all the drivers bang on the door, but I am annoyed at those who do pound on the door.
Do they not realize that clients may have family / friends / roommates that are still asleep?

This is my winter routine.

It's challenging, but I manage.

At least I don't live in a northern state.
That is something to be grateful for. 
I can't imagine adding snow, ice, and much colder temperatures to this scenario.

librarianintx