I told him to just back up off my Kool-Aid because I ain’t tryin’ to hear that, G.‏

God, this weekend zooooomed by.

I’ve got a lot to write about the weekend. Non-food-related posts. More “things I did and shit” posts. Assuming any of you are interested.

But I’m at work and I need to whine about work right now instead. I still don’t have the internet at home so my weekend catchup will probably have to wait until tomorrow, depending.

Anyway, work.

Right now we’ve got two weeks to get our hours evened out. Up until now, the company I work for used to run on a flexible working schedule. In that, you were contracted to 140 hours per four-week cycle, and you could more or less work those hours however you wanted, so long as you stuck to the “core hours”. Core hours here were 10-12 and 2-4. Meaning you could come in late and/or leave early up to those times (assuming it’s okay’d by a manager of course) and take up to a 2 hour lunch in between.

We also worked up for “flex days” – which is basically a case of working an “extra” 7 hours and then being able to take a paid day off without using a holiday. Because really, you’ve already worked the hours for the day you’re taking off. We were allowed up to 2 of these per 4-week cycle and it rocked. Because I like time off.

I’ve gotten into the habit of working extra hours toward these days off. Generally speaking I work 8:30 – 5 and don’t take a lunch, which equates to 8.5 hours a day, making up an hour and a half per day.

Of course, from the start of next month, they’re abolishing the flexible working schedule and the days off that go along with it. Which SUCKS.

I had assumed that, since our company’s working hours are changing from 9-5 to 8-6, that the “core hours” would be abolished and people would be able to work varying schedules. Like 8-4 (or even 3 if they don’t take a lunch hour) or whatever.

But such is not the case. I asked my manager if I’d be able to work 8:30 – 3:30 and he basically told me I need to be working 9-5 and if I come in early I need to take a longer lunch to compensate for that or I’ll lose the hours. Which is essentially working for free. And fuck that, I’m not working an hour and a half and not getting paid for it.

I’m in the habit of working through lunch. Primarily because there’s nothing to do at lunch. My closest friend in this country and the only person I’d really like to go out to sit in a park for an hour and chat with, doesn’t work in the same building as me. Well, she might be coming back here but we’ll find that out this week hopefully. So what the hell else am I going to do at lunch?

8:30 is convenient for me. I get up, I leave the house at the same time as J, and she drops me off at my bus stop as she drives past. Of course, J had her surgery and hasn’t been working for the past two weeks, so my aunt’s been taking me instead, even getting up early on her day off to drive me so I could catch the train to Manchester on Friday.

This morning though, I walked to the stop. And I have no idea how far it is but it took around 15 minutes to get to my bus stop, which isn’t too bad. And I guess it’s a nice jump start to the morning. The extra walking is free exercise, so that’s how I’m looking at that. It was nice this morning. I was pissed off that my aunt didn’t bother to TELL ME she wasn’t driving me this morning, because then I would have gotten up a little earlier to make it to work for the same time so I could get my stuff unpacked at my new desk. But whatever. It’s all good.

But this lunch thing. I’m not sure what to do.

Do I bring a book and read at my desk? The problem with that is, if I’m at my desk, whether I’m clocked out or not, people will ask me about work. And if it’s my day on the phone, I can’t sit at my desk and let it ring and expect someone else to come pick it up. So go sit and read in the canteen? I’m sorry, but is that image not just the saddest thing ever? =/ Go read in the park? That I could do, but then it’s prone to raining here oh, I dunno, almost ALL OF THE TIME.

So I thought of going to the gym.

I don’t want to get roped into an expensive contract, though. The gym across from work is the gym I used to go to – and didn’t use during the winter months because it was a hassle and it was dark and whatever. Now that it’s warm, I want to go again, and if I took a 2 hour lunch everyday I’d have time for an hour of workout plus half an hour to shower and change and still have half a hour to kill.

The problem is convenience VS money though.

The gym’s 12-month-contract membership runs at around £55 per month, including my company’s corporate discount. But if I got the flexible one that can be cancelled with 30 days notice, no contract, is more. Probably £65+. And I’m trying to SAVE money, no spend it.

So I don’t know what I’m going to do. Maybe go for a walk at lunch or read or something. The gym membership isn’t worth it in the grand scheme of things, not when the gym (crappy looking, but still a gym!) a couple miles from my house is only £26.50 or something a month. BIG difference.

I dunno, all of this would be easier if I could switch to an 8-3 work schedule – but that’s not going to happen =/

I’m done whining. I should get some work done now that the fucking systems actually look like they’re working.

Oh, which reminds me. When my manager drew up the new seating plan for when we moved to the new area of the office, he’d put me in the middle somewhere. I asked to be put in a window seat because the fluorescents glare and give me a headache, which isn’t so bad if I’ve got natural light behind me instead. So he switched my seat with someone else, huzzah. Except now that I’ve moved, there is no window. The window that WAS here has been boarded over and the air cooling duct is in there somewhere. So, no window.

Need I say, my head is killing me?

Later chicks.

Oh also, Friday and Saturday showed me 200.0. Sunday was 201.8, showing the big lunch we had at the Hard Rock Café on Saturday. I was up slightly today too, but I can’t remember the number. No big deal, I’ll get past it. Wednesday is supposed to be the first ABC fast day, and I think I’m going to make tomorrow a fast day too. Two in a row, baby!

Vee xox

Ps: thanks for your comments girls, I love it! I’ll try to reply back when I get a chance =]