I barely have time to breathe.

Work is piling up on my desk. I talk until I'm hoarse, get quotes, meet with clients, set up hotel contracts, send email, fax everyone all over the world, and hunch over as though the weight of the work were literally on my shoulders. The worst part is my desk being so messy. I can't think straight when my papers are here and there. I require order or I can't do my job efficiently. I loathe having to hunt around for notes and faxes, bumbling and making excuses as I search. It makes me feel like I'm faking being a travel agent. My job is wearing me out.

Then I go to class twice a week, and this semester is absolutely killing me with homework. I have an insane amount for the California history class, and my Photoshop class is expecting two or three projects done in class each session plus two big projects done outside of class by the end of the term. Our teacher is going too fast and cramming too much into each lesson. Thank god I know Photoshop 5.0, I would never stand a chance with 6.0 if I weren't already familiar with a fair amount of the tools and options. Even still, I emerge at ten each Wednesday night panting like a racehorse. Criminy!

I am trying desperately to find the right coffee intake for this new pace. I need to be very careful not to overdo it or the caffeine adds too much intensity to an already frantic pace. On the other hand, I can't make it through an eight hour work day and then three hours of class without some kind of artificial help. I'm drinking my usual cup of coffee in the morning so I can operate at optimum speed during the day, and drinking a caffeinated soda in the late afternoon to give me the push I need for class. What happens is I come home exhausted but awake. Argh.

I'm grateful our business has picked up so terrifically, but had I known I would never have signed up for two classes this term. I'd better figure out the proper amount of coffee soon or I'll wind up face down on my keyboard muttering about the magic eraser and flagellation as a sociopolitical tool. Won't that surprise my next client?

Past Life The Index Next Incarnation