journal

i work for a contractor, have for six summers whilst attenting uw-milwaukee and working as an educator at a small, independent school. having quit the school job in hopes of pursuing a degree in physics, i find myself going to work at bowling centers all over wisconsin, performing all manner of repair and modification.
i spent the last two days crouched beneath 2 1/2 foot spaces, working to get the pindecks within specs. yes, i was living the dream.
as i hammered on the plastic gutters to cram them back in between the walls and the decks, ears ringing, knees aching, back straining, arms soaking with hot sweat, i found myself wondering if i would rather have been policing children at school. as much as i love to work with them, i had to admit that i didn't miss them that much. for all the good, there's a lot of baggage that gets carried home, and pindecks don't do that to you. as i've said since i started working summers between teaching, 'machines don't talk back and they do exactly what you ask.'
not to say that i entirely enjoy the job. as soon as i find a cushy office job to pay the bills and finance the physics education, i'm done.