Day 341! I had a nice and long day of work today… but it left me exhausted, especially after two late nights in a row. It was actually a busy Sunday too, which was very helpful for getting through the day. But once work was up, I had little motivation to do anything other than to lounge about.

I woke up this morning to my alarm at 8:00am. I had work starting at 10am, so I didn’t have a ton of time to dilly dally.

Tired, I got up right away and got ready for my day.

I had a little bit of time before work, so I tried closing my eyes for a little bit. That didn’t seem to work, so I cracked open the book I’m reading before throwing on my work clothes and heading up the hill.

It was a scorcher out today! Not only was there a high of 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius for my non American readers), but the humidity was unreal. I was sweating by the time I got out the door!

I got to work a few minutes early and, since they made it so we can’t clock in till 5 minutes before our shift, I drank a cup of water in our cool room (where we store the refrigerated items) and cooled off. I then clocked in for a nice and long, almost, 7 hour shift.

Today was the busiest Sunday I’ve experienced so far. The day started slow and I initially was just restocking the bar, but eventually our lunch rush got fairly busy! There were lots of regulars and plenty of people on holiday, the summer season has begun!

Around 2:30pm I took my lunch break and, this time, actually had my fish burger!

I sat next to one of the bistro windows and enjoyed the cool ocean breeze and watching the waves crash into main beach. I can’t wait to get back to swimming and beaching! January can’t come soon enough!

My shift had me working till 6pm, but the bar slowed down enough that my manager decided to send me home at 5pm. I wasn’t upset though, I’m happy to work whatever hours they need… also, I was still pretty exhausted from the last couple of long nights.

During my shift though, I started the conversation with my manager about my timeline and figuring out my 88 days of “rural” work. I’ve left a solid impression while working this job and my manager doesn’t necessarily want to see me go. So he’s going to look into the situation and see if there’s anything the hotel can do to keep me on board and still cover my 88 days…

I’m not super hopeful that anything will come to fruition, but I’ll remain optimistic! It would make life a ton easier if they could!

Before my shift ended, a huge storm rolled through town, cutting the humidity. Even though it was torrentially down pouring, the sun was still shining through the clouds, I’m sure there was a rainbow somewhere!

My shift ended (and thankfully, so did the rain) and I headed back down the hill and into the hot, now sunny, day.

When I got home, I wanted to take a nap, but my brain was still buzzing from work. So I cracked open my book again and devoured a few more chapters.

Out of the blue, I got a text from my friend, Grace, who I met in Phong Nha, Vietnam! We ended up catching up for a bit, which led me to dinner time. It was super great hearing from her and knowing that I made some solid friends from around the world on my travels!

Post work, I wasn’t feeling the most ambitious… so I used leftover rice combined with tuna, cheese, tomato, and a few different sauces. Not my finest cheffing moments but, a tasty meal nonetheless.

After dinner, I turned on some more of the show Demon Slayer. And while watching, I got a call from my friend Paddy, asking if I wanted to jam.

If he would’ve called around 7pm, I might’ve been down… but it was already 9pm and I was exhausted and not feeling social. So I declined, which I think unfortunately canceled the jam for them too. I felt a bit bad that my antisocial-ness led them to not wanting to jam themselves. But I needed a time to recharge mentally and my social battery too!

I may be extroverted, more than most, but I’ve learned a lot about the importance of alone time and respecting my own time too! I don’t always have to say yes and it’s also very okay to take time by myself.

I called it a night much earlier than the last couple nights.

Originally I was supposed to work at noon tomorrow, but just before bed, my shift got changed to 4pm-8pm. It appears I’ll be working a lot more night shifts in the coming week!

– Elie