A day from hell

What a week. Last weekend I spent two days helping my friend Bev with her booth at a couple of fairs. It was fun, but hard work loading and unloading the car and setting up and then doing it all again at the end of the day. It was also very hot the second day. Fortunately, I had Monday off to recover :-) followed by three days at my usual job, which was the same old, same old. Then came Friday.

I took a last-minute freelance job that was booked for 5 hours at a site about a half hour from home. It sounded like an easy enough job for the day. I checked to make sure there was fast food nearby that I could eat (food sensitivities) so I wouldn't have to pack a lunch. I put on some nice clothes that would be warm enough in an air conditioned building but still look professional. I drove to the site. I arrived and my contact said, "The buses will be here soon."

Buses?!?!?!?

I ran to the car and grabbed my sunglasses.

So began a day from hell. Buses. Drive an hour and pick up a group of people. Drive 45 minutes and arrive at a very large, very loud, very hot event, where I am to accompany these people for the next 5 hours. No shade. No lunch. One small water bottle. Dark clothes. Ankle boots with a 1 inch heel. Needless to say, by the time we got back to the buses I was sunburned, dehydrated, on the edge of heat exhaustion, with swollen feet. Then came the one hour ride back to the original site. The 5 hour job had become 8.5 hours of torture. Yes, I called the people who gave me the job and complained. They didn't know about all this either. And yes, I did speak to my contact at the site and explained that had I known what the plan was, I would have dressed more appropriately, brought a backpack with more water and my lunch (no I can't eat chicken, so don't bother offering to run and get me some), tennis shoes, sunscreen and a hat.

Mary was pissed. I was frustrated. These people didn't have a clue that they should have provided all this additional information. I spent Friday night and most of the day yesterday on the couch, pounding gatorade and slathering myself with aloe vera. My arms aren't nearly as badly burned as I thought they might be. My face is the part that hurts off and on. The worst burn is my chest, which will now have a V-shaped tan line after the red peels off in a couple of days.