Fasten Your Seatbelts

Friday was my last day in the office for at least two months.  It had been a hectic and very long week, light on sleep, and I ended up walking out of the building with a lot of work still due and owing.  Stubbornly, I snuck in one last dance class before packing up and heading out to the desert.  (Completely stopped traffic in the middle of the desert at midnight after a really long week does not a good combination make.) 

I've spent the weekend working remotely while trying to keep a whole pack of dogs in check (five dogs--I'm petsitting and brought my own along) with mixed results.  Because the family doesn't fly back in until tomorrow morning, I am staying here overnight and driving out to the office where I'm seconded very early in the morning.  (My dogs will be staying here for the first week that I'm at the client's office.)  There is a very real possibility that I will be up all night wrapping up my projects for the firm.

The next two months are going to be a bumpy ride.  Physically, the commute and the supposed long hours will wear me down.  I don't think there will be time for workouts or dance classes--I envision losing all of the progress that I've made by going to dance classes four times a week for the past five months.  Logistically, I have no idea how I'll give my dogs the attention they need and deserve--living across the street from the firm has let me come home for meals and walks on even the busiest days as needed.  Psychologically, ugh, I don't even want to talk about it.

I've long been planning to take two days off in July to participate in a dance competition in the desert (conveniently located where my grandmother, who was into ballroom dancing when she was younger, could come to watch) and spend a four day weekend with my family.  Those two days would be my third and fourth vacation day since joining the firm.  Now, I've been told I can't take those days.  I get that associates are told to cancel their vacations on the regular, but that doesn't make it less disappointing when it happens.

I'm waiting until the end of the first week to decide if the arrangement will be as difficult as I suspect.  If needed, I will hire a petsitter, housekeeper, etc.  One of my dance teachers lives near the client's office and may be able to meet me after work at a local studio for a lesson, which would be a great help in lifting my spirits.  I try to remember how quickly these arrangements change, e.g., when a supposed three month stay in Tokyo was substantially shortened by The Earthquake, and that I need to take the next two months day-by-day.