I had worked an Elections day prior, in 2011, I worked for Elections Canada as a voting clerk. I remember it as being a pretty long day but pretty easy.
Of course I had not been diagnosed with Fibro or Rheumatoid Arthritis yet.
Since I live on a very small fixed income from provincial disability (PWD) and whatever I get in scholarships/bursaries from school and the government, I'm always short on cash. There are times that I go without food to make sure I can get my dog her food. For the past two semesters, I have been selling things through Facebook auction sites in order to make rent or buy groceries. That is great but I'm running out of things to sell!
When I saw the Elections BC advertisement on my Facebook wall, I thought back to 2011 and how easy it was and how well it paid. It works out to $300. That is a HUGE help to someone in my situation.
So, I signed up, and was called into training the next day because I had prior experience and they decided that I should work at the busiest polling station in my district. That was a YAY!? - busy is good, it makes the day go by quickly. We are at the polling station from 7AM until all the vote counting is done and everyone's station balances, in this case, almost 10PM.
What did this seemingly easy but long day mean for me?
I actually got through the day rather easily. My partner was fantastic and we worked very well together. I brought a pillow to put on the hard plastic chair to cushion my achy bones, we were able to have an alternate take our place while we got a quick walk around the outside courtyard in the sun, despite being busy, we had several spurts of no voters. Everything was going great.
Then I got home and realized that I had to be back up at 7:30AM the next morning for class at 9:30AM. When I woke up, I could barely move. Everything hurt. Everywhere. I was starting a day with maybe two spoons. It took everything I had in me to get out of bed and make my way to school. I had to go. It was the first class. I hadn't been able to talk to my professor about all my disability issues. There was NO not going available.
What happened?
I barely made it through that three hour long class. Then I went and picked up my dog, headed home, collapsed on the couch and didn't eat. On Thursday morning when I again got up at 7:30AM for my 9:30AM class, I realized that I wasn't just exhausted, I wasn't just in extreme pain - I was getting sick. Touching other people's ID and paperwork for 12 hours on Tuesday had hit me hard. Quickly, I succumbed to the dreaded cold/cough/plugged up nose and gave up. But first, I had to get through a night class on Thursday night.
I completely over-did life.
Now, a week later, I am still using cold medication. I can't get enough sleep. Despite being completely exhausted 24/7, I can't sleep. My sleep medications aren't working. This is a long weekend and I am hoping that I am able to get more than three hours of sleep at a time.
When will I learn to remember about my lack of spoons?
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