Manly livin'

Being in the 5th Fleet AOR (area of responsibility), comes with a heavy price, even if we're not stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan.  While I don't work everyday, many of us work long hours and random schedules.  Throw into that, the weekends are Friday and Saturday vs Saturday and Sunday, which I've experienced for over 20 years. My schedule doesn't really include "weekends", but instead "days off".  Currently, we're workin a 3 on, 3 off schedule.  Meaning I work 3 days, I'm off 3 days.  When I work, its for 12 hours, that is a full shift.

Because our work flow reduces sometimes, we have the option to PT (physical training aka going to the gym) during our shift, and since the night work flow is usually significantly less, I took advantage of this last month by going to the gym every shift I worked (with the exception of the one day that I had a headache, I did good).  I would wear my PT clothes into work, then go to the gym after work had settled, shower, and come back to the office in uniform.  I would of course bring extra clothes to wear home so I wouldn't have to put sweaty gym clothes back on, ewwwwww.

When I finally arrive home after a 12 hour shift, I'm usually beat.  I want to sit in my bed, have my evening discussion with Teh Bear, then pass out so I can repeat the same thing the next day.  Since this is what I want to do, it is what I usually do.........  But sometimes this schedule has other effects..

Evidence 1:

Z.O.M.G.W.T.F.

What happens is this:
I come home and empty my backpack of its various contents, dirty gym clothes, undershirt/socks from my uniform, mail/packages (which is most of the clutter here), food containers, sneakers...  This all accumulates on/at my dining room table for 3 days.  The end where my computer is, is the only part of the table I really ever sit at, and when I'm working, my computer usually just says in my room.

The crazy part is, being messy like this drives me crazy.  But since I'm usually home for less than 12 hours between shifts, and most of those hours are spent sleeping, I let it slip..  Till it looks like the photo and I'm on my 3 days off.  I was awake for only a few hours on my first day off before it finally was unbearable.

Interesting note:
Its a very amusing microcosm of my days that I worked looking at this table.  You see the USPS box, which is a care package from Teh Sister containing random things like an air filter for my car, Rice Krispy Treats cereal, PB M&Ms, canned peaches (from Teh Mom), Tums (that are delicious), a coin thingy, and a ridiculously large container of Miracle Whip.  The red box is my ipod dock that arrived from Amazon (the best thing about it was that it came with batteries since it was used, woot).  The various food containers from bringing in food rather than pay over $6 a meal for something disgusting at 2am.  Cupcake tin from making ice cream cone cupcakes (yum).  Pill container/bag from the pharmacy where I visited medical (to of course put my check in the April box for the 2nd time, since I seem to go to medical at least once a month for various reasons).  Backpack that I carry to work every day containing all the stuff I'll need for 12 hours glorious hours of C5F hell.  A ridiculous amount of clothes that were dirtied over the 3 day course and my gym shoes.

Evidence 2:

Ahhhh, much better.

This is what my dining room is supposed to look like.  This is how I like my living environment to look, but working 12 hours a day does crazy things to me, like make me incredibly lazy and unmotivated to do anything but sleep.  Which means that instead of my sweaty gym clothes festering in my backpack, I throw them on the floor to "air out", I leave my dirty dishes on the table instead of taking them to the dishwasher.  I leave everything on the table that could possibly have a home, to deal with it on a day that I don't have to work.

I did show Teh Bear Evidence 1 and his comment was, "Wow, you're place looks like a guy lives there.  Don't you walk past the washer on your way in your apartment?"  I replied, "Yes, but thats so many extra stops."  Epitome of lazy = me, and I'm completely ok with it...  It would only be problematic if it stayed this way all the time.  Ewww, that would start to smell, hrm that definitely explains why guy's spaces smell... "different".  :)

DISCLAIMER: There was nothing growing under the pile of clothes.