It’s Sunday night and I’ve just watched my sixth sunset here in Arizona – some 65 miles east of Tucson and 18 miles from the nearest town.  The door-side of my camper faces west – and the setting sun.  There is also a small, prominent range of mountains to my southeast that catch the last light of the setting sun.  It is interesting to see the shadows creep across the valley floor and then up the mountain side without seeming to move.

(Full moon risin' to the east just after sunset Saturday night)

First off .. a bubble-burster.  This is not a tell-all gossip rag about Tales From The Thing; although perhaps I should copyright that title – catchy.  But sorry – no National Inquirer here.  But this has been a very interesting, different and fun six days.

First of all, I haven’t had a W-2 job in 25+ years.  I have worked for myself or been the boss (as much as my kids would allow me anyway) for a long time.  Now I’m one of the four maintenance guys at a souvenir/gift shop/museum along I-10 in remote AZ – workamping. I cleaned someone else’s poop out of the handicap porta-potty this morning.  Apparently they missed the hole while ‘hovering’ in relief of their intestinal distress.  I can only hope they got some on their pants. A big change for this ‘Office Boy.’

I have spent 20+ years in the corporate environment as a mid-level manager and now I’m just a maintenance /janitor at a roadside stop. I was thinking earlier that this is where the idea of the TV show “Undercover Boss” came from.  That’s the one where the owner of some big company with hundreds of employees takes one of the more menial jobs but in disguise.  They then chat up their new-found workmates about upper management.  Perhaps I should reach-out to this corp and see if they’d like a ‘secret shopper’ consultant’s review.  Heck, maybe I’ve just started a new business.  Now I need business cards!

This has been .. for at least the first two days .. a physically demanding job.  I’ve been reaching for the bottle of Aleve three nights in a row now.  This place is huge.  And there’s a lot of walking and some of it is not so steady.  There is extensive remodeling going on and much of the back is a construction zone.  They have a target .. I’m told .. of Memorial Day .. less than 3 months.  It seems like there is a lot to do but we shall see.

And it’s also a routine that starts very early – 6 am – outside taking fuel pump and tank readings.  It’s been dark and cold – mid 30s – but daylight isn’t far behind and there is warmer weather forecast beginning tomorrow. 

It will also be interesting to see where I am on the next schedule .. due up Monday evening, I think.  I wasn’t on this past schedule ..  just given days and time to show up.  And a shirt.  My corporate printed name tag seems to indicate that I am a sales person.  But I have been a janitor these past few days.  It doesn’t make a lot of difference to me.  I’m here for a good time; not a long time.  If they give me the schedule I’ve asked for .. and been told was possible .. then I don’t much care what the job is.  I hit the bottom this morning anyway, I think.