Making it Through

I’m currently working as a custodian for The Denver School of the Arts. I’ve been chronicling my experiences through social media and this blog post. I put a lot of my own complaints and frustrations down, primarily to accurately portray my true experiences. No filter. There are good days of course. One day, this could be sort of a memoir.

I refer to myself as The Teal Fairy because this is a character that I’ve created. I hope to one day write about The Teal Fairy going back to school to protect those that have the potential to grow and flourish. Schools need more fairies over firearms to ensure the safety of the youth. I also use The Teal Fairy persona as my way of expressing myself creatively outside of the written word.

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Day Four Hundred & Eighty-seven: 11/11/2024

Back after a long weekend, thanks to that snow day. A much-needed break from the teenage circus. Last week, I felt like I was being put through some sort of karmic trial, like, “How patient are you really?” Spoiler alert: not that patient. I’m just trying to survive within my assigned square of responsibility here, with the goal of keeping my frustration levels somewhere below "fiery rage."

Today was pretty standard, though it came with its own set of challenges. The snow meant no trash outside (a small blessing since the students stay indoors), but now that it’s melting, the trash cans are a lovely soup of water and discarded snack wrappers. So, the mission: remove water without getting hit by “trash juice.” It’s a delicate dance, one I didn’t exactly sign up for but have somehow mastered.

Tonight, we had an event. Originally planned for Friday but rescheduled thanks to the snow day. Mondays aren’t usually for after-hours events, but here we are, kicking off the week with a crowd filling the halls. Nothing says “long week ahead” like extra foot traffic on day one. Five days straight feels ambitious at the best of times, but without any upcoming holidays, I’ll be clinging to snow days and federal holidays for dear life.

Day Four Hundred & Eighty-eight: 11/12/2024

I’m back at the elementary school. There haven’t been any obstacles since I arrived. We shall see as the evening progresses. It usually isn’t until much later in the day when I encounter disgusting messes, that makes my blood turn bitter and my spikey demeanor emerges. I generally hope for the best, but I generally become dissatisfied when I’m in this building.

I did have to break the determination for two little boys. Apparently, they had kicked a ball on top of the roof. I won’t be climbing up for something like that. It would take a lot of encouragement to have me go to such heights. Fetching a ball is not as necessary for me. I don’t like going up ladders, especially having to climb through a hatch to access the roof in this building. I mean, I’m so fearful of heights that I don’t even like climbing up on a chair for any particular reason.

Well, as the hours passed, so did another day working at the elementary school. One less day that I have to work over here. I will say that today wasn’t too bad. Yes, there were still a few toilets where someone didn't flush. YUCK! There were still smells that only linger in an elementary school bathroom. I swear I think these boys are just pissing all over the floor for fun! Can’t prove anything yet, just the nose knows. There was still a lot to vacuum, but not in some of the classrooms. They were tidy and barely needed a once over. The rooms that take the longest to clean are the ones with doors to the playground. I don’t even think these kids wipe their feet before entering the carpeted area. Oh well, this is not my circus. Just a place I have to show up to once a week.

One aspect of working at the elementary school that I’ll never properly accept and that is the set of keys required. I’m fortunate that I only carry a chain with two keys. It’s lightweight and fits comfortably in my pocket. When I first started I would forget that I had them on my body until I was halfway home. Except the bundle of keys I have to carry around at the elementary school dig into my thigh and the clip doesn’t work for my overalls, so they have to go in my pocket. Leaning over the edges of them grind against my leg as if the sensation was a reminder of where I am. I hate them, and I do believe that the larger your key ring the more responsibilities you have. I’m a fairy not looking for any additional responsibility, unless I’m going to be compensated with money…cash preferably. I’m at least ending this Tuesday in a decent mood. Can’t say I was feeling this way last week. It just goes to show you that if you keep moving the rough times will soon begin to look like distant memories.

Day Four Hundred & Eight-nine: 11/13/2024

I suppose sweeping up fall leaves isn’t the worst duty for landscape work. I was able to take my time and the weather was quite tolerable to say the least. I still despise any work outside, but I didn’t even break a sweat dealing with the trash and leaves, so I suppose it’s a win. I’m trying to be a bit more positive about my work. Even though I'm unsatisfied, I'm trying to be less negative about everything.

It’s not always easy because I get bogged down by the utterly mundane. I will say that my day went without a hitch. I was back at DSA and we didn’t have any events today. There weren’t any crazy messes in the bathrooms and I didn’t feel the need to yell at anyone. So win win!

I did have a little chuckle when I heard that my antics have been discussed. Since I posted about the twat behavior in the bathrooms, it has gotten around. Surprisingly, they didn’t even know what the word meant. Twat is vulgar slang for “vagina.” It’s also used, especially in British English slang, a way to call someone as stupid, useless, or otherwise contemptible person. So, I don’t call anyone specifically that, but if the behavior fits then so be it.

Day Four Hundred & Ninety: 11/14/2024

My day was a bit hectic. I didn’t have much downtime and I certainly didn’t have any time to write. Because we are waiting to get our QA evaluation. So, to try and be a good coworker I did as much as I could in my allotted time. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer to be lazy, but I thought I would do my best this week since I’ve been a bit slacking lately.

Well, that meant that I didn’t have my time to even write a few paragraphs for the blog. I thought maybe I would open up the laptop when I got home, but that didn’t happen. Mostly because I didn’t want to think about work once I left the building. It really was a busy night.

We had two events; a piano recital, and a high school dance performance. Starting at 6 o’clock, the building started to fill up and remained occupied until late in the evening. The piano recital ended rather quickly, but the dance performances always run long. They didn’t finish until 9:40 and people weren’t out of the building until 10!

It was a mad dash to complete the remaining items on the to do list before we had to clock out. Well, to be honest I did a little bit of work off the clock. I didn’t want to leave the building in a complete disarray. It was less than ten minutes so I’m not going to try and get back my time. There’s been plenty of days that I’ve taken much longer breaks than what’s acceptable.

Day Four Hundred & Ninety-one: 11/15/2024

So, there’s extra work tonight! Fantastic news! My exclamation notations do not render my true feelings. I’m more apathetic than emotional. Our youngest member of the team called out sick today. There’s nothing I can do about it, and I specifically volunteered to do the most time consuming piece of work, but I’m faster at cleaning bathrooms than my fellow coworker.

I decided to wear my real pearls today. It’s been a long week, but almost over. I thought the feeling of the cold pearls around my neck would be a reassuring thought as I have to deal with messes. The sound of the pearls clinking together always gives me a sense of relief. I’m afraid to wear them at work, but generally the work isn’t too strenuous. I also spent more time relaxing before work so I thought I would go with a subtle look for the day.

We ended up making it through. It also helped that the dance performance finished at the appropriate time. Everyone was out of the building by 9:30pm. We were still working up until the last moment, but we at least completed all of the duties. Goodbye to this week. Thank goodness for the weekend!