In the Trenches

I suppose I shouldn't be so melodramatic as to call work "The Trenches", but seriously, there are days that feel that way--Saturdays most frequently qualify. Today was on of those days. I felt like I was directing traffic and not always very successfully. Some Saturdays I find myself almost simmering beneath my facade of calm (okay, sometimes I develop quite large cracks in that facade), but today I felt like I kept myself distantly focused (which really just means that I did my work fine, but didn't allow myself to focus heavily on what was transpiring around me). About an hour before the end of my shift a woman said--almost yelled, really--I need a man! She wanted help with a box and threw up her hands in frustration which was compounded by some obvious social ineptness. What a strange situation it is to deal with the public day in and day out. I find it both rewarding and infuriating and today was a blend of both!