Work and weather

I am feeling a bit better now that I am getting more sleep, although I am starting to wake earlier each day, now I seem to be quite awake by 6 am, then drop off again. During the day, usually around lunch time  I am still feeling incredibly tired most days.

Working outside in the frost this morning was a firm reminder of the winter work regime ahead of me. Even with the reduced work schedule, working outside for even half a week is quite daunting. I had 'almost' forgotten how cold I can feel even though I am working quite vigorously. Fortunately, in one respect, I had to cancel one job due to the weather, so I managed an extra hour with MT which was great.

When I was a firefighter I had to work outside in all sorts of unpleasant weather. The extremes of hot and cold are both equally onerous under the wrong conditions. I remember one winter night when I could not move my arms because my wet fire tunic had become frozen whilst I was holding a fire hose for several hours in pretty much the same position. On the other end of the scale, I remember other occasions where I was treated for dehydration and heat stress, to varying degrees of seriousness. There must have been many times when the weather was not extreme, but I guess we tend to remember extremes more than normalities.

As I rose through the rank structure in the fire service my operational contact became less and less. More of my time was spent in offices and meetings in warm rooms in the winter or cool rooms in the summer. I never forgot what it was like to work in those adverse conditions and strangely often felt a sense of loss over my comfortable environment.

I suppose in some ways I have often preferred less comfortable, more difficult things than comfier and easier options. To be 'comfortable' is of course great, but for me, having some discomfort provides more of a challenge and ultimately feels more rewarding.

I wonder if this has any relevance to becoming a slave?