First week of full-on life and I survived, not only that, I managed it superbly. That’s not to say that the wheels will fall off anytime soon. But I managed, and that is the main thing. I went to bed, slept when I could, and only had one nap last week before work, and it was only half an hour. If you know me, you know that I nap a lot, and to work physically for an extra 4 hours three nights a week, only one nap is pretty damned good.

So I am currently packing apples for a smallish orchard in our local area. I can’t say they are the smallest, but they certainly aren’t the biggest. It is 20 years since I last packed apples, and I was given the job because I knew what to do. Surprisingly, the system isn’t much different, except instead of packing boxes ourselves, we have a conveyor and feed the apples onto the trays. The RSE (Recognised Seasonal Employee, normally Pacific Islanders) then pack the trays into boxes.

The supervisor has been testing my skills, by throwing apples (not literally) down the line with signatures on them (to ensure that they are being checked) and working two lines at once – which isn’t easy! And so far, I’m doing okay. And because I have a goal in mind, I can keep going until the end – 8 or 9 weeks away.

And I have been editing. I am up to Chapter 24 our of 42, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but I have had limited time. And I have also been going over the chapters from the day before to ensure that it makes sense, so really I have been double editing. I like where the story is going, and enjoying the editing process.

Anyway I only have 12 days this month to finish off the editing, so I guess Io better get my backside into gear and work a little smarter.

Until next week.