My body is not used to the punishing requirements of selling clothes. Eight (or more) hours on my feet plus 13,000 or more steps equal an aching lower back, cramping calves, painful feet, and utter exhaustion.
And the first week after returning is particularly brutal since I'm working basically without pay. While gone, I accumulate returns. And I am not paid until my "returns" are off-set with the same amount in sales. I try not to stress too much about this; I know that's the price for taking time off.
While I'm gone, a new entry/exit door is put into effect for all employees.
Now, upon entering and leaving the building, we have to walk down a flight of stairs to the basement level. Then we walk through a long, meandering maze to the elevators.
The old entryway was at ground level, with the elevators right there. The new system can easily add 10 minutes to entering or exiting the building.
But there are exceptions.
Some people cannot walk up and down stairs every day and I am one of those people. I have a bad left knee. And it's chronic. Sometimes it's fine, and other times it's not. But walking up and down stairs exacerbates it.
So I get a temporary exemption. I am waiting to hear what is needed to get a more permanent one. My ID. (the black square is supposed to be my picture) now sports a coveted gold sticker, allowing me to enter/leave the building at ground level, thus avoiding the more complicated and time-consuming new system.
I guess that's the silver lining to having a bum knee. It's not much, but I'll take it.
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