The city center is finally quiet - the building is resting from its heathen commercial tenants who slam the doors viciously 20 plus times a day. I feel for the historic landmark building it gets no respect.
The switching yard (less than a km away) is finally quiet from testing EVERY train whistle of EVERY train that passes thru from all over Canada and the US. New safety regulations require the whistle to be louder so they ALL must be tested. They promised in early March that it would be all done by July - its now September and they're still at it- on the weekdays anyway. Each train takes about an hour to be tested. At one point they were testing four to six a day - for approximately four months, start time 7am continuing into the second shift 9pm. It felt some days like I was living in a Nazi concentration camp. With the sound cranked, a locomotive trains' whistle can be deafening and it went on non stop for four to six hours a day. It has eased at least, we only get to relive it briefly now, about three a week. My sanity has taken a toll, the nerves frazzled, the patience levels not as renowned as they used to be.
I'm known for having the patience of a saint. My job requires me to be extremely patient with my subjects - young children, and mostly their out of control parents. I could write an entire book titled "Parents Behaving Badly" but that would be detrimental to my income!! I'm saving that project for my retirement!!
It is increasingly difficult to have the patience required lately. Am I getting old I ask myself. Am I suffering from burn out? Every year I swear I will not book another client on a long weekend because inevitably I always get stood up. But every year I get up and get myself ready for work on that dreaded long weekend. Prepare myself mentally to be creative and pump the patience levels for the occasional but very possible -"demon two year old and four siblings" scenario.
I clean the house, prep the photo equipment, and wait. And wait and finally give up and start preparing for the next client. And wait, and wait. Before you know it you've been waiting for three clients in a row and three and a half hours later you realize you've been duped. You feel like the woman in the movies, who sits at the table and her date never shows, she could have had the most wonderful dinner all that time but now the kitchen is closing and as the saying goes "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here". All dressed up and no place to go and all others around you are having a ball.
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