The Invisible Custodian

When you’re walking the hallways and a custodian is cleaning it, you kind of ignore them, right? You don’t really mean to, you just know they’re doing their job and you don’t want to disturb them. You walk around them, hope you don’t trip over their chord, and then don’t give it a second thought. Not even one thought.  You just keep  on walking, and you probably couldn’t even picture that custodian’s face 20 minutes later.

Hey, guess what? I’M a custodian now. Yup. I got a job. And guess what time it’s at? From 5AM to 8AM. It’s a perfect fit for me, since I’m such an early morning person. NOT. You  know, my inability to sleep at night totally helps me get up in the morning as well. 4 1/2 hours of sleep is completely normal and I love being tired all day.
But, in all seriousness, I’m actually quite grateful to be a  custodian.  Because cleaning is money.  Easy money.  The job is monotonous and repetitive, which is kind of comforting.  It’s a time for me to think and have breathing space.

It’s funny though, how invisible custodians are.  You kind of ignore them, because they’re doing their job, right?  One time, someone did help me unplug a chord and plug it  back in.  That was very much appreciated.
How many times in class have you dropped something or ripped off some paper and thrown it on the ground thinking, “oh, the janitor will clean it up.”  Well, that’s how I used to think.
Not anymore though, have no fear.  Yes, I know I am getting paid to pick up your trash. BUT, there is such a thing as courtesy.
Now, I have to clean the lounge and two classrooms in the Clyde Building, the engineering building.  There are some ups and downs to this.
Downs:
It’s on the opposite end of campus.  Therefore, I wake up at 4:30 to ensure I get to work on time. (It takes me a while to focus my brain to get dressed and put on shoes.  My mind is still in dream mode when I’m first waking up.)
It’s the engineering building.  Sadly, BYU lacks female engineers.  Therefore, there are a bunch of men walking around the Clyde building.  I vacuum really loudly, and I feel bad because I know they are trying to study.  It’s also a bunch of men that I have to see at 5AM, which isn’t exactly one’s prime time of the day.

Ups:
It’s a pretty easy cleaning job.  I take out trash.  Disinfect tables and whiteboards.  I vacuum.  Every day I do this, and I think I’ve established a routine.
The job is chill and pretty relaxed.  The hardest part is staying awake, really.
It’s helping me manage my time more — I’ve found that I’ve been a lot more productive!

I think I want to take a nap soon.

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