9. N35 (unedited)

I nearly forgot to write my blog. I was laying in bed two minutes ago when it occurred to me that my online poker playing kept me from taking care of business.

Given how late it is, this will be short and sweet.

I have to stop working at the bingo hall.

I have worked at an area bingo hall for nearly six years. I started by working two to three times per week, and nearly quit after a couple of years because I was irritated and figured I could easily replace the chump change I earned at the bingo hall.

They offered me the opportunity to stay at the bingo hall on an on-call basis, and I accepted. Within a year or so I realized I had the perfect winter job. I decided what months I would work, asked for the number of shifts I wanted on a weekly basis, and life was perfect.

Except for the fact that I don't ever get a raise from year to year, and the novelty of dealing with the riff raff that patronizes the bingo hall, and there's plenty of it, wears off in a hurry.

Last spring, just before I departed for the season, the bingo hall fired the overnight cleaning guy. I think it was for a combination of reasons. End result: the evening shift workers every night have to do cleaning at the end of the shift.

That's not so bad on a weeknight when you'd otherwise work four hours, but on weekends, when there's a matinee and evening session, the after hours cleaning can be a bit much.

Last winter I was working both shifts on Sundays, about nine hours a week, through the winter. It's not backbreaking work, but after nine hours at a bingo hall, you don't really want to hang around. And after two sessions, an extra 30-45 minutes of cleaning is of no interest to me.

And that's a lot of the reason why I decided to come back this winter for one shift per Sunday: the afternoon shift. I could use the extra cash, but the idea of being there for up to 10 hours, and finishing off my evening with vacuuming and other such crap held little appeal to me.

On Saturday I got a call from Rachel, one of the sweetest girls I know. She has asked me to pick up a shift a couple of times this winter, and I have had to turn her down for one reason or another. When she called yesterday, I had no reason to say no. Given I didn't work the past two weekends, and wanted to work one double shift this winter, for old-times sake, I said yes.

I was sore and tired from 10 hours of working on Sunday.

My Sunday marathon reminded me I don't want to work double shifts any time soon, and given I never get a pay raise at my lousy paying job, I have to do something I promised myself I'd do last spring, walk away from the bingo hall.

Yep, another part of me has to die in 2009, the part of me that works at the bingo hall in the winter.