Distance and proximity

I have two jobs at the moments, in two different schools, one in this town, one outside. I go to the one outside town on Monday. I have blogged on a number of occasions about how I feel about this one. Apart from the general impression that I am an outsider (coming once a week, that has to be expected), I find Mondays difficult because of the long commuting I have to go through. I used to find it bearable, but since I do it only once a week now, I don't get used to it anymore. Getting there and back is long, it is exhausting, it is frustrating. I lose my day and I am too tired to really appreciate my evening. I guess all the walking is good for my health, but I don't think it is worth it.

Therefore, I appreciate my job even moreso now that I live close to it. It is also overall a nicer working environment, for me anyway, people have bene more welcoming, I feel more useful and I am less of an outsider. But the commuting difference really makes the contrast. I don't have to wake up at ghastly hours in the morning, disturbing my wife's sleep in the meantime, I have time to take a full breakfast (on Monday I have it on the train, which, no matter how much I like trains, is not idea), I can see the daylight when I come home and, more importantly, I still have energy at the end of the day.

Living close to your working place has its downsides, obviously: it is more difficult to distanciate yourself from the work, if you lose your job you risk meeting former colleagues (which is at best awkward at worst unpleasant), in my particular case I risk meeting pupils every single moment here. And no matter what I think of my job now, it does not mean that I will not get fed up one day. Still, it's nice to work closer to home for a change.