I’m currently working as a custodian for The Denver School of the Arts. I’ve been chronicling my experiences through social media and this blog post. I put a lot of my own complaints and frustrations down, primarily to accurately portray my true experiences. No filter. There are good days of course. One day, this could be sort of a memoir.
I refer to myself as The Teal Fairy because this is a character that I’ve created. I hope to one day write about The Teal Fairy going back to school to protect those that have the potential to grow and flourish. Schools need more fairies over firearms to ensure the safety of the youth. I also use The Teal Fairy persona as my way of expressing myself creatively outside of the written word.
Thank you for joining me on this journey!
Day Four Hundred & Fifty-three: 9/16/2024
I’m very much attempting to make myself something. Someone special on the internet. That’s why I do the makeup looks, Instagram, TikTok, and this very blog. I believe if I continue to put myself out there, one day I’ll become relevant. I aspire to be known within the zeitgeist.
For now, I’m humbled by the fact that I’m a mere custodian. It’s so frustrating too because lately these little shits have been literally throwing their trash on the ground. There are an abundance of trash cans in every room, hallway, and around the building. There is no reason that I’m having to constantly pick up trash. I know, how boring it is that a custodian is complaining about trash.
However, I look at it as a sign of respect. When I’m coming into a classroom that is absolutely trashed I’m actually offended. I’m bothered by what I’m seeing. There’s clearly a difference how these middle schoolers treat their space versus how the high school students behave. When I see these messes I’m under the impression that one must hate their surroundings so they are acting out. Tell me something different!
I believe that I’m feeling this way because I presume that I can expect a certain level of decorum in such a special space. Everything was going so well at the beginning of the year, yet, here we are only a month in and all I want to do is throw the desks in the air. I literally saw grape stems left on the floor as if I’m the personal maid for 8th graders. It’s just rude!
Day Four Hundred & Fifty-four: 9/17/2024
Well, I’m back at the elementary school. Another Tuesday having to be at a place that doesn’t feel as comfortable as my usual area. I know I vent about the messes that my middle schoolers make, but that’s because I expect more from them. With younger children it’s almost apparent that they are going to be a little gross. I don’t know, I keep posting about my experiences and I’m hoping that one day something will happen. For today, I’m just here.
Since I’m in a place that I don’t always feel the most comfortable, I’m not over doing it with my look. I’m not necessarily subtle. I would say that I’m bright, but toned down. I didn’t want to do some elaborate hairstyle and the makeup was light today as well. However, the shirt is a bright pink, you will see me coming.
I’ll continue with my pink looks throughout this four day work week. Yes, I’m only working four days this week. I have a friend coming to visit and I took Friday off. So this will be a short week. It will make it easier for the looks too. I don’t have that many pink shirts. One can only do so much with what they have.
I’m apparently an anomaly because I’ve been stared at since I’ve been in this building. I think that’s why I don’t like working with the little ones. They look at me with such fascination. I’m not sure that’s what I’m going for. I know I may look different than a normal custodian, but I don’t really appreciate being stared at. I’m a fixture at The Denver School of the Arts. At the elementary school I feel somewhat freakish. It doesn’t help that there are a lot of them roaming around at the end of the day. I just prefer to do my job when there is no one else around. Is that too much to ask?
I will say I had to do something that I thought I’d never have to do. I had to crawl on the bathroom floor to unlock not one but two stalls tonight. This had to occur before I’d even cleaned them because it wouldn’t have made sense to clean part of the floor once, let it dry, and then perform this task. I got on my back and slid myself underneath the stall so that I could reach the latch to unlock the door. One was in a girl’s bathroom and the other one was in the boy’s. So, there were two instances that these children thought. “I should lock the door and crawl under the door.” How thoughtful of them. I can’t wait to get home and shower from this shift. I really don’t like Tuesdays.
Day Four Hundred & Fifty-five: 9/18/2024
I had to start my shift doing something I absolutely hate. Landscape work! Specifically, pulling weeds. Luckily I was in the shade and there was a breeze. However, I got dirty and super sweaty at the very beginning of my day. Not at all how I prefer to start my shift. It didn’t help that my boss was too busy to give me the heads up. So I was woefully unprepared for my day.
It also didn’t help that I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. It was totally my fault and somewhat because of insomnia. So, after sweating out all of my electrolytes and energy the rest of my day felt super strained. It has been an utterly gruesome week. Thank goodness I have Friday off.
I’m honestly surprised that my makeup withstood the events of the day. I was literally dripping sweat from pulling weeds. I used my handkerchief to dab away the droplets from my eyes and forehead, but these lashes were holding on for dear life.
Day Four Hundred & Fifty-six: 9/19/2024
Today definitely started off better than yesterday. For one thing, I got plenty of sleep last night. I accomplished a lot this morning. I also didn’t have to do any landscaping work. I would say outside duties, but I can’t. I have to dump the trash and pick up debris around part of the building. I can’t help it, but at least this task only lasts about twenty minutes or so. I will say that something was absolutely foul in a few of the trash cans. Rarely do I feel the urge to purge, but damn that was nasty.
Speaking of nasty, I totally had to remove dick pics off of the stall walls today. In the girl’s 7th grade bathroom! Ugh! They weren’t even good renditions of a penis either. I thought this was an art school. I would expect something realistic. Maybe some veins and at least correct proportions with the balls to shaft ratio. So disappointing. They could do better. There was other gibberish scribbled on the black barriers, which I’m glad were done in pencil because I was able to remove it pretty easily.
I had to clean off the walls while also preparing my space as best as I could. Since I’ll be out tomorrow I wanted to ensure that I had everything as clean as possible. Everything stocked as possible, and had all of my extra details completed. There should be zero complaints for my space while I’m off until Monday.
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