Music: "Twilight Overture," by Carter Burwell
5pm
Another week, gone. And what did I accomplish? Absolutely nothing. Am I complaining? No. I decided to just relax this week, and I really didn't want this week to go by as fast as it did. I caught up on sleep, cleaned house, even bought a few Christmas presents. I'm not a fan of last-minute shopping, but I plan on getting everyone taken care of in the next couple of weeks.
I can't believe December is almost here. Seems like just yesterday I was still working at the store, and making what I had decided would be my very last attempt to get hired on at the warehouse. I had figured that if I hadn't heard anything by the first of February, I'd start looking elsewhere. Now, (yesterday, actually) I have made 10 months at the warehouse. Another two will be my one year anniversary. I'll do my yearly looking-back post when the end of the year approaches. For now, I have to keep focused on my ultimate goal. Tomorrow starts the process all over again. I am so very anxious to move forward, but I keep hitting a wall (ever seen the Sears commercial where the two kids run smack into the refrigerator?); December will be the true test, as Saturday I will officially be at 100% production. I've taken the past couple of weeks and really focused on what I need to do, to get better and better, and I've seen the rewards of it (see last post), pushed out everything else, and kept my mind on work. Three days a week of keeping up mentally, as well as physically. You have to be fast, and you have to be aware of where you are going at all times. Apparently, it seems to be working, as one of my friends mentioned earlier in the week. That wall I was talking about? It's being sure that I have a 'cushion' so-to-speak. You're never sure what the next day is going to bring, but I am still very much looking forward to moving out on my own, and am still shooting to make my move before summer, one way or another. I just have to be sure I can support myself (without the need for a roommate).
I'm seeing that light at the end of the tunnel again...it's a little dim, but it is there. I've had to take care of some things financially that I wasn't prepared for, but that's life for you. As I said in my last post, the next three months will be the true test.
This is going to be fun! :)
So with that said, it's back to work I go........since I didn't win Powerball. :P
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
I love life right now (until Friday morning). :P
Music: Full Tilt ft. Katrina Noorbergen- "Letting Go"
5pm
This week is not allowed to end. I say it is illegal for this week to end. But it will, sometime. Then back to work I go. Only regret is that I won't be around this Sunday to receive my latest production sheet. And I have a feeling, okay, I *know* this one was better. I busted ass in every literal sense this past weekend, worked hard, kept pushing, even fought dirty (yeah, shocker) to be sure I could snatch up every piece of easy production possible. I made sure to keep something on my machine whenever I could. Friday was a hard day, but I made it through. Saturday was a long, lonely day, being down on A dock again, but we were too busy for me to sit on it for too long. Sunday I had to play a little dirty. Down on A dock, there was some freight going straight across to the isles. Easy pro, as I call it. And dammit if a hauler didn't come down to my dock with his machine that holds 3 pallets compared to my measly 2! So I scanned my two pallets like normal, then leaned down, and scanned the next two that were sitting beside me. I wasn't going to let him take my easy production, because it's my ass I have to be worried about. He wasn't even back-hauling. I went slow and watched as he came back and scanned the 2 pallets I'd just done. I had a laugh, hoping that would show him. Eventually, he moved down to the next door, and grabbed some pallets that were going down to D dock. Sucker. :P
----------------------------------
That post above was from a couple weeks ago, but life and work got in the way, and I was unable to finish it. It was a good week, too! I just had to leave that part up there..I didn't have the heart to delete it, mostly because I was too proud of what I'd done. :P
As I update this, it's the last week of November. Thanksgiving was very nice. Spent my very first Turkey Day with a family that enjoys football (the Texans) just a little too much. :P (no, not passionate at all! buahahaha) I'm not a football fan per se (except for OU and UT, college teams), but I must say it was pretty entertaining to see all the action. I spent the day in Cypress with my sister and new family. My new brother-in-law, Rob is a trip; he will have you rolling. He cooked ribs, fajitas, and pork chops, and even deep-fried the turkey I brought along (thank you, walmart, for saving my sis a buttload of money on a bird). Never had deep-fried turkey before..it was really good! Rob's family is great; all of them very funny, and very loving and welcoming. And man, can they cook! I'd love to be able to cook like that one day. Well, needless to say, the Texans won their first Thanksgiving game, making Rob's family VERY happy. :) I couldn't stay all day though, as I had to get back to work the next day. What a weekend it was!
Friday was a hauler's dream. TONS of freight, and most all of it going to the same location, making production a breeze. I was pulling anywhere up to 26 pallets an hour in some instances. Because I'd taken last Sunday off, I knew I had to bust some serious ass both last Saturday, and this past Friday, to bring up my total as much as possible. I wasn't sure how they factored production in that case, so I did whatever it took. Friday was a very good day.
I walked into work Saturday morning dreading another day, but hopeful the good freight would return. My manager walked by as I was looking for a machine, and told me I'd done it again. I gave him a look, and he said I'd out-hauled all of the haulers again yesterday, as I was the only hauler to go over 200 hauls. I was shocked..what do all these other haulers do?? Besides stand around and talk to everyone and their mother. See, if they didn't do any of that, they could pull over 200, too. That's the reason I don't lollygag around, BUT..I'm not complaining by any means! Let them keep doing that, and I'll get all the recognition hahahaha. I had my motivation for another good day, and decided I'd try to top myself. The freight was bad; there was tons of it, but none of it was going to the same location. Time to play dirty again. I picked my way through everything, finding the needle in the haystack. And somehow, through all that, all that time spent nit-picking, I still was able to make production. I came close to Friday's total, but was not able to top it. I even had a fellow hauler looking out for me. He told me that down on B dock, there were tier racks going right next door to A dock, and to 'get it', as he knew I was trying to bring up my numbers.
I snatched up every single one.
Sunday, although being just a tiny-bit discouraged, I was so glad it was my Friday. I was once again anxious to get my weekly production report, because I knew I'd done well, but was still worried about what the total would be. I was shooting for at least above a 95%, the minimum it can be. I was going to be in for a surprise later on.
It was the freight-from-hell, part two. The freight was even worse, and the haulers were all sharing the same difficulty trying to find pallets with matching locations. We were all comparing our sheets early on in the day, before our first break. At 8am, I was already up to 50, and each hauler I'd spoken to was wondering how I'd done it. None of them was up to that many yet. Earl told me that a good way to know if you're ahead on your numbers is by your total at any given part of the day. If you're up to 50 by first break, then you're doing pretty good. I'd knocked out a good half a day's work in the first two hours. I kept up the pace, and even though my machine kept giving me trouble, I didn't quit. Before lunch, I was passing by the office, and my manager waved me down. I pulled over, and noticed the stack of production sheets in his hand. This is it. He handed me mine, and I quickly noticed something I'd never seen before: there was a sticker, along with the usual hi-lighted number on the front page.
My production was 121% for the week.
My mouth dropped. I had to look at the name to be sure I was given the right one. I have never had a production score that high since starting at the warehouse, and when I *wasn't* in training. That was all me. I quickly thought back to the fact that I was missing a day, but still just the fact that I'd scored that high...wow. I did my victory dance later, when no one was around (or so I think). Freight be damned, I still had a great day yesterday, laughed with the other haulers, saw friends, celebrated a victory. Around 5 or so, exhaustion set in, along with a splitting headache. We had all of our old freight cleared, and we were all ready to go home, when they told us we were going to stay until 6 to get the doors as cleared as possible for the next shift's unloaders.
I was so tired; I lost all focus. My headache didn't help things. I was asked to go down to B dock with Pedro to clear one of the doors. So we went down to B dock, and simply parked the machines, and talked to a QA for a few minutes. Pedro was mad, and I just couldn't pull anymore. I chatted with a few RSR's that happened to pass by. Around 5:40, I mentally slapped myself in the face, and decided I'd at least try to make two more trips, figuring that by the time I did that, it would be 6, and out the door I would go. So I left Pedro behind and made my first trip. Down one of the isles were a few pallets, so I slowed down to pass by. The pallet on the back of my forks caught the one in the isle, and down it came. That pretty much did it for me. Headache+exhaustion+downed pallet=oh you shouldn't have done that. Thank God the boxes were light, because that made it easier to throw them back across to the now-empty pallet. Amazing how powerful I can throw when I'm angry. Got the frustration out, stacked them back on the pallet, and so glad it wasn't going much further, because I didn't even bother to shrink wrap it back; I had no space in the isle. All the while, they paged out for the haulers to bring it in for the day. I dropped them off, and while I was just a little disappointed I wasn't able to do another trip, I was more than happy the day was finally over. I took something for my headache before leaving work, just to be able to make the drive home. I came home, ate, showered, put a dvd in the laptop, curled up in bed, and left the world behind. 12 hours of sleep later, I still feel sluggish, but ready to do it all over again.
So now that I am getting better and better, maybe I have really found my niche. I'm not sure what the next three months of my probation/6-month-new job-period will bring, but for now, I will strive to keep getting better, and to get every little number possible. And enjoy life.
Because it's going by way too fast.
5pm
This week is not allowed to end. I say it is illegal for this week to end. But it will, sometime. Then back to work I go. Only regret is that I won't be around this Sunday to receive my latest production sheet. And I have a feeling, okay, I *know* this one was better. I busted ass in every literal sense this past weekend, worked hard, kept pushing, even fought dirty (yeah, shocker) to be sure I could snatch up every piece of easy production possible. I made sure to keep something on my machine whenever I could. Friday was a hard day, but I made it through. Saturday was a long, lonely day, being down on A dock again, but we were too busy for me to sit on it for too long. Sunday I had to play a little dirty. Down on A dock, there was some freight going straight across to the isles. Easy pro, as I call it. And dammit if a hauler didn't come down to my dock with his machine that holds 3 pallets compared to my measly 2! So I scanned my two pallets like normal, then leaned down, and scanned the next two that were sitting beside me. I wasn't going to let him take my easy production, because it's my ass I have to be worried about. He wasn't even back-hauling. I went slow and watched as he came back and scanned the 2 pallets I'd just done. I had a laugh, hoping that would show him. Eventually, he moved down to the next door, and grabbed some pallets that were going down to D dock. Sucker. :P
----------------------------------
That post above was from a couple weeks ago, but life and work got in the way, and I was unable to finish it. It was a good week, too! I just had to leave that part up there..I didn't have the heart to delete it, mostly because I was too proud of what I'd done. :P
As I update this, it's the last week of November. Thanksgiving was very nice. Spent my very first Turkey Day with a family that enjoys football (the Texans) just a little too much. :P (no, not passionate at all! buahahaha) I'm not a football fan per se (except for OU and UT, college teams), but I must say it was pretty entertaining to see all the action. I spent the day in Cypress with my sister and new family. My new brother-in-law, Rob is a trip; he will have you rolling. He cooked ribs, fajitas, and pork chops, and even deep-fried the turkey I brought along (thank you, walmart, for saving my sis a buttload of money on a bird). Never had deep-fried turkey before..it was really good! Rob's family is great; all of them very funny, and very loving and welcoming. And man, can they cook! I'd love to be able to cook like that one day. Well, needless to say, the Texans won their first Thanksgiving game, making Rob's family VERY happy. :) I couldn't stay all day though, as I had to get back to work the next day. What a weekend it was!
Friday was a hauler's dream. TONS of freight, and most all of it going to the same location, making production a breeze. I was pulling anywhere up to 26 pallets an hour in some instances. Because I'd taken last Sunday off, I knew I had to bust some serious ass both last Saturday, and this past Friday, to bring up my total as much as possible. I wasn't sure how they factored production in that case, so I did whatever it took. Friday was a very good day.
I walked into work Saturday morning dreading another day, but hopeful the good freight would return. My manager walked by as I was looking for a machine, and told me I'd done it again. I gave him a look, and he said I'd out-hauled all of the haulers again yesterday, as I was the only hauler to go over 200 hauls. I was shocked..what do all these other haulers do?? Besides stand around and talk to everyone and their mother. See, if they didn't do any of that, they could pull over 200, too. That's the reason I don't lollygag around, BUT..I'm not complaining by any means! Let them keep doing that, and I'll get all the recognition hahahaha. I had my motivation for another good day, and decided I'd try to top myself. The freight was bad; there was tons of it, but none of it was going to the same location. Time to play dirty again. I picked my way through everything, finding the needle in the haystack. And somehow, through all that, all that time spent nit-picking, I still was able to make production. I came close to Friday's total, but was not able to top it. I even had a fellow hauler looking out for me. He told me that down on B dock, there were tier racks going right next door to A dock, and to 'get it', as he knew I was trying to bring up my numbers.
I snatched up every single one.
Sunday, although being just a tiny-bit discouraged, I was so glad it was my Friday. I was once again anxious to get my weekly production report, because I knew I'd done well, but was still worried about what the total would be. I was shooting for at least above a 95%, the minimum it can be. I was going to be in for a surprise later on.
It was the freight-from-hell, part two. The freight was even worse, and the haulers were all sharing the same difficulty trying to find pallets with matching locations. We were all comparing our sheets early on in the day, before our first break. At 8am, I was already up to 50, and each hauler I'd spoken to was wondering how I'd done it. None of them was up to that many yet. Earl told me that a good way to know if you're ahead on your numbers is by your total at any given part of the day. If you're up to 50 by first break, then you're doing pretty good. I'd knocked out a good half a day's work in the first two hours. I kept up the pace, and even though my machine kept giving me trouble, I didn't quit. Before lunch, I was passing by the office, and my manager waved me down. I pulled over, and noticed the stack of production sheets in his hand. This is it. He handed me mine, and I quickly noticed something I'd never seen before: there was a sticker, along with the usual hi-lighted number on the front page.
My production was 121% for the week.
My mouth dropped. I had to look at the name to be sure I was given the right one. I have never had a production score that high since starting at the warehouse, and when I *wasn't* in training. That was all me. I quickly thought back to the fact that I was missing a day, but still just the fact that I'd scored that high...wow. I did my victory dance later, when no one was around (or so I think). Freight be damned, I still had a great day yesterday, laughed with the other haulers, saw friends, celebrated a victory. Around 5 or so, exhaustion set in, along with a splitting headache. We had all of our old freight cleared, and we were all ready to go home, when they told us we were going to stay until 6 to get the doors as cleared as possible for the next shift's unloaders.
I was so tired; I lost all focus. My headache didn't help things. I was asked to go down to B dock with Pedro to clear one of the doors. So we went down to B dock, and simply parked the machines, and talked to a QA for a few minutes. Pedro was mad, and I just couldn't pull anymore. I chatted with a few RSR's that happened to pass by. Around 5:40, I mentally slapped myself in the face, and decided I'd at least try to make two more trips, figuring that by the time I did that, it would be 6, and out the door I would go. So I left Pedro behind and made my first trip. Down one of the isles were a few pallets, so I slowed down to pass by. The pallet on the back of my forks caught the one in the isle, and down it came. That pretty much did it for me. Headache+exhaustion+downed pallet=oh you shouldn't have done that. Thank God the boxes were light, because that made it easier to throw them back across to the now-empty pallet. Amazing how powerful I can throw when I'm angry. Got the frustration out, stacked them back on the pallet, and so glad it wasn't going much further, because I didn't even bother to shrink wrap it back; I had no space in the isle. All the while, they paged out for the haulers to bring it in for the day. I dropped them off, and while I was just a little disappointed I wasn't able to do another trip, I was more than happy the day was finally over. I took something for my headache before leaving work, just to be able to make the drive home. I came home, ate, showered, put a dvd in the laptop, curled up in bed, and left the world behind. 12 hours of sleep later, I still feel sluggish, but ready to do it all over again.
So now that I am getting better and better, maybe I have really found my niche. I'm not sure what the next three months of my probation/6-month-new job-period will bring, but for now, I will strive to keep getting better, and to get every little number possible. And enjoy life.
Because it's going by way too fast.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
The end of the beginning.
Music: "Losing Grip" -Avril Lavigne
6pm
I would absolutely love to, one day, drive out to the park in Baytown that overlooks the Hartman bridge, watch a sunset as beautiful as the one I am witnessing at the moment, and just type away on my laptop, and let the ideas flow. In all honesty, like everyone else, I need the alone time every once in a while. Granted, I'm not the type that likes to be alone; I like being around company, around the people who I know will not let me make stupid mistakes. People to keep me grounded and remind me why I am here in the first place.
I hate this time change. I can't stand that the days are now going to get shorter, meaning that my 4-day weekend just became more like a 2-day weekend. What worries me even more is that I am back to that strange sleep pattern again, something I haven't had an issue with since September. Maybe it's the time change, maybe I really do have a lot on my mind again, and just refuse to face it. I've had strange dreams, and the theme keeps repeating itself. I've had drinking tendencies, and my diet is severely suffering. I have got to figure out what I am going to do, and time is ticking down. I remember my own words from when I was back unloading trucks (which seems like a lifetime ago now, a dream), and that's that I refuse to go down without a fight. I went back very early this morning, after waking up from yet another strange dream, and re-read the blog I posted back in September, after getting the job I had shed tears, blood, and sweat for. I STILL cannot get through it without getting emotional over what I had to endure to get to where I am at now. The emotions hit like a mack truck all over again. And yet, I am still struggling. I have seen both sides now, and I have a gut feeling that I am ready to move beyond it, and see what the world has to offer. And, my gut feelings are usually right.
I'm not sure what the coming weeks and months will bring. I *will* be following the example of those that have stepped beyond their comfort zone, who have taken a stand and said "No more." Maybe this will be my time, I was so sure DC would be it, but now realize it wasn't, and I am okay with that. This has to be my time to finally step beyond this world that I have known for 7 years, and find a place where I can really put my skills to good use. To start my life...finally, to take that deep breath and say "It's time. I can do this. I *will* do this." God has a plan for me, and I believe I finally see it taking shape.
I pray for His guidance these next few weeks and months. I ask for my friends' support and understanding. I ask for the belief in myself, as that will triumph over all, and anything that is thrown my way.
God bless.
6pm
I would absolutely love to, one day, drive out to the park in Baytown that overlooks the Hartman bridge, watch a sunset as beautiful as the one I am witnessing at the moment, and just type away on my laptop, and let the ideas flow. In all honesty, like everyone else, I need the alone time every once in a while. Granted, I'm not the type that likes to be alone; I like being around company, around the people who I know will not let me make stupid mistakes. People to keep me grounded and remind me why I am here in the first place.
I hate this time change. I can't stand that the days are now going to get shorter, meaning that my 4-day weekend just became more like a 2-day weekend. What worries me even more is that I am back to that strange sleep pattern again, something I haven't had an issue with since September. Maybe it's the time change, maybe I really do have a lot on my mind again, and just refuse to face it. I've had strange dreams, and the theme keeps repeating itself. I've had drinking tendencies, and my diet is severely suffering. I have got to figure out what I am going to do, and time is ticking down. I remember my own words from when I was back unloading trucks (which seems like a lifetime ago now, a dream), and that's that I refuse to go down without a fight. I went back very early this morning, after waking up from yet another strange dream, and re-read the blog I posted back in September, after getting the job I had shed tears, blood, and sweat for. I STILL cannot get through it without getting emotional over what I had to endure to get to where I am at now. The emotions hit like a mack truck all over again. And yet, I am still struggling. I have seen both sides now, and I have a gut feeling that I am ready to move beyond it, and see what the world has to offer. And, my gut feelings are usually right.
I'm not sure what the coming weeks and months will bring. I *will* be following the example of those that have stepped beyond their comfort zone, who have taken a stand and said "No more." Maybe this will be my time, I was so sure DC would be it, but now realize it wasn't, and I am okay with that. This has to be my time to finally step beyond this world that I have known for 7 years, and find a place where I can really put my skills to good use. To start my life...finally, to take that deep breath and say "It's time. I can do this. I *will* do this." God has a plan for me, and I believe I finally see it taking shape.
I pray for His guidance these next few weeks and months. I ask for my friends' support and understanding. I ask for the belief in myself, as that will triumph over all, and anything that is thrown my way.
God bless.
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