Round and round we go.

Music: Wedding edition of Price is Right
10:50a

I love Mondays, but I'm hating this one. I hurt all over. Probably not as bad as I'll be hurting tomorrow though, so I'll take being sore everywhere versus what I'll be feeling tomorrow. But it's gotta get done, and this is the next step! 

This weekend was rough. I had prayed for the guidance to do what I needed to do, and upon walking into my area and discovering what *should* be there, I picked what I thought would be the best machine, and parked myself in front of it, for lack of anything else to do. Another hauler arrived, and we got to talking. I just happened to look into the isles, and on the other side sat a row of machines. Something told me to go up there. I guess the other hauler was looking for his usual machine, too. So off I went, and ahead of me, I saw the shipping manager. Ugh, great. By the time I got close enough to read numbers, I heard a door close. Yes! She'd run off into her office, as usual. I saw the machine I was looking for, and no one around. Hey, someone up there listened to me. Then I decided I had to get the hell out of there, so for the first time ever, I actually logged in (apparently, you have to be on the clock already...guess the other haulers don't care..), and quietly took off. She had a full battery and all. I got back, and parked it like it had been there all along, then looked back at shipping and laughed. Hey, you missing something over there? Fucking bitch. So far, I'm ruling this day. This machine is, in my opinion, the easiest one I've ever had to drive. Not too much pressure on my hand or arm, runs great. More about my health than anything, that's why I'm so picky over which ones I get. Hamilton even came back, now this day is going to be awesome. For the record, I'm officially sick of D dock. I was there again, but ended up floating around everywhere. If there was production, I'd find it. It ended up being a light day, and I missed my daily goal by one. One measly pallet. Ugh.

Saturday I noticed that my arm was hurting pretty bad, and I'd now lost feeling in my middle finger. Great. What next? One I could deal with, but this is getting to be too much. We were light again, and even though I was excited to have C dock (and not D for once), I *still* ended up hauling off of D. Grrrr. I actually found it funny. I tried all I could to be even more aware of how I was gripping the handle on the machine, and after coming home, I decided I *had* to do something different. Hamilton was back, and I already knew that Sunday would find me on A and B dock. Perfect! Tier racks, and the perfect opportunity to change things up a bit. 

It happened as I predicted, and I was put on A and B. I started off driving right-handed (remember what I said before about it not being a good idea?). Coordination be damned, this is about my health, and the fact that now I have to live with this the rest of my life, and arthritis will be a BITCH, I decided now or never. I went to A dock (thanks to Earl's guidance from very early on), and there were only a few tier racks left over from the day before. I practiced by delivering some empty tiers to the unloaders. I had to play around and go slow, to figure out which way to turn (now that I'm really 'backwards') to make the forks turn. I did this off and on as the day wore on. If I went into the isles, I hauled left-handed, and would switch after dropping off a load. I found out I can not turn right-handed; my arm just doesn't know how to make such a turn, and the machine would end up heading for a pole, object, etc. I thought back when I was training, and remembered that while I did struggle for a bit with *left* turns, it wasn't nearly this hard. So anytime my left arm would get tired, or if I knew I had to make several left turns, I'd switch. It wasn't easy, and I even dropped a pallet right off the bat upon making it into the isles. I misjudged the distance between myself and the side of the isle. Being on the left side is so easy and comfortable to me, but something has got to change before I end up having to amputate my own hand. I like this job, but I can't continue like this....

So where does that leave me today? I'm sore, tired, and unsure what to do. Today is my only free day, but I don't want to sit around. I'm going to drag my weights out, go swim, try to loosen up these sore muscles. Dentist tomorrow, lunch with my sis sometime this week, and a housewarming party for a co-worker. My week is already gone, but somehow, I don't mind. 

Going to enjoy the quiet while I can.