12-29-06

Dear Blog,

Well, I'll start with the bad news. My sleeping pattern was still pretty fucked yesterday morning, but in the opposite direction. After sleeping till 8 PM on Wednesday, Thursday I slept until 8:30 AM, then found myself unable to go back to sleep. This means I got 18 hours of sleep over the course of those two days, which is pretty standard, if a little high, but 15 of those hours came on one night, while only three came on the other.

That being said, I'm not very tired right now, even though the only sleep I've gotten since this morning was some on-and-off napping during the Independence and Holiday Bowls this evening before I had to go to work. So, hopefully I'll get a normal 8 hours of sleep today. My fingers are crossed. Well, not literally, because then I'd have a hell of a time typing, but you know what I mean.

In keeping with the bad news theme, I was unable to get most of my day's objectives accomplished, despite the increased amount of time I had to do so. I got lost on my way to the mall in New Hampshire (hey, I've never tried to drive there before), and so I'm still wearing the same boots with the sole problem. I also didn't get Corey's check mailed, but I will get that done tomorrow. I'll probably wait until this weekend to get the new boots at the Cape Cod Mall, which is much more convenient for me.

Now, the good news. I felt nothing in my back yesterday, so it appears the strain was very minor. In fact, I was even pulling bulk last night - quite a bit of it, but no pain. Also, the cold hasn't advanced at all. And the night went by relatively easy at work, and I got a decent four hours in. This week's paycheck will be the worst I've had in some time, but hopefully I can get some decent tim in this week and log close to 20 hours for the week (I get paid for Monday - hooray for the Teamsters!).

If you haven't read the Onion article, Holiday Advertisers Seek Coveted Dicktard Demographic, read it now. It's a little dated, because it deals with Holiday shopping, but I promise you you will laugh until it hurts. It's the funniest thing I've ever read on their site, and that is saying something indeed.

Speaking of funny, make sure you check out TonyHomo.com. Guaranteed laughter for hours.

Ok, that's my post for this morning. I'll try to post on the other blogs, or at least one of them. It depends on when I get up, I suppose.

12-28-06

Dear Blog,

It's always nice to get Wednesday behind you, and in this case, especially so.

Christmas weekend must have been especially difficult on my constitution, because I didn't get up until 8:00 PM yesterday, a full 15 hours after I went to bed. How I am going to be able to force myself to sleep in a couple hours - merely 9 hours after that marathon - is quite beyond me, but I have to try, for a couple reasons, not the least of which is that I want to get myself back into the pattern that had me waking up around 1-2 PM, so I'll be able to do something with my day.

But it's not just the long-term picture I'm looking out for. A chunk of sole came off my left boot last night, meaning I have to get to the mall later today to buy a new pair, which will probably delay my purchase of a video game console by a week or so.

I don't know what got into the unloaders today, but they were on a goddam rampage. There were packages all over the floor - I seemed to be having the easiest time and it was no picnic for me, by any means.

I think I strained my back moving a 105 lb package from the aisle to the bulk belt. The muscle in question is right under my right shoulderblade. Hopefully it feels better when I wake up.

And if all that weren't enough - I think I'm coming down with a cold. I'll have to buy some orange juice when I go to the grocery store tomorrow.

I doubt very much I'll get to either of the other two blogs today, as I've got big plans for tomorrow afternoon - assuming I get up in time. So, till tomorrow morning, that's all I've got.

12-27-06

Dear Blog,

It's been a long time, I know.

The reason for the break in posts was the dreaded "peak season", which means, at UPS, the week after Thanksgiving through the week before Christmas. Getting home at 4:30, 5:00, or later, is not conducive to blog posting when I get back. Pretty much my main goal was sleeping.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Holiday. We had the family get together at my aunt Martha's (yes - the same place we had Thanksgiving) on Christmas Eve. The Christmas Eve dinner used to take place at my aunt Carol's house every year, and her husband Brian's extended family would be there, as well. Now that house is gone, or at least they don't own it anymore, and so Martha is the only one in Lowell who has a house where the dinner can be held - and of course Brian's family doesn't show up for it. Also, grandma, who was always the center of the party at Carol's, died a couple of years ago, right around the same time Carol and Brian sold their house. Replacing Brian's family is George's family - Martha's stepchildren. And recently a new generation has been added to the family, as Martha's son Eric has a son, her stepson Stephen has a daughter, and her son Mark now has a live in girlfriend with two son's. To quote the stranger from The Big Lebowski, "I guess that's the way the whole darn human comedy keeps perpetuating itself, down through the sands of time, westward the wagons...".

Anyway, now that Christmas has passed, we are through peak season, which means work will get a lot easier from here on out. Honestly, I didn't notice a major difference in how hectic my nights were - just how long they were. I think the reason is that with me starting in September, I only really started to get the hang of the job as peak season was arriving - so I didn't have an "easy" time with which to compare peak. So, from here on out, things should be, if my theory holds true - much easier than any nights I've had so far. And after one night, that appears to be the case.

The aisle has changed some since I last described it, so I'll paint a newer picture. Both Adams as well as the kid Robby are gone. Andy is still there, and in fact we now have another Andy - Andy Martinez, who has been there longer than I have btu had been doing unloading mostly before the Adams and Robby left. We have a relatively new hire named Jason, and one of the two feamle new hires I wrote about in an earlier post (sadly, the younger and more attractive of the two is the one who is no longer with the company). And Jen and Fred are still there.

Christmas presents of note: some really decent clothing, the movie Capote, several cookbooks, a book on pirates, an off-the-wall calender, a miniture Turkish rug, and several other things I can't name right now because I am running out of steam rapidly.

Oh - my sister and I finally got a DVD player. Also, I plan on buying an X-box or a PS2 - I don't mind being a generation behind if it saves me 600 bucks or so.

Well, anyway, I hope to be posting here every morning now that I'll be getting home at a reasonable (for me) hour. Watch for less frequent updates to the other two blogs, as well - I hope to be getting to both of them tomorrow afternoon. Till then, tata...