Fatigue

Slacking in the blog writing department caused by a combination of fatigue and no inspiration explains the lack of recent posts.

Readers may remember I started working part time to deal with medical bills from the heart problem and pacemaker implant last August. Overall, the total now runs well over $150,000. After insurance, etc., the balance is around $7,000 which I will dispute after having a billing expert review my case. It appears AARP/United Health Care is trying to avoid paying around $4,000. In any case, all the “piddling” bills are paid and a payment schedule arranged with the hospital. That bill I won’t live long enough to pay but the monthly payment is about the same as a bar bill. Life goes on.

I’ve been putting in long hours on the “part time” job. In my prime 60+ hour work weeks were no problem. In my dotage they are a bitch. Part of the increase is training to take over a different route. The other is a major shakeup with my employer.

My employer was a lean, mean working machine. They used Toyota Corollas and Subarus that they kept running with engine and transmission replacements. One Toyota had over 600,000 miles on the body.  They out hustled the hated competition. Their competitor was bought by a big multinational firm who then purchased my employer. The resulting turmoil of the mergers is causing an exodus of long term employees. Many are quitting over butt hurt feelings because changes are being made. Stupid. The only constant is change and you best have an ownership position if you think you can dictate what changes can and cannot be made.

My supervisor is a woman in her forties with eleven years on the job. In addition to the turmoil she has learned she needs a double mastectomy.  Somehow she keeps her focus on the job. She has asked me for help covering gaps as she hires and trains new people and I don’t have the heart to refuse.

Next week I was scheduled to take a new route and have been training on that route along with covering my existing route which is the cause of the 60 hour weeks. That has now been postponed for a week. The person I’m replacing has agreed to stay another week as a new person is trained for the route I’ve been covering and another silly employee comes back after taking time off to get married.

I’m looking forward to the new route, three days a week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It starts at 0330, goes to Wheatland WY, Torrington WY, Scottsbluff NE and then Denver International Airport. Makes for about a nine hour day. Yes I know, come winter I may regret my decision. Here are some pictures of the daily “grind” I will face.

What is hardest to do is stay “retired”. I’m determined to be just a worker drone and stay the hell out of management. As an example, we have an employee who makes terrible decisions with her personal life. Worse, she wants everyone to know about her personal dramas. Certainly, she will be sharing all of this with our customers as she makes her rounds; she won’t keep her mouth shut. There are two obvious solutions. One, put her on routes that pick up specimens from lock boxes only with no people contact. Two, terminate her.

I clearly see a train wreck coming. Hard as it is for me, I am keeping my mouth shut and focusing on being that worker drone. I’m done with herding cats.

For now I’m enjoying reading your posts. Assuredly, rants are building up inside and will gush into the internet in the future.