Good grief!

I made it out of work with less than nine hours, and got home in a reasonable time! What is the world thinking these days?

Of course, I almost missed my stop on light rail, and then almost didn't notice my bus pull up because of the book I'm currently reading.

Ever have one of those books that was just inaccessible for years; then suddenly it makes sense? I've had them in the past (Dune and The Lord of the Rings are two that took me numerous tries to finally get.) Until this week I've had the same problem with Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep. Don't know why, something about the prose, of the story, would just stop me cold after a few chapters. But I needed something to read, and decided to give it a try again.

Wow. I'm very happy I gave it another chance. About 170 pages in and loving it. Interestingly, I loved A deepness in the Sky on the first reading. The books are somewhat similar in construction, so I have no idea why Fire eluded me for so long.

So, what are y'all reading right now?

Sometimes I wonder about my "fellow humans."

( Let me explain my job. )

OK, still with me? Steps 1-6 take about an hour. They are the closest thing to "work" I do most of the day. The rest is driving, reading a map, and chatting with my customers. I get paid for this. Yes, I'm tired and dirty and the end of the day, but it's a good thing.

So I ask you, how on Earth can somebody get fired for incompetence from this gig? I found out today that I'm the third driver in three months they hired for the LV route. The other two managed to screw up so bad neither of them lasted more than a few weeks.

It's even worse when you realize just how helpful everyone is. Everyone, from drivers to warehouse staff to office staff have been ready to lend a hand helping me get used to the routines, and as I get into the groove its becoming obvious that we just work that way.

Today was good example. I got back with four pallets to unload. Raul was already in our tiny yard unloading his truck. So I jumped up and loaded the all-thread (which is pretty light in 10' lengths) onto the forks of his lift. Sped up his off-loading. He then pulled three pallets off my truck while I loaded a fourth with the loose boxes I had picked up at a supplier. End result, both our trucks were off-loaded in ten minutes.

You have to work hard to get fired from that place, and by no means are we lacking our fair share of "less gifted" intellects!

A lot of this is just culture shock coming over from PODS (which was more regimented and corporate) to Lord & Sons (which is far more casual in approach.) But I ask you, can you look at my day and imagine what you'd have to do to get fired for incompetence?