Punkins and owls

Ever since Halloween, the air surrounding a variety of porches have begun smelling like rotting pumpkins. Apparently people don't like to clean up their jack-o-lanterns after the holiday. I don't mind though, they make for some funny-looking pumpkins once mold and rot starts to seep in. In a way, they make the jack-o-lanterns look creepier.

Haha, the pumpkins almost look like they need dentures since their mouths are kind of curling inward. With the holidays coming, I wonder what kind of new lawn decorations I will encounter? There was one house in which I had to walk around graves, zombie hands, and bloodied body bags, in order to get to the mailbox on the porch. What obstacles will I encounter this time I wonder?

Another thing I encountered a few days ago was a loud crowing sound coming from the top of this building in which a realtor resides.

                                                   

I saw the owl in the window and figured that was probably the cause of the noise, but I was still perplexed as to why. Upon discovery of the mail receptacle inside the doorway, I saw an anti-bird alarm system. Apparently the owl statue caws whenever birds come close? And then by doing so it scares off the birds? All I know is that the danged thing was really loud and why local businesses did not complain to the realtor about the noise the darned thing makes I don't know.

Did my mail arrive yet? No, now stop asking me...

It happens often--people frequently ask, "Do you have my letter-card-envelope-bill?" Though this gets annoying time to time, it makes sense since I am a mailman and I am carrying their mail. Other times it just gets old though--especially when customers are impatient when I am putting their mail in their boxes. I feel like sometimes people just magically expect their items to arrive on time and in a blink of an eye and when something goes wrong and said item doesn't arrive, BOOM!

The post office isn't perfect. With the millions upon millions of items of mail we process everyday, we are going to make errors. That's just human nature. From machines eating up mail to packages being given to the non-corresponding route, it's going to happen. And if a customer is upset that something didn't arrive on time or to their liking, I am unfortunately the brunt of the blame they dish out. Sometimes customers are understanding, sometimes not.

For example, one college guy got all uppity because his video game he ordered and paid overnight shipping for was not in his mailbox the day after. While talking to him, I realized that the mistake was probably one of ours, which happens, but still, getting all into it with the guy that delivers your mail, come on now.

On the opposite spectrum, had a lady today ask why her birthday card didn't get to her after two weeks of being sent. I explained to her what might have happened to it and then apologized for the inconvenience of it all. Though she was upset about not getting her card, she thanked me for talking to her about it and giving her some answers to what might have happened to it.

Sometimes people just don't know how to send things properly. One of the most common misconceptions I notice is that some people tend to think "forever stamps" cover all the postage on an ordinary envelope. They don't realize the the weight and whether the contents of the envelope make it bulge out or not have an impact on its cost. Therefore I usually have to collect a meager sum of money from the recipient--usually between 24-74 cents--to cover the correct postage.

In one recent incidence of this, a girl had her sister send her back a cell phone charger that her sister stole from her--I knew this cause she told me obviously. Anyways, the sister put the wrong postage on the envelope and the girl had to dig around her apartment to come up with 74 cents. I thought it was funny and mentioned how ironic it was that her sister "borrowed" her cell phone charger and then upon sending it back, the girl had to cough up some change for the correct postage. Needless to say, the girl informed me she was going to give her sister an earful when she talked to her again.

It's been four months? Where has the time gone?

So I might have neglected this thing for awhile. Props to my dad, he saw it coming. "You are going to get to tired of writing the blog eventually."

True, maybe I did. It's easy to fall into a repetitiveness when you are doing the same thing everyday. When work is done, I am more apt to do something recreational instead of writing an entry.

As to why I started writing again, no particular reason. Just some of the same similar feelings I had before--I want to keep a diary of daily events for my own entertainment and for others to enjoy as well. A valid reason to keep writing, to say the least.

So, July 20. That was my last entry. Since then, many things have happened. I gained my own route for a small amount of time--delivered mail on it for five days a week. I say "gained" though because I just lost it to someone with higher seniority than me last week. I am ok with this--it brings back some variety in my work since every day I will be placed on a different route. Still, saying bye for now to some of my favorite customers on the route was sad.

Oh, and it got dark. Real dark. Flipping daylight savings time took into effect earlier this month, thus making darkness come one hour earlier. So now I am rocking a headlight and delivering mail in the dark, if it comes to it. So far it's been alright, just feel a little creepy delivering mail at night to boxes on peoples' porches. Keep on thinking some customer will be like, "Who's dere? I'm gonna grab my gun!" Hasn't happened yet though, phew for that!

Oh and given the cold weather, I have decided to grow out a beard. Having never sported the beard before, I am getting used to it very much so. That being said, I am over nine months in as being a mailman, and though it is stressful sometimes, I still do enjoy the work. Until next time!

                                             

Post office moment of the day--am delivering a package to someone when all of a sudden, a wasp attacks us. Well, it wavers around us, freaking us out. I then take a plastic card and swat it to teh ground, and then stomped it. I then tell said customer to enjoy his package and wasp-free day.

Other than that, not much.

I feel it is becoming more of a chore to write on this blog than actually me wanting to. My dad was right--at first, I'd be all about making an entry every day. But as time moves on, you get more and more tired of writing about something that has become so routine in your everyday life. But wasn't that why I wanted to write a blog in the first place, to make it so my life doesn't become routine and bland?

Well I can assure you it isn't bland--not one bit. It's just hard to write sometimes about a variety of happenings in my daily life. Plus it's really late and I'm tired and just worked six days straight--ha! I guess that's as good an excuse as any!

Oh well, I will continue to post stuff as I see fit. Lata!

Beating teh heat

I finally got my clothing allowance today!

That's $390 worth of post office clothing I can order--it's about time because my shirts are very grubby and I could use some new stuff.

Other than that, not much has been happening. Just trying to beat the heat. Plus I've been trying to go to bed earlier, too--this heat saps your body like none other. Definitely makes you more tired than usual.

Anyways, halfway through the week--three more days till Sunday, yay!

Another one bites teh dust

My hiring process for this job was quite unique. Basically some USPS management folk had a number of us (about 8) go meet them for a mass interview. Upon completion of said interviews, they began to fingerprint us. The first two people they fingerprinted, they told to leave and they would contact them further about the job. They then turned to us remaining 6 and told us we were hired. Pretty sweet and to the chase--if only all interviews worked out like that!

Throughout the Indiana offices, they did this and ended up hiring about 500 people for positions just like mine. In other words, we all got hired on as substitutes and would work when needed. Fortunate for me, in Bloomington, postal carriers are ALWAYS needed. Ha! Hence my 56+ hour work weeks.

Anyways, me and another guy got stationed in Bloomington. He's a pretty aight dude--came back from serving overseas in Iraq and is probably a couple years older than me. Anyways, being hired on at the same time, we kind of developed a slight camaraderie, since we were both learning the ropes at the same time. About a month or so into the job, he told me that one of our supervisors told him that out of the 500 or so people initially hired, only about 150 remained. The rest obviously quit or were laid off.

Well fast forward to today, and my co-worker guy told me he just put in his two-weeks notice. That being said, he does have a kid on the way and just got married last week. He is also taking classes which the job has been negatively impacting so eh, go figure. Still though.

That sucks.

Like I said, we were hired on together. Now I am the only new person at the office--well, after the next two weeks that is. Still, feels weird. Like a lone rookie amidst professionals. Almost makes me wonder how long I'll stay at it. Now I'm not saying I'm quitting--all this work is super awesome for me right now. Still, I wonder if I'll ever reach a similar point where I just get tired of working there.

The job is not accommodating at all, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. Literally no time off for me--I'm always on duty. That being said, I do get two hours of time off per paycheck but in order to use said time, I need to put in a request 3-4 weeks in advance. Oh, and don't count on me getting Fridays, Saturdays, or Mondays off. That is totally out of the question.

I have no insurance either--well I do have my own personal disaster insurance--but still, no on-the-job insurance. Even when I do gain access to the insurance plan after 360 days, I have to pay for all of it out of pocket, unless the contract changes between now and then.

I have no retirement either. No sick leave. No nothing. All's I got is a $15/hour job, which isn't a bad thing. But when you are thinking long-term, well, I'm beginning to think the post office just is not the place to be. That being said, I'm still going to stick it out at this job for a year+. As I said, the job is perfect for me now--lots of work and lots of money--but how long will that feeling about my job last, I wonder? I guess we will find out, won't we.....

Bye-bye cool weather!

It's been a good minute since my last post. This happens from time to time--when I'm done with work, I'm done with a lot of things postal service-related. Writing an entry about my daily occurrences does not hold weight over doing something recreational.

That recreation is nice--I feel I barely get enough time to do fun stuff outside of work anymore. Well I do but then it is only a matter of time before I have to go to bed and start all over again in the morning. That's normal though--it's much better than being a freeloader and barely working/not working at all.

I've been there before--at first, the idea of not working and not having many responsibilities is great, but it gets old. Fast. I can't see how some people can stand it, honestly.

Anyhoo, this last week I was doing a route that averaged 6.5+ miles a day. Yeah, you could walk that distance in about 1.5-2 hours easily, but doing so while delivering mail puts the time on your feet in the 6+ hour range. Talk about tiring! It wasn't a bad route--real hard to get adjusted to at first but I made due. I even met some of the route customers and got on a first-name basis with them and their dogs.

Now I'll be switched to another route tomorrow. It's not bad, though. The variety is nice. It does stink having to leave the people you met on your prior route. But hey, when you get on that route again, it's like seeing old friends which feels pretty nice. That being said, the time in which I do said route again is a little bit--a week to a month or more--but yeah, it's not bad.

The last three days of last week were really cool, too. Like 80 degrees with a cool breeze and little humidity. This week is gonna be in the 90s though. Ouch. I can feel the heat already! I'll survive though--I'll just be highly uncomfortable and shweaty for a while during the week. No new experience for me--though it ain't my favorite feeling, either....

Dat's some heat!

Mail volume is a strange phenom at the post office. Some days are average, with about 20,000-30,000 pieces of raw mail--this is your standard envelope-sized mail. Mondays are always heavy with usually 45,000+ pieces of raw mail. The highest I've once witnessed was 60,000+ pieces of mail in one day.

That being said, I have no way of determining how much mail I deliver on a current route other than counting it all--which is an insane and stupid idea, considering how much time that would waste! Best I can do is supply a picture based on an average amount of mail:

                                      

This was my mail load for today, Tuesday, which is a typically super-light day. Think of it as "the calm after the storm", the storm being Monday.

On Monday I had four trays of raw letters, as seen on the right. I had about double the amount of boxes I had today, and about triple the amount of small parcels--small envelopes, boxes, etc., that can usually fit in a standard mailbox. Though you can't get a good view of my trays of flats (magazines, large envelopes, etc.)--they are in the back right, behind my pile of parcels. I had double the amount of flats for Monday compared to today's load.

Oh, and I had two tubs full of parcels for two academic departments I had to deliver to on Monday, something that I didn't have to deal with today.

In other words, my mail load for Monday was at least double for what I had today. It may not seem like a whole lot, but there is a considerable difference when delivering them suckers, especially since this route is all walking. That's a lot of stuff to carry! Ugh... Not to mention dropping mail by accident. The act of dropping a bundle of mail on the ground is like seeing your life flash before your eyes--it's a horrible thing to have happen to you as a mailman. Luckily once the mail hits the ground, it is still relatively in order--all you have to do is simply take a deep breath, calm your nerves, and piece the bundle back together again. While working under time restraints though, man, I've almost broken down after having a bundle of mail slip from my hands.

Other than that, Tuesday is usually pretty quick. I also met a dog today that was really nice. Most dogs, especially those with their owners out on walks, are usually pretty nice. If not, well, it doesn't take much to determine a good dog who just wants pets from a bad dog who wants to maul ya. This dog, a herding dog, was being walked across the street by its owner. I said "hi" to the guy and then commented that his dog looked plum tired and needed a nap. As soon as I said that, the dog on cue lay down on the ground. It was pretty funny, considering I just said "nap." The owner explained the dog, Bing, usually does that for attention and due to instinct, him being a herding dog and the like. I gave it a good number of pets and went on my way, glad that I met a good dog instead of the opposite.

Oh, and yes, I usually drive mail trucks while delivering. However, we have about five vans at my station, one of which is assigned to the route I've been doing the past week. Hence the van in the above photo. It's especially nice in this hot, steamy weather, since the van has some high-power AC in it. Perfect for those segments where you drive from one walking loop to the next. :D

Sweat and grime

Yeah, I sweat a lot.

I'm sure I also have talked about how I sweat a lot in past posts as well so it should be of no news to ya.

Anyways, today I sweat a bunch. It was a real scorcher and it wasn't a matter of time before my shirt was soaked. Once I reached that degree of sweatiness, the constant cooling effect of the sweat was very much welcome.

However, though I was wearing a relatively clean postal shirt, I couldn't help but notice that I smelled bad and probably looked pretty hot and miserable as well. I don't mind this stage of acclimation but when it comes to me conversing with others on the route, I feel a little... what's the word... undesirable to be around.

I mean, I'm all sweaty and hot and probably a little smelly--basic b/o smell and sweat smell. I feel my main issue with this is when I encounter a pretty lady on the route. I guess I just have to bear with it though till cooler weather comes along.

Who knows, maybe ladies don't mind a sweaty, overheated (and sometimes stinky) mailman delivering their mail? I can only hope!

Welcome to Paradise

Last week was especially long. And hectic. The days after a holiday are always rough--they are similar to Mondays except more people tend to be off of work, thus creating more work for those working that day. You see, people like to take their days off around a holiday to obviously create more time for them to be off work.

Anyways, to make the day rougher, I was put on a route I never did before. Actually, I did deliver on it before but that was before the route got "modified" recently. Therefore, the route was in a sense, a brand new route full of new twists and turns and variations. I made it through that route OK, but I was then given another two hours worth of mail for another route I've never done before.

Long story short I broke my record for longest day worked at the post office--12.5 hours. Yowch!

My shirts aren't getting any cleaner, either. Still all grubby and the like--hopefully I get to order some new uniforms and stuff with my uniform allotment soon!

Oh, and we gotta start at 7:35am on Mondays now instead of 8am. Tis nice, cause in theory we will get home earlier and be less restricted by deadlines. In the past however carriers have started at 7:30am, so why that extra five minutes? Haha, it makes absolutely no sense to me. I'm sure there is some logic behind all of it, but who knows.

July 6

With July 4 come and gone, I had to deal with the annoying phenomenon in which the day after the holiday has double mail. Two days worth of mail tied into one--yeah, it's not too bad, considering Mondays are always like that--but to have two Monday-esque work days in one week? Ew. Not to mention three routes were down because people took the day off for obvious reasons.

Long story short, I was placed on a newly modified route that I've never done before and then was given at least two hours of mail from another route I've never done before. Oh joy!

12.5 hours later, I finished. And was exhausted big time.

I do believe this was my longest workday so far with the post office. Hopefully no more days similar to this one come in the near future because my patience surely was tested. I'd almost rather trade in my July 4 day off for an easy workday than have a ridiculously long workday the day after.

Oh well, here's to hoping today is much, much better!

So it's been raining for a good week now.

So it's been raining for a good week now. OK, not a week straight but the weather has been quite moist, to say the least. Not bad really--it's been mild in the temperature department and I haven't had to struggle to keep myself hydrated. Still humid but hey, ya can't win everything now, can ya?

Not sure if I mentioned, but I've been at the post office for three months now--actually hit that mark about three weeks ago. Ha! That means I am official and am off my probationary period. It was quite anti-climatic, really. I am supposed to be able to order some uniform stuff, which is cool--there is this awesome mock-fur winter cap I want really bad. It'll be so awesome-looking to wear, come winter (or whenever it gets chilly out). Gotta get some rain gear, some new shoes, and a buncha new shirts as well, specially since mine are getting grimy. I heard bleach is a good thing to use to cut out the grime, but I'm afraid to use it just in case it turns my postal clothes all funky.

Other than that, postal life is treating me well. Looks to be I'll have a downtown route for most of this week and next, which is nice. Not sure if I mentioned how nice it is to deliver downtown Bloomington before, but it sure is nice. Being in all the hustle and bustle, talking to shop owners, and getting coffee--all things that make delivering mail downtown fun.

Speaking of downtown Bloomington, here is one of the main streets I deliver on--I am currently standing next to a candy store on the second floor of a business on Kirkwood Avenue.

The job blues still sets in now and then though. The humid weather doesn't help--I hate humidity. But like I said before, what are ya gonna do? Just gotta bear with it till fall season comes.

Naw, I think it is being settled down that gets me time to time. It's nothing big right now--just a little prick in the side--but sometimes I want to go off adventuring. I've done it before--last was my trip to South Korea almost two years ago--and I'd like to do it again sometime. Not now, not in a few months, maybe not in a year or two, but eventually. Eventually I'd like to do something big again.

The thing is, I like my job. I really do. But for me to do something big, well, I'd have to take off a lot of days, which is HIGHLY unlikely, given my work position I am in--that and being on the very low end of the seniority totem pole.

That's what jobs do though, isn't it? They restrict you, in a sense, from going off on adventures. Yes, every day is an adventure for me, to some extent. But to hear people's plans to travel--to go to foreign countries--to go on a three-day road trip--it gets to me sometimes.

It's like by accepting this job as a mailman, I've voluntarily agreed to stay in Bloomington and restrict myself mainly to living my life in Bloomington.

Now is this a bad thing? I have a steady, well-paying job. I live in Bloomington, after all, a city full of wondrous places to eat and many things to do. I live with good friends and have good friends in the vicinity. So yes, life is good, and no, this really isn't a bad thing.

It's also about growing up--realizing that you've had your adventures and now you need to settle down, in a ways, and contribute to the workings of society. Someday my day will come and I will be able to go on an adventure again, so I guess I will just have to settle with that. Also, some people have never gone on adventures or will never be able to do so--therefore I should be thankful for--which I am--the adventures I have gone on throughout my life.

Still sucks hearing about other peoples' plans on going places though. I guess that's something I will just have to learn to deal with, knowing that even though I am working more than full-time now, does not mean my life will be bland and boring.

Anyways, long story short, I do love my job. It's tough at times. It restricts me from making big plans and trips. But it pays well. Bloomington is awesome to live in, too, with all its eateries and activities.

So yeah, life is good and yadda, yadda, yadda :D

Not much to report on as of now.

Well, there was a good amount of rain the past two days. Pretty crazy. Nothing compared to earlier this week when I got completely drenched, but still a fair amount, indeed.

Here is a photo of me sitting on a porch swing for a brief minute during a heavy bout of rain.

                                                

Take note of my grubby-looking postal shirt. I heard bleach cleans up them shirts pretty well, just haven't tried it yet. The leather strap for my postal satchel dirties up my shirt a good deal--plus my shoulders get all grimy from wiping the sweat from my brow and the leather strap, once again.

All in all, postal clothes are ridiculously comfortable. Breathable, anti-static, and stylish as well--ya can't beat them! Well I don't mind them at least--it's pretty neat to be representing a big organization by wearing a uniform--never did that before till this job and I do say I like it.

The bandana is an extra touch by me. I sweat way too much and it definitely helps keep sweat out of my eyes and prevents my hair from matting to my forehead in a sticky, sweaty mess.

Oh, and something else that has catching my attention--everyone calls me "sir" when they see me.

I'm totally not used to being called a "sir". I swear it's gotta be the uniform or something. I don't really see myself as any different than anyone else--just out to make a buck just like other working folk. I think it's funny cause I usually call men older than me sir on the street. So for people to call me "sir" it's a little weird.

Man, I dunno. It just cracks me up when people call me "sir". Totally not used to it, specially since I'm only 26. Maybe people think I'm much older since I'm a mailman? Or maybe they are just intimidated because I technically work for the government? Ha! I dunno.

Like I said, being called "sir" just cracks me up. I could get used to it though.....

Maybe a post every two days is more realistic? I dunno. I hate making up rules like that, especially when this ole' blog is just for fun.

Anyhoo.....

Power outage. We had a 30-minute one today.

Here's a pic:

                                              


Can't see anything? That's the point. Apparently we have no windows inside our facility, something I haven't noticed till today.

You see, there was a MASSIVE thunderstorm the other day, something I will chat bout later, which probably caused much electrical problems as an after-effect. Though the weather was calm this morning--and VERY humid--I guess a surge must've happened around the post office's side of town. Apparently stop lights were out, too.

So what did we do? Well, we still did our job, just inefficiently. I had my cell phone shining light on my case to put up my vacation mail-holds. All of us then took our parcels outside to our trucks because that was actually something we could do at the time.

Things got lit up again, but sheesh, it put us behind a good deal. Plus I had to case up ANOTHER route, split it into seven sections, and prepare it for other carriers to take. Then I had to case up my own route, pull it down, and deliver that as well. Almost got done in 10 hours, ended up finishing at around 10.4 hours. Still, pretty insane considering the amount of mail-oriented work I had to do, plus that stupid blackout.

Not gonna lie, that blackout was pretty neat though :D

So yeah, that rain. Had a huge rainstorm yesterday. Fortunate thing though--I was doing my mounted (driving) mail delivery section when it happened. I swear, delivering mail in a thunderstorm while encased in a tin box with wheels is not the most comforting thing, Still, I was pretty safe. And dry. Comfortably dry. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, I knew that I would be soaked at the end of the day.

Finished my route, and of course, I had to go help someone else. Met up with Clint to find I had to take three walking sections. Positive note was that there was very little mail to carry--that meant I could just carry it by hand and not worry bout carrying my satchel. Bad news was that, well, thunderstorm of the day was preparing its second assault. Once I started, well, the rain was torrential. After my first section, I was soaked. After my second section, I thought I was gonna get struck by lightning. During my third section, I didn't care anymore and jumped in puddles for the fun of it.

It twas quite comical actually--my mail journey from house to house went like this: run to house, deliver mail, clutch mail to my chest for maximum dryness, jump as lightning flashes nearby, run to porch and take refuge there for 5-10 seconds, deliver mail again, rinse and repeat. All the while I was cussing and constantly yelling, "Man, this is INSANE!" Despite this, I must say the experience as a whole was pretty intense and awesome. Haha!

Not much else. Oh, some awesome lady gave my a Mountain Dew when I picked up her packages from her porch on Tuesday. Given the super-hot weather, it was like heaven in a can.

                                      

Oh, and if I had a nickel for every deer I could get up real close to, I'd have like $.50. OK, bad analogy but still, dem deer around these parts are so DOCILE! I got within about 15 feet of this one. Would've tried to get closer, but the old lady looking at me through her screen door probably thought I was acting a little screwy.

                                       

Postal Nightmares.

Those are the worst. Remember falling asleep when you were younger while stressing out about an upcoming math test? If you are unlucky, sometimes you'd have dreams about how you didn't study enough or hundreds of numbers and equations in your head, driving you crazy.

That's what happens sometimes with me--it's just mail delivery. For instance, Mondays are usually pretty crazy so I try to mentally prepare myself for them the day prior. However, I then fall asleep and fall into this half-asleep, half-awake funk where I believe I am delivering mail and am either doing it all wrong or am not able to meet my deadline.

Of course I eventually "wake up", get out of bed, and try to get the other half of my brain to realize that it was all a dream and that I was sleeping, not delivering mail. Not only is this frustrating, you definitely lose out on a good deal of solid sleep. Plus, you know you're gonna be delivering mail in a couple of hours anyways so dreaming about it just feels, well, redundant.

Argh.

Well at least today is Tuesday. Monday was pretty slow yesterday--the temps are still high though. Ugh.

BEEEES!!!! You see, bees enjoy nesting inside mailboxes, especially the central mail units you see at apartment complexes and such. You see, in these boxes, there is a little slot always open for outgoing mail. The bees have figured out that they can crawl into said slot and make their nest in there. From a bee's standpoint, it is quite an excellent place to nest. Nobody ever opens up said door to reveal said nest. Well, somebody does--me.

This ain't the first time I've stumbled upon a bee's nest in a mailbox. I've seen em' before and often knocked em down--they have been quite small in the past with one-two momma bees/wasps care-taking it. Today's nest was a yellow-jacket nest, with about 5-6 bees on it. Being the smart dude I am, I decided to treat the nest like any other nest and take it out with a plastic mail divider I had.

Instant fail.

The nest was too big to knock down in one fell swoop. Plus the bees then swarmed the mailbox and thus my truck parked next to the mailbox. And since the box was already open, I couldn't hop in the truck and leave, due to to liability's sake. Anyways, got a hold of my supervisor, she sent me out some Raid, and I blasted that bees nest into chemical oblivion.


                                     



This is the nest after I sprayed it good and dead. It's at least an inch long/wide, which is quite large for a bee's nest. Yuck. Good thing I didn't get stung. Plus it's a good thing I got rid of it anyways--it was a hazard for both other mail carriers and customers using said mailbox.

Anyways, on Friday, I had a rough day with the heat. Yowch. I've also discovered throughout the week that opening metal mail slots in doors that have been facing the afternoon sun for a couple of hours is not a pleasant experience. So hot!

Well, made it back to the office only to realize that route adjustments were tomorrow (Saturday) and we had to re-do our mail cases with new labels. You see, a while ago some people came and monitored the carriers and their routes in order to make adjustments to said routes to make them more efficient. Though they succeeded in some places, they also made some really wacky adjustments.

For example, instead of taking a usual path you were used to--i.e. take a right on street A to street B--it's now take a right on street A, do a few boxes, take an instant left down sketchy alley, loop around the block, make a u-turn, then continue down street B. Most of this negativity is me having to re-learn a route and me not being used to the new design--the route isn't that bad and after a few days of it, things should go swimmingly.

I'm being put on a different, new route for me next week, so no more C48 route, the one I've been doing all this past week. By the way, that's how we name our routes--the "C" stands for "city" and the number is the, well, route number. Pretty straightforward actually.

As for other occurrences the past few days, I knocked off a mailbox lid.

                              


Actually, the thing was rusty beyond belief and was only hanging on by one hinge. As I opened up the box, it literally just fell to the ground. I picked it up and placed it next to said mailbox--all I could do really.

Other than that, learning to deal with the heat was my most notable experience. It's funny--at first it's miserable but once you get all sweaty and nasty, then you feel quite comfortable. Sure your back of your shirt is soaked with sweat and droplets of sweat are always forming on your face, but it's just the body's way of adapting to the environment. Once you've adapted, well, you still ain't the most comfortable person in the world, but it's better.

As I said to a guy I met out on the route though, I'd much rather be relaxing at home on the couch with the air conditioning on. Ha!

Yawn.... I know I've mentioned it before, but the mail never ends--it's like a never-ending battle day after day after day. Sometimes it just gets tiresome. But wait.... you get that same feeling with every job! I guess it's just taken awhile to catch up to me. It's probably been this week--being all hot and all, and especially doing a super-long route.

I feel as if I'm complaining a lot in this blog as well. Man, everyday I got through a bunch of stuff in terms of heat, stress, exhaustion, dehydration, etc. so I suppose it's expected that I vent a good deal about that kind of stuff. Knowing this, hopefully this blog won't turn into a personal rant page. I really want to stick to doing plain old silly happenings throughout my day.

I did stumble upon a dad making water balloons for his two kids--the little kids offered me a water balloon. I was almost tempted to have them throw one at me due to me being so hot. That idea seemed a little weird though so I opted not to ask them. Nice to see a dad having fun with his kids though.

Oh, and no cookies today, either. Remember that one lady who had baked cookies in her post box for me, Saturday I think it was? Every day I drive past that mailbox, I check to see if there are any cookies in it. It's like I'm primed ever since she left cookies in that box that one day. I mean, I can't expect her to be baking EVERYDAY but man, not gonna lie, I am a little downtrodden when there are no cookies in the box. Knowing my luck, I'll be doing a different route tomorrow and that'll be the day she bakes cookies.

But yeah, it's little things like that which make my day. Otherwise, even though every day is different in some regards, it's still the same old hum-drum that is daily work.

The mail never ends!

Some days just feel silly, knowing that despite your best efforts, there will continue to be a load of mail to deliver the next!

I neglected an entry yesterday because I got off early--something that never happens. I therefore rejoiced in an unusual amount of free-time.



Also, while I was casing up my route, I got a random message from my supervisor who is currently stationed somewhere in Indy. Since he used to be a city carrier, he has to go back and carry mail for a month after about four months of supervising or something--I'm not sure about the logistics of it. Still, he was dreading having to go back and carry mail in this heat--it's gotta be a tough transition going from being inside working to being outside. Anyways, he taped this message to a pile of flats that were being shipped down from the Indy station to us--I was randomly the one to discover said message as well, since it was a bundle of my flats that the message was taped to. I passed it around the office and we all got a good laugh, especially the supervisors working that day.

                                  

Tuesday was a fine day--decent weather, a decent walking route, and of course, getting off early--by early I mean having an 8-hour day. Ha!

Today on the other hand, whew. Delivering inside that mail-truck is exhausting on hot days--it dehydrates you so badly. Sure the fan makes a nice, warm breeze, but compared to walking outside in the fresh air and breeze, whew.

I got a nice surprise from a pre-school, though. They left an envelope for the mailman--which just so happened to be me that day--a bag of Jolly Ranchers and a drawing, shown below:
           
                                

What a welcome surprise that was. I also had a couple of kids, ages 10-11 or so, run up to a set of cluster boxes when I was delivering. They were yelling, "The mail's here, the mail's here!" I commented to them on how they were the most enthusiastic people I've ever seen when it comes to getting the mail. Too bad there wasn't anything good in there for them--only ads. They didn't seem to mind, though.

Monday.

Monday's are not the best days of the week. Having double the ordinary volume of mail never is fun. Especially when it is so humid outside that you begin sweating after three minutes out there. Yet the show must go on!

You get used to the heat/humidity eventually, but it's never too fun. I wish I could give an idea to how many flats I had to case up for my route. Definitely the most I've had to case so far here in Bloomington. I would say, imagine a magazine. Then imagine said magazine as a stack of magazines 3-4 feet tall. That's about the amount of mail volume I had--keep in mind that was just flats, though.

Ya gotta keep your cool though--good thing my supervisor sent me a good deal of help today. I still ended up working 11.75 hours--a new record for me I think.

Things eventually were alright though, especially when I started my driving delivery section. I thought being inside a postal truck would be a sauna--it really isn't! Just need the windows down and the fan rolling at full-blast. You definitely feel much cooler inside than out doing walking delivery.

Anyways, a funny phenomenon has been known to happen to me during the heat of the summer while I am delivering mail by foot. I hold my mail in an efficient manner--my flats, magazines, etc., tucked into my left arm while my left hand is free to hold the letters for my current walking loop. Funny thing is, since I sweat like mad and the flats are tucked into my arm, the ink and designs on said adverts and magazines I carry transfer to my skin. Kind of like Silly Putty when you press it against newspaper and peel it away.

These "temp tattoos" usually stay for a good couple of days, but I always find it funny when it does happen. Here is today's temp tattoo I acquired:

                                 

These are usually unplanned, but it would be cool if someday an actual, legible image would transfer to my arm. Getting inked while delivering mail, what a silly experience!

So sue me. I forgot to post yesterday. Big whoop. Life happens. I enjoy having a social life. Nough said.

Ya didn't miss out on much anyways. I had to deliver mail from the auxiliary post office on the west side of town--it's basically the post office that covers the western half of Bloomington. Anyways, I got to cover a street--S. Rogers St. to be exact--that is under road construction. Yikes. Oh, it's a one-way now as well due to said road construction. Therefore I had to split up the route in a variety of sections and do pieces I'd normally do near the end near the beginning. Ugh.

Anyways, got to do a new route today! New route days are always a pain--not knowing the case, not knowing where you are exactly going, all melds into one stressful, confusing mess. However, once you make it through it, you feel pretty good knowing that you are now familiar with a new route. Plus seeing new parts of Bloomington is always swell.

Today also marked a new milestone in my postal career--my first animal attack! I reached out to pet a cat laying on a porch and it swiped at me, scratching my hand.

                                     

As you can see, that little scrape at the top of my hand is the handiwork of that dastardly cat. Yeah, it's very anti-climatic, but it was the first time an animal drew my blood. Yeah it'[s not really significant. Still, that cat's got an attitude problem.

I also got some free chocolate chip cookies! Heck yeah! A kind lady was watering her plants and told me she left some fresh-baked cookies int he mailbox for the mailman today, a.k.a. me. Score! Especially since I didn't pack a lunch for today either. Hehe!

                                               

Cooler, breezier, and barely any sweat--yeah, today was solid. Well not completely solid. Solid enough to be passable. The unfortunate part is that I had to say goodbye to my downtown section I was fortunate enough to deliver at for the past three or so days.

On an off topic, delivering mail to foreign students apartment complexes sucks. They move so much and some of them I feel fail to put in their change of address. Therefore I end up delivering about 1/2 of my stack of mail originally for said apartment building. The rest either gets forwarded or recycled.

Oh, and I had my key get stuck in the ignition today in my van. Fun times, fun times.

Beautiful weather though--it's about time! Too bad it'll only last for about a day and then it'll be back to Indiana summer all over again! Ha!

95 degrees was the projected forecast for today. I didn't catch the actual temps mid day, but I can say that this was probably the hottest day I've delivered. The cool thing is if you are delivering around businesses, 1. They have amazing air conditioning, and 2. They have ice cold water that they willingly give ya. Not to mention today I got to drive the USPS minivan, which has some rocking A/C. I can't imagine what it's like driving in a postal truck/oven in this heat, but I'm sure I'll have the experience of doing so once the summer is over. Ugh.

Looking back at me delivering today, I now realize I was probably a sight to see. Having to go in and out of businesses, the bright sunlight often had me squinting. With the bursts of heat encountered from leaving A/C equipped buildings, I was often grimacing at the uncomfortable conditions. I'm pretty sure I overheard one construction worker say to his friend that I looked quite miserable.

Was that far from the truth? Not really. My body overheats quite a deal, causing me to sweat profusely. As long as I keep on pumping water in me, I'm fine. Believe me, even if that water is warm, it's a welcome feeling. It's almost like putting out a fire inside of me--that water is an instant relief when drunken, almost like magic. It definitely makes me appreciate water in general and having access to good drinking water wherever.

So, do I still want to be a mailman? Yeah. Sure spending 8+ hours a day in 90 degree heat (+humidity) is not ideal, but it definitely grows some hair on your chest. It's a good feeling, too, to know that you succeeded delivering the mail despite the elements. How's that USPS slogan go? Nor rain, nor snow, nor dusk of night.... blah blah blah.... the mail will get delivered? It's a pretty satisfying feeling, knowing that I am now one of the many mail-carriers who look at that slogan and say, "Yeah, I've done that."

Then again, carrying mail in them nasty conditions still sucks.

A lot.

But I still like it and will keep at it.

As for interesting events today, I got a free cookie on Kirkwood. Score! Plus I delivered a box that had the words "Happy Tent" printed on it. I obviously figured a tent was inside it but nevertheless, a tent called "Happy Tent" seemed a little peculiar. After recently Googling it, it is apparently a brand name or something. Still, got quite a chuckle out of the peculiar labeling on the box.

Today was a blast of heat. It wasn't as bad as it will get later in the summer, but it was highly unpleasant at points. That being said, it's quite amazing how a few swigs of water will refresh yourself when you feel overheated. It's quite a simple feeling and really makes you thankful for the water you have. I've went through about 64oz of water today--not sure how many gallons that makes. Apparently, according to Google, that's a half-gallon of water. Not too shabby, considering the ridiculous amount I sweat in the heat.

That being said, Tuesdays are not too bad. Usually. Three routes down today plus political ads that had to go to every house and cluster box--that equaled quite an above-average work load for today. But eh, it wasn't that bad.

Anyways, I am going to bed due to my trying to get more sleep. This heat is sapping in both energy and spirit. A good recharge is more than necessary after today. Tomorrow is Red Plum day, too.... oh joys!

Happy Moonday!

Today was pretty eventful, as I got to deliver downtown--a solid route on any given day. Being able to deliver mail to businesses and talk to people is always a plus--as I mentioned to a business proprietor, I'm usually talking to animals and myself if I'm not delivering to businesses so the change is always welcome!

Being downtown, there are always sights to behold--also numerous places for coffee purchasing and consumption. I discovered a couple of weeks ago a way to hold flats (magazines, non-envelope-sized mail), letters, and coffee all in one arm. Precarious, yes, but quite practical for the coffee drinker.

Anyways, I met up with Tom, another carrier who took the week off, who was downtown biking. I chatted with him for a few minutes and we were approached by a crazy homeless man who claimed to be Jesus. He then told Tom to hit him because he was obviously the son of God and thus impervious to harm. We kind of look at him for a moment and he starts to grow hostile in voice. I'd write what he said in verbatim, but that would require me to be fluent in crazy-homeless-man speech, a course that was not offered to me in my schooling. Fortunately, he left us alone and preceded to spout nonsense dribble so some people enjoying a lunch outside of a cafe on the sidewalk. It was then Tom and I decided we should part ways, just in case the "second-coming" came back to make us feel uncomfortable.

Back to work, I noticed that the old post office that was downtown was getting demolished.

                                  

Now I knew this was happening a few days ago, but I didn't see it till today. Such carnage--all that history being smashed to rubble. Meh. Sometimes change isn't a bad thing--sure it depends on the change--but that building was derelict and abandoned by the USPS for quite some time. Hopefully Bloomington builds something worthy in its spot the next year or so.

With little rain and sunshine, the day was looking out to be pretty good. Well as good as mail delivery can be on a Monday. Mondays you are usually looking at a two days-worth of mail I never expect to be home early. Man, and if we get rid of Saturday delivery.... ugh, don't want to think of that for now.

Anyways, the day was looking aight. What could make it better? Cookies of course.

Shower's Inn in Bloomington almost always has home-baked chocolate-chip cookies with almonds. So good!!!! Plus they keep em in a glass jar so they are always relatively fresh. And yes, I am allowed as a mail carrier to take one or two as I deliver the mail to the inn.

Of course, being a Monday, I had much more mail to carry after my assigned route, but hey, that was expected. End result was a 10.75 hour day, not too shabby for a Monday. My record is about 11.75 hours so far.

Finally! Sunday! My only day off of the week!

I must say, it's weird not working after six days of doing so. Still, no complaints!

Saturday was one of those days where I was able to complete my route in a very fast time, only to have much more work on other routes when I finished. I did get to do some walking delivery in a nice neighborhood in southern Bloomington, but by that point, I was ready to crash. I ended up going to bed at an early 11:30 pm to sleep a solid 12 hours--I believe that was my body saying that it was lacking a certain something this past week.

                                                      

I encountered some wildlife Saturday as well. Deer love roaming Bloomington and can even be seen in the most residential areas or even on IU campus. You have to keep in mind that Bloomington was once mostly forest before it slowly became the large college town it is. With that in mind, the deer apparently still haven't realized that Bloomington is not the forest it was before and still reside in the midst of the city. It's neat actually to see deer here and there, especially while on a route--this one was particularly not very skittish as I was able to get within 15 feet of it. Unfortunately with all these deer, Bloomington residents like to install gadgetry in their yard to keep away the large rat-like herbivores, such as this motion-activated sprinkler system:

                                                      

The unfortunate thing is that mail carriers, such as myself, are suspect to falling into said traps as well as we love to cut through yards. I am shamed to say that I got soaked one day by said sprinkler in the about photo because I momentarily blanked about the existence of said water gadget. I guess the sprinklers are an effective yard defense though for I no longer cross said yard and instead take the extra five seconds taking the sidewalk.

Man, today was a short day! Given that I can only work 56 hours a week, I was only allowed to work 7.5 hours today. Well actually I can work more than 56 hours in a week but that would put me in double-time, something management would not want. I don't mind though--an early day is awesome! Got a nap in, did some laundry, and got a haircut--time well spent!

Today was slightly uneventful though I did run into an old friend I used to work with back in the day! I used to work back at Read Quad food court and was constantly placed in the hectic dish room there during lunch. Another guy in there, Danny, worked the dish unloader and he and I became pals. He obviously had some sort of developmental disability but was a great guy--he would always go on about IU sports and how he thought the women's basketball team was much better than the guy's team (this was when this was true, during the early Tom Crean days). I went to a couple of games with the guy and had a blast--as life goes though I lost track of Danny after I moved in life.

So you could imagine my surprise when I saw him again during my first mail stop on my route today. I chatted with him about IU sports and we then went our separate ways. I don't know if he remembers me--it'd be neat if he did--but I'm glad to have seen good ole' Danny again. What a nice guy!

Nothing else of note today. A fallen tree branch, some sub-par mulberries, and a super-friendly dog at a barber shop I delivered to. Oh, and there's this sign on the door of  student-rental home on the route I've been carrying that cracks me up every time I pass it.

Hehe, go Hoosiers!

So I've almost been a mail carrier in Bloomington, Indiana, for three months now. Its been a wild ride, but I've been hitting a snag--it's hard for me to prevent my days from molding into one. It's hard to pick out certain parts or events I found entertaining during my postal adventures cause, as I said, my days tend to mold together.

I hope to remedy that with this blog, writing about my daily occurrences and musings bout my life in the Postal Service. Some may be funny, some may be "meh", but that's not the point exactly. I want to avoid my experiences getting lost in the unfortunate redundancy of work and life, that way I can look back on them and enjoy them and you can, too!

With that being said, first post, GO!

Worked on route 33 today and had to deliver the Red Plum adverts. Ugh.... did I mention how I hated those things? Obviously not since this is my first post on the matter. Great little adverts, nice coupons, they are all good. Carrying them is another thing. The weight of them can add up in your satchel if you have at least 10 of them. Plus it's just another extra thing to carry, adding to your mail-load as it is already.

Anyways, didn't get that much sleep last night. Plus I arrived at work to discover bird shit on my shirt. As a co-worker noticed, it looked like a bird ate a raspberry and then pooped the remnants on my shirt. Ha! Not a usual start to a day, eh?

The highlight of my day was the robin's nest I usually walk under while delivering mail to a box on Atwater. I dubbed the bird Momma Robin, as she was always in her nest nursing her young when I approached. Of course, as the nest is right above the mailbox on the porch, I inherently make her quite angry every time I deliver the mail. She was a sight to see! Momma Robin would start chirping at me madly, flying around near some trees, and then would just perch on a branch and give me the evil eye all while chirping madly at me.

Today however I was greeted with silence when I approached the mailbox. The nest was empty and Momma Robin and her young have moved on. I couldn't help but feel a little sad--the usual encounter I had with the proud momma became routine and to have that cease, well yeah.... that's nature for ya and the circle of life and all that crap. I'm sure I'll have many other notable encounters with wildlife in the future while out delivering.

Here is a picture of the baby robins before they all grew up and flew off. No pics of Momma Robin on my phone--just imagine her in a nearby branch chirping wildly at me while I took this picture. My camera on my phone is pretty bad compared to most phones--I may get a better phone eventually but in the meantime, just gonna have to settle with my current phone and it's bad camera.

Well, post #1 down. Hopefully I can keep this updated daily--that'd be nice (in a perfect world). Who knows but I hope to have at least a daily entry or once every couple of days. Anyways, hope you enjoy this and take pleasure from viewing life as a postal carrier through my experiences. Lata!