Caught in a time warp....sort of

I can't believe so much time has gone by since my last blog... (I hope you have missed me as much as I have missed you). A major change has come to the Arizona Kid's life... he has gotten a full time JOB! (a pause here for you to pick yourself up off the floor). That's right, my faithful bloggees, I have returned to the workforce. But, before you lose all hope for this adventurous blogger, please keep in mind that this return is on my terms and doing something that's right up my alley...(no, I am not a pin-setter at the local bowling facility).

The job I have is as an order selector for a food distribution warehouse in West Phoenix... (I have mentioned this in previous blogs). The reason for the title of the blog is that I will be working nights (my idea) starting at 5:30 pm and finishing sometime in the early am...(so far between 2:30 and 3 am). The idea is to keep days free to continue my pursuit of MY "Great American Dream" (all together, now---Golf Every Day!!). That pursuit is going to happen but for right now the plan is on hold...the reason being is that the adjustment for working nights (sleep patterns, etc) takes awhile and the work for the first week was brutally physical. The first week consisted of being "pallet boy" for all the order selectors. Each selector rides a motorized 2 pallet jack around the warehouse and I had to put down pallets for them to use. Consider that on the average, there are between 35 and 60 selectors a night pulling 40,000 to 50,000 cases per night, that's a crapload of pallets... (and a world of hurtin' for "pallet boy"). But the system works...if you can't cut it as "pallet boy'' you don't move on to selector... Needless to say, I passed pallet training and have moved on to pallet jacks (a very cool toy I must say). I traded my vat of sunblock (from my Ronnie parking Lott days) for a tub of Icy Hot (for the muscles in my shoulders and back and legs...even my butt hurt!).

Now you may say "What are you crazy?? This job will kill you!" (I said it to the mirror when I couldn't reach up to scratch my head), but it's all good. I wanted a physical (sort of) job to keep me active (even though I won't be officially "active" until I'm 55--don't get me started). It's constantly moving and reaching and lifting. It's completely computerized...you have a headset that directs you to the aisle, slot number and number of packages to pull and you stack them on the correct pallets. It takes you from one end of the warehouse to the other and the aisles are one way so there's few "run-ins". After you pick the orders you shrink-wrap the pallets and bring them to the door assigned and start again. The computer tells you how long you have to pick the orders and grades you accordingly with a productivity percentage. So, that is it in a nutshell. I am in "training"for the next couple months and if I make the grade, they will offer me a contract (including health benefits, raises, etc). The work is actually fun, the other guys are really helpful with shortcuts and tips and the trainers are cool...(they've all come up the same way I have and the more people they help get in, the higher seniority they get). The main thing is to be accurate (no mis-picks). It's all about customer service and getting it right (which is what I'm about).

So, the hardest part of the job now is absorbing all the information needed to do the job (which is fairly easy for the "fountain of useless knowledge"). And don't forget the perks of working with food...there is a cooler section for produce and meats that is kept between 40 and 50 degrees and a freezer that gets down to -10... I have been in the cooler and it reminds me of New Jersey in November/December (delicious, because I can walk back into 90 degrees anytime I want). I keep my water bottle in there and it never gets warm. I have clean up duty after all the orders are pulled (low man on the pole) but they give me the cooler dock to clean up... hooded sweatshirt and hat for that...dry cold is WAY cold). Now that there's a new "pallet boy" I ride around picking orders all night and the time flies... Traffic is another "perk". I drive against the traffic around 4:30pm (everyone is leaving Phoenix) and at 3am I pretty much have the road to myself... My "days" off are Tuesdays and Saturdays. Once I get the sleep thing down, I think this will be a welcome addition to the "new" lifestyle...

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (the economy, cost of living, taxes and living expenses...i.e. groceries, rent,etc.), the courage to change the things I can (where I live and what I do to afford it), and the wisdom to know the difference... The serenity prayer, to those who know, was taught to me by my recovery friends at AA and group therapy. This prayer along with "one day at a time" has kept me alive and well and clean and sober for a lot of years... It's not just a prayer for recovery but a prayer for every situation no matter how large or small...