My Life That Happened In #35…
Episode #34
… August 2026
Saturday 1st
No gatekeeping for me today. They have sent me to drive a truck for the night. The manager from upstairs is downstairs for a change. And I walk in to what feels a little chaotic. But that doesn’t matter, as it isn’t my concern.
So for tonight. I’m driving and letting my mp3 player decide what I am listening to, and it doesn’t do a bad job.
I sent a couple of emails before I started work. One email informed them that I do not want to be trained on the tills. It may be an inconvenience for them. However, I explained that this was a condition when they asked me. If they aren’t happy with this, I am happy to walk away.
Every time I drove onto the loading bay, I wanted to get stuck in and help out or even take over, but I had to restrain myself. They know what they are doing, and I should mind my own business.
The I.T people have given me access to one site at work and half access to another, which is a lot accomplished after a long time of waiting. We will see how long it takes for the other half to happen.
My new beard oil arrived. I am in no rush to try it yet.
Catching up
I should have been able to post last month’s blog today. However, that didn’t happen. I thought I was ahead. But time got in the way. An email arrived. And I am a little confused, as there wasn’t any information to help me. I will need to speak to my senior manager.
What the hell is going on with SD cards? Their evolution should have brought the price down a lot by now, but the opposite has happened. F£$%^&* A.I!
Arriving at work. They removed the dead plants and have put out some new ones. But this time, there are two trolleys instead of one.
Sunday 2nd
Another night of driving a truck. I also find out that I am on duty as a first aider. I am happy to do my duty.
The manager from upstairs is running the show again, but we hear another manager will be coming in later.
I had to borrow a cable to charge my phone; for some reason, it didn’t charge at home. When I was all set up with music playing, I continued with the job at hand.
I had to cook for the second day. Everything went better than yesterday. I wasn’t feeling too great, but today I was more alert.
Before I went up to cook, the manager who came in later had to go home again. They weren’t feeling well, and they didn’t look too great either.
I had to give up my first aid duties and take over as Logs duty. This was reversed when someone came in after my lunch.
When I returned from my break, I finished my run on the truck and then went to help on the shop floor. It has been a while since it has been this busy.
Back home, it is SummerSlam Day 1, so I get ready, sit down with a drink and snacks and enjoy the show.
I went to bed an hour later than I wanted again, but it didn’t stop me from reading before sleep.
I scared myself for a second when I woke up 25 minutes after my usual waking-up time for work. After I realised, I went back to sleep.
Monday 3rd
I woke up again with the missus asking if I was going to sleep forever. She wanted to go to bed.
It was half gone midnight when I finally got up. I still hadn’t uploaded my blog, and I needed to give it one more read-through before publishing, and I had a reward for myself afterwards.
It was around four in the morning when I finally published last month’s blog. Afterwards, I gave this blog a quick update. And then I made some food and allowed myself a reward. I have been waiting a long time to watch this film.
The runners-up for the titled paged image:
When I had finished watching my movie, I began prepping my meals for the next couple of days.
A change to my routine. I have been asked to run the show while the management is away on a “retreat”. My timing is a little off. I wanted to watch the second day of SummerSlam, and I also need to get a bath in before bed.
New Video
And on top of that, I just remembered that I needed to share Today’s video.
My wife woke me up to tell me she had a job interview on Thursday. The only downside to this new information is that I couldn’t get back to sleep. After a while, I gave up and finished off my latest reads. Now I can start a couple of new books, and one of them is the winner of the book club vote.
It does feel weird to start work early. People you work with haven’t started yet. They will need to know what they are doing. I have been left in charge once before. However, this is the first time I have to work some things out on my own.
Like, don’t use my marker pen to write on the wall. I had to use deodorant to remove it in the end, as it wouldn’t come off. Oops!
Tuesday 4th
The shift is going well. I am grateful that nearly everyone has been there longer than I have or long enough to know what they are doing. I only have to make sure everyone has a place and that there is enough work for everyone. And adapting when I find out information is wrong.
I have had to learn quickly about people calling in sick: asking for as much information as possible.
Taking my break at a certain time and also remembering I had a break. And it was a great help that someone came in to cook.
Because of my early start time, I would be leaving work earlier than I normally would. This also meant my work would be unfinished. I had to explain this to those who would want the paperwork. This meant I had to rely on those who were finishing off the trailers. They also needed some brief training from me, as they would be dealing with the drivers.
I will see how that turns out tonight.
It was getting close to my time to go home. And I began to freak out a bit. My relief hadn’t arrived. I searched the building to try and find someone to hand it over to. But I couldn’t find anyone. It wasn’t until I was swiping to leave that my senior manager arrived, and I handed it over as I walked out the door.
At home, the missus was up. So we could pick up a parcel at the Tesco InPost point.
There was more wrestling to watch, the wife went back to bed, and I nodded off on the sofa.
Not Great.
My head still feels tired. And even though I nearly slept straight through the day and night. And I keep saying it. But I really should get to bed earlier. So I have time to read my book before sleep. Most of the time, I never do. I try to spend a couple of extra minutes with the missus. I managed to get in an episode of Beard Meats Food before I had to go to bed.
An email refunding me for the SD card I bought. It was the cheapest I had found, so I will have to search again.
Today’s session was really good. Slow, long pauses; I could go back to sleep.
Before leaving, I caught up with extra Jenna Phipps footage. I found a cheap-ish SD card, but it’s second-hand, and generally I don’t do that.
After some more searching, I found a card at the same price as the one I was refunded. I haven’t decided whether to buy it.
My brain is feeling the stress from the previous night. I began my second night running the warehouse. However, I’m not concerned. My body is telling me there is still more work that needs to be done to be mentally healthier.
A coworker with some experience gave me a hand, as I didn’t remember one part of releasing the pick. This lets truck drivers collect pallets for those who put them away later.
Apart from that, I think it is going okay.
Wednesday 5th
Some more of the night staff have arrived. I am already ahead with the trailers that have arrived. We are short-staffed. I had to overlap jobs. Which is possible, but I will wait and see how it goes.
I had a nice surprise during my break. My manager arrived. When I returned, I handed back the reins, and I was back to being a gatekeeper.
A solution was made to the current cooking problem. But now that a manager had arrived. I wanted to know if they wanted to change what I had suggested. They soon realised we had too much work on and that my suggestion was okay to go ahead with, so I laid out some cold food and cleared up after coming back from my lunch break.
So that is what I did. Just before my lunch, I set everything up, and afterwards, I tidied everything away.
I finished yesterday’s paperwork and nearly finished today’s. However, I won’t be here when they finish the final trailer. I will have to wait until I return tomorrow.
Arriving home tired. I wasn’t in the mood to meal prep. Mainly because I didn’t know what I wanted. However, I had an itch for some corned beef. And so I made sandwiches for the next couple of days.
And breakfast was the same as always:
No Yoga
There was no exercise today. Due to internet glitches. I wasn’t happy. So I made do by catching up with this blog and then publishing a book report.
But while I was updating the book report, I found a whole load of new items and options becoming available since I reconfigured my SEO app. This was a little stressful. I now have to learn some new things. And I have to give up on the idea of achieving a 100% SEO rating.
Thursday 6th
Tonight is going to be a busy night, and it is made even busier by another trailer arriving that isn’t on the schedule.
An email was sent out to everyone. And it annoyed me. The email claimed that the times we entered on the system were wrong. And I felt that it insulted everyone. I enquired back about trailers being dropped and swapped.
For now, I wait for a response.
Today I am cooking again, but today we have enough people to cover everything.
I grumbled about the paperwork being taken before it was ready. And then they left the paperwork from two days ago untouched. But I was happy I got to finish yesterday’s and today’s before leaving.
The loading bay is rammed, and I don’t know where everything will go when I come back in tonight. But for what it’s worth, everyone did a great job.
Interview
My wife has an interview today. It has been a while since she last had one. It isn’t her fault. She has been trying to find work for a long time.
I am unable to drive her to her interview. I need to sleep, and she will have to get the bus.
While I am trying to sleep, I hear a text message on the phone. Thinking it was the missus, I go and see. This is when I see the email. I am not pleased with this response. The answer does not make sense. Unloading the trailer is not the same as a departure time.
This has annoyed me. I will need to write a response later. But because of this, I can not sleep while I write an email in my head. I get out a notebook and pen. And attempt to write everything down to help ease my head so I can try to sleep.
My wife comes home. She disrupts my sleep. And tells me about her phone and her interview. I am glad she did okay. But now, I am screwed tonight, whatever happens.
Waking up. I feel like crap. I didn’t get enough sleep.
The yoga didn’t help as much as I wanted. But I don’t have enough time to do a longer session. I have to get ready for work.
Friday 7th
I am still writing and editing in my head. Even though I had already written it down in my notebook. I still spoke with my manager about it. They gave me some ideas that I could put in the email.
But first, I had some pallets to send out and some damaged items to deal with. I had to speak with recovery and ask about some of the stock that had been left behind on the bay.
The night ran pretty smoothly, and nearly everything was done by the time I came back from lunch.
A new notice board for assigning shifts was installed, replacing the tired old one. My manager had designed it.
There was a problem with the colour. We felt it didn’t fit the company palette. That’s our opinion.
The food delivery arrived. I couldn’t find anyone to unload it. So I jumped on a truck and unloaded it myself. And just before leaving, I worked with my fellow gatekeeper to unload the plant delivery. I took some photos to show the missus what came in.
At home, I rested for a while until it was time to go out again. The missus has a doctor’s appointment; nothing wrong, just a check-up and a prescription order.
Before leaving, I printed off a voucher for a gift card I won from the Postcode Lottery. It was only a fiver, but I can treat the missus to some Greggs. I won’t be using it today, but it’s ready when I need it.
At home, the missus went for a nap, and I watched some Star Trek and doom-scrolled for a while. I stayed up a little too late; I didn’t bother reading my books and went straight to sleep.
Saturday 8th
Waking up just around half midnight. I seemed to have slept well, and my head, even though it hurt a little, was coming down from whatever stress-related problems it was dealing with. Good enough; I will take it.
My wife told me that the YouView box had stopped working, and after some investigation, I found the cause. The hard drive was broken. It can’t be fixed. The program is on the hard drive, and unless I had access to the original software, I couldn’t fix it. The box has had a good run, so it was time to replace it.
We spent the next couple of hours searching for a newer model, but the missus has set her sights on the same model and has found one on eBay.
She went to bed and left me to have some bacon sarnies and watch some YouTube.
About half six, I went for a nap.
Three hours later, we were up, and eventually we were on the sofa still looking for a replacement box. We couldn’t make up our minds; however, I told the missus that she could still watch her programs online.
We searched for copies of Stephen King’s IT and found that Amazon was selling the latest edition in America. The missus could get one, but it would cost.
We gave up, and I watched my wrestling before going into the office to catch up on something.
Finally Relaxed
The morning was nice. I was relaxed and was not worried about getting my blogs done. Although it was in the back of my mind, I did have a video to create, but I didn’t feel the rush.
Settling in, I started with this blog, then drifted to my video, and at the same time, I got to work scanning all of the paperwork I have accumulated since last year. I completed the video quickly, uploaded it, and scanned some of my paperwork. And while I was doing that, I jumped over to sort my emails as well.
Over the next few hours, I slowly worked my way through the paperwork and caught up with my emails. Around eight in the evening, I had created another video and uploaded it, leaving me sorted for the next couple of weeks.
Sunday 9th
We woke up a little later than I wanted, but we were lucky that our Iceland delivery hadn’t arrived yet.
Putting it away when it arrived, we realised that we were still short on provisions. We didn’t want to, but we needed to go to Lidl and top up.
One of the items we bought for the missus, but the missus couldn’t eat it. There were sausages in it. And neither could I. It had beans in it. She thought it was a Greggs cheese and beans pasty, but we didn’t see the sausage part, and I don’t like beans. We could have chucked it in the bin, but as we left to go shopping, the missus thought it would be a good idea to offer it to next door. And they accepted.
I checked the post and found my new microSD card had arrived. And my annual road tax. I was told the Road Tax was going up. However, I am pleased the road tax did not go up.
To The Shops!
First stop: Boots. The missus needed her prescription. Boots closed as we arrived, so I decided it was as good a time as any to use the gift card I won.
We bought some food from Greggs. We lined up at the pharmacy inside Boots. They weren’t rushing to serve the customers.
Finally getting back to NeNe. We stopped and ate some of the food. We both hadn’t had breakfast. I finished off my bacon rolls. While my wife had her pizza, I then drove to Lidl.
It was a little busier than I would have liked, but that didn’t matter as we grabbed what we needed and a couple of extra things.
At home, we soon found out that shower screen seals came in different sizes, and we bought the wrong size.
Eventually, I got to prepping my food, but I only made breakfast and cheated on tonight’s meal. I ran out of time, and I still needed a bath before bed. I will cook tomorrow.
Greggs for dinner.
As I write this month’s blog. I am working out how this new setup works. It will add extra time to my editing, but it may be worth it.
Later than I wanted, I went to bed. But that wasn’t before I was looking at a new extension lead for the office.
I don’t think my knee appreciated today’s exercises:
Monday 10th
Work was at a nice, slow pace, and I didn’t need to rush anything. I had some items to get rid of, and I took my time to deal with them.
Going through my emails. They replied to my response. In the response, I found a discrepancy in the information they were telling everyone. The process they sent was the opposite of what they wanted. Of course, I had to make sure they, and others, knew about this.
What has made me so interested? In the initial email. It may not have been the intent. They insulted not just me but everyone who has been a gatekeeper and everyone who has worked in the area for years. The response to my first email back was just as bad. So I am a tad annoyed with them and want them stopped.
I had to cook again. They really should sort this out. It is becoming a regular occurrence instead of being a backup. That is what I should be.
After some thought, I decided to create a Teams chat. This would bring two departments together. We had different chats. But not one where everyone could speak to everyone at once.
After calling around to see if anyone was available, I jumped on a truck and tipped the food trailer.
Cicadas
When I sat down to relax on the sofa, I remembered I had a new video to share.
I decided to cook for three days instead of two, and I had made up my mind yesterday, but it was too late to cook. So today I made the following:
I will be getting up later than usual. I went to bed a little later and spent some extra time reading before finally nodding off.
Tuesday 11th
Just before midnight, I woke up, and my lower back wouldn’t let me go back to sleep, so I sat with the missus for a while.
As we sat. we were rudely interrupted by the police lights flashing outside our window. I peeked around the curtain; they had pulled someone over who seemed to think it was appropriate to be wearing pyjamas and a housecoat. I don’t know why the police pulled them over, but the lights didn’t make me feel great.
Glancing over my phone messages on my desktop, I see they have responded to my email. Claiming that they are in the process of changing company rules and regulations. What?!?! I will need to investigate this.
One of the benefits of waking up for an early shift is that I can do my exercises in the front room:
One of the things I’ve always liked when driving to work is the number of vehicles on the road at night. And even more so in the early hours of the morning. A nearly peaceful journey with some music in the background.
Breakfast
My workplace paid for my breakfast, which consisted of Philadelphia on toast. I have really got a taste for it.
I was sent to a zone to replenish pallets. A few people helped with a couple of pallets, and I finished my zone before my first break.
I double-checked the time of the course I would be doing later; I was half an hour short, so I had to take my lunch break a little earlier.
I spoke to my senior manager about the emails I have been writing, and they agree with me. However, they said they will need to speak to their manager about this. To work out how we proceed. The concern is: why does it feel like I’m the only one who has had to do anything to get any reaction?
I thought I would change it up a little. Knowing there could be some danger. On my lunch break in the picnic smoking area. I enjoyed it; however, I was right about the danger. I received a couple of bites on my left leg.
By the end of the Fire Marshal training, I was ready for bed. We did the practical of putting out a fire in controlled conditions. When we were done, I went home.
As it was already past my bedtime, I quickly watched the recent wrestling and finished a couple of chapters from my book.
I am still so tired that I ignored my alarm. Or was that part of a dream? But eventually I got up.
Getting up to date with this blog, the missus informed me about her day before I went on to do my exercises. This would be my second session today.
Wednesday 12th
I need to sort out my holidays. I haven’t booked enough days for the first part of the next working year. It has taken me some time to understand the benefits of having more holidays, more often throughout the year.
With the responsibilities I had in my previous job, I could go through a whole year without worrying about mental fatigue. I was basically a drone. But now I get mental fatigue more often due to the stress of the job. And that, in its own way, is a good thing. I need to get mentally stronger, and the stress helps with that, but that also means I need to take more breaks.
So while I tried to work that out, I continued with my day, and it went okay. A few problems popped up, as they always do. And slowly through the night I fixed them all, except for one that I will need to fix when I come back in tonight. A trailer arrived, and half of the stock was meant for someone else. Well, that’s half right. We were meant to get the stock, but the labelling meant it was destined for another place.
Arise
Waking up tonight, I’m still tired and having had a weird dream that I will probably forget later, but it is hanging around for a while.
I don’t have to worry about my book report, as I published earlier.
One surprise was that I was happy to see one of my build videos had returned with another video; it has been a while. So, I tried to watch that as I wrote this blog. This is making me behind, so I had to shorten my exercise for today.
Before work, I attempted to watch the latest edition of Jenna and Nicky while editing this blog. I failed. I will finish it in the morning.
My bites are shrinking, which is nice. My body is pushing out the poison.
In the canteen, I enjoyed my burned toast and Philadelphia with a cup of tea.
Thursday 13th
The trailers arrived late. Even with that minor delay, they were tipped at a reasonable pace.
Our bug zapper failed the PAT test. It will need retesting. My brother made sure that the management removed it.
So, I will now need to thank him for the nice bite I have on my face.
It’s Brain Time
I was asked to add some dates to my holiday yesterday. But I forgot how many holidays I had left. I had to work it out myself. A senior manager arrived and asked for their help. However, I soon discovered I could access this information on my time card from the third-party website.
With this information, I then had to work out how many days’ holiday I had by converting the holiday hours into the hours I work each shift. And this gave me a total of 30 days, which I thought was cool.
Removing the days I had already booked left me with 4 days to book. My manager already told me this. But I understood how I had those 4 days.
Next job, pick another holiday or two.
While I had a few minutes, I had a quick refresher on a counterbalance designed to remove bales from the compactors. I already know how to drive one. However, there is a new program at work, so everything is to be tested or retested. We will also be getting in some battery-powered walking pump trucks. So when they arrive, I will ask to be trained.
Nothing happened at home except that the missus has Hives. I have updates every five seconds.
We caught up on the latest Beard video, and a little while later. The missus went to stretch out on the bed, hoping to cool her hives.
Before I went to sleep, I caught up on my latest read and slept for as long as possible.
Friday 14th
After getting out of bed, I went to the office to catch up on my blog.
I had a couple of things stuck in my head. And, until I sorted them out, they wouldn’t leave me alone. So I did some research. And I sent a couple of links to my managers. Hoping that they might help.
I also searched for information about one of the books I am reading. I thought the author was using AI to write his book. But it turns out that the author was mocking AI by adding the work I noticed.
The sofa was calling, so I went into the other room, but before relaxing, I decided to meal prep for the next couple of days.
There was a little veg and mushrooms left over for a portion to eat now,
On to breakfast.
After all that creation, I made some sarnies. I sat down and watched Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.
I did enjoy the film. It was obvious where the story was going, but at the same time, we got to see how this all leads into The Legends of Korra.
One little obsession I am enjoying at the moment is this pot of cream cheese and garlic from Lidl. Give it a go if you have the chance. There are two other flavours.
During the night, I have been slowly finding more and more bites on myself. I found another on my head, one on my right and another on my right shoulder.
And I think I have just found another on my wrist. FFS!
I can now confirm I have been bitten on the finger as it has swollen up.
Continuing from earlier. I added music to my collection when I heard or saw something I enjoyed from my past or present.
As I was walking to the canteen before work to have my breakfast. I noticed my hand was swelling up.
Saturday 15th
Starting work. I informed my fellow gatekeepers about the new process. They don’t have to follow it. But I will maliciously comply until something goes wrong. They seem happy to follow along.
I was back in the kitchen tonight. They need to sort this out. I know I keep saying this. But take the hint.
The heat made me feel a little woozy. I sat down for a few minutes.
There is a new idea from the manager. It seems easy enough. I will need to practise.
At home, I presented the items I found in the plant trolley. Work left them outside for the employees.
I Don’t Want To Go
I finally started to relax at home when the missus said she wanted to pop to Tesco for an Evri drop-off. She then needed to get some medicine for her hives.
When we arrived, we found out the Evri booth was full and couldn’t take any more parcels. We proceeded to part two of the mission. We spoke to someone at the pharmacy. She directed us to what we may need.
I did another Google search on what I might need for my bites and symptoms. It came back with one recommendation from the shop staff and an item I haven’t used in years, but I knew would work. The missus got some antihistamine tablets, and I will use these as well.
Before leaving, I picked up a couple of things for breakfast.
Tesco is going through a facelift. The idea is sound, but I don’t like it.
We took a detour home as we still needed to drop off the parcel. I thought I remembered another location, but I was wrong, and we tried somewhere else. By chance, it was around the corner from where I thought it would be. I spotted it in a petrol station at Morrisons and got the parcel sent on its way.
As soon as I walked away from the fan blowing in the bedroom, the heat hit me. I don’t know where it’s coming from.
Walking to NeNe, the air is cooler. Why is it still hot indoors?
Sunday 16th
Before work, I received an email from my manager confirming my holidays. The dates in the email were wrong, and I got a bit anal about it. But it is for my own protection, just in case something goes wrong.
As I won’t be in for Christmas, my manager asked if I could work an open shift on New Year’s. This means I will be at work when the date changes and the fireworks go off. Writing this, I am just realising how far away it is.
I am happy I will have a longer Christmas this year. I want to plan something different. Let’s see what I can achieve.
The medication is working. I feel lighter than before, and my head is clearer.
There is some damage on the bay that I need to clear. And during the night, I made my way through it.
As I was clearing the food in the canteen. A colleague approached me. They asked for my help with a disciplinary matter. They asked me if I could join them at the next meeting.
The only condition I asked for was that the meeting be at a time we would both be in.
Paperwork done. Before leaving, I went and helped with the compactors and cleared most of the rubbish.
At home, I set myself the task of resting and putting the load in the washing machine.
After putting my clothes away, I went to bed to read. And when I was ready, I went to sleep.
Monday 17th
I woke up, feeling like crap. I was still tired. But I got up anyway. I was a couple of days behind on this blog. I needed to catch up. However, it took a while for me to feel a bit normal.
After a while, I was hungry. So I decided to make something, but instead made my lunch for the next couple of days. I am not making breakfast, but will have toast at work instead.
I am back writing my blog over an hour later, and I still haven’t eaten. Stop and get something, will you!
With some food, I watch some episodes of The Day of the Jackal. It is not a bad show; the MI6 officer needs a slap, but she is getting the job done.
The missus let me know my phone had been called and there was a message from the Union. I was expecting them, but I was asleep at the time. I will contact them in the morning. But before leaving, I made sure I knew their opening times.
Tuesday 18th
As work was a little light today, I was on a mission to find some information for a future project. The problem was that I couldn’t find what I was after. So I sent an email for help, and we will wait and see what happens.
As I was finishing my paperwork. I contacted Usdaw and spoke with them. I let them know the best times to contact me. And then it was time to leave.
My wife was waiting for me when I drove into the carpark. The missus has a meeting with a careers adviser at Lakeside, and before that, we needed some provisions.
So we popped to Home Bargains and Lidl. And finally, B&M.
Next stop: Tesco. We had some more parcels to deliver.
The final job was to drop off the missus in the Lakeside multi-storey car park, and then I was allowed to go home and put everything away.
I relaxed with something to eat and then watched some wrestling.
The missus arrived home just before I was going to bed. She told me that she had been stood up. So she won’t speak to them again.
I woke up a little groggy. But I will survive.
Do Better
I am not happy with the Usdaw rep who tried to contact me. After I contacted them this morning and gave them clear instructions on how and when to contact me, the rep called just before 6 pm. They left a message, and I can hear frustration and entitlement because, of course, I inconvenienced them.
After washing, I tried to calm down, update this blog and watch an extra video from Jenna and Nicky.
I found out something when I went to have breakfast at work. They charged for slices of bread. This is the first time I’ve learned about this. To say I am a little peeved. The price they charge is probably the price they pay for the loaf.
I will bring my own in the future.
Wednesday 19th
Had a good moan about this when I went downstairs to start work. They seemed just as shocked as I was when I told them.
A project my manager wanted me to continue. Today I realised I didn’t need to do it. We have a graphics department that can help us. So I got all the information, filled in a form, and sent it to their department.
Emotions got a little away from me when I got a phone call asking me to cook, and when I found out the time, I wasn’t happy. And I lost my rag a little. Directing it all at my manager.
Food was going to be late. I offered to put out some cold food. But they insisted on hot food. So I went up and cooked.
For lunch, I am trying out a new sauce with my dinner. The chicken is a little dry, and I have always wanted to give it a go. I can’t remember if I have had it before.
There doesn’t seem to be much of a taste to it. But it’s helping with lubrication.
Good news. I have finished my latest book club. It was also one of my T.B.R books. So I can choose my next book.
I spent the rest of the shift finishing paperwork. I got some more details about other jobs I will be getting experience in.
Catching up
At home, I made my dinner for the next couple of days and rested for a while before bed. This also included catching up with Beard Meats Food.
I am behind on my blogs. So I do what I can in the short amount of time I have. While I am working on this, I catch up with Jenna and Nicky.
By the time I leave, I have published another book report, but I am still behind on this blog.
As I entered the building, a trolley full of chipped vases was left for everyone. So I called the missus, and she had what she wanted.
Thursday 20th
Parking up at home, I tried to carry everything indoors at once and dropped a glass vase. It smashed near my car and a neighbour’s car. Clearing it up, I used my brush and ice scraper as a dustpan and brush and filled another vase with the debris.
Bacon
Waking up, it’s still light outside. I don’t like it. At the same time, I remembered that the canteen will be closed for the night, which means I can’t toast my bread. I am not sure what to do next.
I am thinking about sacrificing my bacon for some sarnies. But do I have enough time?
I am in a slump. I have been feeling it for days now, and I don’t know how to get out of it. Even as I am writing this, I should be doing something else, but my body doesn’t care. But it doesn’t matter; I have to move.
Before leaving, I made my bacon sarnies and wrote a little more before leaving for work. Today I am on an early shift; timing will be off.
I left for work with the sun setting in the distance. It looked nice.
Driving into work, I had to rethink my parking. I was blinded by the headlamps from the oversized car, which took up most of the space, leaving no space for me, so I moved somewhere else, annoyed.
Surprise
Walking into work, the security guard was wondering why I was there. I explained and headed to the customer canteen, where I would have my breakfast. It was disappointing. The cook staff hadn’t left anything out for tea or coffee.
As I walked in to start work, I saw someone bringing out a trolley of plants. I will need to investigate this later. One trailer showed up early. And we made a start on it. Another showed up that wasn’t on the system. This had to be rejected, but I made sure I got a copy of their paperwork before sending them away.
Friday 21st
Two hours into my shift, and everything seems to be going okay. I’ve sorted out the board showing where everyone will be working, and we finally have a plan for the hot food.
I have no reason to worry. Everyone is more than capable, and they don’t need me looking over their shoulder.
I then find out that a couple of the trailers are swapped. One of the trailers from today’s list has been moved to tomorrow, and we are being sent one from yesterday that didn’t show up.
Break time. I popped outside, grabbed a few plants and placed them in NeNe.
One of the coworkers is having mental health problems, so I do what I can to make sure they feel okay to stop and take a break.
The night went smoother than it could have been. But I was still glad to hand over the reins when my senior manager showed up.
The plan is to have a nap. But my body slept a little longer. I’m more tired than I thought. I woke up with a headache five hours later.
Pain
The glasses have come out.
The missus made me a cup of tea, and I try to relax. I have things to catch up on. So for now, that isn’t going to happen.
Some food helps a little later. However, I can’t get into working at all. So I stop, rest and watch a couple of shows.
I pretty much gave up doing any more. So when it was time, I went to bed.
Saturday 22nd
I had a bee in my bonnet, and I need to get a couple of things sorted. The first thing to sort out was the room divider. Then buying the part for NeNe.
Making sure I was as close to O.E.M (Original Equipment Manufacturer) as possible, I matched the part numbers and found what I was looking for.
But even then, I was umming and ahing about whether to buy it. My track record with buying car parts is not great. And it is a lot of money. But I gave in and bought it.
When the wife finally woke up. I showed her some ideas for the divider. I said she could pick the curtain to go with it. This was something she liked.
Later on, I went into the office. And made a start on my next video.
While making the first video, I was having trouble with how the audio worked together. The only way I could fix this was to get a ruler out and measure the distance between each connecting sound. And it actually worked. I was pleased with myself.
In the end, I completed two videos. I uploaded both to be published for the next couple of Mondays.
For dinner, I tried out the tinned food versions of macaroni cheese and spaghetti bolognese from Lidl. I will not be trying them again. But I relaxed and watched a couple of the latest Star Trek episodes.
Sunday 23rd
I went to bed later than expected and watched one more episode from the day of the Jackal series before giving up.
I didn’t get a full night’s sleep. But I slept enough to see me through until I go back to bed later.
When I was ready, I cooked my meals for work:
I am trying something different as my tastes change. This was going to be an experiment, over several attempts, to work out the consistency and how I like my porridge.
The plan was to update this blog, but I ended up nearly finishing my book report.
I tried out a new Yogi today. Her technique is to slowly kill you without you knowing it. So good job!
I added some more albums to my collection. Ones that have been sitting in the back of my mind.
I spoke to a fellow candidate going for union rep. They told me they hadn’t started the 100 words. The union had sent an email asking for this. So, I helped with an issue with their dates and sent a copy of my 100 words. So they would have a basic idea of what to write.
Porridge for breakfast wasn’t the greatest of meals, but it worked. I may need to add more to satisfy me, but it was okay.
Monday 24th
Walking into work tonight, I find one trailer already set up and ready to go.
I did wonder why two trailers from yesterday were placed on the list. When I checked, they hadn’t been re-booked.
I have been asked to work on an inventory count. A task that will require me to take my time to make sure I get everything.
I had a feeling, and I was right; I was sent to cook. And I think it went okay.
There was no rush today, and I left work feeling no stress. But I left the coordinator with the plant delivery. I gave them a brief description of how to complete the form. But I also made sure that everything was prepared for them.
At home, I rested and waited for my delivery to arrive.
The only problem I have found is that there aren’t any fast-charging slots. But it has tidied my wires a little bit. I haven’t built the curtain divider yet; we still need to buy some curtains.
I am waiting on one more item to be delivered. But it won’t be coming today.
Because I Think
I woke up. I had a nightmare. After a while, I understood where it originated from. A question I asked myself before falling asleep from one of my books I am currently reading.
I am currently reading a book on witchcraft. The section I am reading is about using conjuring circles and then creating portals. The portals are for the deities of the different elements to come through. I wondered what would happen if the deities stayed too long or if you never closed the portals.
My dream was about an evil spirit trying to take over our home. As IT got stronger, it tried to take over the area around our home as we tried to escape.
IT seemed to be the character of the evil spirit.
Wednesday 25th
The manager from upstairs was down and in control; I had to assert a little dominance. For some reason, it worked. We were busy today with the number of trailers coming in. The manager promised me I wouldn’t be cooking. However, right at the last minute, they changed their mind.
Apart from that, the amount of work we had to get through went smoothly.
That was until my knee gave out on me. I don’t feel the cold unless it is really cold, and until it gets to that point, I am none the wiser. So I was a little shocked when my knee started buckling. It took a few hours, but eventually it slowly went back to normal.
A Helping Hand
A question from an email popped up. I answered. This was a question that a manager should’ve answered. But I answered anyway. I knew a little about what they were asking and did my best to answer.
They came down afterwards, and we had a conversation. They were more surprised that someone answered than anything else. My help brought up more questions. But I couldn’t help with them any further.
Two days of paperwork were completed by the time someone from upstairs came to collect it. I was happy I finished yesterday’s without having to go upstairs to find it.
At home, the missus was preparing for her interview, and I was nervous for her. So much so that I was having trouble sleeping. I was having to resort to reading a few more pages of my book to relax.
Waking up groggy. The missus is telling me again about what happened today and then disappears after getting me a cup of tea. I will need to pop to the shop in the morning as we are low on provisions.
Trying someone new today. Her accent put me off a little.
I tried to catch up on this blog before leaving. Tomorrow is book report day. It’s ready to be published.
There was another trolley of plants for everyone to rummage through. So I grabbed a few and put them in NeNe and then went to have breakfast.
Wednesday 26th
Today was going to be a busy one. There was no one from management. The work board wasn’t set up. So nobody knew what their jobs were. With some help, we worked together and sorted this out.
One good thing for tonight: no cooking. I was then able to continue my job without interruptions.
The system screwed up. To deal with this, a coworker printed a list of stock needed from around the store.
One trailer didn’t show up, and we didn’t care. We were happy we were able to get the job done without any problems.
Progress… It’s About Time
A big change for me. I am not wearing a hat.
The past couple of nights, before leaving for work, I haven’t gone straight for a hat. So I am testing that theory, and I lasted the whole night. There were times I wanted to put it on. And I felt the odd pang from my eye, and the light sensitivity jumped in for a turn, but I did really well. Of course, I had a hat at hand for when it got too much, but for the first time in a long time I did okay.
For those who don’t know. I have problems with mental health. My hats are my comfy blanket. It has helped contain my stress and slowed down my chances of having a panic attack. It also helped reduce possible migraines that can be caused by stress and light sensitivity.
To everyone else, I am the guy who wears hats.
No rest at home; we had to go shopping as we were short on a few things. So we popped to Lidl. And then headed home.
I didn’t know the doorbell had rung as I was watching The Day of the Jackal, season 1. The missus told me when I got into bed.
My new arrivals:
Head is clearer tonight.
It was time to pick out a new book to read. And there seems to be good news with Jenna and Nicky.
I received a message from my brother. He told me work had put a couple of trolleys of plants again. So when I arrived that evening. I went over with the missus on my phone. And she picked out what she wanted, and I put them in NeNe.
Thursday 27th
A change of pace for me today. My job for today was to work on the shop floor and replenish pallets. A fellow gatekeeper took over. Honestly, I was glad, even though I was still working. I was getting some time off from the mental stress of gatekeeping.
Nothing but some heavy lifting, blasting some music and relaxing for a while.
It didn’t last long. In less than three hours, is all it took to get my work done. I then had to wait the rest of the shift to have three more pallets to put out.
I spent my time reviewing my emails and replying to those who needed replies. There was an assessment form to fill out. And as I was doing this, a manager asked me to put some pallets away on a truck that had bits and pieces all around the store. We call them mixed pallets.
Back home, I rested. When it was time, I went to bed. We have no word on whether the wife got the job yet.
Friday 28th
I woke up an hour before midnight. After a drink of water, I went to my office to catch up on my blogs. This didn’t last long. I was distracted by a name. This led me to search for music for my mp3 player and make sure I found the right information and product to fix another thing wrong with NeNe.
The missus came in and told me everything that happened with her plants, which didn’t help my already tired head.
She eventually went to bed, and I had to get my beanie. My head needed compression.
I ate and watched the first part of a new Batman animation trilogy. It is based on a famous story from the comic books.
I got a bit behind. There was a plan. And I set it in motion. And then it wasn’t. I don’t know what happened… Actually, I did. I was stuck online. Looking for a cylinder lock, for NeNe. I was there for a few hours. Researching takes a long time.
So I made breakfast for tonight and started dinner. I have decided that breakfast can change every day, but dinners are set when I make them.
So tonight it is cereal:
There is an update on the condition of the new recuses and the new plant. Well, photos anyway:
I cocked up by putting the timer on the oven but not turning the oven on. So, I had to put the chicken in for another 40 minutes.
The chicken stunk the place out with garlic and herbs that covered the chicken.
There was a text from the dentist. I then realised that I am going to miss book club.
I should have gone to bed by now, but I got wrapped up putting my music on the new SD card.
Saturday 29th
It’s nearly the end of the month. It shouldn’t feel weird, and I don’t know why it does. And it feels a little bit off putting that date on work forms.
It is a busy night. For a Saturday. The powers that be want to shove as much stock on us as possible. But we get on with it and do well. We do get some help when a couple of trailers do not show,
I cooked again. But I think I’m a problem. Later in the day, I read an email about having free food options for employees when I am cooking. This will be nice for everyone. This could benefit me in the long run by reducing the amount of times I cook.
We will come full circle. We will go back to how it all started.
I checked the paperwork for any mistakes and fixed them. And because of some outside interference. We have to check that the paperwork is up to date weekly instead of daily. Ensure certain information is uploaded.
Sunday 30th
No management is in tonight. So when I arrived, I thought I would have to step up. But I was happy to find that someone else had got in there before me. And to be honest, they do a better job than I do anyway.
Everything was laid out for me, and I got on with my many jobs.
It doesn’t feel like it, but I seem to be getting the LOCAL LOCALS. My mind is still going foggy when I approach the job. And anything that seems similar, but I am slowly getting it, and the fog is clearing. Slowly, but it is getting there. It may be that I am overthinking it. Making it look harder than I think it is. Because I am expecting something more complicated.
Support comes from the senior manager. And I speak with them about getting a similar or the same model as the kitchen has. They would also like me to suggest some books for the next vote. The genre this time is Romance, but we need to find some books that aren’t just smut.
Getting home I decide to get everything done before relaxing and treating myself with a frozen pizza and some wrestling.
Chicken
I have made a decision. I will not be buying the chicken again that I had recently for dinner. The butter or sauce on the chicken is too rich, and I don’t think the toilet is happy with the overtime.
I woke up just after 10, and after getting a drink, I went to my office and tried to get on with the blog. But instead, I checked everything else and decided to go shopping.
When I was at work this morning, I was thinking of getting a second speaker I could carry with my MP3 player. It had to be small enough to fit in the same case I have my player in.
It took a while but I eventually found one.
Monday 31st
The wife has gone to bed. I bought my speaker. When I was ready, I came into the front room and slouched on the sofa.
I doom-scrolled for a while, and when I was ready, I returned to the blog. The publish day is getting close, and I need to get it done.
I wanted to update the blog but got stuck editing instead. This takes up a lot of my time. So I’m behind on other things that I should be doing.
I did try to watch some wrestling while I edited, but I couldn’t get behind it. So I stopped for now.
One of the items on the list is this week’s video:
Dinner tonight is going to be really basic:
The missus received an email. It informed her she didn’t get another job. She is upset and rightly so. She has more than enough experience and could easily do anything they put in front of her. I’m not just saying this because I’m her husband. She genuinely is that good. But they will never know.
I sent an email back through the missus’s account, asking for feedback. Whether they answer or not, we will see. I am disappointed.
When this happened, I was reading in bed. So I went back and went to sleep.
While getting ready, I prepared my breakfast for work and realised that I may have screwed up my purchase. It is all about the Bluetooth technology level. I was after version 5.2 or higher, but when I checked, I saw version 4.2.
I am hoping my MP3 player is compatible.
Thanks for coming by. I’ll see you next month.
