My Life That Happened in #27
Episode #26
… December 2025
Monday 1st
First night back at work, and nothing has arrived to be tipped. I found a couple of problems from previous shifts while I was away. By the end of the day, I found solutions to fix them. I was even able to make a small dent in the things left behind by the past gatekeeper. I still have a long way to go, but I will get there.
At home, I had two projects: finish sharing my latest video and complete and publish last month’s life blog. I have had to do both at the same time, but I did it with the only consequence being that I had to go to bed a little later than normal.
Waking up, I found an email which may help with one of my tasks at work. I need access to a part of a website so I can upload some paperwork, and it looks like it is finally happening.
Tuesday 2nd
Today was a nice, even-paced day. I was able to get into the other room and nearly clean it out completely. There are only a few things left, and also some paperwork to sort out, but I am happy with what I have achieved.
After getting home, I sorted myself out and headed back out to work as it was Book Club day. There were more attendees than normal, and we had a new member. One brought mince pies, and we enjoyed them while discussing the book.
We have decided on the next book, and we will read it for next month’s meeting.
At home, I was a bit flustered by everyone asking me for things while I was trying to finish my one job and publish, and I ended up going to bed later than I wanted. But eventually I went to bed and read to relax my head a bit.
The final Christmas present has arrived, so I don’t have to worry about that anymore.
I was awake, but my wife came into the bedroom to tell me of two losses in the family. We have to wait and see when the funeral will be, and I will need to speak to someone at work for time off.
I fell back to sleep and awoke later to notice I had tweaked my collarbone, so I am in pain now.
Wednesday 3rd
I spoke to someone at work about needing to take some time off in the future to attend the funeral.
The shift itself was okay, even if trailers turned up late or not at all. At one point, I did have a drop of fatigue, but I was able to bring myself back and last the rest of the shift.
I am not well. I’m aware of this, and my wife and brother have also noticed this. But I am not doing anything that really helps. And when I’m about to, something comes up.
So, for today, I am going to try to sleep as much as possible.
Thursday 4th
I didn’t get enough sleep. I’m on the verge, but I am not quite there. My brother is expecting me, but I overslept, and now he is a bit pissed about it. I made a promise, and I am going to keep it. Just after one in the morning, I drive over and see him for an hour. A present from the missus, a couple of her cuttings that have rooted.
In return, I have taken all of his books that he wants rid of, and I will take them to the free library at work.
At home, I rested as best as I could and forgot about everything. It was nice, and then realisation kicks in that the world and life are still there, and I will have to get up and get on with it. So, I make my meals for work and mentally prepare for the next shift.
Friday 5th
Work was stressful. Too many cooks, but the cooks were needed. I dealt with it as best as I could. I also have to be trained on something I should have been taught a very long time ago. One aspect made me happy. Those books from my brother, I brought them in and allowed people to take what they wanted. I found a couple of books I like the look of. At the end of my shift, I emailed the people in charge of the Book Club, telling them about the books. They emailed back saying they would collect them.
At home, my new lunch boxes arrived. They aren’t amazing, but they should be better, as they won’t scratch so easily, which makes the ones I use at the moment scruffy. And they will be harder to stain.
Saturday 6th
Another night of work, and it’s a lot more relaxed than the day before. We had a mystery with a plant’s delivery that was eventually solved. And we slowly mellowed our way through. I completed some more of the paperwork, but I will need to finish the rest tomorrow, and I am finally getting the idea of something I needed access to and training for.
Before leaving, I spoke to someone about my First Aid audit duties and asked if it was okay if I stepped away from them, as my other responsibilities were making it hard to find the extra time to complete them. They said it would be okay. Which I was glad for.
When I got home, the wife was nearly ready to go out. I got changed, and we headed to Lakeside. I had some problems with my glasses. And we needed some toiletries.
The wife wanted to wait half an hour so she could try out the McDonald’s Grinch promotion. I didn’t, and I wasn’t going to wait to spend stupid amounts of money on nothing. So we went home and had food at home. I should feel bad, but I can’t get over the latest craze: McDonald’s socks.
If the missus is determined, we can get them at a later date.
Sunday 7th
Another easy day at work, we only had one delivery. As I wasn’t needed for gatekeeping for most of the night, I went picking on a forklift truck and collected pallets from the racking, placing them in the different work areas. One of the areas got overloaded, so after all the picking was done and lunch, I went and helped them finish off.
I am also happy I finally finished all of the paperwork left by the previous gatekeeper. There were some defects, so I left them for the managers to sort out.
As part of my duty manager training, I have been asked to come in early and maybe shadow and learn how to run a shift. Sounds like fun.
I managed to finish uploading my newest video for tomorrow.
The new book club book I am reading is good, and I am zooming through it. I am thinking that if I finish it and I still like it, I might get the sequel and see if I can finish that by the next book club meet-up.
Waking up after 10 p.m., the missus had made us both a cup of tea. I eventually made something to eat while we sat down and watched some of her vlogs.
Monday 8th
I picked out a couple of videos, and she went to bed as we had to pop into Lakeside to collect some deliveries that had been posted.
So I have been left to my own devices, and while she sleeps, I continue with some doomscrolling, and eventually, I write my many blogs. I am having trouble writing my latest book report as I don’t know what to write. The book was good, but it didn’t provide much detail for me to think about. And by Jove, I think I have it.
I prepared for my next shift at work, and when my wife woke up, we headed to West Thurrock to buy some provisions. The wife was shocked to find that her favourite coffee was back on sale at Tim Hortons. She had only been waiting a year for its return.
We then went to Lakeside to pick up some parcels, and the wife was able to have her Grinch McDonald’s socks meal.
I was a little annoyed when I woke up. In my Amazon shopping cart, I placed a book to buy later. But of course, someone else bought. So I had to search online for another copy. Without much luck, the wife suggested Vinted, so I checked and, lo and behold, I found one cheaper than Amazon.
Tuesday 9th
It was a little stressful at work as I walked into things not being done and the manager not knowing how to do things completely. So I took over my section and slowly worked my way through all the problems. With the help of my extra gatekeeper, I was able to catch up and deal with some of the jobs that had been sitting around for I don’t know how long.
The only problem: I was so wrapped up in dealing with several things, I forgot about the drivers a couple of times.
A bit of danger occurred while unloading a trailer; a loud bang happened that echoed around the building. It turns out that the air bag blew under the trailer. I went outside to investigate and saw the airbag ripped in half.
Wednesday 10th
I don’t know what is going on, but today was bad: Damaged stock. A learner driver had a meltdown, so I had to step in and tell him to get off the truck and go and rest. I had to control myself before I had an attack.
The trailer companies told us they weren’t coming, but they still sent two trailers anyway. Rain coming through a hole in the roof destroyed a pallet.
But when the job was done. I had some stock damage that still needed to be moved, but I can get to it later.
At home, I showed the missus an email newsletter from work about a piece written about me, connected with the books I donated from my brother. She wasn’t impressed. It’s just books.
My orders haven’t been delivered yet. The door entrance intercom isn’t working, so unless we are listening out for them, they can’t do their job.
Thursday 11th
Today was a little less stressful, but we still had a load arrive that was due tomorrow, which was nice of them to do. We did well, but we needed a third driver on the bay.
For some reason, my knee decided today was the day I would be limping around and have spasms of pain every so often.
I have been noticing that I am being included in more things, nothing major: some extra work discussions, emails and more. It does feel weird. I do like it, but at the same time, I am having to learn more. This isn’t a bad thing, but a new experience.
When I got home, I had to fix a tear in my trouser pocket. I went to help as a pallet had fallen over. I had my flask in the pocket at the time, and as I pulled the pallet up, my leg and flask in the pocket got caught between another pallet and tore the pocket apart. My flask has a little dent, but it isn’t connected to the drinking area of the cup.
I did a pretty good job. It’s not completely fixed, but the majority of it is done.
My new hat has arrived. It’s a little tight, but my big head will stretch it out eventually.
Friday 12th
There was more than enough work for tonight, and I was surprised by how smoothly it went. We did more than normal whilst dealing with more stock than we needed.
I was still a little stressed and ended the shift mentally fatigued, but it was manageable. And we got through another shift unscaved.
I forgot to update certain information as it was added at the end of the previous shift, and I was unable to fix it at the time. But I was still spoken to about it.
I started my day off by completing my routine and eventually went to bed.
Saturday 13th
It started as every other day off with doomscrolling. I had a plan, and that hadn’t started. I took a nap a few hours later and was up when the missus needed to pop out to Lakeside for a few things.
I’m behind on my blogs, and I don’t know how to catch up. Yes, I do know, but I am in a mental state that says I don’t.
Driving to Lakeside, the missus picked up and dropped off a parcel. We had a wander around and went to McDonald’s. And after eating our breakfast in Ne Ne, we headed to IKEA. She had an itch for some more plants and tiny vases.
Returning home, I had an idea to get my travel laptop out and work on my blogs in the bedroom. After many attempts, I managed to complete one blog and begin another.
It got to a point where I was unable to continue, so I decided to watch a movie. I was able to acquire the latest Knives Out film and the Doctor Who spin-off. During my viewing, the wife came whilst having an attack. She lay by me while she went through it. We weren’t feeling great, and so we went to bed.
Sunday 14th
Waking up, still not feeling great, but better than I was, or so I thought. I prepared for my next shift at work and tried to finish my next video.
But during this, I had been arguing with my wife and trying to contain myself, and as I turned to walk away, my wife asked if I was okay, and I turned back around and had a full-on panic attack. I haven’t had one this strong in a very long time.
Lying on the floor after collapsing. I thought it had ended quickly, but as soon as I was moving to sit up, another wave hit and knocked me for six.
After a long time, I eventually got back up, but I was exhausted. I finished my video, uploaded it and then went to bed. I was under the impression I was okay.
My dreams brought back an old dream where I was unable to fix a problem, but in returning to the dream, I was able to find a solution. I have no answer to what the solution was, but I was happy with it being over.
Not Well Enough
Waking up with a massive tension headache and getting up and walking around, I was unstable, and at one point, I was back on the ground again until I was able to walk. It also looks like I am also ill. I think I am at the end of a cold or flu, but completely missing the beginning and middle part of the illness.
Finally, after listening to what my wife had been saying I should do all day, I phoned work and called in sick.
I went back to bed and read my latest book for a while, and the wife came in and offered a cup of tea.
From there, I went back into the front room and got comfy on the sofa. Closing my eyes, not to sleep but to rest. Meanwhile, the wife continued with her Vlogs.
Monday 15th
The wife went to bed, and I stayed on the sofa doomscrolling. My headache hasn’t gone away, but I managed to eat and drink something. But it was hard going when trying to eat a shortbread.
When I got tired of Doomscrolling, I collected my reading light and read my book.
This continued until I decided to write my blog, and my wife woke up.
Feeling stronger, the wife wanted to go out to deliver some of the items she had sold on her Vinted account. We also needed a few things from Lakeside. To tell you how ill I was. We popped into Waterstones, and I didn’t walk out with anything. The wife did buy something, though.
Back home, we rested, and later on, I went to bed.
Tuesday 16th
A stressful day. There were a lot of trailers that came in, and I did well to keep up and have things ready for the next shift. The only thing I couldn’t do was the paperwork for the day I was on. I ran out of time as I had a meeting with upper management. I’m not sure why my fellow duty-trained colleague and I were there, except maybe to show us off. I did give my sixpence worth when an item came up that annoyed me. My manager was asked to speak about my progress so far.
I ended up leaving work later than expected. I’m hoping I didn’t overstep, but I do think now, and then, the place I work for may need it. My manager did reassure me that I did okay.
There is also the possibility that we might have a trip next year to see how things work in another warehouse.
Wednesday 17th
Not a good start. The manager from upstairs started our shift, thinking that it was a good idea to have the trainee gatekeeper in charge and running the whole loading bay area, and didn’t have a clue what I should do.
So I was pissed by this and knew to ignore what he said and did what I needed to do to get the shift running smoothly. When a manager turned up knowing what to do. I explained everything, and they did think it was funny.
The night had many hurdles to jump over: from management and my job. But I believe I got away with it.
Finally getting home. It had suddenly gotten very cold by the end of the workday. The wife wanted to send out some more things she had sold, and I used this as an excuse to get more medicine. The only problem seemed to be that my illness had reset itself. I had waited too long between doses.
Now my illness is in full swing. My wife loves my sneezing and coughing. She particularly finds my runny nose really attractive.
Thursday 18th
It’s my night off, so I will do what I always seem to do. Sit on the sofa, relax and try to heal from whatever it is. Eventually write this blog and get round to getting ready for my next shift, and take my drugs when required.
A colleague at work tempted me to buy a book, but the condition of the sleeve, even with the discount, wasn’t going to make me buy it. The Author had signed the books, but every book sleeve, from every book, was crumpled.
Waking up for work was hard. I was snug in bed, and with the temperature drop, getting out of bed caused me to have problems breathing.
Friday 19th
I managed to finish my most recent book. It was dense, but I enjoyed my Star Trek story written forty-one years ago. I am not sure if all of it is canon, but… Meh!
Waking up for work, we had nearly run out of ibuprofen and needed a top-up, so on the way to work, I popped into Tesco quickly, and on my way around the shop, I picked up a cheap flask cup and some Cuppa Soups.
I needed a boost.
Saturday 20th
I enjoyed my Cuppa Soup while I worked. I even offered a sachet to a manager, but one wasn’t taken in the end. Their loss!
Too much stock is being sent to us. And because of this, we are having a hard time keeping up. We are at a point where we have had to hold a trailer full of stock. Rolling it over to the next shift.
I was approached by one of the cooks trying to get some time off tomorrow. Asking if I could cook. I said I was fine with it, but they had to ask the right people. My manager is one of those people. But in the end, they were denied.
I began my next book on my break, and I’m trying to get some extra brownie points with my book club. Okay, maybe showing off is a better term. I have started the sequel to the Book club book. It was mostly to see if it’s any good, but also I realised that I don’t have to wait years to read the sequels, and I plan to read at least one every month.
Sunday 21st
Another night of the game, where is the stock going to go? Arranging the drivers as they arrive and making sure that the priority drivers are seen first.
One of my colleagues seems to be on their “time of the month.” Acting like a bitch. So I stayed away.
It turns out that a member of staff could be in big trouble. The staff member who requested time off called in sick. So I was forced into cooking. I had seen the menu, and I was a bit dubious about getting involved with it.
They all seem to keep forgetting I am not a cook. I can, but I generally cook from packets. And I proved this by burning the gravy. I wasn’t happy with the outcome. I made a point of telling everyone the situation. But I think they mostly enjoyed it anyway.
Monday 22nd
The wife eventually went to bed, and I was left doomscrolling. I was days behind with my blogs, and by just gone midnight, I was still uploading my latest video.
It’s only a few days left until Christmas, and I don’t seem to really care. There is no real Christmas spirit, and even I, as an atheist, know when spirits are up. The atmosphere in the air is always different, but this year, all the energy has been flattened, a veil of depression.
I am catching up with myself as I am days behind on this blog. I am still finding a use for my book reading light so I can write in the dark in the front room. It is less cramped.
Even though I am still having breathing problems, I am going without painkillers tonight, allowing for my body to heal as naturally as possible. I have to make sure I don’t get too excited.
Before bed, I had made my meals for the next couple of days. For some reason, I had a massive headache and decided to go to bed early. I didn’t even read my book and slept from around 11 am til 9 pm.
Tuesday 23rd
The night was spent finding a suitable location to store all the stock. In the end, we gave up and placed it all in the loading bay.
Back home, I had to go to bed early as I was needed in at work a couple of hours earlier than normal.
There was only one delivery for tonight, and we weren’t going to tip it. Our focus was to move as much stock off the bay, onto the shop floor, into the racking, making as much space as possible.
Wednesday 24th
The load arrived, and I tried to continue with my task. I also managed to complete my paperwork and prepare paperwork for the next couple of days from Boxing Day.
All the jobs were finished early, as everyone left. I stayed back a few more minutes to update and print off the paperwork. Before leaving work, around four in the morning. I called my brother to see if he was up and to ask if it was okay to drop off the presents. He was up and fine with me popping over.
I had bought him a set of noise-cancelling headphones. He had been asking for some Buddha bead bracelets, and after searching on Aliexpress, found a large collection of them. As a bonus, I bought him a watch. The same one I bought for myself, the F91w.
He had bought a load of different items that the missus and I could decide later what we wanted. You can never tell what randomness you will receive from my brother, which is an adventure in itself. He was also having problems transferring his CDs to the computer. So I fixed the problem and, in the end, went home to rest.
Today was going to be a long day, so after settling at home, I had a nap and prepared for the day. I would have liked to have got out earlier, but we were on the wife’s schedule, so things happened when they happened.
Going Outside
We headed to the Lidl and bought some provisions. We noticed that my stepfather was working there as security, and so we ignored him and continued with our shop. Finally, we popped next door to Home Bargains, and I was happy to find the 2-in-1 Dove that I had lost contact with a few months ago.
Next stop the crematorium, to visit the father-in-law. We didn’t stay too long; Doing what we needed to do. We cleaned up the plaque, laid down some new flowers for him and placed some in a memorial for the other we miss. The weather was getting bad, so we returned to the car, and I texted to see if my sister was up for a visit.
After catching up with my sister and delivering her presents, we headed home, relaxed as much as possible, and ended the day with a Chinese meal.
Thursday 25th
We were in no rush to get up this morning. But we eventually did and slowly woke up. We looked at what we got for Christmas, and everything was a pleasant surprise.
I hadn’t bought anything else for the missus as I got her dream present last month. But I did give her the option to go on a shopping spree. With a limited budget, of course.
I was quite surprised that she didn’t need to use all of it, and now we wait for the pressies to arrive.
My sister bought the missus a Nightmare Before Christmas blanket, which is now on the bed.
My wife bought me a new watch for my collection. I also received a watch from my brother. The wife was concerned because I bought the same watch for my nephew. Having to explain that I was glad to get the watch, and I would have got it myself eventually.
What Did I Get?
I also received some pins and a hardback copy from the Didly Squat series. She was disappointed to find out that the book had had some water damage. But I am happy nonetheless. Lastly, the missus bought me a hat. She snuck on to my Vinted favourites and saw one she liked. Removing it from my page. Cheeky!
The watch my brother bought me. The strap is too big. I will need to fix that. I will need to learn how.
As the wife was shopping, I thought I would treat myself to a new watch. And in the end, I bought two. One was an evolved version of my A158W, the A168W. I also purchased the original version on my W218H. There is already an inverted version in my collection. I will be picking that one up tomorrow.
The wife bought some new plants, some plant medium and a new IT Pennywise bag.
I went to continue wth my blogs while the missus watched the Gremlin movies. We sat down together to have dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening. We even had chocolate Gateau. The wife also enjoyed her bottle of WKD.
But it got to the point where I was too tired, and I had no choice, even though it was still early to go to bed.
Friday 26th
I was up around 5 am after sleeping nearly ten hours. I doomscrolled on the sofa and finished off the pork balls and the last of the pork joint from yesterday’s roast. And waited for the wife to wake up. She wasn’t in the best of spirits due to a hangover.
The missus was in no mood to leave her nest. But we needed to get some fresh air, and I used the excuse that we could visit a garden centre, which hooked her line and sinker.
We went to Sainsbury’s, they have an Argos inside, and I picked up my new watch. We then headed to Smith’s only to find out it was closed. Google had said otherwise. We then went to IKEA to see if they had any plants worth looking at. They didn’t. But the missus still found a couple of things to take home with us. I had a sudden thought of another place to visit, only to find B&Q closed as well. So we came home.
We had a cold meal with some mashed potatoes, and much later we relaxed in front of the TV. We watched a couple of episodes of Stranger Things before I forced myself to bed.
Saturday 27th
Nothing really happened today. We stayed at home and completed the tasks that needed to be done. I started and finished my latest video and nearly completed my next book report.
After viewing a video yesterday, I was able take some of the links from the watch my brother bought me. So I am now happy with the fit.
We ate, and I was thinking of going to read my book when my wife decided that we should finish what we had of the latest Stranger Things series.
I seemed to be hooked as I couldn’t stop looking at Casios. I don’t know what is next for my collection.
Sunday 28th
The last of my days off has worked well for me in the long run. For now, it has come to an end, and I need to prepare to go back to work.
I have been able to heal, sleep better and help my head. I am hoping I can do more of the same and help get my mental health back to near 100%.
Monday 29th
What is going on at work? Something needs to be done about the amount of stock being sent to our store. We have one trailer that is to roll over for the next night. One that we had to reject and one that didn’t show up, but that still didn’t matter, as we still have too much stock. As I prepared the paperwork for tomorrow, I discovered there are even more trailers planned than we had today.
And while I am sorting the trailers’ paperwork as they come in, I find out that the cook for the night has phoned in sick again, and I am the only one available.
But in the end, with no managers in for the night, we dealt with it all as best we could, and we did okay.
Tuesday 30th
Another busy night, which was helped by trailers that were rebooked for another day. I even got to reject a trailer. Building my experience. But we still have too much stock and not enough staff.
I was nearly called on to cook again, but I was lucky that the person I was backing up was in, so they were able to take over. I was even able to help on the shop floor after I had finished the paperwork.
At home, I didn’t realise that I hadn’t finalised my purchase of what my wife ordered on Christmas Day. She was getting worried that there had been no email confirmation. So, after finding out why I bought the plants, it also spoiled it a little, as I had snuck in an extra one and she had to see it this time round.
Before going to bed, I realised that I needed to finish and publish this blog in a couple of days, and I wasn’t ready.
Wednesday 31st
A bit of good news, a previous colleague whom I thought I would never see again. Beat the system and was back at work.
Work started a little differently as someone had been given a scare, which led to a panic attack. I spent the first hour and a half of the shift sitting with the colleague, helping them through the process, explaining what was happening to them, and what could happen. Telling them the best way to go through it, but at the same time, they must work out what they want to do.
We did call for an ambulance I knew that wouldn’t come. But it helped ease them enough for them to go home and rest.
Going back to my normal duties to find paperwork needing to be caught up with, but the trailers were being tipped.
I rejected a trailer and had to deal with an email from them asking why it had to happen. But we got through it all. I am just glad I have a day off now.
As I went to bed, my watch arrived, and I was not happy. It made me sceptical of how real the watch was. One of the problems with Casio is that there are many fake versions of their most popular watches. It turns out I had purchased one. I was not able to sleep properly until I played my white noise video.
Thank you for the visit and checking up on me.
I hope you had a great Christmas or enjoyed your time during this period, even if you don’t celebrate it.
Even if you don’t return here, I hope your days ahead in the coming year are filled with love, joy and adventure.
Whether alone or with someone, find your place in the world and soar!
Even if that means staying at home, as long as you are comfortable and true to yourself first, the world will slowly come to you.
Oh, and don’t be a Dick!
Sorry for the waffle. See ya later!
