My Life That Happened In #29
Episode #28
… February 2026
Sunday 1st
A different theme for tonight. I was placed on a reach truck. I wasn’t needed on the loading bay except for the paperwork.
It was a nice, easy-paced night, and I was able to get more experience driving the forklift. It had been a while. But I did my job well, I think.
Although I was accused of doing something I have no control over. Because of a job I need to do, it creates a problem in another system. I was also given some brief training on something that is posted every day.
There is concern I may not get the position I applied for. I was informed during my interview that the apprenticeship I am trying to get on might block me from getting the position, as I will need to use part of my workweek to go on the course.
I have spoken to my counterpart, who also went for the job. We both know that whatever happens, we would be fine with either of us getting the job. Today also starts my day off, so I went to rest, knowing that I am far behind with my blogs and I haven’t even finished my latest video, but it has got to a point where rest and sleep have to take priority, and I will have to deal with them later.
Monday 2nd
Waking up an hour before midnight, I began finishing off my latest video. I’m not sure if the longer versions of the video will upload in time. They didn’t. When the videos were finished, I went into the front room and made something to eat.
While on the toilet, a dripping sound is heard coming from what I believe to be behind the shower. There is a small wall door next to it that I have never bothered to open in over ten years, since moving in. So I opened it. The dripping sound wasn’t coming from behind the shower but from the upstairs flat.
Case closed… Or is it?
After settling back down, I watched the film associated with the book we read for book club, The Outrun. It is the same as the book – not completely the same, but as close as you can get. I did think a little differently about the book as I watched it through a different perspective. It didn’t change my view of the book that much. But the author sneaks a cameo.
Still behind on my life blog, I continued to finish it. And many hours later, I was able to publish it. I went to bed a little later than I wanted, but I was able to get what I needed for work ready and also jump on my Freewrite typewriter to catch up on my blog. I still have to finish my book report. But I will get there.
Tuesday 3rd
Arriving at work before my shift began, at midnight, I had received a phone call and some texts from the missus with photos of the ceiling where the dripping sound was coming from. The photos show the ceiling with water damage.
Knowing there was nothing I could do at the moment, I went to work.
Some problems made the job harder, as only an hour into the shift, one of the counterbalances was leaking oil. This left only one counterbalance truck as all of the others were out of action. So our main truck driver took over, and in the end, we had to roll over a trailer to the next night.
I had some leftover paperwork from my forklift refresher. I was unable to finish it because of a first-aid incident. Today I was on duty.
Leaving work, I had to return an hour later, as it was book club day.
Our host and co-host weren’t available, so one of the group members was asked to step in. I had a suggestion for how we pick our next book.
We roll a dice. We nominate a genre to a number. Roll the dice, and that is what we get, and then we search for a book in that genre. It didn’t go completely as planned. We ended up with another drama. But an extra rule was created. We would remove the genre for the next roll until all are selected, and then start again.
Getting home eventually, I ended up going to bed late and woke up overly tired. Giving myself time to wake up. The exercises I chose for tonight were extra energising.
Wednesday 4th
Everything came in pretty quickly, so we didn’t have to wait for trailers. We were still down to one counterbalance truck. So we did what we could and rolled over another trailer for the next shift.
And I was also able to finish the paperwork for my forklift refresher.
I left being ahead with my work. So I was happy. I had to finish my next book report, as I am behind, which seems to be becoming a regular thing. What also didn’t help were the internet connectivity issues. Before bed, I sat down with my Freewrite and caught up with myself.
Thursday 5th
After a continuing discussion with my manager about certain things I should know. I requested a sit-down with them and some training on bulk stock.
The concept is not that hard, but it’s putting all the little bits together that holds the key to understanding it completely. I have some of the little bits; I just need to collect the rest.
This was also the time I found out I didn’t get the coordinator position. I sort of already knew.
But it wasn’t until I left the room and walked back to my area that I felt the pangs of regret and felt let down.
Back in my area, I continued my job and continued training my latest recruit.
Back home, the wife is getting obsessed with the leak and damage to the ceiling. I am leaving her to it as I am not in the right frame of mind to deal with this. And I am hoping her OCD will prompt everyone to fix the problem. But knowing our luck, it will backfire.
Friday 6th
I had more questions about bulk items, and I was mostly correct about what I was asking, but I needed to put in the right direction for the answers I needed.
Something went wrong today. I overdid myself. Spreading myself too thin, I came too close to an attack. So much so, I had to sit down for a few minutes to calm down.
The timing was good as it was nearly time for lunch, and I could sit in the dark and read for a while.
Do I need it?
I was spoken to about my chef work, and the manager was getting emails about certain habits that were not wanted. The idea of training me on the tills and also trying to restrict what the other chef and I do.
When the head manager came in, I spoke plainly, saying that I did this job as a favour to you, as you asked me, but if things go this way, I am more than willing to walk away.
I don’t need the chef’s position; I am happy to do it as I help many people. And that makes them and me happy.
I ran out of time, but I was lucky to have my trainee, who is at a point, able to deal with most of what needs to be done. So one other person or I can deal with it.
Fuck You Specsavers
No rest for the weary when I got home, as we were going straight out again. First stop Specsavers, and I can now officially announce that I will never be going to that particular optician’s ever again. I was treated like crap for the last time.
Three weeks before I wrote about how I went in to get some new lenses. I was treated great, and I was looking forward to getting my lenses designed the way I wanted them.
I entered and was asked to sit down and wait. They didn’t have the lenses. They were never made. The person I spoke to in the first exchange came over and gaslighted me, acting as if it was my fault. And then had the gall to say we will order them now. I said, “Don’t bother, I will go somewhere else.” The wife shouted after me, and I shouted back, “I have had enough”, and left, hoping she would be behind me.
I turned around when I left the shop, and my wife wasn’t there. She stayed behind to make a complaint. I was a little annoyed by this, and a little pleased she did this as well.
Angry Shopping
I also had another mission to find a watch on sale at H.Samuel‘s. We walked over to H.Samual after working out where it was and waited for it to open. I found what I was looking for and a couple of others, and after some thinking, I decided on all three and left a happy person.
After visiting a couple of other shops for provisions, we went home. I wanted pizza. After what I have been through, I felt I needed it. The plan was to buy Papa John’s, but I went with Lidl’s cheap version. The pizza wasn’t a proper meat feast, but their garlic and herb dip was amazing. Will try it again. I eventually dragged myself to sleep.
Saturday 7th
I woke up about an hour before the new day started, and my mind was on finishing off the blogs I was in the middle of writing.
But of course that didn’t happen, I sat with the missus as we both doomscrolled for a while. The wife went to bed, and it wasn’t until near the time I was going to have a nap that I started writing again.
I wrote for about an hour or so before I put my head down.
About nine, the wife woke me up, and we got ready for the day. It was time to order a plumber. We went to checkatrade.com, explained the problem I was having with some photos, sent it out to the ether and waited for a response.
I was a little surprised at how quickly we received the responses. And the first person who called got the job. I did check them out afterwards, and it seems to be a good pick, but we will see on Monday.
Plant Training
A little later, we were heading out. My brother wanted some help with his plants, and the missus was willing to help after a quick look at what he had. We headed to the garden centre and bought what we needed.
I also bought some plants for the missus so she didn’t feel left out.
Back at my brother’s home, we showed him how we normally do things and left him a couple of plant cuttings to see how or if they grow.
Back home, we went back to relaxing, and a little later I ordered a pizza that I felt robbed as it tasted the same as the Lidl’s pizza I had a few days earlier. Before and after pizza: I finished my latest video, and I was able to start uploading before bed.
Sunday 8th
Today I got ready for work again. Making sure my uniform and meal were ready for later when I get up. I finished uploading my videos and relaxed a little more before bed.
Monday 9th
I don’t know what is going on. But even though we were down to one counterbalance only after an hour. Everything seems to be going nicely.
No stress, just getting on with my job.
I showed my brother the new watches I bought on Friday. He seems really impressed.
Back home, we prepared for the plumber’s arrival. It wasn’t until I went to bed that he showed up, but I was woken up by them talking and got fed up with eavesdropping, and I decided to naturally drop myself into the conversation by going to the toilet. It turns out that the plumber went upstairs to investigate the flat above and found evidence that the leak was coming from there.
He had a video of the sound of water streaming through the wall from their bathroom. I went back to bed, and a while later. The neighbour from upstairs knocked on the door. They seemed more concerned about undoing the newly renovated bathroom than turning off the water.
The ceiling is slowly getting worse, and the plumber said we only have about a month to get it fixed.
Tuesday 10th
Another quiet but slightly busy day at work, but again, everything feels mellow. I kinda like it.
But niggling in the back of my mind is wondering how long it is going to last.
Training continues for my trainee, but I have left him to fend for themselves. I have been asked to drive a counterbalance to help with the tipping.
I am also training the new coordinator. It does feel a bit much, but I am not allowing for mistakes.
The wife is waiting for me when I get home, and is waiting for the time to hit the hour so she can start calling people for help and information with our ceiling.
All the stress, and for some reason, all the lights are on, and I have to get my tinted glasses to help with my mild tension headache.
I am tired as I didn’t sleep well yesterday. Hoping to catch up later.
It took a while, but we are now involved with people who can help us with a claim and maybe give upstairs a kick up the arse to get them moving.
Back to bed, and I am enjoying the new book club book. Nothing special is happening, but things are afoot.
Wednesday 11th
I am left to my own devices and have no one to train, so I get on with my job, and I’m looking forward to my day off.
I have been progressively tired, and I need a holiday. Next month will be our birthday holiday and the more rest the better. But for now, I will have to work.
However, it’s another reasonably easy night, and we sail through it unscathed. That is, until near the end of the shift, when I spoke to my manager.
They have asked if I could swap my day off for Friday.
The reason is that they don’t have a gatekeeper, and the only person in charge is a manager who doesn’t really care about downstairs except for their own department.
So basically, I would be running downstairs with the manager popping in when they feel like it.
I would then be waiting until the head manager arrives to take over at 6 am. With that attractive offer, how could I refuse? Especially as I know what is coming in, trailer-wise, tomorrow. It isn’t going to be easy.
I am glad I am home, but I have given my wife the news about tonight. She isn’t happy, but I will have the next day to recover.
Thursday 12th
Just before midnight, when I arrived, I discovered a trolley in the entrance at the security lodge. Full of chipped plant pots. Free for the employees to take.
So straight away I called the missus and tried to video-call her. But for some reason, that failed, so I called and informed her of my discovery. I grab what I like the look of and end up with eight nicely chipped plant pots for the wife’s collection.
I start my shift. Continuing to learn what I need to learn and fix any mistakes and damages that occur. I leave with the final trailer being worked on. Most of the paperwork is done except for the final trailer paperwork and information for the next shift.
I am tired. But I continue with my routine when I get home and relax before going to bed.
I wake up to my wife checking in on me. It’s around 11 p.m., and I slowly get out of bed and see what is happening.
Good news on the leak front. It is now the second day since the plumber visited upstairs and turned off their water. So there have been no water drips from upstairs, and even with the damage already caused, it is drying out. Hopefully, if and when the claim goes through, we can get it fixed.
Friday 13th
Heading into the office, I start creating my next video, and with the AI image creator, the images are amazing, so I am happy with the final product.
While I leave that to upload, I continue with the usual doomscrolling and continue with my blogs.
I finish one, start another and continue with this blog.
Food is ready for the next couple of days, and I have to wait for my wife, who has told me to wake her up so we can pop to the shops quickly.
I have lost my book light, so I have to have the light on in the front room. This is so I can use the typewriter. I am not happy, as all I seem to do is be in artificial light, and it doesn’t help my head.
While I’m finishing off uploading my latest video, my wife wakes up and walks into the office. Now seemed a good time to have her up to go out.
First stop was to one of the missus’s second “mother” who was first to comment on her post.
She had created a competition on her Plant Mum Facebook page, which has been going for two years, and to celebrate, she offered a free plant. So we dropped off the plant, and the missus had a quick catch-up.
Next stop was Lakeside to pick up a prescription and some other things, and then on to IKEA. The wife wanted to get some vases, but also ended up adding some plants to the mix. Back home, I had already started shopping for provisions online, so we completed it, and then it was time for bed.
We made a trip to Waterstones, where I spent most of the gift card I got for Christmas.
Saturday 14th
Back at work, and everything seems to be going fine. All of the work was finished on time, and there were no real problems.
Although I am concerned about the Apprenticeship I applied for, I sent an email for an update.
Back home, I waited for the shopping to arrive so I could go to bed. I have finished my latest book club book. And I have to admit. I like it. It was something slightly different from what we have been reading, but I do hope the next book is better.
Sunday 15th
A quiet night with one trailer turning into a no-show. I was called to cook. There was, someone to take over my job even though there wasn’t much to do. During my shift, I put my ideas into action and designed a couple of things: I would like to be updated on the loading bay.
I have never done this type of thing before, and it is a little scary but also very exciting that I could have a lasting impression on my work area.
My manager explained some of their ideas, and then I showed him what I had created so far.
I am tired, and I need some time away from work to sort my head out. And even though I am slowly getting better, I have felt a change. I still have a long way to go.
Monday 16th
It is my rest day, and I haven’t achieved anything yet. I still have to finish sharing my latest upload, and it is only now that I have updated this blog.
It’s getting late in the morning, and I have a few things I want to do, but I can’t decide on the items I know I need to buy for Ne Ne. I am just wondering whether I should wait until next month, when I can have time to send Ne Ne for her pre-MOT check-up and add the items I want to the list.
Eventually, I went to bed after finishing everything I needed to do. I have a headache. It is pulling me down.
I couldn’t sleep after a certain amount of time, and I heard knocking at the door. The missus went to check, and it turns out that upstairs finally got a plumber to fix the leak. So we can start on our end to get the damage fixed and maybe refresh the bathroom at the same time.
Not able to sleep anymore I decided to get up early. My headache is still there, but it has receded behind my eye and has now turned into a tension headache on the left side of my face. Lovely.
But I still have to get ready for work and also decide where I would like to go next month for some needed relaxation.
Tuesday 17th
Back at work, and it is the same old, same. Nothing really happened except it was a nice, smooth shift.
I spoke to the head manager and asked whether they had seen my email. They hadn’t but would get back to me later.
Wednesday 18th
Walking into the loading bay, it was filled with cardboard from the previous shift.
The compactor is down again, and hopefully it will be fixed soon. But I am not getting my hopes up yet. From what I am hearing, it has been fixed.
We will see.
Things seem a bit stressed for some reason. My job is still the same. Maybe it’s to do with it being half-term and people are out or online shopping. I would have thought it would be easier to buy with the kids at school. But that’s the world we live in.
A late call and I find out that the chef for the night has called in sick. So I am called on to deal with this little problem, which I have no problem doing, but call me at a reasonable time; there is a reason I need to be in the canteen at a certain time.
I spoke to my manager about the email after I received a response, and the response is good. I am sensing some underlying but that could just be me being paranoid; the consensus is to go ahead and speak to some others to get things rolling.
I am still searching for somewhere to go, but I seem to have gained a fear of spending my money. I have a little bit, but all I see is that it’s going down.
Thursday 19th
My trainee seems nearly fully trained enough and able to continue without me, and even though I may have to rough out some edges, he is in the same position I was in, where they will have to gain the experience on their own. However, I will be in the background. Today, I had to inform them of something they were getting wrong.
The shift went okay, and I am working on figuring out how to start implementing my ideas for the loading bay.
Another late call, and I was cooking for everyone. This also gave me the chance to find the form in the general office that will help me with my plans, but it may not be what I need. I will have to dig further.
But I have taken a form and will leave it in the office until I have figured things out.
The wife has finally been sent the email she has been waiting for so we can try to claim for the damage in our bathroom and airing cupboard.
I will help now and then, but this is the wife’s project, and I am not getting in the way.
Promises
I made a promise to my brother that I would have picked something out for my holiday, and I have to say I have failed. After another long search, I have left a short list of ideas tabbed to my browser and have left it for another day.
But I was able to finish my latest book, and I am happy with that.
Waking up for work, and after my exercises, I decided on my next book. It is a big one. One I have been waiting to read for a long time, but it will also mean the end of a series.
But good news is at hand: I have received news that the author Mark Lawrance is releasing a novel set in the same universe. I will have to pre-order it.
Friday 20th
A big day as I have the wonderful opportunity to train another gatekeeper. It seems to be going really well, and I have started to get a rhythm or routine on how to teach.
The thumbles I made yesterday are fixed as I spent some time on a counterbalance, and my forks gently touch the wrong part of the pallet.
But all is well. I made sure I knew if I was cooking or not today, with plenty of time to do what I needed to do.
Back home, and I do not have time to rest as I am rushed back out again to pick something up for the missus and get a few provisions we were short on or getting short of.
When that was finally settled, I sat down and had something to eat. Finally, with my wife’s help, we decided where we are going.
It is only an hour away by car, and it is isolated, even though we will be in a private residence. The place looks amazing. The only downside is that it is too far away from the beach.
I was too far gone to stay up any longer, so I read a chapter and fell asleep.
Saturday 21st
My day off, and I am making some adjustments for my blogs. Creating the top and bottom images, but it seems that no photo is available for one of the authors. It is weird. I have never had this happen before.
But for the book, that is it. Maybe the reason.
Giving up after a while, I doomscrolled and relaxed until I was ready for a nap.
Waking a little later than expected, I had something to eat. I have a plan for today, and we will see what I can do.
Heading into my “office”, I create my latest video and finish a blog for Wednesday. I have nearly finished one and am attempting another.
The wife suggested a roast dinner and was wondering if she had read my mind. So that’s what we did.
So when I had had enough, I went and watched a film and tried to recover from whatever was bugging me. I have to wear my tinted glasses.
Sunday 22nd
I have to get ready for work again. So after waking up, I took my time preparing what I needed and finishing my uploads.
When it was time, I went to read before going to sleep.
Monday 23rd
Back at work and we have a guest. A new team manager is with us for some training from another store. And for one reason or another, I am on the shop floor, and my trainee is running as gatekeeper.
I have been given a different job on top of that, something I haven’t done in a long time. I have had to try to remember how to do it. But after starting it, I find that I can not continue as the things I need to finish the job are not there, so I am unable to continue.
After explaining this to the manager, I went back to work on the shop floor. And I am then told that I am cooking. So I do what I can and then head off to cook.
I eventually get back to gatekeeping, spending time with my latest trainee, going through how to do the paperwork.
During my break, I found some pretty much dead plants free for employees.
So after some umming and ahring, I take a couple of plants. And I also take the trolley outside and splash the rest of the plants with some water.
Tuesday 24th
Tonight, I am back gatekeeping but with a twist. That new trainee team leader is now my new trainee.
I have to be honest, I am getting very drained with all this training. This is my fourth trainee in a couple of months, and every one of them is at a different point of learning, and it got to me today.
I was called to cook, and it was at this point of not knowing “if” I was going to have an attack, but when. It was still a while before I had to start cooking, so I isolated myself in a dark room and relaxed until I calmed down.
I was also relaxed a bit more by a fellow worker who came in and gently snored.
Returning after lunch, I continued with my training, finishing most of the paperwork before going home. I explained to the missus what happened when I got home and ended up going to bed later than expected.
My brother called, asking how and when to water his plants. After dealing with that, I went to bed.
Wednesday 25th
Before starting, I was asked if it was okay to be on a counterbalance to tip the trailers coming in that night. I said it would be okay, but I would need a blanket for my knee. The other day, I collapsed after getting off. They said it wasn’t a problem.
So while I was tipping, I was still training my latest trainee and the trainee from Croydon.
But again, I was cooking, and with the latest information, no one is allowed to use the chip fryer. I had to restrict myself to what was available, and surprisingly, this time there was more than enough food for everyone. They have even taken my suggestion of providing instructions on how to cook the items. I added these to my printout.
We were stretched to the final button. In the last ten minutes, I was able to get the paperwork signed by the driver, finish my paperwork completely and fix one last mistake before shutting down the computer and going home.
Going to bed a little earlier than normal, I was up an hour after I normally would on a workday and made a start on my latest video. and published my latest blog.
Thursday 26th
Spending a couple of hours finishing what I was doing, I relaxed in the front room, caught up with Jenny and Nicky, and doomscrolled for a while.
I needed to edit this blog, so I continued editing for the next couple of hours, and eventually, my wife woke up. We sat and enjoyed each other’s company until the wife needed to do things around the home. So I left her to it and sorted myself out as I needed to get ready for bed. I am back to work tonight.
Waking up before work, I checked my messages and found one from work that I would have to help deal with. One of the trailers had most of the stock suffering from water damage.
Friday 27th
I walked into work and saw the mess we would need to deal with.
We only had four trailers coming in tonight, so we were able to sort them out while working on the damages, but I also found out that someone closed the system we needed for the damages. But we continued, and it took a while to deal with all, and it wasn’t until just after I left that all the work was sorted.
The wife had to pop to the doctor, and I need to book Ne Ne in for a check-up, and hopefully they can install the headlight that is sitting in the car.
But for some strange reason, I panicked just trying to phone the garage, so I gave up on that and went round and spoke to them face to face. Getting home afterwards, I was still freaking out. I still don’t know why. After calming down, I eventually went to bed.
However, the mission was accomplished, Ne Ne has been booked in, and I am glad I got that over with.
Saturday 28th
Back at work, and the loading bay is a lot tidier, but there is still a lot to do and clear.
Today was a slow, quiet shift, and everyone was mellow. Before work started, I walked into the security lodge and found a trolley full of plants that were free to the employees. They were not in the best of condition, but I found a couple that looked better than usual and video-called the missus, who picked out the ones I chose.
I put them into the car and went to start work.
They called on me to cook today, and everything I cooked was gone within minutes. It was good to see, but a little disappointing that not everyone could have what they wanted.
Near the end of the shift, my trainee, I really should say fellow gatekeeper now. Anyway, we sat down and had some training with something we may never use. But it is handy to know just in case.
During and after, I wrote step-by-step instructions on everything we were taught and shared them with my fellow gatekeepers whilst finishing off the paperwork before going home.
Plant Doctor
At home, the wife took a long look at the plants. After asking for some advice from her plant groups, she decided what she needed to do. And after a lot of cutting, she was able to decide how they would turn out. It will be a while before some new growth comes in, but they look to be doing well at the moment.
It is going to take a few months, but hopefully they will be stronger for it.
That’s the end for this month. Thank you for checking up on me and hopefully I will see you all next month.
See ya!
