Life Update

The Job

It's been nearly two years since I mentioned my journey to the post office as temporary city carrier assistant. I mentioned how I was looking at lots of walking, suffering the heat, and long hours. It was that way for a couple of months as I mostly walked mail and would work 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. Though I was slow and had at least one supervisor complaining about how long it took me (a grumpy old timer that worked the evening shift and has been gone for some time now) and even threatened that if I didn't improve in the next few days I would fail my 90 day probation. Luckily, supervisors with more authority told me that they would work with me on improving my productivity long before they would cut me like that. However, it got to the point where they wouldn't have vehicles for me and I would sit in the break room before being sent home.

That was when the opportunity opened up for me to work in collections. Collections is where you pick up from businesses and blue boxes. For the permanent collectors it is strictly part time but CCAs can do it on top of other duties. For a while they had me fill in for collectors after I would separate packages, set up mail, and/or do a couple of hours of mail. So I would have to deal with some heat but spend the rest of the day in an air conditioned vehicle. The slowness of my mail delivery would get me in collections late and some of my days would even last 11 hours (anything over 8 is overtime and anything over 10 is double time). Eventually, a regular collections route opened up (the person who the route belongs to is on permanent disability but since they are career it remains theirs until they retire so only CCAs ever do it). I would separate packages in the morning, then do my route with a 2 ton step truck (sadly my truck had no AC so I was still suffering the heat), and go home. I would also work Amazon Sunday (with Saturday off). Eventually I would work what is called express, me and one other CCA in collections would go to an offsite post office (25 miles away) Tuesday-Friday which replaced package separating (no express on Monday). Its remained my shcedule almost ever since and last summer I had the AC fixed in my truck which made the hottest summer in 30 years much easier (though the AC is not the best so there was still some suffering but not as bad as before).

After a while 10 and 11 hour days now averages around 9-9.5 hours. And after a change in management only me and one CCA do collections so I had to start doing express on Saturday. At first I wasn't happy with it because my Amazon Sundays went from 10 hours (with an old supervisor) to 6 hours or less (with a better supervisor). I was thinking of having to work 8-9 hours on Saturday instead of the half days of Sunday. Luckily I mostly just do express and go home which makes Saturday only 4 hours (if someone calls in I will have to work a full Saturday but with mostly 4 hour days, I ain't complaining.

Life

Really not much going on in my private life due to not having much time off. So much of this is just a continuation of what I discussed in "The Job". The rigors of walking mail when you are overweight, have a bad back, bad knees, and bad ankle (all arthritis related) and don't handle heat well was tough but I was determined to make it. Going into collections took care of a lot of that (most when I got the route) even though the heat was still a problem because the truck I was assigned. Not having to walk so much made my arthritis easier to handle. The next year was improved with AC in my truck though it was so hot (three months of 100+ degree temps) my weak AC made it difficult later in the day. At least I made it through probation and I'm just 3 months short of going permanent (though I will still have CCA hours-I will get full benefits and can start aiming toward retirement).

My mom is having some mobility problems but I help where I can and I share several expenses. So the money I make allows me to help her out. If any unplanned expenses come up, I have money left to me by my dad to tap into. This means I am no longer in debt or in danger of going into it.

Healthwise there have been quite a few developments. Though I wasn't delivering mail anymore, at least on Amazon Sundays I would get some exorcise when delivering  where there were no mail boxes and I could sprint from the vehicle to the front porch and back. However, I was thinking of going on a diet program eventually but I kept putting it off. That and always picking up or having food delivered (too tired and lazy at the end of the day to make anything) I got a tad fat and lazy, but more on this later. After realizing my blood pressure was high I mad an appointment with a primary care physician and he suggested lifestyle changes. Low salt diet, more exercise. Because of the hours I worked I promised to reduce salt and eat better but didn't make any promises on exercise. Cut down on salt as best I could but not so much (too little good stuff to eat and snack low in sodium). Plus I was still planning on going on a diet program. My blood pressure has remained a tad high but better than it was and every now and then it's normal.

Earlier this year we had some freezing weather and precipitation and this led to an adventure. I was originally going to call in and stay home until the ice cleared but my manager was not happy about it. Even though there was nothing he could do (the union stance is that if you don't feel safe going into work, you don't have to), he could always make my job difficult. You see he was having an affair with my collections supervisor and they got caught. She was replaced and he was in a bad mood and I didn't want to get on his bad side (he left soon after) so I booked a hotel room for several days and made my way to work (I live 30 miles away). It wasn't so bad the first day but I knew it would get worse, hence the hotel. The next day despite the roads completely iced over, I made my way to express, 25 miles away. I drove on the highway about 10 mph and almost got there before getting a text from my supervisor that express was cancelled. Made my way back and when my route started I would drive this large vehicle over the iced over roads:



It was a pain and I had several close calls but I managed to maneuver this bad boy around my area and hit up the few customers that were opened (most were not but I still had my blue box scans to do). Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I did this. Originally Thursday was supposed to clear up but it certainly didn't so I had to book another hotel for Thursday. I could only find one further away from where I'm stationed at so that was going to be another adventure. The morning I woke up on the last night of the first hotel I had an excruciating pain in my side. The worst pain I ever felt and I was nearly in tears and ready to go to the hospital when it went away like it never happened. I packed up my stuff and went to work and had no other problems. During a lull in my route I checked my stuff into the new hotel and finished my day. Thursday night I found out the heater in my room didn't work and was going to raise a fuss when the sharp pain came back in full force. This time, though in utter agony, I decided to drive myself to a 24 hour emergency room.

They did an MRI and ta da, I had a kidney stone!!! I also found out I have a minor hernia (no operation needed) and arthritis on my spine but that's neither hear nor there. I was given a prescription for pain medication (low level narcotic, not as strong as oxycotin) and a strainer to catch the stone whenever it eventually passes. I was so worn out from the second bout of pain I ignored the cold room and wrapped up in a blanket and went to sleep. Woke up early again with horrible pain, this time closer to my stomach (the pain was first closer to my back). I took the pain pill but almost an hour later it was still hurting so I took another one as prescribed. Eventually the pain subsided and I fell back asleep. Woke shortly after with a bad migraine. Knowing I had to be at work in a few hours, I took my migraine medicine (sumatripan). When it was time to pack up and get ready for work I found myself dizzy and nauseous. Fought through this to load up my car and empty my stomach once I got outside. On my way to work I was so sick I just decided it was not possible to go to work so I called in (turns out all week only me and the other CCA were working, all regular collectors took the week off-even Friday when most of the ice was melted away). I found a street with several warehouses for safety and slept in my car for many hours. Woke up still sick and on a hunch I went to google on my phone to looks something up. Sure enough, both my pain pill and migraine medicine raise serotonin levels and should NEVER be taken together. I was very lucky to only get nausea and vomiting. However, I was just strong enough to attempt going home. Had to stop a few times to use the restroom and rehydrate with Gatorade but made it home, ate some broth and saltines, and slept. I awoke feeling much better and even passed the stone that evening (barely even noticed it when it hit the strainer-the worst pain was it going through my system).

I realized at that point I was drinking way too much tea and not enough water and since then have made sure to get plenty of the stuff slowly phasing out tea (I almost exclusively drink water these days). Also before starting the diet program, replaced my breakfast which mainly consisted of leftovers, rice, soft pretzels, or just bread with an apple and a Carnation breakfast. I have now started my diet program and made huge changes. Very little fast food, almost no fried food, very little carbs (no pasta, white rice, or white bread), lots of veggies and fruits, and replaced chips with nuts, veggie chips, and dried fruit. All this despite the program saying to ease into it. Started getting worn down and tired with "stomach problems" from all the fiber. Found out that when you switch from mostly carbs to more protein (plant and meat) you get what's known as the carb flu (flu like symptoms but reportedly no fever). However I had fever two days in a row so wasn't sure what it was. Then on the second day of fever, I had many trips to the bathroom. I realized before my work day was over I had a damn stomach flu (apart from the carb flu, your immune system weakens). The next morning the fever broke but I was a worn down mess for the next several days. Got better and still sticking to the diet program. Lifestyle changes and flu took me from nearly 216 to 201 lbs. (6 pounds from the flu). Not the ideal way to lose weight but brings me closer to the goal.

Apart from the diet I am now starting to take weight loss medication (Ozympic) which will help with the initial weight loss (after six months the medication is taken away and the lifestyle changes should keep it off). I'm also focused on being more active. Due to my job there is a lot of sitting so to counteract that on breaks I stand instead of sit, and when I do express in the mornings, while waiting for the trucks to unload, I pace around and periodically do push ups against a wall. Anything to avoid just sitting down for however long. I have also purchased a standing computer desk so when I get home in the evening, I can watch TV and mess around on my computer without sitting down for hours. Also with a short day Saturday and all day Sunday I will incorporate some vigorous exercise into my being more active. And after I'm permanent at the post office I will probably be taken out of collections and back to delivering the mail but hopefully by then I've lost enough weight and be in good enough shape to deliver mail better than I did before and be able to handle the heat better. I will be in better shape in my mid 40s than I have been in 20+ years.

So that's where I'm at now. Damn this was long but hopefully not too boring of a read. Stay metal fellow headbangers!!!

Oh, the ice storm I worked during... this was the view from my vehicle windshield:



Don't worry, the napshot was quick and I was going about 5 mph.

Addendum: Some news about my family as well:

A little over a year ago my niece (22) bought a home with her then boyfriend (now husband-23). So both already have something I never accomplished, in which I am proud of both of them*. He is Mexican and they went to visit his family in Mexico a while back. She does odd work while working toward an education and he works for Tesla.

Then there is my sister who also has weight problems but has been full on keto  (I'm not keto, I'm just low carb and low fat) for a year and is dropping the weight and keeping it off. If I feel old having an adult niece, imagine how she feels having an adult child!

Also her other child, my nephew is now 18 (again I feel old-but then again I'm metabolically 49) and while he used to be a skinny bean pole, is now taller than me and putting on some impressive muscle. And the big news with him is once he graduates in August, he is going into the Air Force. A lot of good things happening!

*I have learned to live with the fact that my life right now is all about working toward retirement and taking care of my mother. Maybe I have more of a life waiting for me in a few years but if this is all I'm to do then I will do it to the best of my ability while seeing that I become the healthiest me I can be.

Fun reading -
I hated hotels in the winter.
That’s a long commute.
I hope I never have to experience a kidney stone.
Keep your mom as top priority !

Wasn't sure anyone was going to read all that, thank you! Yeah, she gave me life and a place to live after my dad decided to move to a retirement home so I will do all I can to help her out in her old age and with her disability. Luckilymy sister lives near by to share the load.

working at the post office huh? I've been doing that for almost 20 years now but I'm a rural carrier I don't have to deal with all the nonsense you seem to have to, although now the postal service is really trying to screw rural carriers and screwing them on their pay. some people are loosing thousands of dollars. Thankfully not me but it could still happen. Good luck with it tho. It's not for everyone. I also passed a kidney stone while I was on the route a few years back. I thought I was dying. worst pain I ever felt in my life haha!

Thanks for the update. Glad you’re doing well!