Hard Day

I had a hard day at the Post Office yesterday. I knew it was going to be a rough one. The day after a holiday always is. Holidays are bad for mail carriers because they'll have 2 days worth of mail to deliver when they come in. 2 other things worked to make things worse yesterday. The second was the DPS (deliver to point service) mail. It came over an hour late. You would say that shouldn't be a problem since DPS mail is already sorted. Yes it is BUT, the carrier still has to break it down for each address or address group. In yesterday's situation, I had to break it down to over 300 individual addresses. That takes any where between 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on how heavy it is. Yesterday, because of the holiday, the volume was heavy so it longer to break it down. Lastly, the Christmas season began to hit. What does everyone like to receive during Christmas? Presents! For a mail carrier, presents are a mixed blessing. They're good for the Postal Service because they make more money for it than say a first class letter. They're bad in that they require more time. Usually, you can't just stick them in the mailbox and be done with them. The mail carrier will have to get out of their mail truck and take them to the door of the residence. If the neighborhood is bad and the recipient isn't home, they'll have to write up a 3849 (I think that's the right number) and leave it at the door so the person can pick up their package at the Post Office the next day. All of this takes time and time is one thing the carrier is racing against in the race to get back to the Post Office and finish up. Also, in the case of a substitute, unless you're hitting 40 hours that week, the longer you take to deliver your mail the more time you give to the Postal Service for free. Yesterday, I probably gave the Post Office 3 free hours. No one likes working for free barring volunteer work. So, that wasn't a lot of fun in that way.

Thankfully, I got the route done, wrapped things up at the Post Office i.e. turned in my outgoing mail, my accountables including my mailbox key and clocked out on my timesheet. Today, it should be easier barring having to be back an hour sooner because of the outgoing truck leaving sooner. I'll still need to hustle to get the job done but, it won't as bad as yesterday. Cheers all!

St. Emilion Wine Merchant

This is a wine shop in St. Emilion, France. I took this picture during my September Globus tour of France. I decided to post it here because I didn't use it with the story I posted on the Globus exchange travel stories website. They only allow you to post 4 pictures with every story and, I wanted to show more of the town itself and the vineyards around it with my story. Still, I like the photo and I hope you like it too. The box of plants to the right of the picture are grape vine plants. You could even buy your own grape vine at this shop. I thought that was pretty neat.

Concerning my France stories, I've finally finished them. I've posted 9 of the stories on the exchange travel stories website. I'm letting the other 3 sit a little. I've found that once I write something, it's good to let it sit a little because, it's easier for me to come back and catch typos and improve it then. All totalled, I ended up writing 12 stories on the France tour. It took that many because of the word limitations they have on the story website and, because I got to do a lot of cool stuff. I really enjoyed the tour. The only thing I didn't enjoy was saying good-bye to those in our group. That's always the hardest part of the tour for me. One of the nice things about Globus tours is you get great camaraderie. More so, I think with the long tours. By the time the tour ends, you have a lot of friends and, it's hard to say good-bye to them. Also, you know you won't ever see most of them ever again. I do take some consolation in that I'll get to meet some more really nice people on the next tour. Slowly but surely, the Egypt tour date is getting here. It isn't moving fast enough for me and it never will. The minute I finish one tour with Globus, I'm itching to go on another one. If I had my druthers, I would spend all my time doing tours with them and seeing the world. Sadly, I can't afford it. Oh well. Maybe it helps me appreciate it that much more when I do get to go on a tour. Cheers all!

Holiday Special at Dave & Busters

I've been wishing that Dave & Busters would offer another half price game day. To my delight, they have. During the holiday season, Dave & Busters will have half price game Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, all games will be half price except for photo morph whatever that is. This is a really good deal as the games can be very expensive at Dave & Busters. I'm certain that Dave & Busters will still be raking in the money. It still takes a lot of tickets to get some of the really cool prizes. However, this will make it easier for you to win the cool prize you've been wanting to get. See you there on Wednesdays. Cheers all!

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to wish any readers I have out there a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are able to get together with family and friends and enjoy the day.

What Next?

I went by the apartment manager's office where I live to let them know I wasn't going to sign the lease addendum for the new cable tv service. I'm still seriously pissed off about it. Plus, I don't need my rent going up $45 a month for something I don't want. The big question that remains is: will they bill me for the cable service anyway? If so, I'll definitely be moving when my lease is up. If not then, I have to see what they do when it comes to renew i.e. are they going to try to slip the cable charge in with the rent increase? We'll see what comes next.

Commissary

One of the benefits you receive in the military is being able to shop at the base commissary (supermarket). This benefit continues when you retire as in my case. I can't say I've been terribly appreciative of this benefit as I rarely have to watch the pennies when I go grocery shopping. I've seen the sign at the entrance to the commissary saying how much things were cheaper in each of its departments vice what it would cost you off base but, the numbers don't really click. They don't show in hard dollars how much of a difference there can be. Yesterday, I got to see it in dollars and cents. Recently, I bought some Ferrero Rochers chocolates and Tostito tortilla chips flavored with a hint of lime at a local Safeway supermarket. I was curious to see how much cheaper they'd be at the commissary. I found out there was a big difference. The Ferrero Rochers were over 60 cents cheaper for a 5.3 ounce package. The Tostito chips were over a $1 a bag cheaper. Also. packaged luncheon meat is cheaper though I can't give hard price differences there. I was a able to buy a 1 pound package of Louis Rich turkey bologna for $1.25 at the commissary. I believe it would be at least 50 cents higher at Safeway. So, I got to count my blessings for being able to shop there. I probably saved at least $10 or $15 which can make a difference. I'll have to make an effort to go to the commissary more often. The reason I don't go there that often is because it's a hassle going through base security. Plus, it reminds me of my former military life. I still miss it. It's been over 3 years now since I retired from the Air Force. Oh well. I suppose I'll get use to civilian life in time though, I don't like it as much as the military life. There is definitely a lot more bs in the civilian world. Cheers all!

Furious

I got a nasty surprise from the apartment complex where I live. It seems that upper management who run the chain of properties that my complex is part of decided that all the tenants in my complex were going to get cable whether we want it or not and we are going to pay $45 a month for the cable service whether we want to or not. Apparently, an addendum to my lease allows them to do this. I'm furious. I don't want cable tv. I don't own a tv and, I don't miss it at all. So, for now, I'll have to pay the additional $45 a month starting January but, when it comes time to renew my lease in October 2009, I'll be telling the upper management where they can stick their mandatory cable bill. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a place in the town where I live that's reasonable. All the new apartment complexes that have been built recently are more expensive. We'll see what happens.

Crazy Truck

I had some bad luck truck wise today at the Post Office. The truck that is normally assigned to the route I did was out for maintenance. Because of that, I had to get a different truck that wasn't being used. Thanks to some open routes on the city side, that wasn't a problem. What was a problem were some of the things wrong with the truck. The first thing I found out that didn't work was the tailgate on the truck. I put the truck into to it to unlock it and raise it and it wouldn't unlock. Because of I was anxious to get on the street, I let this go though it would be a real nuisance to have to make my way through the mail in the back of the truck to the tailgate to open from inside. The second problem I ran into was in regards to truck going in reverse. Depending on the level of the ground, the truck at times wouldn't reverse. This was a major problem when I got within 4 inches of a car. There wasn't any way I could steer around the car. Finally, I put the truck in neutral and physically pushed it back. I had to do this twice. After that, if a situation came up where it looked like I might have to reverse, I avoided it. Instead, I'd stop the truck parallel to the box, get out of the truck and put the mail in the box. It took a little longer but, it avoided any further hassles with the truck. Thankfully, I didn't have any other problems with the truck and, I was able to get back to the Post Office before the truck taking the outgoing mail left. I hope I don't have to use that truck again.

Scooter

Yesterday, I made another down payment on the Yamaha scooter I plan to get in April or May. By making pre-payments on it, I'm making it easier to make the final payment on it when I pick the scooter up at the dealership. $3,020 is a lot of money to shell out all at once.

I find it a bit embarrassing to go the cycle dealership to make the payments. The scooter I'm going to get is a seriously wimpy bike. It can't go faster than 40 mph and it looks seriously wimpy, especially compared to the sleek motorcycles they have at the dealership. Yet, I don't know if I'm going to like riding the thing or not and, I don't want to shell out over $7,000 for a serious scooter only to find out I don't like the thing. Plus, if you get a bike with a 50cc or larger engine, you have to do a motorcycle safety course and get a motorcycle license. That would be a royal pain. So, I'll stick with my plans to get my wimpy scooter and see how things work out. If I like the thing, I'll move up to something I can take out of the city and on the highway. We'll see how things work out.

Not Much New

Not much new to report at my end of the woods. I did my fifth French lesson at the Alliance Francaise in Washington D.C. It went well and I'm definitely improving. I'm finding it easier to change thinking modes into French. My one major handicap with French is my vocabulary or lack of. I keep thinking of things I want to say in French and, I don't know all the words. During today's lesson, I learned more new words and phrases. Hopefully, in time, they'll sink in.

I managed to get my procrastinating butt to church. I learned some things though I also fell asleep during both sermons. The Colonel and his son both have the ability to put me to sleep. I don't know why.

I received my Globus Journey Club membership card with the $75 coupon good toward a new tour with them that I must take between now and December 2009. I plan to put it toward the Historic U.S. East tour I plan and hope to do next July.

I nearly got a day off at the Post Office where I work. This week's work schedule came out this past Friday. I wasn't scheduled to work Wednesday. I was amazed. That lasted for just 5 hours. When I got back to the Post Office after delivering the mail on the route I was doing, it had changed. I'll be delivering Express Mail then. So, I'll get to work 6 days this week too though 4 of them will be delivering Express Mail (2 and 1/2 hours tops). There'll always be the chance I'll get called in early or the schedule will change again. Sometimes, it can change hourly.

I'm also trying to figure out what I want to do money wise. I have too many things I want to do and too little cash. I want to pay off the U.S. and Canada tours but, that'll cost over $4,000. I want to put some more money down on the Yamaha scooter I plan to get eventually. That'll be easier to do. I plan to pay down another $300 on that. I continue to put $270 a month into my IRA and $250 a month into a mutual fund. I know the market is tanking but, I have hope it'll eventually recover. I'm thinking for the long term on that. And don't remind me of Christmas. Christmas presents. Aargh! Serious bah humbug on that though my brother Hank would kick me if he heard me saying that. It's his favorite time of the year since he gets stuff. He's a real character.

I continue to write about the France tour I took on Globus's exchange travel stories website. Because of their 1,500 word story limit, I have to write about the tour in parts. I'm working on Part VI which will be about the French chateau country. I had escargot for the first time and I got to visit Clos de Luce, Chenonceau and Chambord. I'm surprised that they don't have more people tell of their adventures with them. I guess they figure it isn't worth it. To bad.

That's all to report for now. Pretty boring stuff and it'll likely continue that way. That's the price I have to pay for the cool trips I get to go on every 6 months or so. I'll try to think of something interesting to post on here. Cheers all!

Holiday

Everyone enjoys a holiday but, I confess I don't like them if I have to go in and work a route the next day at the Post Office. The reason for that is that the mail doesn't stop moving just because it's a holiday. If you have a day off at the Post Office, you'll be facing 2 days worth of mail when you come back to work. That is seriously bad news as it is a royal pain to have to case and deliver 2 days of mail. The main reason I hate Mondays so much at the Post Office is because of that.

Yesterday was a prime example. Normally, I would have 2 tubs of flats (newspapers, magazines and cards advertising whatever) waiting for me. Because we had Tuesday off because of Veteran's day, I had 7 tubs waiting for me. Plus, I had to case Pennysavers too. My spirits sank a bit at the sight of it then, I buckled down and got to work. One nice thing about the route I was on was that once the mail was cased, I wouldn't have to mess with it again vice packing it up and putting it in the person's mailbox. Routes where you have multi-mailboxes, you have a 2nd mail sorting which can be a real nuisance.

Because of the heavier mail volume, I got out on the street later and consequently got back later. I got back to the loading dock at 5:45 p.m. which in my opinion wasn't bad. I seem to be delivering the mail faster on the route I did. Thanks to the sun going down earlier every day, I had to use my miner's light for the first time. I used it so I could see the addresses on the mail to make sure I put the right mail in the right box. Nothing pisses off customers like them getting the wrong mail. Some of them take their anger out on the mail itself by writing all kinds of things making it clear they got the wrong mail. A simple note saying wrong address will do. I doubt the people who get the previously mis-delivered mail appreciate the previous person's artwork. I know I wouldn't.

Layoffs

I saw a blog entry on http://returnoftheconservatives.blogspot.com/ mentioning that the U.S. Postal Service plans to layoff 40,000 workers. I've heard this before and, I believe they do plan layoffs for the first time in their history. I know for a fact they are offering early retirement to full time carriers. One city carrier I know at the Post Office where I work has put in his paperwork and is counting the days till he leaves. I'll be saddened to see him go as he is a really good joe and, as far as I know, a good mail carrier too.

Return of the Conservatives blog entry mentions that the Postal Serviced is bloated. I can state unequivocally that at the Post Office where I work, that isn't true. We have 2 custodians doing the job of 5. We have at least 4 city routes that they haven't filled with full time carriers. Because of that, other city carriers have to take pieces of these routes and carry them in addition to their regular routes.

On the rural side, we don't have enough substitute carriers though that problem is complicated. We have substitute carriers that will only work 1 day a week and aren't able to come in on short notice. The reason they do that is because they have other full time jobs. I can understand why they keep their full time jobs (the Post Office won't guarantee them more than 1 day a week) but, it creates real problems for the few subs that will come in on short notice. Those few subs tend to get tagged a LOT and that isn't right. Another problem we have sub wise is we have some bad eggs. We have one sub that has been written up at least EIGHT times and, they still can't fire that sub. That sub is now refusing to carry any route that sub doesn't like. If that sub gets assigned to a route the sub doesn't like, the sub calls out sick. The sub refuses to provide documentation that the sub was legitimately sick. Guess why. This "can't fire us mentality" is a major problem at the Postal Service.

The bad economic times promise to make things harder at a time when the Post Office is already having problems. High gas prices have really clobbered the Postal Service though this has let up some with the price of gas coming down though that won't last. More and more people are paying their bills on-line is hurting the Postal Service as it costs them their bread and butter mail i.e. First Class. And, can you remember the last time you actually wrote someone a letter? That hurts the Postal Service too. With the bad economic times, advertisers will cut back the fliers they mail. You say that's great. I say you're wrong. It's those fliers that are now paying for your mail service. Cut back on those fliers and the price of 1st class stamp may have to go higher which conversely will hurt the Postal Service as more people will turn to paying their bills on-line. It's a real problem. Ironically, this comes when the Postal Service is doing a better job than ever at delivering your mail. And, we offer good value. A study I saw recently showed that we did just as good a job as FedEx or UPS with Express Mail i.e. we promise to deliver it to the address by Noon and we were as much as 30% cheaper. Unfortunately, the word doesn't seem to be getting out about that.

Times promise to be hard for the Postal Service for at least the next year. The Postal Service needs to be more responsive to its customers and postal employees need to get out of this mindset that their jobs are absolutely safe. While the postal unions can offer some job security, there is a limit to it. The upcoming layoffs prove that. In the coming times, the greatest security those working at the Postal Service will have will be on how well they take care of their customers. Take care of the customer and, you'll stay in business (and the Postal Service is a business). Fail to do so and someone will take the Postal Service's place. FedEx and UPS and have shown that.

Roman Aqueduct

This is the Roman aqueduct on the Pont du Gard. The Romans built the aqueduct between 30 and 15 B.C. It was built to bring water from the mountains to the city of Nimes. The aqueduct had a slight decline that helped the water flow down the aqueduct till it reached the city. Amazingly, the Roman got the slight decline right and the aqueduct worked beautifully for 400 YEARS! I say amazingly because the feeds into the aqueduct and the aqueduct itself ran for miles. The Romans managed to calculate the slight decline without the use of computers or any other sophisticated tools. It is truly a marvel of engineering and the skill of the Romans as builders.

Carcassone

We arrived at Carcassone around lunch time. The old city of Carcassone is the largest Medieval fortress in all of Europe. When you walk its streets, you feel like you've stepped back in time. The old city is surrounded by thick high walls with towering towers. It's a very impressive place though not as impressive as Mont St. Michel. For the most part, I enjoyed walking around the city. I wasn't impressed with some sword shops they had there as all they had was kitschy junk. I did have a pleasant lunch there. I had one mis-adventure here. The old city has modern free self cleaning bathrooms. Apparently, after someone uses the bathroom, the room automatically locks, the light goes off and water and soap are sprayed on the floor and in the toilet. Then, wind is blown across the floor to drive the water into in place drains which whisk it away. How I learned all this was when I ducked into one of their automatic bathrooms without waiting for it to clean itself. I started taking a leak when the lights went out and water started being sprayed across the floor. In a matter of seconds, my sneakers and trouser bottoms were soaked. Then, the wind started blowing across the floor which helped dry out my slacks a little. I finished my business and very embarrassedly stepped out of the automatic bathroom. I'll definitely remember how these things work after this mishap.

After our stop at Carcassone, we re-boarded our bus and drove to Nimes where we spent the night. The next morning, we'd drive the Roman aqueduct that was finished in 15 B.C. Stay tuned.

Gold Card

After my latest blog about Dave & Busters, I decided to check into what you had to do to get their Gold card. It turns out you have to buy and use 1,200 chips. That'll cost you around $180. If you're going to play the games a lot at Dave & Busters, it's worth getting their Gold card as it saves you 10% on every game. That can add up.

Another thing you should do is register your game card on their website. That way, you can get it replaced if you lose your game card. If you lose your game card and you didn't register it, you're out of luck as far as getting it replaced and recovering all the tickets you may have won. I remember finding a game card in their prize shop. Someone dropped it and no one had reported a lost game card. That card has 56 tickets on it. Not a fortune in tickets but, every bit can help towards getting one of their prizes. It is worth doing.

French Lesson 2

Today, I attended my second French lesson at the Alliance Francaise in Washington D.C. Due to my laziness and procrastination, I was able to turn in only half my homework. I expected to finish the grammar homework at the Alliance but, my teacher Nadya was already there. Crap! At least, I had the 4 sentences I had to write in French done.

During the lesson, I learned more ways for French to confuse me when listening to it. We practiced direct French pronouns like me, te, le and la. If I wanted to say "I met Jacques" but, I didn't want to say his name again, I could say "Je le ai rencontre." (the last e of rencontre would be hyphenated). In English, this translates to "I met him."

Also, I discovered how diplomatic the French can be. In English, we call our in-laws father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law etc. The French are more kind in their names of their in-laws. For example, father-in-law in French le beau pere which means the handsome father. Mother-in-law in French is la belle mere which means the beautiful mother. You can see how the French are diplomatic as they give nice names to people they otherwise might dislike. I found it funny.

I find myself wishing I could do more lessons but, that isn't possible. My work hours remain very unpredictable at the Post Office and, there is the cost. French lessons are one of a number of things I want to do. There are the two tours I'll be taking next July with Globus. Also, there is a new Yamaha scooter I look forward to getting. Lastly, I'll need spending money for Egypt. Because of all those things, I plan to work a lot at the Post Office when I can. Still, the lessons are fun and I definitely plan to continue to them. Salut!

Daylight Savings Time Reminder

I just wanted to post a reminder that tomorrow morning at 2 a.m., clocks will go back an hour as Daylight Savings Time ends. You might want to do it tonight before you go to bed so you don't forget the next morning. Cheers all!