Small Post Office

Yesterday, I got to work at a different post office. This post office has been loaning my post office one of its regular carriers so we could have an evening watch supervisor. They asked for payback last week. They needed a body to carry mail yesterday, this Friday and this coming Monday. I was the only sub not working yesterday so I got asked if I'd work there. I was told the route I'd be assigned to was equal to an auxiliary route. If that was the case, I figured I could do it so I agreed to work there. I was assigned to the auxiliary route all of 5 minutes before they moved me to a regular route. I was not happy. Thankfully, they gave me help. I needed it as I didn't know the case or the area. I used my post office problem solving skills and managed to find out where the different parts of the route were. Between that and the help I got from the carrier who did do the auxiliary route, I managed to get it done. From what I can tell, the postmaster there was pleased with me. I don't know if I'll be going back or not. We have a carrier who left for her wedding and honeymoon and from what I understand, I'll be doing her route the next 2 weeks. We'll see what happens. If nothing else, it was interesting working at a different post office. Cheers all!

National Wildlife Visitors Center

I wanted to take my scooter for another good test ride to see if I would have any more problems with it. I decided to ride to the National Wildlife Visitors Center. That is a center on the Patuxent Research Refuge that tells of various endangered species and what scientists are doing to save them. Also, they have a video that tells of the history of the Refuge. For over a year, the center was closed for renovation. I found out most of the work had to do with the center's roof and drains. The exhibits inside haven't changed any. It's still a nice center and is free to the public. The area around the center has 3 or 4 trails offering visitors very nice walks in the woods. For anglers, the Refuge offers fishing on Cash Lake. Anglers have to get a free permit to fish there and, they release any fish they catch. For those who don't feel like walking along the trails, the center is offering tram rides on week days and weekends that show various parts of the Refuge. I hope to do one of those tram rides myself. It would be neat to learn more about the Refuge while seeing more of the animals that call it home. The center is easy to get to as it isn't far from Maryland 295 Baltimore Washington Parkway. Signs direct would be visitors to the center.

For me, it was a nice visit. My scooter ran fine and, I had a nice ride out and back. The volunteer manning the welcome desk gave me a good idea for my scooter. He recommended I buy some fuel additive that helps clear out moisture i.e. water in the gas tank and fuel lines. I think it's a good idea and plan to do it. I look forward to going back to the center and riding one of its tram rides so I can learn more about it. Cheers all!

Weird

I planned to take my Yamaha scooter back to the dealership today to get the idling problem fixed. I was pissed. The last 2 times I rode my new scooter, it repeatedly died on me whenever I came to a stop. So, I started it this morning and the minute the engine kicked over, I gunned it. I managed to get the Post Office where I work all right. I'm my section's safety representative and, it was the monthly safety meeting. Once I got to the Post Office, I let off the gas expecting my scooter to putter out and die. To my disbelief, it didn't. It actually idled. I kept waiting for it to konk out. It didn't. Once the meeting was over, I drove it around town and brought it repeatedly to a stop. It never died once. Finally, I rode it out to Arundel Mills Mall and back. It still didn't die. It's weird. I have no idea what has caused my scooter to unexpectedly run right. The only thing I can GUESS is that somehow some water got in the gas tank and, I burned it out the last time I rode it. To be on the safe side gas wise, I filled it up with premium unleaded this time. The fill up still only cost me $2.45. I think I can afford premium in that case. I know I got over 80 miles to the gallon AGAIN. That was neat too. I plan to ride the thing again tomorrow and see how it does. Barring the idling problem, I have been enjoying riding it. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. More and more, I suspect I'll see about trading up to a more powerful scooter. I just to get really proficient with riding the thing first. I think that'll make the motorcycle safety course I'll have to take a lot easier. We'll see. Cheers all.

Frustration

I took my scooter for a ride yesterday. I wanted to see if I would have the same problem I had when I rode it Sunday. I did. The problem is the scooter won't idle. When I start the scooter, I have to hit the gas immediately otherwise it'll choke and die. I did manage to ride the scooter but, every time I had to come to a stop, the scooter who die. It was very frustrating. So, I'll have to take the scooter back to the dealership AGAIN and have them try to fix the idle problem AGAIN. I shouldn't have these kinds of problems with a new scooter. Thank God it's under warranty so the dealership has to fix the problem. If they don't get it fixed soon, I'll be asking for my money back or another new scooter. Stay tuned.

Bible Doctrine CDs

This past week, I finally finished my first bible doctrine MP3 CD. Each CD has 36 lessons on it. In that way, the CDs are far more convenient vice the old cassette tapes. If I had wanted to take 36 lessons on cassettes, I would've had a good size box to carry with me vice one CD. Also, I suspect it's cheaper for R. B. Thieme Bible Ministries to make copies of the CDs. The blank CD would cost pennies and the recording technology is readily available. Still, I find I miss the cassettes. I liked putting one of those in my portable cassette player vice having to mark what lesson I would do next in my lesson notebook. Also, it is easier to rewind a cassette and re-listen to something you might miss vice on the CD. With the CD, you'd have to listen to the entire lesson again. Because of that, I don't bother to try to go back to points I might've missed. Lastly, I liked being a taper i.e. a person who listened to Paster Thieme's bible doctrine lessons on tape vice getting to listen to them live. It was something of a mark of distinction. Being a CDer doesn't sound the same. Oh well. I continue to the lessons and, I feel they continue to do me good. I suspect they would do more good if I would be more consistent in listening to them. I'm still really bad about getting myself to listen to the lessons. I'll find any number of things to do other than listen to a lesson. The only time I seem to be really good about listening to the lessons is when crap is hitting the fan. I should listen to God when the times are good as well as bad. Too often, I don't. I suspect I also stray from God when the times are good as I don't feel I need him as much nor do I give him the credit he deserves. I need to be more conscienscous about that. Give God thanks in the good times as well as the bad. Cheers all!

Cold Update

My cold continues to progress and, I think I'm getting better. My temperature has come down to where it was nearly normal this morning (99.0F). My sinuses aren't nearly as clogged. I'm not sneezing at all. Also, I don't have a runny nose anymore. The main symptom I'm still suffering from is coughing up mucus from my lungs. The coughs seem to go in spurts. I was very annoyed when one of those spurts erupted while I was talking on the phone to my friend Harvey. I'm sure he thought I was still very ill when I'm not. Harvey and others at the Post Office where I work mentioned the Swine Flu which is going around. Because of them, I looked into it and as far as I can tell, I don't have it. The symptoms sound a lot like the regular flu so I can't be 100% sure but, I'm not going to bother to go the clinic I go to if I continue to improve. Luckily, I won't have to work for the next couple days so that should help things too. We'll see how it goes. Cheers all!

Cold - Stage 2

My cold entered stage 2 today. Yesterday, I didn't have any stuffiness, runny nose or occasional sneezing. Today, I had all those. To make matters worse, the Wal-Mart version of Dayquil didn't seem to do much good. All of the symptoms made my day at the Post Office that much worse. I had to keep a kleenex handy constantly to catch the drops coming out of my nose. Those were really aggravating. Incredibly, our acting boss was considering giving me a bump on another route because the regular couldn't show. I couldn't believe it. I'm sick and, he should be glad I didn't call out and leave in a really big lurch. There aren't many who know the route I was doing today. I was virtually spent by the time I got done. I still have 2 more days to work before I get a day off (Sunday). I'm not looking forward to them. Also, I'm hoping I'll be healthy in time for the tours I was planning on taking. If I'm not, I won't go. I don't think anyone in the tour would want to be around someone with a cold. I know I wouldn't. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Bad Luck

Tuesday, I started experiencing some throat pain. I thought it might be a little acid reflux which happens on occasion with me. It turned out I wasn't going to be so lucky. Tueday night, I started coughing and by Wednesday morning I had a full blown cold. Crap! Normally, I would call out from the Post Office where I work but as I've mentioned previously, we are very short handed. There wasn't any way they could afford to have me call out. Also, I needed the money. To my great annoyance, I failed to see a number of expenses coming up like I should've example: buying another 3 month supply of Propecia cost $186. To make matters worse, summer has arrived in Maryland. Yesterday, it had to have been at least 86 degrees or higher not including the humidity. Still, I carried on and got the job done. 3 more days to go (including today) and, I can rest for a couple days. I hope I can kick this cold quickly. I'm drinking lot of fluids and taking Nyquil at night so I can sleep. I believe lots of sleep will help me kick it. We'll see how it goes. Cheers all!

Medieval Times Special

The Baltimore/Washington D.C. Medieval Times is offering a special where everyone gets in at just $30. This can be a serious savings as a normal adult admission can be something like $50 each. There are some restrictions. First, it can't be combined with any other offers. Second, it has to be booked on-line. From what I remember, any booking you make on-line is nonrefundable so make sure you are going to go before you book it. Third, you must enter promotion code 30EB59 when making the booking. Fourth, the promotion is only good at the Baltimore/Washington castle. Last, the offer end July 5, 2009. Medieval Times is a fun place to take the family. It offers jousting, sword fighting, knights, a beautiful Princess and a nice story. To be in the spirit of things, all food is eaten with your hands or slurped in the case of the soup. Kids tend to really enjoy that part. Parents, they do provide lots of knapkins and a hot towel after the meal. Disclaimer: I don't work at any Medieval Times castle or its headquarters. Readers should take all responsiblity for any problems with the booking and should double check the Medieval Times website to make absolutely certain I have the facts right before committing their money. This blog is provided as possible benefit to any readers I may have. I've got to the shows at Medieval Times, enjoyed them and I did work for them for a year and 3 months. Cheers all!

Laptop Saga Continues

My laptop saga continues. I received my second U-300 modem. I tried activating it on my new Dell laptop. It wasn't having any of that. I installed the software on my old laptop. It actually picked up a signal on that laptop but, it still wouldn't activate the card. Aargh! I spent over 90 minutes on my cell phone talking with the tech support people at Sprint. Finally, they told me to take to the Sprint store in Laurel which has a repair facility. The folks there will get the thing to activate on one of their computers. Then, I'll go back and make sure I can hook up to the Internet using the card on my new laptop. I hope this will be the end of this saga with a nice happy ending i.e. I get a card that will in time have WiFi connection speeds. That would rock. We'll see. Stay tuned.

eHarmony

Some friends recommended eHarmony to me. They said they knew someone who had met their future mate there. I have had absolutely no luck with dating services. Still, it would be nice to meet an attractive lady with similar interests that I could date. I decided to try them.

I found the questions they ask you interesting. Throught the questions, they try to get an idea of just what you're like. Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know where they came up that I was very emotional. I don't think I am.

I put down that bible doctrine tapes were very important to me. They are. I've been listening to them for years and, they've really helped me. Apparently putting something like that got me tagged and, all the matches I got were very religious women. I do want a woman who believes in Jesus Christ but, I don't want one who wants to do missionary work or wants to talk about how she was "saved." To me, that is holy roller stuff and, I don't care for holy rollers.

Another item that is important to me attractiveness. The reason I quit other dating sites is because of the unattractiveness of their members. To my great annoyance, eHarmony has been the same way. I've seen only 1 lady out of 50 that I thought attractive and, she was already in a relationship. Because of this, I checked into the cancellation policy.

I found out that if you want to get your money back, you must cancel within 3 days. As I didn't, if I cancel now, I'm out $198. Damn!

I decided to take out any references to faith or Jesus Christ. I'm curious to see what kind of matches I'll get now. If they don't get any better, I'm going to cancel though I'll be ticked about wasting $198. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Salvation Army

Sometimes, I'll decide to clear out various stuff I don't want for various reasons. Clothes no longer fit, I've changed movie systems, or books have gotten old. Today was such a day. I had 2 huge trash bags full of clothes and movies on VHS. The clothes no longer fit and, I've replaced most of my VHS movies with DVD. A good charity to donate such stuff to is the Salvation Army. They have a thrift store and donation depot in Laurel, Maryland. So, I took the stuff I decided to get rid of and gave it to them. Hopefully, someone still watches VHS movies. Some of the ones I gave them were still in their original wrapper. The clothes I gave them were in good shape too. Someday, I'll have to go in and check out their thrift shop. I've never been in it though I've donated a good bit of stuff to it. For any who might be interested in it, the shop and depot are located just off the exit for Route 1 from MD-32 on Guildford Road. Cheers all!

Postal Service Issues T-Shirts

Yesterday, I got to work for the first time in 3 days. I was delighted to have 3 whole days off. I needed them after working 7 weeks in a row of overtime. While casing the mail for the route I was assigned to, my boss comes over and asks my shirt size. I told him and wondered why he needed it. It turned out the Postal Service issued everyone t-shirts promoting the flat rate priority boxes they're pushing. All carriers have been ordered to wear the t-shirts on Wednesdays. I have no idea why the Postal Service picked Wednesday. This is the first clothing item the Postal Service has ever issued me. Rural carriers don't have uniforms and so aren't issued any clothing items. I bought myself all the t-shirts I wear at work saying rural carrier as well as my Postal Service hat. The only thing we have that identifies us with the Postal Service is our badge. I find it a trip. So, I'll be wearing my new official Postal Service t-shirt next Wednesday. I'll have to write myself a note on my dry erase board so I don't forget to wear it. Cheers all!

Travel Update

Slowly (all too slowly) but surely, the tours I signed up for are getting here. I found out last week that the Globus Canada tour I'll be taking is sold out. That means there will likely be 50 people on the tour. WO! That may end up being the largest group I'll have ever done with Globus. Hopefully, it'll be a nice one. We'll see. In a couple weeks, I should get my travel documents. I can't wait to get those. They make the tour seem more real. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Recycling Run

Yesterday, I was able to finally make a recycling run. What that is where I load up all the recyclables I'd been saving for the last 4 or 5 months and drop them off at the recycling depot in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The people who pick up the trash in the apartment complex where I live don't have a separate bin for recyclables. Rather than have them go into a landfill, I separate them and take them to the nearest recycling depot. It's my little bit for the environment.