Week One; done.

It's 6:30am.  I'm off my shift, and currently feeling awake.

It felt like a long week.  I worked 5 days.  I really like the work, it's busy and physical.  I get all 10,000 steps and then some whilst I'm there.  I worked in the same section all week; shelves U1-U11 and a couple C-shelves too.  There are probably 30-40 people on the shift.  We all work from 12:15-3 then a 15 minute break, then back to work til 5:30.  I've been working with Harpreet (I think is her name) all week, the other people in that area have switched daily.  Usually there are 3 people in each section: the diverter (the person who pulls the boxes off the main line), and two Ps (I cannot remember what that stands for right now.  Maybe pre-depart?).  Sometimes there are three pre-depart people.  That's what I did all week.

The schedule has been a little trying on the family.  Aaron has been amazing picking up my stack.  He's told me he's proud of me for working every day.  And brought flowers.  And done Bertie's bedtime routine without me all week.  Plus I haven't been myself, due to sleep deprivation.

But...

 There is a new schedule starting on October 2nd.  I'll be working Friday-Monday 8:15pm to 1:15am.  This is going to be a way better schedule.  I can sleep at a nearly normal time.  And it's over the weekend, so Aaron can watch Bertie if I do need a nap.  I am a little concerned that I may hit a little traffic going into work, but I think it won't be too bad.

That's all for now.  Off to bed.

First Day

Today was my first day at Amazon.  Our warehouse receives boxes that are already packed and labeled, we then sort them by where in the area they are being shipped.  So far it was fairly easy, but tiring work.  I didn't work the whole shift, because we had some orientation at the beginning, and I still had 7100 steps by the time I left.

I'm still not sure of my schedule.  The problem with big companies (like this) is there isn't anyone around to ask.  The warehouse is stand alone, all the HR is in another building.  So I'm going back tonight, as it was suggested by the floor manager (since he didn't know either).

I'm working 12:30am-5:30am.  I slept a little this morning, about 90 minutes, but I couldn't sleep this afternoon.  I'm grumpy from no sleep. So I'm going to take some melatonin around 5pm, so I can nap til a little after 11.

I left too early last night.  I was there by midnight.  So I think I'll leave at midnight, then I should get there at 12:20ish.  (The site is as north as you can go and still be in San Jose.  As in, the other side of Montague Expressway is Milpitas.  I'm just south of the Great Mall).

The shipment didn't get done by 5:30, so some people stayed on.  I would have, except I needed sleep (since I was teaching at church today).  And I didn't bring adequate food (or any money, because I'm a dummy), so I was starving at 5:30.  Tonight, I'll stay a little later if they need it.  I think if I leave there by 6, I should miss most traffic.

I'm sure this is really disjointed, but there ya go.  Day 1 is in the books.

I start with Amazon is a couple of days (Sunday at 12:30am actually).  I'm feeling anxious, which is compounded by the fact that I have not received all the new hire paperwork yet.  I talked to an employment rep who said this was fine.  So maybe I'll get it before I start?  I'd like to know my schedule too.  Not that it matters too much, because it's always in the middle of the night.  But I'd just like to know.

The lump on my neck is still there, it feels a little smaller.  I'm almost done with the antibiotic, though it's taking a toll on my body's flora (or is it fauna?).  Grumble.

Bertie was really good yesterday.  Today he is really bad.  Not listening, having a lot of consequences etc.  He's driving me crazy.  It's nap/quiet time now, and I've had to tuck him in 3 times 4 times already (in a less than 30 minute period).

I finished 30 days of yoga yesterday.  Now Bri and I are alternating choosing workouts every week.

At Target today, I found an unopened bag of Hershey Kisses in my cart in the parking lot.  Score!

I tried to count Macros yesterday and failed.  I may try again in the future, but I need to research what I should be eating.

Ch-Ch-Changes

I'd been looking for a job, a couple of large expenses (tires etc) have made our savings dip quite low.  It's hard to find a job that will work, since I don't have infinite child care for Bertie.  My MiL said 3 days a week would be her max.  I had gotten a job interview with Waiter.com to be a lunchtime delivery driver.  M-F from 10:30-1:45.  But I found out that won't work for her.  So I nixed it.  This is why my old job was so great (aside from the fact that I really liked medical billing, and didn't mind dealing with insurance companies), I worked from 6:30am-10:30am 2-3 times a week.  So Aaron had Bertram until 8ish, then took him to his mom's house.  I was looking for early morning or late night.

Then I found a seasonal position with Amazon, working in their warehouse.  And it looks like I've got that job.  I need to go fill out forms on Wednesday.  It's 4-5 days a week (the days are all in a row, but I don't know which days yet), and the shift is from Midnight to 4-6:15.  (This is all from the posting, I'll get more info tomorrow, hopefully).  It pays $13.50 an hour, which is great for unskilled labour.  It's seasonal, so through the new year, then I'll either be done, or maybe I can stay on at reduced hours.  Not sure yet.  It's 12 miles away, in San Jose but near Milpitas.  Usually that would make for an awful commute, but the hours make it a really easy commute (just hop up 880).

Hopefully I can nap from 8pm-11ish.  Then Adderall, work, and maybe a nap once I get home, if my MiL can watch Bertie.  Otherwise he can watch tv for a couple hours (great parenting), and I'll nap.  We'll see how it goes, I'm sure I'll work something out.

A nice day

I got up at 5:30, and drove to the track.  I did a minuscule amount of running, and walked most of the time.  I love being able to see the sun rise.  I came home around 7, and I could hear Bertram waking up.  I got him up and took off his diaper and put on his undies.  A minute later he ran up to me and said "I wet, I need to potty".  His undies were a little damp, and he ran off to his little potty.  He really had to go!

Then he said he wanted a toy out of his closet.  It was a big garbage truck that he got for his first birthday (I think).  It's a German toy, and it's pretty well made.  After I showed him how to use it, and gave him some little pom-poms to put in and dump out, he played with it for two hours straight!  I did yoga, and got all our stuff together for the beach.  He cried for a minute when I said he needed to get ready, but calmed down quickly.

We headed off to Santa Cruz, well, Aptos, actually.  The drive there was uneventful.  Bertie read a book most of the way there.  When we got to Rio del Mar, we both went to the bathroom (he was dry when we arrived).  Then went back to the car to get all the necessary beach crap (towels, sand toys, snacks, and a blanket).  That was a difficult trip, the stuff was heavy, and Bertram was walking so slow.  But we got set up, and he went to play in the little stream that goes to the ocean.  He did a lot of digging, splashing, finding different rocks, and sticks.  We stayed for 3 hours, and stopped to add more sunblock and have a snack about halfway through.  It was a beautiful day.  Warm, and comfortable, with a nice breeze.

When we left, around 1:45, we went to Marianne's in Aptos for ice cream lunch.  I put Bertie up to the counter, and asked him what flavour he wanted.  (99% of the time, he chooses mint).  He said "white".  The ice cream guy said "ok, let me bring you some samples".  He brought 4: Vanilla, Coconut, Banana, and I can't remember the last one.  He chose Banana, I got Heaven (peanut butter base, with brownies).  He ate almost all of it.  We went to the bathroom there, and got ready to hit the road.

I wanted a drink before we got back on the highway.  I thought if I drove down the main drag (Soquel Ave), I would see a drive through.  We drove 7 miles, from Aptos to Santa Cruz, and didn't see a single drive thru.  I found one when we were back in Santa Cruz, but it was on the wrong side of a divided road.  So we stopped at Macca's, the one without a drive thru.  The line was super long, and of course, Bertie needed to crawl around on the floor...

We got on to Hwy 17.  I was driving pretty slowly, I was hoping he'd fall asleep.  We hit the summit and started down the other side.  (The harder part of the drive, there are a lot of sharp turns).  We came around one of the blind curves, and there was a car, stopped.  The car was stopped, the driver was standing next to it (on the highway!) and he didn't have his hazard lights on.  (I should mention this all happened in a matter of seconds).  I couldn't slam on the brakes, because there was a car right behind me.  So I eased on to them hard.  I stopped in time, and then kept my eyes on the rear view mirror.  I willed the car behind me to stop.  And miraculously, he did.  And the car behind him swerved around without issue.   When it was safe, I went around.  The car I didn't hit, looked fine, I have no clue why he was stopped.  There was another car in front of him, which also looked fine, but maybe hit the guardrail.  Neither looked immobile, so I'm not sure why they didn't move to an area with a shoulder.  I was shaking.  (I somehow managed not to swear).  Once I'd calmed down a little, I said a prayer of thanks.  That could have been terrible.  (I checked Google Traffic about an hour after that, the accident was still there, so I assume someone probably hit the first car).

The rest of the drive was fine, thankfully.  We ran to the grocery on the way home.  Then Bertie went to see his grandparents, and I started dinner and showered.  I got a little sunburn on the back of arms and shoulders.  I can never make rice correctly, it's either burnt or soggy.  I made cilantro lime chicken and rice.  It was still good, even with mushy rice.

It was a good day.

waiting.

This morning I found a lump on the side of my neck.  It's small, like a hard contact lens.  I called advice, but the wait was long, so I made an appointment instead.

At 11:30 Bertie and I went to the doctor.  My hope was she would say "Oh, that is nothing.  Don't even worry about it!"  It's not nothing, but it may not be something either.  She said it is on my lymphnode.  It's possibly an infection.  She asked if I'd be open to trying a course of antibiotics (she's usually reticent to give antibiotics).  So I have some Keflex.  She said that ENT wouldn't do a biopsy unless it's been present for a month (or longer).

So we wait.

Take the Keflex and hope it goes away.

It's scary to think about even the idea of cancer.  Especially since I've long had the feeling that I would die young, from cancer.

But it's probably nothing.  Hopefully it goes away.