These Times Which Try This Man's Soul

 We just went through a re-bid at work.  This means our schedule was altered severely and we who serve are called to, according to seniority, choose which schedule of horror with which we'd be content to punish ourselves.  

Stop right there.  Yeah.  I'm fortunate to be working.  Not the point and hardly consolation.

I work for a contractor hauling mail for the United States Postal Service.  That right there should be taken as a bad indicator.  The facility where I work is a 24/7/365 operation.  Since I signed on a little over seven years ago, I've been working nights.  I've had the same schedule the whole time in terms of which days I work and which days I don't.  It was a great schedule, as I only worked three days one week, alternating with four days the next.  Needless to say, I enjoyed either a three or four day weekend.  I loved it, despite the fact that my week begins on Sunday night.  I must sleep all during the day to prepare for the job.  Church going has been sporadic ever since, given Saturdays is when everything happens.  

When I started, I worked from 7PM-7AM, and that eventually was changed to 6PM-6AM.  It was always the case where if one completed one's tasks, one can scoot and still get paid for the whole shift.  More recently, my hours had been cut to the extent I averaged about 30 hrs. per week.  I was in heaven.  The money was still sufficient and as I've been getting older (how is this happening!!!!??), my wife was cool with me working less almost as much as I was. 

But now, this type of schedule was eliminated.  Those choices which were four days per week included horrible off days.  My wife works a normal Monday-Friday job like most people.  Saturdays off is essential in order to do things a husband and wife does.  I could not take a day shift which would either have me coming home at 6AM and sleeping half the day away, or worse, having to hit the rack at 7 or 8PM in order to get up Sunday morning for work.  (Yeah.  There's never any Saturday, Sunday weekends available here.)

So I had two criteria in my choosing:

1.  I must have ALL of Saturday off.

2.  I want no more hours than I was putting in. 

I only got #1.  I'm doing five days per week (I'd jump at my original schedule rather than work that many days in a week...if I could, which I couldn't) and doing around 44 hours per.  I have four different schedules in that time.  

I'm old enough to retire.  In fact, I just signed up to begin drawing Social Security benefits.  I'm working until we move in the early spring of 2022.  I did NOT want to work more, especially as we're beginning to effect our plan of attack regarding the move.  Having those long weekends would have been ideal as well as just personally pleasing.  The bigger paychecks from this new schedule will be nice, but I'm still looking at the company job postings for a better deal.  For example, I drive about a half hour to get to work (if I'm doing the speed limit).  But I live close enough to another facility I could almost spit and hit it.  The problem is that's not a 24/7 operation, and most all of their full-time schedules are six days per week.  Even their part time offerings are, but every now and then there's a Monday through Friday option, though it's only around 20-25 hours per week.  With SS, it's absolutely doable.  (Again, the job pays well).  So wish me luck.

The worst aspect of this five day thing is that we're just a few months from the start of PEAK SEASON!!!! ...a time when the PO really shows its grit (*gack*).  They have no grit.  The volume goes up but no one works harder, everything gets clogged up and one can sit waiting with a trailer full of mail for a dock door to open up well beyond one's going home time.  Hey, I can sit in line for hours so long as it's not going home time!  

The facility where I work is possibly the worst Postal processing center in the country.  Those who drive in from far away all hate the place.  I have occasion to deliver and pick up at two other locations which, while having their own issues, do not seem to be anywhere near as much a cluster...you know...as the one at which I work.  It doesn't have to be and shouldn't be, which is easy to see and makes it all the more frustrating.  A lot of  "I ain't bustin' my ass" and "why should I" all over the place.  A lot of attitude.  A lot of stupid people in positions of authority acting as if they're perfect for the job while they do so little, and what they do they do poorly.  I see nothing which seems to be a tough job, yet so many need to be told what to do, regardless of how obvious it is.  If the Postal Service went private, I wouldn't doubt 90% of the people at this place would be out.  

So all in all, it's a really frustrating place to work.  It's like God testing me daily.  And now it's more daily than before.  Can I last?  I just need six more months before I call it quits here to concentrate on moving our worldly goods to warmer, more conservative climes.  This bid could not have come at a worse time.  God give me strength and patience.  (A Lotto win wouldn't hurt, but I never pray for that)