We received our Amazon employment docs late Friday afternoon. Included in the 20 or so documents which must be either signed, or acknowledged was our shift information. The prior two times we have worked for Amazon we chose to work the night shift which on a 10 hour work day goes from 5:30 pm to 4 am (two paid 10 minute breaks, and a 1/2 hour unpaid lunch included in there). We had hoped to work the night shift again this year, but alas it was not to be. We have been assigned to work the day shift (current business needs determine your shift, and job) from 6:30 am to 5 pm as either packers, or pickers. We will work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays to begin with doing 10 hour shifts. Our mandatory overtime day (if one is so required) will be on Tuesdays. Without the mandatory overtime day we will be off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. Which job (pack, or pick) we will perform will be revealed to us on Monday.
As one might expect, we are disappointed, but were fully aware from the beginning that we might not get what we wanted. TLE and I are resilient, and within a hour, or so we were beginning to make the mental adjustment to our new reality. We always say we can do anything for 8 weeks......it's not for the rest of our lives. Your mentality has to be 'work, get the money, and get out', and that's what we shall do.
Friday was a gloriously dry, sunny day and I took full advantage of that weather to wander around site #57 setting up for the next 8+ weeks. The first, and most important step in creating the proper ambiance is to pull our artificial turf out of the trailer for the first time in 5 weeks, and unfold it. There is just something about stepping out of our coach in the morning and standing on 'grass' instead of gravel, right? The visual aesthetic is just much more pleasing.
Then it was time for me to adjust the position of our trailer in relationship to the Newell. Where we dropped it initially placed it too close to the right rear of the coach, which meant I could not open the bedroom window awning on the passenger side, plus I could not access the passenger side engine bay door. Lucky for me that I have this wonderful 'Trailer Valet', and plenty of time.....
......in the above picture you can see that the VW is parked right on our property line, whereas the trailer is about two feel off the property line. My plan, which worked, was to move the trailer forward and to its right about 10 feet, and then slowly back it up moving it further towards the property line (its right). It took about an hour for me to accomplish the deed, but it was worth it. I can now extend the window awning, and open the engine bay door, plus I can actually, with ease, walk between the trailer and the coach......
.....plus we have room to park the Beetle behind the coach. I think it looks a lot better, along with the obvious increase in functionality. As it stands now the front of the Newell is about 12" over the front line, and the trailer is about the same over the rear property line. Fortunately the interior roads here are quite wide, and practically everyone is over their line, too. I'm not sure if we are going to put our patio awning out as it can get windy here, plus I notice no one else has deployed theirs.
Once the outside was done I turned my attention to the interior of the trailer. Most of my stuff in there has been largely inaccessible for the past 5 weeks, and it was time to change the status quo. I moved everything that sits in front of the work bench when we are traveling to the back of the trailer, and then assembled my Cannondale, and my Intense 5.5 mostly to just get them out of the way of the work bench, and so I could set up the table upon which I keep my tool bags when we are stationary.
During the time I was working outside in the afternoon TLE was at a massage appointment in town.......she got the 80 minute massage for $80, and loved it. By the time she returned a couple of hours later I had the trailer organized, and had poured the rest of the Delo 100 40 wt. motor oil in my oil reservoir....why? Well, the last of two 5 gallon buckets was taking up valuable room in the trailer. As I was taking the lid off the 5 gallon bucket I noticed I had written the date I acquired that oil......2/15/2015.....wow, that 10 gallons of oil lasted me over 3.5 years, and I still have two gallons in individual 1 gallon containers, plus another 2.5 gallons in the reservoir.
Speaking of the oil reservoir.......I added 2 quarts to the big 6v92 when we left Ellsworth, ME, and over the last 1700+ miles I have used just one quart. When I first purchased the Newell back in March of 2008 it was using 1 quart every 7-8 hours of operation. Since we left Ellsworth we have operated the Detroit for about 19 hours.....big, big improvement. Our odometer currently sits at just over 164,000 miles, and we are responsible for 61,000 of those miles over the last 10.5 years. In that time I have had to replace the gear driven water pump on the Detroit, replaced a secondary coolant hose, and had to have the Jacobs brake repaired. Otherwise it has just been a matter of changing the coolant, changing the oil, the oil filter, the tranny filter, the fuel filters, air filter, and the tires. Talk about low maintenance!
By the time I finished with the oil project it was after 3 pm, and I was ready for a shower, and a nap. I feel like I have turned the proverbial corner with my cold, and am seeing steady improvement on almost an hourly basis now. Very little coughing, and blowing of the nose on Friday, but I still tire easily.
So, there you have it.....day two in Campbellsville is in the books with two more days before we begin Amazon 'orientation' on Monday....thanks for stopping by!
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totally unrelated to your post, but … what kind of medicare/health ins do you have that covers you across the US. It's open enrollment so time to review other options. Thx
ReplyDeleteWe carry Medicare parts A and B.... that's it. Pretty good coverage unless you're in the hospital more than 30 days.
Deletethx!
ReplyDelete