Seven

4:17 am - Friday - December 14th - Campbellsville, KY - 50º F, 60% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the east......mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 53º F.

On our donut hole day off work we had little ambition except to gird up for our last 4-5 days of work this Peak Season.  I spent time replacing the sewer connection elbow which I had run over with the VW the other day during the ice storm.  I ordered a new one from Amazon that night and had it in my hands by Tuesday afternoon after work......

.....once the new elbow was installed and my sewer connection reestablished I went about doing my weekly black tank dump ceremony.  The old elbow was translucent just as the one pictured, but the one I got from Amazon is completely clear which will aid in making completely sure the water coming out after flushing the tank a few times is completely debris free, if you know what I mean, and thereby 'clean'.

Once the deed was done we got dressed to go out for lunch at Longhunter's Coffee and Tea Cafe in Greensburg, about 11 miles away in Green County, which is also in the Central Time Zone.  Yup, there are two time zones in Kentucky.  Here in Campbellsville we are at the very western edge of the Eastern Time Zone.  When we got there I thought it was about 1 pm, but their clock read 12 pm.  At first I thought my watch was wrong, then TLE reminded me they are in a different time zone than Campbellsville.....doh!

We visited Longhunter's for lunch 6 years ago when we were here at Amazon our first time.  At the time we visited with our Amazon friends Jim, Sharon, Richard and Pat.....

December 7th, 2012.....left to right: TLE, Jim, Sharon, Pat and Richard

.....we enjoyed our lunch there so much we decided to pay them a visit to see if all was the same, and we were not disappointed......

.....we immediately ordered a pot of their 'Press-Pot Coffee' (french press), and for our entrees I had their Combo #1....half sandwich (BLT), and a bowl of their Potato Soup....TLE had their Corned Beef Sandwich....OMG, that soup was that for which to die!  The food and service were just as fine as they were 6 years ago!

We had a lovely, slow lunch talking about the short time left in the area, and about our plans afterwards.  Time is short and it is time to begin to think about the logistics of our travels to come over the next 6 weeks after we leave Campbellsville.

We were home by 2:30 pm with big, satisfied smiles upon our collective faces, and getting ready mentally for the next 4-5 days of work.....I say 4-5 as we don't know if our MET (Mandatory Extra Time) day on Tuesday will be on, or off, and we probably won't know util Monday sometime.  Either way, this is our last work week before we roll our wheels.

We were in bed by 8 pm....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

Eight

6:34 am - Thursday - December 13th - Campbellsville, KY - 46º F, 78% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the southeast....cloudy today with a forecast high of 61º F.....yup, schizophrenic weather!

Going to work Wednesday we knew we only had to work 10 hours and we would be off for another day (Thursday) before beginning the final 4 ten hour shifts on Friday (with the remote possibility of an MET day on Tuesday....it is still on as of this writing).  As we moved from quarter to quarter in rapid succession I was thinking about how much easier Amazon was this time around compared to the first time back in 2012.  Already knowing your job, and what is expected helps.  When you are learning a new job time seems to pass much more slowly because of your lack of confidence in what you are doing, and whether you are doing it correctly.  Neither of us had much of an issue with our feet as we did back in 2012 when we were soaking our aching feet after every shift in epsom salts and hot water.  During the shift I caught brief glimpses out the emergency exit doors of a bright, sun shinny day, but by the time we exited the concrete bunker a little after 5 pm it was to heavy cloud cover, but relatively warm temps considering what time of year it is in central Kentucky.

At our first quarter break (9 am) TLE and I decided we would go out to dinner after work, which is something we have not done on a work day since we arrived, even if we are off work the next day.  It just seemed that it was time to revisit our beloved Brothers BBQ, so within minutes of returning home we were in the VW and on our way over to Brothers for a couple of full slabs of St. Louis Spare Ribs.....of course there were a couple of Christmas Ale's to be enjoyed.....

......the service at Brother's is quite exceptional, and within 5 minutes of placing our order we had our brews, and then our ribs.....TLE managed to down about 1/3 of her ribs, and I slightly over half before we surrendered and requested a takeout box to take the remains of our spoils home to serve as a future dinner.  The price point on a full slab of St. Louis Spare Ribs is $20.95, while the price for a 1/2 slab is only $4 less, so buying the full slab, and then taking the leftovers home really makes this an economical meal.....two for the price of one......

There is so much meat on these ribs!

.....we were home a little after 6 pm  which is a testament to the fast service at Brothers!  

We watched a couple more Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel before calling it a night about 9:30 pm.  I am still thinking about those ribs as I write this morning, and knowing there is another slab of ribs awaiting me for dinner tonight just puts a big smile on my face.  Just 8 days counting from Wednesday until we roll our wheels.....

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

As the World Turns.....

4:22 am - Wednesday - December 12th - Campbellsville, KY - 32º F, 74% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the south.....clear today with a forecast high of 50º F.

And the world turned once again Tuesday.  But, before I get to that let me start at the beginning.  We slept in until about 7 am and it was still just 17º F outside.....brrrrrr!  We knew the high would be in the mid 40's so we put off our lone outside activity until the temperature reached at least the 30's.  What was our one lone outside activity?  That's easy....we needed to dry out the artificial turf and get it into the trailer before the rain comes again this weekend.  We knew Tuesday would be a dry, totally sunny day so if we were going to get the turf dry it would be then.

About 10 am TLE and I drug the turf into the vacant site adjacent to our passenger side where the sun was hitting the ground.  We left the 'grass' side up for about 3 hours and then turned it over to get the underside dry.  All during this time I was working inside the trailer to get it organized for the insertion of the turf, and eventually the VW next Wednesday, our departure day.  It is always slow going organizing the trailer at first.  There are a lot of small things which must be accomplished before the big stuff can be moved, but it is a very familiar process to me after almost 7 years, and I know within a few hours it will be ready.  I used to get full of anxiety whenever it was trailer organizing time, because there were so many things to do, but now I know the process and exactly how long it will take and just plow through it without a thought.  It's also a time that I sometimes will decide to discard something I have not been using, or has outlived its usefulness, and there was a small plastic grocery bag full of such items which I hauled to the dumpster for disposal, as well as an armful of used Amazon boxes representing the things we have ordered from Amazon since we arrived in Campbellsville.

Later in the day TLE made a grocery run while I continued working in the trailer.  By the time she returned it was just about time to move the artificial turf into the trailer.  Finally about 4 pm we did just that.  Now just the unhooking of our utilities remains for next Wednesday.

Now, what changed regarding our Amazon stint on Tuesday?  Well, about 11:30 am both TLE and I received via text message a VET opportunity (Voluntary Extra Time) for Wednesday.  We had discussed this 'what if' scenario Monday evening, and decided if a VET offer was forthcoming for Wednesday we would accept it, and thereby get our 50 hour week with 10 hours of overtime. We were disappointed that our MET for Tuesday had been cancelled, so this worked out well....we got one day off, we'll work Wednesday and still have Thursday off work before we begin our last 4 days of work at Amazon.  So, there are now 5 days of work left, not 4.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

Hahahahahahaha.....fooled you!!

7:09 am - Tuesday - December 11th - Campbellsville, KY - 17º F (feels like 17º F), 92% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the south by southeast......clear today with a forecast high of 45º F....

 17º F after 7 am!

Just when we thought we had the straight of it things changed again Monday.  As I wrote yesterday we thought we were going to work two extra days (Tuesday December 11th and 18th) based on the information disseminated to us on Sunday, but at our post lunch 'Stand Up' meeting on Monday the general manager of Amazon Campbellsville, Carlos DeLaGarza, announced that the only VET days available to the Camperforce folk would be Sunday the 16th through Wednesday the 19th......no VET prior to Sunday the 16th.  Of course, for us working the 11th meant we would get 50 hours that week with 10 of them being of the overtime ($22.50/hour) variety, and next Tuesday (the 18th) would just be straight time, but an extra $315 on top of the extra $450 from our overtime day on the 11th.  I write all that to say this....we are now down to 4 days of work left as of the end of business on December 10th.  We have opted not to work Tuesday the 18th and just spend that day putting the finishing touches on getting ready to roll our wheels on Wednesday, December 19th.

On a much more positive note I finally escaped the gravitational pull of Building 'C' Monday afternoon shortly after the lunch break.  I was picking in P-1-F when I got a message on my Motorola scanner to move to.....wait for it.....P-2-B......Building A!  I haven't been in Building 'A' for a month.  From P-2-B I was moved to P-1-B, then  to P-1-A, which is where I picked for the remainder of the day.  Pick Mod 'B' is all things other than clothing, and it was nice for the first time since last Friday to pick something which was not apparel related.  Pick Mod 'A' is all clothing, all the time and is much like P-1-C, P-2-C, P-1-F, and all of E, but it is in a different building and I enjoyed being in a new place within the concrete bunker.  As I picked up and down the long, long aisles of Pick Mod 'A' I could occasionally see outside through the windows in the numerous emergency exit doors along the back wall, plus out the main entrance.  It was a brilliantly sunny day.....a day I wish I could have been outside enjoying, but just being able to see outside once in a while was enough.

When the final chimes sounded announcing the end to week 7 of our 8 week sojourn here in Campbellsville I was already at the front of the complex instead of having to begin my 5-6 minute walk to the front as I have been doing for the past week.  As we exited the concrete bunker we were treated to our 2018 Peak Season t-shirts.....an annual tradition for each Fulfillment Center......

....and then we were on our way up the long 1/4 mile hill to our home.....we will make the round trip walk to and from Amazon just 4 more times before this workamping chapter is complete.

We relaxed Monday evening knowing we did not have to be in bed by 8 pm, and watched two Hallmark Christmas movies.  TLE was quite tired, and was in bed before 8:30 pm, but I managed to stay up until 10:30 pm.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

Actually there are now 7 left....

4:13 am - Monday - December 10th - Campbellsville, KY - 29º F (feels like 23º), humidity 78%, wind 6 mph out of the north by northeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 43º F.

In our ever changing world in this information age the information about our 'End Date' keeps changing.  There is now NO VET time being offered after 12/19, which is still our end date, but we can work our MET days even if they are cancelled.  As a result of that change TLE and I have signed up to work both Tuesdays (our MET days) on the 11th and 18th.  That will earn us another $765.  When all the accounting is done we should leave here having earned about $12,000 (net) for 8 weeks of toil.

Sunday morning brought us freezing rain....literally....it was raining when we woke up and the rain had frozen on the surfaces of everything including the glass on the VW.  Removing frost from a windshield is one thing, but removing ice is quite another, and it took us a few minutes to accomplish that before we drove to work at 6 am.  Fortunately the roads were not icy.....just everything else.

Inside the concrete bunker once again we were shielded from the weather reality outside, but we trade the bad weather for endless, overwhelming at times, sound.....the sounds of the hundreds of fans moving air....the clickety clack sounds of the miles of conveyors moving customer's orders from 'pick' to 'pack' and out the door to be picked up by UPS, FedEx and USPS and delivered into the welcoming hands of the expectant customers in two days, or less.....the sounds of hundreds of carts rolling along concrete, or wooden flooring.....the sounds of two way radio conversations crackling in the background, and the incessant sounds of beeping Motorola scanners.  There are times when I wouldn't mind just standing outside feeling the rain hit my face....freezing, or not.....:-)

I continued my exile in Building 'C' spending 9 of my 10 hour shift on P-2-E.....not even a short vacation in 'F', for me on Sunday.....the only change was about an hour spent on P-3-E.  Almost everyone in our orientation group was there too, so it's not like I have been singled out, or anything.  TLE continues to enjoy Building 'B' and all the amazing variety it offers, while I only pass through Building 'B' for breaks, and on my way to lunch in Building 'A'.

In spite of my continued incarceration in Building 'C' the time did pass rather quickly, and before I knew it I was hearing the chimes announcing the beginning of another evening of parole, and a return to the outside world for another 13.5 hours......kind of like 'work release' I guess.....:-)

We spent the three hours before bed time watching another Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel and were in bed once again by 8 pm knowing we have just 7 more days of labor inside the concrete bunker before we head south to Nashville, and our flight home for Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

6 left......

4:12 am - Sunday - December 9th - Campbellsville, KY - 31º F (feels like 24º), 82% humidity, wind 8 mph out of the north by northeast.....'freezing rain' with a forecast high for today of 39º F.

Of course, the main topic of discussion most of Saturday was the e-mail received from the Camperforce folk Friday evening about our end date of 12-19, and all of its ramifications.  When we weren't talking about our plans we were grinding up and down the long picking aisles of the FC averaging between 200 and 250 picks per quarter.  I, somehow, got sucked back into Pick Mod 'E' Friday, and never escaped all day Saturday. In the interests of full disclosure I did receive a one hour respite when I was sent to Pick Mod 'F' for an all too brief spell, but I otherwise spent my day on P-2-E and P-3-E  picking apparel, and apparel related items from row 1 to 57 and back.....from the #1 bin all the way to the 273rd bin in each row.  

Our time here at Amazon is quite finite now.....after Saturday we have just 6 work days left (barring any MET days).  We have already discussed and set our final dinner together as a group.....December 18th at Colton's Steakhouse and Grill.  As my good friend Roscoe (Yellowstone General Stores) would say at the end of each shift...."Time to wind 'er down!".

TLE requested and received from one of our managers special dispensation the other day and is now permanently 'locked' out of Building 'C' where the dreaded Pick Mod 'E' resides.  Her sinuses are affected by the dust that is blown around by all the fans.  If only I had a sinus problem.....NOT!  As I head off to Building 'C' at the beginning of each quarter she sweetly mocks me as she heads to my beloved Building 'B' to pick.  Will I escape the surly bonds of Building 'C' in the next 6 days?  Only time will tell....perhaps Sunday will be the day....stay tuned as 'they' say.

We emerged from the concrete bunker shortly after 5 pm to gusty, cold to the bone wind and the feeling of moisture in the air which immediately caused a quickening of our walking pace....we were home in record time!  We managed to get home without being rained upon, and it didn't really begin raining until sometime after midnight, but it sure felt like rain was in the offing.  It was nice to lie in bed this morning listening to the rain on the roof before finally arising at 4 am to another day of endless pacing in Building 'C'.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

It's actually 7.....

4:19 am - Saturday - December 8th - Campbellsville, KY - 31º F (feels like 27º F), 69% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the north......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 35º F.

Back to work day is always the hardest for me mentally, and Friday was no exception to that rule.  I was ready to go home by the end of the first quarter......9 am.  We all started out the day being moved around a lot.  By 7 am I was in my 6th Pick Mod, P-3-E.....as you know 'E' is my least favorite Pick Mod, but there I was moving from 3-E, to 4-E, back down to 2-E, and then 1-E just before lunch.  I was back bouncing around 'E' in the 3rd quarter, after lunch, but finally was sent to Pick Mod P-1-F for about 90 minutes during the 4th quarter before being moved back to P-3-E, then 4-E, then back to 2-E to end the fourth quarter.  Finally by the end of the day I was feeling much more like myself.

We exited the concrete bunker to 35º temps, and it was cloudy and blustery.....a perfect winter day if you are into such things.  I'm pretty much over 'perfect winter days', and am quite ready for some sun, 70's temps, and a little bicycle riding.  Shortly after returning home we got an e-mail from the Camperforce folk advising our (shift DH-3) end date had been moved up to December 19th, and that we could even be released as early as the 15th if we wished, and still get our completion bonus ($1/hour worked)......

We are in shift DH-3....the one circled in red

.....so there it is.....there are actually now just 7 work days left (barring any MET days between now and then, which looks unlikely).  We will be rolling our wheels a few days earlier than expected.  That actually works out much better than the original 'End Date' of 12-23 (a Sunday), which would have had us leaving Monday morning to get down to Nashville (157 miles) with the Newell, and catching our late flight home (5:30 pm) all in one day.  Now we'll have time to get the Newell properly set up for cold weather, and do a little touring around Nashville!  Perfect!

Now if I can get out of Pick Mod 'E' Saturday....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.