Dispatches from Blogblivion

So I had my first orientation/training session last night. This is the wee hours, seasonal job in a distribution center, sorting and loading packages onto delivery trucks. Had to be there at 1:00. Skipped Chuck and Heroes in an effort to get some sleep. Got maybe 2 hours. Valerie helped.

Watching videos, standing in on the pre-shift meeting, and paperwork kept me there until a bit after 4:00. Came home. Tried to get more sleep. Valerie helped. Ultimately ended up sleeping until after 11:00. Valerie slept almost as late as I did, having missed the chance to go on errands with Deb and the other two kids.

Tonight I have to be there at 3:20 AM, slightly early for photo ID picture to be taken. It’s another night of orientation, so I’m not officially on the dock until the next night.

At which point I am supposed to have solid leather shoes, as opposed to my usual sneakers, however shoe-like they may appear in spiffy black. Doh! These things cost money, ya know.

I find myself saying “what ever happened to my steel toed boots?” From 1991. “Would they still fit? Were they wearable? Bet they’re either buried good or got tossed long since.” Then I find myself saying “what about the boots I got for Christmas several years ago? Were they basically standard boots that worked for snow by being more or less waterproof? Or were they obviously designed mainly for snow? Bet those are around and if they fit at all could last me a night or two…”

Always something. Looks like they are reasonable at Wal-Mart. I still only have $30, which was going toward the $29 for car inspection this week (getting a rejection for possibly needing two 14″ tires gives time for cash flow to allow tires to happen). I have $135 in transit from a workorder I did last week, which might appear in my account tomorrow. Or as late as Friday.

Anyway, so far so good, but getting sleep will be interesting.

Update:

Amazingly, my combo boots are in a logical place, in the closet near the door, where I can find them in winter. The good thing is that they are designed to be easy to wear all day if you have to put them on to deal with snow, and they are steel-toed. The bad thing is that the lower part is rubberized, more flexible than a sneaker in places, and they look obviously intended for weather, and have a felt liner that can’t be removed without making the boot dysfunctional. If I had to I could sneak by a shift or two on them and they”d be better than sneakers, but not ideal, and probably too warm for this time of year,

So yeah. Gotta buy boots. Darn.