Canine Capers

 I'm fairly confident around dogs, I just feel that most dogs would learn to like me. I mean until I have established some sort of rapport with the animal I will treat them with caution and always with respect.

My job as a parcel delivery driver, I have encountered many many dogs of all sizes and temperaments.

Addresses with vicious dogs are well shared among all posties and drivers, just card them. Always. Then there are those dogs who get very territorial crashing against doors and windows while I'm trying to write a card (obviously if the owner was home, there will be a lot shushing and trying to calm down the animals).    I always heed  the sign on the gate that says "beware of dog" (some even have it in Italian -just to show they have culture "attenti al cani").

As a general rule I would call out "Parcel delivery! Is anybody home?"  before opening a gate, sign or no sign.  Usually, dogs would come running out barking as it's probably the most interesting thing to happen to their day. If there are no dogs, I enter, but maintain caution.  Just because there is no beware sign, is no guarantee there isn't any animal to beware of.  I keep an eye out for food or water bowls, or toys. 

In one of my deliveries while still a rookie, a greyhound came to the gate when I called out. He was friendly, sniffed me and let me pat him.  So I figured I'd be okay to drop off the package at the front porch so I opened the gate and let myself in being careful to keep the dog in the yard.  He was so excited he kept rearing up and put muddy pawprints all over my chest, I also realised how his mouth was level with my neck when he did that.   I was about five steps in when a second greyhound I  wasn't aware of arrived next to me like the velociraptor in Jurassic Park.  I froze and made a quick re-assessment of my situation.  I can handle one dog, but two dogs make a pack.  Discretion was the better part of valor so I walked slowly backwards and let myself out of the gate while pretending to play with the dogs.  At no time did the greyhounds bark throughout the whole encounter. The customers can go pick up this package at the post office.

Not long after, I started carrying dog treats with me.  If a dog was nice to me and responds to the "sit" command, they get a treat.  If the owner is present, I'll ask permission first and that usually wins over the human as well.   Sadly though, not all dogs accept bribes.  

A couple of months ago, a dog surprised me just as I finished taking a photo of the card I had jammed into the front door.  I was turning on my heels to step off the veranda, I had to change direction quickly to create distance between me and the dog. The edges were lined with potted plants so I dived over the plants into the garden floor below.  I still clutched the package in one arm so I couldn't put an arm out to break my fall. I tucked my chin against my chest planning to roll on impact. Oof! There was no roll, I landed on my side and had the wind knocked out of me. The dog was friendly and just wanted to say hi.  My ribs were sore for a few days. 

I do have a few favourites, there's Murphy in Hazelbrook who is is just always happy to see us and will be up for a sniff and a pat, maybe a neck rub. 

There's Banjo in Wentworth Falls who is sometimes wandering a few houses from his own and he comes up to me when I'm delivering to any of his neighbours. 

And of course there is Ratchet in Lawson.  When I first delivered to his house, he was lying on the front step trying to stay cool in the summer heat.  He heard me call out and silently ambled toward the gate. I realised he was old and his eyes were a little cloudy.  He let me pet him so I decided to enter through  the gate.  As soon as I closed the gate behind me, Ratchet rolled over and presented his belly.  I get it, it's a shakedown. You wanna deliver? It's gonna be a belly rub to get in and another one to get out.  

Today was another canine adventure.  Usual protocol: Call out.  Listen for barking. No barking.  Enter through the picket fence gate with a little picket archway.  About 10 meters in, another 20 meters to the front door, the backdoor swings open and the homeowner steps out. Okay cool.  Then a big white dog dashes through the backdoor, barking and headed for me. Another quick assessment of my situation. I can outrun this dog, it's only 10m to the gate, and I have a 20m headstart on him. I turn and dash for the gate. 5m to go and I could hear the barking dog closing in. I look over my shoulder and make a re-assessment of the situation: I won't have time to open the gate, I'm going to have to vault it parkour style. I planned out my strides, -left -right -one -two -three -four  /right foot on the wooden bench, -five / left foot on top of the gate  post, -six and-seven would land me outside the gate...  my right foot catches on the picket fence pointy tip and I fall head first outside.  Luckily this time I did roll and avoided injury.  The owner apologised for the dog chasing me, but I was too busy hysterically laughing because I didn't break my neck or crack my skull.  

Chasing my next dream

 When I first settled in the mountains, I had in the back of my mind a desire, a dream to have a salsa dance community in the community I'm in. Well then that led to the next thought which is why don't I teach classes? Well it was difficult to find my feet since I just started a new job as a chef instructor.  Also the rosters were quite unpredictable -I never new until 3 weeks before that I have to do dinner shifts on one or more nights.  And then the pandemic happened.

Fast forward to now and I have a great job that leaves my weekends and my evenings available to -do what I want.  Right now I want to dance. I want to share my passion for dance.  I want to build a salsa dance community in my community!  

And I will need anybody and everybody to help. That's kind of the point.

It might take a while.

That's okay.

Parcel Delivery Driver 1.0

 I love analysing processes and finding opportunities for improvement.  Back in the 90s there  was a "quality improvement" revolution in the corporate world.  These days you'd probably know it by the buzzword Six Sigma. So anyway, here I am now with a process job.  Because I think it is fun and I cannot resist myself, I try to analyse my tasks in terms of a work algorithm.  Basically how would I program an android to do my job.  

Before we get into it, allow me to walk you through what actually happens on my typical day as soon as I arrive at work:

Sorting

Before I even get there, trucks from the Eastern Creek hub would be arriving at the depot from 3AM to drop off all the mail and parcels for the Blue Mountains area. 

Forklift operators would pull out cage pallets from the trucks and deposit them into the bull pen. 

Workers in the bull pen would swarm each new cage, sort the parcels into the correct run cage.  By the time I get there at 6AM, most of the parcels have already been sorted.  My supervisor would tell me which run I am doing and give me my assigned cage.  That means all the packages that I will be delivering today is in this one cage (sometimes two on a busy day).

I would start pulling out each parcel and writing down the street number on my run sheet.  The run sheet is a tabulated list, with street names on each row, and I read and copy the address numbers of each package I pull out.  As I place each one on the floor, I try to arrange the packages in the same order of the streets on my run sheet. The idea is that I would load the packages into the van in reverse order, so that the last package I will deliver is at the very back of the van, while the first package is right next to the door.  This means I will spend less time rummaging through the van to find a parcel when I get to the address.

Scanning and Loading 

After I have emptied the cage and written down every address number on my run sheet, I have to scan the barcodes on each parcel. This tells the system that the package is loaded into my van and will be delivered today, sometimes the customer gets an email or text message triggered by the scan.

Then it's time to load the van.  I like to think of it as 3D tetris with extra objectives:

• trying to stack the packages so that they fit snuggly 

• trying not to crush the flimsy packages with heavier ones 

• allow me to see the labels to quickly find any package 

• keep packages for the same street together to make it easier to search

Delivering

 Drive to the first street on the list and stop at the first address.  Find the parcel, scan the parcel, drop off the parcel, take a geo-tagged photo, submit and cross off the address on my run sheet.  Go to the next address, repeat until van is empty.

Most of the deliveries are called safe-drops where we can leave it even if no one is home. However some packages require a signature, and that takes extra time because we have to wait for someone to answer the door.  And if there is no one to sign for it, I have to fill out a sorry-we-missed-you card, stick it in the door jamb and take the parcel back to the post office for self-collection.  

On a good day, everyone gets their parcels and I go home after the last delivery.  Unfortunately, most days I have to clock off only after I've dropped off the carded parcels at the local post office.

The best part is that after I clock off, there is no more mental residue from work that I take home with me. 

When I am done for the day, I am done for the day.  

Tomorrow is another cage, tomorrow is another run. 

 

 

 

    

Follow Your Road

Thank you COVID lockdown.
Thank you for getting me out of the kitchen and allowing me to homeschool my young daughters. 
Thank you for gifting me half of my winter basking in the warmth of my children.

Thank you for healing me.  The enforced pause in hospitality has given plenty of us time and space to consider why we do what we do.  Is it just a job? Is it also a calling? Would we rather be doing something else?

Two years ago, I was desperately looking for any job that would give me a stable economic base to live out my life.  I wasn't even considering a hospitality job in my search because I was already in hospitality and I knew the hospitality hours were not the best.  Neither was consistency nor security of employment.  But somehow I was found, recruited, and signed on because it was secure employment and I had no other offers.  

It saved me.

But it cost me dearly.  I had to move away from my children and missed out on time with them. I buckled down and did what needed to be done.  I worked the job hard and fought harder to get time with all my daughters.  Thank you for the struggle, thank you for the harvest, thank you for the growth.

It was really good until it wasn't.  Because of the dynamic and uncertain course of the COVID-19 pandemic, my roster was robbing me of time with my children. This was on top of the rising pressure in the kitchen as more and more work were being shouldered by the kitchen team. And ultimately this stress literally gave me ulcers.  By the time lockdown commenced, I was only too happy to not work a kitchen for a while.  

And now that we approach the end of lockdowns as vaccination rates are met, I have found the job that I started looking for two years ago.  Hay salamat.

Like many people of my generation, we have accumulated many skills and XP.  35 years earlier I earned a degree for a career in computing. 20 years ago I re-discovered my passion for dance and music. 12 years ago I earned a culinary certificate from TAFE to become a chef.  This week extends my journey from wearing suits and ties for work, to wearing Hi-VIS apparel. 

This week I'm a contract delivery driver for Australia Post.  

And since everyone at work knows I'm a newbie, I no longer suffer from impostor syndrome.  This is me and I will try my best every day.

Thank you.

This job makes it possible to have the kids every weekend if they want.  Gracias.

Lockdown 2021

 Ahh, seems I called it too soon. This COVID-19 pandemic has everyone scrambling again with the rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant.  Which in real terms, meant that I have not worked a kitchen in over 3 weeks.  Unlike last year when we still had students at Hogwarts to support and sustain, this time we have no students and no guests at all. When this lockdown is lifted, sometime in August optimistically, first thing we have to do at work is throw out all the expired food and make a big order to re-stock the hotel.

On the plus side, I have spent the past week on leave home-schooling  my young daughters.  It is a full time job with the youngest  who always seems to need help with every little detail.  Actually she is sneakily trying to get me to do her work for her, but since I'm on to her, I always try to push it back on her to get to the next step. 

her:    I don't understand.

me:     which part?

her:    All of it.

me:    Okay, read the first sentence.

her:    You read it.

me:    No, you read it.  So I can see you're trying.

her:    You read the first sentence, I'll read the next one.

me:    Oh darling, you read the first sentence and I can do the next one. 

... and back and forth goes the negotiation and tricky devious tactics she tries to get me to do her work for her.  

And then it hit me as I was prepping vegetables for the next meal, it's like I am back at work feeding a campus with just 2 students and 1 staff.  I cook what I like, but my students are picky -they'll happily eat burgers and nuggets but will suddenly declare themselves vegetarian if they don't like a meat dish I put up.  It sounds like I'm bitching and whining, but I'm chuffed to have them here with me for a whole week. For that I am most grateful for this lockdown.

Wellness Challenge

 I want to make this more positive so I will avoid using words that are of a negative association. So instead of saying I am sick, I will say I am having health issues.  Over the last 5 months I have had some wellness challenges.  First, I had a flare up with a slipped disc on my lower back when I was working a weekend stint. Then a couple of months ago I had an issue with my wrist tendon, also when I was doing a weekend.  Then over the last 3 weeks I have had abdominal pains at work.  On a few occasions I was in so much pain all I could do was curl up into a ball and shake waiting, no praying for it to pass.  Which eventually it does fade into a dull discomfort enough for me to resume work.

I chalked it up to work stress and came to the realisation that I was also depressed from missing out on time with my daughters.  I made a choice then that I had to find a job that allows me to see my children instead of limiting it.  I felt  a weight lift off my shoulders as soon as I made this decision.  So I tell my boss that though I'm not quitting yet, he should know that I am starting to look for a more family friendly roster kind of job.  I wasn't feeling so stressed anymore.

I still ended up presenting at hospital emergency with severe abdominal pain - on my day off no less. After 3 days of being processed through the public health system,  it seems I have gallstones as well as anaemia.  I still need to see a specialist for additional exploratory procedures and treatment.

All my life I have never been ill enough to warrant going to hospital.  Injuries yes, but never my body succumbing to sickness.  I may be looking at an endoscopy and a colonoscopy.  So far, these can be day procedures, so hopefully I never have to spend the night in hospital.  For that I am grateful.  

ps. I called my boss to update him and he was very supportive. He said "You look after you."

Building Cathedrals

Entering a cathedral brings out a sense of awe and wonder as the sheer scale of the edifice and it's hushed solemn atmosphere, mixed with faint smells of candles and incense overwhelms my senses.  These magnificent structures would have taken up to a century to finish, requiring multiple generations of workmen and craftsmen.  Apprentices who worked with their masters at the start have become masters themselves and trained the apprentices who will someday train the future masters who may see the Cathedral finished.  Our short human lives do not limit the scale of what human imagination can conceive, plan, and execute. 

I sometimes look at parenting as the Cathedral projects accessible to most people.  We are the masters at the start and our children are the apprentices who become masters once they are capable of having their own children. At the start we are heavily involved in their day to day lives, and as they move on to pre-school we let them make their own way a little at a time.  By the time they are in high school we spend even less time with them as they explore the world with their peers.  It is such a privilege to be witness and co-builder with our children, our time with them is ephemeral.  Unless for tragic circumstances, we parents will only be part of their beginning but we can never know how their life story ends. 

At the moment I find it hard to remain a relevant part of their life.  Let me rephrase that - I am attached to the notion that I should be part of their daily lives.  I am not making daily memories with them,  if I'm lucky I get to make fortnightly ones depending on how my work rosters me on.  I'm less of a co-builder and relegated to being witness and occasional companion.

I was involved in their foundation digging, but every day I do not spend time with them, another layer of masonry is being added. When I do see them again, there might be a column or a an arch that wasn't there the last time I saw them, though thankfully still recognisable.  Soon, the bell towers and stained glass windows will be too high for me to reach and they will have to be installed by my former apprentices with the help of the co-builders of their choosing.