Finally, I have done something positive and decided to write a blog post as I haven’t done so for a couple of weeks now and I like to keep up-to-date so as any visitors who may stumble upon my site realize that it is still a going concern.
There is plenty else I should be doing. Dad and I cut down a swathe of trees in my backyard last Thursday and the remains are still spread across the backyard, rotting away, waiting for me to take them to the tip. Every time I think I have an hour or so free to clear up the mess something else pops up and it is too easy to leave it for another day.
It hasn’t helped that work has been incredibly taxing lately. I seem to be working harder than I ever have been. I know I am getting older and strength and stamina begin to retreat with age but with a lack of staff and an ignorant management abounding it just seems that there is more work piled on to us everyday and the old mantra of “work smarter not harder” just doesn’t seem to apply to us. It makes me more weary than I ever have been before. At least I ran the letter sequencing machine for a couple of hours on Monday. I haven’t done it for months and was getting a little hazy about how it operates. It’s easy to make a mistake when operating this particular machine as once the mail is sorted into a postman’s run you have to make sure you place it in the correct tubs for despatch-a task which has occasionally proven beyond my workmates-and me too!
Of course when a batch of mail bound for Temora arrives in Tumut and vice versa people are not happy, nor should they be of course and accusatory emails start flying left and right. We seem to have refined our skill on the machine and there have not been any mistakes lately. But vigilance must be kept. Pressure can be applied to get the work done and that seems to be the problem. The mistakes are made when the pressure is on. I dawdled on Monday, got the job done on time. Mistake free. I hope I can keep it up.
On Tuesday I ended up being rostered in the Express Post section-an area I have not worked in for many years. A lack of staff and a personality clash between two people rostered there saw me make my return to the sorting of our blue-ribbon service. Again, it is easy to make a mistake. If you are not familiar with the little quirks of the section such as checking that articles for processing have been signed by the sender where appropriate, it can can back and bite you. Being the new boy with the least amount of experience in the section means the blame will be laid at my feet. Tread carefully where there is greater responsibility I say.
I was off work yesterday-Linda having to attend a planning day for her upcoming radiotherapy treatment to which I accompanied her-so if there were any mistakes, I avoided taking a bullet for them. I hope I don’t get rostered there again today!
So, it is back to action and the last two days of the working week. Writing a few lines has calmed my nerves and steadied my hands and I am ready to face whatever is thrown at me. I will go outside and have a look at the backyard and see what I can do. It’s a great day here in Canberra. I hope it is wherever you are too.
Have a nice day.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 