βFor the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.β ββ2 Corinthiansβ¬ β12:10β¬ βESVβ¬β¬
When I am weak, then I am strong.
Sometimes you need the right people to help you get back on track.
We are again muzzled at work. It’s a requirement. I wouldn’t say I like this at all. I believe we’re 500+ days into this βslow the curveβ thing.
It’s not natural. It’s not something a free people do. We don’t bend to the will of the government, do we?
Things will change. If enough people finally wake up and refuse this.
Tomorrow is a big day for me in more ways than one. But for tonight…
This morning we started early and got to work around the house; I went to the bank and got groceries.
Back to the regular humdrum of everyday life.
Then the texts start. Work never stops.
This morning I found out I was on the schedule to work today even though I had a planned vacation day. No problem. I sent a text to the boss and got my schedule changed.
I’ve said it before. He’s a good man. It ain’t his fault. We rely on a computer to do our scheduling. I’m not too fond of it, but I don’t pay for it either. At least not with money.
We were supposed to start resets for a customer today. All the stores have resets this week. Usually, this is spread over two weeks, but no. Why do it that way? Why use a tried and true method?
In a text to one of my part-timers this morning:
Make the plan.
Execute the plan.
Plan goes off the rails.
Throw away the plan.
Weβre already at #3 Iβll bet and no one even made it to work yet.
It doesn’t have to be this way; there’s always a plan. I have plans A, B, and C always ready. We should never be at a point of no plan or lousy plan and just let those be the two choices. No.
I’m losing my focus.
I’m losing my drive.
I’m losing my want to show up for the job.
That ain’t good.
If I had another job to go right into, I would drop notice tomorrow. And that ain’t good either.
I’ve been having continuing trouble with my shoulder and have been voluntarily seeing a physical therapist for it.
Two weeks ago, we were on vacation, and I had to cancel appointments due to that.
Last week I had to cancel appointments due to work. I wasn’t asked to; I stepped up.
Dr. Gindi is an excellent PT. I have to do my part and do the work and he can help me. I have to be there for my appointments.
This morning my shoulder started hurting so bad I nearly threw up. Time to leave work! I called and they moved my appointment from tomorrow to today, and off I went.
I was stretched, decompressed, heated, and adjusted. I feel much better.
That was the pain.
The kids are off at band camp, and we don’t pick them up until 9:00.
So this week, it’s just Mags and me for supper.
Tonight she made a great Shepherds Pie, and I realized it’s one of my favorite things she cooks. I had to add it to my mental list.
It’s simple for her to make, which I like because she doesn’t have to spend a ton of time in the kitchen (don’t worry, ladies, I spend my fair share of time in there.) And it’s delicious and got.
We have an agreement, and so tonight, Iβll do cleanup.
So we sat and ate and watched a favorite show together.
We always post a pic of Mags and the kids at the top of the tower and I think I forgot this year.
In a week and a half, Mags and I will be back in the mountains for our (πππππππ’ ππππππ) anniversary trip.
We’ll get a few small hikes in and see some new spots. These new spots will be a scouting expedition of sorts for new places to take the kids next time. If it wows us, they might enjoy it.
It’s always fun to be alone with her in the mountains. We aren’t rushed. We can enjoy the time and each other.
I didn’t have much to write tonight, and this is what came out.
Tomorrow starts the new week. Here’s hoping it’s easier than the last one was.
My boss drove three hours from the coast where he lives to help me finish up a store so I wouldn’t have all four on my shoulders this week.
He didn’t have to; he wanted to.
He also didn’t supervise anything I did. I’ve had this done to me so many times when bosses come to βhelp.β I don’t do well in that situation.
It was a good day. We had a good lunch and talked a little business. We ain’t friends, but we are friendly. Any other situation, and we would be friends.
And Kevin, who I’ve mentioned before, I cannot do what I do without his backup.
You might be good, but you’re even better with a solid team.
I had a rough start this morning just getting out of bed. My back has been bothering me, and my shoulder started giving me trouble this afternoon. I’m sitting here with coffee and my old friend the TENS unit right now.
I left the house at 7:00 and was on my way to being right on time to work when I took my second major turn, and the truck started shuddering. It didn’t want to pull, and my stomach just sank.
I left on time to be on time. And now, I was late.
We’re getting ready to go on our anniversary weekend trip soon. I do not need to put more money into Bruce right now.
Bruce is my truck. He’s green and temperamental. Marvel fans will get this.
Sometimes you need the right tools to fix a problem. But first, you need to define the problem.
My tool of choice for this situation is the OBDLink MX+. I have had it for a couple of years.
If you ever go to an auto parts store and have them figure out what’s making your check engine light come on, they are using a piece of equipment that does the same thing. This is a simplified version of that equipment that connects to my phone through Bluetooth.
I’ve deciphered more than a few problems with Bruce because of this piece of equipment. Today it was saying that the ignition coil had gone bad. But the ignition coil is only a couple of months old!
It turns out that wasn’t the problem.
It was too early in the morning for something complicated, so we always K.I.S.S.
KISS is an acronym; the letters stand for “Keep it simple, stupid.”.
And simple it was. On the ignition coil is a plug that carries the power to the ignition coil and allows God only knows what to happen in the engine. I can fix stuff on a simple level. I don’t even pretend to understand how the magic happens.
The plug has a small retention clip. This being a twenty-two-year-old truck, that clip had broken. This kept the magic from transferring to the ignition coil, which transforms the magic into something else. I know, pretty technical.
Now, I’m a terrible half mechanic. I don’t always have the right tools with me. My toolbox has work stuff in it. I donβt half mechanic for a living.
What I do, quite effectively, is troubleshoot at life. You can fix most anything just by getting your head to a place where you can think through the problem calmly.
Two fictitious characters from the 80s brought me to this, Hannibal Smith and MacGyver.
Troubleshooting is all about imagination. You have to be able to, and I actually hate this saying, think outside the box.
“Imagination is the most important thing the human mind has.” – MacGyver
I always have three things with me.
1. Duct Tape. Most of life’s problems can be solved by a liberal application of duct tape.
2. A Swiss Army Knife. (Thanks, MacGyver). Incredibly versatile tools that can be found in almost any configuration you want.
3. Zip Ties. I use these a lot at work. Fast and easy to secure a wide variety of things.
The simple fix was to use a zip tie to secure the plug to the ignition coil. Problem solved.
I had called Mags, and Dad had told her he’d come to me when she was dropping off the kids at his house for the day. I told her to have him call our guy with the flatbed before I got my head straight and figured what needed doing.
By the time he’d shown up, I was getting ready to fix it, but since he came, I let him get under the hood. And this was all about respect.
I’ve spent no small part of my life holding the flashlight, getting yelled at while he turned the wrench. But I’ve learned a lot from him. At 72, he’s still a formidable man. Arms like tree trunks and one of the best shade tree mechanics I know. He has forgotten more than I’ll ever learn about an engine.
All of this went down within forty-five minutes. And just like that, I was back on the road.
And that was this morning. It wasn’t the plan, but it was what happened.
A twenty-five-cent zip tie saved me a 150 dollar bill on a flatbed ride.
And at that point, Hannibal Smith steps in.
There’s a plan in everything, kid. And I love it when a plan comes together. – H. Smith
From when I came to work for the company, Tuesday was always considered the toughest day of the week for our company. New releases. Lots to do and little time to do it.
Movies, video games, digital cards, etc.
It used to include books which were a basic full reset every week. Not anymore.
This week, with little help, today was kind of like the old days. I used to run four stores on a 210-mile roundtrip every Tuesday.
Overnight.
That went on for nearly a year until I found a decent part-timer.
2:00 PM
Customer: What happened to service with a smile?
Me: Thatβs only on Tuesdays.
Customer: It is Tuesday.
Me: (glancing at watch) Between 12:00 and 1:45.
— π¦πππππ₯π¦ΙͺΙ΄π¦π (@SeegarsInSC) July 13, 2021
When you wake up at 4:30 and leave the house at 6:00, there is very little to smile about at 1:45.
I’m tired. I’m done with work nearly by then. I have driven a lot of miles today. I’m satisfied.
I got to work at 7:30 this morning. And I jumped right in.
Iβm not going to let the attitude of the people around me get to me this week. Iβm by myself. Iβve got a job to do, and Iβm going to knock it out.
Attitude is everything.
Fun things happen during the day. If you aren’t having fun at work, there’s no reason to be in that line of work.
Unless you’re a mortician, no, that wouldn’t be proper. Although I always wondered how morticians keep from smiling, what with all the money they make.
I was in the freezer retrieving a product today and someone left a pallet in front of the door. Freezer doors are thick and the backroom is loud. I resorted to throwing small containers of HΓ€agen-Dazs out the crack in the door until someone noticed them on the floor. It worked.
It wasn’t so bad. It’s extremely hot here.
So, my sick part-timer is going to be out for a while. And as much as I hate to admit it, I canβt do four stores alone, not with the distance between them.
My boss has reached out for help from another district, seeing as much of our district is short-handed as well and he has gotten me help for a day.
I’ll take it. A little help is better than none. I’m grateful.
I’m still going to shoulder most of the work though, slacking back ain’t my style.
Back at it tomorrow morning. Three stores, one hundred and fifty miles on the road.
This isn’t an easy day and if be lying if I said I was looking forward to it.
