#workamping

(via Summer Online Store Specials Beginning in June)

(Look what happens when it rains and rains and rains...)

We are back in the saddle again.  I think Steve and I both wondered if we’d be able to or not at first.  The general job came right back to us, but the computer commands and some of the handy tricks of the trade we’d learned, didn’t.  We didn’t get a refresher course either like we’d thought.  They put us on the computer for a couple of hours in order to set our scanners up and do some “paperwork” but after that we were put out on the floor to start picking.  After a week, we were feeling better about things.  We are both happy with our bays (in general).  Steve is at a cut tape bay which he is comfortable with and I am in bulk which I don’t mind. My bay mate is a bit odd. She’s another Express Pro employee who was in our training class last July.  She stayed here through the winter. She’s just different…I’ve gotten frustrated with her several times.  She brags about how her integrity and desire to do the right thing at work, but yet she tends to neglect certain jobs.  I’m not sure if she does it intentionally or if she’s just clueless, but she may drive me crazy.  Express Pro asked returnees if they’d be willing to be buddies to people coming out of training.  Steve and I agreed, so week 2 and week 3, we have been mentors to trainees.  It’s been alright but due to questions and trying to help them, we aren’t able to get the number of picks that we need to get.  They watch our numbers and expect us to do a certain amount of picks a day.  We asked to have a break, so next week, we will not have buddies.  They are supposed to be bringing in a lot of workampers in the next month, so I expect us to be mentors several more times in our 3 month stint.

It has been a rainy, windy and cool Spring.  We weren’t sure what Spring would be like here.  I think I’d take it over the high temperatures they’ve been having in Amarillo and Phoenix!  One of these days, I hope to get my lawn chair out and sit outside some.

Steve thinks he’s figured out the problem with the slide and the leak.  I couldn’t explain what he’s going to have to do if I tried.  He tried to find a mobile repairman that could do the work, but there’s only one and he didn’t feel comfortable with the job…wasn’t in his skill set, I guess.  So, that means Steve gets to do it by himself.  He has to buy some “tools” to do the job and then he’ll get to it.  Hopefully he’ll get it done before the rain stops or we won’t be able to check to see if he found the problem.  We sure would like to get this problem checked off the to-do list.  

It’s been weird working Sunday through Thursday, but we like working Sundays.  It’s super chill on Sundays.  There’s not many working and we basically just wander around looking for labels to fulfill.  Last Sunday, we pretty much ran out of work and they told us we could leave early but we didn’t.  We are here to make money!  We never found a church here last year that fits our beliefs, therefore, we’ve been doing online church with our church in Amarillo.  So,  we still have church on Sundays before we go to work at 1:30.  

Merry Christmas to all! It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a year goes by. There’s been some bumps along the way, but all in all, it’s been a good year. We are richly blessed by God.

Work is going well here at Roadhaven. We’ve been told multiple times that we have a job here for as many years as we wish to return. I really do enjoy working in the activity office (better than the front office). There’s a good variety of things to do and it’s not very stressful compared to how front office work can be. Tracey is a bit of a mess. Her language makes me cringe and it doesn’t seem very professional since she doesn’t hide it from anyone; but she is an easy person to work for and that’s huge! She’s very accommodating and not stuck on there’s only one way to do something like some people I’ve worked for. Steve has had yet another duty added to his repertoire. He is now also helping in the mail room. This new position is still in flux as they try to figure out what they need from him, but girl who works in the mailroom full time was having trouble keeping up with things and when if was out sick, things would pile up; so they decided it would be good to have someone assist her. He worked until 3:00pm yesterday and we are hoping that was a one-time thing because we both are really liking our 8:30-1:30 hours. We have helped a little with set up and tear down for events, but it’s not been much.

We took Aspen to the vet a few weeks ago to get his heartworm medicine. We decided to have them run some tests (a senior wellness check) just to see what they’d say. They said he’s completely blind in his left eye. Lately he’s been bumping into things more, so I think his other eye isn’t too great either. They really didn’t find anything else. They mentioned he might have Cushings (I thought that was a human only disease!) but he doesn’t really seem to have all of the symptoms of it. Otherwise, for 16 1/2, he’s healthy. I have wondered at his quality of life…he doesn’t seem to be in pain, but he seems so “sad” at times. How do you know when it’s time?? Depresses me to think about it.

We saw a job posting for Digikey for 2022 and so we called to get our name on the list for spring. When I called, they told me they were only looking for 3rdshift, migration workers at this time. I don’t think I can do 3rd shift and migration work is very physically demanding. We put our names on the list to return in the hopes that they will get further down the road on their migration into the new building by May and will not need us to do that. In the meantime, I am looking for a back-up plan. Since our plan is to head to the Smoky Mountains sometime next summer/fall, I have been looking at places there. Dollywood has a workamper program which some friends of ours took part in last summer and we are looking into that. I have also sent our resume to a couple of KOA’s in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. We heard from one and set up an interview time for after the holidays.

I mentioned the truck having a leak in my last post. Well, we took it to the shop and they found a multitude of issues in addition to the radiator leak. One always wonders if the shop is just trying to make money, but they sent pictures and talked to Steve about it all and Steve decided it was all legit although expensive. $4000 later, we have our truck back and hopefully, problem-free for a long time to come! Next week, they will come out and work on the RV. See what that sets us back. Merry Christmas to us! Ha, ha!

We are leaving later this afternoon (we got today off!) to head to my brother’s house for their pizza making/cookie decorating tradition. We will spend the night with them and then celebrate Christmas day at their house. We are looking forward to it!

I think I took a longer time off from blogging than I’d planned to. I haven’t always had the use of my computer which was part of the issue. I was also just being lazy! Ha! But we got our WiFi set up the other day and now I have no excuses!

The break was good for us after working so much in Minnesota. We really enjoyed our family time in Missouri. We got in some great visiting with everyone, and I needed that. Then we went to Holiday Island, AR and spent a few days camping. The weather started out a bit soggy but got better. The day we went to the War Eagle Mill craft fair was a beautiful day and we had such a great time. Didn’t even spend too much money! For those of you who have been to Canton, I was expecting something more like that, but it didn’t have the swap meet type “junk.” It was purely arts and crafts which is what I really like to look at anyway. From Arkansas we headed to Amarillo. We got to spend some time with friends and family in Lubbock while going to some doctor appointments. Also, we got to go to church and loved every minute of being back in “our” pew and seeing friends we hadn’t seen in almost 3 years. We have had some issues with the RV and health that have brought me down in the last few weeks, but God is and always will be in control. He has allowed things to fall into place when I was worried about how it was all going to come together. We still have some worries and questions about how to deal with some things but once again, I know God is here through it all.

We arrived at our new job almost 2 weeks ago. We had planned to arrive earlier and take the RV into the shop to have the hydraulics looked at but due to additional doctor appointments, we had to change things up. Instead, the RV repairman came to the park and assessed the problem. We were hoping it was under warranty but it doesn’t seem to be so it may end of costing us over $1000 which doesn’t make us very happy.