It's after 1:30 am and I'm still awake, recording samples to make a demo CD that will hopefully lead to another job. Which could mean moving to Michigan, I don't know. I've got some good ones so far, and hopefully these last few won't sound as though I'm half-asleep. Or drugged.

I spent most of last week home in my PJs. It was wonderful, and going back to work yesterday (well, Saturday) was one of the hardest things I've done in quite awhile. Fortunately I don't go back until Tuesday. Fortunately I'm on my favorite route all week. I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with the laziness, and the excuses, and the passive aggressive bullshit. The attitude that "hey, since my job is secure, I don't have to actually do anything. I'll do the absolute least amount of work I can possibly get away with." We seriously have two guys there who are essentially being paid to stand around and drink coffee or energy drinks all day, in between their breaks and lunch. It's ludicrous. And no one cares, because there's nothing anyone can (or will) do about it. I wasn't raised to be that way. I watched my dad's hard work growing up. I learned that if you're going to do something, do your best and do it right. I learned that anything less than a full day's work for a full day's pay is dishonest. When I left the house to go to work, my dad would always say "be a hard worker". And I've managed to fall into an industry where the union has created an environment that fosters the exact opposite attitude. And it frustrates me no end.

The postmaster loves me. Probably in part because I actually work hard and do my job. He also seems to get a kick out of my sarcasm and snark, but that's a different story. He made me promise to stay until he retires. In 2016. He said once that if he ever transferred I was going with him. I started in a different office years ago, and after I had quit to finish my degree (it's impossible to get a history degree with a full-time day job) my boss up north hired my brother because he was my brother. And because he had learned from our parents to be a hard worker, he didn't let me down. My boss told my dad once that if any of his other kids needed a job, he'd love to hire them. Because of my work ethic, and my brother's work ethic.

I went back to the post office after graduating. When I put in for a transfer, the postmaster called that old boss because he knew from my records where I'd worked, and the two of them were friends. He said "Tell me about this Joslyn - should I take her on?" My boss said - direct quote - "Oh hell yes!"

Two of the greatest - possibly the greatest - compliments I've ever received. And now I'm working with union people who go out of their way - and frequently create more work for themselves in the process - just to not do their jobs completely or correctly.

It's driving me crazy. I tell my few friends there at work that this job has broken my give-a-damn. I wish that were actually true. I'm getting there.

things wot pissed me off today

1. When I got to work this morning, there was a tub of mail on the sorting ledge that the regular carrier had left for me to deliver today. It was hold mail for two different houses that he had been keeping in one tub. Yes, they have the same last name. Yes, they had holds for the same time frame. Yes, they are probably related. Yes, they live in the same community. NO, THEY DO NOT LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE. I had to sort through it all so I could deliver it correctly. When I showed my supervisor she said, "Maybe he didn't realize." Yeah, he did. He knew exactly what he was doing, had written both unit numbers on the hold paper, and I am sick and tired of her making excuses for the completely dumbass things he keeps doing. I have one friend who thinks they're having an affair, because anything he asks for she gives him, and all the stupid STUPID things he does, she makes excuses for.

2. The supervisor comes around to each carrier each morning to ask when we think we will be able to leave the office and when we think we'll get back that afternoon. These estimates are based on how much mail we have on that route that day and how long it takes us to deliver that route on an average mail day. The computer has already projected a time based on the regular carrier's average time and on the mail volumes for that day. When she came by around 9 this morning, I told her I was going to take the medicare booklets out the same way I do the grocery ads. She said they weren't exactly in order the way they were supposed to be, so probably I should sort them. (Guess what? They were.) There were three piles on the floor that each came up past my knees. Then she asked when I thought I'd get back. I told her about 4:30. She asked when I would be leaving. I said 11. She said, "can we shoot for 10:30?" I said, "we can shoot for it" in a pretty noncommittal tone of voice. She said good and moved on to the next carrier. As I left at 11, I told her "I said it would be 11". I finished just before 4:30 but hadn't taken a lunch, which is included in our on-the-street time, so I "finished" at 4:55. I asked the night supervisor when I got back what time she had put on the paper this morning and he told me 10:30. So I told him what had happened this morning and he said "I just talked to her this afternoon and she told me she doesn't do that." Clearly, she does. He also told me that the computer projections for my route today were 11:17 and 5:35. So I beat the projections anyway.

3. I know there was a "three" but can't remember what it was now. Probably for the best!

This is more of an irritant than anything else, but I forgot to go to the bank after work today. My bank is in the grocery store, so I forgot to get bread too. Rar.