First day blues

So after six months I finally have the opportunity to make some real money doing this paper route.. My definition of real money and someone else's may vary.. But up till now, after the cost of gas and supplies it hasn't been a great money maker although the Christmas tips were a nice boost.

Now I have two routes, both motor routes and they link up perfectly. So why am I blue? Because starting a new route no matter how advantageous is hard! I looked at the maps for a week, drove it during the day, identifying mailboxes beforehand... But until you're out there bumbling around in the dark, you really haven't learned the route. I'm at that terrible "is this ever going to get any easier? " point. I know after two weeks it will start to improve a lot.... But two more weeks of feeling like an idiot, finishing at 830 and let's not even discuss the nightmare that Sunday will be!

I've always hated being "new" to a job. When you are clueless... Lucky to know where the bathroom is and little else. Ugh! 

One tiny positive... I've seen a very cool moonset... It was a pink then a deep red... Couldn't photograph it... And yesterday was also a cold cold sparkly day, if I hadn't been so exhausted it would have been an awesome day to run around taking gorgeous pictures!   Here's the few I did take with my phone.

Fringe Benefits!

When you're up early there are some things you get to experience that most people are sleeping through!  Today the truck was late -- it was election day yesterday so I'm going to forgive the plant and assume they were waiting for last minute election results.  The silver lining was I was just getting home as the sky started to lighten.  These were taken with my phone -- wish I'd gone in the house and grabbed my better camera but I was afraid if I got warm I'd never go back out.  The song that keeps playing in my head..."For the Beauty of the Earth..."  

And snow it begins

There were snowflakes mixed in with the rain this morning.... big slushy snowflakes. I might not have seen them if I  weren't driving. But the weatherman nailed it, predawn snowflakes. 

I'm so happy and relieved that I'm on just a motor route now... this would have been a miserable morning for walking. Feel a little guilty about the new guy though, my relief is his grief,

I'm not really ready for snow yet... afterall it was really nice just last week! Regardless it's still pretty coming down from the sky!

This is kind of what it looked like before dawn!

You know it's bad when you need these

It's been crazy this last week... part of why I haven't posted. My newspaper life is only part of my craziness but it definitely affects all other aspects and tends to take over.

So for some time...well really since I did the math the first week I started my route... I've been gently campaigning for a motor route. Not because I don't want to walk... there's part of the walking I really like, but also dread with winter coming on. My fear of falling is ever present too. But mostly it's about time and money... like so many things in life! Motor routes pay better... and you can deliver more papers with less effort in the same amount of time... it means a bigger paycheck :-) 

Last week I got a motor route! The only catch is I was asked to continue with the walking route at the same time... hmmm. So I said yes.... what was I thinkinong? Raise! I didn't fully appreciate that it takes 3 hours to do the walking route... and not knowing the new route makes it hard to hurry without a lot of errors.  So it's been a long, stressful, sleepless,frustrating week. I know it's going to get better... for one thing I'm shedding the walking route tomorrow (I hope)!  And I already know the other route much better so that's getting better... but my original customers are not happy with the late deliveries and it makes me sad and frustrated. Plus we've now missed church two weeks in a row... urgh!

So what's with my title and pic? Well my"day" starts at 1:00 a.m....and I'm supposed to be done on Sunday by 8 (usually we're done by7) so the approaching dawn is not my friend... it means I'm LATE!  I don't want to need those sunglasses! That's the way it's been all week... depressing...even if it's beyond my control.

Here's hoping for a better report next week!

It's beginning to look at lot like... Halloween!

The neighborhood I deliver to is starting to look quite festive! If they get this ramped up for Halloween, I can't wait to see what they'll do for Christmas!!


That mummy in the window is soo cool!!  It's like a plastic trash back covering the window -- but when the light is on in the room it back lights the lighter parts of the picture -- plus the hand and being so large creates a cool 3D effect.  I wonder where they bought it??

This was just a small sampling that I snapped on Saturday morning -- I'll try to snap a few more  in the coming weeks!

The Government Shutdown is Already Affecting Me

The newspaper truck didn't come in until 4 a.m. because they waited for all the late breaking news.... urgh. The writing was on the wall all day yesterday... I'm going to have some unhappy customers! 

Gearing up for Sunday!

The comics are in... and the advertising inserts will be at my tables when I go in tonight... let the fun begin!