Hello everyone!
As you could see, I have been on hiatus from Live Journal. I don't know when or even if I'll be back to updating on a daily or bi-daily basis again (not like I've been able to make it to that point in past months either though), but things have been going on, so here's an update centered completely on work.
On the 15th of September, I screwed up my left arm rather badly while working in bellies. I still don't know what really happened, but as I was lifting packages into the belly from the belt loader, my elbow popped (or snapped, whichever) three times in a row and after that I could bend my arm at all for a good three days. After that I could only bend it slightly before waves of pain rushed up and down my arm. I went to see my Doctor about it on the 17th and he placed me on work restriction (mainly stating that I was not to work in bellies until this healed up). The road to recovery seemed to take forever, because each time I accidentally bent my arm to far it felt like I had taken ten steps back in the whole process of getting better. I didn't take any time off work to let it heal up faster, I'm a bit too stubborn (or stupid) for that.
Last Friday, I told my doctor that I felt my arm had recovered enough to drop the work restrictions placed on me and since then I haven't had too many problems with it.
Now that I am back at work in full force I can't help but suspect that I pissed off one of my supervisors by getting injured in the first place. Since I was given the OK to go back into bellies from my doctor, I've been put in them for every single shift. That's not too surprising and something I really can't complain about too much since it is a part of my job. What I can complain about though is the fact that they only have me in bellies...no help whatsoever for a person who just returned from an injury in bellies originally. For the short time I've been there, I've never seen anyone assigned to bellies by their lonesome, mainly because bellies is not a one person job, but once I'm okay to work in them again it magically starts happening to me.
From my time at the UPS ground handling division at Spokane Airways I've realized that it is a job I really don't want to stick with for long. There is something to be said, not about my hourly wage, but about the minuscule amount of hours I receive per week: 18 per week. The missing 22 really don't help in the paycheck area. Speaking of the paycheck, it seems to vanish before I even knew I had it. Now I know that this is exactly what happens to a lot of people, but if I keep struggling to this degree...I don't know how much longer I'll make it. Come March of next year I'll be on my own completely, and this job does not even pay enough for me to cover the rent of this place. A bigger paycheck is becoming more and more important, and I doubt my current position is willing to offer me anything more than they are already, hour-wise I mean.
Mostly though, it is the way the hours are set up that gets to me the most. Three hours of work twice a day separated by six hours is just not working out anymore. My body is rebelling in the form of refusing to sleep.
Yes, I know, it may seem like I am complaining about having to work odd shifts that I only have to work three days a week...but the affects leak over to the remaining four days of the week as well. Take this weekend for example, there was only one day where I got more then three hours of sleep in a row. Even then though, I kept waking up every single hour. Almost on the dot of when I woke up the last hour.
Well, if nothing else, at least this post helped me to improve upon my superb whining skills. I'll be back later with an update about, well, life...haha.
(ps: I still read each and every one of everyone's posts. Sorry for the lack of comments, but be aware that I am still quite up to date on everyone...or at least as up to date as they want people to be)
On the 15th of September, I screwed up my left arm rather badly while working in bellies. I still don't know what really happened, but as I was lifting packages into the belly from the belt loader, my elbow popped (or snapped, whichever) three times in a row and after that I could bend my arm at all for a good three days. After that I could only bend it slightly before waves of pain rushed up and down my arm. I went to see my Doctor about it on the 17th and he placed me on work restriction (mainly stating that I was not to work in bellies until this healed up). The road to recovery seemed to take forever, because each time I accidentally bent my arm to far it felt like I had taken ten steps back in the whole process of getting better. I didn't take any time off work to let it heal up faster, I'm a bit too stubborn (or stupid) for that.
Last Friday, I told my doctor that I felt my arm had recovered enough to drop the work restrictions placed on me and since then I haven't had too many problems with it.
Now that I am back at work in full force I can't help but suspect that I pissed off one of my supervisors by getting injured in the first place. Since I was given the OK to go back into bellies from my doctor, I've been put in them for every single shift. That's not too surprising and something I really can't complain about too much since it is a part of my job. What I can complain about though is the fact that they only have me in bellies...no help whatsoever for a person who just returned from an injury in bellies originally. For the short time I've been there, I've never seen anyone assigned to bellies by their lonesome, mainly because bellies is not a one person job, but once I'm okay to work in them again it magically starts happening to me.
From my time at the UPS ground handling division at Spokane Airways I've realized that it is a job I really don't want to stick with for long. There is something to be said, not about my hourly wage, but about the minuscule amount of hours I receive per week: 18 per week. The missing 22 really don't help in the paycheck area. Speaking of the paycheck, it seems to vanish before I even knew I had it. Now I know that this is exactly what happens to a lot of people, but if I keep struggling to this degree...I don't know how much longer I'll make it. Come March of next year I'll be on my own completely, and this job does not even pay enough for me to cover the rent of this place. A bigger paycheck is becoming more and more important, and I doubt my current position is willing to offer me anything more than they are already, hour-wise I mean.
Mostly though, it is the way the hours are set up that gets to me the most. Three hours of work twice a day separated by six hours is just not working out anymore. My body is rebelling in the form of refusing to sleep.
Yes, I know, it may seem like I am complaining about having to work odd shifts that I only have to work three days a week...but the affects leak over to the remaining four days of the week as well. Take this weekend for example, there was only one day where I got more then three hours of sleep in a row. Even then though, I kept waking up every single hour. Almost on the dot of when I woke up the last hour.
Well, if nothing else, at least this post helped me to improve upon my superb whining skills. I'll be back later with an update about, well, life...haha.
(ps: I still read each and every one of everyone's posts. Sorry for the lack of comments, but be aware that I am still quite up to date on everyone...or at least as up to date as they want people to be)