More Unexpected VTO

When the morning meeting started at 6 AM yesterday at work, it was obvious that there wasn't a lot of work to do for the stow-ers. Of course, that's us, and the indications proved to be true. I was assigned to stow cases again and there were no cases to stow when I reached my area and the people responsible for bringing in the cases said there would not be any until the afternoon. Josie was assigned in what we call "trans" where the stowing is from large plastic containers and there were only a few of those available when she arrived at her station. So, to make a long story short, we volunteered to leave at lunch time.

We were sorry we made that decision as some work showed up just as we were preparing to leave. The morning went very slow until about 45 minutes before our departure, but it was too late by then since new schedules had to be devised for the afternoon to allow for all the people that would be gone. We have decided that we will no longer volunteer for VTO (Voluntary Time Off) as we feel we have given up enough time without pay and other people need to step up and share the time off. The problem with us is that we feel guilty being paid to stand around when there is not enough work. It will get very busy, real soon, as we approach Thanksgiving and the Christmas rush begins. When that happens, no VTO will be offered to anybody.

The extra time did help with my cold treatments. It is on the downside now and will hopefully be gone in a few days. In the meantime, I have to deal with the effects - stuffy nose, cough and some aches and pains. We picked up more medication after work yesterday so I'm ready to go today.

There are a couple dinner invitations we received from friends yesterday so it looks like we will be having dinner at Betty's in Columbia on Monday night, and at Fiesta Mexico on Friday of this week. The couple we are meeting on Monday night are the ones we worked with in Gray's Point and they will be leaving before the end of November. Theresa - or "T" as we call her - is the one with health issues and they have found a spectacular opportunity which I will describe in a later post. Essentially, they will be giving up travel for awhile to co-manage an assistive care facility in Florida. Great package for them. The work here has just been too physical for her so the new opportunity will be perfect.

Only 2 more days to go for this short work week. We will definitely be working the full days today and tomorrow, and hopefully, the rest of the way...