Waiting For Aramark Schedule

I picked up my schedule for the next couple weeks at Sam's Club and I see that I am only scheduled for one shift the week of January 16. That coincides with the start at Aramark. All I need to get now is the Aramark schedule.

Gas prices took another dip yesterday and the price for unleaded has dropped to $1.86 per gallon:

The lowest price I've seen for diesel in our area is still pretty high - $2.73 per gallon. It still is a mystery to me why diesel hasn't dropped at the same rate as unleaded - it's refined from the same, cheap oil. The linked article helps explain it a little better.

Josie has gone to 5 days per week on her schedule and they are setting her up for full-time work. That may determine how our long term schedule is planned and may impact our annual (summer) trip to Jackson. We'll have to wait and see what happens with both of our jobs. We will have to make a commitment to Jackson in another month or so, or lose our position there for any future jobs. It could turn out to be a real dilemma for us.

It is heating up again as we reached 77 degrees yesterday. We don't see it getting too cold again, so I hope we can get some outside activity going. I have Friday off this week and I have scheduled an appointment to have the truck detailed. I am going to test the market for selling the truck to see if we can get what the Kelley Blue Book says it is worth. Hang on for this ride...

Moon Over Peoria

I have to start this entry with a couple photos that Josie took on the way to work yesterday. She will take pictures of sunrises when they are pretty, but this one is especially unique as it shows the moon setting over the desert at Lake Pleasant in Peoria in the west:

 while this one was taken facing east to get the sunrise that was on the opposite side of the road:

Now that the days are getting longer again and the sun will rise earlier, she probably won't get many chances at these kind of shots for awhile.

I spent the day doing some prep work for taxes and reading my book. I'm reading the story of Louis Zamperini who is the subject in the movie of the same title "Unbroken". It's quite a story and you have to be amazed at the fact that he lived to be over 97 years old after all the torture he endured during WW II.

I have to feel sorry for Patty and her family in Chicago where the latest Arctic Blast has the temperatures in the negative range. We went to 74 yesterday as our warmth has returned. Hang in there as it will once again - eventually- get to where you can enjoy the warm weather.

We will spend the day "passing in the night" again. Josie will get off work at 4:30 while I start my shift at Sam's Club at  5 PM and work until 9 PM tonight...

Christmas Put Away

Our only common day off for the next week was spent taking down and packing up the rest of our Christmas decorations. The lights outside and the window lights from inside were the final phase. Everything fit into the Jeep and we took everything to our storage unit in Surprise.

There were a couple really good football playoff games on TV which we watched - I watched, really - while Josie did some crocheting. Next week's playoff schedule is set and the Seahawks will play the Carolina Panthers on Saturday. They were the team that beat the Cardinals this weekend.

It's back to work for Josie today while I get another day off to catch up on some computer work and to start the gathering of data for the annual taxes exercise. Everything that I need will be placed into one folder and be ready to go with the exception of our W-2's which will come dribbling in over the next few weeks.

The winter weather has seemingly moved on as we had a low of 39 here yesterday and a high of 64. We expect to reach the 70's by tomorrow, and that will be good weather for outside activities. It looks like "normal" has returned this second week in January...

Full Work Day

There was nothing happening yesterday except "work" for both of us. For a Saturday, it didn't seem right that both of us were gone for the whole day. We would normally begin our outside take-down of Christmas on the first Saturday following New Year's, but it was not possible. I met Josie at the Sam's Club after she got off work and I finished up at 5 PM. We shopped for several items we needed plus a roasted chicken for dinner. They sell lots and lots of these roasted chickens that cost only $4.98 and are larger than any of the roasted chickens we buy at the grocery stores. Mmm, they are good.

As mentioned, we have a pretty full day scheduled today with taking down and packing away our outside decorations including the lights. We will also take everything to our storage unit and get those items put away for another year.

I hope to get some time today to watch the second round of football playoffs. It was a shame that the Cardinals lost yesterday but I would guess that they were doomed from the day they lost their starting quarterback several weeks ago. They were a real threat before that when they could move the football and put points on the board. They will be back again next year, tougher and better than this year. In the meantime - GO SEAHAWKS!!

Surprise Response

My schedule had me working from 3 PM to 8:30 PM yesterday. I had prepared a resignation letter to present to the Personnel Manager at Sam's Club giving my two weeks notice, and indicating that I would like to re-apply on April 1 following my commitment to Aramark for the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl and Spring Training. She wouldn't accept my resignation and indicated that if I could only work one 5.5 hour shift per week, I wouldn't have to resign and could keep my seniority and benefits without interruption. Their willingness to work with me during these other events must be a sign they are satisfied with my efforts so far at Sam's Club. I don't have a schedule yet for the days I need to work for Aramark, but as soon as I get one, a copy will be given to Sam's Club to prepare a schedule for squeezing in some work time with them. So, now I have two jobs.

Josie will also have two jobs for awhile and will be juggling time between the shop and Aramark. It looks like the next couple of months will be extra busy for us. There may be long stretches where we just pass in the night but we will give it a try.

We are having our annual cold spell in AZ as the temperatures have been hovering around freezing the last few nights. The forecast is for warming at the beginning of the week and it is expected to reach the 70's again by Tuesday. Following some pretty strong winds yesterday, it is relatively calm again this morning.

We both work long days today - 8 to 5 - and have tomorrow off which is good news...

Starting the New Year in the Freezer

It was an especially cool day - low of 33 - and especially windy - gusts over 30 mph. The night last night was one of those rock'n and rollin' nights. New Year's Day was so cold we had snow in the hills that are just north of the RV Park. Josie snapped this shot of the snow level in the hills:

It is very rare to see any snow in this area, but this reminded us of seeing the Tetons in late May. The forecast is for warming - of course, where else could it go - and will be in the seventies by the beginning of next week.

The activity is heating up at Aramark for staffing needs for the NFL Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. Reportedly, there are many hours available to work these events that lead up to Spring Training. I have decided to leave Sam's Club with two weeks notice that I will give at work today. I will make more money with Aramark and will have a much more predictable schedule. The scheduling to date has taken its toll on our ability to plan anything. Schedules change almost on a daily basis at Sam's Club, and as the new kid on the block, I seem to get the unwanted hours rejected by the more senior workers. I understand that. I may re-apply for the same job following Spring Training, but we'll see.

There are also some potential changes at Josie's shop which could impact her schedule - and, our longer rang plans. We'll keep everybody current on those changes as they occur. It could be more hours and/or more pay for her. It could also result in no changes at all...

Goodbye 2014

What a difference a year makes. Last New Year's we were in Laughlin at the tail end of our Western Arizona trip between Christmas and New Year's. This year, we both had to work and we spent a quiet New Year's Eve bringing in 2015 in front of our own TV. I didn't get home from work until after 7:30 after I stopped at Walmart to pick up a couple frozen pizzas for dinner. So, instead of spending money and having some fun in the Casinos, we made some money and had a nice time at home.

The year of 2014 did not produce a good showing in our weight control program. You might say that the program was suspended for the year. We both gained some weight, although not an extreme amount. We have already decided to make it a serious year for weight control and exercise like we did in 2013. With both of us working, it shouldn't be too difficult to curb our bad eating practices and to get back to the basics of eating healthy food and maintaining strict portion control.

It's now time to get out the new charts for 2015. We keep a record of our gas purchases and mileage for each vehicle in a Dome Auto Mileage log book each year. We also keep a chart of our weight taped to the back of our bathroom cabinet mirror to record our weight twice a week. We go back to 2004 with these weight charts and I save them so we can track our yo-yo weight control. Someday I'll total up all the pounds we have lost - and regained - over the years. It would most likely be an alarming number.

We hope that everybody has a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year, and you achieve all your goals for the coming year...