Hello friends and Hivians. Hope everyone is doing well. I feel like this week has lasted way too long. Probably didn't help that I worked my weekend away delivery driving prior to the start of it. I needed some cash to pay some expenses that were coming due this week.
I'll start with last Thursday at work. We had a larger mission scheduled to go out Monday. So both Thursday and Friday we had to process cargo for 3 separate C-17 aircraft loads. Quite the tasks which includes weighing,marking and inspecting the cargo. Also time needs spent in the office going through a slough of documentation and screen time on the computer. Some office time was also spent on Monday finalizing everything.
Above photos after sunset on Saturday after my last delivery for the night. I ended up driving 4 hours Friday after getting off from my full-time job. On Saturday I put in 8 hours than another 8 on Sunday. All those delivery hours worked and I didn't exactly hit it out of the park. Fortunately I made enough to pay for expenses that came due. Of course I had much better expectations than this.
I arrived work 30 minutes early on Monday and witnessed a beautiful foggy sunrise. At the time I was thinking what a good way to start the day. Just two days later I would feel like my mind and body was kind of in a fog.
We had three aircraft to load this day. The first one arrived around 11:00 a.m. The others ended up arriving with little or no time in between. We didn't have three on the ground at once as the first one departed as we were loading the second. The remaining two were not scheduled to depart until the following day. I ended up getting off work around 6:30 p.m. and let me tell you I was dirty and sore from the lower back and down.
Once home I got something to eat and sat on the couch for a bit. How sore was I? I needed to take a shower but my body was hinting don't move. It hurt to sit down as much as it hurt to get up. How was I walking at this point? The best way to describe it is I was walking like a penguin. I moaned and complained all the way before I got in the shower. I spent forever in the shower hoping the warm water would ease my pain.
The next morning it was even worse. I once again wobbled to the shower. I took a shower in hopes it would cure me of my penguin walk. It helped some but I could still very much feel the tightness in my muscles. The saving grace was yesterday's job was done, well I thought it was.
Just before lunch we got word that the mission was cancelled. What this meant was we had to download the two aircraft that were here. None of us were happy campers hearing this news. The only good thing is downloading aircraft is easier and takes less time.
I said it's easier but I certainly didn't feel it due to my current physical condition. Now we all worked a bit slower than the day before because we were all feeling sore. Yes, not just us middle-aged guys were sore so were our younger military counterparts.
Downloading involves more pushing than you would do uploading. Now its easier because you don't have to tie everything down using chains, devices and straps. Much easier taking them off but you still have to handle them by putting them away. The heaviest chains weigh up to 50 lbs each. During the upload at times I slinged and carried up to four chains at once. During the download I did one at a time, haha.
We were done with the first aircraft in about an hour. The other aircraft crew said they would be out there at about 12:30. Time ticked away and phone calls were made to get updates. No lunch again for the second straight day! Fortunately I brought some snacks and water out with me. It wasn't until about 3:00 p.m. when they finally showed. We didn't really complain too much as it allowed some time to relax.
During the offload we got word that the mission may get turned back on. But that didn't matter as these aircraft were departing than going on alert on the east coast for Florida hurricane relief. I ended up getting off right at quiting time, 4:30.
Wednesday was a much better day. We didn't work any aircraft and later in the day we got word that the mission was cancelled again for good apparently. Also there wasn't much going on.
Another thing that happened is I got a check in the mail. You see I did a loan against my Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), it's basically the commercial version of a 401K for government workers but with better benefits. The interest rates are relatively low and it's a small fee to do. It came at the right time as I thought it would be at least another 5 days. This will help immensely as I will be able to pay off a lot of debt.
Wednesday evening I went and got a massage. I elected to get a deep tissue massage. At times it didn't feel good but in the end I walked out feeling a lot less sore.
Here were are and it's Thursday. The aircraft that actually departed with cargo is due back to us early next week. Yes a long week but hey things could be worse. At least these cargo birds came in during day light hours. The only bird I want to see the rest of the week is a real one, haha. Here's one I caught flying the other day. I think it's some type of vulture. Maybe it sensed my weakness and is thinking I will fall to the ground for an easy meal, haha.
Looking forward to this weekend. I'm going to take it easy for sure. More than likely some chilling by a body of water. A good chance my fishing pole will accompany me 🎣
That's all I have for you this time. Take care, be safe and let's end this week already. Until next time!