J-O-B: Day 1

At 10:30 this morning, it seemed fair enough to assume that UPS wasn't going to call me in to start work today. Faced unexpectedly with the prospect of lots of free time, I decided to lie in my bed for a while to think about how best to spend my day. Thinking time naturally evolved into nap time, and when my ringing cell phone interrupted my dreams at 11:45, it felt as though the day had already progressed much later than it actually had.

On the phone was a someone from the UPS distribution center, offering me a job: at 12:45 I would meet a driver at a designated location on her route and assist her with the rest of her deliveries for the day.

I gobbled down lunch, pulled on my uniform, and drove to the meeting place. At 12:53, I was pulling out my cell phone to call the distribution center and make sure there was no misunderstanding, when a familiar brown delivery truck rolled up to the stop sign in front of me. I waved to the driver and she pointed me toward a place where I could leave my car for the day.

Upon boarding the UPS truck, I received a warm greeting from the driver, Carolina, a small, pretty Latina in her early thirties. Showing me the rear cargo area of the vehicle, she exclaimed, "I was able to clear a lot of space from my morning deliveries so now we have some dancing room!" She threw up a pair of enthusiastic jazz hands to emphasize her point. I knew then and there that we would get along perfectly.

My first day on the job was fun, educational, and completely exhausting. My body is in pain right now, and I'm not eager to find out how it's going to feel in the morning. But I am looking forward to another day of work. Despite the breakneck pace and a couple of minor mistakes made on my part, it was the best first day of a new job I've ever had.

Highlights:

At one stop, I had dropped a package by the front door and was heading back to the the truck when the resident opened the door. Continuing down the driveway, I waved to him and called out, "Thank you!" The man did not reply or return my wave, and something in his countenance indicated displeasure. He raised a finger, as to indicate that he wanted a word with me. Hurrying back toward the house, I apologized. He shook his head and pointed to the large black cat that was sitting on his shoulder. "No. You know...how some people have a...a parrot that sits on their shoulder. Well, anyway, I was thinking that I was gonna scare you when I came to the door with this cat on my shoulder but...you were already gone."

People are weird.

At another stop, a girl approached the truck, holding an envelope with a postage stamp on it and asked if she could give it to us. I kindly directed her to the nearby blue USPS box. Back on the road, I asked Carolina if that sort of thing happens often. She rolled her eyes dramatically, "Oh my god, girl, all the time!"