I am alive.... and kicking!
Heya all you wonderful people....
The new job takes me to Florida for 9 days... then I get 5 days off...
I am back.... I was not able to check on the forum... all but one motel had internet access but I have no laptop 'puter.
I need a laptop... so the search begins... anyone updating and selling their old one?... I will just use it to log onto the internet... no games or anything... Any deals to be had?... A hot sale perhaps?
I can definitely see the need to figure out which motels to use... had a couple that were great, some that were so-so, one that literally nothing seemed to work... i.e. toilet ran all night, TV had lousy reception, no remote, only one light worked, AC rattled, and was not turned on beforehand so the room was hotter than hades..., door had gaps so large around it you could literally look out into the hall, was supposed to be a non smoking room, but there were cigarette burns all over the furniture and the bathtub edge, and the room stank like an ashtray, etc, etc, etc... nothing really earth shattering, but I wont be back...
(RANT MODE ON)
Speaking of Hotel clerks.....
I really was blown away at the incompetence of over half of them... they either don't care at all, are not trained at all, or both... or... ??? .... and I have NO demands as a customer at all!!... just give me my key, a receipt, and I am out of there... and the process of selecting a room, taking the money, giving me change and a room key was waaaaaayyyyy beyond their capabilities... one place (Microtel) took over 40 minutes, and I still did not get the right change back... but it was in my favor, and all the explaining in the world only caused her to get snooty and insist that she was right... *sigh*... OK, have fun in the morning when they audit the cash drawer... 40 minutes when you are tired and want to get to the room sure did seem like forever...
.... then there was Loreida... at the Red Roof Inn just north of Ft. Lauderdale... lovely, friendly, and very efficient.... less than 5 minutes from arrival to having the key in my hand... Could this be love? 
(RANT OFF)
On to the convenience stores that are 90% of my stops.... I have heard the jokes about them all being owned my people of middle eastern decent... and dismissed this as I would any other generalization... but they really are! At least 95% were owned and operated by people from India, Iraq, Iran, etc.... I thought that was kinda interesting... and as with all people on earth, I ran into a wide range of personalities... most were very kind and friendly, most were suspicious of the magazine counts and frequently we counted 2 or 3 times and all aspects of the invoice were disected.... when you are in a hurry to get into a store, deliver the product and get out, this can really get on your nerves... I asked the trainer what was up with all this, and he explained that the guy who was before me made lots and lots of errors on both the magazine count and the math on the invoice.... and always in his favor... and would skip stores when he "didn't get along" with the owners... 4 stores had not been serviced since April 5th... one of those quit completely... as in "we have another company now" ... there were several that were last seen in July.... and all of these accounts are supposed to be seen every 2 weeks... after taking to one owner, we also discovered a weak link back at the home office... he had called over a dozen times and was told we would get someone there "real soon"... then nothing was done... lovely.... One store owner refused to let me service the account because he had to leave... and literally said quite rudely "come back morning" several times... I was trying to explain that I would not be anywhere near his store in the morning and that I could be done servicing the store in 10 minutes... nope... he walked away, and I had to spend the night there, service the account in the morning, then drive to Okeechobee .... oh well... More than a few would not count or do the invoice until the store was completely empty... and stared intently at the person in the store the whole time they were there... literally would not take their eyes off of them to even talk to me... I cannot imagine owning or working at these places... I had no idea this was the way it was at these stores!
.... so, I am starting off this job in "clean up mode"... cleaning up someone else's mess... that's cool... I did enjoy the travel and the driving... that truck rides better than my little truck!
The promises that the company made were all true.... the pay was actually more than they promised, due to the fact that about a dozen stores were almost or completely out of magazines, but just using the average that they those normally sell the pay was still better than promised... on the weekend I was not able to find a motel down in the Lauderdale area for the price they want you to stay at... and they said "that happens... just try and find a reasonably priced motel" ... one place wanted $110 a night, but 2 blocks away was a La Quinta for only $69... and they said that's exactly what they want me to do... just make the effort... I have no problem with that... and I did not have to spend a dime of my own money on food...
So... that's my new gig.... driving around Florida from Leesburg to Daytona Beach and then down to Ft. Lauderdale... then over to Okeechobee and back up to Georgia... After 9 days training, I now know why they pay well... long hours... the shortest day I had was 11 hours... the longest was 15 1/2 hours...
It really made me think..... 4 months ago I had trouble getting to the mailbox and back... now I am jumping in and out of a truck with 40 pounds of magazines.... to say this is a change is the understatement of the century!... dropped 6 more pounds too!
Just wanted to bring y'all up to date on the life and times of Marc 
Bye for now! 
(RANT OFF)
On to the convenience stores that are 90% of my stops.... I have heard the jokes about them all being owned my people of middle eastern decent... and dismissed this as I would any other generalization... but they really are! At least 95% were owned and operated by people from India, Iraq, Iran, etc.... I thought that was kinda interesting... and as with all people on earth, I ran into a wide range of personalities... most were very kind and friendly, most were suspicious of the magazine counts and frequently we counted 2 or 3 times and all aspects of the invoice were disected.... when you are in a hurry to get into a store, deliver the product and get out, this can really get on your nerves... I asked the trainer what was up with all this, and he explained that the guy who was before me made lots and lots of errors on both the magazine count and the math on the invoice.... and always in his favor... and would skip stores when he "didn't get along" with the owners... 4 stores had not been serviced since April 5th... one of those quit completely... as in "we have another company now" ... there were several that were last seen in July.... and all of these accounts are supposed to be seen every 2 weeks... after taking to one owner, we also discovered a weak link back at the home office... he had called over a dozen times and was told we would get someone there "real soon"... then nothing was done... lovely.... One store owner refused to let me service the account because he had to leave... and literally said quite rudely "come back morning" several times... I was trying to explain that I would not be anywhere near his store in the morning and that I could be done servicing the store in 10 minutes... nope... he walked away, and I had to spend the night there, service the account in the morning, then drive to Okeechobee .... oh well... More than a few would not count or do the invoice until the store was completely empty... and stared intently at the person in the store the whole time they were there... literally would not take their eyes off of them to even talk to me... I cannot imagine owning or working at these places... I had no idea this was the way it was at these stores!
.... so, I am starting off this job in "clean up mode"... cleaning up someone else's mess... that's cool... I did enjoy the travel and the driving... that truck rides better than my little truck!
The promises that the company made were all true.... the pay was actually more than they promised, due to the fact that about a dozen stores were almost or completely out of magazines, but just using the average that they those normally sell the pay was still better than promised... on the weekend I was not able to find a motel down in the Lauderdale area for the price they want you to stay at... and they said "that happens... just try and find a reasonably priced motel" ... one place wanted $110 a night, but 2 blocks away was a La Quinta for only $69... and they said that's exactly what they want me to do... just make the effort... I have no problem with that... and I did not have to spend a dime of my own money on food...
So... that's my new gig.... driving around Florida from Leesburg to Daytona Beach and then down to Ft. Lauderdale... then over to Okeechobee and back up to Georgia... After 9 days training, I now know why they pay well... long hours... the shortest day I had was 11 hours... the longest was 15 1/2 hours...
It really made me think..... 4 months ago I had trouble getting to the mailbox and back... now I am jumping in and out of a truck with 40 pounds of magazines.... to say this is a change is the understatement of the century!... dropped 6 more pounds too!
Just wanted to bring y'all up to date on the life and times of Marc
Bye for now! 
HEY BAYBEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like a very interesting j.o.b.!!
Sure beats pushing paper at the ol' insurance grind, huh?
Can I come play too? Not lovin the job right now.
I'm glad to hear from you. IM'd with Lisa a couple of times in your absence...she sure missed you.
Hope all is well, and I look forward to yakkin with ya on the ol YAHOO in the evening!!
HUGS!
Tami
Marc,
Believe it or not, I was actually thinking about you today...just wondering which job you had decided to take...well, I guess you answered that question, huh?
So, how much weight have you lossed...lifting 40 pounds of magazines, hopping in and out of the truck, I guess you are getting your exercise.
Take care and let us hear from you more often!!
Norma
Norma 
Hi Marc. I'm mostly a lurker... but read here everyday!
You were asking about a laptop.... have you ever tried out Freecycle.org? I've seen several laptops on there over the year or so I've been a member. And the best part is... everything there is the low, low price of free. 
The other thing is... check out the websites for the different motels you will be staying at. For instance, Red Roof Inn has a frequent stay deal where you stay so many nights and get one free. These add up over time. You could get the credit for staying and then have yourself a little vacation sometime for free.
Can you tell I'm all about the cheap/free stuff?
BTW - Congratulations on your success!! You are doing great. I'm glad you like your new job too!
Jerri
The other thing is... check out the websites for the different motels you will be staying at. For instance, Red Roof Inn has a frequent stay deal where you stay so many nights and get one free. These add up over time. You could get the credit for staying and then have yourself a little vacation sometime for free.
Can you tell I'm all about the cheap/free stuff?
BTW - Congratulations on your success!! You are doing great. I'm glad you like your new job too!
Jerri Most Active
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