Even with a company 401(k) and a personal retirement fund, the money still isn't plentiful enough right now for me to say: "That's it, I quit, I'm moving on!"
Last week marked the first time I ever told any of my superiors at my present place of work that I was ready to hang it up.
Anyway...it all stemmed from heat I took on 3-17-2020 from the machine operator I was supposed to replace as first shift (hers) morphed into second shift (mine).
"You're late," she told me.
It was 2:56 PM (Central time).
If you're on second shift where I work, you're supposed to report at 2:55 PM. (And I manage to do so the vast majority of the time.)
For the last several years, things had gotten to the point where I end up eating lunch at the factory before I get to my machine(s). And this did happen this past St. Pat's Day.
Thank you, Internet.
Previously, I'd eat my lunch right here at home prior to shoving off for my plastics-factory job. (By the way...since I work second shift, and the second half of second shift is when most Americans watch prime-time TV, I call the meal break we get on second shift "dinner." Or else I just call it a "meal break," anyway.)
Since the incident, I've been trying to leave earlier for the factory...and been trying to eat lunch at home again before going to work.
On alternate Mondays, I go to the laundromat...and 3-23-2020 was one such Monday.
I clocked in at 2:45 PM (something I strive to do each and every workday), ended up eating lunch at the factory (because of the laundry load before that), and hurried to get to my machine on time.
Got there at 2:55 PM...right on the dot.
Still, I was unable to escape the wrath of the same coworker from first shift: "Why you in such a hurry?"
I let it all hang out and confronted her.
I was still upset the next day about the two incidents...and told her to get off my back and leave me alone.
What's more, I mentioned the two incidents to the supervisor on first shift and the supervisor on second shift. Plus: The chief on first shift reported the two incidents to the company's human resources department.
All of that helps.
But then, I've been thinking about the increasingly demanding nature of work at the factory...and about the fact that I'll turn 65 this November.
And I've even been thinking about the effects the coronavirus pandemic has had on people's lives. (For instance, the three places I've been going to to practice music- one of them the church I go to- have abandoned or cut their office hours for the time being.)
As a result, I've found myself with extra time for writing...especially screenplays.
And blog posts, too!
We're getting ready to slam into a new workweek at the factory...and I'm going to gear up to go through it.
And I'll keep trying to build up that retirement chest so that I'm ready.
