Light Bulb Quest
I’ve long been fascinated by movies that take place on a single day or over just a few days. They’re surprisingly rare. Most movies follow a story arc that unfolds over several weeks, months, years, or even decades. Of the movies about a particular day, perhaps none is more well-known, memorable, or beloved than the […]
I don’t know about you, but this can be a difficult time of year for me. After the excitement and pageantry of the Christmas season, we still have many weeks of cold temperatures, long nights, and possibly adverse weather to look forward to. And even though I’m feeling more optimistic this year than I have […]
I’ve written previously about how the odds were ever in my favor to become a package car driver for UPS. If that phrase sounds familiar, it’s because it comes from the popular series The Hunger Games. Even if you haven’t read the books or seen the movies, you probably at least know that the heroine, […]
It was 30 days ago today that I completed my 30-day trial period as a UPS driver. How have I been keeping busy since then? Completing my 30 Days meant giving up my training route and going to the very bottom of the list of permanent full-time drivers. Since that happened the week before Christmas, […]
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, some folks I’ve delivered to have expressed their appreciation with kind words (in person or on handmade signs), snacks, and occasionally token gifts. I welcome all of these gestures. But with the holidays behind us, and more winter ahead of us, I’d gladly trade all of that for […]
They have coexisted uneasily in the same country for centuries. They don’t often mix, but you can find their respective communities in close proximity to each other. They identify as different ethnicities with all that entails. Each group has its own dialect, religious tradition, and cultural heritage. These differences produce different visions of the country […]
Peak season during a pandemic was the best possible time for me to do my 30-day trial as a UPS driver. Yes, I was being thrown into the deep end of the pool where I’d either sink or swim. But being in my 30 Days came with certain safeguards. For one, I could look forward […]
As a new package car driver for UPS, I’ve been assigned to a particular training route for a 30-day trial period. I call it ‘the box,’ as it’s a perfect square about .75 miles on each side; perfectly flat, laid out in a simple grid. But inside this box is an amazingly rich and diverse […]
I’ve shared some personal things in this blog. Losing my dream job. Losing our house. But this is probably the most personal post I’ll ever write. Today is the eleventh anniversary of my dad’s death. On December 14th, 2009, my dad was killed on the job. He was involved in a freak single-vehicle accident while […]
You might assume from the name of this blog that my favorite part of the holiday season is all the lights. That’s a perfectly reasonable guess, but it happens to be wrong. Instead, my favorite part of the holiday season is the music. Like my affinity for light bulbs, my love of Christmas music drives […]