Pigeons are stupid

So where have I been you may ask, well a very good friend of mine asked me that same question yesterday?  Well I have spent the last week working the late shift as a General Assistant (GA) because the chap who usually does it is on holiday.  It has been an amazing week that saw my day start at between 11 and 12 noon and finish between 10 and 10:30 in the evening.  Each day has been full on and hard work but it has been so much fun.  Slowly but surely I am getting to know all the different skills and tasks within Sainsbury’s Newbury Groceries Online Department or GOL for short and I am having a laugh doing too.  Being a late shift GA has been an eye opener for sure, it involves working with the drivers to load vans ready for the afternoon deliveries and make the room ready for the morning shift and help the drivers unload after the morning, afternoon and evening deliveries.  Reschedule missed deliveries and deal with customer queries and every now.  The downside is that I have not been shopping and I am missing my fellow shoppers big time.  It has only been a week yet it feels like an age and they are so much fun to work with.  I love shopping so much and I love the friends, yes I know I am a silly soppy chap but hey I am lucky to have so many friends.

So bar driving and being a Team Leader I have been able to experience most of GOL and it has been a scream.  I have never had so much fun working and I doubt the driving side will disappoint either.  It is strange feeling to be so at ease within a work place, feel so tired at the end of the day yet feel so alive.  I cannot remember the last time I woke up tired yet wanting to go to work.  I guess I have 25 years of working in IT to thank for that.  The computer industry and my desire to work as hard as I can resulted in me losing everything I had and woke me up and I now have a new perspective.  I can work hard now but I can enjoy it and I now know when to stop and when to say no, almost!  Mind you if I am successful in getting the job I applied for saying no might not be an option!!!!

This past week has been also helpful in that I have been able to practice driving in the sense that I have been learning about the vans we use.  I have passed the first test to becoming a driver but I still need to work on my confidence in driving the van’s.  I have been able to work on that this week moving the vans around the yard and my comfort zone is a lot bigger now, big smile.  All I need to do now is get out and about on the road delivering what I have shopped for the last six months and the circle will be complete.  I learnt today that I am going out on my first run as a driver next Thursday and Friday and depending on how quickly my confidence builds I may well soon be out on my own!!!!!!

Eeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkk…………………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I learn more about Sainsbury’s online business the more I grow to respect and understand it and the roles everyone plays from shop floor to the customers door.  For the first time I feel part of an amazing team aiming to deliver a quality service to those on the door step of their homes waiting to receive their weekly shopping.

This week also saw me receive a “Love”card from the boss of Sainsbury’s UK Online Business, Robbie, and it said.

“Thank you so much for my introduction to online shopping.  Not easy first time!  I was hugely impressed by the operation and your enthusiasm.  Thank you Robbie”

I was asked to give Robbie a taste of what it is like to be an online shopper and can remember his face when I handed him a handset and wheeled a trolley in front of him at the off.  Well if you are going get an understanding there is nothing like getting stuck in straight away in at the deep end as it were.

Each day at work is different and taking each day at a time is turning out to be so much fun.  My mum says life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get next.  Ok I stole the line from one of my favourite films, Forest Gump, but it is so true.  Each day is like a different flavoured chocolate, some sweet and yummy others nutty and one or two fruity and every now and then a coconut or almond flavoured one crops up.  I have very few coconut or almond days, I find both an acquired taste, but even when I do I now take them in my stride.

Even though I am still taking one day at a time but with a bit of future planning things are looking very good at the moment.  I am currently waiting for an interview date for the position I have applied for at work.  I understand that a number of people have applied for the same job so I am mindful that I might not get it.  With this in mind I have also got a backup plan, well I have now got four backup plans just in case I do not get the job.  I have learnt that you should never ever take anything for granted especially when there are so many unknowns.  As I have said before I am going to do my level best in my interview and if that is good enough so be it, if not then it was not to be.  I am certainly not going to be majorly upset if I do not get it, I will learn from the experience and move on.

Now I have the next three days off which is good and bar an appointment on Tuesday I have a clear schedule.  I have not taken a photograph in ages and it is burning a hole in my sole.  The camera is sulking and needs to be taken out for a walk.  I have got to work out the finances for the next 4 to 8 weeks at some point and prepare for the interview but I think my camera is going to get some exposure to the outside world.  There is also the possibility of going out for a drink with some work colleagues one afternoon / evening which would be nice.

Now Pigeons, well it started out as birds in general then the Pigeons took over.  Driving to work on day last week I noticed that all the birds were sat on the road or pavement and there were no birds flying.  I started my journey to work and as I made my way up through the estate I live in the little birds to off at the sight of my car, the Pigeons on the other hand just stood there in the road.  I stopped for the first one, it did not move so I beeped the car horn and it flew off.  20 yards up the road were two more and they did not move and the horn did not have the same effect so I got out and ran at them, bingo off they flew.  Still in the estate and 200 or so yards from the main road another Pigeon on the road.  I drove right up to it and got out and there it was sat inches from the bumper of the car.  I clapped my hands and it flew off.  I got back in the car and set off only to see a Pigeon fly down on to the road.  I braked and sounded the horn but nothing so I thought it would pass under the car.  Nope at the last minute it took off and turned into a cloud of feathers.  Pigeons are stupid, period!

Well I am off for now; this Pooh is tired and needs his sleep.

Until the next time take care.

Socks, Si, Pooh, Simon, Sci-fi x