New job cuts into riding time, but at least I found a job!

[neverraced]

New job cuts into riding time, but at least I found a job! I'll be starting work at Pathmark this Wednesday.

Wednesday:12-6
Thursday:230pm-7pm
Friday:2pm-7pm
Saturday:12pm-4pm

Sundays,Mondays and Tuesdays are my days off but that could change at any time. Friday,I filled out the W2 forms with loads of paperwork,got the Pathmark book,Got my discount cards,was shown around the building where everything is located:bathroom,breakroom,storage room and punch in/punch out time clock.I'm in the Union which is wonderful so I'm happy for that and I have a 30 day probation.And that's about it for now.My job coach will be there this Wednesday The 18th at 12pm to assist me in any way shape or form.It's part time about 20-25 hours 7.75-8 dollars an hour and they're going to start me off with 4 days for the moment and If I do good,My supervisor will increase my hours and days.Thanks to my job coach, and Mrs. Neverraced soon-to-be, and everyone else have been giving me the motivation I surely need to go back to work again.Anyway,I'll let you know what happens on Wednesday.

So when I start,I'm not going to be on the board as much as I used to but I'll be around just to say hello and stuff.You'll see me.

[David Kirk]

Cool...... what or who is Pathmark?


dave

[Ozz]

Cool...... what or who is Pathmark?


dave
grocery store?

http://www.pathmark.com/

Best wishes on the new job! :beer:

[MarcusPless]

Congrats -- Good Luck!

[BumbleBeeDave]

CONGRATULATIONS! Way to go! That's GREAT!

I'm still looking . . . but you have to keep swinging in order to eventually hit one over the fence.

BBD

[Ti-Boy]

Congrats! Looks like those hours will allow for some am riding.

[CNY rider]

Good on you.
Maybe once you have worked there a little while you could figure out a safe route and commute to work by bike, to get rides in on your work days.

[Dekonick]

Grats!

:banana:

[RPS]

A job is a great thing. Hope you love it and find time to keep riding.

Rick

[Sandy]

Wonderful news. To be able to go from the unemployed to the employed must be a genuine relief. Best to you with Pathmark.


Sandy

[RABikes2]

New job cuts into riding time

Wednesday:12-6
Thursday:230pm-7pm
Friday:2pm-7pm
Saturday:12pm-4pm

Sundays,Mondays and Tuesdays are my days off

Congratulations on the new job! Way to go! :banana:
Now ... how are these hours cutting into riding time?! I work hours somewhat like yours, but M thru F with three days 10-7 and two days 12:30-7 (work hours change often for me, too), so riding time is in the a.m.'s on the two days w/ late starts. Wheels are rolling at 7:30 a.m. and finish by 10:00 a.m. with time for shower, a few chores, and some food. Give it a try and after a few weeks you'll figure out how to manage your time where it fits into your life and new work hours. Awesome hours ... really! ;)
Again, kudos on the job!
RA

[johnnymossville]

Congrats on the new job! I know the feeling. :)

Ride in the morning. I'd love those hours personally.

[neverraced]

Hey everybody---thanks for all the encouragement. I'm really psyched! Yeah, I know it's not a full-time gig yet, and there's lots of hours to ride during the day, it's just that in spring and fall I like to ride in the afternoon when the day is warmest. As you can see from my schedule if I want to ride it's going to have to be in the morning, which has two things going against it: the temp. and my inability to get my lazy rear end out of bed before 10:30 am!

And of course, the job being kind of part-time now, I hope I will be a good enough employee to be given full-time position by the summer, and then a position of some real responsibility at the store, probably in management, then in some regional capacity, with eventually a corporate position for the good pay and top benefits. I'll have to check with my job coach about this plan, however.

Anyhoo thanks for all the great encouragement and I'll let you know how my first day goes tomorrow!

[neverraced]

Today was my very first day at Pathmark and boy was it exhausting. Today was the 12pm-6pm shift basically doing cart collecting with my co-worker Brian and some sweeping the outside where there are cigarette butts on the sidewalk from smoking. It was a bit confusing today cause It was my first day on the job. But you know something,I'm getting the hang of it collecting the carts. It's a cinch,I love it. Tomorrow is the 2pm-7pm shift so when I come home my feet will be aching with all that running around the parking lot doing cart collecting all day long with my job coach assisting me for half the shift.
I got my own locker with locker number, my own gloves, orange with yellow striped vest they wear all the time when working outside and inside. And basically the co-workers are nice, I'm going to get along with them well. Everyone today was nice. Overall,I did great. My job coach is so confident that I will do well that maybe in the future, I might get full time or more hours added on with days. Well,that's about it for today. Tomorrow will be tiring so I'm going to need good sneakers. I wore loafers and my feet were red and blistery.

Kind of tough to be out there and see guys --and one girl--riding. i hope they all got home before the rain came. If it's dry and I can get up in time I'll try to ride tomorrow morning----if it's not too cold! Somebody say something about April????

thanks again for all the great encouragement, guys. Couldn't do it without you.

[paczki]

Congrats to you and the job coach! :banana:

[neverraced]

My 2nd day at Pathmark went well. My job coach was there to assist me as usual up until 430pm then I was on my own for the rest of the day. Basically I was collecting carts all day cause it was such a busy one and busy it was.I was taught from my job coach how to collect a total of 7 carts at once or putting 2 into 4 or 2 into 5 then smashing them and driving them into the corral to line them up correctly. Just before doing the carts,my good friend Tammy(co-worker)shown me how to do the garbage and the trash compactor so that's what she did with me. My poor feet were hurting from the new sneakers I bought. They also suggest I wear white socks and gel insoles to protect your feet cause you'll be running around all day. And It was a pretty warm one so I needed frequent breaks to relax and drink some gatorade, the only energy drink the store sells. And that was the whole day,doing carts and collecting them.I'm loving my new job,the co-workers are great,and so are the managers.

I'll post gain to let yiou guys know how it went today.

[neverraced]

I finished my 3rd day at Pathmark yesterday and boy my feet are aching and blistery. Thank God for those gel insoles I bought this morning at CVS. But anyway,It was a very busy day,and way too much rain. Didn't see many riders out there when I was in the parking lot. My job coach was there to assist me as usual up until 430pm then I was on my own till 7pm. mostly doing the carts and trying to stack as many as possible in the corral, 7 the most and learning how to steer the carts right into the corral and smashing them together. Later I swept and took out the refuse. But all in all,It was very exhausting and I'm so tired.The customer service is fantastic,the co-workers are fun to get along with and I'm feeling like it's home to me.Thanks to my job coach,I've got someplace to go to. Talk to you guys again later.

[BumbleBeeDave]

No. But are you taking pride in what you do? YES!

And that makes all the difference. Thanks for the updates and keep them coming!

BBD

[paczki]

boy my feet are aching and blistery.

Your bike time will be sweet!

[neverraced]

Hey Dave and Paqkczi--

Thanks for the good words. No it's not a Doctor's office LOL unless your doctor has 750 shopping carts! But I do hope to make something good out of this. Like I said earlier, I hope I will be a good enough employee to be given full-time position by the summer, and then a position of some real responsibility at the store, probably in management, then in some regional capacity, with eventually a corporate position for the good pay and top benefits. But my job coach says to take things slowly at first and master the cart job.
So I finished my first 20 hour week of Wednesday,Thursday,Friday and Saturday and I feel pretty good, a little stiff sore and blistery but anyway a good 4 days. Yesterday I basically did the same thing of doing the carts with co-workers Tammy and Brian,He's been there being the cart clerk for 3 years and he's older than me. Let me tell you,the co-workers at Pathmark are the best and that goes for Au Bon Pain and the customer service is fantastic there but compared to Au Bon Pain, I didn't quite care for it cause some customers were so rude to me on occassions. At least I don't have to deal with spilt coffee and vomit all the time now.The good thing about being a cart clerk are the nice sunny days but what my co-worker was saying to me is that you have to be prepared for Summer,Fall and The Cold winter so wearing less layers in Summer (drinking loads of gatorade) and more layers in Winter. I told him I knew all about layering from my bike riding. So anyway the new schedule came out today and NOW I'm working:

Monday 10:30-3pm
Wednesday 2:30pm-6:30pm
Thursday 2:30pm-6:30pm
Saturday 3pm-7pm

The other 3 days are my "off days" which I'm taking advantage of for some good riding, once I recover. More good news,I'm getting my first paycheck this Thursday. Co-Workers get paid every Thursday or every other Thursday, It depends on people's schedule.But that's about it.
Today I'm going to try to get on the bike. I might put on my full US Postal kit with the yellow jersey to honor you-know-who, who is probably even more sore than I am this morning! and ride over to the Pathmark to see if anyone recognizes me.

Have a good rice, everybody!

[johnnymossville]

Hey, I have a question. How many Carts can you push at once. I see some guys doing something like 20+ carts at once. Do you have a motorized pusher, or do you do it by hand?

[neverraced]

Hey johnny--

Up to 7 now, some guys can do 25+ if they have a running start and no inclines. My problem is avoiding shoppers. Some of the better stores have a motorized system, but not Pathmark. Thanks for asking!

[neverraced]

I had a pretty good day yesterday. I was working the 1030am-3pm shift, which was ok because it was raining and I couldn't have ridden even if i got up early enough, and that ain't gonna happen! The tasks included cart collecting,garbage refuse and for the first time I packaged groceries with my co-worker which is a first for me in quite a long time and I had so much fun doing it. Todayis my day off but it's like winter outside with strong wind, so I think I'll stay off the Trek and rest up for the nice weather. Wednesday I return 230pm-630pm and that also includes Thursday as well which is the day I get paid.So money will be coming in every Thursday for me.I'm loving my job and that's all that counts. Catch you later, guys.

[neverraced]

Today was not that bad despite the cold. It was partly sunny and kind of nice out in the sun. Didn't see too mnay riders out, though, and who can blame them?
I basically did the carts from 230pm-630pm with a 10 minute break in the middle.Tomorrow is payday and I'm looking forward to seeing what it is cause that check was for a hard day's work week and I'm proud of myself for accomplishing this.
I love my co-workers(some of them),customer service is the best and I don't have to mop up coffee spills and the bosses are nice to me. I have a good feeling that this job will last a long time and I will succeed and eventually become corporate. Maybe within the next 6 months to a year,They'll consider me full time but we'll take it slow right now and see what happens. I don't want to jump the gun just yet. Let me enjoy my job and what I'm doing cause that's what it takes to succeed in any position.
Another reason that I chose Pathmark is to be close to the future Mrs. Neverraced's house which is not too far away from her. Anyway,tomorrow is also another 230-630pm shift. Supposed to be warmer--maybe I'll try to get up early enough to ride a few miles. I'd like to do some centuries this summer and I better start training. OK--time for Judge Judy! I'll see you tomorrow guys,Bye!

[johnnymossville]

man I look forward to your updates.

[neverraced]

Yesterday was a pretty good day. What I did was the carts from 2:30pm-6:30pm with a 10 minute drink break for coffee,water and Gatorade. And I got my very first paycheck at Pathmark which is an accomplishment of work well done and I'm happy.
The check goes like this,I work 20 hours a week x $8.00 which brings you a total of $160 but the actual total is $130 so they take out taxes and stuff so that's my take home pay.
My job coach and everyone else says put it right in the bank but I've had my eye on some carbon fiber water bottle cages that would not only look sweet on my Cannondale but would also shave some weight off, too. Or should I save up for new and lighter SRAM group?
Other than that,It went well. Plus towards the end of my shift,I got to use a U-Scan machine which you put items under the scan bar and then you put in the dollars and it hands you the change with a receipt that you keep for your records. Saturday the new schedule comes out and I'm working 3pm-7pm and that's about it,Bye!

P.S. Thanks Jhonny for your kind words. It really helps to know that my fellow riders/forumites are with me.

[neverraced]

Today was the 3pm-7pm shift and I just got home. My job coach wasn't there today cause he had something to do so I was basically on my own with my co-workers.
I was just thinking if I save up enough money in my envelope from my paychecks on Thursdays and they stay within the 100's range most like by the end of this year I might have enough for a down payment on a new Maddonne.It's not quite the one Lance rides, but basically the same. The guy at the Trek store said they are all the same bike, just different accessories. He said Lance could walk in, pick any Maddonne that fit him, have his mechanic put on his regular SRAM set up or whatever, and he'd be good to go. Never know the difference. That's cool. Trek is so great. No offense, Ben!

I feel this will turn out to be a good job for me instead of working at Au Bon Pain cleaning tables and mopping up coffee spills all the time which I got tired of doing and with Pathmark I'm working outside so I'm going to always have to deal with weather changes and conditions(Winter,Spring,Summer And Fall).

And that's basically it. My co-workers are pretty good. A lot of the insiders look down on cart jockeys. Some of the guys working carts are kind of slow, and I don't mean slow in getting out of the way of the woman flying through the parking lot in her SUV, yakking on the phone!

I talked a bit during lunch with Olga, who works in the deli dept. She's from Russia and she's got a lot of things going on. Real estate and and finance things. She's talking about how she's doing well in the foreclosure thing, either buying or selling houses, I'm not sure which. And a lot of other impoort/export type of activity. Nice woman. Married, attractive, seems to be interested in me a little. (Dream on, Neverraced! LOL) I told her I might be buying some new bike stuff, and she said I should let her help me make more money. Not a bad idea! I guess we'll talk about it some more, later. So maybe I;ll rethink my carbon fiber water bottle cages...

OK, time to get off the computer and do something constructive like watching bull riding! See you tomorrow, guys!

[thejen12]

Hi Neverraced,

Your posts are fun to read! Now I can vicariously be a cart-jockey, and eventually move up to full-time, management, and even a corporate job. You get across the feeling of the job very well, in a brief read. Maybe you should consider blogging?

Anyway, I wish more people did this so I could try out various jobs without having to actually apply for and get them, which is so time-consuming. If everyone on the Serotta board did this, maybe by this time next year I'd know what I want my next job to be! :D

(Hey, anyone here work at REI? I don't know why, but it sounds like a dream job to me!)

Jenn

[neverraced]

Worked today, Easter, that should get me some brownie points around here. Not a full day today as it is Easter, but lots of people doing theri late Easter dinner shopping, and all the non-Christians doing theri regular shopping. Cold today, like February, with a big strong wind but at least it was dry. Didn't see any riders today when I was in the lot. the next few days are going to be on the cool side so I have to be prepared with the weather conditions.Summer will be here in a few months so I hope it won't be too hot for pushing carts.

Had a phone message when I got home from Olga, but when I returned the call the number was out of service. Could it be Olga from the deli dept.? I'll have to ask her when I see her again, in about 16 hours.

Thanks for the kind words, Tehjen, I'm glad you're getting some "hands-on" experience with the carts! If you're ever back east stop by and I'll let you help in 4 pm round up!

Ok guys, missed the Masters but I hope there's some good bull riding on the tube tonight. See you tomorrow!

[jlwdm]

I was night riding last night when the lightening got a little close so I hid out under cover at a Tom Thumb grocery store. I was thinking of you watching two guys bringing in carts. The first guy had about 15 and the second guy seven. The first guy was really hauling trying to do a 90 degree turn thru the door and caught the left side of the door hard. So much for showing off.

Jeff

[neverraced]

Today was just as busy as Sunday. It was the 1030am-3pm shift and boy was I tired. I basically did the carts from 10:35am-2:55pm and got a $3 dollar tip for helping a woman out with packages on Sunday and today was collecting the carts.The carts can sometimes be a problem but that's part of the job sometimes.The best part of the job is coming home after a long day's work and taking a nice warm shower. No chance to ride today, it looked like rain when I got off work.
Talked to Olga for a few minutes today. She was upset that I never called her back and I told her the number she left was disconnected. She laughed a little bit and said oh yeah, I guess so, then rubbed my head. She asked me if I had a girlfriend. I told her I have hundreds and she laughed again and said I was pretty funny, but she wanted to meet my girlfriend. then she had to get back to the deli counter.
Work again tomorrow, then I hope the weather cooperates and I can get some riding in.
Yes Jeff, too many carts and you can do some real damage. I try to keep it under 10 so I can stop and start again pretty easy if I have to. OK guys, time for a little Extreme Cagefighting on Versus to calm me down a little! See you tomorrow.

[neverraced]

Today was a great day at Pathmark. I did rack up a whole load of carts,one rack on one side and the other rack on the other side. And also I got an excellent mention from a customer who had lost her groceries when she got home and then came back to tell me she forgot her packages and I wound up finding them in the parking lot in a cart that I had seen but was too lazy to go get, and then after that she asked for my name and told my supervisor good things that I was a fine young man. Anyway,I got paid today and the money's looking good as ever. I can't wait to spend it on some new bike stuff. Olga from the deli dept. says I could make even more with it, but she's not sure she can trust me. That's funny, a Russian can't trust me! I told her about the lady with the lost groceries but she wasn't impressed. Other than that,It was such a nice sunny day and I saw a lot of riders out on the road whiule I was pushing carts. Have fun guys, talk to you soon!

[SpeedyChix]

With the cart work, you're getting some core building work going. Once you get used to it, might translate over the to the bike!

Good going on the job. Keep at it.

[sc53]

Hey, neverraced, do you know a former poster here named Dadoo? Your narratives remind me very much of his. Keep on truckin'!

[jmeloy]

like reading about your days but something makes me think be a little careful with Olga when it comes to money issues!!

[johnnymossville]

neverraced,

I was just thinking about shopping carts again and think maybe you'd know. Why do I always get the cart with one or more bum wheels? Screeching and shaking all over the place.

Is it just me or do all carts just work like that?

Also, who fixes the carts that have problems? Is there some guy with a truck that travels the country, store to store that works on these things?

Are they made in the USA?

Just wondering. Thanks for keeping us updated.

John

[neverraced]

Felt like the first day of summer here today. The outside staff can wear shorts---deli crew must keep their hairy legs covered--so it was great outside today, saw millions of riders, sorry I couldn't be with them but I had carts to move! Great day to be outside, though, actually used sunscreen for the first time since the aborted century last August.

Really need to ride but performing well on the job is very important right now especially since i'm getting a paycheck every week. But if Olga can learn to trust me i think I can be making some really good money soon and my Pathmark job won't be so important.

Speedychic, thanks for the kind words! i don;t know if pushing the carts is good cardio or if it will help my riding---we'll find out soon if the weather stays nice on my day off!

Thanks se53, don't know him---was he a cart jockey or just another looney poster? LOL

Jimloy--Olga's great. she's got a boyfriend, so I won't be making any plays for her. I just hope to earn her trust so she will share some of her fiancial deals with me. Thanks for the warning, though!

Hey Jhonnymoss--Around here we keep the carts in the store until a professional wrestler would have trouble pushing it, then it gets sent somewhere for rehab. If we have one with one or two bum wheels, we ship it to a store near you!

Hey everybody, i really appreciate all the posts and I hope you're enjoying reading my life at Pathmark. Hope to have some ride reports for you soon. Have good weekend everybiody!

[BryanE]

I think she's going to rip you off.
Guard that 8 bucks an hour.
Bry

[Dekonick]

If you aren't careful, Olga will try to sell you a recipe for wine pie.

[Louis]

Olga from the deli dept. says I could make even more with it, but she's not sure she can trust me.

Be sure to ask her, if she's such a economics wizard, why she hasn't already started her own full-time financial advice and investment firm, or been hired to do that.

[neverraced]

Hey guys--

You don't have to worry about Olga, she's rolling in it. A couple of times she's shown up in a new white Escalaid, which she parks in the front lot so she can keep her eye on it. She says if any loose carts bang into it she'll kick my butt so I have to be careful and stay on my toes. When she drives the Escalaid she always leaves early and spends a lot of time checking her phone.

I've asked around a couple of people have invested with her and done real well and tell me it would be a good idea. So i don't have anything to worry about, I'm pretty sure.

Day off but windy and rainy today--might just rest up. Hey have a good ride!