My name is Bill. I am a delivery man for the Farmland store, a 30+ year old small family owned grocery/bakery/catering store. Deliveries include groceries to people’s homes, gift fruit baskets, and caterings to businesses and homes. I thought I’d start a blog sort of chronicling what goes on.
But first… a little about how I landed at Farmland. I went to college straight out of high school and earned a BS in electrical engineering. I then spent 15 years doing test engineering for high tech companies. As time went on I started to tell my wife in the morning: “time to go to the bubble for 9 hours.” I worked for 3 different companies, and at each one I kind of had one foot out the door looking for the next best thing. Don’t get me wrong… I worked at least 4 years at each firm and gave them my best and moved right up in the ranks. Anyway, as my good fortune would have it, and I really mean good fortune!!, I got laid off. I was very happy… I think my wife and I want out to celebrate. My father shook his head and said he never saw someone so happy about getting laid off. The point is that I wanted out but couldn’t rationalize doing it… so it was done for me. It opened up a new world… the world of people out and about during the day on a weekday, the world where you are not coddled with sick days and paid healthcare, the world outside the bubble. I loved it!… until about 6 months later when the money started to dry up. My wife really wanted to get a job after leaving work 10 years earlier to raise our two kids. We agreed that she was more suited to a full time job and I would be Mr. mom/freelance worker.
I tried my hand at my own business building home access ramps for the handicap. My wife is in a wheelchair and was an eager model for my advertising. I worked my ass off on each 2-week project and only cleared maybe $1500. People just don’t have $5,000 for a ramp and would rather get a nice elevator for free through their health coverage. My next gig was a wheelchair repair technician for a small medical service provider. I liked going to people’s homes and helping them out, but after a few months of being told that I needed to be faster and see more people each day (roughly 5-7 and traveling 150 miles all over the place) I called it quits. Next up… contract technical writer for Raytheon. The hours were great… 6:30am to 3pm.. mother’s hours! All I had to do was come in and do maybe an hour’s worth of tedious proof-reading or photo-copying stuff. The rest of the time I was to look busy in case an auditor came by to see what project I was charging to. I was essentially a body that they could charge the government for. The pay was pretty good… $21/hour to sit there. Well, it was fine for a few months but it hard to explain how hard it is to just sit there and let your mind drain away. I couldn’t read a magazine or anything so the time just stood still. After 5 months, and with summer approaching and the kids soon to be out of school, I decided to quit. People don’t understand me.
Then it happened. While riding the train into Boston for some weekend fun my wife Joanne handed me a newspaper clipping for a delivery man job for Farmland… 2 miles from our house on the other side of the lake. I said fine, I’ll go for an interview. I put my finest suit on and went… it was soon apparent that I was overdressed, but hey, better to be safe. I got the job on the spot. Three years+ later I’m still doing and can honestly say that I LOVE my 20hr/wk job and having the pulse on our household!
That’s it for my first intro blog. I hope to receive some cues on what topics might interest you next… soccer dad, dad of an ADD child, husband of a lovely paraplegic woman.. maybe travel tips would help you, funny stories about the cast of characters that I deliver stuff to, whatever may intrigue or help you.
Farmlandman
