Jerzei Collie's journal

I just saw a Tweet from someone bragging about working 99.5 hours in a week and making around $1,157. I did the math and saw the person would have had to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week at roughly $11.58 per hour. Even if I had a Teflon body like this person apparently does, there's no way I would work a schedule like that.

I compared that to my food delivery work which -- with customer tips -- averages $18-22 per hour. If I don't factor in the cost of gas for my car, I could make over $1,100 a week just working 7-8 hours per day. If I include the cost of gas, I'd have to work 10-12 hours a day. Of course, I'd have to pray my car stays in one piece or I'd need to work even more.

Looking through my 2020 entries, I see that it's been more than a year since I last worked in the studio at KRCC. April 5, 2020 was my last weekend shift before most of the staff was quarantined. Since then, the weekend shift I had hoped to return to was permanently automated from Colorado Public Radio's Denver studios. I was promised work to digitize KRCC's music library, but that task was canceled when I was told the music director announced her retirement and the station's music shows would end at that time. Even with a fancier title (Operations and Production Assistant) I haven't gotten any work to go with it.

https://web.archive.org/web/20121014103026/http://matthewebel.com:80/2012/07/17/stop-you-are-not-a-machine/

My recent bout with depression brought the above-linked blog post to mind. My depression keeps telling me to go back to bed when I'm still wide awake. Strangely, I seem to be happiest when I'm "being a machine" and doing deliveries. This is likely because I'm getting away from my condo and looking at actual scenery for a while. I would like to eventually get away from the condo permanently since more families with kids have moved into the neighborhood. At least the community pool just down the block is closed for the season.

I need to get some Icy Hot cream or patches. My right arm has been aching lately, possibly from a pulled muscle.

I overslept today. Since I have a meeting at KRCC tomorrow, I'll begin doing UberEats deliveries before and/or after the meeting. I went to Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday to buy a windshield sun visor for my car. I plan to get some "safety scissors" I can use for the food coupons I'll keep in the car, as well as a new color toner cartridge for my printer.

I just filled out my ballot for the June primary election. I'll drop it off tomorrow.

Friday night was one of the rare nights where I stayed for an entire music show. The Psychedelegates usually play for four hours (including breaks) from 8 PM to midnight. Most of the time, I stay until 10:30 or 11:00, depending on how tired I am. With my reduced work hours, I can hopefully stay for more of the band's shows from now on. The Psychedelegates are playing at Hillside Gardens on Wednesday. I will be seeing that show with the singles group.

I got an e-mail today saying I've been accepted to deliver for UberEats! I ordered an insulated delivery bag and will wait for it to arrive before starting work.

I think I'll just wear my collie tail to FoxTrot tonight. It's too hot for me to be in a fursuit or even a kigurumi.

GrubHub e-mailed me to say they weren't hiring drivers at the moment. I haven't heard back from ZulaFood yet. I've sent my car insurance/license and personal information to UberEats and downloaded the company's app. I'm awaiting the results of a background check before I can officially begin doing deliveries for them.

I need to get a haircut this week since UberEats needs me to take a current picture of myself (for customers to confirm I'm delivering their orders.)

I messaged ZulaFood yesterday for information about signing up as a delivery driver. If accepted, I plan to start out working middays on Tuesdays-Thursdays then take on more hours/days later.

Since my weight has evened out (315-320,) I made a new goal to use my stationary bike every day. I'll start out at 15 minutes a day and gradually increase the time every week or two.

"Senator, I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. (stamps feet) Sexual Chocolate!"

Another wasp flew into my condo, only to die in my dining room light. I definitely need to get an exterminator in here once I start making more money.

This afternoon, I attended a seminar about starting a business. While I already knew about half of the information presented at the meeting, the additional information and resources will give me much more help in either starting a new radio/TV station or buying an existing one.

I felt sleepy toward the end of the seminar (though not due to the seminar itself) and did my best to hide my yawns. I watched Matthew Ebel's live music stream when I got home, then fell asleep after that. My roughly four-hour nap caused me to miss the "Turn Up The Night" political talk show I enjoy. I thought I had missed the beginning of Bucktown Tiger's show, but he had started late.

I'm cleaning off my sofa as well as I can tonight and will take out the trash tomorrow morning. Updates were made to my Medicare plan, and a couple of people will be visiting Wednesday to explain the updates. I was going to do the cleaning tomorrow morning, but I will only have about 20-30 minutes to get ready since I will be answering phones at KRCC from 6-9 AM and 3-7 PM Wednesday.

PAY for Sunday, February 21st: 8 hours (5 AM-1 PM)

18 days until Furry Fiesta! The fill-in shift I did last Sunday and the extra hours I'll do today will make up for the weekend work I'll miss while at Furry Fiesta. The announcer who does the 9 AM shift came down with a cold and asked if I could fill in for her today. I might miss at least part of the Funday Pawpet Show since I was unable to fall asleep after my Saturday shift.

Gave you many chances to make change
The only thing you changed was love to hate.

Since one of my Toastmasters speeches involves researching a specific topic, I thought about making a speech about writer's block since I seem to have one. I haven't given a regular speech since 2011 mainly due to stress about my finances and inability to find full-time work. Researching writer's block will not only give me a speech subject, but maybe also a cure for my own symptoms.