Why am I doing this absolutely terrible job again?

[Raziaar]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Slain-newspaper-delivery-man-had-marriage-plans-92148249.html

DALLAS — It's out of character for Robert Lawrence, a newspaper delivery man, to not finish a job.

But Lawrence never got to finish his route early Monday morning.

Dallas police found his pickup truck still carrying piles of newspapers stacked inside as security camera video outside the Save Way Food Store on Ann Arbor Avenue showed Lawrence, 58, trying to escape two masked robbers.

Dana Winbush was planning to marry Robert Lawrence later this year in his native homeland of Jamaica. Those plans were brutally interrupted after police found his body several hundred feet from his truck.

He had been shot three times.

"My baby ran for his life," Winbush said. "He didn't have to run for his life... they didn't have to kill him."

Investigators said the robbers made off with Lawrence's wallet.

Robert Lawrence III, the victim's son, arrived at the scene to see the bullet casings in front of the convenience store. He had been on another paper route not far away.

"I just lost it, because that's my dad. He's been my rock all my years. We worked together all these years. That's the only job I ever had, working with my dad."

Now, he doesn't know if he will ever deliver newspapers again.

"It's just such a senseless crime, because my dad doesn't carry money with him; he carries just enough for gas money for his truck."

Robert Lawrence delivered newspapers to nearly 60 stores. His son said he always worried about his dad in the South Oak Cliff neighborhood.

Dallas police suspect the two masked robbers knew his route and were waiting to rob him early Monday.

If you have any information about this crime, call Dallas police or your local law enforcement agency.

This happened just last week.


So what started as a initially planned 2 week stint helping out a family friend deliver newspapers on a route that some guy bailed out on. She's like the supervisor and does some route delivery herself. The route used to be her husbands, but he recently passed away. If she had noone to do the route, she'd have to do it.

This job is absolutely terrible. It requires waking up early in the morning and being at the plant anywhere 2 oclock, to last week which I had to be in at 7 oclock, except I woke up at 2 oclock and didn't get the call until 5 oclock. Basically it has completely unknown starting hours and lacks consistency... I end up waking up early to get ready, expecting to leave, but not having to leave for a while, or having to wake up and leave immediately after I get the call.

It burns anywhere from $38-$54 in gas for 2 days of work(5-7 hours each route), driving a couple hundred miles. One city one morning, another city the next. Pays $90 for the two days, not including gas or any other incurred expenses. Last week they had me do inserts which require me combine two newspapers, a header and the insert, which basically doubled my hours and they only pay $10 extra for it. The first week I did the job, I paid $54 in gas, and ended up with $36 in profit after 13 hours of work.

So now I'm doing this for another month, until they can find a replacement... but honestly how in the **** are they going to find a replacement for such a shitty slave wage job that requires lots of danger from driving, but also from being around the city at early morning hours.

I get guilted too ****ing easily. I'm ashamed of myself. And I also can't help but worry something like what happened to that poor guy could happen to me.

 

[63]

Your post is really confusing. Someone you know got murdered?

 

[VirusType2]

That's like the worst job in the world. You don't need to put in notice, nobody cares. You're not going to put it on your next job application. Just throw the stack of papers in the river and avoid your boss for a few days.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

RIP good fellow.

 

[Raziaar]

Your post is really confusing. Someone you know got murdered?

Just another newspaper delivery dude doing a similar route in a nearby town.

It's just me bitching about the job and being paranoid about being murdered.

That's like the worst job in the world. You don't need to put in notice, nobody cares. You're not going to put it on your next job application. Just throw the stack of papers in the river and avoid your boss for a few days.

Close family friend. I wouldn't hear the end of it. That's what makes it so hard for me, it would be difficult facing the individual knowing that they know I ditched them and they now have to do an extra 5-7 hours a day on other routes. It's ridiculous really... never do business with family or family friends is going to be my new personal motto.

RIP good fellow.

Good knowing you man.

Anyway, I need to get ready to leave the house in the next hour or three, which is one of the worst parts about the job other than the ****ing below minimum wage pay. I wasn't able to get any sleep either. ****ing schedule switching... wasn't tired enough to get rest.

 

[Solaris]

Don't give notice, just quit.

Doesn't sound like a proper job anyway, no-way could they get away paying you so little if it was, so they can't sue for quitting like that.

Say you'll keep working till they find a replacement, but you want to be remunerated for all gas expenses outside the other cash. Make sure they pay regually or they'll hold out on you at the end.

**** them

 

[Raziaar]

Well, at least it's money. Let me buy Red Dead Redemption and it will let me get a new monitor, maybe.

\o/


I have to say though, one of the most frustrating things about the job is the wind. Last Thursday, when they had me put the inserts inside the headers, it was incredibly windy outside. Even parking the van in areas where the wind wasn't blowing at the back, it was still so strong and whipping around that it threatened to rip out all the newspaper coupons and shit and blow them all about. Some of them they did. Entirely frustrating.

 

[Solaris]

Well, at least it's money. Let me buy Red Dead Redemption and it will let me get a new monitor, maybe.

\o/

Well if you're happy. It sounds like you're working for just a couple of dollars an hour, you'd make more than that picking money off the street.

 

[VirusType2]

i WOULD TRY TO SELL THE NEWSPAPERS

OH WAIT


Really, you are going to let them guilt trip you into letting them rip you off. That's how all newspaper deliveries work. WE NEED YOU OH THANK YOU BLESS YOU HERE'S $11 FOR TODAY. The papers must get delivered! People are counting on you! They'll cancel subscriptions and we'll go bankrupt.

Newspapers are old news. Put AOL discs on their doorstep.

 

[Raziaar]

Well if you're happy. It sounds like you're working for just a couple of dollars an hour, you'd make more than that picking money off the street.

Probably. The only reason I'm really doing it is to help out the family friend. I'd feel absolutely terrible if I left them to have to do the entire route in addition to their other routes. I don't know why she has to do it like that... she doesn't even get anything from the route I do apparently, no money at all from managing it. It just happened to be her husband's route before he died not long ago. It's her directly I have contact with in the company, and nobody else. She pays me after they pay her for the route, since I guess it is in her name.


The reason I'm doing the Plasma thing from the other thread, is to pay for the gas as I'm doing this delivery route.

 

[VirusType2]

The reason I'm doing the Plasma thing from the other thread, is to pay for the gas as I'm doing this delivery route.

wow char

You got mad cow disease. Selling blood and plasma to pay for gas to deliver papers! It's mad!


(I'm just messing with you. Just do what you feel is right, and have a nice day at work, son.)

 

[Raziaar]

wow char

You got mad cow disease. Selling blood and plasma to pay for gas to deliver papers! It's mad!


(I'm just messing with you. Just do what you feel is right, and have a nice day at work, son.)

Well, thanks to the plasma money, I get about $45 for each day in paper route money($90 for the two)... so that bumps it up to 25 cents above minimum wage provided I finish my route in 6 hours.

EDIT: **** yeah, the papers are running in just 45 minutes. Takes me a half an hour to get there, so I'm leaving in like 23 minutes. Even though I consider it more dangerous in the early morning hours, I prefer doing it because I don't have to deal with rush hour traffic for as long, and allows me to get my route done quicker.

Off to make a grueling buck. New LCD monitor here I come!

And thanks Virus!

 

[Warped]

holy shit, if you did pizza delivery overnight (most cities have them), you could be making $20 an hour under the table. my friend does it, and all the drunks and stoned guys give him extra cash because they're ****ed up.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Raz is a masochist.

 

[Danimal]

Robert Lawrence III sounds like he could get some badass mother****ing revenge.

 

[Robbo]

Probably. The only reason I'm really doing it is to help out the family friend. I'd feel absolutely terrible if I left them to have to do the entire route in addition to their other routes.

\

Does this family friend own or run whatever your doing? Cause if they are it sounds like a family friend you could do without.

 

[Raziaar]

\

Does this family friend own or run whatever your doing? Cause if they are it sounds like a family friend you could do without.

Nope. They simply work for the Plano Star(as an independent agent of whatever), which runs local newspapers for a bunch of the towns around Dallas.



Anyway I'm back. While I got in early at 3AM central time, I didn't actually get to load papers until around 4... but that's still earlier than normal. Sun didn't come up until I was done with a ton of my stops, and traffic wasn't bad at all for most of the route, which is good. Overall I'd say it was a good day... simply because I was able to finish early and not deal with tons of traffic.

I had to pick up her papers since she lives in the town of my first stop, and give them to her at her first stop. It was a closed down gas station... and I felt uncomfortable as **** waiting there... with low lights, so I drove on over to the Lowe's parking lot for the 15 minutes. I'm either a pussy for very smart!

Van is sluggish as **** with those 1500 newspapers on board. I could feel my ass riding low on the highway.

I'm ****ing exhausted, nappy time. Tomorrow at the same time is another completely different city, completely different route.

 

[Tyguy]

i WOULD TRY TO SELL THE NEWSPAPERS

OH WAIT

Honestly, this is the best advice thus far. The only problem is the fact that you're "close" with your boss. However, I think you could easily get away with this.

There's a guy I pass everyday in traffic who stands in the middle of a very crowded intersection selling papers and from what I can tell he brings in a decent amount of money. That would be my suggestion, find a crowded place, sell them and bolt.

Now obviously you're left with the task of explaining to your boss why the papers weren't delivered.

Tell her somebody robbed you. The newspapers were stolen out of your car (while you were paying for gas) along with an expensive item of your choosing. (Just to convey you lost out too) Give yourself a black eye so it looks convincing.

Now if you're a huge wimp with a tiny penis and balls the size of marbles you probably wont take this advice.

 

[Raziaar]

Heh. I'm usually left with at least 100 extra papers by the end of the route. I could sell them at 25 cents, half price, for $25

But that would require me spending more times, with the uncertainty of who the hell would buy them, and cops bothering me and shit. Not worth it. I'll do the legit thing and just recycle them for no cash value.

Thanks for the advice guys, even though I'm not gonna take it. I'm just gonna do this until the first week of June and then be done with it, unless they find that replacement sooner, which I doubt they'll do because they're paying so ****ing shit.

Now if you're a huge wimp with a tiny penis and balls the size of marbles you probably wont take this advice.

****ing lol. I could stand out there for days before I manage to sell 100 papers. A lot of the stores and racks I go to don't even have them all sold.

I hope by the end I'll have enough to get my new LCD monitor, and if not the continued plasma donations and finding of a new job will take care of that. I want to play some red dead redemption on a ****ing nice new monitor, not this piece of shit CRT!

I'm going to go from this, to ****ing this... **** YEAH! 19" CRT to 24" 16:10 LCD.

 

[Raziaar]

Hell... yes.

This stupid ass job ends this week. My last two days are tomorrow and friday.

Goodbye, paper routes! You suck and I hope you get cancelled!

I'm so excited I can't even sleep. Well actually that's because I ****ing woke up at 10:00 AM and I'm not tired at all... even though I have to work in like nine hours.