Things you can't keep track of

I bought a couple of gel pens a few weeks ago. I found one of them yesterday.

Its all to do with malicious black holes seeking to populate a parallel universe with small human artifacts, especially individual socks.

Actually, the only writing implements I don't lose are the 2 sharpie pens I keep in my cell phone compartment of my bag, along with my phone.

I need one when I do my lunch delivery gig for an hour and a half each day. Gotta put the name of the company on the bags, usually 3 or 4 businesses.

At each of the average 2 restaurant pick ups, I take out my phone to check off orders, a sharpie to mark the bags (that already have individual names on them) and my reading glasses.

For the deliveries I only need the cell phone to mark off as delivered so the individuals are notified via text their lunch is there. Don't need the glasses or sharpie for that.

I'm so used to the rythme of the pickup because I can't walk with the insulated bags while holding anything else.

Last week, I thought about calling the police. Someone had entered my home and made off with a pair of shoe stretchers. No signs of break in and nothing else was stolen. Thiefs are so dumb.

You could save a step and just write "Your lunch is here." on the bags.

No I can't.

How would writing "your lunch is here" on 15 to 25 bags, when each person has no idea I just left bags at the indicated areas for each business, be faster than clicking "Delivered" on the phone app, thus sending an auto text to each person at that particular business that their lunch has arrived?

Also, how is the company I get paid by to do this supposed to know that I picked up, and delivered lunches, and what time that happened?

You've never heard of lunch delivery services?

To explain....

Every day at around 10:45 am, I get notification on the lunch delivery services app that I have a route.

It tells me the 2 restaurants I'm to arrive at. One at 11:20, the other at 11:30 or as soon thereafter as possible..

I get to the first restaurant, and that restaurant has 1 to 20 lunches all ready for me. Each bag has a person's first name and last initial. I check off each name on the app for that restaurant, which could be one to three business. When all the names are checked off, both I and the delivery service knows everything has been picked up. Repeat for 2nd restaurant, which I arrive at between 11:30 and 11:45. They also may have 1 to 20 meals. (total of meals are almost always between 10 and 20. (today was 18 total) I mark the name of the company it's going with a shortened code supplied by the delivery service on each lunch bag (and rewrite name if it's not clear), for instance HIG for Higgenbotham LLP, so I know which insulated bags to put them in (I label the insulated bags by inserting the name of company in a clear card holder on the top of bags before leaving my house)

Then, I drive of the businesses. Google maps interfaces with the app if it's somewhere I'm not familiar with (same for restaurants I don't know). I am told on the app where to leave lunches for the business, i.e. reception, kitchen area, specific other location. The lunch delivery services, and the diners, then know meals are delivered to the business because I click delivered.

1/2 the time when I'm walking to the elevators in a building, people are already scurrying to get their food. I love seeing that. They're happy to see me, and I get a cheery "Thanks!" all the time. Been doing this a little more than 5 months, so I know where 95% of the places I'm going to go to anyway.

For the company I have this gig through, there are dozens of us crisscrossing paths every day. We pass each other in restaurants and building lobbys and parking lots all the time.

So today for instance, I walked out of my house at 11:10am, because the first restaurant was right down the street from me. When I clicked delivered on the last business, it was about 12:15. So for about an hours work, I made $33, the pay for a route. Sometimes it might take an hour and a half, and I drive maybe 10 to 20 miles, which I write off on my taxes. Once in a great while (like 2 or 3 times in 5 months) if I get finished early, I'll get a text while driving home, from the company, asking if I can pick up a 2nd route for whatever reason. Sure! It's the weirdest thing. That usually happens when it's someone who is brand new, who shadowed someone the day before, and suddenly realizes they can't figure out how to drive to point A, pick up some food, and drive to point B and drop it off.

The first time that happened, I met a driver in the parking lot of the business her first delivery was at, and we transferred what she has had left for the 2nd business into my car. I assumed she had car trouble and asked her if she was ok. Turns out she picked up her lunches, it took her like a half an hour to find the 2nd restaurant, then a freaking hour to find this first business. She was completely freaked out and flusterbated. Don't know how because where I met her was right on a main road everyone knows. I asked her why it took so long, since Google maps gives the fastest route, and an algorithm at the delivery service automatically assigned drivers and route based on closest location. Diners have only until 10:30am to order lunch, and drivers get assignments by 10:45, so this is obviously not done by hand. The chick told me there was no way she was going to use GM while driving (um, that's what it's for), and she had no idea where to go next. The next business was literally 1/2 mile away. Seriously, this is the easiest thing in the world, and I'm an old fart of 60.

All the drivers carry sharpies so we can mark the lunches with where they need to go so it stands out.

It's a great way to make extra cash for students, retirees, etc.

Damn them! Damn them all to HELL!

I found them later. Now, what kind of crook would take the chance of entering my home just to hide a pair of shoe stretchers? Yes, damn them all to Hell.

The bastids are just f*ckin' with your mind roger.

My microwave does that with me all the time, changing numbers and ****.
When I call the damn thing on it, it just looks around all innocent.

I hate getting gaslighted like that.

Mother always blamed an alleged ghost. Anywhere we lived if something vanished, she blamed 'the ghost'. They ghost took her blue coat with a fur collar, my sister's hair gel, my birthday card and many more items. It also supposedly turned a light on and off.
The ghost also took flatware, with a peculiar favoring of spoons.

The only things I lose on a regular basis, is, scissors. Dozens of 'em over the years...

...Mother would blame the ghost, I think I just accidentally toss them to the side and then they're scooped up in a pile of stuff and put in the trash.

Scissors!

Yes, that's another thing I will put down, not move from where I am sitting, and within 2 minutes they have disappeared.

My car in a parking lot. I swear someone moves it after I park and go shopping. It's always farther away from the shop entrance than I distinctly remember parking it.

I hate people that do that - even if they didn't leave the parking lot.

Are you delivering for a company something like 'Grub Hub' or 'Door Dash'??? I've seen those services mentioned on the websites of local restaurants, but it's still a little new around my neck of the woods. I'm only about 3 quarters of a mile from the Annapolis Mall but they don't deliver in my area (yet).

First, it was people eating out because they were too lazy to cook (like me). Now, it's too much trouble to go out.

It's gotten so bad, that I can't keep track of the things that I can't keep track of any more.

I used to be able to find a pen to write it down, but not the paper.

Now I can't find a pen or the paper but luckily I don't remember why I wanted them.

I think the scissors may have run off, I recall being warned not to run with them.

My interest in physics and philosophy here waned when it became apparent that I couldn't define, let alone keep track of, time.

And whatsits, every time I turn around there are new whatsits here that look and sound just like the other missing whatsits, which is why I think oh good that idiot is back posting rubbish but with a new whatsit.

One day, if I'm lucky, I think I'll find myself again.

Only joking, never have.

GH and DD from what I can tell deliver individual lunches to both home and business. I wouldn’t like that.

This business is called Lunchdrop. They just do lunch, for businesses. The restaurant is the one who pays the fee., not the diner. I’ve run the numbers and i can’t figure out what the restaurants must be charged, but obviously the place is making really good money.

They are super organized and respond to drivers texts right away. They just ask to be kept up to date if something causes you to run late, like a big traffic jam.

A few weeks ago I was at a downtown restaurant for a big pickup and they were late getting the food out, causing me to get a $50 parking ticket. I was parked in the designated spot with my flashers on, an an area where the city will give you some leeway knowing at that time of day delivery people are all over. But this time me and another driver overstayed the grace period and we both got ticketed. I just sent them a photo of the ticket, and I was reimbursed the next day. Then I just paid the ticket. They really stay on top of things.

I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them.

Exactly. Honestly it’s not worth it in a lot of situations to get to your care and drive around, or if you work downtown trying to get out of the building and walk to whoever you want to go. From what I’ve seen, a lot and f businesses have really nice accommodations for employees to enjoy lunch in. You should see Yeti’s lunch room. They have an in house coffee house, a kitchen area with 5 or 6 refrigerators and a bunch of microwaves, and the searing area is just like a nice restaurant. Really modern. Some office buildings have local restaurants set up a lunch service in the lobby for a few hours.

I’m not delivering burgers and fries either. More like sushi, bbq plates and Thai. If I worked in an office, I would totally order food and take it home for dinner. No way could I eat a big plate of Thai or Italian and not sleep all afternoon.

My mobile phone is just that -- mobile. The little stinker scurries away any
time I put it down. Fortunately, we still have our landline. Which I mostly
use to find my mobile.