http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog Where's Noreen? What's she doing? What's on her mind? Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:02:58 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This morning's email was really no surprise. The price of the USA Today's are going up at the end of the month. This time not only do we have to change over all the coin mechanisms of the vending boxes in one day, but we don't get paid even a ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/no-surprise/ Very proud of my creative moment in carving our pumpkin. We bought two pumpkins this year - if we had seen David we were going to give him one. But she didn't bring him by or call, so I carved one myself and put the other out by the mailbox. ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/spooky-moment/ Finally scored some cheap gas - at a little independent station on the corner of the trucking terminals and warehouses by the airport. Only paid $3.29 a gallon. That's a dollar a gallon less that 2 months ago. Plus the gas does not have any ethanol in it. Bonus! Real ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/scored-some-cheap-gas/ We thought about making a list of the most outrageous excuses that drivers have used as to why they are quitting or why they need a night off. Some of them are really out there. Some of the ones that stand out in my memory are: I can't work tonight. I have ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/excuses-excuses/ On Sunday we spent the entire day taking apart the coin mechanisms of every paper rack and inserting little brackets to make the adjustment necessary to change the price of the papers. For the past 12 years the local daily paper has been 50 cents and the USA Today newspapers ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/how-corporate/ Our best drivers are people who have their lives very stable and predictable. It is important for them to show up every morning, on time, and be ready to work. The people who have drama in their personal lives prove to be undependable and they frequently ask for time off ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/the-no-drama-zone/ Our biggest expense is payroll and second to that is the cost of gasoline and other automotive expenses. The cost of gas has gone up this past year by over $1 a gallon. That's a huge price jump and we have no offset from the newspaper to help cover that. I ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/rising-gas-costs/ The past week has been so exhausting that I don't think we'll be able to stay awake and watch any fireworks displays this year. Our town always has a great show, with free concerts and a great vantage point of sitting on the riverbank to watch them shoot over the ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/too-tired-for-fireworks/ Our days of the week are not the same as normal people's days. Our week seems like it has 3 Sundays, and what stinks is that we don't get Sundays off. On everyone else's Saturday we are going into work to handle the Sunday newspaper. The paper comes in different sections, ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2008/monday-is-like-sunday/ This is going to be a fun time! Welcome aboard! Today I'm in Nashville. We've been puttering about the house but had to make a quick trip to Brentwood to meet the guy, Michael, who fixes the paper dispensing boxes. Kary and I rode down with Buck and Crash. We try ... http://www.noreenmanvell.com/blog/2007/welcome-to-noreens-world/