That pretty much sums up the past few days.. You know about my covid diagnose, but two more things happened.
One of my housemates died, and I lost my apprenticeship..
I will not go into detail about the death, since it's still pretty fresh. One day, maybe. Just not now.
I would rather talk about the absolute disaster that is me basically getting fired. So what happened? I don't know. They wouldn't tell me what made them decide to fire me, not even when I asked them. The thing is, when a company fires someone here in Denmark, they have to provide a reason for doing so. I haven't received a reason. Some say it's because I got covid and had to move my driving license course, but I think it's something else. Why do I think that? Because I called them and told them about the death of my housemate, and an hour and a half later, I was fired.
The next step is to open up a case against them through my trade union representative. I am told I can possibly receive some form of payment for an unjustified firing. We'll see what happens.
So what's next? I am still going to look for another apprenticeship. If I can't find one, then I am still going to finish my driving license course, since it's already been paid for.
I am SO happy it's Friday, so this week can end.
Friday morning, I felt awful. Like someone had pulled a massive cold over me. I went to school as I usually do, but I was really not there. All I wanted was to stay home in my bed.
A few hours later, I still felt awful. My driving instructor came, and asked if I was ready to do some highway driving. "No. I don't feel good", was my answer. My instructor looked at me, and went: "Yeah, you look awful today. Give me 5 minutes. I'll be back".
A few minutes later, she returned and told me, that they had agreed to not allow me to drive, because I wasn't 100%, so it wouldn't be safe for me to drive. We then agreed that I was going to drive on Sunday. Before I went home, I took a rapid test (I really don't like that test), which was negative. Luckily I had a PCR test booked for that afternoon, but I had to wait for a few hours for that.
When I got home, I decided to give the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre a view, which was pretty good. Not super amazing, but it was alright.
After the PCR test, I stupidly went shopping. Not my proudest moment, but I needed some things, and I never in a million years thought I was going to receive the result that I did.
Evening came, and I felt even worse. Headache, coughing, sore skin and a light fever. After some sleep, my fever and sore skin was gone. My runny nose and headache was there, and I started to make plans for the Saturday, and then a text arrived on my phone. It was my test result. I opened it, fully expecting a negative result.
I had tested positive for covid, for the second time. The last time I had covid was in January 2021, but since then, I have been vaccinated. I credit those vaccines with me not being so sick this time around.
So what have I been doing? Not much. Watching a bunch of WWE and a bunch of YouTube videos. Tomorrow is my last day inside, and then I can go outside on Wednesday! I really look forward to that!
At least that's what my driving instructor says. How can she know if I will be an excellent driver? Because of our latest session. It was roundabouts and left turns.
I remember when I started the driving license course. I was scared to get into the drivers seat and drive. The car would stall, and I would freak out. It was one of those "Am I really going to learn this? Am I really going to be able to drive a car?".
My first session was awful. Close to the kerb and driving too fast. My placement on the road was downright dangerous.
Monday was my latest session with my driving instructor, and it went very well. Like I said in the beginning, it was roundabouts and left turns, so we found a quiet stretch of road and had a wonderful hour in the car. Well, an hour and half, but it took 15 minutes to find the road, and 15 minutes to drive back to the school.
I am a champ at roundabouts. I am also pretty good at getting off the line, so if I practice that during my next session, I will definitely nail it! What am I going to do in the next session? Highway driving. That's fairly easy. Everyone has the same speed, and most of the rush hour traffic has been handled by then, so I shouldn't have the biggest problem. I am just looking forward to the next session. It's gonna be great!
After that, it's time for night time driving, which I am quite excited about as well. There are some roads here that are VERY dark once the sun goes down. It's mostly by farms and old estates, so it should be fairly quiet.
I look forward to finishing the course, so I can get my theory- and driving test. After that, the open roads lie ahead of me!
Today, I had yet another driving session. The one yesterday morning was one to forget, but the one today was MUCH better! My placement on the road was bang on, my orientation was on the money and I was changing gears smoothly.
However..
My driving instructor told me, that we'd be heading towards Copenhagen, but we would not be entering the city. We set off, and about 30 minutes later, we were at a place called Vesterbrogade - which leads into the center of Copenhagen. My driving instructor had led me into Copenhagen, which left me white as a sheet. I was not enjoying it, at all. I didn't mind that we ended up in Copenhagen, but the traffic there scared the life out of me. Cars not knowing where to go, cyclists who drive in the middle of the road, people walking in front of a car that says "school car" and loads more.
I hate Copenhagen traffic - it's the worst I have experienced so far. But.. I made it out, without any damage to the car. My driving instructor told me, that she thought the drive had been excellent. Small errors, but it's not something I would fail on.
Now that my heavy traffic driving has been completed, the next on the agenda is learning roundabouts. Then it's highways, night driving and finally doing some slippery surface driving, on a closed track!
I CANNOT wait for that!
Last Monday, the 31st of January, I began my driving education. Yesterday was the first day where I was out on the road to drive, while my driving instructor sat beside me.
I am not going to lie, I was nervous the day before my driving. Not so much as the driving, but more of all the mistakes I would be making. Stalling the car, changing gear too badly or braking too violently. Once we were out in the car, however, it went well. Some things still need to be ironed out, but overall, I am quite happy with my performance. My driving instructor was also impressed by my driving.
I have another drive tomorrow morning at 8 am, and then another one on Friday. I will definitely try to be more gentle with the breaks. But the most important thing is this: I am having a lot of fun! When I drove yesterday, I felt a sense of freedom! If I feel that way tomorrow, I am sure I will be a great driver!
I have been dealing with some quite intense tooth ache for the past week, so yesterday I went to the dentist, to see what's up and what to do to get it fixed. By the time I got there, my entire left lower jaw was swollen, so I knew something was bad. Possibly infected.
I haven't been to the dentist in over 20 years. I have Dentophobia, also known as fear of dentists, so for me to willingly seek out a dentist is a huge step for me. I just want it to be over with. I want the tooth ache to go away!
My appointment was set for 4.20 pm, so I went there, not really sure what to expect. Surely, dental treatments have been improving over the past 20 years, so hopefully I would get the best pain-free treatment money could buy. I checked in, and sat down to wait. After what felt like an eternity, one of the dental assistants came out, and called me in for an x-ray. I told her that I was extremely nervous, and that I was suffering from Dentophobia. She took me by the arm and told me, that they would take good care of me, and that there was nothing to be nervous about. She was fantastic! She made me relax, as much as my body allowed me to, and I was then introduced to the technician, who were going to take my x-ray. A few seconds later, the results were in.
The tooth in question had infected roots, which explained the pain I was feeling. "This is a root canal", the technician explained to me. Not the words I wanted to hear. Root canal. That means it's gonna be expensive! And more time at the dentist, which I am not looking forward to.
I was then led out to the waiting area, where I would be waiting to enter the room, where my tooth could be worked on. A few minutes later, it was my turn. The dentist asked into what was wrong, and then he started his examination. He told me, that the tooth was dead, and that I would either have to get it ripped out, or worked on. He then took off a bit of the tooth, so it wouldn't be as painful to chew as it currently was. I was then prescribed penicillin, and asked to follow the instructions on the box. "Take them until they are gone", was his exact words.
So now, just over 24 hours later, I have begun the treatment. It should be a few days until the swelling falls down. I just want it gone now.
I have enough pills for ten days, and I should see the treatment work as soon as tonight. 24 hours or so after the treatment beginning, which is in about three hours time. I will take one pill before bed tonight, and another when I wake up tomorrow.
Tooth ache is a bastard!
It's been a while, but I have been busy with school and work. Monday and Tuesday were spent with school, while Wednesday was spent at work. I went to school again Thursday, and back to work again on Friday. Let's talk about the work first, shall we?
I was going to a place in the Northern part of Sjælland. We were tasked with moving tables, chairs, drawers and shelving units down from the first floor to the ground floor. No biggie! I assumed it was going to be quick and easy.
Oh how wrong I was.. How very wrong I was! Each table weighed a hefty 98 kilos, or 216 lbs. 52 of those tables were going to be pulled down to the ground floor, down a stairwell and into a room, to be lined up, ready for moving next week. My energy level was low! I went to bed at 9.30 pm.
Fast forward to Friday. I was up at the same location again, but this time, the tables were a LOT lighter, plus t hey had wheels on them, so we could just push them around. We had two floors to do, and we started with the ground floor. After about three hours, we were done, so we moved up to the first floor. It's here the first part of this blog's title comes into play. We had one other person with us, form an external company. At one point, one of my colleagues asked the external employee, if the safety shoes he was wearing, was a pair he found at the location, or if it was his own. He replied, that he found them here. He was then told to leave them, as they were brand new and not something to be taken without any permission.
Lunch came, and we headed out, except the external worker. He elected to stay back and eat, which was fine. After about fifteen minutes, he called one of my colleagues, and told him he had been phoned by his doctor, so he had to leave quickly. When we got back, the safety shoes, he was told to put back, were missing.
"Why the big deal?", some of you might ask? Well.. The shoes in question were Nike Airtox shoes, worth a fortune. He told us, that he put the shoes back, but we were unable to find them. Therefore, it's safe to assume he stole them. If you need an example of how to mess up your career as a mover, steal some brand new Airtox shoes from a client.
An absolute idiot!
Now that work has been written about, what happened on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday? And what am I going to have to learn? Well, you see.. I am currently getting my driving license. Monday and Tuesday were spent on theory, and Thursday was spent in a practice yard next to Copenhagen Airport. I had three hours there, where I learned a few maneuvers, among them were a three point turn and parking in a booth. I also had to do some figure 8, both forwards and reverse.
Next week I will have my very first drive on public roads.. I am nervous. Very nervous. But hopefully things will go well!
Yesterday, I was asked if I was able to go to Jylland, on a two day trip. Naturally, I said yes. The first rule of business, was to load some furniture for delivery.
At 9.30, we left the yard. The trip over there wasn't extremely interesting. Nothing major really happened, so me and my coworker were just engaging in conversation.
We arrived at the first customer a few hours later, which was an auction house. We had to pick up two sofas. It only took about ten minutes, so we were in and out rather quickly. The second pickup was a bit more interesting. It was a Norwegian man, who was moving to South Korea, so he needed some things collected.
The way things work in the moving business, particularly if we are talking about overseas shipping, is that every piece of furniture needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap. Every single chair, every single sofa, every single cabinet needs to be wrapped. My coworker told me to wrap the chairs, while he wrapped the sofas. When he came back after wrapping the sofas, his first comment was "Wow, you work fast! I was afraid that you would have some trouble with wrapping, since it's your second day. I was wrong!". That made me feel like I was a millionaire. Praise works well with me.
Anyway, we spent about an hour wrapping the gentleman's items, and loaded them onto the truck.
Now, naturally there are some heavy items when it comes to the moving business, but it's really not too bad, once you get the hang of it. Sofas are a weird shape sometimes, but once you place your hand the correct place, you can carry it with one hand.
After we had loaded the items on the truck, we headed for a truck stop, where we finished up the day. It was also at that truck stop, that I was to experience sleeping in a truck, for the first time ever. I slept okay, but I didn't get a full nights sleep, sadly.
Dawn broke, and we had some breakfast. Then, it was off to deliver the furniture we loaded up on the previous day. Twenty minutes later, we were off again to collect some more furniture. Upon arrival at the pickup, we quickly wrapped the first two pieces of furniture we picked up at the auction house, and then we picked up the items we were supposed to get. They were also wrapped, and after that, it was time for some food and then to head back home to the yard.
It was quite a windy day today, so the drive home was sketchy, but we made it in one piece.
All in all, a good trip. I am off tomorrow, because I need to acquire a doctor's notice for when I start my driving license on Monday. I am excited for that! And also to get back to work!
That is a phrase I can use now.
Earlier today, I went for an apprenticeship interview at an international mover, based around 30 minutes from my home. Well, 32 minutes, to be exact.
On my way home, they offered me the apprenticeship, which I accepted!
That means I will have to leave home at the exact same time I am used to, and take the same bus as I usually do, which is absolutely perfect!
"But Philipsen, which countries do move stuff to?", I hear you ask? I'm glad you did. The company has established a van-line, which operates fixed services between the Scandinavian capitals and London every week. Scandinavian capitals means Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. That means that once I have acquired my truck driving license, the company can ask me "Are you up for a trip to Oslo?", to which I say "sure, let's go!". During the interview, they also talked about a few trips they have had to Scotland, which, as you know by now, is one of my favourite places ever!
So now we just need to finalize the small details, like the start date and such. I am determined to make it there. I will work harder than ever to make sure, that I finish my education at that company.
The next step for me, in 11 days, is my Category B license. I am SO excited for that!
Before I started my education, I had set myself a goal: Do well, make all the school work I was required to do and show up every day.
Now it's the end of the first 5 months, which is the basic course. 20 weeks. 5 days in each week, making it 100 days. Of course, there have been days where I have been away, due to work experience and public holidays, so let's say 80 days of school. 80 days where I have had to sit and listen to a teacher explain something. Most times I have paid attention, but there have been days where I just wasn't there mentally.
At the end of the course, today, we had a small awards ceremony, where the best students were being celebrated. Three awards were given out: Best attendance, best fighter and an award for the biggest helper.
First up, the attendance record. It was close between two people, but in the end, only one could be the winner.
It was me. I was the winner. During these past 80 days, I have an attendance of 99.1%. 0.9% time away! The second place was 0.1% after me, at 1% time away.
The second award went to the guy in the class, who was hard at hearing. Deserved!
The last award, the helper of the year, went to someone in my class, who really helped others out, even when he wasn't supposed to.
What did we win? We won a gift certificate for a cinema, and a small toy truck.
For the first time in my life, I have actually won something!
Today, all I had learned up until now, would have to be put to the test. I was VERY nervous. This is my future livelihood at stake here. If I fail, then I will be a disgrace not only to myself, but to my friends and family.
Yes, I am very hard on myself.
Anyway, after some breakfast, it was time to pick the assignment. One of 3 categories, like I mentioned yesterday: Stowing, rigging and forklift. I was certain I would pick forklift, since it's the one I have the least practice in. If I picked that, I would certainly fail.
I drew my assignment. It said C. I went over to the table and picked envelope C2. Then, I took my place in front of a computer. We were then told to open up the envelope and look at the assignment.
On the bottom of the page, right there, it said "Stowing a trailer".
All my anxiety. All my nervousness. All my worries. Vanished. Like that! All because I picked stowing, and not forklift. I even picked the trailer that I had practiced on the most, so I was extremely thrilled.
I began to work, taking my time to do it right, but the teachers and the external examiner commented on how fast I was stowing the trailer. Then, one quick load securing later, the test was over.
Long story short: I passed!
I am SO happy!
Back on August 16 2021, I had my first day at school. My first day learning about a new field. Since then, I have made good friends, had some fun times and made some even better memories. I have been doing two different types of work experience, which I have both learned so much during. I have learned rules about safety, techniques surrounding securing loads to trailers, how to rig stuff properly and how to stow things inside a truck.
I have earned four certificates: First aid, forklift, ADR and van. I have won competitions, passed exams and made some pretty good assignments. I have endured good and bad times.
I have just been super happy about what I chose to do, and it has shown me, what I want to do for the rest of my working life.
Why am I summarizing it like this? Because tomorrow, at 8 am, I will have my final test, to see if I have learned anything. If I can continue with the education.
Tomorrow is my basic course exam. Am I nervous? A bit. Am I excited? Absolutely! I have my preferred thing to be examined in: Stowing. Mainly because it's the easiest one, but also because it directly corresponds to the area I am going to be educated in: The moving business.
You see, earlier today, I secured not one, but TWO possible apprenticeships, both at international movers. IF I pick stowing tomorrow, and IF I get an apprenticeship as a mover, I will be in a VERY good position! But that is all for tomorrow.
Right now, I need to brush up on certain things. I need to look a bit on route planning, but that's not going to be too hard.
Tomorrow, I will update you on how things went. If I passed or failed, and what I picked.