1st day...

you know...there's first day for alot of things but some 1st days just stick in your mind. i had done a small intro of myself but never got around to tell my very, very first day experience. as long as i have been around i know that messengers, for some reason, never forget their first day.

well...like i said, im shady on the exact time but i believe it was in the spring when i started. yes, yes, i was one of the early signs of summer coming our way...ha! anyway, i jumped on my rusted rockhopper with splattered paint job...i think it was from toys-r-us(does that even exist anymore?). i didn't quite know my way around the loop yet. i have lived in chicago all my life and i still didn't know how to get to 1313 west randolph...the address of the first company i would work for. i also had last ridden a bike when i was 9? it had been a while.

on the way to work my chain kept skipping gears...wtf?! i was getting pissed. i hadn't even made it to work yet and already i was having trouble. i pull up to the base sweating and panting like i just finished up a triathlon or something. i roll up to the window and the first person i see is mike...

mike...whats up? can i help you?

j.dot...o.man.im supposed to start today but my bike is messed up. the "gear box" keeps messing with my chain.

..."gear box"?! i would later, in my career, find out that it was actually called a "derailleur"...ha! mike just looked at me funny and after speaking with angel(manager of sorts), was told to not worry and just come in the next day. the whole time im freaking out cause on my first day i already look bad. the funny thing is that, in reality, they could care less...turn-over in this industry is high.

well, now what do i do? i don't have a bike cause my "gear box" is jacked. i talk my sister into letting me use her pink huffy...you know, just for now until i can buy my own. little did she know i would be using her bike for several months and running her bike into the ground. as i would find out year in and year out...most if not all messengers have trouble on their first day(s).

ok...so does that count as my first day? lets move on the the pseudo-first day. i show up on the sporty huffy. what does the company do? they pair me up with one of their veterans and fastest cats. that cat rocked a 55/13 or some ridiculous shit. single speed badass. he said to me...

badass...alright. we're going to 53 west jackson to pick up. you know how to get there?

j.dot...umm, not really but i'll try to keep up.

...he looked at me and smirked. shit! i knew i was in trouble. i was already tired as hell from biking the previous day to work and biking to work the next...now i gotta follow this cat? well, he takes off...literally. i can tell he's taking it light but he was 3 or 4 blocks ahead of me the entire time. he would occasionally look back to see if i was still alive with the occasional pointing as to what direction he was going to turn. i was so dog tired...i couldn't breathe and my legs were going nowhere. i did this routine for about five deliveries...the entire time i felt like crying. i kept saying..."one more and im done".

on the way home i nearly passed out. how many deliveries did i make that day? i think about 11 but don't remember cause of the passing out situation on my hands. i got home and took a shower. my mom, yes i was still living at home, looked at me and said to just quit. it was dangerous and looked painful. i think thats what sort of made me get up the next day and do it again...i was too stubborn and wanted to prove people wrong. i got up the next day sore as hell...little by little, the soreness went away.

btw, another important 1st day i will never forget...the first day i met my jessica. the first day i took her on a date. the 1st day i told her i loved her. the day i said "i do"...not that you cats care but...well, im married!!