it was all a dream...

do you see what im seeing?! that was just last week. now, if you're lucky you'll see some snow on the ground but i doubt it. we hit the mid-50's on saturday and the snow just disappeared. we are now hovering around the mid-30's and the sun is shinning...wtf?! they say global warming is a myth...silly people. anyway, the weather has turned in our favor but the work has turned also. it's a slow start to the week. maybe it's because we have a full crew now instead of people calling in...maybe it's cause the work gets done quicker when you're able to pedal? maybe...well, it's the end of the year and the transition into january has always been known as a slow period...

car dispatch...i've been in this business since '79. it's always slow at the end of the year.

j.dot...well, we're always busy at the end and start of the months. maybe january will bring us some good work?

...i have faith in january and the famous start of the tax season. every messenger knows that the tax season is the time to make loot. the weather is nasty and the work is plentiful. well...thats not always the case...sometimes the work is slow but it's supposed to be the busiest time for the courier industry. as far as the weather goes...well, that's always bad...ha! that being said, if the farmers almanac is correct, which so far it's right on point, then this winter should be ok. it'll have it's ups and downs but from the sound of things...the ups win out this time around...

After a mostly mild November, snow at Thanksgiving will signal the coming of a very cold period, especially in the west. Temperatures will seesaw from January through March. Precipitation will generally be below normal, with above-normal snowfall in the southwest and below-normal snowfall in most other parts of the region. The coldest periods will occur in December, early and mid-January, and in early and mid-February. The snowiest periods will be in early and mid-December, early to mid-January, early February, and early March.

April and May will have above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation, with hot temperatures in mid-May.

Summer temperatures will be near or slightly above normal, on average, with below-normal rainfall. The hottest temperatures will occur in early and mid-June and mid-July.

September and October will be cooler and drier than normal.

warm weather in april?! holy sh*t! usually chicago doesn't get nice weather till june. this is good news for my crew. soon we'll be enjoying some watermelon and 90 degree weather...peace.

merry christmas...again...

merry christmas...

work on monday was rough. it was about 6 degrees all day and with the windchill it was in the negatives. i don't know how our crew does it but thank God for them. we weren't really busy but not many came out to play. i don't blame those that decided to take a breather from this weather. no matter what excuses they had...i don't blame them for not showing up. now...as far as our soldiers that did come out and play...well, yesterday was a great day for them.

we were running a bit behind because we were short staffed but that didn't matter. this time around the name of the game was get the work done and just keep moving. the minute i sat down and the first biker checked in with me i began to load them up. our paging system was down for the 302nd time this year...ha! so, i had to give most, if not all, the jobs verbally.

6721...two-one, at the mart holding one.

j.dot...cool, got a pen and paper out?

6721...umm, ok...go!

j.dot...ok, you're at the mart holding an east madison. let's see...go grab a 25 eash washington, 11 east adams, 21 south clark, on your way to drop stop by 1 south wacker for three more and while you double down for the tower drops stop by 71 wack and scoop up one more. soooo, lets see...thats 1, 2, 3, 7...cool, 7 picks. call me every three drops.

...all day it was like this and the work was not slowing down. our crew was just rocking. it was so cold out that they booked it all day to stay warm. not only because if you move faster the more body heat you will generate but because if you move faster the quicker you will be indoors somewhere else...ha! seriously, thank you to my crew...all day was hectic but they all got the work done. these next few days this week will be kind of slow. chirstmas eve is one day away. today may or may not be busy...who knows but what i do know is that i will have a good crew.

happy holidays to all messengers everywhere...



btw...i stole the drawings above from my good friend damara. she's probably the fastest lady messenger i've had the pleasure of working with. sorry forty-five...ha! check out more of her work here and don't be scared to purchase some of her work here...peace.

ups going on two wheels...

thank you rachel for the heads up...



apparently ups will begin a bicycle delivery program...wtf?! how cool is that?! why did it take this long?

from bikeportland.org...

Shipping giant United Parcel Service (UPS) will add a new weapon to its arsenal in the holiday shipping battle this year — bicycles.

Jeff Grant, the company’s workforce planning manager for the Oregon district (that includes Vancouver, WA), says UPS plans to hire 28 bike delivery employees this season. In the Portland metro area, Grant says eight riders will be hired.

I spoke with Grant via phone yesterday. He said the main impetus for the bike delivery program was to save money.

“For every three bikes we use for deliveries, we save an average of 17 gallons of fuel per day (compared to one truck). That’s about $50 in savings.” Across the entire district, Grant says for every three bikes used during the holiday season, UPS will save $38,000 in vehicle operation and upkeep costs.

UPS has purchased a fleet of mountain bikes outfitted with a 200 pound capacity trailer (with a cover for rain of course) and a set of lights. All bike delivery staff will be uniformed and helmets are required.

Before hitting the road, Grant says each rider will undergo a paid orientation and training session. The custom-tailored training will focus on operating the bicycle and trailer safely. “We realize the riders will be experienced already,” says Grant, “but have they ever pulled 200 pounds? Do they know the safe following distance in wet weather?”

According to Grant, he’ll ask delivery staff to deliver about 25-50 packages per day, compared to 150 stops a day for a normal “package car”.

Grant added an interesting historical note to this story: UPS started delivering by bike in Seattle (where they were founded) over 100 years ago. Today, the company once again uses bikes for deliveries up in Seattle and Grant said it went so well they’ve decided to expand the program.

UPS is looking to hire bike delivery people in Vancouver (WA), Portland, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene, and Medford. If you’re interested, call Maria Mason at (503) 978-7409 or email mariamason(at)ups(dot)com.

o.man...i really hope this program works out and it sticks. can you imagine if it goes nationwide and internationally? too cool...on another note, im about to head to work and there's at least two inches of snow that has fallen already...ha! ride safe out there and stay warm...peace.

is started early...

yesterday was quite a day. it started off not too cold...well, for chicago standards. sh*t...even i decided to bike in. Lord knows if i have an opportunity to not bike i'll take it. the mistake i made was not knowing that the weather would make a dramatic change in the afternoon. i believe the snow started hitting the streets around eleven or so...not really sure cause im locked up inside. either way...once it started it did not stop.



i had a choice...take public transportation home and leave my bike at work or just man-up and try and remember how to bike in these conditions. i finally got up to leave at 1815 from base. i was gonna make it a game time decision but i had a mini-dilemma on my hands. 6718 and 6721 were standing in the dock...not so much waiting for me but instead waiting for each other to roll out in the madness. i had the both of them stay late with me along with a few others but these two i had them bring packages back to base. 6721 had the honor of carrying a huge box on his back while 18 had the honor of coming in later than twenty-one. i'll get back to them in a minute...my mini-dilemma was this, should i bike or take public transportation? i had almost made up my mind but i couldn't look like a little b*tch in front of my crew. especially not these two. two of our rockstars out there. so...i man'd up. walked to milwaukee and took that north to western and then north for a few blocks. it sucked...





i gotta give it to our crew out there. they really did a great job. we weren't busy but we were steady enough to not give too much stand-by...well, beyond the usual, stay warm stand-by's. our crew was even helping the car board doing some distance and weight runs. how they did it? i have no idea...i feel like if i was still out there i would be saying no to every delivery. i did have a couple guys disappear on me once the snow started hitting. that hurt our percentage a little cause i could have used them, especially late in the game but don't really blame them. the weather was nasty.

the name of the game late in the day was pull, pull, pull. why? cause cars where not going anywhere. sure it was hard to bike and stay balanced but you could still manage your way through traffic. cars were not going anywhere so our crew had to pull deliveries out to dish off to drivers. the news was reporting delays of 3 or 4 hours going and coming from everywhere. i gotta give it to our drivers also...the weather was not fun for them also. i know, i know, they are in a warm car so it's different but i still have to give them respect for toughing it out and still working late. i never got to say goodnight to 6758 when i left and he still had one more delivery to bring to base. i'm usually good about such things but yesterday i got caught up on how the hell i was gonna bike in this. im sure he's fine with me not saying anything im just saying is all...

yesterday was crazy but its only the beginning. it started early and we still have a long winter ahead of us. thank you to all my crew who tough'd it out with me. much love and respect...peace.

think warm thoughts...

just finished checking the weather update and it's six degrees right now...wtf?! they are expecting a high of 17 or so. you throw in the wind chill factor and it feels like 0 degrees or in the negatives. good luck to any and all out there today and the rest of this winter...not going to be pretty.

all that being said...i have a mini-cure for the situation at hand. tonight chris dilts will be hanging up the pics from the naccc's over at goldstar(1755 W. Division). if it's too cold for you cats to make it today don't forget that they will be up the month of december and maybe longer(?). also...tonight is round two of the irosprints. check out hipsternascar for details...madisons?!?! everyone and their mama should come out for this...best way to stay warm is to keep moving...even if it is on a stationary bike.

you guys can thank me later for planning out your monday...peace.

long week...

it was a rough week here in chicago. we either had snow, rain, cold weather, wind, and sometimes all of it smashed together. i felt bad for the crew and said thank you to them as i let them go home at the end of the day. as a result from the weather our work has finally picked up a bit but because of the weather our crew has slowed up. our on-time is hurting a bit but the work is still getting done and thats all that counts. well...it's not all that counts but you cats get the idea...

manager...how's it looking today?

j.dot...not bad. we have a full crew.

manager...yeah but is the work getting delivered on time.

j.dot...umm, not really. our guys are running slow out there. this weather is really kicking them in the a$$. i think it's taking a toll on them.

6731 is as dependable as they come. i have never ever heard him ask for a break...well, beyond needing time to fix a flat or something to that effect. the other day he finally broke down and just requested a few minutes off the bike. i knew then something was wrong out there. 1168 who has been working for 15 some odd years out there is one of my late guys. i had him hustling all over the place late and was trying to set him up for his nightly pick up. he calls me...

1168...six-eight.

j.dot...what up?

1168...can you see if you can get someone to cover my night mail? i don't think i can make it. it's not that i can't but this weather is a bit much. it's raining non-stop now and the weather dropped. i just can't take it right now.

...i completely understood and dished the work off to one of our drivers. late at night and this weather it's hard to hold on to our crew. i have a select few that stay with me late but 6706 and 6758 are both in finals week for school and holding on to them has not been easy. sh*t...i completely forgot 6706 still had school when he calls me that he would turn in his p.o.d.'s after his final that was going to start in 3 minutes. all i could do was apologize and wish him luck. since i mentioned 6706 i might as well tell you cats that the poor guy had like 4 flats yesterday and still stuck it out. it was about 16 degrees all day and thats not counting the wind chill factor. i give the man mad love for sticking it out with me. i gave him the option of calling it quits cause Lord knows i would have been so frustrated that i probably would have given up.

i got 6717, 6664, and 6718 to stick around with me on different nights. these cats are usually the first one's in so that means they are the first one out but, like i said, it's hard getting cats to stick around that i had to stretch these soldiers out. again...all i could do was thank them. i keep saying "all i could do" but honestly, i don't forget who rocks out for me. when they want days off...no problem. when they want a moment to rest even if we are busy...no problem. when the work is there...it's all theirs. it's not that i won't spread the love as me and scott usually do but the cats that helped me out when i needed it definitely get some extra affection...ha!

seriously...thank you to everyone who came out to play this past week. i know it wasn't easy. i know im the one sitting in a chair and you cats are the ones doing the hard work. i deal with a different kind of stress but i remember how physically and mentally draining the bike could be. it's just the start of the winter...lets see what happens the rest of the way...peace.

i like pictures...

when you get a chance...starting monday, christopher dilts will have pictures up at the goldstar from the 2008 naccc's. the man is good at what he does and im constantly stealing pics from him. there isn't a specific opening night but the pics will be up on monday and will last the month of december. don't forget...monday is a good day to visit goldstar...is it 2$ or 3$ drafts? either way...thats a cheap guiness draft...ha! i work down the street so i definitely will pass by. come check out your mug, people you know, or...just some great pics. thanks chris for the heads up.

start saving up...

thank you moving target for the heads up...



check out the site...cmwc2009. no details yet but the flyer is nice and im sure this will be an event most of us will be talking about for years to come. im gonna start saving up now...peace.

good job...

as some of you know...the first stage of the irosprint series took place last night at the cobra lounge. i was there for at least 6 or 7 minutes but certain circumstances didn't allow me to stick around. im bummed because it looks like it was a great time...

dude looks intense as hell...

andrew's game face...

aww...

once again...chris dilts takes some great pics for us who could not be there. check out more pics from the night here. also...don't forget, this is just the first stage. team beer'd has more to come.

here we go again...

it's that time of year. the time when we lose some and others prove that they are one of us...wait, am i still considered one of us? anyway, on monday december 1st messengers woke up to the beautiful chicago weather...as some of you know...that day was tame in comparison to the "broken record" day...





if you look close you can see the sears tower...tallest building in chicago just behind the middle post. stay dry and stay warm out there...peace.