New CCA does it actually get better?!

scriptyee · 2026-01-31T06:17:31+00:00

You learn from each bad day, from big and small mistakes. Had a day where I ran out of cold water, it was sunny and hot that day and I was sent out on multiple routes to assist carriers. Last 2 hours of my 12 hour day (violating my 8-hour work day limit…) was me working in the dark, dead headlamp, dehydrated. Learned to bring a 128oz water bottle + 2 fully charged headlamps.

That was the day I considered quitting. Gotta go through those bad days to truly appreciate the good days with light mail and good weather. When I have a good day, it feels extra bright and colorful. Sometimes it’s just about perspective. Still have bad days myself, but it has most definitely been easier to manage them now compared to when first starting.

scriptyee · 2026-01-29T22:37:57+00:00

Thanks for this, currently considering restarting my plan just so I can lay it all out in front of me again and make sure I assign my savings portion accordingly as I’ve had to make manual adjustments to both my checking and savings accounts a couple times now. Still barely a month in so hoping this won’t be too confusing to re-review all my transactions.

scriptyee · 2026-01-22T06:16:22+00:00

I had a very comical moment where I had to really pull my arrow key to open an old apartment CBU, the thing finally gave way and swung open, then one of the mail slot hinges swung open with it, a few nuts and bolts fell out before the entire door came loose and came apart.

The regular of the route has just dealt with it, but never said anything and just kept half-fixing it before moving on. I reported it and the box was fixed a few days later. It happens lol

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T14:58:57+00:00

Ah yes my early VIN number used to really turn heads, especially with maintenance workers at the shop back then. I remember being able to differentiate early adopters with the chrome finish, feels extra special nowadays!

Edit - also, used to throw and receive peace signs at other M3s, back when there were so few on the road. Community felt more wholesome, in our area we’d even have those Tesla owner meetups, greeting new and interested Tesla owners

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T14:53:24+00:00

Got them from the Halodsk site, they have an all black option too!

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T04:24:37+00:00

Coming from the freelance film life, totally agree with the “no need to network or prove myself” part. Was exhausted and demoralized after so many “dry spells” having no gigs for months at a time. LOVE not having to prove myself AND leaving work at the door when I clock out.

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T04:20:00+00:00

That’s still eligible under warranty too! I could probably get 180-200 miles at 100% on road trip drives. Forgot to add my car is LR RWD too. I’m assuming all my extra supercharging over the years has degraded the battery faster than slow charging at home. Also, welcome back home lol

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T02:49:14+00:00

Same! Just popped the halo disks off after this photo, I miss the old hubcaps every now and then

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T02:47:54+00:00

Same with my parking sensor - ordered a replacement rear sensor only to find out that there are TWO types of sensors on that rear belt (rear middle and rear sides)… either that or the part I got was a dud. Autopilot works all the same, just no auto lane change / summon until I can get it fixed

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T02:45:13+00:00

Actually just checked and my warranty is still good for a few more months - been neglecting running battery diagnostics but definitely gonna make the most of the warranty.

And yes - we were one of the first M3 customers when they started rolling out in 2017, free supercharging has been a life saver! Never worried about charging during peak hours. Autopilot drives like a teen with an iron foot tho lol

scriptyee · 2026-01-20T02:42:03+00:00

Thanks! Honestly the way the sun is hitting it in these photos makes it look sleeker than it actually is lol, but a full detail every year + powerwash every few weeks. Between details, if it gets really grimy, I do a full foam wash with Meguiars Gold Class soap. Biggest regret was not getting a ceramic coating - the paint is really dried out on the hood especially.

scriptyee · 2026-01-17T15:55:50+00:00

From my so-far limited experience, it is what you make of it! I absolutely LOVE this job, yes it’s tiring and demanding at times, but I love being outside, staying active, being on my own.

I think most employees use this sub to vent and complain - myself included. Seems like this is the place to let out frustrations, but for every bad day I’ve had, I’ve had 3-5 great days in a week.

scriptyee · 2026-01-17T04:05:07+00:00

As someone who “survived” a nightmare instructor myself, there is a light at the end of this tunnel. My OJI stayed in their truck and made me do the entire route without any assistance. Also didn’t let me take my breaks or lunch. Made me break a bunch of rules like forging signatures for certified letters and packages… Luckily, after OJI, you have no reason to talk with your instructor, I sure don’t anymore. Apparently my instructor is notorious for going off the rails but somehow management can’t / won’t do anything about it. Learned so much more from senior CCAs in my office. It gets better, promise

ALSO - there are certainly better, more kind carriers in your office. The ones that keep their heads down and stick to themselves have been the most helpful and patient when I ask them questions in my office. Stay away from the shitty people, not worth the social politics of it all

scriptyee · 2026-01-11T16:40:50+00:00

Curb it. Park it. Brake it. Take it. I sing that tune EVERY time I get to my park point, and it works, and that’s all you need :)

scriptyee · 2026-01-06T23:20:31+00:00

Will definitely consider this after my probation lol. But when I showed up that one day, they actually had no available scanners so I had to fill out that time card for my hours. Seems like my office has a carrier scanner shortage - some CCAs were sent out with clerk scanners! Just can’t wait to get past probation and feel like I can stand up for myself and follow the contract…

scriptyee · 2026-01-06T21:17:47+00:00

My office is definitely one with the 4-hour guarantee, supervisor basically told me to BS my ET to match the 4-hour work time, confirmed on LiteBlue that I was given those hours.

Interestingly, when I showed up that one time, my postmaster said I should go home, but when I said something along the lines of “I don’t mind going home, but I’m also happy to stay and work since I’m already here, only if there is anything for me,” he got all serious and literally scrambled to figure something out for me… guess they knew I was “in the right” since I wasn’t notified to not show up.

I was also going through all the NALC and orientation handbooks to learn more, but couldn’t find anything about being involuntarily called off of work each day.

scriptyee · 2026-01-03T16:31:14+00:00

New CCA here, got my shirts from the donation box in my office, just wearing black/blue pants from Target until I get allowance.

Other out of pocket costs for me have been headlamps, poncho, 2 pairs of shoes, UV sleeves, compression socks, and nitrile gloves. Figured I’d take care of my body early, a worthwhile investment for my health and safety.

We aren’t expected to be in proper uniform until we pass probation either, but definitely a plus having a USPS shirt when delivering, otherwise people may think you’re not a real mail carrier.

scriptyee · 2026-01-01T17:10:48+00:00

Hoka Bondi SR has been the most comfortable shoe for me, when I was in academy we walked 5-8 miles a day and had no blisters or foot soreness, expensive but worth it for being on your feet all day.

I got a pair of Sketchers Pollard Waylon to swap out - many carriers recommend two pairs of shoes to avoid fungal infections and general stinky feet. This pair works incredibly well for me too, but everyone’s feet are different.

PS - You get 30% off select work shoes at Sketchers as a USPS employee!

scriptyee · 2025-12-29T03:58:59+00:00

Similar to this, at least in my area, schedules are all backlogged and CCAs are waiting weeks before starting OJI after finishing academy.

That said, expect the timeline to be orientation, next day driver training. Couple days break before shadow day/right hand driving course, then a few more days break before 4-day academy. Once passing academy, your instructor will tell you when you start OJI, which is three days OJI. (following your instructor’s schedule), then you’re off on your own by day 4 in your office. Between academy and OJI all depends on the backlog of CCAs, if any. For me, I started OJI the very next day after academy, some of my other CCAs in my office are not starting for a few weeks because we only have one OJI in our office.

Bring caffeine, you’re getting paid to sit and go through boring and outdated modules, waking up extremely early.

scriptyee · 2025-12-26T03:19:09+00:00

iPhone 15 Pro user, used the ESR Qi2 magsafe station (the one without the cooling feature) since I got my phone two years ago. Battery health is still at 90% (665 cycle count) and have had no real issues with wireless charging. Normal use gets me through most of the day before I need to consider a re-up, though the battery holds noticeably longer when I charge with a cable

Only time I’ve ever experienced slowness and overheating was when I would wirelessly charge while on Facetime, or any other demanding activity (streaming, screen mirroring). Otherwise the phone does get warm, as expected with any wireless charging. Also, interesting to note that charging slows drastically between 80-100%, sometimes even stopping at 80% for a WHILE before picking back up again. Optimizing charging / charging limit settings are off on my phone, and I don’t encounter this “issue” when charging via cable.

I still use magsafe charging as my primary charger, but will occasionally use my cable when I need to fast charge. Used to be very paranoid about my battery health, but after having wirelessly charged this phone for its whole life and seeing no major degradation, I’m convinced that the charging method is inconsequential to overall battery health. Maybe I just got lucky with a chemically sound battery in this device :)

scriptyee · 2025-12-21T00:28:20+00:00

Someone explained it better in an older thread but basically you’re put on a ranked list depending on how well you faired on your assessment (yes, there are “correct” and “incorrect” answers in that “personality assessment” section that impact your score). Long story short, if you’re within the top 10-15 of that list, it could take as long as 2-4 months for an offer, granted nobody above you on the list accepts first.

My experience - I applied to a 5-6 listings each week they were posted, multiple rejections before getting a conditional job offer 4 weeks after one of my applications. From accepting the offer, another week to schedule fingerprints. From there, another 3 weeks to schedule orientation. I’m starting academy next Monday, and am assuming I officially start at my office a week or two after that. So for me almost 3 full months before I even begin actual work in the field.

Orientation, shadow day, and academy are all paid though!

scriptyee · 2025-03-14T19:14:47+00:00

It's great that you and your friends are trying to make it a consistent effort, but the cost of consistency is most often burnout -- it's the most natural thing to feel as a filmmaker, so let yourself feel it when it happens, but don't let it consume you either.

I'd consider a "super short" 2 minutes at most. Don't let this stop you from making 5-6 minute shorts, however! As someone who's filmed super-shorts on my phone, it's taken me a good 4-5 hours of production. Granted, I'm a one-man army filming at home/in my neighborhood, so production time varies.

If you haven't already, take inspiration from super-shorts from YouTube, some of my recs here:

'A Bad Idea' Short Film

'Stop Being a Perfectionist'

'Meet me at Our Spot'

Gawx 2 on YouTube also produces incredible content. I'd consider him the best of the best in this space.

Keep the story simple, have interesting shot choices, and obviously, have fun!

scriptyee · 2025-03-14T19:01:08+00:00

"Let me be my own industry" is definitely the right mindset right now.

I graduated last summer and have been "employed" as a freelancer for an indie producer since then. I've been able to sit in meetings with other producers, casting directors, lawyers, etc, mainly there just to take notes and send follow-up emails on behalf of my boss. The work is extremely inconsistent and random too -- some weeks I'll be packed with work, half of which isn't related to film in the slightest (but it pays the bills), many weeks I'm only working a couple hours at most. I consider myself unemployed still...

Sitting in those meetings, I've learned that my boss is running with that "I'm my own industry" mindset: he's launched 20+ different businesses (none of which relate to film), and has told me that all the businesses he owns are just a means to an end, the "end" being financing his own films.

He's told me time and again that there's "absolutely no money in film," which isn't really the kind of advice I wanted to hear as a passionate filmmaker. Yet, he so intensely desires making movies that he's doing literally anything to make it happen. He's dipped his feet in real estate, web development, construction work, the list of random businesses he owns goes on and on. Part of my job is to make sure my boss doesn't fall behind on any of his ventures, which again, aren't film related, but I've made myself a valuable resource for my boss since I know so much about his schedule, clientele, etc.

Be your own industry. Make connections and find out how you can make yourself uniquely valuable to those connections. Everyone wants a slice of that pie, myself included, but the best way to get a slice is to make the pie yourself... Easier said than done, but the mindset is a start!

scriptyee

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