Original Orient

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Real Stories. Real Tools. Real Growth.

Tag: work

  • Part 2: The Reality of Gig Work

    Burnout, Bad Managers, and Breaking Points

    I gave the gig apps a real shot. I signed up for Amazon Flex, but quickly hit a wall — they had a long waiting list, and I never got approved. Meanwhile, I kept checking Roadie, but even when I logged in at different times, I could never seem to grab a delivery. The competition was insane. This was right after the pandemic ended, and everyone was trying to make extra money, flooding the platforms with drivers.

    When I did the math, even the gigs I could have accepted didn’t make much sense financially. The wear and tear on my 2016 Ford Expedition, the gas, and the time just weren’t worth it. So I stopped depending on my car and shifted my focus.

    Enter the Night Shift

    Instead of delivery apps, I asked around. I talked to friends and family to see if anyone knew of part-time night jobs. That’s when my brother told me his grocery store was hiring for overnight shelf stockers. I applied, met with his boss, and she liked my enthusiasm. I was honest about my availability and that I had a full-time day job — she was cool with that.

    At first, it worked.

    I started working 11 PM to 4 AM, two to three nights a week. Sometimes I’d pick up an extra shift. The night manager and I had a good rhythm, and for a while, everything flowed.

    But then, things changed.

    The company rotated managers every few quarters, and a new night manager took over. He didn’t care about team flow or people’s situations — he just wanted to look good to upper management. At first, he started scheduling me for full 8-hour overnight shifts. I explained multiple times that this was a second job for me and I couldn’t work full-time nights and still function at my main job during the day.

    He didn’t care.

    He told me to update my availability in the system. When I asked how, he told me to “ask the day manager” — but I couldn’t talk to them because I was already working during the day. It felt like he was intentionally ignoring me, hoping I’d just quit.

    Instead, I pushed through.

    For months, I was working 40 hours at my day job and 30+ hours overnight. I was averaging 5 hours of sleep a week. I don’t even remember most of that year — birthdays, holidays, special moments with my wife, kids, and grandkids. It’s all a blur.

    😵‍💫 Total Burnout

    Eventually, it caught up with me.

    My mental health crashed. I was snappy, constantly tired, and had no control over where my money was going. You’d think with two jobs, I’d be saving money — but I wasn’t. I was too exhausted to budget, too foggy to plan. All the extra hours and stress led to bad decisions and impulse spending.

    One night, after blowing up at my wife for no real reason, I broke down. I turned off my alarm for the night shift — and never turned it back on. I didn’t call in. I didn’t give notice. I just quit.

    Was it the right way to leave? No. But I was completely drained. I was deep in a kind of burnout that most people don’t understand unless they’ve lived it. No sleep. No control. Just survival mode.

    At the time, I had just finished paying off my car loan and was about 5 months away from paying off a personal loan. I thought I could manage the bills with just my main job again.

    I was wrong.

    Aftermath & the Cost of Overworking

    Even after quitting the night job, the effects lingered. My judgment was off. My ability to plan, budget, or even think clearly was wrecked. I was still spending like I had two incomes, but only had one. I didn’t even realize how deep I was getting in until it was too late.

    The bills ballooned. My mental health tanked. And it took almost a full year for me to start feeling like myself again.

    Looking back, I know I got in over my head. I let survival mode take over, and I paid for it — financially, emotionally, and mentally. And the truth is, a lot of people are out there doing the same thing right now. Grinding day and night, trying to hold it all together.

    👉 Coming soon: Part 3 — Climbing Out

    How I started rebuilding from burnout and learning how to manage again

  • Starting My AI Journey: Learning, Failing, and Building Along the Way

    This is the first post in my “Learning AI for Real Results” series, where I document my actual experiences using AI tools to build a business, create content, and hopefully make some money along the way.

    Why I’m Starting This Series

    Here’s the truth: I’m not an AI expert. I’m not a tech guru with years of experience. I’m just someone who’s been experimenting with ChatGPT, tried out DeepAI, dabbled with Google’s tools, used Copilot a bit, and now I’m exploring Claude.

    And honestly? My results so far have been… mixed.

    I’ve created digital products—a couple of 50-page books on mental health and money management based on my personal experiences, some todo lists, and I’m working on monthly affirmation booklets. I’ve listed them on Gumroad, Etsy, and Redbubble.

    Sales so far: Zero.!!!

    But instead of seeing this as failure, I’m viewing it as the perfect opportunity to document a real AI learning journey. Not the glossy “I made $10K in my first month” stories you see everywhere, but the actual, messy, trial-and-error process of figuring this stuff out.

    What You Can Expect From This Series

    I’m going to share everything:

    • The Real Numbers: My actual results, including the failures
    • Tool Comparisons: How ChatGPT compares to Claude, which one works better for different tasks
    • Prompt Evolution: How my prompts improve over time (and the disasters along the way)
    • Behind-the-Scenes: The actual process of using AI to create, market, and sell digital products My Current AI Toolkit

    Right now, I’m working with:

    • ChatGPT (my most used, though it’s been running slow lately)
    • Claude (what I’m exploring now)
    • DeepAI (limited experience)
    • Google’s AI tools (occasional use)
    • Copilot (some experimentation)

    Each one has different strengths, and part of this journey is figuring out which tool works best for what.

    The Personal Touch

    What makes my approach different is that I’m not just creating generic “how to make money” content. My digital products are based on my actual experiences with money management and mental health. They’re not perfect, they’re not written by experts—they’re written by someone who’s figured some things out the hard way and wants to share what actually worked.

    That authenticity is exactly what I’m bringing to this AI journey too.

    What’s Coming Next

    In upcoming posts, I’ll be diving into:

    • Comparing how different AI tools handle the same money-making prompts
    • Real-time experiments with product improvement using AI
    • My attempt to use Claude to finally get some sales on those digital products
    • Honest reviews of which AI tools actually help vs. which ones just sound impressive Join Me on This Journey

    If you’re also trying to figure out how to actually make AI work for you (not just play with it), this series is for you. I’m learning as I go, making mistakes, and sharing everything I discover.

    Because sometimes the best teacher isn’t the expert who’s forgotten what it’s like to struggle—it’s the person just a few steps ahead of you, still figuring it out.

    What’s your experience with AI tools so far? Are you getting real results, or are you in the “still experimenting” phase like me?

    This is the beginning of my documented AI journey. Follow along as I test, fail, learn, and hopefully start making some actual progress. Next post: “Why ChatGPT is Running Slow and How Claude is Stepping Up.”

  • Real vs Real events remastered with A.I

    this is going to be a small post and a random one in the week but i feel like being honest with the viewers i have and the ones i am hopfully going to gain. at the moment I am writing a bunch of blog posts and i am also seeing what the A.I. systems are able to creat and or reword the posts i am working on. so you could say these are remaster by Ai like Chat GPT, Claude, and my other platform i have been using is Windows Copilot AI. i am wondering what do you like the raw ugly and open hearted posts i have been trying to learn and post about or the rewritten A.I. versions?

    I am going to try and schedual them on different days but that is something right now as a beginner is totally out of wack.

    Can you tell what posts were the real ones and the ones rewritten by A.I.? What do you think i should improve on?

  • Part 1: When One Job Isn’t Enough

    A Real-Life Look at Hustle, Gig Work, and Providing for Family

    At 32 years old, I was working full-time — 80+ hours every two weeks — and pulling in around $55,000 a year before taxes. Not a fortune, but we made it work. My wife was the real breadwinner for our household, and she also handled most of the fun stuff for the family — vacations, birthday parties, weekend outings. I was more of the “boring dad,” keeping things steady.

    But then life shifted. My wife was forced to change jobs, and her income was going to be cut. Suddenly, the pressure was on me to carry more of the financial load. I liked my main job — I work as a Sales Loan Associate, writing collateral loans, selling items, and handling cash. (If you haven’t guessed, I work in a pawn shop — one of the oldest professions around.) It’s a job that keeps me on my toes and lets me interact with all types of people and situations.

    But as much as I liked my day job, it wasn’t going to be enough on its own. I’d tried working multiple jobs in the past, and I’d also dipped my toe into the world of gig work — apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and others that send you a 1099 instead of a W-2. These jobs are technically self-employed work, which means you have to do your own taxes and set money aside before it even hits your bank account.

    I’d driven for DoorDash before, but honestly, I wasn’t a fan. The constant fast food runs and drive-thru waits didn’t appeal to me. But now, with my wife placed on medical leave and our household suddenly a one-income family, I was motivated to try again — and this time, I was determined to find something that fit.

    I came across a few new delivery apps I hadn’t used before:

    Amazon Flex Roadie (which I believe is now a FedEx subsidiary)

    The first time I opened Roadie, it was a Friday afternoon around 4 PM. There were two deliveries available — one paying about $11.30, another around $23. Not bad for quick runs at the end of the day.

    But of course, there were requirements. You need a valid driver’s license, a reliable vehicle, and the ability to lift and transport packages. I had all that. But when I checked the Roadie app again over the weekend, there were no deliveries. That’s when I realized Roadie probably follows a more traditional schedule — no weekend runs, likely because it’s connected to FedEx.

    I decided to give it a real shot — check it multiple times a week, get familiar with the app, and see if it could actually help bring in some money. The app was simple to use and walked you through each step, from pickup to delivery. Payment is supposed to land weekly, just like DoorDash.

    At that point, I hadn’t tried too many other gig platforms, but I was motivated. I wanted to see if I could grind away at the bills, save some money, and maybe even build some connections in the process. Gigs aren’t just side hustles — they can be opportunities to learn and grow. That was my hope, anyway.

    But that’s just the beginning of the story.

    Coming next: Part 2 — The Reality of Gig Work

    Why things didn’t go exactly as planned — and what I learned from it.

  • Post 2: From Debt to Keys – Building Credit the K.I.S.S. Way

    Once I got focused, my first real goal was to clean up my credit.

    I had some debts in collections, a few old accounts with bad marks, and only one thing in good standing — my student loans, which I always paid on time.

    To rebuild, I had to get back into debt — smart debt this time.

    Step 1: Secured Credit Card

    I saved up $500 and got a secured credit card through a credit union. That $500 became my credit limit. If I missed a payment, they’d keep the money. So I treated that card with respect. I charged small amounts and paid it off in full every month.

    Step 2: Store Credit Card

    After a few months, I applied for a store card. (Think Amazon, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret — places where the card only works at that store.) I used it responsibly, paid it down fast, and kept my usage low.

    Those two lines of credit were small steps — but they were the foundation. Once they showed up on my credit report, more offers came in. But here’s where self-control comes in.

    Credit Cards Are Not Free Money

    Credit card companies want you to spend. They make money off your interest. Getting more offers in the mail doesn’t mean you should take them. It just means they see potential to profit off you.

    That’s why I stuck to my K.I.S.S. plan:

    Only use what I need. Pay it off fast. Avoid large balances. Keep the number of cards low.

    Self-control is hard when you see things you want or need, but you’ve got to remind yourself of the bigger goal.

    Milestones Take Time

    Buying a house isn’t easy. Before I could even think about getting a mortgage, I had to fix my credit, stay consistent, and be patient. It took years. I had to plan, budget, and stay disciplined.

    In the end, it paid off. I hit one of the biggest milestones in life — owning my own home — and I did it by keeping things simple and staying focused on what mattered most.

    🧠 Final Thought:

    If you’re starting from behind, just know that it is possible. It might take time. It might feel slow. But with some planning, patience, and a simple mindset, you can get there.

    Keep it simple. Keep it steady. And keep showing up.