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Things for the past few days have been soooooo busy at work. But I am getting faster, doing better, and people are noticing. I also scare people at work because I'm so energetic and happy. Donna (?) who works in the pharmacy said I should spend one night with her and that'd cure me. LOL

On Thursday night, I worked paper with Peggy. I had at least 2-3 hours of overtime, but when I called to see if they wanted me to wait 'til Midnight, Lou said to come on in. This sucked because +Kyle and I had planned to have a couple of hours to do *something* together based on what I had already been told about watching my hours.

I have since heard that if Lou tells you to work overtime anyway, to talk to Store Manager Lori about it, because he's not supposed to do that. I have also heard that as long as you don't go over like 5 hours, no one says anything, so not to worry. When my first paycheck comes in, I will talk with Gwen, Tommy, or Angie in personnel about it. This way I can have the numbers in front of me.

Anyway, Thursday was killer. General Merchandise had over 4000 items, and of course, a great deal of it was paper. The whole thing was a fluke, because the big trucks don't usually come in until Friday night.

Peggy and I tried a system that worked quite well. She brought a pallet of the little items - garbage bags, Ziplocs, plastic wrap, paper plates, plastic utensils, etc - into the middle of the aisle, and I worked all that, plus most of the Kleenex type stuff. She took the bath tissue, paper towels, napkins and the rest of the Kleenex. We whipped it out like crazy, and made really good time. I think we were out of there by 7:00, and that was only because Annoying John pushed ahead of us at the baler and his cardboard got jammed.




Friday night I worked chemicals with Jennifer. There were only about 2100 items in GM, so it wasn't a bad night workwise, either. I was rather hyper for some reason, and disturbed her and several others with my pep. ^_^ I've taken to running for the far carts when we go out at 1:45, partially so I can just get in some running, and partially because no one else really likes to go out that far for the loners... They kid about me not bringing whatever it is that I'm on for the rest of them. Haha!

I can take 7 carts easily, even over the incline. Yar! Time to up it by one.

Anyway, Jennifer and I had a lot of fun. We made each other laugh almost all night...mostly she laughing at me and "the way I talk". She's just a country girl, and says I amuse her. We made good time.




On Saturday, Becky and I worked paper. We did the same thing that Peggy and I did, and everything came together beautifully. Nothing really special happened that I recall, although Jackie mentioned that Ozzfest is next month in Nashville. Ugh! I would LOVE to go. It's like $75, which is not bad, considering.




Sunday night, there were *4* trucks. 4100 items in GM, and I don't know how many in grocery. I started out working paper with Becky, but Gwen soon moved me into grocery to help in Aisle 10. Cereal, pop tarts, granola bars, etc. Melinda had me and one of the maintenance guys, David, working this aisle. Ben (who is from Detroit and seems pretty cool) helped us get set up. We took all the freight from the pallets, and piled it up all in the aisle more or less in front of wherever it was supposed to go. That took awhile, even with three people, although two of us really didn't know where things went. Some of those cases of cereal are surprisingly heavy! I was concerned that it would be too light to be any good for me, but I was definitely wrong.

So I took the side with all the little stuff while David did the cereal. I think we both did really well, considering that neither of us had done grocery before. It was definitely an experience. :P The work itself is not so vastly different, in that it's taking things out of boxes and putting them on shelves, but there are a few things that make it a little more complicated, and there are SO MANY different versions of the same item. It's very time-consuming, and I see why so many people gripe about it...but as it's basically the same work, I enjoyed it all the same.

David cut his hand with his boxcutter, and bled all over the store on the way back to wherever they keep the bandages. The other maintenance guys were ticked, because he should have known better and just stayed where he was, and had me or someone else get help. I don't know how long it took them to clean everything up.

We were finished with the aisle around 7:00 (I zoned while he took the excess freight to the back on those silver carts). I don't know where he went, but Melinda asked me to stay and help set up a couple of things, then Gwen had me gather everyone's cardboard and take it to the baler. Jackie caught me, and stayed to help because there were 8 or 9 carts by the time people stopped bringing it in. She's so sweet. Incredibly, it all fit without having to make a new bale! We got out of there around 8:00. I'd probably have been there another half hour without her assistance.

The real highlight of the evening was my beloved [livejournal.com profile] desireah coming to see me! Des, you look fabulous, and it was nice to meet the infamous Jason. I am thinking that we need to go out and talk over coffee when I get off work one morning, like say 9-ish. Either that, or go out one night when I'm off, so we don't have to worry about time as much. What thinkest thou?




Monday night, Gwen put me in grocery again because they're so short-handed. This time, I worked on Aisle 4 with Vicky. That's the aisle with pasta, sauce, gravy mixes, Mexican foods, and barbecue sauce type things. Ugh! Breakables! Being the ultimate klutz, I worked very slowly so as not to drop *anything* made of glass. One jar did fall off the shelf, but I caught it on my leg on the way down, so it rolled harmlessly instead of shattering. :P Whew! I did drop a few other things, or knocked them off the shelf, but they were plastic or canned, and didn't burst. Vicky said that not a night goes by that she doesn't drop and break *something*. She usually works in the baby food aisle. She didn't drop anything tonight that I know of, though, so that was good, and probably an exaggeration, anyway.

Vicky is nice enough, but very quiet, and rather dull. We really didn't talk much, but again the night flew by because of the nature of this type of stocking. I'd look at my watch after 15 minutes and it would actually be an hour later. Everyone kicked serious butt, because I got out of there around 7:15. The grocery workers aren't supposed to leave until *everything* is finished, but Miranda said 'good job, let's go!' A couple people still had their own cardboard to gather, etc., but there wasn't any reason for everyone to stay.

Today's quote comes from Doug, AKA 'Hippie'. I am going to guess that Hippie is around 40, because Jackie said she knew him in high school, so they are probably close to the same age. I don't understand the nickname 'Hippie', because he seems like something of a cowboy to me. Not one of the Wrangler Preppie "Look at me, I'm a cowboy!" guys, but the real deal. Still, there is a hippie laid-backness about him, so I dunno. It may take some pondering. He's got nicknames for several people there at work, and calls me "Little Chibi" because I was wearing my 'chibi' shirt the other day when he sat down to talk with Jackie (and I was already talking with her.) He's like a cool uncle who tells wild tales that are always at least based in truth.

So without further ado:

Doug: Let's just say you should never go out for the evening with an exotic tattoo artist and four synthetic Quaaludes.

My cousin Leslie and her husband were doing their shopping tonight. I was crouched by the spaghetti, arranging and putting some boxes on the shelf. One must address any customer once they come within 10 feet, so when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye, I turned, and did a double-take. So did they. Leslie said she barely recognized me, and they both were impressed with how different I look now. ^_^ Lucas was incredulous..."You've lost a LOT of weight! A LOT!" I just grinned and thanked them...what else can one do? :P

We talked for a few minutes about where they're going to church now, and what her sister is doing, and the like. Kim has a house in Athens now. Les has one year of nursing school left, and after that they're not sure what they'll be doing. They're considering moving, perhaps, but not sure where to. Leslie asked if I missed Oklahoma at all.

I had to get back to work, so they went on, but it was really nice to see them. I think I'll try going to their church soon. Kasey's preaching there, and he's always been my favorite, and one of the most edifying speakers I've ever heard.

In other news, I think that using canned tobacco is probably the nastiest habit ever conceived. If you're going to get addicted to nicotine, the least you can do is smoke it. :P I'd say that any drug one has to snort is a close second as far as the disgust factor, but that pinch between cheek and gum is just...*shudder*

So that was my week. How was everyone else's?
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Well, I have work tonight, although I shouldn't be going in until midnight due to some overtime. I'm debating trying to stay up for a couple more hours, but I won't have dinner ready when +Kyle gets back from work if I do that.

I need to stay on the proper schedule, really...it'll do me no good to be up too late tomorrow, when I *do* need to be at work on time.

Later later
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DDRed for the first time in forever tonight. I've been so sore from work that I haven't felt like playing. Bleh. My muscles are getting used to being used all night, though, so tonight I was up to the challenge.

ENDLESS MODE COMBO: 325!!!

Muahahaha...

Yeah, I'm still on light mode. I need to finish the rest of the yellow songs with at least an A before I move on... My stamina is way up, though. I remember having a hard time getting up a single flight of stairs. It's been a long time since I noticed it, but the last time we were at the mall, the escalator was broken, and running up didn't wind me at all. I still can't run the .75 mile around our block, but it'll come.

The definition in my forearms is getting really noticeable, and my shoulders are starting to get some as well. My legs have looked great for awhile now, what with biking to work every day in Madill. I'm gonna have to do something with my abs and back to get that complete balance back, though. Pilates, maybe.

I need a punching bag or a sparring partner or something. I really enjoy punching my brothers in the upper arm when we're play-fighting, but they all whine now because I hit a lot harder than I used to. Wussies! Can't even take a girl hitting them in the arm. LOL!

What else to do tonight? It's almost 2:00, and +Kyle is going to be going to bed soon. I'm probably going to play some DII unless anyone is around and wants to chat. ^_^

Other perhaps largely more important progress was made today, but also a major step backward. )

+Kyle and I talked about my job today. He's ashamed of it, and by extension, perhaps, me. He absolutely hates the fact that I work at "fucking Wal-Mart". He hates the fact that it's manual labour. His reasoning is that I'm better than that...more intelligent, more talented, and more skilled. I could be doing something "more worthwhile", and making more money doing it. He hates the shift hours, although he said he'd rather me work any other job with the same hours. He hates the company itself. He would shop at other stores if we were better off financially.

I explained, or tried to, exactly what it is that I am enjoying so much about this job. It's so easy. Physically, sure, it's hard work, but it's mindless. I don't have to think.


Anyone with a fourth grade reading level could do this job. Heck, anyone who can match labels can do this job. You don't have to be particularly skilled to work at The Dreaded Mart of Wal, although I don't think you could pass the CBLs if you can't read.


But back to the point... I like not having to think about work. I like not having to consider things like elements of design, or which font to use, or having to draw and re-draw something to get it just right, or editing graphics, or working photos for a bloody paycheck. My creative batteries have been spent for far too long, and they need a recharge. I've had moments of inspiration, and neither the time nor the energy nor even the will to do anything with my ideas. This has gone on for years. My list of creative projects is too long, and now I have a chance to pare it down and actually DO some of it.

First on the list is to complete this costume before Halloween. All that entails is building and covering the wing frame, and getting some fangs and coloured contacts. I think it'd be great fun to dress up and go out again this year...dunno what'll be playing, but I bet some of the clubs in town will have costume parties. It's not exactly a medieval theme, but I'd love to wear it to the RenFaire this October. There are plenty of fantasy-themed costume-wearers there. Not only that, but there are conventions coming up, and with any luck we'll be able to go to some of them. There's always a costume contest.

So yeah...it's not much to complete for one project, but I haven't had the inspiration to finish it until now. Now all I need is the resources. Guess what you need to have for those kinds of resources? A JOB!

Yeah, there are no doubt better places to work. There's always something better out there, somewhere, no matter the subject. But the pay is decent, the benefits are great starting out, and only get better as you go, and the company is founded on solid (Christian!) principles. No, Sam Walton didn't beat his employees over the head with a 10 lb. King James, but the basic principle of the company is to respect others, and lead by being a servant. It's no wonder the chain has been so very prosperous...you don't get much more Christlike than by having that kind of attitude. Yeah, they've run a lot of small businesses out of town. They've bought a lot more businesses out. Sure, there's a lot of inter-company propoganda, look how great a company we are, and aren't you glad you work for us, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say.

For now, I'm not only grateful to have a job at all...I'm incredibly thankful for everything about it. I love the work. I love the hours. I love the people with whom I work. I explained all of this to +Kyle, and I think he got what I was saying, for the most part, but he doesn't really care. It's one more thing that's not good enough for him.

But for now, I'm going to play a little more DII and get to bed around 8:00. We're supposed to go over to mom and dad's this afternoon to play Mechwarrior clix with the boys, have dinner and go to church...dunno in what order, though.
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Yay, the weekend! Okay, so it's in the middle of the week. Whatever!

Tonight was fun, but surprise, surprise, they dropped another truck on us, so the store ended up with something like 1800 pieces instead of the 500 we originally expected. I worked paper with Becky, and we kicked major butt. There were ~10 pallets, and not only did we get that out (with only 1 pallet of overstock!), we got some more stuff out of the bins, and got that single pallet binned as well. Not only that, but we got three endcaps set up, including one for housewares. All this by 6:30 We rock, and we had a good time.

I'm not sure which I like better: chemicals or paper. Chemicals are a lot heavier (making for a better workout), and there are many more products with which to contend (slowing down the process). Paper is lighter, but it's extremly bulky (making it hard to handle). However, there are considerably fewer items to sort, and it's a lot easier to zone. I get bruised a lot more with chemicals, but we both get hit in the face a lot more with paper goods. Ah well...I'm sure they'll be swapping me back and forth between the departments for awhile, cross-training.

I am caught up on CBLs until the 16th. Wai! There are a lot due then, so I'll need to do one or two every day for the next week, but that's only like 20-30 minutes a night if I listen to the audio.

I haven't written down my hours properly, but I guesstimate that I'll need to not come in until midnight Friday so as not to have much (if any) overtime. I might have an hour over, but I'm really not sure now. Yikes! I need to call someone and ask. I have my spreadsheet set up properly now, so I'll be able to keep track of the time much better in the future.

I saw an old acquaintance from my elementary and high school days tonight; Nathan. I say acquaintance, because we were never really that close (we picked on each other incessantly, and didn't seem to have the greatest relationship because of it). I had the worst crush on him for the longest time, which is pretty much why I picked on him so much. I think he was threatened and retaliating as opposed to playing back...ah well. Long story as to the 'why' I flirted the way I did...not that it worked. LOL

Anyway, he had worked at this particular Dreaded Mart of Wal for 6 years, while going to school, and is now working on his Master's at UAH. He didn't say what field, and seemed in a hurry, so I didn't ask, but it was nice to see him again.

There are a couple of people I haven't mentioned prior, though we've talked quite a bit: Jaqueline and Teresa. Jacqueline is petite (and I do mean tiny) with long blonde hair and green eyes. She's 38 and looks close to my age. The topic came up tonight, as she mentioned having a 15 year old son. I said there was no way, then asked incredulously if she was 15 when she had him, and she blushed and said, "Thank you! You just made my night!" LOL... That sounds rude when I write it out that way, but it was really funny at the time, and she was understandably thrilled. Jacqueline seems kinda redneckish, but she's very cool, and we like a lot of the same kinds of music. She's talking about going to see Ozzy later this year if he tours anywhere close enough. *drool* I'd love to see him in concert before he gets too decrepit to perform anymore.

Teresa is also small, with brown hair just past her shoulders, and brown eyes. She looks like she could be partially Hispanic, or perhaps American Indian, but it's hard to say. I met her at the sink the other night; she couldn't get her hair to behave, so I gave her a ponytail holder. At lunch or on break, I forget which, we started talking about movies. She had just seen Twelve Monkeys, and wanted to know if I had gotten the same thing from the ending as she did. We haven't spent a lot of time together, because she's a cashier, but we chat when we pass each other or if we're on break at the same time.

So that was my night. Need to be up for about four more hours, and was hoping for some DII time, but I guess I'll play tonight since +Kyle just got up.
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I couldn't stay up until 12:30. I wasn't so tired as to be literally crashing, but my eyes just wouldn't stay open any longer, so I went to bed around noon. I heard +Kyle come in and leave for work, and I'm pretty sure we exchanged niceties, but I don't remember what.

Didn't wake up until 7:00. Tying a bandanna around one's eyes helps block out light, and that seemed to do the trick. Now if I can just stay up later and actually do some things around the house. Well, I did some dishes, and straightened my closet, but that's about it.

I dreamed about work. :P

Okay...you all know I'm a klutz. Anyone who knows me knows this. I wake up with mysterious bruises all the time. Heavenly days, this is a dangerous job, though. I get more scrapes and bumps on the inside of my arm than I've ever seen. People are going to think I'm a needle freak if it gets much worse. LOL! Nah, it's not really that bad, it's just amusing because of how easily I bruise and how bad they look even if they aren't that bad. The slightest bump does me in.

Ah well. I have a pretty high threshhold of pain, so it's not that big a deal.

Anyway...I've been going back and forth between other things, and now it's nearly time for work so...until next time, kids...

Saado Naito

Jun. 6th, 2004 10:44 am
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So basically the entire store was off tonight. Somehow management scheduled a great many people to be off for vacations. A couple people who were off just because it's their night off came back, but neither Jennifer nor Becky was there.

So Tommy put me with Myra. I'd not previously met Myra, but I am not entirely fond of her. I can get along with everyone, but there are definitely those whose company I do not enjoy. I'd guess she's about 50, and she has a rather unpleasant personality. She doesn't talk much, but when she does, she complains and swears a lot. Not so much when she's on the floor, because profanity is against company policy, but she still lets them fly more than enough. She has this odd habit of play-fighting with certain people. She actually yells at them, but it's like a game to her. *shrug* I have no idea.

Anyway, we only had 5 pallets tonight, so I figured we'd get finished with no problem. Nope. Myra hasn't worked chemicals since they moved everything around, so she didn't know where things were much more than I did. She mostly worked on the detergent side, and I mostly worked on the side with cleaning fluids and air fresheners. This suited me fine, since she isn't much of a conversationalist, anyway. So far, I like working with Becky the best, even though she is not as hard of a worker as Jennifer.

Gwen was on tonight, and I am dismayed to learn that she will be soon moving to the day shift. *pout* Tommy will be taking over for her, apparantly, which is nice, because he's cool, but Gwen is no-nonsense and I was really looking forward to working under her.

She came up around 6:00 to see where we were, and Myra told her that we'd have to send one pallet back, but it was only about half full and most of what was left was items for a feature. Myra said we couldn't do anything with those things, anyway. We had almost completed the detergent aisle, but there were still 30 or so boxes of stuff to swap out in the cleaner aisle. I zoned detergent all myself after we got stuff swapped out from the risers. Myra recruited Sherrie to help her in the cleaner aisle while I did that, then when I was finished zoning, I broke down their boxes. We ended up taking back 3 or 4 boxes to bin, but everything else got finished.

Gwen, Store Manager Lori, and a couple other people were going through the store checking the zones, and Lori thanked us, and said we had done a great job this morning. ^_^

All this still took until almost 8:00. I stayed later, because Myra left, but there was all that cardboard to crush. So far, I've been told that you don't leave your cardboard for someone else to deal with. Unfortunately, the baler was too full, so the 3 of us who needed to do so had to wait on Freddy to come and set up a bale. None of us knew how, or we'd have started it ourselves. :P Between that, binning my boxes, and taking stuff to claims, I didn't get clocked out until 8:30, then I had a cup of coffee in the lounge before leaving.

Gwen came in and said she was really impressed with my work. ^_^ I thanked her and said I always did my best, and she said she'd push for even better. LOL! I don't doubt that for a minute. No-nonsense...but she's fair.

Ah well... I'm tired, but need to stay up for awhile, because +Kyle isn't leaving for work for another hour and 15.
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I am so physically tired it's not funny. It's a wonderful feeling, to be so worn out from an honest day's work...and it *is* work. The problem right now is that my brain is still 'on' and so I can't sleep.

Tonight was rough. Becky was off and will likely not be in tomorrow, either. I started out in chemicals again with Jennifer and Kelly. I enjoy working with both of them, and they really put forth a lot of effort. There were four trucks tonight. General Merchandise had 4588 pieces to put out. Grocery had upwards of 1800 if I recall correctly. The unloaders got the last of the freight out onto the floor around 3:30. That's a LOT of stuff to unpack and shelve! I think Jennifer said they wound up with 13 pallets of items, and got through all of it.

John from California came by as he was sweeping. He's pretty funny, and your typical laid-back Surfer Joe type. He hates working the cake mix aisle, and Jennifer got onto him about saying how much it sucks. LOL! Everyone makes a big deal about swearing, as it's against company policy, but she takes it to the nth degree with John. Someone named Adam was working in the pet food section with Allen. Adam seems to smoke quite a bit of marijuana and passes the drug tests anyway.

So anyway, we worked on detergent and the like until our first break around midnight. A girl named Peggy was working in paper goods (paper towels, plates, cups, etc.) alone, and she got utterly swamped, and complained about it to someone. Apparantly someone got offended, or something, but Tommy was informed about it, and he told Jennifer to decide which of the three of us would go help her.

Neither Jennifer nor Kelly wanted to work with Peggy, as she allegedly tends to complain about nothing in particular. I just said that I was content to work wherever, and to put me where I could best serve, so Jennifer sent me to paper goods. LOL! Ah well... I have to learn it someday.

So Peggy and I wound up with somewhere around 20 pallets of stuff, and none of the pallet jacks were available since the unloaders had so much work to do. So we moved boxes around on an 'L' cart, which holds 9-12 LARGE boxes, and got perhaps half of the freight out on the floor. A majority of the items could not be placed on the floor because those items were already overstocked. But the unloaders don't know this, so they can't just leave certain items in the back. Everything has to come out onto the floor to be sorted. Yikes.

Around 6:00, Peggy had me start zoning the area while she consolidated the remaining pallets. It looked like that aisle had never been zoned before, EVER...a real nightmare. We were finishing those respective tasks around 7:00. Store Manager Lori came in, and she was NOT pleased with all the pallets still in the middle of the floor. She didn't gripe at us, but I bet someone got chewed out over it.

It occurs to me that perhaps had I worked with Kelly and Jennifer, we might have all been able to go help Peggy...but she would have just been that much further behind anyway.

Anyway, we had to take the cardboard back to be baled, of course, and ran into someone who used to do work the paper aisle: Charles. Apparantly someone told him to get the freight off the floor to help us out. Peggy was glad because this meant she got to go home.

Now approximately 7:30, I went to find Jennifer, and she and Kelly were just finishing up with putting the overstock into the risers. All they had to do was get the bleach from the back, zone, and it was done. They had me zone while they went for the bleach, and we finished up about the same time, as the chemical aisle is kept a lot more neatly than paper goods. It really is just a matter of pulling stuff toward the front of the shelf, instead of hunting around, putting things back in their place, etc. We finished in no time.

Then Lou found us.

"Have you got about 10 minutes, girls?"

Someone had left a few boxes in housewares. It was just candles and picture frames, but there were 2 boxes for a feature, so we didn't have to do those. He said he'd take the empty bleach boxes back to claims for us...and left the L-Cart in the middle of the aisle. He's very busy, apparantly, but honestly...that does get annoying.

I'm almost dreading tonight. Jennifer, Kelly, Peggy, and Becky are all scheduled to be off, and I want to say about 9 total are going to be gone, but it might be 11. I know I won't be put anywhere alone, because they can't do that to trainees, but I wonder what fate will bestow upon me.

At lunch, I was sitting and just listening to Jennifer talk to this other girl, and I remembered how much I hate the overall attitudes of people in this area. Everyone has to complain about everything. Not only that, but everyone is sick, and everyone they know is sick, too. They practically hold contests to see whose grandmother is closest to death. I hope I'm able to avoid the mindset.

Kelly wins my Quote of the Day today, on bags of dog food, and the effects of 1-1/2 hours of overtime:
Kelly: You know you're tired when even dog food looks comfortable.

That couch is looking pretty good right now, too...

Prease...Ret me sreep...
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Well, my first night at work was rather amusing. The time clock doesn't have the noobs registered yet, so I had to get someone to override the clock so I'd be in. Lou, the main manager over everything (near as I can tell) at night, is one of those "Do it my way, because that's the only way" guys. I don't think we're going to get along very well. He just switched from nights to days, and everyone is saying he's not going to last long.

Tommy is a manager under Lou, and he's pretty cool. I was supposed to work with Jennifer, but she was off, so he put me with Becky, and we hit it off great. Similar senses of humour and whatnot. Another guy there is known as "Pitts" (sp?), which I can only assume is his last name. He's quite a large fellow, but 'jolly' comes to mind, and he's definitely that.

Logan was leaving just as I was getting there, so we stopped to chat for a second. He looked exhausted, but he's always in good spirits. I gave him our number so hopefully we can get together with Ian sometime and go out. I smell a bowling team! ^_^ (Ew?)

For the first hour, they had me doing CBLs, which are boring as sin, but I think I'm caught up until the 16th. Then I joined Becky in chemicals (laundry detergent, cleaning agents, etc.) to put the freight out onto the floor. She's a trip to work with. We had 3 pallets to do, and she said that was a light night. It took pretty much all night to do, and I'm sure most of that was me digging around, finding where stuff went, and Becky having to stop and tell me how to do certain things. It's not a difficult job by any stretch of the imagination, but it's going to take some getting used to. There is a LOT of lifting involved. Not heavy stuff (except for some of the huge jugs of laundry detergent), but many many smaller items. She said you build up muscles rather quickly. Yay!

Zoning is rather satisfying, and we just did that as we went along. Zoning is where you take all the products on the shelf and bring them to the front so they are easy for the customer to see and find. Our shelves looked great when we left for the night.

She showed me the bins in the back, as well. These are huge green metal shelves that hold overstock for 7, 14, or 30 days, depending on how the item is designated.

We compacted many boxes, but the machine wasn't full enough to make a bale, so I don't know how to do that yet. It's just as well. I probably only retained about 60% of what I was taught tonight, and she kept telling me, "this is a no-no, but we do things around here to make sure they get done." about various things.

I can see where it's going to get tedious, but the night crew is definitely a different breed altogether, and everyone kept saying, "Oh, you're going to fit RIGHT in!" when I'd crack off with something humorous.

I sense many opportunities for Quotes of the Day.

Becky said tonight there will be 4 trucks, which is a dreadfully large number, and that things are going to be way busy. She's off tonight, so I'll be working with Jennifer instead. She cackled, but said that Saturday/Sunday she will probably come in because she'll feel sorry for everyone. I gather we're going to get behind tonight.

Well, +Kyle and I are going to run to get his paycheck and take some games to the mall to see about exchanging them for Freelancer. Me needs to change.

More adventures to follow, no doubt.

Bah!

Jun. 3rd, 2004 03:45 pm
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I cannot sleep!

Went to bed more or less at 11:00 and have slept and dozed up until about 3:30. Four and a half hours of sleep is no good.

I'm thinking it may be because I haven't eaten in 17 hours or so, so I'm getting a little nosh and cooling the house down before trying to get at least another two hours' worth. I may have to be up awhile and try again around 6 or so just for a power nap before work.

I take comfort in the fact that there is much coffee in the lounge. :P
lsdiamond: (Default)
I am so going to sleep in approximately half an hour. +Kyle must be fully awake, up and about before I can.

Then I will sleep like the dead.

Just going to go gather clothes for tonight. I love that we can wear jeans. No dress slacks for me, thank you very much!

Guh

Jun. 3rd, 2004 06:16 am
lsdiamond: (Default)
It's been almost 24 hours since I last woke up. I must be getting older if I can't even make it a day without wanting sleep. Bleh! Really, the only problem is that I don't have party pals right now...no one with whom to go clubbing and coffeeing until all hours of the night.

Ah well, I am more or less over the nausea from lack of sleep bit. That's really the only bad thing.

Roughly 5 hours and 40 minutes until I can rest. Methinks it's time to game a bit. +Kyle just reinstalled Diablo II on his system, so I'm going to start a new character.

But what to play? It's been so long...
lsdiamond: (Default)
I am really not sure what to make of this... I'm doing the best I can, but it's going to take time. +Kyle has been morose for the past few days, and I can do nothing to comfort him, though I have tried. We have good moments, but they are scattered.

In perhaps happier news, orientation went well. My schedule is as such: 10:00 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. Thursday - Monday, for the next two weeks. I'm not sure that it will stay those same days, but it's nice to have a "weekend".

The largest problem with this is that +Kyle and I are going to see very little of each other unless I can get on 2nd shift. That may have to be awhile, because we really need the shift premium I'm getting for graveyard. I'm glad they're working me on Sundays, though, because it means $1/hour more, too...something I was not expecting.

In light of the fact I had to get off-schedule to go to orientation, I must now get back ON schedule. D'oh. Hadn't thought of that. :P So, I'm up for the next 12 hours. I woke up at 7:00 this morning for the day's events. Yeah, I haven't successfully pulled an all-nighter in awhile, so I'm thinking it's off to the store for some Red Bull in a bit. I need to take the movies back, anywae.

I absolutely love my Assistant Manager, Gwen. She's black, about 6 feet tall, and the sort of person that many would find rather scary, but I can tell we're going to get on famously. I haven't met my Sponsor or Co-Managers, but the Store Manager, Lori, is really involved.

Today, I got there right at 8:00. Thought I'd left in plenty of time, considering it's only about a mile away...hadn't thought about morning traffic, though. :P D'oh! I'll do better next time. Fortunately, others were running late, including Vivian, so it wasn't a problem.

Cast of Characters:
Christian (F) - Cashier
????? Quiet girl with forgettable name - Candy
Mariah - Cashier
Pamela - Cashier
Quentin - Buggy Pusher
Chris (M) - Buggy Pusher
Raymond - Unloader
Dana (F) - Cashier
Helen - Cashier

We filled out paperwork for an hour or so, and discussed things with our various Assistant Managers. Gwen took us around the store, showing us different things, and explaining things like zoning and what to do about spills, etc.

Around 10:00, everyone was called to an impromptu meeting about events taking place on Saturday. A 5-year-old girl with cancer (Lymphoma? I can't remember) made a wish for a 19" TV for her parents and a new bicycle. The foundation involved (It's not Make A Wish, but it's like that) is giving her something like a $1,000 shopping spree at Wal-Mart, and locally, the store is giving her a party. She's going to be dressed like a princess, and she'll be paraded around the store on a throne of sorts. Also, the store is donating the TV so none of her wish money will have to be spent on her parents.

Also on Saturday, someone is having their wedding...at Wal-Mart... I'm sure that's really sweet, but it seems SO very cheesy. I can only hope the happy couple didn't meet at Wal-Mart as well...it's just too Hallmark ABC Movie Special. LOL!

Additionally, there's an event out a Joe Wheeler State Park: Take a Kid Fishing Day.

Employees are encouraged to attend one or all events possible. I doubt I'll be able to make any of them this weekend, but I hope to get involved in more community type events in the future.

So around 11:00, Vivian sent us off for lunch, and I came back to the house. Made it back in plenty of time, and we watched interminable videos about the founding of Wal-Mart, and why it's such a great company to work for, and how it's anti-union... Oh wait...it's not anti-union, they just feel that there's no need to pay other people to represent you. :P (I'm anti-union, so this is funny, to me, anyway...) They warn of the evils of signing off on a union card, and how recruits will come up to you all the time and try everything to get you to sign.

After that, we did CBLs (Computer Based Learning programs) for an hour or so, and then got things finished up - our lockers, vests, nametags, schedule for the next two weeks, etc... Not having had a locker in high school, I had no idea how to work the combination padlock. Chris' locker was closer to mine than anyone else in my group, and during my third try, he said, "Do you want me to show you how to do that?" LOL! Boy did I feel stupid. This kid is *maybe* 18? What I was doing wrong was, when turning the dial to the left, you're supposed to go all the way around past the number a second time before turning the dial right. D'oh.

We had been told we'd be done around 4:00...not so. I walked in the door at 4:57. Ah well. At least we get paid for it. ^_^ Also, I have to finish reading this enormous manual, and we get paid for that, too. They pay you for everything - even if they call you in and you're on the phone for a minute. It's almost insane, but I am not going to complain. The bennies are good, too.

I have a very good feeling about this. I hardly think it to be the career path I wish to follow, but who knows? I may do better with something like this, because then my creative energies are not spent at work, and I can use them to actually do the things I want to do...

Anyway, I suppose it's time to find something else to do until noon. I need to take the movies back. I need to read that manual. +Kyle and I have been talking, but he needs to go to bed soon. I need caffiene or something, because now it's 2 am and I'm bloody exhausted.
lsdiamond: (Default)
Well, here I am... Getting ready to go in for my first training session at The Dreaded Mart of Wal. Almost finished with breakfast, then I need to make myself look somewhat less undead (having been on a more-or-less third-shift lifestyle for about two weeks now), then leave in about 10 minutes.

We watched Big Fish last night. I really enjoyed it, and +Kyle seemed to. There's something about stories of eternally-devoted lovers that stings a bit at the moment, but it's a good story about not-so-tall tales. It wasn't as Burtonesque as I'd expected...definitely strange, and exactly the sort of story he'd do, but it wasn't as overt as his work usually is. Maybe our boy is growing up. *sniff*

I chatted with Nancy a bit last night over Yahoo. She's such a delight to talk to, and I miss going over to her house to spend time with her. It sounds like they're going to have a lot of fun at Lake Powell later in the summer.

Well, I'd best go so I'm not late. Rather be early! Ganbaru!

Finally!

Jun. 1st, 2004 02:18 pm
lsdiamond: (Default)
I am back among the ranks of the gainfully employed.

I am to report to The Dreaded Mart of Wal at 0800, to begin training for my new position as night stocker.

I'm quite thankful as I've been hoping for this position over any of the others for which I've applied. It makes me want to go out and celebrate, but methinks that must wait until I'm actually drawing a paycheck. Rent's due and we can't pay it 'til Friday.

Thank God for huge favours. This doesn't ease much other than our financial situation, but at least I'll have something else on my mind for 8 hours of the day.

Work

May. 19th, 2004 05:33 pm
lsdiamond: (Default)
Provided I pass the drug test, I have a full time stocking position at The Dreaded Mart of Wal...graveyard shift.

It's as good as mine, but I always worry about these things. I don't do drugs, so there's nothing TO worry about, but it's one of those things in the back of one's mind.

January 2012

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