Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

On the first day, they told us that we were going to be worked hard, and we were, we really were.

There is an incredible amount of work that goes into building a new store from the ground up. And I mean the ground up. When I first interviewed there, the shop was empty. Walls, floor, ceiling–all a pure stark white. The manager enthused about it all: in his mind’s eye he could see it, imagine it, and it was his dream. Now, five days after starting work, I can see that dream coming true.

Getting up in the mornings was the easiest part. Being wiped out physically and mentally after the day’s work was the hardest part. And yet, it still hasn’t been a terrible adjustment. I’d like a few fewer hours, but I’m going to stick it out with my schedule for now because I’m invested in this process of getting the shop up and running. I’m fascinated by it and want to see it grow.

On the first day, we walked in to a room already full of aisles. Each aisle is lined with pegboards. We were shown how to work from a plan and insert pegs, frames and a variety of attachments to the boards. We labeled and counted dots and became a team. I went home mentally and physically frazzled from doing the industrial equivalent of counted cross stitch and being on my feet all day. And yet I had been running around most of the day with a huge grin on my face.

I am in awe of the planners. Every item has obviously been measured and a space created for it that is just so. I should imagine that could be a fun job, but I had no idea it was such a precise science.

The second day we did more of the same, only a couple of people didn’t come back. This is apparently very normal. They were honest about the pace and what was required.

The third day we did more of the same, and almost got it finished. Suddenly, it was beginning to look like a real shop. New people started.

Day four, there was a great big truck parked in the parking lot. As I fine-tuned some of the remaining panels, others unloaded the pallets and started to wheel them in. Huge boxes of Stuff loomed over everything. After lunch, we broke up into teams and swarmed over the gigantic cubes, ripping off swathes of clingfilm and numbering boxes according to which aisle they filled. Then, grabbing carts, we sorted and stacked and delivered the boxes to their future homes. I dripped sweat and we all got absolutely filthy. At the end of the day I could barely walk, my feet were in such pain.

More new people started. Some others never came back, but I did. I’m actually proud of it–don’t think there weren’t moments when I thought of saying stuff this and going home, especially when I couldn’t get my shelves to go in. ;)

I’ve been going to bed at nine, and thus waking at five-thirty isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. By that time, my feet have mostly recovered, though one of my coworkers did ask if I were okay, seeing me hobble around. ;)

Day five, most everyone got trained in how to start loading the shelves as another truckload came in. More new people started; five never came back. Three of us were recruited to finish the pegging while the others filled their shelves. I heard a giggle from one aisle as a coworker hung up tubes full of themed plastic animals and people. Farmyard…Ancient Egypt…Jamestown Settlers…

It’s nice to find others with a similar sense of the absurd at work.

We did the second round of pallets so quickly that we were given a longer break as a reward.

I have my first day off now, and another day at work, then two off. After that I’m on a more sensible schedule where I don’t have to work more than three days without a break. These breaks are going to be vital if I continue to be a writer. There is little time/energy to do anything when I get home from work. The job is not what I expected, but I really am having fun with it. My coworkers are a diverse bunch and we really have a camaraderie going. There is a strong buzz of enthusiasm as we see the store grow up around us. We share food and find things to laugh about—like trying to toss cardboard into the dumpster when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. My riding to work is a talking point which makes me feel kind of special.

So it’s cool. I don’t know how long I will be able to stay–it depends, really, on where we land when we move out of here. But I’m less worn out tonight, and feel creativity flowing. Either that’s because I know I don’t have to go in tomorrow, or because I’m over the hump. My lazy muscles are strengthening, and my stamina is growing. This physical strengthening is one of the things I hoped to get out of going to work.

So long as I can develop enough stamina to write as well, then I think I am going to have a grand old time. :)

Here are some other posts

• Thursday Thirteen #21: 13 emotions that we’re better off without
• Thursday Thirteen #22: Better decluttering through Thursday Thirteen
• Thursday Thirteen #7: 13 Things I’d barely thought about two weeks ago
• Thursday Thirteen #23: 13 Things about the winter solstice
• Thursday Thirteen #19–13 ways to cheat outrageously at NaNoWriMo

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