thirteen
(this news item posted on November.10.2007)
thirteen is the number of trucks I did at work this week. I was going to try to set the record... but that was not to be. I think my record is fifteen. Probably. Though I don't think I was keeping track back during the forced 12 hour workdays that paid well for suffering hard.
This week with the thirteen trucks was hard too now that I think about it. Trucks have gotten more difficult than they used to be now that the company has decided to put the maximum amount of weight possible on them.
Not an especially big deal to me --the added weight. I go to work to exercise anyway. Little more weight = little more fun as far as I'm concerned. But there are no more easy trucks to dole out to the newer workers when they need an easy day. And there is much less variation than there used to be. The surprise easy trucks are few and far between these days. Now it's just heavy truck, over and over again.
New people have not been lasting long on the job. It's been a revolving door lately. And when the latest wave of new people quit I figured I would just pick up the slack with a few of the people that have worked there for a while who maybe could use the extra work.
So then at the start of the week a freind who I work with had a serious illness in the family. I should have tried to call in some reserves, but I figured I'd just stay later and make up the trucks myself and make more money.
I wasn't thinking thirteen or anything over ten even. But that first day I ended up staying all day and throwing four and that was a lot. It had been a while since I'd thrown like that. But I paid for it. The next day I was sick. I had become disused to spending all day long in a series of trucks. I don't think my immune system cared for it. On Tuesday I had a sore throat, stuffy nose and the like. Riding my bike to work was tough let alone throwing trucks once I got there. Nevertheless, three more trucks. Wednesday was much the same. Stuffed up nose and difficulty staying focussed, but there was nobody else to call on to throw trucks so I threw three more.
Thursday was like a whole new world. I discovered the amazing powers of oxygen. I had not been able to breathe for two days. But suddenly my congestion had broken and I could breathe. Plus, it was the day after payday so I had eaten. Plus, I overslept so I had actually slept. But since I had overslept, I rode my bike to work as fast as I could and that just pumped me full of oxygen. By the time I got to work I felt almost high on air. I felt like I was thinking twice as fast as I should be, and I probably was thinking twice as fast as I had been in the past two days. I was running around doing five things at once and loading motorcycle tires at fantastical speeds. I loaded the equivalent of three trucks in five hours and I had all day with nothing else to do since it was a Thursday. I felt like I could literally throw all day. Another two trucks would have been a new personal best for a week as far as I know, and I felt I had at least that in me if not more.
And so then they told me they had run out of work.
I was stunned. What do you mean? I have like a bajillion kilojules of surplus energy. They can't send me home like that. I had at least 2,000 more calories that I needed to expend before I could feel in sync with the world. And I only work four days a week so I might be stuck like that all weekend. But they sent me home in that condition. I tried to run around cleaning my house, but that didn't do anything. I was stuck that way.
So that ended up meaning that I made a lot of money. I'm eager to see how I throw next week. There probably won't be nearly that many trucks to throw, but I'd like to see if I can throw that fast again.
But that can wait until Monday I suppose. Tomorrow the Bloodthirsty Vegans and I have another exciting adventure playing the WNY Peace Center Annual Dinner. That's going to ROCK!
be Peace,
-Alex
This week with the thirteen trucks was hard too now that I think about it. Trucks have gotten more difficult than they used to be now that the company has decided to put the maximum amount of weight possible on them.
Not an especially big deal to me --the added weight. I go to work to exercise anyway. Little more weight = little more fun as far as I'm concerned. But there are no more easy trucks to dole out to the newer workers when they need an easy day. And there is much less variation than there used to be. The surprise easy trucks are few and far between these days. Now it's just heavy truck, over and over again.
New people have not been lasting long on the job. It's been a revolving door lately. And when the latest wave of new people quit I figured I would just pick up the slack with a few of the people that have worked there for a while who maybe could use the extra work.
So then at the start of the week a freind who I work with had a serious illness in the family. I should have tried to call in some reserves, but I figured I'd just stay later and make up the trucks myself and make more money.
I wasn't thinking thirteen or anything over ten even. But that first day I ended up staying all day and throwing four and that was a lot. It had been a while since I'd thrown like that. But I paid for it. The next day I was sick. I had become disused to spending all day long in a series of trucks. I don't think my immune system cared for it. On Tuesday I had a sore throat, stuffy nose and the like. Riding my bike to work was tough let alone throwing trucks once I got there. Nevertheless, three more trucks. Wednesday was much the same. Stuffed up nose and difficulty staying focussed, but there was nobody else to call on to throw trucks so I threw three more.
Thursday was like a whole new world. I discovered the amazing powers of oxygen. I had not been able to breathe for two days. But suddenly my congestion had broken and I could breathe. Plus, it was the day after payday so I had eaten. Plus, I overslept so I had actually slept. But since I had overslept, I rode my bike to work as fast as I could and that just pumped me full of oxygen. By the time I got to work I felt almost high on air. I felt like I was thinking twice as fast as I should be, and I probably was thinking twice as fast as I had been in the past two days. I was running around doing five things at once and loading motorcycle tires at fantastical speeds. I loaded the equivalent of three trucks in five hours and I had all day with nothing else to do since it was a Thursday. I felt like I could literally throw all day. Another two trucks would have been a new personal best for a week as far as I know, and I felt I had at least that in me if not more.
And so then they told me they had run out of work.
I was stunned. What do you mean? I have like a bajillion kilojules of surplus energy. They can't send me home like that. I had at least 2,000 more calories that I needed to expend before I could feel in sync with the world. And I only work four days a week so I might be stuck like that all weekend. But they sent me home in that condition. I tried to run around cleaning my house, but that didn't do anything. I was stuck that way.
So that ended up meaning that I made a lot of money. I'm eager to see how I throw next week. There probably won't be nearly that many trucks to throw, but I'd like to see if I can throw that fast again.
But that can wait until Monday I suppose. Tomorrow the Bloodthirsty Vegans and I have another exciting adventure playing the WNY Peace Center Annual Dinner. That's going to ROCK!
be Peace,
-Alex
No comments:
Post a Comment