Work Randomness

Saturday

I'm so bored, it isn't even funny. I caught up on my reading blogs around 9 am. I've been dicking around on my Kindle since, with a little work mixed in there. It's so slow that I can't read because it puts me to sleep. I messed around on Pinterest for awhile then I decided I'd play Candy Crush for a bit. So I sat down on my 5 gallon bucket in front of a fan with my phone. That didn't last long because I started doing the head bob thing when you fall asleep. Problem with that on my line is I was afraid I'd drop my phone while I was falling asleep and it's not like I'd be dropping it on some soft carpet or even hard concrete, it would go here

What your looking at is my feet standing on a metal catwalk. Under that is various piping and about 5 feet of space. Then there is a trough where all the overflow in the tanks go so right below where I'm at this week, it would contain mostly water with some sulfuric acid and a little nitric acid. So you can see why I wouldn't want to drop my phone down there.

My back hasn't gotten any better and if this morning was any indication, it might be getting worse. I took some ibuprofen for the first time in over a week. It has hurt throughout the week but not nearly as bad as it was. I don't think I'll be able to put off the doctor much longer.  Cheri’s been telling me to go, I just don’t want to spend the money for him to tell me what I already know.  Work days are always the worse.  I seem to do ok on my off days, it’ll hurt here or there when I turn wrong, but it usually isn’t too bad.  The problem is after relaxing for a few days, I have to go back to standing 12 hours on a metal catwalk and it gets bad again.

A shift and C shift’s schedule this week was we worked on Monday & Tuesday, had Wednesday and Thursday off, then we worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  A far cry from when we were on 8 hour days and I probably would have had a 4 day weekend.  B shift and D shift worked Wednesday, that’s it.  Tell me how that is fair.  I think on holiday weeks they need to change the days worked so it’s at least close to being even.  We also worked the weekend before Memorial day and the weekend of Easter.  We are also scheduled to work the weekend of Labor Day.  That means all those weekends that I’m working around the holiday, the other 2 shift have all that time off.

Sunday

I decided since it’s dead again at work, that I would keep a journal today.  A day in the life of an average employee.

• 7:00 - Started work
• 8:10 - Finished blog reading already. I'm not as exhausted as I was yesterday so I'll probably end up reading my current book.
• 8:45 - There's 3 things I'm not supposed to do on the line, sit down, be on an electronic device and take my safety glasses off. I just got busted sitting on a bucket while reading on my Kindle with my safety glasses on my forehead. Oops!
• 9:04 - Break. I usually text Cheri on my breaks but she isn't out of bed yet. Had some oatmeal and my sippy cup of Orange Juice.
• 9:40 - Just got lectured about what happened earlier. Didn't go well, my responses generally had the F bomb in it. What pissed me off was when I got busted, one, my job was caught up. Two, the line leader was on the line reading her Nook. Just because I'm the best operator up here (by far, actually) doesn't mean that I'm going to do everyone else's job so they can do nothing.
• 11:26 - We have contact. Apparently Cheri needed some sleep. She just text me but knowing her, she has been awake and playing Candy Crush. She plays it all the time.
• 12:00 - I'm supposed to be going to break now but I noticed the seal tank temperature had dropped so the line leader is off chasing maintenance.
• 12:05 - Break. Apparently I'm having someone's leftovers for lunch.  I usually have leftovers but this isn’t what we had for supper last night.  Hmmm!
• 12:35 - Break is over, no texting from Cheri, she was probably playing Candy Crush again (still). Just kidding honey.
• 1:17 - Back on the bucket, glasses off and if you didn't know, all this being typed out on my Kindle. Shhh!
• 1:42 - I'm bored. I'm going to mess with Cheri.

• 2:00 - Now until 3:00 is the longest stretch of the day. Not only does the clock slow down, but the temperature starts rising.
• 2:34 - Current temp outdoors - 78, current temp indoors - 101.
• 3:00 - Break.  I had some apples.
• 3:45 - Foreman comes over to me and I tell him about the money I've saved the company today by catching the seal temperature down, and how we've been buried with color and I've been cheating the system to keep all the tanks full, or how I've been doing the processors computer work because their computer has been down all weekend. I told him you and the rest of management don't see that, all you see is what you want to see.
• 4:00 - Jaime whined all day and finally left. It shorthands us up on the line but at this point, it's a break for my ears.
• 4:35 - Daily goal. Check. Got to the restroom right after it was cleaned so I could conduct my business in a little bit of cleanliness. TMI?
• 5:00 - Break, oh wait, cancel that. Jaime's whiney ass left and now I can't go for another half an hour.
• 5:30 - Break. Ran into my foreman on the way to break. I told him next time I run into his boss (the plant manager), I was going to tell him this ˝I owe you an apology, after all this time I'm starting to see we are a lot alike. All you see is my negatives and I for damn sure can't see any positive that you've done."
• 6:00 - Break's over, now for the home stretch. My body is exhausted, it usually is on my 3 12 hour day weekends.
• 7:00 - I am out of this place till Wednesday. It'll take that long for my body to recover before doing it all over again.

As you can see I have an exciting life at work.