DPoSED Experiment: Day Twelve

(I've really gotta start doing these on the days they occur >.<).  I tried going in early for class today, to try and get some of my homework assignments from last week finished up, but I was apparently not early enough, because I barely put a dent in them.  I'm starting to think I might have to withdraw from this and try it again next semester; I don't want to, but I might have to.  Ash would say I brought this on myself (in fact, she did say that, when I mentioned how behind I was).

Tomorrow's the last day of class for the week, and also the start of me being able to stay over for an extra four hours at work; not really sure when I'm going to find time to work on the homework I have to work on, but I'll hopefully figure it out.  It was another hot day today, though it felt like it was more of a dry heat; I was really hoping what Mario had said was true, and that they had fixed the air conditioning at work.  Then I remembered that I work at Hicks Plastics.

I feel like I'm starting to definitely get the hang of the floor now; I know where to find a lot of the totes and packing materials, I'm getting along pretty good with Mack, the shipping guy, and he's been really helpful when it comes to where to put what and where to find things.  I'm a little frustrated at the other jobs I'm required to do from time to time: running to get material from across the street, certifying parts that need to be shipped out ASAP because no one else can be trusted to do it right, and so forth.  it seems like just when I think I have everything set and can go on my break so I can start giving breaks, someone comes up and asks for something, so I get a late start on things.  I don't think I've taken an entire break since I've started on the floor.

I also learned that the metalizer reels get very hot when it's hot in the factory, a fact I learned the hard way when I had to change one of the doors today (this I don't mind doing, since I used to do it when I ran the metalizer anyway), and consequently ended up burning my palms pretty good.  It'll be all better by tomorrow, and the lesson will have been learned... hopefully.

Today I wore a pair of shoes that were a bit more "me" than the ones I've been wearing for the past several days.  While they're still Skechers, they're a little less subdued, and I think I felt a little more myself in them.  Also helps that they aren't a style that looks suspiciously similar to the pair that our quality control, Rose, wears (somewhat thankfully, I don't have a pair of the particular style that she has in my collection).  I stenciled on the Skullcandy logo a while ago, as well as some crossbones on the tongues, and I laced them up all complicated.

This experiment has started me noticing some things about the shoes I wear and how I feel while I do so.  I think constantly wearing a different pair of shoes, some of which I haven't really worn all that often, has made me more conscious of what's on my feet and what my thought process is when I walk out the door in something every day.  In much the same way as Ash has a pair of shoes that she wears when she just doesn't care and wants to be comfortable, I'm currently forcing myself outside of my comfort zone.  Instead of wearing the same two or three pairs of shoes every day, I'm in a constant state of fluctuation, and I think I'm starting to learn something from it.  I'm not really sure what, yet, but I'll be sure to post it when I figure it out.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Eleven

Hurray for going to Logic after three days of not going; I'm so far behind on my homework it's not even funny.  I'm going to see if I can't get some extra study time in for about an hour or so before I go to class; something to at least get me somewhere managable.  I suppose it didn't occur to me that every class missed is two lessons, and that adds up fast when there are close to a hundred questions for each lesson assignment.  Oh well, I need to practice getting up earlier anyway, right?

Today was hotter than yesterday, and it was kinda muggy on top of that.  They've started work repairing the brickwork on our house today, and I have to say, not a great day to be doing manual labor outside.  I was overheating just watching them.

That said, I wasn't really looking forward to working today.  Apparently, a few other people weren't either; we were short two people, and I ended up having to run the metalizer on top of trying to keep everyone stocked with their stuff and give breaks.  It was a little stressful, since giving everyone a break takes a while, and people get impatient.  It didn't help that things weren't really breaking down, either, meaning that it took me two hours to finish up the lunches, and it seemed like as soon as I finished one break, it was time to go on to the next one.  Kinda how I remember it being across the street, actually.  On the plus side, Mac showed me how to scan items out of the warehouse inventory so I can put them on the floor without having to wait for him to scan them for me.

Today I wore my last pair of Skechers in this particular style, and so brings to a close what some might consider a low point in this experiment.  I think these are actually the first pair of these that I bought, and I ended up removing the heel bubbles so I could make a mold of them so I could make several others in different styles that could be interchanged.  I've yet to put the originals back in (if I can even still find them >.<), or finish any of the custom ones I was going to make.  Hurray for not finishing things.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Ten

Monday.  This is the first time in a while I've started a week on a Monday.  Last week it was Memorial Day, the week before I was coming home from Chicago, and the week before that... I think I actually worked that Monday before departing for Chicago for the entire week.  So, two weeks since I've started the week with a Monday.  It felt normal, I guess.  A little lazy, but normal; I think I slept in until around noon-ish, did very little, and then was off to work.

I put a bit more of myself into running the floor today.  I think last week I got so pre-occupied with not being there that I just sort of shrugged it off as something I didn't want to do, but in all honesty, it's not so bad once you start to get the hang of things.  I still don't much care for the lack of material handler to get skids and so forth taken care of, but it keeps me busy, and that's really the only important part.

It's getting hotter, and as such, things are running worse.  Machines keep going up and then down, and it seems like it all starts going wrong when we get there.  This makes for some odd break arrangements, as some people are available to help give breaks during one break period, and then they all need to get breaks the next.  Hopefully they get the A/C fixed soon, but I'm not going to bet on it any time soon.

Today I wore my black SKX Skechers, the same shoes I wore for probably the first five months I started working at Hicks.  They felt familiar, and maybe that's why I felt like I was starting to get the hang of things with the floor stuff.  Ash commented that she thinks she just doesn't like white shoes, since, while these are still kind of plain, she likes them a lot better than the ones I've been wearing.  I suspect it has to do with my lack of white attire to balance out the overwhelming white-ness of some of my other shoes.

Tomorrow begins school again; let's hope I'm not horribly far behind.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Nine

While it's true that today was Saturday, and shouldn't, technically, be counted as a DPoSED day, one must take into account that I was sick yesterday, and we had work today anyway.  And so I've finally managed to get myself caught back up to the present (there's only one person who is going to care xP).  I was feeling remarkably better today, and actually managed to get out of bed at a reasonable hour.  Nixie is up in Ludington for the weekend with some of the Chicago group, and I'm sure they're enjoying themselves.  I wanted to go, but work kind of prevented that.

On that note, we had three people not show up today (I lied, Ash, I said only two, but I forgot about the new guy), and so by default I was on the metalizer, since we had no one else to run it.  The whole day seemed kind of out of whack, though.  I'm not sure if it was the lack of people, me not being used to working on Saturdays anymore, Ash coming in four hours early, or a combination of them, but it just seemed really off.  I started with my usual floor routine; got boxes and such ready, trained Mitco on a job that I'd never run before myself (thankfully he learns quick and has the ability to figure things out as needed), and then ended up running the metalizer once we realized we were, indeed, three people short (and even with them, we were still three people short for all the jobs they wanted running).  I also volunteered to stay over again today, since I missed yesterday completely and I wanted to make up for it.

Interestingly, I ended up on a job I've never run before, and there were only three of us for third shift; two of which spent more time sweeping and tidying than running their machine on account of the heat being so much that it starts screwin' with our technology.  I was not one of those two.  Also, a note on the heat: it was bad.  The fan in the breakroom was all you had to look forward to.

Today I decided to keep to my theme and wore another pair of my Skechers, this time ones I assumed were suitably themed to the gawdy surf-shop t-shirt I was wearing.  Ash remarked that they, also, were kind of plain, and that they were also kinda girly (not really sure what I'd do without Ash's daily commentary).  I think she put it as "Are you sure you got those in the guy's section" to which I my only response was "honestly, I don't think most of my shoes have come from the guy's section.  I go with what I like, not with what gender its meant for."  It felt good, sticking to my convictions like that.  I only hope I can keep that in mind while I attempt to work out this whole deal with Nixie.  I have a feeling the end result is going to be considerably less pleasing than I want it to be.

DPoSED Experiment: Sick Day

Some Friday this turned out to be.  Things started on a bit of a sour note with Ash texting me, and me being asleep at Nixie's house due to being so tired from the night before's work.  This, I'm told, led to a huge text argument between Ash, Gloria, Stef and Nixie.  All of this before I woke up, in fact.  I had some hint of it, as I was half-awake, and Nixie said something like, "why is she still texting you?" and I maybe mumbled something and went back to sleep.

I woke up later to her acting very strangely, and found that both Ash and Stef's numbers had been deleted out of my phone, along with any of the texts she may have sent, and that I'd recieved.  I didn't much feel like dealing with her prying, as I was undeniably sicker than I had been the night before, so I went home, and proceeded to try to get some rest, while still talking to her via text message.

Truth be told, I'm sick of her blowing up on Ash every time she talks to me; I've made remarkable progress as a result of talking to Ash (and Sean, also, but I think at this point that's just a given).  And so I pretty much just told her that I was choosing Sean and Ash's friendship over our "relationship".  She didn't take it especially well, but seemed to get over it towards the end of the day, though I suspect I'm not out of the woods yet.

I called in sick to work today, on account of my throwing up repeatedly this morning, and pretty much stayed in bed all day, so I didn't really count this as a day for the experiment.  Instead, for the half hour in which I actually went out and did anything (mostly just went out and fetched my computer, which I had let Nixie use on account of both hers being fried), I decided to test out some of the repair work I had done on Ash's shoes, as I'd finally gotten around to installing the second heel-patch on them today.  I figured it was also good symbolism for my decision today, even if me wandering around in some girl's shoes does sorta seem a little weird.  Mostly, they reminded me that I have people in my life right now that I can count on to be there.

Woo, we work Saturday this week.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Eight

For the third day in a row this week, I didn't go to class.  I was too tired, and just couldn't find the motivation to drag myself to class.  It's not that I couldn't wake up; I got up with plenty of time, and I left the house well before I had to be there, but for some reason I just couldn't convince myself to go.  Maybe it's just been an off week; we'll see next week.

Day three of me on the floor began with the painful realization that the job that had been acting up on the metalizer was, once again, running on the metalizer.  Ah, and something I forgot yesterday, but we also have a new guy: Anthony.  He initially struck me as someone who would be pretty self-sufficient; he's a little older, and looks like he's got some experience (maybe).  Now, he strikes me as someone who is a little out of it.  He kind of has this "surfer-dude" way of going about things, which kind of throws me off.  He's also a pain to train, as he gets angry if people keep telling him to not do something that his insists on doing.  We'll see how long he lasts...

I also started having doubts about my ability to perform my job as Floor Person today.  Everyone expects me to just knows things now, and I'm getting material work thrown at me, too.  it's a bit stressful, especially when I need to stage things, someone has left a hi-lo in the middle of the aisle I need to get through, and Mario is too busy fighting with a machine that refuses to cooperate to even fix another machine that was running, let alone move a hi-lo ten feet so I can get through.  I'll give it another week, and see how I feel about it; I feel I'm meant more to just do the jobs, not show other people how to.

Today I also volunteered to stay over an additional four hours, despite my early warning to never do that.  I was to be running M2 again, and after the eight hours of working the floor, I needed something easy to calm my nerves.  It felt good to be doing one thing for four hours. 

In keeping with my initial plan, I opted for another pair of my Skechers, this time the very first version that they came out with.  Despite my colourful choice of laces, Ash said they were just too plain and she didn't like them, which is fine, since I don't really want to get rid of these.

Also had a, as Sean put it, "much needed talk" with Ash during her lunch, and after I'd completed my twelve hour shift.  Got some things out in the open and probably came out with a better understanding of each other as a result.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Seven

Day two as Floor Person at Hicks; it's getting hot in the plant, the A/C doesn't work, and the machines are starting to protest. Due to the job on the metalizer acting up so much yesterday, and, consequently, today, we are now way behind schedule on these hellish parts and I had to run the parts myself for a little while today, as we were also short a few good men.  After a while, Mario shut one of the presses down, and told Alecks to come over and run the machine for me so I could do my job (giving breaks and so forth).  Alecks is the old Albanian who is definitely reputable as being one of the slower operators (though, given our current stock on operators, you take what you can get), and so I found myself wondering if I might lose my promotion due to necessity (I went past Nick and said, "So, you miss me being on this thing yet?" and he sorta smirked, and rolled his eyes at Alecks).

As I've got a lot of similar pairs of Skechers, I figured I'd get them out of the way early on, so I can get into some of my more interesting pairs.  The ones I chose for today are actually the last version they did in this style, and it occurred to me a bit later in the day that our quality control lady wears a pair that are very similar (luckily I don't own that particular pair).  if I think of it, I'll see about getting a picture for comparison.

Also, due to the heat starting to get to me, I decided to rid myself of my pesky leg hair.  It honestly didn't make a huge difference, though Ash seems to think it's "adorable" that I do it.  Not so sure about that...