I arrive at the Walmart distributor more than a half early,check through with security, store my backpack in the lockers,and go to wait in the lunchroom.I'm in the habit of being early.I don't like to arrive anyplace and have to hit the ground running.I like to soak in the atmosphere before I actually begin my work.
If everything runs according to schedule,I'll have a decent shot at being out of here before noon, even though I have three trailers to unload.All trailers arriving here must be supplied with someone to unload them.That is either the drivers responsibility, or the responsibility of someone who the trucking company hires. that person unloads all of the truck's contents, where a receiver tags it and sends it to outgoing trucks for each store.All of the shipping doors are located in a far part of the warehouse, which is massive,so all we see is the boxes,bags, or whatever disappearing on a conveyor belt. Walking anywhere in the building is prohibitive in terms of time,as it is several city blocks long and wide.Hence, it's state of the art and fully automated.
Trailer number one arrives a few minutes ahead of schedule,and this is good.It's located at the far east end of the building, and that is a good sign because it means that the contents is most likely to be displays for floor sales.That means that all I'll have to do is be in attendance, unless the receiver happens to not be the most careful driver, and ditches one of the skids. All of these skids are going straight out to stores all over Western Canada, and they go out as a unit the same way they came in.In this case, the trailer is loaded down with toilet paper, coming in from Atlantic Canada. I have absolutely nothing to do but stand around and watch the forklift unload, then proceed to the office and collect half a day's pay.Sometimes it almost seems like stealing, but that is the requirement.A trailer must have a swamper,no matter what. The whole business is done in about twenty minutes, and as I'm walking back to the security area, I'm paged for the second trailer. Since it's from the same trucking company, there's a good chance it will be more of the same. And that turns out to be exactly the case. So it's two of my three trailers completed in just under an hour. Today is going very smoothly,and that is a good thing since Saturday or Sunday are really the only days I have to get other things done.Most of my life these days is spent within the confines of the warehouse,and most days I'm here until business hours are over.
My third trailer is on time to, and there is still a chance of completing it before noon.It's not as simple or straight forward as the first two, but again, I'd predicted that by knowing the name of the carrier. This load happens to be pens,markers and pencils, and other assorted stationary products.There is less that five hundred pieces on the trailer, but over three hundred separate items, so it's a bit of a mess.If I'm working with a good receiver, I'll have a chance of finishing up in a bit more that an hour.If not, it could take up to three hours.The receivers here are not paid the same way we are.They are paid by the hour.They do have an hourly quota,but meeting that is not difficult, so some of them make no effort to hurry.They understand that it's in my best interests to complete a given job as fast as I possibly can,and get as many trailers as possible in the least amount of time.That doesn't sit well with all of the receivers. Some of them resent us for managing to make two or more days pay in a short period of time. Some of the people who come here to unload trailers don't help matters.There are a lot of guys that are just looking for a fast book, who have a bad attitude and addictions to feed, and very little in the way of social graces.A few of them don't shower very often.So the receivers don't like working with them, but have little choice, as there are very few companies that provide services to unload trailers.But some of them will slow down so as to make it difficult for us to make our next appointment on time.Usually I don't experience that problem.I come in ready to work and with a decent attitude, and on days like today it pays off.I get one of the better receivers and we are almost done by lunch break.So I take a sandwich out of the vending machine.That's my usual habit when I work here, but I really should eat better, I think. Shortly after the end of lunch break,my trailer is finished.The whole day has taken just over three hours,including the half hour break, and I'm on my way,with a day and a half's pay in my pocket.That's good because with it being family day weekend, there are no trailers tomorrow or Monday.
I need groceries,so I'll do that before I go home.First,though I need to run downtown with all of my time sheets for my weeks work.That is a big pain in the ass, because it takes a half hour on the C-Train.I should run into the internet cafe and check my email too.Usually I do that everyday,but it's been busy this week, so I haven't been to the cafe for a few days running.That is not good because my mother and I have been communicating via email since I moved here.We call each other on the phone too, but it's been some time since I've spoken to her.I guess with tomorrow being Sunday, she will likely call. Keeping in touch is important,because my father is not well.He never comes on the line to talk anymore, and for the longest time,when he did it was under the effect of medication,or booze or just the injuries caused by all of his strokes.But my mother keeps me updated.
It's mid afternoon on Saturday by the time I've turned in my time sheets and got a northbound number two bus.I don't really like the bus much,especially the number two.It's always busy and there are sometimes fights among passengers, even small race riots at times.There are some fairly rough neighborhoods along Center Street on the north Hill.
At 16th Avenue I get off the bus and head into the Safeway store for food. Saturday afternoon is crowded, and I really don't like crowds.But I don't really look forward to finishing off the cold pizza I had yesterday either.I need just about everything.I'm out of milk and lemonade and bread. I've only got one package of ground pork left.Ground pork has become my staple food, along with onions and a variety of peppers and potatoes which I've been craving more and more of late.I guess as an Atlantic Canadian, I've just got to have my fried potatoes.
By three o'clock I'm on my way home with over a hundred dollars worth of food in six bags.The laundromat is in the plaza right next to the Safeway, and it reminds me that I still have a ton of dirty clothes to drag down here and wash.It's a long walk home with all these groceries, but I don't feel like getting back on a standing room only bus with this load, so I guess I'll walk.My legs getting a bit stiff,and I seem to be coming down with a cold too.I don't get sick that often,so the cold will likely last about a week, and won't be very severe.I'll bring the laundry back down here tomorrow, I think.I'm kind of beat now,and I don't seem to sleep really well anymore. So I put the groceries away and head out to the corner store.I need a two liter bottle of coke,which is likely among the worst of my bad habits, and I'll buy a lottery ticket for tonight's draw.I don't play often, maybe a few times a year, but you never know,I could get lucky.If I win, I'll head back down east,buy some land and build a house.But I never win.Still,it's nice to dream about what life would be like if I did.Live the life of a semi-hermit, I think. Maybe find a good woman and get married.Women would not be in short supply,I think,rather cynically.Not if I won the lotto.But I'd given up on that idea for about five years now,and it seemed to be working out fairly well.
I return home,make some ground pork for supper, take it into my room and shut the door, wondering what's on the idiot box, and how well I'll sleep tonight.I flip through the channels and find Bugs Bunny.Not a bad way to start the evening.If I'm still up I'll probably watch Saturday Night Live, and drift off for a few hours.
If everything runs according to schedule,I'll have a decent shot at being out of here before noon, even though I have three trailers to unload.All trailers arriving here must be supplied with someone to unload them.That is either the drivers responsibility, or the responsibility of someone who the trucking company hires. that person unloads all of the truck's contents, where a receiver tags it and sends it to outgoing trucks for each store.All of the shipping doors are located in a far part of the warehouse, which is massive,so all we see is the boxes,bags, or whatever disappearing on a conveyor belt. Walking anywhere in the building is prohibitive in terms of time,as it is several city blocks long and wide.Hence, it's state of the art and fully automated.
Trailer number one arrives a few minutes ahead of schedule,and this is good.It's located at the far east end of the building, and that is a good sign because it means that the contents is most likely to be displays for floor sales.That means that all I'll have to do is be in attendance, unless the receiver happens to not be the most careful driver, and ditches one of the skids. All of these skids are going straight out to stores all over Western Canada, and they go out as a unit the same way they came in.In this case, the trailer is loaded down with toilet paper, coming in from Atlantic Canada. I have absolutely nothing to do but stand around and watch the forklift unload, then proceed to the office and collect half a day's pay.Sometimes it almost seems like stealing, but that is the requirement.A trailer must have a swamper,no matter what. The whole business is done in about twenty minutes, and as I'm walking back to the security area, I'm paged for the second trailer. Since it's from the same trucking company, there's a good chance it will be more of the same. And that turns out to be exactly the case. So it's two of my three trailers completed in just under an hour. Today is going very smoothly,and that is a good thing since Saturday or Sunday are really the only days I have to get other things done.Most of my life these days is spent within the confines of the warehouse,and most days I'm here until business hours are over.
My third trailer is on time to, and there is still a chance of completing it before noon.It's not as simple or straight forward as the first two, but again, I'd predicted that by knowing the name of the carrier. This load happens to be pens,markers and pencils, and other assorted stationary products.There is less that five hundred pieces on the trailer, but over three hundred separate items, so it's a bit of a mess.If I'm working with a good receiver, I'll have a chance of finishing up in a bit more that an hour.If not, it could take up to three hours.The receivers here are not paid the same way we are.They are paid by the hour.They do have an hourly quota,but meeting that is not difficult, so some of them make no effort to hurry.They understand that it's in my best interests to complete a given job as fast as I possibly can,and get as many trailers as possible in the least amount of time.That doesn't sit well with all of the receivers. Some of them resent us for managing to make two or more days pay in a short period of time. Some of the people who come here to unload trailers don't help matters.There are a lot of guys that are just looking for a fast book, who have a bad attitude and addictions to feed, and very little in the way of social graces.A few of them don't shower very often.So the receivers don't like working with them, but have little choice, as there are very few companies that provide services to unload trailers.But some of them will slow down so as to make it difficult for us to make our next appointment on time.Usually I don't experience that problem.I come in ready to work and with a decent attitude, and on days like today it pays off.I get one of the better receivers and we are almost done by lunch break.So I take a sandwich out of the vending machine.That's my usual habit when I work here, but I really should eat better, I think. Shortly after the end of lunch break,my trailer is finished.The whole day has taken just over three hours,including the half hour break, and I'm on my way,with a day and a half's pay in my pocket.That's good because with it being family day weekend, there are no trailers tomorrow or Monday.
I need groceries,so I'll do that before I go home.First,though I need to run downtown with all of my time sheets for my weeks work.That is a big pain in the ass, because it takes a half hour on the C-Train.I should run into the internet cafe and check my email too.Usually I do that everyday,but it's been busy this week, so I haven't been to the cafe for a few days running.That is not good because my mother and I have been communicating via email since I moved here.We call each other on the phone too, but it's been some time since I've spoken to her.I guess with tomorrow being Sunday, she will likely call. Keeping in touch is important,because my father is not well.He never comes on the line to talk anymore, and for the longest time,when he did it was under the effect of medication,or booze or just the injuries caused by all of his strokes.But my mother keeps me updated.
It's mid afternoon on Saturday by the time I've turned in my time sheets and got a northbound number two bus.I don't really like the bus much,especially the number two.It's always busy and there are sometimes fights among passengers, even small race riots at times.There are some fairly rough neighborhoods along Center Street on the north Hill.
At 16th Avenue I get off the bus and head into the Safeway store for food. Saturday afternoon is crowded, and I really don't like crowds.But I don't really look forward to finishing off the cold pizza I had yesterday either.I need just about everything.I'm out of milk and lemonade and bread. I've only got one package of ground pork left.Ground pork has become my staple food, along with onions and a variety of peppers and potatoes which I've been craving more and more of late.I guess as an Atlantic Canadian, I've just got to have my fried potatoes.
By three o'clock I'm on my way home with over a hundred dollars worth of food in six bags.The laundromat is in the plaza right next to the Safeway, and it reminds me that I still have a ton of dirty clothes to drag down here and wash.It's a long walk home with all these groceries, but I don't feel like getting back on a standing room only bus with this load, so I guess I'll walk.My legs getting a bit stiff,and I seem to be coming down with a cold too.I don't get sick that often,so the cold will likely last about a week, and won't be very severe.I'll bring the laundry back down here tomorrow, I think.I'm kind of beat now,and I don't seem to sleep really well anymore. So I put the groceries away and head out to the corner store.I need a two liter bottle of coke,which is likely among the worst of my bad habits, and I'll buy a lottery ticket for tonight's draw.I don't play often, maybe a few times a year, but you never know,I could get lucky.If I win, I'll head back down east,buy some land and build a house.But I never win.Still,it's nice to dream about what life would be like if I did.Live the life of a semi-hermit, I think. Maybe find a good woman and get married.Women would not be in short supply,I think,rather cynically.Not if I won the lotto.But I'd given up on that idea for about five years now,and it seemed to be working out fairly well.
I return home,make some ground pork for supper, take it into my room and shut the door, wondering what's on the idiot box, and how well I'll sleep tonight.I flip through the channels and find Bugs Bunny.Not a bad way to start the evening.If I'm still up I'll probably watch Saturday Night Live, and drift off for a few hours.
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