Fallen Thoughts

:: 9.24.2003 ::

I've been putting off the inevitable update for quite some time now. I knew that when I did, I would probably take on the task of recapping the time that has passed since my last post, which, as you can see below, was over a month and a half ago. in my procrastination, I have let the quantity of events to cover multiply - so I'm hoping I can make it through this without giving up and calling it a morning.

morning. a time I'm not very friendly with. I'm thinking now is as good a time as ever, though. I'm halfway through my second cup of coffee, done checking the mail, and kayla is sitting in class taking her first chemistry exam of the semester. so the way I figure, this is the least I can do. this may get a little lengthy, so I'll try and toss in some dry humor and a link here and there to keep you folks entertained. otherwise, skim over it, hit the comments button, and give me a generic "it's about time!" or something similar.

so about a week after my last entry, I started working for these folks. nothing permanent - just a week-long gig. the upside? 10 bucks an hour, straight up. the downside? a new meaning to the phrase "back-breaking work". the first day wasn't so bad - our entire objective was to unload a big ass truck (the back half of a tractor-trailer, not the band - who, coincidentally, I saw open for ben harper once and they put on a helluvan opening act). we also decided on that day what roles we would be taking throughout the week - which consisted of either assembly or delivery. assembly paid 2 bucks an hour more, but you had to provide your own tools. we didn't have said tools, so we chose delivery - we being myself and kayla, and also kate & paul. nathan, the man in charge, went over a few details and let us know that the folks working creswell hall would be an independent team - in other words, nobody would be down there trying to run shit and telling us what to do and how to do it. paul stayed in "the well" his freshman year, so naturally we all hopped on the opportunity.

on day two, the truck was unloaded and it was time to start running deliveries to the freshman masses. now if you've ever been in the area of a college dormitory on the first move-in day, you know it's hectic. take that chaos and add these elements: nine floors of dorm rooms with about 60 dorms on each floor, solid pine loft beds and futons (weighing a good 50 - 100 pounds, respectively) to be delivered using the stairwells only, a long list of customers to keep track of, and an unending number of greek-kid parents with an unending ability to bitch about an unending list of things. put them all together and you have what nathan likes to refer to as "d-day". if you haven't already gathered this, that day was by far the longest and hardest day of work in my 22 years. our crew started delivering at 9 AM on that bastard of a day and delivered until sundown, with a less-than-gracious 15 minute lunch break. as if that weren't enough, we ended the day by reloading the truck that we had just spent the last 10 or 11 hours unloading to get ready for the next day in a torrential downpour that came out of nowhere. exhausted would be an understatement. after we finished up, we all shared many thoughts of calling it quits over dinner at agua linda, but the pay was great and we all needed the money. then it was back home and off to bed, setting the alarm for 7-ish to be back in action at 8 AM the next day.

wednesday was much of the same, but slightly less taxing seeing as how we had more of a rhythm with things and a few less deliveries than the day before. it was still another long day of lugging beds and futons up freshman-filled stairs. with thursday morning came a blessing - "you guys can use the elevators today". thank GOD. with elevator use, a nifty little wheeled cart, kayla keeping track of deliveries, and a lessening crowd of students, thursday and friday were a breeze. the end of the week came and our job was done - paycheck time. me & kayla both worked about 40 hours through the week and collected our 400 dollar paychecks on sunday. as much as we bitched and moaned through the first half of the week, there were nothing but smiles as we cashed in on our efforts. I was able to pay my rent and bills for september and still have money left over to live on. in fact, I still have some of that check now over a month later. in spite of the scarred legs and bruised arms and shoulders, my first employment here in athens was pretty fruitful. not only did we get a nice payday at the end of the week, we also got to hang out with kate & paul all week and met some pretty cool kids.

the following week, kayla started classes - and me? I slept like a baby. I had no idea that my experiences with the world of furniture delivery would turn into such a long rant, so I'll end this here. there is still a good month or so to catch up on, so 'til next time..

:: posted by Michael at 10:35 AM [+] ::

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