I realized something tonight.
"I am a good worker."
Why am I a good worker?
I learn much faster than average and work hard.
These are traits you see on resumes.
In the real working world these traits don't exist.
You see people who think they've been screwed over too much to work hard.
A much older gentleman came up to me tonight and said, "How many you got over there?"
You see, "over there," is Machine #3. That's where I'm usually put, or "rotated" they would say.
We work these three huge flat sorters on the second floor of the postal warehouse.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/usps.htm/printable
Each machine is about 10 feet wide and 50 feet long
On the side of the machine there are a loading station and 4 prep stations where the mail handlers work. Someone loads it at the loading station, it goes down the conveyor belt, then it is prepped at the prep station from the bin into a tray. The tray is sent back on another conveyor belt to the north end of the machine, where a clerk is watching/checking the prepped mail sent through the sorter.
Then it goes into the bins (shown above). Machines#1 and #2 have clerks pulling the full bins out and replacing them with empty ones. The full beens sliding down the conveyor belt (shown above) and go to the south end of the machine or the bullpen, where a mail handler puts the heavy bins into the appropriate cart, container, cage, etc.
Machines #1 and #2 also have bullpen workers.
Machine #3 is much more automated and does not have extra clerks or bullpen workers.
No one likes Machine #3.
I usually am always on it, though. With only 2 other people instead of 4, which makes the work quite harder and more frustrating.
Didn't know if you wanted to know that, but now you do. Actually, you probably don't. You probably just skimmed down my perfect description of my working world and headed straight towards the juicy stuff. You are a jerk.
Anyways, the older gentleman says "Yeah, I don't know why they work us only 3 people to a machine."
I said, "Well, you can try to break your back and make sure the mail is sorter fast enough, or you can just do what every one else does: Not care and work at your own pace."
"I can't do that."
"Well, then looks like you made your decision."
At this point, I realized that I must be pretty wise to give a 50 plus year old man advice.
Then I kept thinking and thinking.
I can do whatever I want.
And, I decide to work a job that requires no skill and has no potential to be rewarding.
Am I crazy?
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results."
(5 bonus gold stars if you can tell me who always said that)
I have a jack-of-all-trades skill set, but with so much freedom I imprison myself with "what ifs" and cynicism.
What do I want to do?
It's such an easy question, BUT WHY CAN'T I FIND AN ANSWER!
SHALOM.
p.s. 9 a.m.: Going to attempt to sleep. Will the men chain-sawing the tree in our neighbor's front yard allow that?
To be continued....
