My job was supposed to be only part-time, twenty-something hours a week. But this week I think I worked something like 56 hours, although five of those were on Saturday, which started a new week, so I didn't get overtime pay for going in at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning. But all day Friday I got overtime pay, so I'll get a pretty fine paycheck. I got overtime and had to work Saturdays last December, when we were in the height of annual curriculum orders. But I didn't expect to get overtime in August.
The reason we got to work so much was because the Church is putting out a new book called Daughters in My Kingdom. I don't know who reads my blog, but if anyone out there is a Relief Society sister, when you get your book, you should know that sweat and blood went into this project--quite literally. Our warehouse is air-conditioned, but I don't know how, so with a heat wave this week, along with the physically demanding task of taking books out of boxes and then lifting the remaining book-filled boxes from a pallet to a conveyor belt, we got pretty warm. Once I accidentally hit a coworker's forehead with my elbow. Neither of us were hurt (yes, I just used a plural verb with a singular subject), but it did make my elbow wet!
As for the blood, this work makes us very thirsty. One coworker had a metal water bottle, and another coworker asked for him to throw the bottle to him. Coworker #1 said that it was heavy, but coworker #2 said to throw it anyway. Well, it ended up hitting him in the lip and it made him bleed. He was fine, though. There may have been other blood incidents, though, since pulling books out of boxes makes your fingers raw, especially if you don't wear gloves. (I'm surprised at how many don't--I'd be dead without them!)
Today in my ward someone was carrying in a few boxes of these books, which are plenty familiar to me. We have to be all done with the project by Thursday (September 1--I'm so excited for August's demise!), so I probably won't have overtime again--at least until annual curriculum starts up again. Monday and Tuesday were surprisingly busy (I think even without the project), but they hired four new people this week, and fewer people will be taken away to work on the project, so that should mean we won't have to stay as late. (I worked twelve hours on Monday.)
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Pokey Guy
When my niece was younger--between the ages of two and four--she would make up names for me. Some of these nicknames were ones she heard us say, some were names she heard on TV, and some she just made up. One of the most lasting names, which we don't know where it came from, was "pokey guy." She would refer to me as pokey guy often. When my mom leaves the house, she will sometimes say to me, "Be a good boy," so once as they were leaving the house, my niece said to me, "Be a good poke!"
I don't think that my niece called me pokey to mean that I am slow, but sometimes I think that is appropriate. Like at work. One thing that is new this year is that there are TV screens that show how fast we are working. I am working too slowly. I know I just started up again, but I am the second slowest person. The only person slower than me has special needs or something like that. I'm getting better about doing more boxes at a time, but on Friday, I was still slower than I was even on Thursday.
I think part of this may be because of the station I was working at. We have stations in different locations, depending on where the first item on the list is. I have been working at station 3. Unfortunately, station 3 orders call for a lot of missionary water bottles and temple slippers. Why is this bad, you ask? Well, the tickets we have determine what size of box we should use based on the size of the items. But the bottles and slippers are sized incorrectly, so most of the time when you get them on a ticket, you have to go get a bigger box. So a lot of my time is spent not filling boxes--which is what is reflected in the speed--and is actually spent walking all over the place trying to find a sufficiently big box. But maybe this isn't actually slowing me down that much, and I am simply slow. I have always had a tendency not to be very fast.
On Friday night the YSA stake had a big event thing. It was obviously intended for you to meet people, especially since they gave us little slips with random questions to have people sign. (I was valuable for being able to answer "Find someone who has never seen any of the Star Wars movies." I saw a few of them as a kid, but I don't remember anything, so I figured that counts.) But it was also kind of a dance party thing, and the music was too loud to hear anything anyone said. What's the point in having an event to meet people when you can't hear anything they say? So I left early.
Saturday morning the stake activity continued with a service project. In addition to being slow, I have a great tendency of getting lost. This was especially true on my way to the service project. I accidentally ended up getting on the freeway--twice. We were meeting at a church building before going elsewhere for the project, and I figured if I kept looking, by the time I found the church, everyone would be gone, so I just came home. And I felt guilty going to any other activities if I missed the service activity, so I just stayed home all day.
So what did I do with my unplanned free time? I threw away papers. When I was younger I kept notes and things in a filing cabinet so if I ever needed to know something, I could look at an old assignment or handout or note. But today with Wikipedia and other things at my fingertips, and being in college, I figured I didn't need to keep most of that stuff. So I went through it all, saved the few things I wanted to keep, and threw the rest in the recycling box. I had stuff in there dating to elementary school. As I tossed old chemistry and math notes, it made me kind of sad. I will probably not have any more math, chemistry or physics classes (unless I decide to take some geology classes with those as prereqs, but there are plenty of classes I can take that don't need them). And even though I took calculus winter of last year, I can hardly remember anything. So when my teenage son asks me for help on his homework, I can't help him. I'll have to say to him, as I have done so many times, "Call your Uncle David!"
I don't think that my niece called me pokey to mean that I am slow, but sometimes I think that is appropriate. Like at work. One thing that is new this year is that there are TV screens that show how fast we are working. I am working too slowly. I know I just started up again, but I am the second slowest person. The only person slower than me has special needs or something like that. I'm getting better about doing more boxes at a time, but on Friday, I was still slower than I was even on Thursday.
I think part of this may be because of the station I was working at. We have stations in different locations, depending on where the first item on the list is. I have been working at station 3. Unfortunately, station 3 orders call for a lot of missionary water bottles and temple slippers. Why is this bad, you ask? Well, the tickets we have determine what size of box we should use based on the size of the items. But the bottles and slippers are sized incorrectly, so most of the time when you get them on a ticket, you have to go get a bigger box. So a lot of my time is spent not filling boxes--which is what is reflected in the speed--and is actually spent walking all over the place trying to find a sufficiently big box. But maybe this isn't actually slowing me down that much, and I am simply slow. I have always had a tendency not to be very fast.
On Friday night the YSA stake had a big event thing. It was obviously intended for you to meet people, especially since they gave us little slips with random questions to have people sign. (I was valuable for being able to answer "Find someone who has never seen any of the Star Wars movies." I saw a few of them as a kid, but I don't remember anything, so I figured that counts.) But it was also kind of a dance party thing, and the music was too loud to hear anything anyone said. What's the point in having an event to meet people when you can't hear anything they say? So I left early.
Saturday morning the stake activity continued with a service project. In addition to being slow, I have a great tendency of getting lost. This was especially true on my way to the service project. I accidentally ended up getting on the freeway--twice. We were meeting at a church building before going elsewhere for the project, and I figured if I kept looking, by the time I found the church, everyone would be gone, so I just came home. And I felt guilty going to any other activities if I missed the service activity, so I just stayed home all day.
So what did I do with my unplanned free time? I threw away papers. When I was younger I kept notes and things in a filing cabinet so if I ever needed to know something, I could look at an old assignment or handout or note. But today with Wikipedia and other things at my fingertips, and being in college, I figured I didn't need to keep most of that stuff. So I went through it all, saved the few things I wanted to keep, and threw the rest in the recycling box. I had stuff in there dating to elementary school. As I tossed old chemistry and math notes, it made me kind of sad. I will probably not have any more math, chemistry or physics classes (unless I decide to take some geology classes with those as prereqs, but there are plenty of classes I can take that don't need them). And even though I took calculus winter of last year, I can hardly remember anything. So when my teenage son asks me for help on his homework, I can't help him. I'll have to say to him, as I have done so many times, "Call your Uncle David!"
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wake me up when September comes
Now that I don't have any homework, I don't have to wait until Sundays to blog. But I might still end up blogging on Sunday (plus other days) simply because I'm used to it.
Today I started my first day of actually working at my job (yesterday I filled out forms, etc.). There are a lot of new people, but a lot of people I worked with before, including my fellow coworkers who were hired with me as the temporary crew. The job is pretty much the same.
We get a pick ticket and go down a line with a conveyor belt, and select the appropriate quantity of items from a shelf, put it in a box, and send it to be taped and shipped. When I started last year, we did it all manually and initialed on our ticket when we finished it. Then they introduced "pick to voice," which involves wearing a headset that tells us where to go and how much to put in.
Last year we could only do one box at a time with this system (even though we could do multiple boxes when we did it manually). Now we can do multiple boxes, which is something I'm not used to. Sometimes the headset is nice because it counts for me. For example, today I had to count 500 vinyl covers for the Missionary Handbook. These were annoying to count and stuck together. It was nice because it said "Pick 500." I could count only three, say "three ready," and it would say "pick 497," and so on. It was very nice because I didn't have to remember how much I counted, and I didn't have to count all over again if I forgot.
But it can also be a little annoying. For example, a few times I had several boxes asking for multiple copies of The Friend. You know, the magazine that has President Obama on the August cover. It told me to count out the total number of magazines, and once I had them all counted, it had me put them in each box. That's like counting twice. The pick ticket was useful for that. I probably think the old-fashioned, all-human way is faster, but I could be wrong. It will just take me some time to get used to multiple boxes on voice. (I have no problem with it on my own.)
What's especially weird is the time of year. Last year I worked from the week before Halloween until Christmas Eve. As the radio plays, a lot of the songs are ones that I first heard, or else first became really aware of, at work (e.g. Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" or Taio Cruz's "Dynamite"). I have found that music is one thing that really transports me back in time. So I hear those songs and I think of November (my first week they mostly listened to country and after Thanksgiving they mostly listened to Christmas music). But I look outside and the trees are fully clothed, I have to have the AC on driving home, and I know there will be no pumpkin pie ice cream in the freezer when I get home.
I hate August. It's always hot and there's never anything going on except for Back to School, and what's fun about that? I think the sole good thing about August is that it's close to September. That, and I can eat popsicles.
September has traditionally been my favorite month. Fall and cooler temperatures start, it starts the series of holidays that don't end until the New Year, and, of course, my birthday. So I always think that once it's September, everything will be OK. But I'm always disappointed. September 1 comes, but the leaves are still green, it's still 90 degrees, and it's still a little early to start thinking about Halloween. I've decided I like November better because there's nothing to the month that disappoints.
But September is still ten times the month August wants to be.
Today I started my first day of actually working at my job (yesterday I filled out forms, etc.). There are a lot of new people, but a lot of people I worked with before, including my fellow coworkers who were hired with me as the temporary crew. The job is pretty much the same.
We get a pick ticket and go down a line with a conveyor belt, and select the appropriate quantity of items from a shelf, put it in a box, and send it to be taped and shipped. When I started last year, we did it all manually and initialed on our ticket when we finished it. Then they introduced "pick to voice," which involves wearing a headset that tells us where to go and how much to put in.
Last year we could only do one box at a time with this system (even though we could do multiple boxes when we did it manually). Now we can do multiple boxes, which is something I'm not used to. Sometimes the headset is nice because it counts for me. For example, today I had to count 500 vinyl covers for the Missionary Handbook. These were annoying to count and stuck together. It was nice because it said "Pick 500." I could count only three, say "three ready," and it would say "pick 497," and so on. It was very nice because I didn't have to remember how much I counted, and I didn't have to count all over again if I forgot.
But it can also be a little annoying. For example, a few times I had several boxes asking for multiple copies of The Friend. You know, the magazine that has President Obama on the August cover. It told me to count out the total number of magazines, and once I had them all counted, it had me put them in each box. That's like counting twice. The pick ticket was useful for that. I probably think the old-fashioned, all-human way is faster, but I could be wrong. It will just take me some time to get used to multiple boxes on voice. (I have no problem with it on my own.)
What's especially weird is the time of year. Last year I worked from the week before Halloween until Christmas Eve. As the radio plays, a lot of the songs are ones that I first heard, or else first became really aware of, at work (e.g. Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" or Taio Cruz's "Dynamite"). I have found that music is one thing that really transports me back in time. So I hear those songs and I think of November (my first week they mostly listened to country and after Thanksgiving they mostly listened to Christmas music). But I look outside and the trees are fully clothed, I have to have the AC on driving home, and I know there will be no pumpkin pie ice cream in the freezer when I get home.
I hate August. It's always hot and there's never anything going on except for Back to School, and what's fun about that? I think the sole good thing about August is that it's close to September. That, and I can eat popsicles.
September has traditionally been my favorite month. Fall and cooler temperatures start, it starts the series of holidays that don't end until the New Year, and, of course, my birthday. So I always think that once it's September, everything will be OK. But I'm always disappointed. September 1 comes, but the leaves are still green, it's still 90 degrees, and it's still a little early to start thinking about Halloween. I've decided I like November better because there's nothing to the month that disappoints.
But September is still ten times the month August wants to be.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
My Christmas vacation lasts four and a half months!
This week was the end of summer term. I was able to do a bunch of studying in my own apartment because after six weeks, my air conditioning got fixed. That was Tuesday. I moved out Thursday. It definitely was annoying. But it was also good. It kept me more social than I otherwise would have been!
So, yeah...finals. My archaeology final was ridiculously easy. The history one...well, I'm just glad I studied about the Islamic Caliphates in medieval Spain on Wednesday night, or else I would have been doomed on Thursday. I know I could have done better and should have known more, but I hope I did decently.
Friday sealed my fate for the rest of 2011. Last year I took fall semester off because I couldn't get a job in Provo and I didn't get a scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year. Taking last fall off had a lot of good advantages, one of the most prominent being that I ended up getting a scholarship for winter that I wouldn't have otherwise had.
This year I attended spring and summer because I had a full-tuition scholarship for those terms. I got a half-tuition scholarship for the 2011-2012 school year. But that extra $1000 per semester has to come from somewhere. I don't have enough to pay it (well, I could, but it would leave me broke), and my dad was laid off last May, and has been unlucky in finding a job. So I figured if he didn't have a job by the time fall rolled around, I'd take this semester off too.
Well, even if he does find a job in the next week before tuition is due (which is unlikely), I won't be going to school in the fall. That's because I got my job back from last year! I worked for the Church at the main Distribution Center, picking orders and packaging them up before sending them off all over the world. Last year I was only hired as a temporary crew (for "Annual Curriculum"), but it was an awesome job. It's easy, pays really well, everyone's nice, and we get Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
Last year I had applied earlier on, but when the human resources lady found out that I was leaving to go back to school in January, she told me they were looking for someone more permanent for that position, but I could apply for the temporary crew. I figured the same thing might happen this year, since I'm applying for a non-seasonal position. But they hired me! In fact, they're still interviewing this week, but I start Tuesday.
I am somewhat disappointed that my education gets halted again. I'm a little sad because this means I can't go on the Yellowstone vacation that my family planned for me to go on. I'm very sad because I can't go to Tennessee to visit my adorable nephews. But working for four months will give me a bunch of cash, and I work a morning shift which will let me have an actual life, unlike last year when I worked in the evenings. Getting up early in the morning is no bueno, but I get off early enough (it's only part time) that I can take afternoon naps.
I think about how lucky I am to have this job. Last year it took me two months of applying before I finally got a job, and from all the dozens of applications I sent in, this was the one I got. It pays better and is easier than most jobs I would be qualified for! The environment is awesome. They treat us well. I'm lucky to get it this year. I was lightly monitoring the Church employment opportunities, waiting to see if this one happened to come up, and it came up at just the right time.
So, yeah...finals. My archaeology final was ridiculously easy. The history one...well, I'm just glad I studied about the Islamic Caliphates in medieval Spain on Wednesday night, or else I would have been doomed on Thursday. I know I could have done better and should have known more, but I hope I did decently.
Friday sealed my fate for the rest of 2011. Last year I took fall semester off because I couldn't get a job in Provo and I didn't get a scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year. Taking last fall off had a lot of good advantages, one of the most prominent being that I ended up getting a scholarship for winter that I wouldn't have otherwise had.
This year I attended spring and summer because I had a full-tuition scholarship for those terms. I got a half-tuition scholarship for the 2011-2012 school year. But that extra $1000 per semester has to come from somewhere. I don't have enough to pay it (well, I could, but it would leave me broke), and my dad was laid off last May, and has been unlucky in finding a job. So I figured if he didn't have a job by the time fall rolled around, I'd take this semester off too.
Well, even if he does find a job in the next week before tuition is due (which is unlikely), I won't be going to school in the fall. That's because I got my job back from last year! I worked for the Church at the main Distribution Center, picking orders and packaging them up before sending them off all over the world. Last year I was only hired as a temporary crew (for "Annual Curriculum"), but it was an awesome job. It's easy, pays really well, everyone's nice, and we get Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
Last year I had applied earlier on, but when the human resources lady found out that I was leaving to go back to school in January, she told me they were looking for someone more permanent for that position, but I could apply for the temporary crew. I figured the same thing might happen this year, since I'm applying for a non-seasonal position. But they hired me! In fact, they're still interviewing this week, but I start Tuesday.
I am somewhat disappointed that my education gets halted again. I'm a little sad because this means I can't go on the Yellowstone vacation that my family planned for me to go on. I'm very sad because I can't go to Tennessee to visit my adorable nephews. But working for four months will give me a bunch of cash, and I work a morning shift which will let me have an actual life, unlike last year when I worked in the evenings. Getting up early in the morning is no bueno, but I get off early enough (it's only part time) that I can take afternoon naps.
I think about how lucky I am to have this job. Last year it took me two months of applying before I finally got a job, and from all the dozens of applications I sent in, this was the one I got. It pays better and is easier than most jobs I would be qualified for! The environment is awesome. They treat us well. I'm lucky to get it this year. I was lightly monitoring the Church employment opportunities, waiting to see if this one happened to come up, and it came up at just the right time.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
River of Tears
When I was on my mission, I of course heard of the popular LDS musicians we were allowed to listen to. Mindy Gledhill. Jessie Clark Funk. The Nashville Tribute Band. But there was one song I thought stood out from the rest, "It Passes All My Understanding," and I didn't understand why it, or the artist, wasn't more popular. I'd also heard another one of her songs, "Where Faith Lives," and decided that I liked her enough to get her music if I ever found out who it was. Well, I had a companion who bought a compilation CD and I found out that the name of the artist was Cherie Call. So I wrote home, asking for a Cherie Call CD with the song "It Passes All My Understanding." So my mom sent me the album "He Gives Flowers to Everyone." This became an instant favorite of mine. When I had my last companion, I heard another song, "Somebody Else's Shoes," (which coincidentally just popped up on my Sunday shuffle playlist) which I also had to have. So on the second day of the last month of my mission, I bought her album "The Ocean in Me," which I grew to love even more than the one I already had.
To make a long story short, I now have all seven Cherie Call albums (the first two non-religious, the last five all Christian-themed), and got my mom hooked on her too. So this week I met my parents at the American Fork amphitheater to see Cherie Call and Sam Payne. (Sam Payne is now Cherie Call's usual musical partner--we don't like him as much. We first saw them sing together on New Year's Eve on Temple Square.) Cherie sang seven songs, I believe: "River of Tears," "Walk You Through the Night," "One Good Woman," "Invincible," "Photographs," "Big Yellow Moon," and "Memphis." After the concert I bought her latest album, "Grace," which was the only one I didn't have for myself (although I had ripped my mom's copy to my computer--but it's all legal now that I have my own copy!), and my mom wanted her to sign my copy. I posted a video of her singing "Big Yellow Moon" on Facebook, but I don't know if anyone watched it so here it is again:
She calls this a "homeless song" because it is not on any album and it's not part of any project she's working on. She now tends to do religious music, but this is not a religious song. I for one hope she releases it at some point, because I love it! You can listen to samples of her music at cheriecall.com.
I also had the opportunity yesterday to baptize my niece, Allie. We took few pictures (and none in white :( , except for the illicit ones my cousin April took while we were actually in the font! :0 ) and my memory card adapter decided not to work anyway. I never physically baptized someone on my mission. Last fall in my singles ward I went to do baptisms for the dead and they asked me to perform the proxy baptisms. So this was my first time baptizing a living person. Allie was tearful the whole time in the chapel beforehand, and then especially right before getting in the water. My mom thinks she has seen all the crybaby testimonies and that she thinks that's what you're supposed to do in spiritual situations. I just think she was nervous. As we were walking to the font, we were a little unorganized, and my brother-in-law Matt asked if we were supposed to be walking that way. I said "I don't know." Then he asked if it mattered. He's not a member, so it made me realize that he wouldn't know if it mattered or not. Fortunately it didn't.
I only had to dunk her once. My dad confirmed her. I felt privileged, indeed, to be worthy of the Priesthood to perform the ordinance. I'm glad she is an example of the believers and has followed our Lord and our Savior down into the water.
To make a long story short, I now have all seven Cherie Call albums (the first two non-religious, the last five all Christian-themed), and got my mom hooked on her too. So this week I met my parents at the American Fork amphitheater to see Cherie Call and Sam Payne. (Sam Payne is now Cherie Call's usual musical partner--we don't like him as much. We first saw them sing together on New Year's Eve on Temple Square.) Cherie sang seven songs, I believe: "River of Tears," "Walk You Through the Night," "One Good Woman," "Invincible," "Photographs," "Big Yellow Moon," and "Memphis." After the concert I bought her latest album, "Grace," which was the only one I didn't have for myself (although I had ripped my mom's copy to my computer--but it's all legal now that I have my own copy!), and my mom wanted her to sign my copy. I posted a video of her singing "Big Yellow Moon" on Facebook, but I don't know if anyone watched it so here it is again:
She calls this a "homeless song" because it is not on any album and it's not part of any project she's working on. She now tends to do religious music, but this is not a religious song. I for one hope she releases it at some point, because I love it! You can listen to samples of her music at cheriecall.com.
I also had the opportunity yesterday to baptize my niece, Allie. We took few pictures (and none in white :( , except for the illicit ones my cousin April took while we were actually in the font! :0 ) and my memory card adapter decided not to work anyway. I never physically baptized someone on my mission. Last fall in my singles ward I went to do baptisms for the dead and they asked me to perform the proxy baptisms. So this was my first time baptizing a living person. Allie was tearful the whole time in the chapel beforehand, and then especially right before getting in the water. My mom thinks she has seen all the crybaby testimonies and that she thinks that's what you're supposed to do in spiritual situations. I just think she was nervous. As we were walking to the font, we were a little unorganized, and my brother-in-law Matt asked if we were supposed to be walking that way. I said "I don't know." Then he asked if it mattered. He's not a member, so it made me realize that he wouldn't know if it mattered or not. Fortunately it didn't.
I only had to dunk her once. My dad confirmed her. I felt privileged, indeed, to be worthy of the Priesthood to perform the ordinance. I'm glad she is an example of the believers and has followed our Lord and our Savior down into the water.
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