I think my silence is probably indicative of my unhappiness. Today, I can tell all. Woop woop.
Last time I posted, I had just found out that my boss was resigning. That's one heck of a change. For awhile, I battled whether or not I should go too. I feel that the work I was doing was very valuable. But I don't think that the organization is really ready for that sort of thing. They need to do a lot of work developing strategy with intended outcomes. A lot of the work just seems like a fix to plug up the latest leak. People there were unhappy. We do great work, but none of that is present in the office.
I'm leaving. I have an opportunity to get my MBA while working as a graduate assistant in the Fine Arts department. I'm very excited about it. I'll help some with recruiting, and some with sort of administrative tasks. It's a minimum of 20 hours a work. I receive a stipend, a free education, more free time to help with softball, the ability to hold more than one job, and a little of my sanity back. It's a good trade off for me. I'll still be volunteering in the office for awhile, and definitely down at the Bowden. I've been teaching some of the kids how to read better. I'll have more flexible time to come in and help them too. :)
I wish I could help my work more. But, it's not really a healthy environment. I came home and complained all the time and had nothing to say. I didn't like that about myself and I think that that is one of the major reasons I decided to start looking elsewhere. Maybe I should suck it up and just keep on going, because it's only a year. But, to what end? To say that I did it? Yea, and what's that worth except a strain on my relationships and a mental problem?
Maybe I'm a little bitter, so I'm going to stop talking about it. I've been a lot happier since I made the decision and have heard nothing but wonderful things about people where I'm going to work, and I had good vibes during the interview.
I won't start coursework until January. New job starts next Monday.
Here goes nothing.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Just a little update.
Yup, it's been awhile. I think that if I told you all about what I do at work, you'd be bored to tears. I enjoy it. It gets pretty hectic and office politics are no good. I've got some changes coming on the horizon that'll really throw me off, but that I'm not sure I can really talk about quite yet. But, this year is going to get a bit challenging.
I was able to launch our facebook, but I'm not necessarily happy with it quite yet. I need to build more interest in it and make it more interactive (and to the point where people want to post on the site). I need to sit down and think about that a bit more, but I think it can happen, barring any major obstacles. But, obstacles just exist. I'm pretty frustrated about that because I have to wait on a lot of people to put my ideas together. And sometimes it's just too late, or kind of sloppy because the response took so long to create.
I've also been missing out on my time volunteering, I only got in once last week, which I don't like. I had to work late creating and printing invitations that had input from three different offices that was all conflicting. That was fun. Definitely comes with the turf though.
I'm just very happy I got the Labor Day weekend to help relax and I should be able to help start coaching this week, and that's exciting!
I'll update more when there's more exciting stuff going on, and things I know I can talk about!
I was able to launch our facebook, but I'm not necessarily happy with it quite yet. I need to build more interest in it and make it more interactive (and to the point where people want to post on the site). I need to sit down and think about that a bit more, but I think it can happen, barring any major obstacles. But, obstacles just exist. I'm pretty frustrated about that because I have to wait on a lot of people to put my ideas together. And sometimes it's just too late, or kind of sloppy because the response took so long to create.
I've also been missing out on my time volunteering, I only got in once last week, which I don't like. I had to work late creating and printing invitations that had input from three different offices that was all conflicting. That was fun. Definitely comes with the turf though.
I'm just very happy I got the Labor Day weekend to help relax and I should be able to help start coaching this week, and that's exciting!
I'll update more when there's more exciting stuff going on, and things I know I can talk about!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Every Day is a New Adventure.
First, every time I title my blog I have a mental mind-freak about which words to capitalize. Irrelevant.
So, I didn't really report back on last week. It was a whirlwind. I'm keeping a log of all of the stuff I do (I started it today). But, I guess I've kind of done a lot in the past two weeks. Crazy. I got a hug and a "You're making a difference." on Thursday from my boss. That was pretty cool. I think that some people have jobs where they never hear anything like that. I feel pretty fortunate. The facebook site still hasn't launched and I'm working on how to handle that. I have a week to get through the upper-level and to try to get it live. I think that I have everything done, I just need the ok. There's lawyers and stuff that have to get involved and a whole social media plan/policy that needs to be written by my boss. Except, I've written one from an example we got from a business in the area. My boss kept saying she'd write it, but I think she's been pretty busy so I did it. I'm just a little too scared to tell her I went ahead and did it. But, she's been gone for a few days so I may just tell her. We'll see.
I've been working in InDesign, which I'm not a professional at but I'm decent. I can work it and do image design. I have a pre-defined color palette which makes things a lot easier. It's kind of fun to see what I can do with that. My work probably isn't all that interesting to talk about. I really enjoy doing it and the days aren't that long, but describing it is kind of boring. It won't be that exciting until I finally get to launch something and upkeep the sites.
Of course, volunteering is a highlight for me. The kids down at the Bowden are pretty good. Some are pretty tough, but they're warming up to me. One kid comes up to me and shows me the progress of his loose tooth each time he sees me. I love it. But, today I got thrown into street outreach (and no mom, not the kind of street outreach that is in the Cross and the switchblade). We just go down to the "banquet" where they serve two meals a day to those who need it. Our job as street outreach is to sit there and make contact with families that have kids from 8-21 years old (or just the kids those age that are there). I was nervous because I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I actually was pretty good at talking to people who weren't in the age range. Ha. I was working with someone though and when I get thrown to do it by myself that will be fun! Imagine, shy Liz doing this stuff. It's crazy.
The people there are really the ones that fit the stereotypical homeless idea. Dirty, holes in their cloth, etc. They all speak with you a little more than you would think. Of course, some people won't but some are fine with talking about where they are in life. Not to say they're happy with it, but they're not angry at people they talk to about it. One man was lamenting his stolen backpack that had everything he managed to gather up. He wondered that anyone who was homeless could steal from other people who were homeless. The first thought that popped into my head was they had the 'survival of the fittest' attitude but I managed to bite my tongue. Sometimes, I have to watch what I say because I find myself referring back to a home or asking about a mom or dad pretty naturally. But, you can't assume that sort of thing really. I've done ok, but I have to be pretty conscious of it.
Then after that I got back with the kids and played for an hour and royally messed up the kickball rules and the kids kept laughing at me and saying. "Liiiiiiiiiz" like I should know better. Woops. I'm still learning!
So all is well. I miss my family, but I'm doing well. Hope y'all are too!
Oh, and I got paid for my first week. $200, about $5 an hour. Woo. Doin' ok though.
So, I didn't really report back on last week. It was a whirlwind. I'm keeping a log of all of the stuff I do (I started it today). But, I guess I've kind of done a lot in the past two weeks. Crazy. I got a hug and a "You're making a difference." on Thursday from my boss. That was pretty cool. I think that some people have jobs where they never hear anything like that. I feel pretty fortunate. The facebook site still hasn't launched and I'm working on how to handle that. I have a week to get through the upper-level and to try to get it live. I think that I have everything done, I just need the ok. There's lawyers and stuff that have to get involved and a whole social media plan/policy that needs to be written by my boss. Except, I've written one from an example we got from a business in the area. My boss kept saying she'd write it, but I think she's been pretty busy so I did it. I'm just a little too scared to tell her I went ahead and did it. But, she's been gone for a few days so I may just tell her. We'll see.
I've been working in InDesign, which I'm not a professional at but I'm decent. I can work it and do image design. I have a pre-defined color palette which makes things a lot easier. It's kind of fun to see what I can do with that. My work probably isn't all that interesting to talk about. I really enjoy doing it and the days aren't that long, but describing it is kind of boring. It won't be that exciting until I finally get to launch something and upkeep the sites.
Of course, volunteering is a highlight for me. The kids down at the Bowden are pretty good. Some are pretty tough, but they're warming up to me. One kid comes up to me and shows me the progress of his loose tooth each time he sees me. I love it. But, today I got thrown into street outreach (and no mom, not the kind of street outreach that is in the Cross and the switchblade). We just go down to the "banquet" where they serve two meals a day to those who need it. Our job as street outreach is to sit there and make contact with families that have kids from 8-21 years old (or just the kids those age that are there). I was nervous because I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I actually was pretty good at talking to people who weren't in the age range. Ha. I was working with someone though and when I get thrown to do it by myself that will be fun! Imagine, shy Liz doing this stuff. It's crazy.
The people there are really the ones that fit the stereotypical homeless idea. Dirty, holes in their cloth, etc. They all speak with you a little more than you would think. Of course, some people won't but some are fine with talking about where they are in life. Not to say they're happy with it, but they're not angry at people they talk to about it. One man was lamenting his stolen backpack that had everything he managed to gather up. He wondered that anyone who was homeless could steal from other people who were homeless. The first thought that popped into my head was they had the 'survival of the fittest' attitude but I managed to bite my tongue. Sometimes, I have to watch what I say because I find myself referring back to a home or asking about a mom or dad pretty naturally. But, you can't assume that sort of thing really. I've done ok, but I have to be pretty conscious of it.
Then after that I got back with the kids and played for an hour and royally messed up the kickball rules and the kids kept laughing at me and saying. "Liiiiiiiiiz" like I should know better. Woops. I'm still learning!
So all is well. I miss my family, but I'm doing well. Hope y'all are too!
Oh, and I got paid for my first week. $200, about $5 an hour. Woo. Doin' ok though.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Lessons Can Come in the Littlest Packages.
Although I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to enjoy myself this week, I was wrong. From my last post, you can gather that I am learning a lot about the programs and the people involved.
Surprisingly, I found myself looking up at the clock and being surprised that it was already 4 o'clock. As anticipated, I try to get the tasks I'm assigned all done on the the day they've been assigned to me, but that's just not going to be possible. I have to work at being able to understand that. My boss is overwhelmed, and I can see where she's coming from more. It's interesting to learn what her strengths are. Facebook, for example, is not one of them. I anticipate trying to get our facebook to go live, to be a very hard thing to do. Yay for that.
I've made friends in the office though, and that's awesome. I'm actually very surprised by how much I feel comfortable in this office as compared to the last one that I was in. I wonder why that is, and I have a feeling it's because it is predominantly mother-like women and I feel comfortable there. Silly, but true I think. The woman who has a cube adjoining mine and I have started to hang up signs so that the other has a nice message when they get in the office. That's pretty awesome.
I volunteer at the youth center too, and that's interesting. I'm really just in the 'get the kids to trust me' phase and have them know that I won't be there for a short period of time. Volunteering at a place like that is an actual committment but I really enjoy it. It sort of let's me forget my work day (if there were any frustrations) and focus on making sure these kids have a good time. I hope that some day they'll feel comfortable enough to let me know a little bit more about what is going on with them, and I feel like if I asked they would tell me. But, I feel like that's only because kids don't know any better, I'd rather work on a relationship with them than take for granted how well-intentioned they are.
I played basketball with the kids, and they were cool. I'm BAD! They asked me to play and I told 'em I would, but that I was bad (and I really was, the other two staff there had played). But, at the end of it, one of the kids was like "See, you're not bad!" It was so cute, and he's my favorite so far. I was watching him play pool the first day I was there and he was super friendly. What was most interesting to me though was that he was making sure his peers were using their manners. A lot of the time I'm there I make sure the kids say excuse me and thank you and all that cause they tend to just barrel through otherwise. But, this guy, we'll call him Ronnie, wouldn't move until asked nicely. Most of the kids were just aware of each other and would move out of the way or else be run in to. He demands respect and I really like it. Kids are so smart that way.
I'm excited for next week, and think this will be great. The only part I don't enjoy is getting up so early, but you can't win all the time, right?
Surprisingly, I found myself looking up at the clock and being surprised that it was already 4 o'clock. As anticipated, I try to get the tasks I'm assigned all done on the the day they've been assigned to me, but that's just not going to be possible. I have to work at being able to understand that. My boss is overwhelmed, and I can see where she's coming from more. It's interesting to learn what her strengths are. Facebook, for example, is not one of them. I anticipate trying to get our facebook to go live, to be a very hard thing to do. Yay for that.
I've made friends in the office though, and that's awesome. I'm actually very surprised by how much I feel comfortable in this office as compared to the last one that I was in. I wonder why that is, and I have a feeling it's because it is predominantly mother-like women and I feel comfortable there. Silly, but true I think. The woman who has a cube adjoining mine and I have started to hang up signs so that the other has a nice message when they get in the office. That's pretty awesome.
I volunteer at the youth center too, and that's interesting. I'm really just in the 'get the kids to trust me' phase and have them know that I won't be there for a short period of time. Volunteering at a place like that is an actual committment but I really enjoy it. It sort of let's me forget my work day (if there were any frustrations) and focus on making sure these kids have a good time. I hope that some day they'll feel comfortable enough to let me know a little bit more about what is going on with them, and I feel like if I asked they would tell me. But, I feel like that's only because kids don't know any better, I'd rather work on a relationship with them than take for granted how well-intentioned they are.
I played basketball with the kids, and they were cool. I'm BAD! They asked me to play and I told 'em I would, but that I was bad (and I really was, the other two staff there had played). But, at the end of it, one of the kids was like "See, you're not bad!" It was so cute, and he's my favorite so far. I was watching him play pool the first day I was there and he was super friendly. What was most interesting to me though was that he was making sure his peers were using their manners. A lot of the time I'm there I make sure the kids say excuse me and thank you and all that cause they tend to just barrel through otherwise. But, this guy, we'll call him Ronnie, wouldn't move until asked nicely. Most of the kids were just aware of each other and would move out of the way or else be run in to. He demands respect and I really like it. Kids are so smart that way.
I'm excited for next week, and think this will be great. The only part I don't enjoy is getting up so early, but you can't win all the time, right?
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Whelmed.
I'm pretty sure that isn't a word, but I think it describes me right now. Just not really sure which way to go, over or underwhelmed.
Yesterday was my first day and it didn't consist of much, just did training for awhile and then went to the marketing meeting. I was excited to go to that and even got to speak a little, but nor a whole lot happened.
Today, I went to training in the morning and skipped out on the second half to visit a program site. The particular site I went to houses young men who have been to jail and no long have a home to go to (not because their parents won't let them stay at home, but for other reasons.) The story behind this program is that the department of corrections visited some time ago and deemed it too dirty and unkempt to receive funding for the next year. They get a chance to clean it up and have the dpt. of corrections back on Monday. My boss and I went to the site to walk the tour with them and give any last minute critiques we thought might help.
Honestly, the place was about what I expected it to be. It used to be a prison and now boys lived there, who apparently didn't have much of a rigorous cleaning expectation. Tiles in the ceilings were broken, a door window was busted, a lot of the furniture looked like it might fall over. Carpets were dirty, etc. But here's where I run in to a problem. How much more can we expect out of a program that gets (I think) most of it's funding through grants and charity? I didn't agree with the way the place was run. The kids don't have room inspections and are allowed to leave their basketballs (their own property) out on the basketball court. I personally would take the basketballs until they earned it back, and I would do room inspections. They wouldn't take us into the restrooms. I feel like there should be a higher standard with the chores. So, do we blame the staff and cut the funding or do we not expect much from these programs and let them live the way they do? I don't know.
Also visited a place where developmentally disabled sexual offenders go to find work. The don't do anything too high up in the business world (paint rain barrels, do factory line-work, landscaping). I saw some things in there that let me have a little peek into what they think about and it was what you might imagine, and it was odd for me.
Oh yea, and we met with the development committee. Our company needs funding, just as any other does, but geez we're pushing hard. Hopefully I'll get to sit down tomorrow and actually be productive. We'll see.
I don't really know what to think about it all, I think time will tell.
Liz
Yesterday was my first day and it didn't consist of much, just did training for awhile and then went to the marketing meeting. I was excited to go to that and even got to speak a little, but nor a whole lot happened.
Today, I went to training in the morning and skipped out on the second half to visit a program site. The particular site I went to houses young men who have been to jail and no long have a home to go to (not because their parents won't let them stay at home, but for other reasons.) The story behind this program is that the department of corrections visited some time ago and deemed it too dirty and unkempt to receive funding for the next year. They get a chance to clean it up and have the dpt. of corrections back on Monday. My boss and I went to the site to walk the tour with them and give any last minute critiques we thought might help.
Honestly, the place was about what I expected it to be. It used to be a prison and now boys lived there, who apparently didn't have much of a rigorous cleaning expectation. Tiles in the ceilings were broken, a door window was busted, a lot of the furniture looked like it might fall over. Carpets were dirty, etc. But here's where I run in to a problem. How much more can we expect out of a program that gets (I think) most of it's funding through grants and charity? I didn't agree with the way the place was run. The kids don't have room inspections and are allowed to leave their basketballs (their own property) out on the basketball court. I personally would take the basketballs until they earned it back, and I would do room inspections. They wouldn't take us into the restrooms. I feel like there should be a higher standard with the chores. So, do we blame the staff and cut the funding or do we not expect much from these programs and let them live the way they do? I don't know.
Also visited a place where developmentally disabled sexual offenders go to find work. The don't do anything too high up in the business world (paint rain barrels, do factory line-work, landscaping). I saw some things in there that let me have a little peek into what they think about and it was what you might imagine, and it was odd for me.
Oh yea, and we met with the development committee. Our company needs funding, just as any other does, but geez we're pushing hard. Hopefully I'll get to sit down tomorrow and actually be productive. We'll see.
I don't really know what to think about it all, I think time will tell.
Liz
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Let's Play A Little Catch-Up...
So, I've been a little negligent. But, I didn't really feel there was much that was exciting or enthralling to report on. Now that I look back and see how much time I have to update, maybe I should have posted a boring intermediary blog. :) Hindsight is always 20-20 on that sort of thing.
Anyway, you left me after my last experience at the factory and working temporary jobs. I had decided that $500 was my goal for the summer before I started work and after my work with the temp jobs, I only had $130. Fortunately for me, Carol (Connor's mom) found an opportunity for me to work for her while she was the director of a tournament in Kansas City. I was able to get some great experience working with Social Media to build a fan base and was paid for it. This put me to my goal, so working of the summer was over. Maybe I should have worked more, but I've been pretty busy anyway.
Last week, I went to a retreat in Rapid City, SD, which is about 5.5 hours from where I'm staying right now. This retreat was basically a review on how to interact with co-workers in the workplace and especially with your supervisor. All of the VISTAs in the South Dakota were there, so it was pretty cool to know what else people were doing in the state. I also had to drive across the state with the other VISTA in the Sioux Falls area. He was interesting. Entertaining and a little weird, but I think that people would say that about me too. We had a lot of fun and it made the drive easier than it would have been if we'd had to drive by ourselves.
I met the VISTA Coordinator for SD because she ran the retreat and found out that she is also in the Marketing office in the Rapid City office. One of the more interesting things is that another man who works in the marketing office there as a VISTA had actually served 7 years in prison for theft and other things. I found him pretty interesting because I've only recently learned that people can actually change for the better. I know it sounds shallow to say that, but it's a strange concept to me that people can suppress or get rid of a side of themselves that allowed them to act in ways that were so wrong. In his case, theft isn't so bad. But, he told me he was part of a gang etc. I'm still learning about people and how they change throughout their lives, I suppose.
Anyway, it was cool to be across the state and up in the hills. Saw a mountain lion when I was out running, that was pretty scary. It was kind of surreal, my reaction to it. There was not initial terror or immobilization. Part of me knew that maybe I would want to scream, but part of me thought that I could just walk away quietly and be fine. So, I did the latter and was ok. I think that I was just really lucky that it didn't see me/wasn't hungry/wasn't threatened.
I spent some time with Connor and got to check out Keystone which was a lot of fun, we got ice-cream. La-de-da, I always have a good time with him.
I got back to Sioux Falls on Sunday, did some laundry, and was headed for Minneapolis by Tuesday for my 'Pre-Service Orientation'. Here, I learned a lot more about how VISTA works within an office, and how to find more information about what my role is supposed to be in the office I am working in. It was really helpful. I'd like to say that it was a really enlightening few days about the way we feel about poverty, etc. But it wasn't and I think that's ok. We talked about what poverty meant to us and when we first recognized it in the world. When you get a group of people like that together, they all want to tell their story in such a meaningful way that I guess the point just passed me by. Not to say that I'm not passionate about helping people alleviate poverty, or to help people themselves get out of it. I'm just to the point where I've recognized the issue and don't need the persuasion anymore.
Needless to say, I'm ready to get started and I start tomorrow! Of course, I'm going to miss being able to just sit around and do what I want all day, but I suppose that's all a part of growing up.
Wish me luck! It's going to be busy, hard, and educational for this entire next year!
Anyway, you left me after my last experience at the factory and working temporary jobs. I had decided that $500 was my goal for the summer before I started work and after my work with the temp jobs, I only had $130. Fortunately for me, Carol (Connor's mom) found an opportunity for me to work for her while she was the director of a tournament in Kansas City. I was able to get some great experience working with Social Media to build a fan base and was paid for it. This put me to my goal, so working of the summer was over. Maybe I should have worked more, but I've been pretty busy anyway.
Last week, I went to a retreat in Rapid City, SD, which is about 5.5 hours from where I'm staying right now. This retreat was basically a review on how to interact with co-workers in the workplace and especially with your supervisor. All of the VISTAs in the South Dakota were there, so it was pretty cool to know what else people were doing in the state. I also had to drive across the state with the other VISTA in the Sioux Falls area. He was interesting. Entertaining and a little weird, but I think that people would say that about me too. We had a lot of fun and it made the drive easier than it would have been if we'd had to drive by ourselves.
I met the VISTA Coordinator for SD because she ran the retreat and found out that she is also in the Marketing office in the Rapid City office. One of the more interesting things is that another man who works in the marketing office there as a VISTA had actually served 7 years in prison for theft and other things. I found him pretty interesting because I've only recently learned that people can actually change for the better. I know it sounds shallow to say that, but it's a strange concept to me that people can suppress or get rid of a side of themselves that allowed them to act in ways that were so wrong. In his case, theft isn't so bad. But, he told me he was part of a gang etc. I'm still learning about people and how they change throughout their lives, I suppose.
Anyway, it was cool to be across the state and up in the hills. Saw a mountain lion when I was out running, that was pretty scary. It was kind of surreal, my reaction to it. There was not initial terror or immobilization. Part of me knew that maybe I would want to scream, but part of me thought that I could just walk away quietly and be fine. So, I did the latter and was ok. I think that I was just really lucky that it didn't see me/wasn't hungry/wasn't threatened.
I spent some time with Connor and got to check out Keystone which was a lot of fun, we got ice-cream. La-de-da, I always have a good time with him.
I got back to Sioux Falls on Sunday, did some laundry, and was headed for Minneapolis by Tuesday for my 'Pre-Service Orientation'. Here, I learned a lot more about how VISTA works within an office, and how to find more information about what my role is supposed to be in the office I am working in. It was really helpful. I'd like to say that it was a really enlightening few days about the way we feel about poverty, etc. But it wasn't and I think that's ok. We talked about what poverty meant to us and when we first recognized it in the world. When you get a group of people like that together, they all want to tell their story in such a meaningful way that I guess the point just passed me by. Not to say that I'm not passionate about helping people alleviate poverty, or to help people themselves get out of it. I'm just to the point where I've recognized the issue and don't need the persuasion anymore.
Needless to say, I'm ready to get started and I start tomorrow! Of course, I'm going to miss being able to just sit around and do what I want all day, but I suppose that's all a part of growing up.
Wish me luck! It's going to be busy, hard, and educational for this entire next year!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
But I am le tired...
This promises to be a long post. I've got a bit of reflection and reporting to do. First, I read this book called Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich that I admit, ashamedly, I was supposed to read during the school year along with the other executive members of the Global Poverty Club. I think that I wasn't the only one that didn't read it. That is neither here nor there. Reading it has given me some more food for thought as I continue work for Labor Ready and consider the culture of the group I am working with.
I was going to try to find an online synopsis of the book, but they're pretty long so I'll do my best to explain it. Pretty much, a journalist decides to try life out at the poverty line. She goes to three different states and holds low wage jobs (Florida - Waitress/Housekeeper , Maine - Maid , Minnesota - Wal*Mart). The story is about her struggle with management, working conditions, fellow employees, sticking to the poverty level (since she had a well-paying job and money), and paying rent/buying food. She started off with a little money in her pocket and had a chunk saved for emergencies that she tried not to use, but eventually had to use some of it. It seems that one of her main issues finding a sufficient place to stay because the typical rent was $400 per month for a a place that one of us might consider living in during a time of great need. The parts of the book that most interested me were when she spoke of who she worked with and their living conditions. I was surprised to find that some people were living in hotels at $40-$60 a night. This was because the people didn't have enough money to put a deposit down for an apartment. Or if they did, they wouldn't be able to pay the month's rent on top of medical and food needs. Often, the author would wonder why her co-workers wouldn't band together to demand better working environments. I don't know, but I feel like this is because those people are too afraid to lose their jobs. Reading this book allowed me a little more insight into the life of people who have to work at the minimum wage past their teenage years and made me question the way we view those who work those types of jobs.
My latest escapade at Labor Ready brought me a job working at PBM, graphics. I packaged World of Warcraft cards. I'm not allowed to talk about exactly what kind, or participate in their tournaments for the next year. Pretty serious stuff. They're the primary manufacturer and print the stuff in French and some other languages. Didn't know they were geeky over seas too!
There are two shifts at PBM. The first is from 4AM to 6PM and the second from 6PM to 4AM. Labor Ready opens at 4am and closes at 7:30pm. I think the first shift has to leave Labor Ready at 4:30 because it takes an hour and a half to get to the job site. It takes me about forty-five minutes to get to Sioux Falls, so I'd have to get up around 2:45 to give myself enough time to get ready and get to town with about ten minutes of cushion for whatever might come up. That means I'd have to be in bed by 8pm to get the minimal amount of sleep to function at a cognitive level. I would need to go to bed at 6pm to function on the factory floor for 12 hours without accidentally harming myself or others Not gonna happen.
I opted to do the second shift because I knew I could wake up at a decent time and could probably power through until 4am. With this in mind, I called Labor Ready (LR) to ask what would be the best time to get there to make sure I would be on the night shift. I was told 3 or 3:30, so I arrived at 2:40 figuring that everyone else was operating at the 3-3:30 time and that I would beat them. Turns out, they're smarter than that and most of the spots were filled up before I got there. I'm not sure why the morning lady told me that time. As a side note, the morning lady is the one I don't know that well, and the afternoon lady seems to recognize me already. I think she must just be good with faces.
When I showed up, the afternoon lady told me that she would try to get me on the list but she wasn't sure. Then, she asked if I had a car and would drive. Since I could, I was guaranteed a spot. After realizing that I would be the one to drive I googled the distances and saw that PBM is 45 minutes west of where I live in South Dakota. I drive about 45 minutes to the east to get to Sioux Falls. Not the most efficient way to do things.
This reminds me of a lady who volunteered some information to me while I waited for the group to ship out. She was there looking for a job and had already gone to Command Center (which I found out is another temp company that pays more) and reported that they were too strict and only picked their favorites. I then told her that in order to work at PBM you couldn't have more than two misdemeanors, which I thought was pretty fair. She sort of scoffed and said that she had a felony. She also mentioned that she was six months pregnant but seemed to have enough of a filter to not talk about why she needed the job so much and how the baby related to that but sort of made me feel like the two were related. My main take away was that there was another temp agency that paid more and, I found out later, that I could call in to say I wanted to work and just drive over to PBM if I worked through Command Center, rather then having to drive all that way in to town. Cost of gas, wear on the car, and time not sleeping are all things I would have to consider against the fact that me having a car allowed 4 other people to go to work and that having that car guaranteed my position. I also got $6 each from the people in the car for gas.
Back to the story at hand. I, the girl from a small town who barely knew how to handle herself with a green arrow at the stop light, would be driving other people to work. To be honest, I hate driving other people. For some reason, though, in new situations I like to pretend that I'm really confident at things that I'm not so that other people won't question me. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. There have been no fatalities yet. The good news is, we made it just fine to the site. I had a co-pilot who must have been in his 50s and had been working at PBM since September last year. Once upon a time he was a truck driver with enough experience to decide that I (along with all other Michiganders) always speed. He made sort of a fuss about that, but gave me some great information about what to expect and when the breaks were. We spoke a little bit about the Casey Anthony trial and some of his history during the hour and a half so it wasn't awkward which I was very appreciative of.
After arriving safely at PBM I found out that I was assigned to the "hand line" which meant that we were assembling something by hand. Duh. That something, of course, was the WoW boxes. The whole set up needed 6 people. One to open the box and put it on the line, another to stuff a card box and manual in, one to add a mat, one to add playing cards, another to add come organizational stuff for card collectors, and a final person to check that they were all stacked in right. All positions had a chair at it, so I was stoked because I was under the impression that I wouldn't have to stand for 10 hours. We had a supervisor who showed us what all of the positions were supposed to do and how exactly to stack everything (they way they make sure you can read the brand is kinda neat), and then asked two of us to volunteer for a job she wasn't going to tell us about until after we volunteered. I should have known not to volunteer at this point, but everything about my childhood told me that volunteering earned you brownie points. What I really earned was the job carrying, tearing, and breaking down boxes. I had to make sure that all of the supplies were full and that the line never had to stop because they were waiting for me. I was successful over my ten hours and actually enjoyed the hour it took to figure out the most efficient way to be the most successful at my work.
I'd like to say that the next nine hours that followed filled me with some sort of insight about others through interaction but I can't. I had those nine hours to think and reflect and drive myself crazy. For awhile, I was curious about those around me and even tried to converse with them but no one seemed up for conversation. I understood, since most of them were on day 4 of a terribly mundane shift. I was tired and my feet hurt and I was jealous that I didn't get to sit down until, in the 8th hour, I was offered a sitting position that I gladly took. I then realized then that the grass is always greener on the other side. While I was happy to be sitting down, the job was not very intensive but was painful because it was repetitive. Imagine that type of pain when you've been sitting in the wrong position at a computer for too long. Doing this new job made me even more tired and knew I wouldn't have been able to survive that position the whole night. I was switched back to supply after the break and was given other random tasks during the night. I don't know if it was because she knew that I could do all of them, or if I was hindering the group enough to need to do the small things. I'd like to think it is the former since I was thrown on the line to help make it move faster. At this time, I found out that the young lady next to me wasn't capable of following a pattern which frustrated me, but she and I worked through it and were able to manage the line.
The last half an hour of the entire shift, I was told to look busy. So, I swept the floor, again. 4am rolls around and I'm free with a 1.5 hour drive back to Sioux Falls and some major concentration to do so that I don't fall asleep and harm the other people in my car. The older gentleman made comments again about my speed and informed me that early after that shift the sheriff typically would camp outside of the factory, pull over people who were speeding, and also hoped to find people with outstanding warrants. Apparently two of the "natives" had been caught like that before, and the older gentleman had been in a car that had been pulled over one time (as the passenger) and was asked for his ID. He refused to give it because he wasn't the one in trouble for speeding. But, this, along with his constant mention about my speed (which I promise wasn't that bad) and the fact that he no longer had a license led me to wonder if he had a warrant out or not. I'm a little torn about the whole situation because obviously these people are doing their best to work for a living and for the sheriff to pull them over like that just doesn't seem right. But then again, they have a warrant out so I suppose they have done something wrong.
After this drive, I had another 45 minute drive back to Canistota. I got back at 6:15 and woke up at 1. I survived the whole ordeal.
Reflecting back some, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be working at Labor Ready. Or, at least with PBM. I feel like I'm making excuses, but while I worked that night shift I couldn't help but listen to the people on the line and think about their families and my own family growing up. Most of these people work these shifts 4 or more times a week and have a family. I personally had to leave the house at 2:00pm to make sure I got the job, and I know that othesr have to leave earlier to make sure the bus gets them there on time which means that they don't get to see their family that much (especially during the school year) and that breaks my heart. I also remember my dad working those night shifts when I was younger and I absolutely hated it. I couldn't wait for him to have a day off and was ten times more happy when he finally went back to days. I hated night shifts and I remember that although I was pretty young and don't remember a lot about that period of my life. It apparently bothered me enough to make me pretty much promise myself that I would never have to become accustom to a shift like that. It may sound spoiled, but the whole idea feels so against everything that I've been striving for. I guess I figured that if I worked hard enough while I was younger, I would be able to avoid the unpleasantness of not seeing my family and practically becoming a vampire. I respect all of the people who work in those factories a lot because they deal with the physical pain and monotony on a daily basis, but I don't think it's the life for me. It's a really tough thing to swallow about myself, the fact that I can't mentally standa job like that. The idea that I'm too 'soft' to handle that kind of work makes me feel inadequate in a way. To boot, a large part of me feels that since I don't want to do it, I'm just being a yuppy.
Carol pointed out to me that sometimes this type of work just suits other people and I think that must be true. I guess some people wouldn't enjoy doing the things I do on a daily basis for work, but it's hard for me to understand how anyone could find joy in that type of factory work.
I was going to try to find an online synopsis of the book, but they're pretty long so I'll do my best to explain it. Pretty much, a journalist decides to try life out at the poverty line. She goes to three different states and holds low wage jobs (Florida - Waitress/Housekeeper , Maine - Maid , Minnesota - Wal*Mart). The story is about her struggle with management, working conditions, fellow employees, sticking to the poverty level (since she had a well-paying job and money), and paying rent/buying food. She started off with a little money in her pocket and had a chunk saved for emergencies that she tried not to use, but eventually had to use some of it. It seems that one of her main issues finding a sufficient place to stay because the typical rent was $400 per month for a a place that one of us might consider living in during a time of great need. The parts of the book that most interested me were when she spoke of who she worked with and their living conditions. I was surprised to find that some people were living in hotels at $40-$60 a night. This was because the people didn't have enough money to put a deposit down for an apartment. Or if they did, they wouldn't be able to pay the month's rent on top of medical and food needs. Often, the author would wonder why her co-workers wouldn't band together to demand better working environments. I don't know, but I feel like this is because those people are too afraid to lose their jobs. Reading this book allowed me a little more insight into the life of people who have to work at the minimum wage past their teenage years and made me question the way we view those who work those types of jobs.
My latest escapade at Labor Ready brought me a job working at PBM, graphics. I packaged World of Warcraft cards. I'm not allowed to talk about exactly what kind, or participate in their tournaments for the next year. Pretty serious stuff. They're the primary manufacturer and print the stuff in French and some other languages. Didn't know they were geeky over seas too!
There are two shifts at PBM. The first is from 4AM to 6PM and the second from 6PM to 4AM. Labor Ready opens at 4am and closes at 7:30pm. I think the first shift has to leave Labor Ready at 4:30 because it takes an hour and a half to get to the job site. It takes me about forty-five minutes to get to Sioux Falls, so I'd have to get up around 2:45 to give myself enough time to get ready and get to town with about ten minutes of cushion for whatever might come up. That means I'd have to be in bed by 8pm to get the minimal amount of sleep to function at a cognitive level. I would need to go to bed at 6pm to function on the factory floor for 12 hours without accidentally harming myself or others Not gonna happen.
I opted to do the second shift because I knew I could wake up at a decent time and could probably power through until 4am. With this in mind, I called Labor Ready (LR) to ask what would be the best time to get there to make sure I would be on the night shift. I was told 3 or 3:30, so I arrived at 2:40 figuring that everyone else was operating at the 3-3:30 time and that I would beat them. Turns out, they're smarter than that and most of the spots were filled up before I got there. I'm not sure why the morning lady told me that time. As a side note, the morning lady is the one I don't know that well, and the afternoon lady seems to recognize me already. I think she must just be good with faces.
When I showed up, the afternoon lady told me that she would try to get me on the list but she wasn't sure. Then, she asked if I had a car and would drive. Since I could, I was guaranteed a spot. After realizing that I would be the one to drive I googled the distances and saw that PBM is 45 minutes west of where I live in South Dakota. I drive about 45 minutes to the east to get to Sioux Falls. Not the most efficient way to do things.
This reminds me of a lady who volunteered some information to me while I waited for the group to ship out. She was there looking for a job and had already gone to Command Center (which I found out is another temp company that pays more) and reported that they were too strict and only picked their favorites. I then told her that in order to work at PBM you couldn't have more than two misdemeanors, which I thought was pretty fair. She sort of scoffed and said that she had a felony. She also mentioned that she was six months pregnant but seemed to have enough of a filter to not talk about why she needed the job so much and how the baby related to that but sort of made me feel like the two were related. My main take away was that there was another temp agency that paid more and, I found out later, that I could call in to say I wanted to work and just drive over to PBM if I worked through Command Center, rather then having to drive all that way in to town. Cost of gas, wear on the car, and time not sleeping are all things I would have to consider against the fact that me having a car allowed 4 other people to go to work and that having that car guaranteed my position. I also got $6 each from the people in the car for gas.
Back to the story at hand. I, the girl from a small town who barely knew how to handle herself with a green arrow at the stop light, would be driving other people to work. To be honest, I hate driving other people. For some reason, though, in new situations I like to pretend that I'm really confident at things that I'm not so that other people won't question me. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. There have been no fatalities yet. The good news is, we made it just fine to the site. I had a co-pilot who must have been in his 50s and had been working at PBM since September last year. Once upon a time he was a truck driver with enough experience to decide that I (along with all other Michiganders) always speed. He made sort of a fuss about that, but gave me some great information about what to expect and when the breaks were. We spoke a little bit about the Casey Anthony trial and some of his history during the hour and a half so it wasn't awkward which I was very appreciative of.
After arriving safely at PBM I found out that I was assigned to the "hand line" which meant that we were assembling something by hand. Duh. That something, of course, was the WoW boxes. The whole set up needed 6 people. One to open the box and put it on the line, another to stuff a card box and manual in, one to add a mat, one to add playing cards, another to add come organizational stuff for card collectors, and a final person to check that they were all stacked in right. All positions had a chair at it, so I was stoked because I was under the impression that I wouldn't have to stand for 10 hours. We had a supervisor who showed us what all of the positions were supposed to do and how exactly to stack everything (they way they make sure you can read the brand is kinda neat), and then asked two of us to volunteer for a job she wasn't going to tell us about until after we volunteered. I should have known not to volunteer at this point, but everything about my childhood told me that volunteering earned you brownie points. What I really earned was the job carrying, tearing, and breaking down boxes. I had to make sure that all of the supplies were full and that the line never had to stop because they were waiting for me. I was successful over my ten hours and actually enjoyed the hour it took to figure out the most efficient way to be the most successful at my work.
I'd like to say that the next nine hours that followed filled me with some sort of insight about others through interaction but I can't. I had those nine hours to think and reflect and drive myself crazy. For awhile, I was curious about those around me and even tried to converse with them but no one seemed up for conversation. I understood, since most of them were on day 4 of a terribly mundane shift. I was tired and my feet hurt and I was jealous that I didn't get to sit down until, in the 8th hour, I was offered a sitting position that I gladly took. I then realized then that the grass is always greener on the other side. While I was happy to be sitting down, the job was not very intensive but was painful because it was repetitive. Imagine that type of pain when you've been sitting in the wrong position at a computer for too long. Doing this new job made me even more tired and knew I wouldn't have been able to survive that position the whole night. I was switched back to supply after the break and was given other random tasks during the night. I don't know if it was because she knew that I could do all of them, or if I was hindering the group enough to need to do the small things. I'd like to think it is the former since I was thrown on the line to help make it move faster. At this time, I found out that the young lady next to me wasn't capable of following a pattern which frustrated me, but she and I worked through it and were able to manage the line.
The last half an hour of the entire shift, I was told to look busy. So, I swept the floor, again. 4am rolls around and I'm free with a 1.5 hour drive back to Sioux Falls and some major concentration to do so that I don't fall asleep and harm the other people in my car. The older gentleman made comments again about my speed and informed me that early after that shift the sheriff typically would camp outside of the factory, pull over people who were speeding, and also hoped to find people with outstanding warrants. Apparently two of the "natives" had been caught like that before, and the older gentleman had been in a car that had been pulled over one time (as the passenger) and was asked for his ID. He refused to give it because he wasn't the one in trouble for speeding. But, this, along with his constant mention about my speed (which I promise wasn't that bad) and the fact that he no longer had a license led me to wonder if he had a warrant out or not. I'm a little torn about the whole situation because obviously these people are doing their best to work for a living and for the sheriff to pull them over like that just doesn't seem right. But then again, they have a warrant out so I suppose they have done something wrong.
After this drive, I had another 45 minute drive back to Canistota. I got back at 6:15 and woke up at 1. I survived the whole ordeal.
Reflecting back some, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be working at Labor Ready. Or, at least with PBM. I feel like I'm making excuses, but while I worked that night shift I couldn't help but listen to the people on the line and think about their families and my own family growing up. Most of these people work these shifts 4 or more times a week and have a family. I personally had to leave the house at 2:00pm to make sure I got the job, and I know that othesr have to leave earlier to make sure the bus gets them there on time which means that they don't get to see their family that much (especially during the school year) and that breaks my heart. I also remember my dad working those night shifts when I was younger and I absolutely hated it. I couldn't wait for him to have a day off and was ten times more happy when he finally went back to days. I hated night shifts and I remember that although I was pretty young and don't remember a lot about that period of my life. It apparently bothered me enough to make me pretty much promise myself that I would never have to become accustom to a shift like that. It may sound spoiled, but the whole idea feels so against everything that I've been striving for. I guess I figured that if I worked hard enough while I was younger, I would be able to avoid the unpleasantness of not seeing my family and practically becoming a vampire. I respect all of the people who work in those factories a lot because they deal with the physical pain and monotony on a daily basis, but I don't think it's the life for me. It's a really tough thing to swallow about myself, the fact that I can't mentally standa job like that. The idea that I'm too 'soft' to handle that kind of work makes me feel inadequate in a way. To boot, a large part of me feels that since I don't want to do it, I'm just being a yuppy.
Carol pointed out to me that sometimes this type of work just suits other people and I think that must be true. I guess some people wouldn't enjoy doing the things I do on a daily basis for work, but it's hard for me to understand how anyone could find joy in that type of factory work.
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