my alarm is set for 8.15pm. when it goes off, the message that flashes tells me to "go to work. be happy." i have the alarm set for 8.15pm because last week i transferred to the graveyard shift at the factory. this move was necessary if i wanted to be trained on a press. so now start work at 10pm, and finish my shift at the cheery side of 6am.
the transition has, so far, not been a pleasant one. (note. this is not me complaining.)
now when i get home from work, i sleep roughly until my wife goes to work (sometimes two hours, sometimes i'm lucky and it will be four), at which point the children, under strict orders not to disturb until i wake up to make them lunch, wake me up as soon as she is gone (they are kids. this is what they do). after much grumbling regarding my lack of sleep, i get up and get going.
"getting going" involves lunch, laundry, pool work, laundry and dinner prep/serve/clean-up before the magical hour of 6pm when i announce that i am going to lay down for a few minutes. after exactly a few minutes, the children decided i've rested long enough, and they begin wrestling elephants and practicing their marching orders upstairs.
so, generally unrested, i head to the shower, step into my uniform, and grudgingly head out the door around 9pm.
work eight hours, repeat.
i am excited about the job. learning to operate a press is obviously new to me, and i am trying to soak up as much information as my trainer can throw at me. if he would show up for work, that is. after the first night of training, he didn't show up again and i was on my own. i still don't really know how to turn the damn thing on, yet i'm expected to produce 40,000 feet of retail-worthy product. nothing like being thrown to the wolves. this wolf is forty-five feet long and has sharp metal teeth that can de-glove my arm in about two seconds if i'm not careful. good thing my trainer has been there to show me where all those... oh, wait...
so i'm looking forward to learning all of the ins and outs of running the press. and i'm looking forward to the raise in pay that is supposed to come with it. i'm not looking forward to this schedule change. i don't like not seeing/sleeping next to my wife. i don't like being overly tired during the day when the kids are bored with nothing to do. i don't like that i can't find a convenient time to write that i have most of my faculties about me.
i'm sure it will all come together. or i could start practicing saying "welcome to wal-mart".
i've got to head out the door. tune in next time for the "saga of the pool" (with pictures, mind you), and details regarding my first road trip back to the old stomping grounds in indiana (family in tow!).
i hope all is well my friends. i look forward to seeing some of you very soon.
