The TS Experience: Stone working

Day 2

Entry 1




Day started out as it did on the first day. Got there early, before the sun decided to show it's fugly ass face. I forgot the all-important sunglasses to shield my eyes from the dust that pelted the area all day. Had my gloves with me that I got yesterday, gratis, from the person who runs the place.

The work site is essentially a wasteland, you'd swear it was abandoned for 30 years if you saw it.

The structures are made of metal the the very same stone that we work, giving an odd feeling to it. I signed in my time card and went for the break room as I did before, to put away the 2-liter of water I brought. Giant columns of dust blow by the enormous piles of stone as I pass. The ground, coated in a 3-inch layer of the same dust...dust from the stones, to be exact, for it is not like normal dust, but rather very light colored and easily keeps its form when pressed.

You'd think that you were in a desert or something, had it not been for the highway only a few hundred feet away, and the trees that surround the area.




I make my way to the break room. It is, and I can't think of much of a better way to describe it, a shack. The ceiling that is around the shack, attatched to one of the covered areas with a conveyor belt, is too low for me, so I have to duck. The dust from the stones is caked on nearly everything, adding to the run-down appearence even more. Piles of trash line the walls and corners of the area; nothing but soda cans and the like.

I see a rather large something run across the ground in front of me. I'd say it was a big mouse, but it was black, and moved incredibly fast. I assume it was a very large spider.



I enter the break room and set my 2-liter in the freezer. Trash dots these walls too, though not as much. Holes can be seen on almost every wall, in the windows, etc, where things had happened, who knows what. There is a couch, though, and seats for the workers. Though, that is a little bit of a stretch. The seats are, in fact, over turned industrial-sized buckets. And the couch? The back seat of a car.




Soon, my coworkers arrive in their vehicles, ready for the day. Even though I'm new here, they don't seem to mind me much. ...not that I could tell, of course. The reason I can't tell, is because none of them speak english. Or, rather, a couple speak a little english. They speak spanish, instead, and my friend's dad, who also works there, translates for me when needed.



My boss, thankfully, speaks english...and is white for that matter.









The day goes by as it did last time, standing in front of a conveyor belt outside, sorting stone that was being crushed just beside me, playing various songs in my head since I didn't have any music to listen to...not that I'd want to bring any, per se, due to the stone dust. I worked one of the belts today, which was a little interesting I suppose.


The day drug on for what seemed forever. The job isn't so much hard as it is.....well....I don't know what it is, I just wish the day would end sooner.




Lunch was a little entertaining. I sat in the break room, surounded by chattering people of whom I could hardly understand. They laughed and joked about things that I could only guess. I belive they discussed sports for awhile. One of them offered what I thought was a turkey leg, until further inspection revealed to be a catfish head and partial body. It may have been burnt. The rest ate the stereotypical burritos and rice, with some corn, beans, and salsa. ...go figure.



Three hours later, we're finally done, and can leave. The wretched dust clings to my clothing and hands. I've washed them repeatedly, but it hasn't come off. I believe that they are likely dry and not dusty. My hair feels odd, not really sure how to explain it. My eyes feel odd, sort of dry and whatever...

A little sore, not too much...not really tired either. I just don't care to return.


But I will.

Day 3

Entry 2






Today, I had a banana for breakfast. I know it's not a big deal, but I usually don't eat anything for breakfast.


But that's not the first thing that happened.

First thing that happened, is that I woke up. 5:45 AM as I do every day I have work. I woke up, feeling as if I hadn't slept, as I do sometimes. I had a good sleep, but I wasn't rested. For those of you who don't know, I have sleep apnea. That is what sleep apnea does, it makes it so you don't get rest from sleeping (or as much at least). Of course, that's not completely what it does, only a side effect. Regardless, I slept well, but due to that condition, I did not receive the benefits from sleeping, despite having slept.

I went down and got ready as usual.

Fortunately, I remembered my sunglasses today, so that was good. I decided to bring music this time, but due to the dust and such, I put my player in a zip-lock bag so it wasn't ruined by the end of the day. I also decided to bring my jacket. This wouldn't usually be a big deal, but the issue is that it's the only one that fits, other than my leather jacket...problem is, it's suade. ...and black.

So we head out, gloves in one hand, and 2-liter of water in the other. It was raining, which was nice and made me hope that work would be cancelled or delayed. My jacket wouldn't be the same after this. It was either going to get dusty or wet...neither of which is good for suade.




Once there, the boss tells me to hold off on signing in, as we were going to wait for the storm to pass...due to the potential of the lightning striking the machines. One wouldn't be able to tell that it was wet outside when standing in the warehouse...everything was just as dusty as it usually was. Wood lice, or something like them, wander the floor as I stand, looking about the warehouse. The coffee that the boss brought out smelled good.

I hate coffee.




Not but 5 minutes pass, and the storm goes away. Darn.


We go out and I go to the break room to put my water in the freezer again. The dust that had coated the ground had turned to mud. It was slippery in some cases, and I was pretty sure I'd end up with a broken music player and ruined jacket by the end of it, due to the possibility of a slip. Once everything is set, I go back outside. A curious thing happens. When I would step on the mud, it would be pushed aside, revealing dust underneath. Apparently, only a thin layer on top was wet, giving an interesting effect.


The day goes by slowly at first, and I'm pretty happy when work grinds to a halt. It's cold, dark, and I could see my breath. No work to do...so I went into the break room to use the restroom and set up my player. Once again, the bathroom greets me with a sign on the door, in spanish of course, with a little english note at the bottom.

It basically said: "Hurry up, take a shit, and get back to work. "


A little amusing, for a company that tells you that they prefer slow and accurate to fast and messy.


Once I go back out, I have my headphones in, and for a time, I am content. No work to do, cool, darkness, and music. I feel pretty good, and think that this job is ok. Then work starts back up. It's ok for awhile, but soon I am reminded of why I dislike it. The day drags on for what feels like forever.


The sky clears eventually, and everything returns to normal. Dusty. Sunny. Boring.


Skipping many uneeded details, I work.



At one point, I move a stone from the line to the pallet we were stacking them on. I decided to watch the scale to see how much it weighed. I was surprised to see that it weighed more than I anticipated.


110 pounds.



Yes, I moved it by myself, by hand. In case you were wondering.



Eventually, my player dies, and I have to do without for the rest of the day.



Day ends, and I go to leave, passing under the giant sawblade that has its own little covered structure. Probably the largest blade I've seen in person....likely around 8 feet across more or less.








I find myself wondering....how can people do this? Day in and day out, losing their entire day to a tiring task that just gives them money? Frankly, its messing with my head. The very idea of doing this for the rest of my life just drives me insane.

So how is it that people can do this? It's as if I'm giving my life away to assimilate with the workforce. Time I once had to spend on things overall, is lost...



and for what?


$8 an hour?



Pathetic.

Minimum wage here is $7.25 -.-

$7.31 average in Florida.
In Oklahoma it can be as little as $2.00.

South Carolina has no minimum wage laws, so it just depends on where you go here.

I lived in Illinois for 80 percent of my life, found it a very boring place to live. Plus the lady-bug swarms all summer long were insane where I lived, the doors and windows were covered with the damn things you couldn't even see outside.

I'd rather live in Florida, where here we just worry about giant cockroaches and spiders, rather than spiders, lady bugs, scorpions, larger spiders, and raccoons the thieving bastards. Sure do miss the deer meat though.

Hmmmmmm.

Just because there are very few jobs and people have no money does not mean they should ever allow themselves to be walked on; by anyone. There is no such thing as tolerance when it comes to capitalism and if your government isn't going to protect you, then you might as well do it yourself.

That was the biggest fail of the Industrial Revolution, but I rest my case.

By the way, I'm sorry for bringing politics into this out of all things, but as far as I'm concerned these one-day, two-day jobs are shit and it makes me sad that somebody has to do them.

This isn't a one-two day job, this is a permanent one, lol.


But I don't actually get what you were getting at with the politics thing. Buuuuut, if I understood it correctly, I won't allow anyone to walk on me, of course. I also intend to find a PRODUCTIVE means of making money other than work.


I don't know what it is about the work, but something, somehow, just gives the vibe that living a life of work, like most do, is throwing your life away. It's just as bad as being lazy and laying around the house all day. You're confining yourself to one place that has you doing the same thing, over and over, with the only outcome for YOU, is the fact that you're getting a little money.


I understand that we need people to do these jobs, but I for one will not make a difference in the world. I do not equal all the others in the world. And I intend to find a way around this life-absorbing redundant task that is work.


To clarify, it's not laziness, it's the fact that I'd lose nearly all of my life to this thing. I only get one life that I know of, and I'm not going to waste it stuffed away in someone's business, all for the sake of money.

...And yet you're trying to not waste away your life by getting a permanent job as a... stone worker? It's still work, you're getting less money, and you're doing shit that will eventually cause you physical problems. I just think you're contradicting yourself a little bit.

Knowing where I am going, I'm probably just gonna end up unemployed until I'm like dead or something, but at least I'll be my own boss and set my own boundaries.

Hinaoki wrote:

...And yet you're trying to not waste away your life by getting a permanent job as a... stone worker? It's still work, you're getting less money, and you're doing shit that will eventually cause you physical problems. I just think you're contradicting yourself a little bit.

Knowing where I am going, I'm probably just gonna end up unemployed until I'm like dead or something, but at least I'll be my own boss and set my own boundaries.

No.

I got the job, THEN realized that my life will be wasted by working. Plus, it was the only one I could get.



I intend to find a way to make money without working for another person. Then, I will quit when I am confident in my means of making money.

Day 5

Entry 3


Soooooo...not much is different or interesting. Almost ruined my back again like I did several months ago, but it never actually happened.


Uhhhh...

I guess I'll just note a few normal things.

The people I work with have interesting and stereotypical names; there's Juan, Juan, Juan, Pedro, and a guy everyone calls "Apol" (pronounced "apple"). There's more than that, but I don't remember their names.

I'm lifting stones between 30 and 100 pounds almost all day.

I operate a machine/conveyor belt that uh...it kind of crushes and cuts at the same time, but doesn't actually crush or cut....it's like a hydrolic chisel. Either way....I do that sometimes. I don't understand why others have trouble with the machines...I was instructed on how to use it ONCE, and I understood easily. Why do the others not get it? >.> All it is, is a few levers that control the pressure between w/e to allow the movement of the belts and chisel. Yeah, I made it sound more complicated than it is. You flip the level and the belt moves forward or back. Easy.



I always freeze the 2-liter when I get to work and thaw it after about an hour.




As for today specifically, I killed about 12 flies via slamming my hand down on some stone that they landed on (that's right, TS is just that fast.)

and got my paycheck today.


Woooooo....*unenthusiastic*


Honestly, I don't even care about the money. Suuuure, I need it for whatever and jazz, but idk...I just don't care about it.

Actually, I've never been called lazy at a job. Thusfar, I've only received compliments and have been told that I more or less work more than the others there, lol.

Also, I never complain about the work while there

It's easy not to complain when you never speak, lol




...but yes, billionaire ;D

Day --------

Entry 4


Honestly, I think I'm going insane doing this shit. It's a rollercoaster of "not so bad" to "why the fuck am I still here".

Not much of anything interesting to say, just the fact that the job is just BLEH and I'd prefer to find something else.

Idk.

...Burn it all to the ground TS.
Burn it all to the ground...

Colin think for a moment.
Stone melts, and can hold a flame.
And I imagine he works around wood or wood like substances.